"Johnny Walker" & Jim DeFelice's "Code Name: Johnny Walker," the movie

Featured at My Book, The Movie: Code Name: Johnny Walker: The Extraordinary Story of the Iraqi Who Risked Everything to Fight with the U.S. Navy SEALs by "Johnny Walker" with Jim DeFelice.

The entry begins:

There was a time when I thought getting a book optioned for a movie was an event to be unanimously cheered, hoped for, and dreamed of. It was like winning the lottery, or finding a hundred dollar bill on the way into the bar: something without a downside, a thing every writer should fervently hope for.

Oh, what a naïve waif was I.

Having been through the various ups and downs, disasters and near misses that define a writer’s relationship with the vampire-zombie dream-killing complex that calls itself Hollywood, you’d think I’d be a little more hip to reality by now. But if hope springs eternal, then naiveté is the weed that grows right alongside it.

There are pitfalls to everything, especially for a writer. The ones you don’t fall into find a way to morph into trolls with teeth that will bite you when least expect it.

Take, for instance, my recent book, Code Name Johnny Walker (mandatory plug: it’s published by William Morrow and comes out this week).

My co-author and the book’s subject, Johnny Walker, and I were at a “session” with a marketing type, the movie producer who claims he has a piece of our project, and what is known in polite circles as representatives of the media. Right off, you realize the problem, I’m sure – that is a mix of individuals that should never be allowed to meet in the same city, let alone the same place. I can assure you that I, if not Johnny, would have greatly preferred to have stayed in the bar down the street. But I digress.

At some point, a media type tossed what to all the world seemed like a softball question: Who do you see playing the part of Johnny in the movie?

The producer demurred; there are many names in the pot. Johnny, who is an Iraqi, did likewise, claiming that he knew absolutely nothing about American movie stars.

Which of course left me.

I glanced at the marketing person, who was grinning broadly, as marketing people are wont to do when you’re about to get headlines by making a fool of yourself. I knew what that grin meant: Go for it!

As I started to...[read on]

Learn more about the book and author at Jim DeFelice's website and blog.

My Book, The Movie: Code Name: Johnny Walker.

--Marshal Zeringue