Evan Wright
Evan Wright | |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Writer |
| Notable work | Generation Kill, Hella Nation, American Desperado |
| Television | Generation Kill (TV series) |
| Awards | Two National Magazine Awards |
Evan Wright is an American writer, journalist, author and television writer and producer. He has reported extensively on subcultures for Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair. His latest work is American Desperado,[1] a book he co-wrote with Jon Roberts, who was featured in the documentary the Cocaine Cowboys.
Though some compare Wright's writings to those of Hunter S. Thompson, Wright claims his biggest literary influences were Mark Twain and British-American author Christopher Isherwood.[2]
Hustler Magazine
In 1995, he became the entertainment editor and chief pornographic film reviewer for Hustler magazine. In 2000, he wrote about the experience and the issues surrounding the pornography industry and misogyny in an article for Salon entitled 'Maxed Out'[3] and for the LA Weekly in a cover story entitled 'Scenes From my Life in Porn.'[4]
Military reporting
In 2002 he went to Afghanistan on assignment for Rolling Stone.[5]
In 2003 he was embedded with the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion of the United States Marine Corps during the early stages of the 2003 invasion of Iraq.[6] Wright published a series of articles for Rolling Stone magazine entitled The Killer Elite which, in 2004, received the National Magazine Award for Reporting, the top prize in magazine writing. He then wrote a book entitled Generation Kill about the experience.[7]
In 2007 he returned to Iraq when the surge in U.S. forces was beginning. Wright interviewed General Petraeus and spent several weeks embedded with U.S. troops in Baghdad and in Ramadi and in Diwania. He later criticized American television media for promoting misperceptions of the war. He also criticized some U.S. political leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, for calling the surge a failure before it had been fully implemented.[8]
Immersion journalism
As a reporter, Wright wrote extended magazine features and profiles based on his immersion in subcultures ranging from radical environmentalists to neo-Nazis. He also profiled controversial athletes like skateboarder Jim Greco and former UFC Champion Tito Ortiz. Many of these essays were collected in his book Hella Nation which he called a "sort of autobiography."[2] His collected essays have been compared to Joan Didion's writings.[9]
Television and film
Generation Kill was adapted into a television miniseries by the HBO network and first aired in 2008. Wright served as a writer and consulting producer on the project. He collaborated closely with Emmy-winning David Simon.[10]
Wright was hired by Paramount to write a script about Miami's "Cocaine Cowboys" Jon Roberts and Mickey Munday for Peter Berg to direct. The screenplay is based on a book Wright is writing about Roberts to be published by Crown Books.[11] Actor Mark Wahlberg is producing the film and plans to star in it.[12]
In 2010 it was announced that director Ole Bornedal was filming a movie[13] inspired by an article Wright wrote for TIME magazine called "Death of Hostess." [14] Wright's article was a profile of Japanese serial-rapist and killer Joji Obara he wrote in Tokyo for TIME magazine.[15]
Controversies
- Several Marines Wright wrote about in Generation Kill were punished for the remarks he published.[citation needed]
- Wright has criticized college creative writing programs for producing bad writers.[2]
- Wright wrote an op-ed in the New York Times critical of the U.S. military for allowing Iraq's insurgents to obtain weapons.[16]
Published works
- Generation Kill
- Hella Nation
- American Desperado
- The Best American Crime Writing: 2003 Edition: The Year's Best True Crime Reporting ("Mad Dogs & Lawyers")
- The Best American Magazine Writing: 2004 (Best Reporting)
- The Best American Magazine Writing: 2008 (Best Profile Writing)
Awards
- 2004 – Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Generation Kill: Devil Dogs, Iceman, Captain America and the New Face of American War.
- 2004 – National Magazine Award for Reporting, the top prize in magazine writing.
- 2005 – J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize from the Columbia University School of Journalism and the Nieman Foundation.[17]
- 2005 – PEN USA Literary Award in research nonfiction for Generation Kill: Devil Dogs, Iceman, Captain America and the New Face of American War.
- 2005 – General Wallace M. Greene, Jr., Award from the U.S. Marine Corps Heritage Society for writing the Best History of the Marine Corps.[18]
- 2008 – National Magazine Award for Profile Writing for his Vanity Fair profile titled 'Pat Dollard's Hollywood.'
References
- ^ http://www.amazon.com/American-Desperado-Life-Government-ebook/dp/B004N636AS/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&qid=1302728668&sr=8-1
{{citation}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ a b c Timberg, Scott (April 5, 2009), "Evan Wright: Going where the wild things are", Los Angeles Times, retrieved 2010-11-19
- ^ Wright, Evan (January 18, 2000), "Maxed out", Salon.com, retrieved 2010-11-19
- ^ Wright, Evan (March 29, 2000), "Scenes From My Life in Porn", LA Weekly, retrieved 2010-11-19
- ^ Dechter, Gadi (July 14, 2004), "Rogue Warriors: Rolling Stone Journalist Evan Wright Brings Back a Brutally Candid View of the War—and the Soldiers—in Iraq", Baltimore City Paper, retrieved 2010-11-19
- ^ Jennifer Ludden. "Evan Wright: Reporting on 'The Killer Elite'". National Public Radio. Retrieved 2010-11-19.
- ^ Madeleine Brand. "'Generation Kill': Elite Marines Battle in Iraq". National Public Radio. Retrieved 2010-11-19.
- ^ http://bigthink.com/ideas/284
- ^ Carson, Tom (April 2009), "Hustle and Flow", Los Angeles Magazine, retrieved 2010-11-19
- ^ Smith, Lynn (July 15, 2008), "Ensuring a series is combat ready", Los Angeles Times, retrieved 2010-11-19
- ^ "Wright takes on "Cowboys" starring Wahlberg". Reuters. 2008-07-24.
- ^ "OSCAR Q&A: Mark Wahlberg On 'The Fighter'". Deadline. Retrieved 2010-11-19.
- ^ http://twitchfilm.com/news/2010/03/ole-bornedal-to-helm-thriller-death-of-a-hostess.php
- ^ "Death of a Hostess". The New York Times.
- ^ Tokyo, EVAN ALAN WRIGHT (2001-05-14). "Lucie Blackman: Death of a Hostess". Time.
- ^ Wright, Evan (June 17, 2004), "How Much Is That Uzi In the Window?", New York Times, retrieved 2010-11-19
- ^ "J. Anthony Lukas Prize Project winners". Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard. Retrieved 16 March 2011.
- ^ Wright, Evan (April 6, 2009), "Life With the Anarchists", The Daily Beast, retrieved 2010-11-19