Chad Thumann's Blog, page 4

David Hollander Showrunner Interview

My friend David Hollander gave an interview to Bruce Fretts of the New York Times about his experience as a showrunner on the latest season of Ray Donovan. I think it offers pretty interesting insight into the responsibilities of one of television's most important writing positions:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/16/art...

Timeless October 3!

My friend Shawn Ryan's new show Timeless premieres Monday October 3 on NBC. It looks awesome I can't wait to see it!

Giveaway In the Mail

Congratulations to the winners of The Undesirables paperback pre-release giveaway. Your new books are currently in the able hands of the U.S. Postal Service!

Winning Your Wings

In Chapter 17 Jack describes Bobby as "a kid Jimmy Stewart." That line was inspired by the recruitment film "Winning Your Wings" starring James Stewart and directed by John Huston:

https://youtu.be/SrVVFWIHznM

I think my favorite part of the movie is when Stewart tells the audience "what you're gonna see next isn't exactly part of the regular training course, but you're a chump if you don't include it in your curriculum..." And then the movie shows a pilot stealing a pretty girl away from her date at a dance.

The Pre-Release Giveaway

I just received the pre-release copies for the giveaway!

The Undesirables Audiobook

I got these in the mail yesterday!



Of course I couldn't help myself and I immediately started to listen. The talented
Saskia Maarleveld's amazing performance immediately drew me in and I stayed up waaaay too late last night.

Road of Life Newsreel

In Chapter 6 Bobby sees a newsreel about the Leningrad Road of Life that motivates him to join the Army Air Forces. I thought some of you might be interested in seeing the real-life newsreel that inspired the fictional one I wrote about:

https://youtu.be/QZEHJUvZtJs

Zinaida Ivanova, Leningrad Survivor

Zinaida Ivanova was a young girl during the Siege of Leningrad. You can hear her emotional story in a four minute video here:

https://youtu.be/dHJy-OnIguc

The Leningrad Symphony

For those of you who enjoy listening to music while reading, or if you're just curious about what Karen's father is working on in the fourth chapter of The Undesirables, here's a link to the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Symphony's recording of Dmitri Shostakovich Symphony #7, the so-called "Leningrad Symphony":

https://youtu.be/HON-9Z1Greo

Soviet War Paintings

A number of Soviet War Paintings have been collected online here:

Soviet War Paintings

Many of these served as inspiration for The Undesirables. The first that I want to share is titled "Winter 1941-42. Leningrad. Bread line." by Y. Nikolaev. I find the dead body at the edge of the line to be particularly haunting.