All I Had to Do Was Ask: My Dream Interview with Heywood Gould, Author of ‘Cocktail’
All I had to do was ask.
For 20+ years, I’ve been a fan of the movie “Cocktail” written by Heywood Gould. It’s been my happy place. I love the soundtrack, the story, the acting, the silly one-liners and the characters. Watching the film often with my friend Jason Smith over the years, quoting it (and its infamous “Coughlin’s Laws”) has become a pastime. My wife Amy Heady has gotten me countless pieces of memorabilia from the film – the script, the Care Bear and dinosaur behind the bar, and even the books Tom Cruise’s character reads throughout.
Recently, I asked Heywood to be on my Salesman on Fire podcast. He said yes, and you can find the recording here: https://lnkd.in/etNDMjr6
Yes, dreams really do come true.
Heywood Gould is an author, screenwriter, and film director. Gould has written and directed nine films, including “One Good Cop” and “Fort Apache the Bronx,” and wrote the book and script for the film “Cocktail.” Gould initially had no plan for his career and wanted to write the Great American Novel. However, he met a story editor who took him to the producer of a TV show, which led to him writing episodes. Gould’s story shows how his career progressed without a plan, and how he ended up in the movie industry by accident.
Relationships and saying yes to opportunities and taking risks led to a successful career.
Heywood started working as a bartender and eventually wrote a novel about the world of bartending, “Cocktail.”
I wrote an article a few years ago about why Cocktail is one of the greatest sales films of all time: https://lnkd.in/eY5kpMtk
In the interview, Heywood speculates on what would be the Coughlin’s Laws of the 21st century, talks about potential themes of the long-awaited “Cocktail 2” (where Brian Flanagan has a son who is a bartender) and
how much of his success came down to coincidence and luck and that he still aspires to write the great American novel.
He tells numerous stories about his time with luminaries like Paul Newman, Tom Cruise and Bryan Brown.
We can learn a lot from the story and stories of Heywood Gould: life is a long series of choices and chances; putting value into the world, making good relationships and saying YES to opportunities.
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