To coincide with the anniversary of the 1906 earthquake on 18 April, this Saturday as her special guest from the arts Ruth Copland is pleased to be interviewing screenwriter, author and film-maker James Dalessandro. James has written a best-selling historical novel 1906, a tale of political corruption, vendettas, romance, and rescue-and-murder set during the great San Francisco earthquake and fire. The “e-book” of 1906: A Novel has just been released to coincide with the earthquake anniversary on April 18th. In a matter of hours after its release the e-book edition of 1906: A Novel shot to #1 in Historical Fiction/Mysteries, where it stayed for days. James also wrote, directed and produced the acclaimed documentary The Damnedest, Finest Ruins about the 1906 earthquake, and a live action film version of his novel 1906 is in development at Pixar Studios. A 33-year member of the Writer’s Guild of America, he has sold more than 20 feature film scripts, as well as writing over 75 promotional trailer campaigns in-house for Columbia Pictures. He co-founded The Santa Cruz Poetry Festival, which was the nation’s largest annual literary festival at the time, and served as its director for four years. Originally from Ohio, James has dedicated the last 40 years of his life to telling San Francisco stories, and trying to bring film and television projects to his adopted home. He recently sold several television pilots set in San Francisco. James has lectured at the San Jose-based Cinequest Film Festival and the Screenwriting Expo in Los Angeles. He formerly taught Screenwriting at Fort Mason Art Center in San Francisco and currently teaches screenwriting at Academy of Art University in San Francisco.
Tune in Saturday 9-10 PM to find out more about the life and art of James Dalessandro. For more info and to hear previous shows visit www.itsaquestionofbalance.com
