Entertainment
In the dark days of the pandemic, 34 famous authors found light in a collaborative novel
On the Shelf
Fourteen Days
By the Authors Guild, Margaret Atwood and Douglas Preston
Harper: 384 pages, $32
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During the pandemic, one of the most well-documented and poignant ways people paid tribute to first responders, healthcare workers and others who risked their own health and well-being was through the New York City evening “pots-and-pans symphony.”
For many, banging a spoon on a skillet could be done in isolation. However, as the spring of 2020 progressed, people found safe open-air spaces in which to gather and noisily acknowledge their brave fellow citizens who kept hospitals, care residences, clinics and grocery stores open and functioning.
Author Douglas Preston
(Christine Preston)
So perhaps it’s not surprising that the Authors Guild, our nation’s longest-running and strongest-advocating organization for writers, chose to set its first collective-written book on a Manhattan rooftop. Author and recent Guild President Douglas Preston, who co-edited “Fourteen Days: A Collaborative Novel” with author Margaret Atwood, says, “The interesting thing about New York is that people are all mixed up there, even within the same buildings.” Preston, once a New Yorker himself, spoke via video conference from his home in Taos, N.M., and emphasized that all of the characters in “Fourteen Days” are “real people … and not all of them are getting along. The idea is about diversity, and not just diversity of background or origin or thinking, but about diversity of genre.”
Diversity of genre doesn’t just refer to the book’s characters and the stories they tell while gathering each evening on the roof of their somewhat rundown apartment building, the Fernsby Arms; it also refers to the genres in which the book’s contributors write. Among the 36 authors whose names grace the “Fourteen Days” jacket are Dave Eggers, Celeste Ng, Scott Turow, Mira Jacob, Tommy Orange, Tess Gerritsen, R. L. Stine, Weike Wang and Ishmael Reed.
Obviously, “Fourteen Days” will be paradise for avid readers, but there’s one little twist that will make it even more interesting, and that’s the fact that the chapters themselves don’t have bylines. Each contributor was asked to submit a self-contained story of any length and in any style; the results would then be edited and placed into the framework Preston dreamed up long ago. “Many years ago I had this idea of writing a plague novel, sort of like Boccaccio’s ‘Decameron,’ ” says Preston. “And it was a disaster. It was terrible! When you’re a novelist, you often abandon things, and I abandoned it.
“But when the pandemic hit, I thought it might be an idea worth resurrecting, as a group storytelling project. I suggested it to a few colleagues, and they said, ‘Yes, let’s do it,’ but we have to tell the stories of the people who were left behind.”
Another contributor who is a longtime New York resident is “Goosebumps” author Stine, who echoes his good friend Preston’s thoughts about the city. “We all have different stories in New York, and we all live on top of one another,” Stine says from his Upper West Side home office, also via video conference. “And we all get along pretty well. That’s what America is supposed to be about.”
Author R.L. Stine
(Dan Nelken)
Which story and chapter Stine contributed to shall remain unidentified for the sake of future readers, but suffice to say it derives from his memories of how COVID-19 “made all of our lives smaller. I see fewer friends, I go fewer places. My life is just smaller than it was three years ago. For the characters in this book, coming up to the roof and sharing their stories was their entertainment.”
Some of the authors who answered Atwood’s call wrote completely original, new stories; others wrote stories that they had heard but never tried to write down, like Gerritsen. Her thrillers, which include the “Rizzoli & Isles” series, draw on her background as a physician. “I saw some pretty weird stuff,” Gerritsen says by telephone from her home in Maine, of her years as a doctor. “The story I chose to write and share is a true one, based on something that took place when I was working at a hospital in Hawaii.”
Like her colleagues on the project, Gerritsen is a member of the Authors Guild, “since 1990 or so, way back. I think this project arrives at a time when we really need to speak up as creatives, and I can also speak as a minority to say that I remember vividly the first time I felt seen in the pages of a book, the first time I saw not just a Chinese person in a book, but an American Chinese person in a book. I now had a place, that’s how I felt. In this book, there are characters of all different backgrounds, and I think for young people, seeing that characters who are like them exist is going to be very comforting.”
The Authors Guild will use the book’s proceeds to support educational programs and advocacy work for writers. Its new executive director, Deborah Wilson, says the “stories and perspectives shared are powerful and moving, representing a range of voices. We are also excited to be in early discussions about possible film and TV adaptations that could bring these stories to life in new ways.”
Author Dave Eggers
(Eduardo de la Manzana)
“Those of us who publish books can expect to see a dollar or two every time one of our books is sold, and that’s in large part because the guild has always been out front, making sure that piracy is not allowed, that copyright protections are there, and that we are not replaced by AI,” says Eggers, founder of McSweeney’s and author of books including “Zeitoun” and “The Circle.”
Eggers, speaking by telephone from California, says, “Anything the Authors Guild wants me to do, I’m there, because without them we don’t exist.” He also thinks that this project’s magnitude “where you can, as a reader, stay involved all the way through knowing there’s a common thread, was a really brilliant solution to fitting together a few dozen writers.”
“During the pandemic, we really had far more time to listen to each other. When the day-to-day is broken up and schedules exploded, you have more time, or at least it felt that way,” says Eggers, who delivered for his local food bank throughout quarantine and isolation, and in the process saw people “relying on and listening to and knowing each other more than before.”
While members of the Authors Guild rely on the organization for education, advocacy and benefits, members, like those who contributed to “Fourteen Days,” know that readers rely on them for information and entertainment. Preston, who worked with at least two different in-house editors during the book’s multi-year development, believes that readers will find all of those in the tenants’ tales.
“Some of the characters tell their stories reluctantly. Some of the stories are about scary things, some of them are confessionals, some are truly beautiful. There are stories of love, loss and memory. And, finally, there’s a big surprise at the end of the book.” Preston’s face lights up with a huge smile. “I can’t wait for people to read it.”
Patrick is a freelance critic, podcaster and author of the memoir “Life B.”
Pizza Movie (2026) Director: Nick Kocher and Brian McElhaney, Star: Gaten Matarazzo and Sean Giambrone
Somehow, I got through an hour of this movie. I was seconds away from turning off in the first fifteen minutes because of the juvenile humor. Pizza Movie is too silly, repetitive, and the characters are annoying. Stranger Things Gaten Matarazzo and Sean Giambrone star as college friends, Jack and Montgomery. College angles are rarely seen in films right now, and that’s the one saving grace of the film. Similar to high school, people are also trying to fit in. The story and visuals were too corny. You can only watch someone’s head exploding for so long without letting yours.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026) Director: Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, Stars: Chris Pratt, Charlie Day, Anya Taylor-Joy
I never saw the first Super Mario Brothers Movie when it was out, but I heard it got positive reviews. My brother always loved playing Super Mario video games as a kid, and I’d watch him. I tagged along with my friends to see Super Mario Galaxy Movie, and it’s a cute and fun film. I like it when movies explore the video game world. The animation creates unique worlds and characters. The characters are split into their own storylines, and for me, I felt like it worked. It adds more action, especially for kids who are seeing the films.
Emily in Paris Season 5 (2025) Creator: Darren Star, Stars: Lily Collins and Ashley Park
After a bright spot in season 4, I thought season 5 of Emily in Paris would continue its growth in the story and its protagonist, but no, it’s all drained out in the usual Emily (Lily Collins) mishaps. Ashley Park (Mindy) has become too good for this show. Emily and Mindy waste several opportunities because of their love lives. The whole relationship angle is ruining it. I don’t understand why Alfie (Lucien Laviscount) is still in the show. I thought writers learned their lesson, but by the last episode, they’re continuing to bring the past into an apparent season 6.
Sarah’s Oil (2025) Director: Cyrus Nowrasteh, Stars: Naya Desir-Johnson and Zachary Levi
There’s always history lurking right beneath our noses. Sarah’s Oil (2025) tells the true story of Sarah Rector, an Oklahoma-born African American girl who became the first black female millionaire in the U.S. Naya Desir-Johnson is fierce and driven as Sarah. Zachary Levi is also along for the ride as Bert, a man who helps Sarah. Kate (Bridget Regan) was another favorite character as an intelligent woman. Cyrus Nowrasteh was drawn to the subject for its story and its themes. Nowrasteh’s direction is compelling as he unearths a hidden story from history. The film is streaming on Amazon Prime.
Jack Goes Boating (2014) Director and Star: Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Amy Ryan
Jack Goes Boating (2014) didn’t quite work for me, largely because of its slow pace and uneven storytelling. The film stars the late Seymour Hoffman as Jack, who also directed the film. This was Hoffman’s first and only time in the directing chair. Amy Ryan also stars in the film, giving a solid performance. This was also based on a play that Hoffman starred in. Jack wants to participate in a swim championship. That’s hardly what the film is about, tracking other characters’ stories. While the film aims for quiet intimacy, it ultimately drags, making it an underwhelming viewing experience.
You Kill Me (2016), Director: John Dahl, Stars: Ben Kingsley, Tea Leoni, Luke Wilson
Meet You Kill Me (2016), yet another film that I found in the museum of underrated gems. The concept revolves around Frank (Ben Kingsley), a hitman, who is sent to an A.A. meeting to get his mind focused again. A different story happens, where Frank falls in love with Laurel (Tea Leoni). Leoni is one of my favorite actresses. It also stars the funny Luke Wilson. I liked the trio’s dynamics. You Kill Me is a mental health movie. It’s okay to make changes if you’re not happy. I recommended that you keep an eye out for this movie.
Entertainment
Review: Trigger warning? ‘For Want of a Horse’ gives new meaning to the term ‘animal lover’
“For Want of a Horse,” a play by Olivia Dufault receiving its world premiere in an Echo Theater Company production at Atwater Village Theatre, wants to have a rational conversation about a taboo topic that can provoke instant outrage.
The subject is zoophilia, not to be confused with bestiality, though for many of us it will be a distinction without much of a difference.
Calvin (Joey Stromberg), a good-looking, mild-mannered married accountant, has harbored a secret for much of his life. He has a thing for horses. His erotic interest began at an early age, and all his efforts to lead a normal life have left him depressed and contemplating suicide.
His wife, Bonnie (Jenny Soo), is a permissive kindergarten teacher who’s having difficulty restraining a girl in her class who has discovered the joys of masturbation. Worried about her husband, she discovers through his browsing history that he’s once again visiting strange animal sites.
She suggests he keep a horse, explaining that she doesn’t want to end up a widow or divorcée. Calvin is taken aback by her generosity but has come to recognize that his preference is more than a kink. It’s part of his identity — and maybe the only part that makes his life seem worth living.
Joey Stromberg and Jenny Soo in “For Want of a Horse” at the Echo Theater Company.
(Cooper Bates)
A horse named Q-Tip (Griffin Kelly) enters the couple’s lives. A stable is secured, and the mare, who senses that something strange is going on, is indulged with apples and caresses.
Kelly, a statuesque presence in a dress, harness and boots, brings the horse to life with wild, unpredictable movements. The sheer size of the animal poses a threat to humans. One kick, as Q-Tip herself explains in one of her thought-bubble monologues, is capable of penetrating a steel wall. But controlling an animal’s food supply is an effective way of winning over its trust.
Calvin has found support in the online zoophilia community. PJ (Steven Culp), a man whose current inamorata is a bichon frise, is considering moving to a country where zoophilia isn’t illegal. He’s tired of the shame and the secrecy. He’s proud of his attachment to pooch, even if his thing for dogs has cost him contact with his daughter and ex-wife.
Dufault doesn’t shy away from sexual details. For PJ, intimacy depends on peanut butter. Calvin describes the physical signals that reveal Q-Tip’s erotic satisfaction. The play occasionally descends into sitcom humor. (PJ says he’s considering creating a human-dog dating app called Rin Tin Tinder.) But mostly the subdued tone steers clear of sensationalism.
The production, directed by Elana Luo, is scrupulously well-acted by the four-person cast. Stromberg makes Calvin seem not only reasonable but surprisingly sensitive. Soo’s Bonnie sweetly embodies the excesses of a kind of progressive piety. As PJ, Culp gruffly embraces his role as the play’s polemical fire-starter. And Kelly’s Q-Tip, in the production’s most physically demanding performance, straddles the human-animal divide with theatrical aplomb.
Steven Culp, left, and Joey Stromberg in “For Want of a Horse” at the Echo Theater Company.
(Cooper Bates)
The open-mindedness that Dufault, a trans playwright, brings to the play creates some dramatic slack. Possibly the same fear of making value judgments that has inhibited Bonnie from imposing common-sense discipline in her classroom has robbed “For Want of a Horse” of a propulsive point of view.
The play moves monotonously between Calvin and Bonnie’s bedroom and the stable. Scenic designer Alex Mollo has worked out an efficient way of shifting between these realms by employing the same set of wooden trunks. But the argument of the play doesn’t so much build as elapse.
Time takes its toll, and Calvin eventually has to make a decision. But the character who interested me most was Bonnie, whose reality is only glimpsed. The play tacitly uses her husband’s threat of suicide as a trump card. Zoophilia isn’t merely a fetish for Calvin but a nonnegotiable part of his identity.
This questionable assumption can be psychologically scrutinized not only from Calvin’s point of view but also from his wife’s. The play wants to have an intelligent debate, but it doesn’t want to interrogate certain political positions too skeptically.
At one point, Bonnie objects when Calvin compares his situation to that of homosexuality, but the conversation ends there. The reality is that the right wing has been making a similar claim, arguing that same-sex marriage opens the door to bestiality, polygamy and incest. “For Want of a Horse” inadvertently lends legitimacy to this line of reasoning.
Griffin Kelly in “For Want of a Horse” at the Echo Theater Company.
(Cooper Bates)
Not that extremist positions should be off limits, but they ought to be more rigorously addressed. Similarly, Bonnie’s concern about the issue of consent — how can a horse say yes to intercourse with a human — is introduced only to be dismissed in a shrug of mild-mannered bothsidesism.
While watching “For Want of a Horse,” I recalled a program on PBS called “My Wild Affair” that wasn’t about zoophilia but about the problematic nature of human bonds with untamed animals. Relationships with a seal, an elephant and a rhino, for example — obsessive, protective, loving friendships — all seemed to end if not in outright tragedy, then in shattering heartbreak.
Q-Tip is rightfully given the play’s last word, and Kelly, an actor (HBO’s “The Book of Queer”), writer and comedian, is the production’s driving force. We can never know what’s inside this mare’s mind because Q-Tip’s brain has evolved so differently from our own. Kelly plays the anthropomorphic game while retaining some of the inscrutability of a four-legged creature.
It is through language that we, as humans, traverse the chasm separating us from one another. That’s not possible with animals, even with our closest domestic companions. (Try explaining a necessary medical procedure to a cat.)
“For Want of a Horse” sets out to speak about the unspeakable, but its construction may be too tame for such a wild subject.
‘For Want of a Horse’
Where: Echo Theater Company, Atwater Village Theatre, 3269 Casitas Ave., L.A.
When: 8 p.m. Fridays, Saturdays, Mondays; 4 p.m. Sundays. Ends May 25
Tickets: $15-$42.75
Running time: 1 hour, 30 minutes (no intermission)
Info: echotheatercompany.com
Desert Warrior, 2026.
Directed by Rupert Wyatt.
Starring Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley, Ghassan Massoud, Sharlto Copley, Sami Bouajila, Lamis Ammar, Géza Röhrig, Numan Acar, Nabil Elouahabi, Hakeem Jomah, Ramsey Faragallah, Saïd Boumazoughe, and Soheil Bostani.
SYNOPSIS:
An honorable and mysterious rogue, known as Hanzala, makes himself an enemy of the Emperor Kisra after he helps a fugitive king and princess in the desert.
With aspirations of being a historical epic harkening back to the sword and sandal blockbusters of yesteryear, Rupert Wyatt’s seventeenth-century Arabia tale is about as generic and epically dull as one would expect from a film plainly titled Desert Warrior. Yes, there appear to be real locations here, and there are some admittedly sweeping shots of various tribes storming into battle on horseback and camels, but it’s all in service of a mess that is both miscast and questionable as the work of a filmmaking team of mostly white creatives.
The story of Emperor Kisraa (Ben Kingsley, a distracting presence even with only one or two scenes) rounding up women from other tribes to be his concubines, which inevitably became the catalyst for a revolution led by Princess Hind (Aiysha Hart), uniting all the divided clans and strategizing battle plans for flanking and poisoning, is undeniably ripe for cinematic treatment. The problem is that what’s here from Rupert Wyatt (and screenwriters Erica Beeney, Gary Ross, and David Self) is less than nothing in the primary creative process; no one seems to have a connection to Arabic heritage or culture, but they have made a flat-out boring film that is often narratively incoherent.
Following the death of her father and escaping the clutches of oppression, the honorable Princess Hind joins forces with a troubled, nameless bandit played by Anthony Mackie (he totally belongs here…), who seems to be here solely to give the movie some star power boost without running the risk of white savior accusations. Whatever the case may be, it’s jarring, but not quite as disorienting as how little screen time he has despite being billed as the lead and how little characterization he has. It is, however, equally disorienting as some of the other names that show up along the way.
As for the other factions, Princess Hind talks to them one by one, giving the film an adventure feel that fails to capitalize on using beautiful scenery in striking or visually poignant ways at almost every turn; the leaders of these tribes also often have no character. There also isn’t much of an understanding of why these tribes are at odds with one another. This movie is filled with dialogue that consistently and shockingly amounts to vague nothingness. Nevertheless, each tribe doesn’t take much convincing to begin with, meaning that not only is the film repetitive, but it’s also lifeless when characters are in conversation.
That Desert Warrior does occasionally spring to life, and a bloated 2+ running time is a small miracle. This is typically accomplished through the occasional fight scene between factions that also serves to demonstrate Princess Hind coming into her own as a warrior. When the tribes are united in a massive-scale battle, and that plan is unfolding step by step, one certainly sees why someone would want to tell this story and pull it off with such spectacle. However, this film is as dry as the desert itself.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Robert Kojder
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