A Wisconsin
native, Byrge holds a Ph.D. in Communications, with an emphasis in Cinema, from
the University of Southern
California,
where he has served as a lecturer. His Ph.D. dissertation was the basis for the
book, “The Screwball Comedy Films,” which he co-authored. The book was
re-released in hardcover in 1991 by McFarland Publishing and re-released in
paperback in 2001 as part of the publication’s Classic Series.
Currently an assistant
professor of Mass Communications at Virginia
State University, Byrge teaches journalism, motion picture history and
appreciation, and mass communications. He is working on a book on movie
producers, “Before the Shooting Begins,” which will be published by the University of California, Berkeley Press.
Website: www.duanebyrge.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/byrge_duane
Veteran film critic Duane Byrge takes
readers on a behind-the-scenes thrill ride at the legendary Cannes Film
Festival in his new mystery, THE RED
CARPET AT CANNES.
A longtime movie writer and editor for
the Hollywood Reporter, Byrge turns to the thriller genre to tell the tale of
Ryan Hackbart, who, like Byrge, covers the Cannes Film Festival for the
fictional
Hollywood Times.
Hackbart finds himself in the middle of
a Hitchcock-style mystery as he becomes the prime suspect in the murder of the
lead actress of the festival's opening-night film. Interrogated but released,
his passport is confiscated, and he is hounded by the world media. He must
solve the murder before the culprit kills him or the police arrest him.
Aided by his female companion, Delisha, Ryan's investigation thrusts Hackbart
into the underbelly of the most glamorous film festival in the world and opens
his eyes to what lies underneath the glitz and glamour.
After a long, successful career
as a film journalist, Byrge decided to change to the novel format to tell his
story.
“You can reveal truths within a
novel that you can’t convey with the ‘facts’ of a news story,” Byrge explains.
“It allows me to flesh out the full story of the events I have covered.”
THE RED
CARPET AT CANNES will please mystery fans and film buffs alike. It's a
five-star travelogue straight into a celebrity universe of dazzling parties, high-end
cuisine, superstar celebrities, high fashion, and movie-world politics.
.
ORDER YOUR COPY:
Amazon
Can you tell us what your new
book is about?
The Cannes Film Festival
is one of the most glamorous events in the world. People get a tantalizing
glimpse of it via mainstream press coverage but they have no idea what goes on
behind the scenes. I've covered the
Cannes Film Festival 17 times for The
Hollywood Reporter and can reveal what they don't see on the
superficial platform of traditional media. Intelligent readers want to
know what really goes on.
Can you tell us a little about your main and supporting characters?
The protagonist
is a film critic for the leading Hollywood movie publication whose reviews
set the tone for the films that play at Cannes. The
supporting characters are the colorful, larger-than-life characters who are the
main players at Cannes: stars,
producers, opportunists, grafters,
poseurs, supermodels, wannabees, con-men, Russian billionaires, et al.
Your book is set in Cannes. Can you tell us why you chose this location in particular?
Cannes is the glorious Riviera setting for the world's most storied film festival. It's Cote d'Azur beauty, perhaps, is highlighted by the most sophisticated, romantic stretch of beach in the world. Cannes has lured jet-setters, movie stars, and royalty to its magical shores for decades. It's the kind of place that makes you pinch yourself and ask, “Am I really outside the fabled Palais where the likes of Cary Grant, Grace Kelly,Orson Welles, George Clooney, Francis Ford Coppola, Rita Hayworth, and many many other movie luminaries ascended the fabled red carpet?”
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