Norman Mailer's "American Dream": Superman Returns
An interview by Nancy Weber, comment on the forthcoming An American Dream (65.7), with preliminary remarks from Mann Rubin, who wrote the screenplay for the film version. Mailer speculates on whether Frank Sinatra could play Rojack and on writing sequels in the manner of Durrell's Alexandria Quartet.
An interview by Nancy Weber published just before the novel appeared — comment on the forthcoming An American Dream (65.7), including preliminary remarks from Mann Rubin, who wrote the screenplay for the movie version. Mailer speculates on whether Frank Sinatra could play Stephen Rojack; discusses the possibility of writing sequels in the manner of Lawrence Durrell’s Alexandria Quartet; compares the Esquire and book versions; comments on J.F.K. and the roots of the novel in “Superman Comes to the Supermarket” (60.9); and makes passing reference to Saul Bellow, Michael McClure, Claude Brown, LeRoi Jones, Edward Albee, Nelson Algren, William Styron, and James Jones. Nancy Weber later corresponded with Mailer (see Lennon’s Letters, 24 September 1966).
The interview includes two excerpts from the novel — the first of its text to be published — and a short poem Mailer recites on Rojack:
He’s a pretty good man / with fairly good guts / reasonably decent / not at all unintelligent / and sensitive / and kind of nice / and very aware / who finally discovers with it all / that it’s just not enough / there must be bravery or will or / genius.
Related pages
- 1965 | An American Dream
- On the Scholarly Trail of the New Revisionists (83.6)
- Superman Comes to the Supermarket (60.9)