Fear and Trembling on Fresh Air with Terry Gross

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The first step in being on the Fresh Air with Terry Gross radio show was a pre-interview.

A producer at Philadelphia’s WHYY—where Fresh Air is based—called you on the phone and asked you questions. She wanted to see how articulate you were, and what you might sound like on the radio.

I was being considered as a guest because of the new Gus Van Sant film Paranoid Park (2007), which was based on my young adult novel of the same name.

Paranoid Park told the story of a teenage skateboarder who accidentally kills a security guard. And then decides not to tell anyone.

Because Gus used real teenagers as actors, the film producers had no “name” movie stars to put on the posters and other promotional materials. So they put my name on a lot of the stuff. As if I were a famous person, you should have heard of.

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That was fine with me. I could use all the publicity I could get. And it created some interesting opportunities. Like at the Cannes Film Festival, I ended up on a panel talking to a tent full of aspiring screenwriters about writing for movies. I didn’t actually know anything about writing for movies. But I went. And I talked.

And if Terry Gross would have me on Fresh Air, I would do that too. I said yes, to everything I was offered during the Paranoid Park promotional period. Not just for the career advancement. But because it was fun. And because it seemed unlikely I’d ever have such opportunities again.

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