Evan Wright

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Evan Wright
Born1965 or 1966 (age 58–59)
Generation Kill
AwardsTwo National Magazine Awards

Evan Alan Wright (born 1965 or 1966 (age 58–59)) is an American writer, known for his extensive reporting on subcultures for

CIA officer who allegedly worked as a Mafia hitman, How to Get Away With Murder in America (2012).[3]

Although some compare his writings to those of

gallows humor".[4]

Biography

Wright was born in

juvenile delinquents called the Seed.[1] He returned to Hawken and made state debate finals in high school. Wright studied at Johns Hopkins University and at Vassar College; he graduated from Vassar with a degree in medieval history.[6] His first writing job was to interview South African political leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi, but it was for a small magazine that did not pay.[5]

Hustler magazine

In 1995, he became the entertainment editor and chief pornographic film reviewer for Hustler magazine. In 2000, he wrote about the experience and the issues surrounding the pornography industry in an article for Salon, titled "Maxed Out",[7] and for the LA Weekly, in a cover story titled "Scenes from My Life in Porn".[8]

Immersion journalism

Starting in 1996 at Hustler, then at Rolling Stone, Time, and Vanity Fair, he wrote long features based on his immersion in subcultures ranging from

Wild West".[9] Several of his essays were collected in the book Hella Nation, which Wright called a "sort of autobiography".[1] His essays in Hella Nation were compared to Joan Didion's writings on California.[10] Another reviewer called Hella Nation a "comically macabre portrait of American life".[11]

Military reporting

In 2002, Wright went to Afghanistan on assignment for Rolling Stone.[6]

In 2003, he was embedded with the

National Magazine Award for Reporting, the top prize in magazine writing. He then wrote Generation Kill.[13]

In 2007, he returned to Iraq when the surge in U.S. forces was beginning. Wright interviewed General

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, for calling the surge a failure before it had been fully implemented.[14]

Television and film

miniseries first aired in 2008; Wright is portrayed by Lee Tergesen. Wright himself served as a writer and consulting producer on the project, collaborating closely with Emmy-winning producer David Simon.[15]

Wright was hired by Paramount to write a script about Miami's "Cocaine Cowboys" Jon Roberts and Mickey Munday for Peter Berg to direct. The screenplay was based on a book Wright wrote about Roberts, published by Crown Books.[16] Actor Mark Wahlberg was producing the film with plans to star in it, but the film did not make it out of preproduction. [17] [18]

In 2010, it was announced that director Ole Bornedal was filming a movie[19] inspired by an article Wright wrote for Time magazine called "Death of a Hostess".[20] Wright's article was a profile of Japanese serial-rapist and killer Joji Obara he wrote in Tokyo for Time magazine.[21]

In 2012, he released the book American Desperado,[3][22] co-written with Jon Roberts, who was featured in the documentary Cocaine Cowboys.[23]

Controversies

At least six of the Marines Wright wrote about in Generation Kill have claimed they were punished for the remarks he published. Spokesman Lieutenant Nathan Braden denied that any Marines were punished as a result of Wright's work.[6]

In 2004, Wright wrote an op-ed in The New York Times criticizing the U.S. military for allowing Iraq's insurgents to obtain weapons.[24]

Wright has criticized college creative writing programs, saying such programs produce bad writers.[1]

Published works

  • The Best American Crime Writing: 2003 Edition: The Year's Best True Crime Reporting ("Mad Dogs & Lawyers")
  • The Best American Magazine Writing: 2004 (Best Reporting)
  • Generation Kill (2004)
  • Hella Nation (2009)
  • American Desperado (with Jon Roberts) (2011)
  • The Best American Magazine Writing: 2008 (Best Profile Writing)
  • How to Get Away with Murder in America (2012)

Awards

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Timberg, Scott (April 5, 2009). "Evan Wright: Going where the wild things are". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on November 4, 2012. Retrieved November 19, 2010.
  2. ^ Wright, Evan Alan (May 7, 2001). "Lucie Blackman: Death of a Hostess". Time. Archived from the original on March 25, 2010. Retrieved May 4, 2012.
  3. ^ a b Robert Beckhusen (June 27, 2012). "Top CIA Spy Accused of Being a Mafia Hitman". Wired. Retrieved December 18, 2012.
  4. ^ a b Waxman, Sharon (June 10, 2004). "Sparring No One". The New York Times.
  5. ^ a b Heaton, Michael (December 11, 2011). "Author Evan Wright Talks About Rogues and Heroes". The Plain Dealer.
  6. ^ a b c Dechter, Gadi (July 14, 2004). "Rogue Warriors: Rolling Stone Journalist Evan Wright Brings Back a Brutally Candid View of the War—and the Soldiers—in Iraq". Baltimore City Paper. Retrieved November 17, 2011.
  7. ^ Wright, Evan (January 18, 2000). "Maxed out". Salon.com. Archived from the original on November 25, 2010. Retrieved November 19, 2010.
  8. ^ Wright, Evan (March 29, 2000). "Scenes from My Life in Porn". LA Weekly. Retrieved November 19, 2010.
  9. ^ Reggie, Aqui (April 2009). "Dark, Untamed America". CNN.
  10. ^ Carson, Tom (April 2009). "Hustle and Flow". Los Angeles. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
  11. ^ Astor, Michael (April 2009), Review: Hella Nation, archived from the original on January 27, 2013, retrieved June 23, 2012 {{citation}}: Unknown parameter |agency= ignored (help)
  12. ^ Ludden, Jennifer. "Evan Wright: Reporting on 'The Killer Elite'". National Public Radio. Retrieved November 19, 2010.
  13. ^ Brand, Madeleine. "'Generation Kill': Elite Marines Battle in Iraq". National Public Radio. Retrieved November 19, 2010.
  14. ^ "Evan Wright on Misconceptions and Missing the Mark | Evan Wright | Big Think". Archived from the original on February 4, 2010. Retrieved November 21, 2010.
  15. ^ Smith, Lynn (July 15, 2008). "Ensuring a series is combat ready". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 19, 2010.
  16. ^ "Wright takes on "Cowboys" starring Wahlberg". Reuters. July 24, 2008.
  17. ^ "OSCAR Q&A: Mark Wahlberg On 'The Fighter'". Deadline. Retrieved November 19, 2010.
  18. ^ https://deadline.com/2013/06/mark-wahlberg-and-peter-berg-sign-on-to-paramounts-american-desperado-adapted-by-william-monahan-531198/
  19. ^ "News: Ole Bornedal to helm thriller 'Death of a Hostess'". Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Retrieved November 21, 2010.
  20. ^ "Death of a Hostess". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2011. Archived from the original on September 27, 2011.
  21. ^ Wright, Evan Alan (May 14, 2001). "Lucie Blackman: Death of a Hostess". Time. Archived from the original on March 25, 2010.
  22. ^ American Desperado, Crown, November 2011
  23. ^ "Evan Wright - About Evan Wright". Penguin Group (USA). Image credit:Zari. April 7, 2014. Archived from the original on April 8, 2014. Retrieved April 7, 2014. The Seed, a reported memoir of brainwashing to be published in the Summer of 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  24. ^ Wright, Evan (June 17, 2004). "How Much Is That Uzi In the Window?". The New York Times. Retrieved November 19, 2010.
  25. ^ "J. Anthony Lukas Prize Project winners". Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard. Retrieved March 16, 2011.
  26. ^ Wright, Evan (April 6, 2009), "Life With the Anarchists", The Daily Beast, retrieved November 19, 2010

External links

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