Monsters/Frankenstein With P. Diddy On The Side

What do Mary Shelley’s "Frankenstein," P. Diddy, and the Universal Lot in Universal City all have in common? It's me, your host, Sandy Adomaitis! 

Join me as we dive into the captivating story behind Mary Shelley’s "Frankenstein." 

With writers, there’s always an intriguing drama lurking behind the scenes!

The PAGE International Screenwriting Awards sponsors the WRITERS' HANGOUT.
Executive Producer Kristin Overn
Executive Producer Sandy Adomaitis
Producer Terry Sampson
Music by Ethan Stoller

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Transcript

0:16

Hello, my name is Sandy, the social media director for the page, international Screenwriting Awards, and your host for the Writer's Hangout. A podcast that celebrates the many stages of writing, from inspiration to the first draft, revising, getting a project made and everything in between. We'll talk to the best and the brightest in the entertainment industry and create a space where you can hang out, learn from the pros, and have fun. Hey writers, it's Sandy. I'm so glad you're here. It's late on a Saturday night here at the Writer's Hangout in Studio City and I could use the company. Studio City is a charming little neighborhood nestled over the hill and just off Ventura Boulevard where you'll find trendy restaurants and mobile gas stations as far as the eye can see. Nearby, is Will Acre Park, which has fantastic hiking trails. My friend, Judy True Crime, once was hiking early one morning in Will Acre Park and walked by Paul McCartney. Sir Paul McCartney was standing still and taking in the canyon's pyramid valley views. I asked Judy, What do you think he was thinking about? Judy said, I could buy all of this if I wanted to. Another thing about Will Acre is that when you come off the trail you hit an exclusive residential neighborhood and walk past George Clooney's house. you can't see the house, but you could see the tennis court up a small ridge. At the bottom of that ridge was a fence. Judy and I discovered that, tennis balls that had rolled down from George Clooney's tennis court. We scooped up a bunch, laughing that we had George Clooney's balls. I gave one ball away to my friend, Lisa, and another to my niece, Katie. Fans of George. I hope Katie keeps George Clooney's balls in the family. Now, Studio City got its name in 1927, when Mack Sennett built a studio on 20 acres. which was donated by a land developer. I'm sure there is a story behind that. The area around the studio was named Studio City. That studio is now known as Radford Studios and before that MTM, the Mary Tyler Moore Studios and that's as far back as my memory goes. when I talk about Studio City on the pod, I tend to say that Studio City is over the hill from Hollywood and L. A. And I have been asked what I mean by that, by Over the Hill, so let's do some geography. Studio City is in the San Fernando Valley. And Over the Hill is the L. A. basin, downtown, and the west side. The hill is the Hollywood Hills and the Santa Monica Mountains. When I first moved to LA, the valley was deemed too far to go no matter how fantastic the party was. I'm not sure if you can hear that, but that's my cat Sophie Jo. Yes, the valley was just uncool. think circus clown liquor from Clueless. I looked into Studio City's origin story. It can be dark. Let me know if you'd like to hear more. Okay, writers, how was your week? On Friday afternoon, I attended the Bridgerton Tea at Ye Olde King's Head Restaurant in Santa Monica with my pal, the TV surf dude. I left Santa Monica around 4. 30 PM and it took me about an hour and 40 minutes to drive the 20 miles of road. Back to Studio City. When I passed Universal Studios, I started to think about my first day at work at Uptown Entertainment, which was located on the Universal lot. That day, my first day, I was early and I didn't have a key yet. So I stood in front of the Uptown bungalow, originally the Edith Head bungalow next to the Universal Park attraction. So there's the studio and it is attached to the park, the Frankenstein monster character spotted me, waved, then Frankenstein his way over, and gave me a really big side hug and said, I must have looked nervous. because it was my first day and I'm sure it was all over my face and I like to think that was Frankenstein's way of telling me everything was going to be okay. By the way, Uptown's founder was Andre Harrell. Some of you might recognize that name, others might not, He was very prominent in the hip hop music industry and mentor to Diddy. Yup, Uptown Entertainment was the TV and Film Division, so I'm considering doing a Diddy episode, but we'll see. Let me know if you are interested. Back to Frankenstein. Frankenstein made me think of Mary Shelley, his creator, and how did Mary devise the idea of Frankenstein, which would stand the test of over 200 years? I had to know, so I checked into it, writers. and you'll never guess what the instrumental part in the creation of Frankenstein was. Do you need some time? Do you need a clue? a volcanic eruption. You see, during the summer of 1816, Mary and her fiancé, Percy, were hanging out in the Swiss Alps with Lord Byron when an Indonesian island volcano erupted causing the weather in Europe To be cold and rainy. So with the Alps all gray, what do you do? Mary, Percy, Lord Byron, and others spent most of their time inside telling each other ghost stories. Adorable. After a while, Lord Byron got bored and decided to up the ante by challenging everyone to write their own scary story. Mary, 18 at the time, took the assignment to heart and began to ponder, What if a corpse could be reanimated? Okay writers, Look at the clock. We can officially call it, that was the first Brat Summer. Two years later, Mary Shelley published Frankenstein anonymously because she was afraid the subject matter would cause outrage if written by a woman, that she would lose her children. It was the 1800s and it would have been frowned upon for a woman to write a novel about murder and horror. word spread that the author of Frankenstein was a woman, and the critics didn't like it. Here is one review I found of Frankenstein on the Literary Hub. I will put a link in the show notes. the writer of it is, we understand, a female that is an aggravation of that which is the prevailing fault of the novel. But if our authoress can forgive us. Get the gentleness of her sex. It is no reason why we should, and we shall therefore dismiss the novel without further comment. So now, you know how Mary Shelley came up with the idea for Frankenstein. Good story, but there's always more. Remember, with writers, there's always drama. Let's start with who is Mary Shelley? Mary Wall Stone Craft Shelley born 1797 in London, England was best known as the author of Frankenstein. considered an early example of science fiction. Part gothic and part. philosophical. It narrates the consequences after a scientist has artificially created a human being, And this monster that Mary Shelley created in her novel inspired a similar creature in numerous horror films, toys, TV shows. It is endless. In 1812, Mary is 16 and she meets the 21 year old poet Percy Shelley in her living room because Percy is a friend of her father's, and again, it was 1812. Soon they begin to meet in a churchyard where Mary's mother's grave was located. They fell in love and hoped to marry. So sweet and salt burn adjacent. Who is Percy Bysshe Shelley? born into affluence in 1792, he is recognized as a major English Romantic poet. A radical in both his poetry and his political and social beliefs, he did not gain fame while alive. Tragically, he drowned at the age of 29 when a storm sank his boat off the coast of Italy in 1822. Why was their love a secret? I don't think the five year age difference between them would cause any concern in 1812. So what could it be? Oh, I buried the lead. Percy Shelley was married to Harriet Westerbrook five years prior when he was 19 and And Harriet was still in school. Harriet was a friend of Percy Shelley's younger sister. They probably met in the living room. Now, Mary and Percy stood tall and faced the consequences. the consequences of their love. I'm kidding. They ran away to Europe. Poor Harriet. Still not getting it, Percy wrote to Harriet and asked for her support in his new love He invited Harriet to join them in lovely Switzerland. deeply upset early in the morning of December 10th, 1816. Harriet walked to the Serpentine River where she tragically drowned. She was 21 years old. So both Percy and his first wife drowned. Interesting. Mary died at the age of 52 of a brain tumor. If Mary Shelley were alive today, I'd like to think of her living high off the earnings from her Frankenstein brand. Maybe do a cameo in a Peacock original movie. Who knows? Okay, writers, I'm off to hike the LA canyons by the moonlight with my cat, Sophie Jo. We're going to hunt for more celebrity tennis balls, One more thing. Lore has it. If you're in the canyons and it's a full moon. You can hear a soft laugh when the coyotes howl. If you listen closely. Some people say it's Sharon Tate. I've never heard it, but if it is Sharon, I'm glad she's happy. And that's a wrap for the Writer's Hangout. Thanks so much for listening. If you enjoyed the show, please take a moment to leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. Your positive feedback will help us keep the show going so we can continue bringing you more future episodes. Remember, keep writing. The world needs your stories. The Writers Hangout is sponsored by the Page International Screenwriting Awards, with executive producer Kristen Overn, producer Sandy Adamides, and myself, Terry Sampson. And our music is composed by Ethan Stoller.