Interviews
On Monday, December 15th, barnesandnoble.com welcomed Dominick Dune to discuss ANOTHER CITY, NOT MY OWN.
Moderator: Welcome, Mr. Dunne. We're glad to have you here tonight.
Dominick Dunne: I'm delighted to be here.
Tom from Elizabeth, NJ: From all I've been reading about ANOTHER CITY, your life sounds like it's been pretty interesting.... Any chance that you may someday write a memoir about your own life, going beyond THE TRIAL OF THE CENTURY?
Dominick Dunne: Yes indeed, it is very much on my mind. In fact, today at lunch someone made the same suggestion to me.
Dolores Baxter from Clayton, MO: Hello, Mr. Dunne. I saw you in your son's movie "Addicted to Love" -- great cameo and good casting job. What is Griffin working on right now? Do you have plans to appear in any more movies in the future?
Dominick Dunne: Griffin is currently at Warner Brothers, where he is preparing a new film called "Practical Magic," which will star Sandra Bullock; they will begin shooting in January. I will make a cameo in the new Joe Esterhaus movie, and I hope to do more acting.
Sherri Brown from Hartford: Why did you choose to write this book -- about a real event -- as a novel? Why nonfiction over fiction?
Dominick Dunne: I wanted my book to be different from the other 60-plus books already written on the O. J. case. My book is about me, Dominick Dunne, in the guise of Gus Bailey. The book is really a history of L.A. during the year of the O. J. case. I chose to write it in the style with which I've written it, and with which I'm very pleased.
Peter from New York: I read that you're getting a lot of heat from people who didn't like the way in which they were portrayed in the book -- like Faye Resnick. Is this true, and does this surprise you? How do you deal with people becoming upset by your books?
Dominick Dunne: This is not the first time people have been upset by one of my books. What I find is that any irritation they have, they usually get over.
Manny from San Francisco: Having been closely involved in the trial, can you explain what it was about the event that attracted the attention and ignited the passions of so many people?
Dominick Dunne: From the very beginning the story had a sordid glamour to it, which made it intoxicating for the public, and for me.
Melina from Washington, DC: The passages about your meeting with Princess Diana were particularly jarring in light of her tragic death. Did you think about how poignant that would "read" when the accident happened this summer?
Dominick Dunne: I did, yes. And I thought it was very important to keep that scene in as it happened within a year before she died. I thought she was wonderful.
Anne Selbert from South Beach: Mr. Dunne, I've always been a fan of your writing, but I'm curious to know why you presented such a biased perspective to your audience. It's clear you think O. J. is guilty, but is it fair to express such a devastating opinion when he's not been proven guilty in court?
Dominick Dunne: The last time I heard we still had free speech in America. This is what I believe and this is what I wrote. I make no apology.
Caleef from California: Some people have said that the O. J. trial was decided when the jury was selected. Do you agree?
Dominick Dunne: Certainly the selection of the jury was a major component in the acquittal. When Larry King asked me after the trial who on the defense team I thought was most responsible, I replied that I thought it was the jury consultant.
Pamela from Bryn Mawr, PA: I find it inspiring that you didn't "succeed" at your intended career (film), but later came to writing and have excelled. Do you have any words of wisdom for young people aspiring to creative fields?
Dominick Dunne: Never be afraid to make a change if the area you are concentrating on is not the one where your true talent lies. The most important thing is to get to know your own talent and to understand it.
C. Poole from Athens, Georgia: Most of your novels are based on real people and events; do you feel that life is truly stranger that fiction?
Dominick Dunne: Nothing that I could make up in my mind would rival what I see on a day-to-day basis in real life. That is why all my novels are based on real events and real people.
Rachel from Sisna.com: Hello, Mr. Dunne! Is your drive to expose the mishaps of our country's justice system the residual effect of your daughter's murder? How is it that these murderers can go free?
Dominick Dunne: I had never attended a trial until I attended the trial of the man who killed my daughter. It was an eye-opening experience for me to see that the rights of the man on trial exceeded the rights of his victim. That event has had much influence on my writing about the events in America among the rich and powerful.
Donby from Ohio: I know that you were at the O. J. trial every day. But since every journalist wanted to be there and the space was small, how did you get to be one of the lucky few?
Dominick Dunne: My seat was assigned to me by Judge Lance Ito. He felt that by placing me next to the Goldman family -- that because of the similar situation in my own life, I would not interfere with their own grief.
Paul from Morris Plains, NJ: Were you at all surprised by the failures or successes of the books that came out of the O. J. trial? I mean, Chris Darden's book was the top selling, with such a relatively small advance, while Marcia Clark's book did nowhere near as well as anticipated.
Dominick Dunne: With so many books coming out, there were bound to be hits and misses, and there were far more misses than hits. To me, the best two trial books were THE RUN OF HIS LIFE by Jeffrey Toobin and AMERICAN TRAGEDY by Larry Schiller, but I also enjoyed Detective Mark Fuhrman's book and Chris Darden's book.
Ellen from Anywhere: Did you make the book fictional to protect yourself from some of the revelations in the book?
Dominick Dunne: No. I made myself fictional because Gus Bailey ceases to exist at the end of the book, and Dominick Dunne is still here.
Elaine from Austin, TX: I read recently that Faye is pretty mad about her depiction in the book. Have you heard from her?
Dominick Dunne: I have always been a great supporter of Faye Resnick; I admired her the first time I met her. There was one paragraph in the book which she didn't like, and I have removed it.
Lesley from Portland: ANOTHER CITY, NOT MY OWN includes a lot of reflection of the life of "Gus," then he's killed at the end. Is this an indication that this might be your last novel?
Dominick Dunne: No, it is not my last novel. The death of Gus signifies only that I'm not going to cover any more murder trials. I became too emotionally involved, and I don't want to go through that experience again.
Claude Piers from Ann Arbor: Do you think it's possible that O. J. will reestablish his career as a sports announcer? What do you see in his future?
Dominick Dunne: I think it is highly unlikely that he will reestablish his career in this country. It is hard for me to visualize what his future will be. When he appeared as a guest on a television show in New York, a third of the audience walked out.
Tom from Cleveland: Would you ever want to cover a trial, major or minor, again?
Dominick Dunne: Yes, I will cover a trial, major or minor, but not a murder trial. If the Paula Jones trial is not settled beforehand, I plan to cover that trial.
Karla Jean from Chicago: Why is L.A. not your "own city"?
Dominick Dunne: Because I don't live there. I live in New York and Connecticut. I lived there for 24 years but left in 1979 and reestablished my New York residence.
Karen from Cucamonga: Some people have called it the trial of the century. But what about the Lindbergh kidnapping trial?
Dominick Dunne: I was a little boy during the Lindbergh trial, but I remember the frenzy that it caused. There's no explanation why the O. J. trial was the "trial of the century" except that it was probably the most discussed of any American trial, and it went on the longest.
Michael from Port Clinton: I found your commentary to be interesting and valuable in capturing what was going on at the trial. If you had one question to ask O. J. Simpson to which you knew he would respond truthfully, what would it be?
Dominick Dunne: I don't think O. J. Simpson is capable of responding truthfully. I am often asked this question. During the civil trial, I watched him lie hour after hour -- he is not capable of telling the truth.
John from Houston: Thanks for your book. I finished reading it on Saturday and it was fascinating. The one question I will ask is: Did you actually meet Andrew Cunanan several times? The one question I will not ask (unlike most of those in the book) is: Were Marcia Clark and Chris Darden having an affair?
Dominick Dunne: I never met Andrew Cunanan. I had always had a problem about who would do away with Gus Bailey. During the writing of the book, Andrew Cunanan began his cross-country killing spree. At that time I thought back to some of the events I had attended during the trial, and I placed him in the background of a few of those events -- he was not at any of them, but he might have been, as that was the world he aspired to.
Jon Battle from Plano, TX: You talk about many things the defense had "over" the court, like Ito's wife and Fuhrman. Was this knowledge held by the prosecution? Why didn't they ever use any of this?
Dominick Dunne: I really don't know. I never understood why the prosecution didn't use the freeway chase. There's a lot about the prosecution I never understood.
Lee Ann Kelley from Columbia, MO: I will never forget the dumbfounded expression on your face as the verdict was read. Were you really surprised, or just expressing your disapproval of the verdict?
Dominick Dunne: I was really surprised.
John L. from NYC: What do you know about O.J.'s note that was read while he was on the lam -- was it mentioned at the trial?
Dominick Dunne: Simpson's so-called suicide note was never introduced into the trial. I know no more about it than you do.
Parker from Houston: Since you have such insight into the "trial of the century," I wonder if you have insight into the "mystery of the '90s" -- what is going on with JonBenet Ramsey's murder investigation? Do you believe the Ramseys are as guilty as they smell?
Dominick Dunne: I have not really studied the JonBenet Ramsey case. I think it's possible that Mr. and Mrs. Ramsey could be protecting their young son; it's the only explanation I can think of that would keep them together. Please note, this is only a theory -- I have no proof of this.
Kathleen from Los Angeles: Have you had any contact with Greta Van Sustern since the day the not-guilty verdict was read?
Dominick Dunne: Indeed I have. Greta and I made up our differences during the civil trial, and we have subsequently become friends. I have had several complimentary phone calls from her about my book.
Kathleen from Los Angeles: Did you ever go online to discuss the O. J. trial?
Dominick Dunne: I don't think I went online during the trial, but I have discussed it several times online since the trial.
Matt from Seattle: What is your favorite of the books you've written?
Dominick Dunne: My favorite is always the book I have most recently finished.
Howard from Long Island City: What is next for you?
Dominick Dunne: First I am going back to Vanity Fair to write some articles. I am in the process of doing a coffee-table book based on my scrapbook from the '50s, and I'm also in the planning stages of a novel in the Somerset Maugham fashion.
Kate Leahy from NYC: Do you think the O. J. trial will have a long-term impact on race relations in the U.S.? I am despairing at this point. Should I be?
Dominick Dunne: Yes, I do. I think at some future time, it will looked on as a main focal point in the breakdown of race relations in our country.
Debra from Los Angeles: Who is your favorite author?
Dominick Dunne: My favorite author is Trollope, the 19th-century English writer.
Moderator: Thanks for indulging our curiosity about the "trial of the century." Goodnight and happy holidays.
Dominick Dunne: Thank you very much -- I've enjoyed the questions. Happy holiday to all of you!