Introduction
by dr george pollard
A hundred years ago, Albert Einstein didn’t know physicists believed E could not equal mc-squared. He wrote about the effects of E equaling mc-squared and changed the world. Einstein didn’t know he was supposedly wrong.
Neal Gumpel, the screenwriter, is similar. He’s a usual person around whom unusual events occur. “Many of the fictional screenplays he writes,” says Brian Linse, of Linsefilms, “happened to him. No one believes his life is the fiction he writes.”
During high school, Neal worked as a house painter. He developed a knack for high-end kitchen finishing work. As he painted, in Rye and Greenwich, he talked with his clients.
The talk was mostly about preparing food. Customers asked Neal to cater, and he did. Two years later, he went from house painter to caterer, with no training in either.
When Neal met his first wife, she was a bible student. He took up bible study to be with her. After they married, Neal became a minister, licenced by the State of New York.
When his marriage ended, Neal worked at Dean and Deluca, a trendy, high-end café, in New York City. Two years later, he opened a bistro in Kona, on Hawaii, called “A Piece of the Apple.” Two years later, Neal and second wife, Helen Shelby, the super model, returned to New York City, where he worked at the high-end Citarella Fish Market.
Two years later, Neal and Helen wanted to sublet their New York City apartment. Jim Sheridan, the film writer and producer, came to view, with his daughter. As daughter, Helen and Neal toured the building, Sheridan noticed, on the coffee table, a story Neal wrote. He read it, while waiting.
Ten days later, Gumpel was the sensation of the Toronto Film Festival. Sheridan was saying, “Neal is my new writing partner.” Sheridan said his next project, which Gumpel wrote, was “Lucky Men.” Then Sheridan took Neal to Hollywood.
Mel Gibson, the actor, owns Con Artists. “When Neal first came to Hollywood,” says Brian Linse, “Sheridan took him to Con Artist for a meet and greet. Last person Neal meets is Gibson. They talk for a long while; Neal always has a steady stream of enticing ideas. When leaving, Neal shakes hands, with Gibson, and says, ‘Thank you, Mr. Costner.’”
This is Neal Gumpel. He writes the best screenplays, but knows little about Hollywood. “He knows almost no one in Hollywood,” says Linse. “This is good.”
“Neal pitched an idea to Brian Cooper, at DreamWorks,” says AJ Benza. “Cooper loved it. Neal got a six-figure development deal to write the script. The story came directly from the life of Neal Gumpel.”
“He’s a natural screenwriter, not studied,” says Brian Linse. “Neal doesn’t know he can’t write a scene this way or that. He decides what he needs. Then he does it.” Neal is two steps forward for Hollywood.
Neal Gumpel has an extraordinary life story. He tells it well. Click here to read his first in-depth interview, now, to know why his basic instincts prevail.
What I Think You Need to Know 