Jon Lindstrom doesn’t play a writer on TV, but he is one in real life. The actor who brings Dr. Kevin Collins to the screen on General Hospital has authored the thriller Hollywood Hustle. He chatted with Soap Hub about the novel and which former soap opera actor he thinks could bring his protagonist, Winston Greene, to life on the screen.
Jon Lindstrom: Writing Hollywood Hustle
Lindstrom’s debut novel tells the tale of Winston Greene, a former film star who is surprised to find his granddaughter, Amy, 6, at his bedside one morning. The youngster is traumatized with good reason — her mother, Winston’s daughter, has been kidnapped by a murderous gang demanding the actor’s money. What they don’t know is that any finances Winston once had are long gone!
Rather than go to the police, Winston enlists the aid of a Hollywood stuntman and an ex-police detective to help him find his daughter.
Why Winston Greene?
“I’ve always liked the name ‘Winston,'” Lindstrom tells Soap Hub as to how he came up with the name for his novel’s lead character. “Greene’ just sounded right — with an ‘e’ on the end [for a surname]. It just looked better on the page.”
Lindstrom adds he’s been a longtime thriller/mystery reader, and one of his favorite authors is Dashiell Hammett, who created mystery characters Nick and Nora Charles and Sam Spade; he also admires the work of Elmore Leonard, whose writings inspired the movie Jackie Brown and the TV series Justified. “I wanted to write a lean, mean crime story,” says Lindstrom, adding wryly, “one with a satisfying body count!”
While the writing process is far more solitary than the acting one, Lindstrom says that any loneliness is offset by having more creative control over creating the world in which his characters live. “[Novelist/journalist] Joan Didion said a screenplay is like an outline for a book,” Lindstrom points out. “You’ll [eventually] turn it over [to a director and producers], and it will become something else. With a book, you get to write it the way you want.”
Of course, editors and publishers will weigh in with comments and ideas — some more than others –, but Lindstrom says that if he were forced to choose (and nobody’s forcing him to do so), he’d prefer to write overact, at least right now. “I love to get up in the morning and do something I love,” he says.
Winston and Amy
Winston’s relationship with his daughter’s daughter Amy has a foundation in a real-life dynamic that Lindstrom says he has with his foster son. “He used to hold my hand [when he was 9] when we crossed the street,” the actor/author recalls. “There’s something about a remove there when it’s not your child, but it’s a child you care about. You want to see the best things happen to build their future. That relationship helped form the one between Winston and Amy.”
Creating Winston Greene
Lindstrom says he had in mind actors Steve McQueen (The Towering Inferno; Bullitt) or Kevin Costner (Dances With Wolves) when he was coming up with Winston. “The piercing blue eyes, the chiseled face,” he says. “The guy who has stepped on a land mine, and you’re afraid he’ll take his foot off. He’s got an explosive quality to him. He could have been an iconic star.”
There aren’t any details to report yet on turning Hollywood Hustle into a movie or streaming series, but if that were to happen, Lindstrom knows just who could play the part — and it isn’t him! “Kevin Bacon (Footloose; Tim, Guiding Light) is the right age, and he’s obviously gifted,” Lindstrom says. “He knows the ups and downs of life. He’s got the blue eyes. He’s got it going on.”
How You Can Meet Jon Lindstrom
Lindstrom says that he picked the brains of two daytime pals — actor/author Michael Easton (Finn) and writer Lynn Marie Latham (Knots Landing; Port Charles) — for some advice on his manuscript. “Michael was very complimentary and gave me great feedback,” Lindstrom says. “Lynn’s a very friend and, being a very good friend, like Michael, is always honest. She said something she always loves is a chapter that ends with a cliffhanger.”
Fans of Lindstrom can meet the actor and get their own signed copy of Hollywood Hustle by checking out the actor’s upcoming bookstore signing appearances. Click here to get info on how to order your copy and to find out where Lindstrom will be appearing.
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