Introduction to Nicholas Griffin. 3:10 min. Interview: Raymond Elman + Elisa Turner. Post-Production: Leirys Diego. Music: Santiago Suarez, Recorded via Zoom: 11/11/2020, Miami.
NICHOLAS GRIFFIN: “I was born in London, left when I was 18, spent the next twenty years in New York and moved to Miami in the summer of 2013. I’ve written for newspapers, magazines, film and TV folks. But books, well, I like the books the best.
I’ve got an English father, an American mother, a Venezuelan wife, a surfing son, a skateboarding daughter and a very old dog from New Jersey.”
— www.nicholasgriffin.com
The videos below were recorded via Zoom, are organized by Success Factor, and run between 30 seconds and 5 minutes. Click on any video. You must be connected to the Internet to view the videos.
SEIZES OPPORTUNITIES: 1:55 min.
Why did you move to Miami and why are you staying here?
CRITICAL THINKING: 4:04 min.
How did you decide on the central characters of your book?
SEIZES OPPORTUNITIES: 3:11 min.
When you were writing “The Year of Dangerous Days,” were you thinking of the movie possibilities at the same time, and did you imagine who would play some of the characters?
COLLABORATION: 0:44 sec.
Are you friends with filmmaker Billy Corbin?
INSIGHT & INSPIRATION: 1:20 min.
What was your first awareness of art of any discipline?
INSIGHT & INSPIRATION: 1:35 min.
At what point did you think you might want to be a writer?
VALUES FIRST-RATE EDUCATION: 0:31 sec.
You attended Brown University. What was your major?
SEIZES OPPORTUNITIES: 1:59 min.
When you were young and working on documentary films, did you expect to make a career in filmmaking?
OVERCOMES CHALLENGES TO SUCCEED: 2:55 min.
When you were doing research for “The Year of Dangerous Days,” what was your experience with the African-American community?
EMPATHY: 4:57 min.
What was it like to research the McDuffie killing of 1980 from the perspective of the Black Lives Matter movement that began with the murder of Trayvon Martin in 2013?
EMPATHY: 1:57 min.
The murder of unarmed Black men in 1979-80 that you describe in “The Year of Dangerous Days” is so similar to murders in more recent times.
PERSEVERANCE FURTHERS: 3:46 min.
How did your research for “The Year of Dangerous Days” differ from your research for previous books?
CRITICAL THINKING: 1:58 min.
Have you learned anything new since “The Year of Dangerous Days” was published that you would have included in the book?
EXPOSURE TO BROAD INFLUENCES: 0:36 sec.
When you wrote “Ping Pong Diplomacy,” did you read “China Hands” by my dear friend E.J. Kahn, Jr. as part of your research?
CRITICAL THINKING: 1:49 min.
You have written books about the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, how does that impact your research?
INSIGHT & INSPIRATION: 1:22 min.
I imagine that the Black owned “Miami Times” was central to your research for “The Year of Dangerous Days.”
CREATES A UNIQUE PERSONAL BRAND: 2:45 min.
Which of your books gave you the most satisfaction?
CREATIVE FLEXIBILITY: 2:05 min.
You started as a novelist and gravitated toward non-fiction. Which of the forms is easiest for you?
RESPECTS OTHERS POINTS OF VIEW: 1:09 min.
How have the people who are depicted in your book reacted to it?
UNDERSTANDS THE BUSINESS OF ART: 2:47 min.
Can you talk about your next project?
OVERCOMES CHALLENGES TO SUCCEED: 2:37 min.
When you first approached Simon & Schuster with the idea for “The Year of Dangerous Days,” how did you position it as a book that would sell?
CRITICAL THINKING: 0:41 sec.
Do you think that Miami’s excellent reputation abroad has anything to do with Art Basel?
