UA grad, writer gets HBO gig
THE WRITE STUFF: Nic Pizzolatto, a New Orleans native who received a master of fine arts degree in creative writing from the University of Arkansas in 2005, has landed a big gig in Tinseltown — as the executive producer and sole writer of HBO’s new series, True Detective, starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson.
Pizzolatto taught fiction and literature at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Chicago and DePauw University in Indiana before leaving academia in 2010 and writing his first novel, Galveston. He later became a writer for the first season of AMC’s The Killing.
In True Detective, McConaughey and Harrelson portray detectives whose lives collide and entwine during a 17-year hunt for a serial killer in Louisiana. The show’s first season consists of eight episodes, and if it continues into a second season, it will then offer a different storyline and characters. Pizzolatto also has written a remake of The Magnificent Seven for MGM and star Tom Cruise.
OH, BROTHER: Remember Spencer Clawson of Conway, the contestant on NBC’s Big Brother, best known for his controversial comments on the show? He’s one of the final three contestants.
HIGH NOTE: Little Rock radio station KSSNFM, 95.7, is a finalist in the 2013 Country Music Association’s Broadcast Awards as a part of the 47th annual CMA Awards, airing Nov. 6 on ABC. The station is competing against four other stations in the “radio station of the year — medium market” category.
MAKING MAGIC: A citywide festival of magic takes place next weekend in Hot Springs with free and ticketed events held by several noted performers, including stage magician Jeff McBride of Las Vegas, closeup magician Michael Ammar of Florida and Dirk Losander of Germany. Visit weekendofwonder.com for more info.
PROWL FOR FOWL: Professional waterfowl hunting guide Tom Bennett of Scott has written a book, Hunting Strategies for Grand Prairie Snow Geese. Published by Tate Publishing and Enterprises, it’s available nationwide in bookstores and various online sites.
Bennett, a life-long hunter and conservationist who has worked as a guide for Whitefront Hunting Lodge in Stuttgart, has hunted and worked as a guide on the Grand Prairie for nearly 15 years.
WACKY WIENERS: The latest Ripley’s Believe It or Not! book of “bizarre, incredible and amazing true stories from around the world” has a local entry. Released last week, it includes the ONEdog created by “Hot Dog” Mike Juliano of Little Rock last year. The street vendor sold four of the premium beef franks topped with lobster tail, saffron aioli and edible gold flakes for a whopping $1,501 each. He gave proceeds to The One Inc. (also known as The Van), a local nonprofit charity that assists the homeless.