Jack London, life, love, the journey to film and novel.

Many years ago I was visiting the Jack London Book Store in Glen Ellen, California. My quest - develop one of the novels written by Jack London into a motion picture screenplay. Sitting behind an old oak desk (cluttered with papers, manuscripts, books, doo-dads and a room filled with gadgets and artifacts from all over the world...and, oh yes, a few cats wandering about), Russ Kingman, Founder and President of the Jack London Foundation.

Russ looked across his desk at me (a produced writer, production person for some 20 years), mused as he smoked his piped, his black horned rimmed glasses down on his nose, his long grey hair in artistic disarray. A cat jumped on his desk, disregarding the (obvious sign of the creative genius) clutter, demanding attention.

Russ, keeping his eyes on me, stroked the cat, and then he said, "Disney is doing 'Call of the Wild', Turner is doing 'The Sea Wolf', Paramount is looking to do 'Martin Eden'". He gestured with his pipe, looked away, and looked back at me.... "The one story no one has done - is the one story which is the most romantic one of them all - is the story about Jack and his second wife, Charmian."

I gulped, and my heart beat. He didn't know it then, but he owned me. Being a romantic, and with a penchant for the unknown story, my interest immediately went up past Jupiter, circled the sun, and circled the entire universe just to be sure. I was hooked.

"Tell me", I asked (and probably begged).

He leaned back in his chair, stared at the ceiling, puffing his pipe, smiled, and leaned back - resting his arms on his desk. He spoke...he spoke to be for about two hours. He told me about how Jack grew up in a materialistic home, and knew nothing of love. That Jack believed any concept of love was abolished by science. And he married his first wife, Bess, for (as Jack said) "Scientific principles and reasonings".

Then he met Charmian. And she rocked his world (probably NOT Russ' way of saying it, and certainly not Jack's, but you get the idea). She was different than any other woman he had ever met. She had education, talent, looks, and could hold her own against any man - intellectually, daring, adventure - and she could box as well as read and look pretty. Men loved her; women (most of them) hated her. Jack - because of Charmian - found a best friend (which, during their era circa 1900, was extremely strange, as a man's best friend was always a man), a traveling/adventure mate, and - best of all - found love.

Sign-me-up.

Russ allowed me access to the letters, articles, historical studies (by first person contact with those who knew the Londons), into the very hearts of Jack and Charmian London. This access was granted when Russ ascertained that I wasn't a Hollywood yahoo who would give this love story a Hollywood spin along with a Hollywood ending. That I would stick to the truth, and to the truth I stuck to a “T”. When I asked Russ should I take a trip to the Huntington Library (who has Jack London archives), he told me, "No need...everything you want," as he tapped his desk, "is right here."

I love research. And began researching the life of Jack and Charmian London.

Best of all, I must share, is that a good part of what I learned about the spirit of Jack London was by meeting his youngest daughter, Becky. What a treat! She lived right there on the book store property.

The screenplay was completed. And a lot of what this blog will share is the process of what has taken place to bring this love story to the screen. The journey continues. Sold yet? Nope. But there's still time. And in the meantime, will be developing a novel based on the screenplay. Will share the novel, along with the journey...in these pages.

May you find the journey as fascinating as I.