October 20, 2024 • 13 mins
What do Mary Shelley’s "Frankenstein," P. Diddy, and the Universal Lot in Universal City all have in common? It's me, your host, Sandy Adomaitis!
Join me as we dive into the captivating story behind Mary Shelley’s "Frankenstein."
With writers, there’s always an intriguing drama lurking behind the scenes!
The PAGE International Screenwriting Awards sponsors the WRITERS' HANGOUT.
Executive Producer Kristin Overn
Executive Producer Sandy Adomaitis
Producer Terry Sampson
Music by Ethan Stoller
👍 If you enjoy the show, please remember to follow us and leave a review where you listen to podcasts.
📸 Check out our IG for photos @thewritershangoutpodcast
💙 If you have an idea for the podcast or would like to comment please contact us @thewritershangoutpodcast@gmail.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:16):
Hello, my name is Sandy, thesocial media director for the
page, internationalScreenwriting Awards, and your
host for the Writer's Hangout.
A podcast that celebrates themany stages of writing, from
inspiration to the first draft,revising, getting a project made
and everything in between.
(00:37):
We'll talk to the best and thebrightest in the entertainment
industry and create a spacewhere you can hang out, learn
from the pros, and have fun.
Hey writers, it's Sandy.
I'm so glad you're here.
It's late on a Saturday nighthere at the Writer's Hangout in
Studio City and I could use thecompany.
(00:58):
Studio City is a charming littleneighborhood nestled over the
hill and just off VenturaBoulevard where you'll find
trendy restaurants and mobilegas stations as far as the eye
can see.
Nearby, is Will Acre Park, whichhas fantastic hiking trails.
My friend, Judy True Crime, oncewas hiking early one morning in
(01:22):
Will Acre Park and walked byPaul McCartney.
Sir Paul McCartney was standingstill and taking in the canyon's
pyramid valley views.
I asked Judy, What do you thinkhe was thinking about?
Judy said, I could buy all ofthis if I wanted to.
Another thing about Will Acre isthat when you come off the trail
(01:45):
you hit an exclusive residentialneighborhood and walk past
George Clooney's house.
you can't see the house, but youcould see the tennis court up a
small ridge.
At the bottom of that ridge wasa fence.
Judy and I discovered that,tennis balls that had rolled
down from George Clooney'stennis court.
(02:07):
We scooped up a bunch, laughingthat we had George Clooney's
balls.
I gave one ball away to myfriend, Lisa, and another to my
niece, Katie.
Fans of George.
I hope Katie keeps GeorgeClooney's balls in the family.
Now, Studio City got its name in1927, when Mack Sennett built a
(02:33):
studio on 20 acres.
which was donated by a landdeveloper.
I'm sure there is a story behindthat.
The area around the studio wasnamed Studio City.
That studio is now known asRadford Studios and before that
MTM, the Mary Tyler MooreStudios and that's as far back
(02:56):
as my memory goes.
when I talk about Studio City onthe pod, I tend to say that
Studio City is over the hillfrom Hollywood and L.
A.
And I have been asked what Imean by that, by Over the Hill,
so let's do some geography.
Studio City is in the SanFernando Valley.
(03:16):
And Over the Hill is the L.
A.
basin, downtown, and the westside.
The hill is the Hollywood Hillsand the Santa Monica Mountains.
When I first moved to LA, thevalley was deemed too far to go
no matter how fantastic theparty was.
(03:37):
I'm not sure if you can hearthat, but that's my cat Sophie
Jo.
Yes, the valley was just uncool.
think circus clown liquor fromClueless.
I looked into Studio City'sorigin story.
It can be dark.
Let me know if you'd like tohear more.
Okay, writers, how was yourweek?
(03:58):
On Friday afternoon, I attendedthe Bridgerton Tea at Ye Olde
King's Head Restaurant in SantaMonica with my pal, the TV surf
dude.
I left Santa Monica around 4.
30 PM and it took me about anhour and 40 minutes to drive the
20 miles of road.
(04:18):
Back to Studio City.
When I passed Universal Studios,I started to think about my
first day at work at UptownEntertainment, which was located
on the Universal lot.
That day, my first day, I wasearly and I didn't have a key
yet.
So I stood in front of theUptown bungalow, originally the
(04:42):
Edith Head bungalow next to theUniversal Park attraction.
So there's the studio and it isattached to the park, the
Frankenstein monster characterspotted me, waved, then
Frankenstein his way over, andgave me a really big side hug
(05:02):
and said, I must have lookednervous.
because it was my first day andI'm sure it was all over my face
and I like to think that wasFrankenstein's way of telling me
everything was going to be okay.
By the way, Uptown's founder wasAndre Harrell.
(05:27):
Some of you might recognize thatname, others might not, He was
very prominent in the hip hopmusic industry and mentor to
Diddy.
Yup, Uptown Entertainment wasthe TV and Film Division, so I'm
considering doing a Diddyepisode, but we'll see.
(05:51):
Let me know if you areinterested.
Back to Frankenstein.
Frankenstein made me think ofMary Shelley, his creator, and
how did Mary devise the idea ofFrankenstein, which would stand
the test of over 200 years?
I had to know, so I checked intoit, writers.
(06:13):
and you'll never guess what theinstrumental part in the
creation of Frankenstein was.
Do you need some time?
Do you need a clue?
a volcanic eruption.
You see, during the summer of1816, Mary and her fiancé,
Percy, were hanging out in theSwiss Alps with Lord Byron when
(06:37):
an Indonesian island volcanoerupted causing the weather in
Europe To be cold and rainy.
So with the Alps all gray, whatdo you do?
Mary, Percy, Lord Byron, andothers spent most of their time
inside telling each other ghoststories.
(06:59):
Adorable.
After a while, Lord Byron gotbored and decided to up the ante
by challenging everyone to writetheir own scary story.
Mary, 18 at the time, took theassignment to heart and began to
ponder, What if a corpse couldbe reanimated?
(07:20):
Okay writers, Look at the clock.
We can officially call it, thatwas the first Brat Summer.
Two years later, Mary Shelleypublished Frankenstein
anonymously because she wasafraid the subject matter would
cause outrage if written by awoman, that she would lose her
(07:40):
children.
It was the 1800s and it wouldhave been frowned upon for a
woman to write a novel aboutmurder and horror.
word spread that the author ofFrankenstein was a woman, and
the critics didn't like it.
Here is one review I found ofFrankenstein on the Literary
(08:04):
Hub.
I will put a link in the shownotes.
the writer of it is, weunderstand, a female that is an
aggravation of that which is theprevailing fault of the novel.
But if our authoress can forgiveus.
(08:25):
Get the gentleness of her sex.
It is no reason why we should,and we shall therefore dismiss
the novel without furthercomment.
So now, you know how MaryShelley came up with the idea
(08:48):
for Frankenstein.
Good story, but there's alwaysmore.
Remember, with writers, there'salways drama.
Let's start with who is MaryShelley?
Mary Wall Stone Craft Shelleyborn 1797 in London, England was
(09:11):
best known as the author ofFrankenstein.
considered an early example ofscience fiction.
Part gothic and part.
philosophical.
It narrates the consequencesafter a scientist has
artificially created a humanbeing, And this monster that
(09:33):
Mary Shelley created in hernovel inspired a similar
creature in numerous horrorfilms, toys, TV shows.
It is endless.
In 1812, Mary is 16 and shemeets the 21 year old poet Percy
(09:54):
Shelley in her living roombecause Percy is a friend of her
father's, and again, it was1812.
Soon they begin to meet in achurchyard where Mary's mother's
grave was located.
They fell in love and hoped tomarry.
(10:16):
So sweet and salt burn adjacent.
Who is Percy Bysshe Shelley?
born into affluence in 1792, heis recognized as a major English
Romantic poet.
A radical in both his poetry andhis political and social
(10:37):
beliefs, he did not gain famewhile alive.
Tragically, he drowned at theage of 29 when a storm sank his
boat off the coast of Italy in1822.
Why was their love a secret?
I don't think the five year agedifference between them would
(10:57):
cause any concern in 1812.
So what could it be?
Oh, I buried the lead.
Percy Shelley was married toHarriet Westerbrook five years
prior when he was 19 and AndHarriet was still in school.
(11:20):
Harriet was a friend of PercyShelley's younger sister.
They probably met in the livingroom.
Now, Mary and Percy stood talland faced the consequences.
the consequences of their love.
I'm kidding.
They ran away to Europe.
Poor Harriet.
Still not getting it, Percywrote to Harriet and asked for
(11:44):
her support in his new love Heinvited Harriet to join them in
lovely Switzerland.
deeply upset early in themorning of December 10th, 1816.
Harriet walked to the SerpentineRiver where she tragically
drowned.
She was 21 years old.
(12:04):
So both Percy and his first wifedrowned.
Interesting.
Mary died at the age of 52 of abrain tumor.
If Mary Shelley were alivetoday, I'd like to think of her
living high off the earningsfrom her Frankenstein brand.
Maybe do a cameo in a Peacockoriginal movie.
(12:28):
Who knows?
Okay, writers, I'm off to hikethe LA canyons by the moonlight
with my cat, Sophie Jo.
We're going to hunt for morecelebrity tennis balls, One more
thing.
Lore has it.
If you're in the canyons andit's a full moon.
(12:49):
You can hear a soft laugh whenthe coyotes howl.
If you listen closely.
Some people say it's SharonTate.
I've never heard it, but if itis Sharon, I'm glad she's happy.
And that's a wrap for theWriter's Hangout.
Thanks so much for listening.
If you enjoyed the show, pleasetake a moment to leave us a
review on Apple Podcasts.
(13:10):
Your positive feedback will helpus keep the show going so we can
continue bringing you morefuture episodes.
Remember, keep writing.
The world needs your stories.
The Writers Hangout is sponsoredby the Page International
Screenwriting Awards, withexecutive producer Kristen
Overn, producer Sandy Adamides,and myself, Terry Sampson.
(13:31):
And our music is composed byEthan Stoller.
Hello, my name is Sandy, thesocial media director for the
page, internationalScreenwriting Awards, and your
host for the Writer's Hangout.
A podcast that celebrates themany stages of writing, from
inspiration to the first draft,revising, getting a project made
and everything in between.
(00:37):
We'll talk to the best and thebrightest in the entertainment
industry and create a spacewhere you can hang out, learn
from the pros, and have fun.
Hey writers, it's Sandy.
I'm so glad you're here.
It's late on a Saturday nighthere at the Writer's Hangout in
Studio City and I could use thecompany.
(00:58):
Studio City is a charming littleneighborhood nestled over the
hill and just off VenturaBoulevard where you'll find
trendy restaurants and mobilegas stations as far as the eye
can see.
Nearby, is Will Acre Park, whichhas fantastic hiking trails.
My friend, Judy True Crime, oncewas hiking early one morning in
(01:22):
Will Acre Park and walked byPaul McCartney.
Sir Paul McCartney was standingstill and taking in the canyon's
pyramid valley views.
I asked Judy, What do you thinkhe was thinking about?
Judy said, I could buy all ofthis if I wanted to.
Another thing about Will Acre isthat when you come off the trail
(01:45):
you hit an exclusive residentialneighborhood and walk past
George Clooney's house.
you can't see the house, but youcould see the tennis court up a
small ridge.
At the bottom of that ridge wasa fence.
Judy and I discovered that,tennis balls that had rolled
down from George Clooney'stennis court.
(02:07):
We scooped up a bunch, laughingthat we had George Clooney's
balls.
I gave one ball away to myfriend, Lisa, and another to my
niece, Katie.
Fans of George.
I hope Katie keeps GeorgeClooney's balls in the family.
Now, Studio City got its name in1927, when Mack Sennett built a
(02:33):
studio on 20 acres.
which was donated by a landdeveloper.
I'm sure there is a story behindthat.
The area around the studio wasnamed Studio City.
That studio is now known asRadford Studios and before that
MTM, the Mary Tyler MooreStudios and that's as far back
(02:56):
as my memory goes.
when I talk about Studio City onthe pod, I tend to say that
Studio City is over the hillfrom Hollywood and L.
A.
And I have been asked what Imean by that, by Over the Hill,
so let's do some geography.
Studio City is in the SanFernando Valley.
(03:16):
And Over the Hill is the L.
A.
basin, downtown, and the westside.
The hill is the Hollywood Hillsand the Santa Monica Mountains.
When I first moved to LA, thevalley was deemed too far to go
no matter how fantastic theparty was.
(03:37):
I'm not sure if you can hearthat, but that's my cat Sophie
Jo.
Yes, the valley was just uncool.
think circus clown liquor fromClueless.
I looked into Studio City'sorigin story.
It can be dark.
Let me know if you'd like tohear more.
Okay, writers, how was yourweek?
(03:58):
On Friday afternoon, I attendedthe Bridgerton Tea at Ye Olde
King's Head Restaurant in SantaMonica with my pal, the TV surf
dude.
I left Santa Monica around 4.
30 PM and it took me about anhour and 40 minutes to drive the
20 miles of road.
(04:18):
Back to Studio City.
When I passed Universal Studios,I started to think about my
first day at work at UptownEntertainment, which was located
on the Universal lot.
That day, my first day, I wasearly and I didn't have a key
yet.
So I stood in front of theUptown bungalow, originally the
(04:42):
Edith Head bungalow next to theUniversal Park attraction.
So there's the studio and it isattached to the park, the
Frankenstein monster characterspotted me, waved, then
Frankenstein his way over, andgave me a really big side hug
(05:02):
and said, I must have lookednervous.
because it was my first day andI'm sure it was all over my face
and I like to think that wasFrankenstein's way of telling me
everything was going to be okay.
By the way, Uptown's founder wasAndre Harrell.
(05:27):
Some of you might recognize thatname, others might not, He was
very prominent in the hip hopmusic industry and mentor to
Diddy.
Yup, Uptown Entertainment wasthe TV and Film Division, so I'm
considering doing a Diddyepisode, but we'll see.
(05:51):
Let me know if you areinterested.
Back to Frankenstein.
Frankenstein made me think ofMary Shelley, his creator, and
how did Mary devise the idea ofFrankenstein, which would stand
the test of over 200 years?
I had to know, so I checked intoit, writers.
(06:13):
and you'll never guess what theinstrumental part in the
creation of Frankenstein was.
Do you need some time?
Do you need a clue?
a volcanic eruption.
You see, during the summer of1816, Mary and her fiancé,
Percy, were hanging out in theSwiss Alps with Lord Byron when
(06:37):
an Indonesian island volcanoerupted causing the weather in
Europe To be cold and rainy.
So with the Alps all gray, whatdo you do?
Mary, Percy, Lord Byron, andothers spent most of their time
inside telling each other ghoststories.
(06:59):
Adorable.
After a while, Lord Byron gotbored and decided to up the ante
by challenging everyone to writetheir own scary story.
Mary, 18 at the time, took theassignment to heart and began to
ponder, What if a corpse couldbe reanimated?
(07:20):
Okay writers, Look at the clock.
We can officially call it, thatwas the first Brat Summer.
Two years later, Mary Shelleypublished Frankenstein
anonymously because she wasafraid the subject matter would
cause outrage if written by awoman, that she would lose her
(07:40):
children.
It was the 1800s and it wouldhave been frowned upon for a
woman to write a novel aboutmurder and horror.
word spread that the author ofFrankenstein was a woman, and
the critics didn't like it.
Here is one review I found ofFrankenstein on the Literary
(08:04):
Hub.
I will put a link in the shownotes.
the writer of it is, weunderstand, a female that is an
aggravation of that which is theprevailing fault of the novel.
But if our authoress can forgiveus.
(08:25):
Get the gentleness of her sex.
It is no reason why we should,and we shall therefore dismiss
the novel without furthercomment.
So now, you know how MaryShelley came up with the idea
(08:48):
for Frankenstein.
Good story, but there's alwaysmore.
Remember, with writers, there'salways drama.
Let's start with who is MaryShelley?
Mary Wall Stone Craft Shelleyborn 1797 in London, England was
(09:11):
best known as the author ofFrankenstein.
considered an early example ofscience fiction.
Part gothic and part.
philosophical.
It narrates the consequencesafter a scientist has
artificially created a humanbeing, And this monster that
(09:33):
Mary Shelley created in hernovel inspired a similar
creature in numerous horrorfilms, toys, TV shows.
It is endless.
In 1812, Mary is 16 and shemeets the 21 year old poet Percy
(09:54):
Shelley in her living roombecause Percy is a friend of her
father's, and again, it was1812.
Soon they begin to meet in achurchyard where Mary's mother's
grave was located.
They fell in love and hoped tomarry.
(10:16):
So sweet and salt burn adjacent.
Who is Percy Bysshe Shelley?
born into affluence in 1792, heis recognized as a major English
Romantic poet.
A radical in both his poetry andhis political and social
(10:37):
beliefs, he did not gain famewhile alive.
Tragically, he drowned at theage of 29 when a storm sank his
boat off the coast of Italy in1822.
Why was their love a secret?
I don't think the five year agedifference between them would
(10:57):
cause any concern in 1812.
So what could it be?
Oh, I buried the lead.
Percy Shelley was married toHarriet Westerbrook five years
prior when he was 19 and AndHarriet was still in school.
(11:20):
Harriet was a friend of PercyShelley's younger sister.
They probably met in the livingroom.
Now, Mary and Percy stood talland faced the consequences.
the consequences of their love.
I'm kidding.
They ran away to Europe.
Poor Harriet.
Still not getting it, Percywrote to Harriet and asked for
(11:44):
her support in his new love Heinvited Harriet to join them in
lovely Switzerland.
deeply upset early in themorning of December 10th, 1816.
Harriet walked to the SerpentineRiver where she tragically
drowned.
She was 21 years old.
(12:04):
So both Percy and his first wifedrowned.
Interesting.
Mary died at the age of 52 of abrain tumor.
If Mary Shelley were alivetoday, I'd like to think of her
living high off the earningsfrom her Frankenstein brand.
Maybe do a cameo in a Peacockoriginal movie.
(12:28):
Who knows?
Okay, writers, I'm off to hikethe LA canyons by the moonlight
with my cat, Sophie Jo.
We're going to hunt for morecelebrity tennis balls, One more
thing.
Lore has it.
If you're in the canyons andit's a full moon.
(12:49):
You can hear a soft laugh whenthe coyotes howl.
If you listen closely.
Some people say it's SharonTate.
I've never heard it, but if itis Sharon, I'm glad she's happy.
And that's a wrap for theWriter's Hangout.
Thanks so much for listening.
If you enjoyed the show, pleasetake a moment to leave us a
review on Apple Podcasts.
(13:10):
Your positive feedback will helpus keep the show going so we can
continue bringing you morefuture episodes.
Remember, keep writing.
The world needs your stories.
The Writers Hangout is sponsoredby the Page International
Screenwriting Awards, withexecutive producer Kristen
Overn, producer Sandy Adamides,and myself, Terry Sampson.
(13:31):
And our music is composed byEthan Stoller.
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