Michael Crichton Interview

On December 20, 1996, THE BOOK REPORT welcomed Michael Crichton, the world's most popular writer and the author of the just-published #1 bestseller, Airframe.

The interviewers were Jesse Kornbluth (BookpgJK) and Sean Doorly (Bookpg SD) of THE BOOK REPORT. The online host was MarleneT.

NOTE: Although Michael Crichton has an AOL account, MCrich9334 is not his real screenname.

Bookpg JK: Good evening. A pleasure to have Michael with us at the biggest BOOK REPORT event ever. We have a few questions, then we'll open it up. Michael, your books have an uncanny way of coming out just as something big happens in the world that links back to them. "Luck" seems too simple. Are you amazed? Or do you channel the future?

MCrich9334: Actually, I am not sure the phenomenon is real. One of the things they say about psychics is that people notice the "hits" and consider them dramatic, but ignore the misses. I've had some very timely projects -- what you might call "hits" -- but I've had my share of misses, too. Nobody much seems to remember movies I did like "Looker" and "Runaway." In the case of "Looker," it was clearly too far ahead of its time. Only now are the issues of CGI starting to surface -- 17 years later. But anyway...I have no explanation for how the "hits" occur. Nice when it does, though!

Bookpg JK: The New York Times Book Review says that your books have a common theme...."systems failure." Given the way the world seems to be falling apart, this suggests you'll have more "hits" than misses. Do you see this theme in your work?

MCrich9334: Yes, from the beginning I have tended to be interested in large complex technological events or situations which go awry. It's my experience that they always do go awry. I've had some interesting chats with Tom Clancy about this. Tom lives in a world where things work. I live in a world where I experience them as constantly not working, breaking down. Stuff going wrong. That's my experience of life, and my experience of technology.

Bookpg SD: In The Lost World, Malcolm said, "I think cyberspace means the end of our species." Do you believe that?

MCrich9334: I certainly believe that diminished diversity is always of concern. One consequence of genetic engineering of crops is that we are working with fewer strains of plant than before. And that is inherently risky. A disease comes along -- right now, all the beautiful Monterey pines on the California coast are dying: virus, unstoppable -- so these diseases do happen...And when that occurs, you want lots of diversity, so some strains will survive. A similar issue I believe exists with respect to thought. A hundred years ago, there were very dissimilar areas of thought. Thinking in Japan, China, Africa and US were very different. Now, it all tends to be homogenized. Bad ideas can spread without stopping. Tiny example: It is said that when Hitler took over Germany, one of the few pockets of resistance was the Catholics, who as a group had strong religious objections to what was going on. But in an increasingly secular world -- a world where religion doesn't count, where we are all "the same" -- then a new wave of something like Naziism is going to sweep more easily. That's my concern. Everybody thinks the same now.

Bookpg JK: You were once a doctor, a clinician, trained to be "rational." Now you sound like Dr. Andrew Weil, Wendell Berry -- even the late Mario Savio. What's going on? Are you using "entertainment" as a pulpit? Are you following the tradition of Dickens and Orwell?

MCrich9334: Andy Weil and I went to college and medical school together. But I am not sure what is behind your question. Are you asking about the insertion of the dreaded "message" in writing? If so, I'm guilty. I think fiction should address real issues.

Bookpg JK: Here's a real issue then: 3,000 planes are 20 years old. In five years, 6,000 will be 20 years old. You say in Airframe, "No one knows what will happen." I tend to think you doubt "what will happen" will be good.

MCrich9334: Right. No one knows what will happen because the planes are built for a lifespan of 20 years. They are built to go twice that duration -- and as we know, they often do -- but the idea of a fleet where the average plane is > 20 years.... That's something nobody anticipated. There are questions about metal fatigue, about how to do maintenance on planes that are so old. It's a very hot new area of study in government and the airframe mfrs.

Question: What were some of the factors that inspired the creation of ER?

MCrich9334: ER was just a series of true episodes that actually happened to me, or that I witnessed in the ER when I was working there. Nothing more than that...just reporting.

Question: Have you been surprised by the success of ER? To what do you attribute its phenomenal success?

MCrich9334: I think everybody is surprised. But I think its success is due to the fact that it brought back a recognizable reality -- a real workplace, real people, real issues -- to dramatic television, which had increasingly over the years become Charley's Angelized. I mean, Dallas is fine, but that's not all there is. So I think ER was seen as fresh and closer to what people know to be true.

Question: What about your book Sphere? Is that going to become a movie?

MCrich9334: Sphere begins shooting with Barry Levinson directing Dustin Hoffman and Sharon Stone in March. Dunno if they have a release date yet. Probably end of 97.

Question: How long did it take you to write Rising Sun?

MCrich9334: 3 years.

Question: Of all your books in print, which is your favorite?

MCrich9334: Travels is my favorite book.

Bookpg SD: Your books are full of research...do you do it yourself or do you have help?

MCrich9334: I do it myself. I have somebody who will go to the library to pick up things, or to find specific articles. But I have to do it myself, because you never know what will strike you as you are going through an airplane plant...or reading an NTSB docket. You can't have someone do it for you. I'm not a purist -- it's just not possible.

Bookpg JK: Michael, Travels may be your favorite book....but it seems as if you are always working! How do you pace yourself? How many things do you work on at one time?

MCrich9334: I only do one thing at a time. When I am writing a book, I have to let all the production problems go, in ER or in Sphere or wherever else I have some responsibility. I just become irresponsible for that time. Everybody knows I am going to disappear. Then I come back, and complain about what was done in my absence. The usual thing.

Question: Our 8th grade class read Andromeda Strain. How did you get the idea for such a cool book? And did you enjoy writing it?

MCrich9334: The idea comes from a textbook I read in college. The Major Features of Evolution, by George Gaylord Simpson. It had a very un-scholarly footnote which said nobody had ever written a science fiction story about organisms in the upper atmosphere. So I wrote one, eventually. I never met Simpson, who was very old and very famous, back then (1960s). So I don't know why he included such a footnote. There were no other such footnotes in the book.

Question: Did you have fantastic teachers in high school who sparked your interest in writing?

MCrich9334: Yes, I was very lucky in my teachers. I still remember them. Miss Fromkin in the third grade, Miss Bennett in 9th, Mr. McGrath in 11th and 12th. What they really did was read all my awful stuff, for years and years. I wrote endlessly as a kid, mostly lovesick sorts of things (I had a pretty poor social life). And my teachers encouraged me...despite what they were reading.

Question: What medical school did you go to? Were you ever a practicing physician?

MCrich9334: I went to Harvard Medical School. I only practiced during my senior year in a family practice run by the school. That was when I really learned medicine was not for me. I didn't like getting calls in the middle of the night, that sort of thing. I was pretty unsympathetic.

Question: Do you still write stories with the same steps as you did the Great Train Robbery? You obviously spent a lot of energy getting the facts together before you wrote a word of fiction. Is that pretty much standard operating procedure for you?

MCrich9334: Yes. Long time gathering the information, then much shorter writing. I do research sometimes for 20 years on a subject, before the book finally appears.

Question: In Travels you told of talking to a bush. Do you actually believe it talked back?

MCrich9334: As I recall, it didn't talk back. I just had "impressions" of it. I found the experience useful. But if you are asking whether I think bushes in the desert talk, I don't. I'm not nuts, just adventurous.

Bookpg JK: Michael, in Airframe, the "traditional" assumptions are turned upside down....The frame manufacturer is (in the main) responsible....but the press is a beast! In fact, the book is somewhat of a screed against the media. There's plenty more to kick there -- will you explore this theme further?

MCrich9334: I don't know. I just think it's real life. Airplane manufacturers are very responsible, and broadcast journalists -- particularly the tabloid-magazines aren't responsible. Actually, on my press tour, nobody seemed to disagree with me!

Bookpg SD: Any opinions on what caused the TWA crash?

MCrich9334: No, I have no more information than anybody. I DO think it must be a very unlikely event. 747s have been in service a long time, and if they had a common problem, it would have shown up long ago.

Bookpg JK: Michael, you talk of low-budget airlines as essentially stock scams. Would YOU fly on ValueJet?

MCrich9334: Not if I could help it. But here's the thing. All domestic air travel is stunningly safe. I mean it is just ridiculous. In this country, this year -- a bad year -- there will be a few hundred deaths from big jets. Last year, 50 people died. Anyway, you have to compare that to other forms of accident. 2,500 people choke to death on food. 4,000 drown. 43,000 die in cars. So planes are safe. Including, for any given flight, a low-budget airline. You'll probably be OK. But given the choice, I feel air travel is not the place to save money. I prefer the established carriers.

Question: Everything you do is brilliant. You have accomplished so much for your age. Do you ever worry about what you will do next and if it will be as good as the last project?

MCrich9334: Always.

Question: The Lost World is less complex than Jurassic Park and almost seems like it was written with a movie in mind. Was that your intention?

MCrich9334: I don't know. Some people think it is more complex. I can't tell. But certainly it was written with the knowledge that a movie was going to be made. Universal, who owned the rights, had already decided that there would be a sequel. And it was just a question of what it would be.

Question: Mike were you disappointed with the movie Congo as I was? The book was so good!!!!

MCrich9334: Yes. Congo was made by friends of mine, but I wish they had consulted me.

Question: I would like to know how he comes up with such great ideas and how he got the first one published please.

MCrich9334: My ideas come from topics that I follow for many years, trying to settle on a story. The first one was published when I sat down, wrote a book, sent it in to a publisher, and they turned it down, but sent it to a paperback house, which accepted it, because they thought it was pretty good.

Question: Did you research air crashes for Airframe?

MCrich9334: You bet -- lots of them.

Question: What is your opinion about your accurate prediction of computer viruses 20 years ahead of time?

MCrich9334: What prediction? Not sure of your reference.

Question: How long have you been writing fiction? My daughter's university, DePauw U., made "J.Park" required reading in her genetics class. She read the novel to me as we drove to and from Indy to Chicago 4 years ago. Great novel! Also we never miss ER.

MCrich9334: Thanks, glad you like it.

Question: I loved Lost World, tell me, did you read Raptur Red? And how did you like it if you did?

MCrich9334: Sorry, didn't read it.

Question: How many novels do you work on at once?

MCrich9334: Difficult to say. I write one at a time. During the end stage -- copy editing and so on -- I am usually plotting hard for the next. So there is some overlap. Also, I follow my topics of interest at all times, writing or not. I probably have about 40 subject areas that I am trying to keep track of at any time.

Bookpg JK: Michael, would you toss out even a little breadcrumb of a hint about your next book?

MCrich9334: To answer the usual questions, I am 6'9" tall and I have been writing now for 30 years. As for the next book, I really can't say. Except that it will be more like the Jurassic Park books, not the Airframe books. And it will not be trendy!

Bookpg JK: Let me be more "devious." What are you currently reading?

MCrich9334: Won't help. I am reading one book ahead, so I am reading about Freud. But for this book, uh...does cosmic wormholes do anything for you?

Bookpg JK: Alas, not for me.

MCrich9334: Whew!

Bookpg JK: But I wonder: When you're reading on a subject that arcane....what is your dinner conversation like at home?

MCrich9334: Oh, just normal stuff. The laundry screwed up your shirts. We have a dinner next Friday. Can you take the kid to school tomorrow morning? Like that.

Question: How do you get all the information that makes even time travel (sphere) seem to be within reason?

MCrich9334: Just reading. Nothing special. There are some very good books that explain general and special relativity. I used a book by a guy named Kauffmann that is very readable.

Question: How do you choose your topics? Profit motive? Personal curiosity? Artistic endeavor?

MCrich9334: Always curiosity. They rarely seem profitable. If I ask people or publishers, they usually say don't do them. So I don't tell anybody any more what I am doing. I just do what interests me.

Question: How did you come up with the idea of Jurassic Park?

MCrich9334: Argh. Long story. I wrote a screenplay in '83 about a genetically engineered dinosaur (one) but it didn't work. Sort of a leathery ET story...so I put it aside for several years...then started wondering who had the money to do this research, and decided it could only be a theme park. And so...there we are. I resisted the theme park because I did a movie like that many years ago called Westworld.

Question: Is Michael's favorite medium books? Or does he enjoy working in the movies or TV better?

MCrich9334: This is the last question. I like all the media equally, I guess. Books are nice because I have total control and I can work at my own pace. Movies are more popular, can have a bigger impact, but you can't control them yourself; they're group endeavors. TV goes at a furious pace, and has lots of constraints of its own, but I like it, too. I'm pretty happy to be involved in all these areas. Mark Twain once said it is a terrible death to be talked to death. I think they are going to throw us out now...Thank you all for coming and I want to say I've enjoyed it very much.

Bookpg JK: Michael, we have 950 questions begging to be asked. If you took them all....we'd all miss Xmas and you would have a very expensive divorce.

MCrich9334: True.

Bookpg JK: So thank you immensely for coming, and do come back to THE BOOK REPORT!

MCrich9334: I'd be delighted. This has really been fun for me.

Marlene T: Thank you Mr. Crichton, Jesse and Sean!

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