Interview with Jamie Malanowski

On a fairly regular basis, Capitola Book Cafe will interview authors of current and quasi-current books for your enjoyment. Our May 1996 interview is with Jamie Malanowski, co-author of Loose Lips : Real Words, Real People, Real Funny, by Jamie Malanowski, Lisa Birnbach, and Kurt Andersen (Fireside Books; $11.00), a compilation of the on and off the record utterances of celebrity headliners.

Interview with Jamie Malanowski:

JM: What inspired this book?

JH: Literally, Kurt and Lisa and I were working at Spy (magazine) at the same time and we used to run transcripts of material that had been hidden from the public. Much of this material appeared in my column "The Fine Print". One day, we got a transcript of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles. It was the one where Charles, in a Prufrockian way, likened himself as a tampon. They go back and forth to each other, saying "Goodnight", "Goodnight". It was bizarre, like a 15-year old on the phone with a girl. Anyway, we got the idea for the off-Broadway play Loose Lips, which in turn became the book. The book is much longer, and very funny.

BC: Where did you find all these utterances?.

JM: Many came from court documents and legal proceedings. There's this tape underground that exists. The tape of Tommy Lasorda changing pitchers has been passed from collector to collector. At Spy, people knew that we had an appetite for such things and they would send stuff in. We used to open really great mail.

BC: Did you encounter any legal trouble in publishing Loose Lips?

JM: Not a bit! Most of this stuff came from public sources and it's hard for a public figure to turn on his own words. We were really careful, and most everything had appeared in print already.

BC: Which chapter is your favorite?

JM: I have a couple of favorites. I love the Orson Welles chapter because it's so telling. Here's this genius taping a frozen food commercial. He takes over in a very imperious way. It's enlightening to watch him take control. It must have been very frustrating for him. I also like the Clarence Thomas chapter, because it's so controversial. I like "The Friends of Heidi Fleiss". It's creepy, but weirdly funny at the same time. There's also a great mob transcript. It's of a really funny initiation ceremony and the mobsters are worried about seating in this prissy way. It just goes to show you, manners rule out.

BC: Of all the voices compiled in this book, which one, in your opinion, should be the most embarrassed or ashamed?

JM: Probably Woody Allen. He gives this rambling justification for his behavior with Soon-Yi. Also, Clarence Thomas should be ashamed, if he's capable, of the additional testimony against him. A lot of what's in this book is funny without being deeply wounding. Famous people having big tantrums.

BC: Thank you for your time.

Order Loose Lips, by Jamie Malanowski, Lisa Birnbach, and Kurt Andersen (Fireside Books; $11.00)

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