(ANDRES EMERICO LASZLO VON KELLER: EUROPEAN WRITER LOOKING TO BE ADOPTED)
1. ANDRES LASZLO SR WAS A GREAT WRITER.
He likely began writing in Hungary; however, if that is the case, none of his early texts (likely theatre plays) seem to have survived. He authored several books on Goya’s engravings before he began, or returned to, writing fiction. His first two books were period pieces, illustrating life during and before the war in Budapest and Paris; irony, romance, tragicomedy, and an acute ability to see light where most would perceive only darkness were then, and would remain, his trademarks. His fourth work—following a brief relapse into theatre, Dona Juana, a romantic comedy aspiring to become a musical—was a collection of short stories (Only the Landscape Changes), which were preceded and followed by his three major novels: Mother Unknown, arguably his best book and the only one not yet adapted into a film, My Uncle Jacinto, and Paco Never Fails. VIDEO
His penultimate work, My Uncle Jacinto, became a bestselling children's book, now available in nine languages, and a blockbuster family film produced by Ladislao Vajda, starring Pablito Calvo. His final book, Paco Never Fails, was also adapted into a film but failed to receive the recognition it perhaps deserved; if so, it may be due to legal disputes that hindered its distribution outside Spain. Mother Unknown has now been translated into English (along with all his other texts) and is seeking a producer. By 1957, Andres Laszlo’s writing skills were such that he seemed poised to take on the world; yet that did not transpire. So, what happened?
He notoriously slept on French television, settled down with a stunning Swedish bombshell (my mother), placed his son in the lap of Marilyn Monroe (me), and counted film director Ladislao Vajda, Paul Lucas (Oscar for best actor), and Spanish painter Manuel Blasco (Picasso's first cousin) among his closest friends. Among his more illustrious acquaintances were individuals such as Ernest Hemingway, Anthony Quinn, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Manolete, Lola Medina, von Karajan, and Orson Welles (in fact, my father asserted that it was he who led Orson Welles to Anton Karas and thus claims partial credit for The Third Man's Harry Lime Theme, though there are competing stories).
2. YET HE HAS BEEN FORGOTTEN.
If my father was once considered one of Europe's most promising writers of the mid-20th century, why haven’t you heard of him?
1. No homeland. Born Austro-Hungarian, naturalised French, and writing in Spanish, Andres Laszlo is a quintessential European writer. However, at that time, there was no EU, and he has never been “adopted” by any of his countries; Hungary, Austria, and Spain remain indifferent. Consequently, there has been little to no political, and therefore economic, interest in promoting him.
2. Challenging subjects. He wrote about a day in the life of a drunkard, with nothing but honour at stake; about a man searching for the unknown mother of his son (well, ok, so that's a pretty commercial idea); and about a man earning a living by impregnating aspiring wet-nurses: a risqué, if not taboo, subject at the time.
3. Stopped at the wrong time. He abruptly ceased writing when the world was "at his mercy." I believe this was due to his feeling that Paco Never Fails didn't receive the recognition it deserved.
4. Lazy son. I’ve had a book of my own that has contributed to my economic independence. This has had a significant impact on my life and has led me not to grant my father the respect he deserves. That, along with my adventures and writings that followed, serves as my excuse for why I have, until more than a quarter of a century after his demise, neglected to promote my father's legacy.
Andres Laszlo’s texts are fading into oblivion, and I have taken it upon myself to try to reverse this trend and prevent it from occurring. However, despite my determination to do so, I lack both the contacts and the capital to pursue this endeavour effectively for much longer; I need assistance
3. THIS IS WHAT I HAVE DONE AND WHAT I AM DOING/HAVE DONE.
E-books. (i) All my father’s texts have been scanned, OCR-converted, and transformed into e-books. (ii) Rights for English, Spanish, Italian, and Japanese texts have been fully acquired. (iii) All yet-unacquired French and German translation rights may be negotiated. (iv) New and improved English translations have been developed for all books. (v) Two new book adaptations and two new scripts have been created. (vi) More than ten new translations have been completed, and (vii) counting translations and adaptations, over forty books are finished and ready for publication. Check out some (not for sale) by entering ‘Andres Laszlo Jr.’ on Amazon Spain.
Adaptations. The Challenge is my (radical) adaptation of My Uncle Jacinto. In my story, Madrid and "La Quinta" become Cape Town and Mandela Park; bullfighting is replaced by boxing, the 2010s transform into the 1940s, and 19,000 words have expanded to 75,000. This adaptation currently exists in six languages and has been developed into a film script. I have also transformed ‘Doña Juana into the theatre script it once must have been.
English platform. Successfully relaunching Andres Laszlo Sr. requires establishing a solid foundation in the English language. Therefore, I have arranged for all seven of his books to be translated and edited for content.
Complete Works. After translating all of my father’s texts into English and providing adaptations and edits (only two of his books had been published in English prior), I have compiled The Complete Works in both English and Spanish. The English version is significantly superior to the Spanish, rendering retranslation back into Spanish a feasible option.
Biography & Bibliography. I have researched and documented Senior's life and literary works (as a professional, I am a drug policy researcher). There was a time when students and researchers frequently contacted me, wishing to write essays or theses about my father. At that time, because I was angry with him, I always declined their requests; however, today, I would be more than willing to accommodate their requests.
Contacts made. (i) The Balassi Institute is a Hungarian organisation dedicated to promoting Hungarian culture abroad; however, they do not seem interested in András László. My feeling is that they do not regard him as a ‘real’ Hungarian writer. (ii) IFFR is a Dutch film festival. I applied for production grants to produce The Challenge (my adaptation of My Uncle Jacinto) in collaboration with a well-known Hollywood director, but the project was turned down. (iii) The University of Malaga has a project called “Recovery of the Andalusian Literary Heritage,” but there, no one seems to know much about András László either, although I believe he's “one of the best Malaga and Andalusia has ever had.” (iv) EU. I have had some communication with the EU, and although it seems my project could be eligible for grants, it appears to be too much of a hassle, and I do not consider myself the right sort of person for this. (v) Diputación de Málaga has a cultural program, Culturama, that promotes cultural activities, and a Coordinador de Cultura connected me with MMF/Malaga Film Festival. They screened Mi Tio Jacinto during their 2015 festival, and I was there to give a speech, but they do not seem interested in any further promotion. (vi) TV2 and several other broadcasting corporations rank Mi Tio Jacinto—my father wrote the underlying text and co-wrote the script with Ladislao Vajda—as a top 5 contender for the title ‘Best Spanish or Hispanic movie of all times,’ which makes it particularly difficult to comprehend why Spain has so entirely forgotten about him.
4. AND THIS IS WHAT I PLAN TO DO.
I intend to keep translating Andres Laszlo Sr. into new languages, especially my native Swedish. Additionally, I will consider translating into major languages like Mandarin, Hindi, Russian, Brazilian Portuguese, and Portuguese.
New films and scripts. My Uncle Jacinto has already been adapted into a film, but my adaptation of this book, The Challenge, has not. It currently exists as a script and would make a great film. Paco Never Fails is also a movie, but the industry seems to think that its cinematic potential has not fulfilled, and I have been summoned to Gallimard in Paris twice to approve new adaptations: personally, I envision it as a seven-episode television series. Mother Unknown was turned into a film script by my father at the time of his passing (he was negotiating a contract). His collection of short stories—now merged with my own short stories into The Laszlo & Laszlo Chronicles/The Tale(s) of Two Knaves—contains several stories that read well as film treatments.
Libraries. I plan to make the works of Andres Laszlo Sr. accessible through libraries, online retailers, and print-on-demand distributors. Currently, over 20 titles have been published on Amazon in Spain and subsequently removed (i.e., published for copyright purposes).
Homepage. I created this website (www.andreslaszlo.com), intending to promote it as a tool to introduce Andres Laszlo to a wider audience.
EU. Although my father lacked ‘a 100% homeland,’ he had ‘four 25% homelands’ that are now all full members of the EU. ‘A forgotten best-selling fiction writer with four EU nationalities’ seems like something that should evoke at least some EU enthusiasm.
Things I can send you: 1) Articles (written by me) about Andres Laszlo Sr.; 2) Any of my father’s texts in any translation; 3) Biography; 4) Bibliography; 5) Filmography; 6)My adaptation of My Uncle Jacinto in Spanish, Italian, French, Swedish, German, or English; 7) The Challenge as a script; and 8) Myself, as a lecturer or commentator on my father's life, texts, or films.
Overall, I have done my utmost (or at least a considerable amount) to revive my father's texts and writings, but I have not received the response I had hoped for. Furthermore: (i) I have my own writings to promote, particularly my drug policy texts, and (ii) I do not have the resources to promote Senior ad infinitum, so unless I receive some assistance in this endeavour...
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