(ANDRES EMERICO LASZLO VON KELLER: EUROPEAN WRITER LOOKING TO BE ADOPTED)
1. ANDRES LASZLO SR WAS A GREAT WRITER.
Andres Laszlo Sr. was once considered a top-tier European writer. Until thirty years ago, Ph.D. and Master’s students frequently sought my approval and help with their thesis writing. The reason he is overlooked—besides the fact that most of his work never received proper content editing (partly because I neglected it until now) or into-English translations—is that none of his four countries of origin (born Austro-Hungarian, naturalised French, and categorised as part of Spanish Torremolinos’ ‘Golden Age’ when it was a free town under Franco’s dictatorship) has “adopted” him. However, all these countries are now members of the European Union, which occasionally funds projects aimed at reviving the memory of its forgotten artists (as France does). I want to find someone who can identify available grants, apply for them, and lead the revival effort. I would be happy to help, but I lack the skills to lead such a project.
Andres Laszlo Sr., in his prime, was regarded as one of Jenny Aspinwall Bradley’s writers, a top European at that, and a rising one. He had authored My Uncle Jacinto that in the hands of Ladislao Vajda became a blockbuster film, and with Paco Never Fails, Senior felt his authorship had taken yet another step. This book, a totally decent anthropological history-drama about a taboo subject ‘written ‘around’ Generalissimo Franco’s dictatorship, declared, “Look at me! I’m pretty darn good!” However, although the text was excellent and unimpeachable by censors, the subject matter was one that the Spanish critics disapproved of. Senior, perhaps feeling a little ‘too appreciated' (due to Ladislao’s superb cinematic interpretation) of My Uncle Jacinto (which even today often competes for “best Hispanic movie of all time” at film festivals), believed he didn’t receive the recognition he deserved for Paco Never Fails. So, when he should have been (and, in many ways, was) ready to take on the world, the success story came to an abrupt end. Bereft of the self-confidence so essential for a writer, he put writing on the back burner and instead devoted himself to his family and selling forged old-master paintings to museums. He forgot about writing, and—as he had no backers to keep his memory alive—so did the world, about him.
Senior likely started writing in Hungary; however, if that's the case, none of his early works—probably theater plays—have survived. He authored several books on Goya’s engravings before he began, or returned to, writing fiction. His first two books were autobiographical period pieces set in pre-war Budapest and Paris, respectively; irony, romance, tragicomedy, and an acute knack for seeing the hilarious where others would perceive only tragedy and darkness were, and would remain, his trademarks. His fourth work—after a brief return to theater, Dona Juana, a romantic comedy still without music aspiring to become a musical—was a collection of short stories, "Only the Landscape Changes," which were preceded and succeeded by his three major novels: preceded by Mother Unknown—arguably his best book and the only one not yet adapted into a film—and succeeded by 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 movie but failed to receive the recognition some say it deserved; if so, it may be due to legal disputes that limited its distribution outside Spain or, in my opinion more likely, because one single film can not fully capture what makes the book a great text. Mother Unknown has now been translated into English (along with all his other works) and is seeking a producer. By 1957, Andres Laszlo’s writing skills had developed to the point that he seemed ready to take on the world; however, that did not happen. So, what went wrong?
He famously slept on French television, settled down with a stunning Swedish bombshell (my mother), placed his son in Marilyn Monroe's lap (me), and counted film director Ladislao Vajda, Paul Lucas (Oscar for best actor), and Spanish painter Manuel Blasco (Picasso’s first cousin) as close friends. Among his more illustrious acquaintances were figures like Ernest Hemingway, Anthony Quinn, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Manolete, Lola Medina, von Karajan, and Orson Welles—my father even claimed that it was he and Ladislao who introduced Orson Welles to Anton Karas and thus took partial credit for The Third Man’s Harry Lime Theme, though there are competing claims.
2. YET HE HAS BEEN FORGOTTEN.
If my father was once considered one of Europe’s most promising mid-20th-century writers, why haven’t you heard of him?
- No homeland. Born Austro-Hungarian, naturalised French, and writing in Hungarian in Spain, Andres Laszlo Sr. 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, France, and Spain have all remained indifferent. Consequently, there has been little to no political and, therefore, economic interest in promoting him.
- Challenging subjects. He wrote about a day in the life of a drunkard, with nothing but his discounted honour at stake, about a man searching for the unknown mother of his son (well, okay, so that’s a pretty commercial idea but it remains unexploited), and about a man earning a living by impregnating aspiring wet-nurses: a risqué, if not taboo, subject at the time.
- Stopped at the wrong moment. He suddenly stopped writing when the world seemed “at his mercy.” I believe this was because he felt that Paco Never Fails didn’t get the recognition it deserved: a molehill I believe my father turned into a mountain.
- Lazy son. I’ve had a book of my own that has helped me become financially independent. This has greatly affected my life and led me to not give my father the respect he deserved early on. Along with my adventures and writings that followed, this is my reason for not promoting his legacy, until long after his demise.
Andres Laszlo’s texts are fading into oblivion, and around 2010 I took it upon myself to stop it from happening. However, despite my determination, I lack the contacts and capital to pursue this effort effectively for much longer; i.e., I need help.
3. THIS IS WHAT I HAVE DONE AND WHAT I AM DOING.
E-books. (i) All my father’s texts have been scanned, OCR’d, and converted into e-books. (ii) Rights for English, Spanish, Italian, and Japanese texts have been acquired. (iii) I could obtain the e-rights for all remaining French and German translations if needed. (iv) New and improved English translations have been created for all seven books, so now The Complete Works of Andres Laszlo Sr. are available in both English and Spanish. (v) Two new book adaptations and two new scripts have been produced. (vi) More than 15 new translations have been completed, and (vii) Counting translations and adaptations, there are over 40 e-texts finished and ready to be published either electronically or in print. Check out some by entering ‘Andres Laszlo Jr.’ on Amazon.es (books are not for sale).
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 take the place of the 1940s, and 19,000 words expand to 75,000. This well-illustrated adaptation currently exists in six languages and has been developed into a film script. I have also turned Doña Juana back into the theatre script it with virtual certainty once was.
English platform. To successfully relaunch Andres Laszlo Sr., establishing a strong foundation in the English language has been a sine qua non. Consequently, I have had all seven of his books translated and properly edited.
Complete Works. After translating all of my father’s texts into English and making adaptations and edits (only two of his books had been previously edited or published in English), I have compiled The Complete Works in both English and Spanish. The edited English version is much better than the Spanish, making retranslation back into Spanish an option.
Biography, Filmology & Bibliography. I have researched and documented Senior’s life, as well as his cinematic and literary works; the results are (or used to be) available on Wikipedia. There was a time when I was frequently contacted by students and researchers wishing to write essays or theses on my father. Since I was not on talking terms with my father at the time, I always turned them down: today, they would be welcome.
Contacts made. (i) The Balassi Institute, a Hungarian organisation dedicated to promoting Hungarian culture abroad; however, they do not seem interested in András László. I feel they do not consider him a ‘real’ Hungarian writer or perhaps view him as ‘suspiciously Jewish’. (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/had a project called “Recovery of the Andalusian Literary Heritage.” Still, no one there appears to know much about Andres Laszlo Sr., although I believe he must be “one of the best Malaga has ever had.” (iv) EU. I have had some communication with the EU, but although my project seems eligible for grants, it appears to be “too much of a hassle,” and I am not the right person: neither for applying nor for leading. (v) Diputación de Málaga has a cultural program called “Culturama,” which 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 lecture, but they seem uninterested in further promotion. (vi) TV2 and other Spanish broadcasting corporations rank Mi Tio Jacinto (my father wrote the underlying text and co-wrote the script with Ladislao Vajda) among the top five contenders for the title “Spanish or Hispanic movie of all time,” but currently have no plans other than to show it at inconvenient times every couple of years.
4. AND THIS IS WHAT I PLAN TO DO.
New translations. I plan to continue translating Andres Laszlo Sr. into new languages, especially my native Swedish. Additionally, into major languages like Mandarin, Hindi, Russian, Brazilian, and Portuguese will be considered.
New films and scripts. My Uncle Jacinto has already been adapted into a film but would also make an excellent animated movie. Additionally, my adaptation of his Jacinto, The Challenge, exists as a film script. Paco Never Fails is also a movie, and although I have been called to Gallimard in Paris twice to approve new film adaptations, I see it as a television mini-series rather than a movie, so I have turned down the proposals (today I would accept and used the money to fund this project). Mother Unknown was turned into a film script by my father at the time of his death (so someone must have contracted or at least encouraged him). His collection of over twenty 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 am considering making Andres Laszlo Sr.’s works available through libraries, online retailers, and print-on-demand services. Currently, over 40 titles have been published on Amazon and then removed (i.e., for copyright reasons).
Website. I have created this site (www.andreslaszlo.com) and plan to use it to promote Andres Laszlo to a wider audience if I can't find agents or producers.
Though my father didn't have a “one 100%” homeland, he had “four 25%” that are now all full members of the EU. “A forgotten best-selling fiction writer with ‘four’ EU nationalities” sounds like something that could evoke at least some EU enthusiasm.
Here are some things I can send you: 1) This article about Andres Laszlo Sr. in any language available on this website; 2) Any of my father’s texts in any translation, including his Complete Works in English or Spanish; 3) Biography; 4) Bibliography; 5) Filmography; 6) The Challenge, my adaptation of My Uncle Jacinto in Spanish, Italian, French, Swedish, German, or English; 6) The Challenge as an English or Spanish script; and 7) Myself, as a lecturer or research assistant on my father’s life, texts, or films.
Overall, I have done my utmost (or at least some significant amount of work) to revive my father’s texts and writings. Still, I haven't received the response I have been hoping for, perhaps because I feel uncomfortable asking for assistance. Furthermore, (i) I have my own writings to focus on, especially my Dysfunctional Discourses (drug policy), and (ii) I lack the resources to promote Senior ad infinitum. So unless I receive some assistance in this endeavour...
My final attempt. I am currently reaching out to universities with ‘Hungarian Literature Departments’ or similar, to explore interest/cooperation.