It is my pleasure to host author and renowned Hollywood producer Troy Devolld on my blog today.
Me: How is your health Troy?
Troy: I’m doing very well now.
Me: What made you pen down One Hundred Poems About Los Angeles?
Troy: I had a stroke back in May of last year and needed to figure out how to fall back in love with my life in Los Angeles quickly. Working on the laptop was terrific occupational therapy, and forcing myself to take inventory of my wonderful life here that I’d all but taken for granted kept my resolve up while I dealt with my frustrating physical challenges.
Me: Will you call the process therapeutic or is it somewhere mentally taxing as well?
Troy: It wasn’t an easy process, but the more I worked on it, the easier it became to focus. Having a project and a purpose really helped me slug forward.
Me: Readers say that the poems resonates with their experiences and is uplifting. What would you comment on that?
Troy: A lot of the people who’ve reviewed it are people who live here and work in various aspects of the entertainment industry. I think, or at least hope, that the universality of trying to be a creative person in a competitive town is helping people to connect with the book.
Me: Will you share a poem from either of your books with our readers? A favourite of yours maybe?
Troy: Sure.
Stargreyzing
The thing they never tell you
About coming to L.A.
Is that all your favorite stars
Are grey
And their boobs look wrong
And their beards look different
And they’re much taller or shorter
Than you imagined
And you will feel old
Thinking about how they are old
And then
As if by magic
You will respect them more
As you recall the scripture
Of picture magazines
That told you all along
That they were
Just
Like
Us
Me: You had a successful career in Hollywood spanning over 20 years. Do you think you’ll be going back to production?
Troy: I’m working toward that now. I’m feeling sharp and ready to move forward on something fun!
Me: Both the covers of the books are extremely soothing and attractive. How did they come to be?
Troy: I found a wonderful cover designer named Yasir Nadeem online. I like how he lets the mood and text be the star of the covers. He’ll be doing my next two books as well.
Me: Are there any new projects underway?
Troy: Yes. ONE HUNDRED POEMS ABOUT FILM AND TV is about halfway finished, and I’ll soon release a print edition of AND ANOTHER THING, my book on the television notes process. I’m also nearing completion on my reality tv documentary feature, REMEMBER, WE’RE NOT HERE.
Troy DeVolld is a veteran reality television producer who has worked on some 30+ reality programs, including milestone efforts like The Osbournes, The Surreal Life, The Bachelor, Dancing With the Stars, Basketball Wives and Hollywood Game Night. He is a past Daytime Emmy nominee for his work on Style Network’s Split Ends and is also the author of the bestselling books Reality TV: An Insider’s Guide to Television’s Hottest Market and And Another Thing: A Beginner’s Guide to the Television Notes Process.
DeVolld has guest lectured as part of the TV Writers Summit live events in London, Tel Aviv and Los Angeles, and has appeared at UFVA (University Film and Video Association) events in Boston, Chicago and Las Vegas. He has written or contributed to works published in Time, Newsweek, A.V. Club, Emmy, The New York Times, TheWrap.com and The Washington Post and is cited in a number of academic texts, including Palgrave MacMillan’s Real Talk. He is a Hall of Fame graduate of Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL .
Troy is represented for media appearances and speaking opportunities by Brian Jones at Vertical Talent Agency: brian@verticaltalentagency.com
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