Prior to steady employment as America’s Beloved Porn Journalist I parlayed my state-issued Commercial Driver License into a gig driving escorts to appointments.
When driving a pro it was as solid a job as working at General Electric; when the escort didn’t take her job seriously it was like herding cats. Cats who lie to you and have gonorrhea.
“The Delivery Man,” the debut novel of Joe McGinniss, Jr. (his father wrote “The Selling of the President 1968
Like any resort town, the desperate side of Las Vegas is never too far away. And that might be its appeal. “The Delivery Man” paints a picture of Chase, the artist, and Las Vegas, his home, in equally somber tones, but no less rich. Read it before your next trip to Vegas.
I talked with McGinniss recently.
GP: Most novels containing world-weariness usually feature older characters. What compelled you to write about younger natives?
JMcG: This is as much a story about the hypersexualization of young people and the rise of sex in popular culture – as it is a Vegas story. Young people had to be front and center of “The Delivery Man” because they reflect society and social mores so clearly. And the combination of young people and Las Vegas was irresistible given the fantastic glittery void and raison d’être of the city. What do the kids who grow up in the spillover from the Strip aspire to? How does living in ground zero of social and moral dysfunction – complete with adult industry annual awards shows and Latino immigrants handing out call-girl flyers offering ‘girls in 20 minutes or less’ t-shirts – impact kids as they come of age? So this is why I had to focus on the younger natives of Las Vegas.
GP: Like Los Angeles, the accepted wisdom about Las Vegas is its artlessness. Chase’s pursuit of an art career is one of the many ominous elements of the novel, because a reader has a good idea it won’t go well. Where did his half-hearted profession come from?
JMcG: There are some wonderful artists in Vegas. And some impressive efforts to develop an art community. But yes, there’s a mountain of angst in that place and so few places to put it. So what better then to have Chase channel his personal pain into his art. His favorite painting ‘Carly’ possesses obvious emotional power for him. But like too many “victims” of a Las Vegas upbringing – Chase never quite gets his ambitions off the ground. He has a sense of what he wants, and even a track record of achieving something (gaining admission to NYU, nominated for Teacher of the Year), but like so many in his hometown, he’s afflicted by a paralyzing lack of self-esteem that manifests itself in his half-hearted pursuit of an art career.
GP: Lack of self esteem leads to half-heartedness? Don’t tell the porn industry.
I was happy to see via a trip through your site that there is a screenplay in progress, because Las Vegas needs the treatment Michael Mann gave to L.A. and Scorsese gave to New York and Boston. Who do you see playing the main characters?
JMcG: I’m officially an “associate producer” on this project therefore I’m under contractual obligation not to mention specific names of potential directors and talent. I take this job and that title very seriously so I’m afraid I can’t offer anything. Kidding. I really haven’t given it too much thought but have recently become fixated on a few excellent young actresses out there. I see Lauren London as Julia and Nikki Reed as Michele. Both of them are talented and stunning and have this intangible quality — a certain sultriness — that I think would really fit with a film version of this novel. There’s no question that the film will give young actors an incredible opportunity to completely bust out with something so edgy and fast and tough. Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run) or Paul Thomas Anderson could direct. Are they available?
GP: I’ll see what I can do. Issues I have with the book (feel free to become enraged; it is your birthright as a writer):
The character Julia arrives for a conference in the middle of the year as an adult convention and awards show is going on, porn stars abound at the Hard Rock. Which convention would this be? The AVNs are in January and I can’t think of another Vegas awards show.
JMcG: Two words: artistic license. And the National Black MBA isn’t in the Spring — it’s held each fall as I am well aware because my wife went to that for many years during and just after she graduated “b’school” as they call it (with some of her stories making it into “TDM”). But that timing didn’t work for the book. As well, in fairness, I didn’t name the AVN’s — just an unidentified adult film convention.
GP: AVN’s PR firm will be stoked to read this. Who is the actual model for the cover girl?
JMcG: Isn’t she amazing looking? Her name is Anna Seeberg. An aspiring model who lives with her family in Wisconsin. The picture was snapped by her younger sister — 16 at the time — in the backseat of their mother’s car. The art director for Grove/Atlantic found the photo on Anna’s MySpace page and worked something out with her parents (she wasn’t 18 at the time) and we got the rights to her photo. Stunning picture. Urban Outfitters must like her look too because they’re selling the book hard in all of their stores. As far as characters in the book — I don’t think she’s supposed to be anyone in particular. It’s more about the expression on her face, the red glasses, the light finding her hair the way it does, the lolita thing, the back-seat of a car. But if she has to be someone — I say Aubrey — from El Cajon — who weighs 87 pounds and whose favorite food is an Egg McMuffin without the egg.
Previously: Christa Faust’s “Money Shot”
See also: Joe McGinness Jr.
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