Exclusive – Jason Mott Talks about His Book The Returned, ABC’s Resurrection, and Brad Pitt!

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Sometimes I’m so unreliable. Last summer I had a fun lunch with Author Jason Mott and am just now getting around to posting this. I’m blaming iMovie – every sense the interface chance I hate using it – that’s my story. You may not know his name but if you watched Sundance Channel’s surprise hit, The Returned then you sort of know his work.  If you missed that show, don’t worry about it, there is now a major ABC Show called Resurrection that is based on his book and produced by a little Hollywood D lister named Brad Pitt. What would you do if your dead loved ones suddenly re-appeared as if nothing happened? How would society react? No they aren’t zombies.

  • His research included asking people two questions -How would people feel if their loved ones showed up and how would they feel six months later?
  • People who have returned have no idea that time has passed, so everyone around them has changed, while they remained the same.
  • The name of the book isn’t “The Runner” even though I tried to convince Jason to change the name so that I’d be correct.
  • The plot reminds me of 4400 Hundred and Torchwood’s Miracle Day. He hasn’t watched either show, but has heard the comparisons.
  • It took him a year to write the first draft.
  • He used to work for Verizon Wireless as a CS and I had some words for him and he had words for me about Verizon Customers.
  • He wished he had some great Brad Pitt stories but he really doesn’t. His production team loved the book and licensed it as soon as the book was published.
  • He wasn’t that involved with the production, but in the early days they did consult with him – if you look at IMDB he is credited for the pilot episode.
  • As a control freak, I would want to be involved in every aspect of a project that I create. Jason is different; he doesn’t want to be a show runner so he is good about letting his babies go. Once a book is published he is open to others doing their own things with his stuff. He’s curious to see what type of fanfiction his universe spawns.
  • His writing time is generally 7am – 2pm. For novels he feels like he has to have an outline before he writes an article.
  • His advice for writers is to develop a strong writing ethic and to write every single day.