Interview: Chicago Novelist Marcus Sakey Enters ‘Hidden City’

Submitted by BrianTT on December 5, 2011 - 9:35am

CHICAGO – Crime novelist Marcus Sakey has written five best-selling novels and become one of the most acclaimed authors from the Chicago area working today. This week, he starts a new chapter of his career, taking his voice as a storyteller and using it to host The Travel Channel’s “Hidden City,” debuting December 6th, 2011 at 9pm CST. The mix of history, travel, and Sakey’s personality make for strong programming. We’ll review it in full tomorrow but Sakey recently called over to talk about the show’s origins, what fascinated him, progress on his books being adapted to film, and even furries in ball gags.

“Hidden City” features Sakey traveling to a new American metropolis every week and exploring a few of the most notable crime stories of that city. But this is no mere history lesson. Sakey tries to find the gray areas in the well-known stories that define his chosen locations. And he does so through experience. In Chicago, the premiere episode, he travels the grounds where The White City was erected to better understand the time of serial killer H.H. Holmes, gets pepper-sprayed to learn more about what it was like to be in the middle of the ‘68 riots, and fires an assault weapon to feel the power that lay in the hands of John Dillinger. Future cities of the 12-episode first season include Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Atlanta, and Austin.

HollywoodChicago.com: How did the project develop? Did you produce/create on your own and then shop it around? It’s not something where they “hired you in”?

MARCUS SAKEY: They didn’t “hire me in” but that’s not quite true. The real prime mover credit goes to the Executive Producer, Tom Cappello. He was a friend of mine, way back when…we had lost touch with each other. He found out I was writing books. He runs an acclaimed production company. He called me up and asked if I would be interested. We developed it together. I didn’t just do it on my own.

Marcus Sakey of Hidden City
Photo credit: The Travel Channel

HollywoodChicago.com: So then The Travel Channel picks it up. Do they change anything, offer any input, or is it pretty much what you guys had envisioned?

SAKEY: Honestly, they’ve been spectacular. For me, a really big thing was that I wanted it to be in my voice — I say obnoxious things, I curse, and I wanted to dwell in realms of gray. I really thought I might get some push back on that and I haven’t gotten the smallest bit. That really seems to be what they want to do too. They’re committed to making a smart, sophisticated show, which really turns me right on.

Marcus Sakey of Hidden City
Photo credit: The Travel Channel

HollywoodChicago.com: They’ve had a lot of success with that with Bourdain [who hosts the network’s “No Reservations,” one of their biggest hits].

SAKEY: God bless Tony Bourdain. Also because I love the show and I love him. I’m looking forward to meeting him at some point. That’s it exactly. Television has been heading more this way. They’re recognizing that people are smart and would prefer to be entertained in a sophisticated fashion and spoken to as adults. Bourdain really takes that forward and paved that way for the rest of us.

HollywoodChicago.com: Personality-driven TV has never been bigger either. Find a host and build the show around them. Let them be who they’re gonna be.

SAKEY: Yeah. And I think that makes some executives nervous. I enjoy Bourdain for the actual show but what makes it for me is when I have to pause because I’m laughing so hard. It’s so wrong and so clever.

HollywoodChicago.com: Travel Channel didn’t push back on the profanity with you?

SAKEY: No. There’s a line in the Los Angeles episode where we’re covering the Wonderland murders and I was on a riff and being obnoxious and I used the line “furries with ball gags.” As one does. And there was actually a meeting with the VP and our exec and three very-expensive lawyers talking about whether or not I could say “furries with ball gags.” The lawyers are pushing back and the development people are saying, “It’s fine. He can say it.” They’ve been great.

HollywoodChicago.com: How do you pick the stories you choose for each city? Of all the stories in Chicago…

SAKEY: We start with the city. We picked the 12 cities looking for a blend of cities you almost had to do — New York, Chicago, etc. — but then some surprises — Anchorage, The Florida Keys. Then we start looking at crimes. The truth is that the bulk of crime everywhere is the same - gangs, drugs, domestic violence, etc. The ones we’re looking for are the ones that tell you something about the place. Either they’re iconic — you can’t talk about crime in L.A. and not do The Black Dahlia; you can’t do San Francisco and not do The Zodiac. But you try to take it an interesting direction…

Marcus Sakey of Hidden City
Photo credit: The Travel Channel

HollywoodChicago.com: A lot of these are very familiar like Zodiac and Dahlia. Do you worry about doing stories that are OVERLY familiar?

SAKEY: There are certain stories that we have killed for that reason. A lot of it comes down to if we can do it an interesting way. And we have an angle in that I’m not a journalist. We’re going about this in the same way, really, that Tony Bourdain does. It’s me. It’s my attitude and thoughts. As a novelist, I get to say what I think people are thinking. I can draw a value judgment.

HollywoodChicago.com: And the experiential aspect of it.

SAKEY: At a glance, it could look gimmicky, but it’s very true in terms of coming to understand [the stories]. I mean, getting pepper-sprayed was not fun…

HollywoodChicago.com: Did you regret that one?

SAKEY: No. In the middle, it sucked. But, no I really didn’t. And I came to a deeper understanding of the story and the police mentality. Every recruit cop gets pepper-sprayed. The thing you learn is that it sucked but I was fine. 20 minutes later I could see. The next day I was fine. So, you learn that, as a cop, you can go straight to your pepper spray. Don’t engage. Don’t get in a fist fight.

HollywoodChicago.com: But you were fine because you were being helped. If you’re pepper-sprayed in a crowd or in a riot situation…it’s more the after effect of the spray, the impact on the crowd…

SAKEY: Bingo. Exactly. Exactly. The panic, the mob setting. That’s one of the things that I really like about the show — the acknowledgement that the world lives in a shade of gray. It makes perfect sense that an officer would go to their pepper spray. But then, when you step back, you got to take into account the larger issues — what happens to a crowd. A night stick is a non-lethal weapon — does that mean I can hit you in the head with it? As with that story, I believe the police went too far, but it’s not a black and white situation. You have to understand the times and the culture clash that played out there.

Marcus Sakey of Hidden City
Photo credit: The Travel Channel

HollywoodChicago.com: How much research do you intentionally NOT do? What I mean is I like the idea that we’re there with you learning about these stories.

SAKEY: You really are.

HollywoodChicago.com: So, for Zodiac, do you NOT go back and read Graysmith’s book or watch Fincher’s movie purposefully so you can approach these stories that I’m sure you know? Are you trying to approach it fresh?

SAKEY: I am. I definitely don’t watch Fincher’s movie, which is not a slam on Fincher, who’s f**king amazing. But I don’t watch fictionalizations. I don’t want that getting in my head. I do research them though. I don’t research exhaustively. Just enough to know what I’m talking about without bringing in other people’s conclusions. I know the facts, dates, and the conclusions that were drawn at the time. Police thought “this.” I like to come into it fresh. I write the show but not a word until after. We go in. I sit down and talk to these people and I get pepper sprayed and the themes are revealed through the process and the viewer is along with me.

HollywoodChicago.com: Has that process ever failed? Have you ever investigated a subject for a city and realized it wasn’t working for TV?

SAKEY: There have been one or two where we’ve reframed the larger issue because it’s just not meaty enough. More of that’s done up front than in the city. We decide on a crime and look for people and we might realize it’s thin on the ground or if it’s unanimous what happened.

HollywoodChicago.com: You’re looking for the gray.

SAKEY: Yes. We are. We’re trying to avoid being lurid or depressing or deeply in the dark side. There’s a real playfulness to the show that is part of the fun. It’s a little bit of gallows humor. I’m the navigator. I make fun of myself. But we’re really trying to make it feel like a bit of a ride that you’re on.

Marcus Sakey of Hidden City
Photo credit: The Travel Channel

HollywoodChicago.com: You always wanted to be a writer. Did you always want to be on TV?

SAKEY: Never. The amount of time I put into that was zero. It was a total surprise. I always wanted to be a novelist.

HollywoodChicago.com: A few of your books have been optioned for films. Any updates there?

SAKEY: Screenplays have been written for all three. I had nothing to do with the adaptations.

HollywoodChicago.com: You didn’t do the adaptations?

SAKEY: I can see adapting someone else’s work. But I don’t think I could have the separation you need. It’s like doing surgery on your own child.

HollywoodChicago.com: Could you birth your own original screenplay? Or what about episodic TV? HBO seems to love writers like you nowadays…

SAKEY: I would LOVE to do something like that. And I would love to write screenplays outright. Adapting a novel which is 100,000 words to 10-15,000 words is an art but you have to capable of such ruthless brutality. You have to understand the story on an impersonal level. I don’t think that I would have been capable to do that to my own work but they’re written. I’ve read ‘em. I’m pleased with ‘em. “The Blade Itself,” “Good People,” and “At the City’s Edge.” Furthest along is probably “Good People.” It was written by Kelly Masterson of “Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead,” It’s the only time you get to see your story the way that an audience member would or a viewer. It’s exhilarating in the hands of someone you trust. It’s optioned. Tobey Maguire is attached. Niels Arden Oplev is attached to direct. The truth is that things look really good but no actual updates.

HollywoodChicago.com: I’m assuming you’d do a season two?

SAKEY: Oh yeah. I’m hoping so.

HollywoodChicago.com: Has there been talk of that?

SAKEY: Things look good. I would love to do it. The Travel Channel has been wildly supportive. Everything comes down to whether or not people watch the show.

Do your part and watch “Hidden City” on Tuesday nights at 9pm CST, starting December 6th, 2011.