Errors and Omissions

March 13, 2006
Goldstein, a Stanford law professor, takes a tired legal thriller convention for his debut—the alcoholic attorney staring into a personal and professional abyss—and spins out a fresh, sharp-witted drama about Hollywood's blacklist. Intellectual property lawyer Michael Seeley takes a case that could be his swan song: arguing that United Pictures, a huge movie studio, still has the rights to its cash cow, the Spykiller
series, now coming up on its eighth installment. What appeared to be a simple legal brief, however, takes Seeley back to the Hollywood of the 1950s when blacklisted writers were forced to conceal their identity to sell scripts—a practice that muddies the Spykiller
pedigree for United. Soon, Seeley finds himself in a violent tug-of-war among studio bosses, the screenwriter's union and long-forgotten blacklist victims. Sharp dialogue and a well-formed main character more than make up for a shortage of action and a finale that could use a bit more kick. Goldstein, who does a fine job of breaking down complicated moral, ethical and historical issues to understandable nuggets, has laid the foundation for what could be a strong franchise.

September 4, 2006
The bromide about writing what you know works well for Stanford law professor Goldstein, an expert in intellectual property jurisprudence who participated in a famous case involving ownership of the James Bond film franchise. In his intriguing debut novel, he tosses his burned-out litigator, Michael Seeley, into the middle of a movie studio's homicidal battle to continue to control the rights to a fabulously successful spy series. This adaptation, which dips back into Hollywood's blacklist era, is a pretty intellectual property itself, depending more on character and motivation and moral ambiguity than action and suspense. Keeler relies on shading and subtlety rather than broad vocal interpretation. He segues smoothly from lively descriptive passages to even livelier dialogue sequences. Goldstein enjoys writing scenes in which several people converse at a fast clip; Keeler has no trouble attaching identifying voices to each while matching the novel's snappy patter. The novel ends not with a bang but with a mild joke. As wryly interpreted by Keeler, that seems not only appropriate but completely satisfying for a thinking man's thriller. Simultaneous release with the Doubleday hardcover (Reviews, Mar. 13).