James Patterson's Book On Jeffrey Epstein

The Jeffrey Epstein scandal has been much in the news again lately, and quite frankly I've been surprised how many years have passed before it became a hot topic. I did a search on my blog to see exactly when I first wrote about it. Turns out that it was 2018 when I read James Patterson's detailed account of what Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell were up to. I mentioned it here in my end-of-year summary of audiobooks read in 2018.

The full title of Patterson's book is Filthy Rich: A powerful billionaire, the sex scandal that undid him, and all the justice that money can buy : the shocking true story of Jeffrey Epstein.   

I was never a James Patterson fan. I picked up this volume because it was non-fiction. I'd picked up an earlier novel of his at one time just to see why he was so "popular." The first chapter was as far as I got. I do not find books or films about sicko violence to women to be entertaining.

In the case of Filthy Rich, I was drawn in by the wealthy clients and "friends" in Epstein's circle. If these thing were true, as Patterson presented them, why was the media so silent? Bill Clinton was allegedly very much "in the club," purportedly making numerous trips* on Epstein's Lolita Express. [For those unfamiliar, Vladimir Nabokov's 1939 novel Lolita is about a middle-aged lit professor with a pedophilic obsession, who becomes infatuated with a 12-year-old, manipulating her into a sexual relationship and more.]

So which is it? Life imitating art or vice versa?

To my knowledge, none of Epstein's clients have been indicted for their actions. (By way of contrast, Roman Polanski fled the country to avoid prosecution for similar behavior, but none of the the Epstein entourage has been indicted as far as I know. 

 

But as I noted at the beginning, why was there so little media coverage of these events until recently.

As Dylan wrote in his ballad of Hurricane Carter:

"Ain't it a shame to live in a land where justice is a game?"

* I do not recall exact names and numbers at this point.

Helter Skelter, Revisited

The Beatles’s White Album, a double album which some say was their epitome and others say revealed the beginning of their end, was released in 1968. In 2003 Rolling Stone ranked it number 10 on their list of all time greatest albums. The sixth song on side three was called Helter Skelter, which psychopathic madman Charles Manson insanely interpreted as a call to anarchic revolution.

For a time the Manson family lived on Sunset Boulevard with Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys who was initially impressed with Manson's songwriting skills. They also took enormous quantities of LSD. Later, in 1969, members of the Manson Family broke into the home of Roman Polanski and brutally killed Polanski’s eight months pregnant young wife Sharon Tate and several others in what later became known as the Tate-Bianca murders.

Director Roman Polanski’s film Chinatown (1973) starred Jack Nicholson, in whose home a 1977 event took place which led to Polanski's arrest and subsequent flight from the country .

Marlon Brando at one time lived next door to Jack Nicholson. Sometimes Brando would walk over to Nicholson’s house for milk and if Jack was not home, Brando would leave his underwear in the fridge where the milk had been.

In February 1968 the Beatles and Mike Love of the Beach Boys went to India to learn more about Eastern religion and Transcendental Meditation under the guidance of Mahareshi Mahesh Yogi. The Beatlles would write a biting song about the Mahareshi, but concealing the direct connection to avoid a lawsuit. The song was called Sexy Sadie, on side three of The White Album on the track precedig Helter Skelter.

In the spring of 1973 during a Beach Boys concert at Ohio University I walked to the stage before the concert began and handed Mike Love a pen-and-ink drawing which I had made, tearing it from my sketch book. He seemed to like the drawing and thanked me for it.

Conclusion: Based on the theory of six degrees of separation, anyone who knows me is within six degrees of Jack Nicholson, Roman Polanski, the Beach Boys, Beatles, Marlon Brando and Charles Manson.

Think about it.

Trivia: At the very end of Helter Skelter there is a scream, "I've got blisters on my fingers," which most people attributed to John. It was actually Ringo's voice here. This song, written by Paul McCartney, gives evidence that he was not simply a sweet ballad-writing type of guy. I believe he did it, if I recall correctly, simply to show that he could.

Chinatown: A Polanski Masterpiece

“The exhaustive, labyrinthine narrative is built up like a fortress around this film’s bitter heart.” ~Jeremy Kipp, Slant Magazine

Chinatown. I never get tired of this film. From the haunting music to the crisp dialogue, fabulous screenplay and Roman Polanski’s masterful direction, this film is a sheer pleasure as a work of tragic art. Here's an excerpt from Kipp's insightful review...

The dialogue by Robert Towne has become part of the pop lexicon, "Forget it, Jake—it's Chinatown!" a catch phrase for being in over your head, or for hurting the one you were trying to help. One of those classic American movies from the 1970s, when studios were churning out themes instead of properties for theme parks, Chinatown can be enjoyed on multiple levels. It's a first-class detective story about a man killed by drowning in the middle of a Los Angeles drought. On top of that, it's a disturbing parable about the pressure put on the human heart, with private detective Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson) doggedly pursuing the elusive facts about Evelyn Mulwray (Faye Dunaway) and her deep-seated reasons for hiding the truth from him. "You may think you know what you're dealing with," intones John Huston as the depraved millionaire Noah Cross, "but believe me, you don't."

Syd Field, author of the book Screenwriting, at one time possibly the Bible for how to write movie scripts, states that if you want to write a superior screen play study Chinatown.

But it is more than a perfect screenplay. It’s is truly a work of craftsmanship in its execution. Once you have seen it a couple times you no longer have to watch to see what it is about. Now you can begin to dissect it, and appreciate its meticulous attention to detail. I invite you to stop the movie at any spot and notice the images, the camera angles, the lighting, the effects. Every frame is a work of art.

Likewise, listen to the dialogue that accompanies these images. Every single scene not only advances the story, it reveals and conceals the mystery. The characters who appear in this film are developed with quick brush strokes through sequences of encounters, engaging banter and a story line that perpetually moves forward toward its painful conclusion.

Jack/Jake’s bandaged nose for seemingly half the film is an amusing metaphor for his character throughout: a snoop.

But it keeps coming back to the screenplay. Listen to this exchange between Dunaway and Nicholson later in the film. It’s rich.

Evelyn Mulwray: Tell me, Mr. Gittes: Does this often happen to you?
Jake Gittes: What's that?
Evelyn Mulwray: Well, I'm judging only on the basis of one afternoon and an evening, but, uh, if this is how you go about your work, I'd say you'd be lucky to, uh, get through a whole day.
Jake Gittes: Actually, this hasn't happened to me for a long time.
Evelyn Mulwray: When was the last time?
Jake Gittes: Why?
Evelyn Mulwray: It's an innocent question.
Jake Gittes: In Chinatown.
Evelyn Mulwray: What were you doing there?
Jake Gittes: Working for the District Attorney.
Evelyn Mulwray: Doing what?
Jake Gittes: As little as possible.
Evelyn Mulwray: The District Attorney gives his men advice like that?
Jake Gittes: They do in Chinatown.

Note the misdirection in this exchange a few minutes later.

Evelyn Mulwray: You really don’t like to talk about the past, do you.
Jake Gittes: I’m tired.

Dunaway then delivers yet another of my favorite lines. A little further Nicholson, continuing his probe, asks one more thing and she demurs.

Jake Gittes: What? It's an innocent question.

Evelyn Mulwray: With you, Mr. Gittes, there are no innocent questions.

Nor are there any wasted opportunities.

There are certainly a lot of great films and not everyone appreciates what this one offers up, but if you have any inclination to make movies, I recommend you study this one. There’s more here than meets the eye.