A Night of Two Tones
Only a couple of days after the launch of ‘Making News’, Tony Martin and I appeared at the Wheeler Centre in ‘A Night of Two Tones’. It was a memorable night, and Tony’s second appearance in the space of four days plugging my book.
In the video below, I read a section from Making News that was inspired by some tabloid wisdom that was handed to my brother-in-law when he worked at the Herald Sun: ‘There are only three types of story, Craig. “Tut tut”, “poor bastard” and “that’s weird”. If it’s not one of those three, it’s not a story.’
Tony Martin reads a truly hilarious piece about being stitched up by the Herald Sun, when they absolutely, definitely weren’t going to do a story about his bust up with Mick Molloy.
Thanks to the Wheeler Centre for having us along, and supporting ‘Making News’.
from: http://wheelercentre.com/videos/video/a-night-of-two-tones/
You can purchase Making News online at Readings
Reviews
The Age, A2, 21/8/10
Dan Silkstone
Making News is easier to read than Brendan Fevola at the poker table and far, far funnier. As a novel it hangs coherently and builds with purpose - avoiding the traps sometimes encountered when funny people try the serious business of writing a proper book.
Wilson - known first for his role on Race Around the World, then his breakfast radio gig before turning his hand to writing - is not just another comedian stringing together a few set pieces and witty observations. He is a novelist who just happens to be hilarious.
He's also an unrepentant fantasist. Enjoying the omnipotence wielded by the writer of alternative history, Wilson does not opt for alien invasions or a World War II reboot like John Birmingham. Granted god-like powers he tends to the things that matter. In his hypothetical near future one big thing has changed. Australia's Socceroos did not lose that heartbreaking round-of-16 World Cup game to Italy in 2006.
Why? Because of Charlie Dekker - scorer of two heroic goals in that match, a match to be remembered forever by Italians for the controversial penalty denied Fabio Grosso when he tripped over Lucas Neill's trailing leg (Wilson even has Sepp Blatter apologising to Italy for the injustice). It's the result all of Australia wanted. Only Wilson had the gumption to just make it up for himself.
Dekker is the greatest Australian player of his generation, part Harry Kewell part Shane Warne but with a social conscience and a famous anti-war stance that made him a cause celebre and - as the times demand - tabloid fodder. A former Liverpool star he is now - best days behind him - still eking out a living at Fulham.
Making News tells the story of Lucas Dekker, who has superstar footballer Charlie for a father and pro-family, self-help author Monica for a mother. Not exactly normal. As teenage Lucas lucks into a job at a red-top tabloid his parents become embroiled in a titillating sex scandal exposed by the very same organ.
The terrain here is not so new. Football, celebrity and image culture as well as the build 'em up, tear 'em down British tabloid media are all eviscerated, but somehow Wilson is able to do it tenderly, twisting the knife with a smile and ducking the scorn or loathing that infects, say, Martin Amis's Yellow Dog. The choice of Lucas as protagonist helps cushion the cynicism and inject a naive charm.
You also get some genuinely memorable comic moments as Lucas learns the tabloid ropes (A stakeout of a short-statured couple who are expecting a child together before discovering they are brother and sister earns headlines ''Big trouble in little vagina'' and ''The dwarful truth''.)
There have been - in this World Cup year - a spate of Australian soccer novels from the likes of Neil Humpreys and Adrian Deans. Making News is a welcome addition, in which the plot can never get outlandish enough to outstrip the world being scrutinised. References to real-life characters - George Negus, Ben Buckley, Mark Viduka - lend an authenticity that is amusing in itself.
But while the football references are pitch perfect, this is really a novel about moral hypocrisy and the shallowness of celebrity culture. The arrows all find their mark but Wilson's comic touch is such that there is no bitterness or railing against the times and the bad guys all get their comeuppance in the end.
By the time it happens, he almost has you cheering.
Herald Sun, 14/8/10
Ian Royall
Melbourne author, broadcaster and all-rounder Tony Wilson returns to the fiction world with a tale of tabloid media, celebrity culture and the difficulties of father-son relationships.
The action set in London centres on Charlie Dekker, imaginary hero of the Socceroos 2006 campaign, and his son Lucas, whose writing aspirations lead him to write for the screaming tabloid that turns on his own family.
Dekker senior's playing days are over and he is seeking a career post-football. But he is filmed in a sex romp threesome and his life, and his family, unravels very publicly thanks to a voracious media.
Wilson is at times clever and perceptive in his knowledge of the workings of the British media. He's not as pacy and quick-witted as Ben Elton in his prime but he's certainly in the same league.
Some of the twists and turns verge on the unconvincing but, hey, we are talking about celebrities and the media so even the unthinkable can be possible.
Ian Royall's verdict: he scores!
Woman’s Day, 23/8/10, p114
Julie Redlich
A celebrity story is great, and the more sensational the better. Great gossip assures conversation around the water cooler for days. So what does teenage Lucas do when his famous footballer dad Charlie hits the headlines in a sex scandal? The trouble is, Lucas has a student apprenticeship on a tabloid, so does he continue diligently with his job – or does family come first? And how will his mum, famous for her family oriented guidance books, react? This story behind the front pages is a bit dark, but lots of fun.
Hamish and Andy talk about Making News
Listen to Hamish and Andy talk about Making News on Fox FM - mp3
Bookseller and Publisher Magazine
7/7/10,
Lee McGowan
Tony Wilson’s second novel is a scathing commentary on tabloid journalism’s gorge on the greasy spoon of contemporary celebrity. As well as, almost fondly, rewriting football history—Australia defeats Italy in the 2006 World Cup—it offers substantial, if easy, entertainment with a biting wit. Charlie Dekker is a principled, Beckham-like football star who has only recently retired from playing Premier League and Socceroos matches alongside the likes of Cahill, Neil and Schwarzer. His wife, Monica, is a highly strung superstar of the ‘selfhelperati’ circuit. His son, Lucas, is a doe-eyed 16-year-old who prefers writing to football, and wins a trainee stint with the sensationalist British paper The Globe. When Charlie’s entanglement in a sordid scandal threatens to wreck the Dekkers’ respective careers, the young lad’s gonzo idealism puts his family’s dramas and his own moral and ethical dilemma on the front page. Making News is a fast-paced, near- realist melodrama sliced through with box-cutter blade humour. Previous comparisons with Ben Elton and Shane Maloney are not misplaced; it should have no trouble picking up good press.
Lee McGowan works at Riverbend Bookshop in Brisbane
M/C Reviews,
‘Complexity and Intimacy in Making News’
Sue Barker
‘Making News is a light, enjoyable read with believable characters that add a good level of complexity, and intimacy, to carry the story forward. Wilson gently layers the story threads, building the pace as the book progresses, dropping new titbits of information before rolling everything up to a satisfying, and gratifying, end. The characters in this book really come alive and deliver an interesting, enjoyable read.’