INTERVIEW: Remembering the work of ‘Breslin and Hamill: Deadline Artists’
Photo: Pete Hamill and Jimmy Breslin are the subjects of the new HBO documentary Breslin and Hamill: Deadline Artists. Photo courtesy of Brian Hamill / Provided by HBO Media Relations with permission.
Jimmy Breslin and Pete Hamill were more than just the talk of the town. These two enterprising journalists dominated the headlines of the New York Post and New York Daily News, mostly because they helped to write those headlines.
Breslin wrote a regular column for the Daily News, covering many people and topics over the years, everything from poverty to race to politics to the Son of Sam killings to a famous story involving the gravedigger of President John F. Kennedy’s grave. He died in 2017.
Hamill also had an illustrious career in newspapers, magazines and works of fiction. The journalist, who is 83 years old, has many successful books under his name, including Forever, Why Sinatra Matters and Tabloid City.
The two journalistic giants epitomized New York City for decades, and their work is celebrated in a new HBO documentary, set to air Monday, Jan. 28 at 8 p.m. The film is directed by Jonathan Alter, John Block and Steve McCarthy.
Recently Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with Block and McCarthy (check here for the Soapbox’s interview with Alter). Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
What inspired you to make this film?
Block: It was the opportunity to get to know, learn from and showcase two of the most formidable journalists of our lifetimes — although Breslin himself hated that word — ‘journalist.’ He preferred ‘reporter.’
‘Chase, chase, chase,’ Jimmy used to say. Chase the story — nail it down. Learn. Then share.
Hard working stiffs, Breslin and Hamill had a knack for showing up at the wrong place at the right time ± covering some of our most significant, consequential events in New York and the nation at large. They had nerve and verve, and hyper-keen observational skills — often peppered with empathy and outrage — depending on who was doing what to whom.
Jimmy and Pete could be blunt and didn’t suffer fools lightly. Arresting musical wordsmiths and storytellers, they showed beauty where we sometimes forgot to look, and disaster and inequity where we sometimes didn’t want to look. They had the power to move the dial and affect public opinion. You might not like what they said, might not agree with it, but they always made you take notice and think twice — because they did their homework and knew from whence they came.
McCarthy: This is a challenging time for journalism. The media disruption and the death of newspapers — especially local newspapers — means stories aren’t being covered properly, and citizens are not being informed. This is a good time to examine something we lost — local columnists who reported on the big stories and offered their opinions. This is a film about two giants who brought insight, passion and humor to readers and helped them believe they had a voice.
How difficult was it finding all the archival footage and conducting all of the interviews?
Block: Pete and Jimmy were so famous and as a consequence, often interviewed on film and tape throughout their careers. They themselves were often the subjects of stories, so there was an avalanche of material.
Finding the archival footage and licensing it takes patience and in their case lots of money, and a talented archivist to corral it. We found that by way of the most best archive producers in the business — Peter Mahler, who came to the project already quite familiar with both men.
Conducting interviews entails so many variables — mainly it’s being a good listener and coming prepared — asking the questions that need to be asked. And then following through with the next question. It requires curiosity and nerve — feeling comfortable asking even uncomfortable questions that serve the story being pursued. Jimmy and Pete were fascinating. To this day, I could listen to the erudite, enlightening Pete Hamill for hours on end.
If anything, the challenge was getting the necessary questions in within a compressed period; 83-year-old Pete, for example, has to this day the sharpest and daring of minds. And while still handsome with a terrific head of hair that I would give a year’s pay to grow on my head, he has some physical challenges and tires easily.
McCarthy: We were lucky to have one of the top archive producers in the business working with us — Peter Mahler. He worked tirelessly to find all the TV appearances and still photos to help us tell the story. Breslin and Hamill we all over the place in the years they worked. You really get a sense of them and their importance thanks to great archival footage and photos.
How do you feel the documentary speaks to a 2019 audience?
Block: The film is especially apt for this time — for 2019. With the fourth estate routinely mocked and maligned by our president, I want our film to remind audiences of the import of conscientious journalism and hold the free press ever closer to their breasts. We need a free press every bit as much as we as a country ever needed it, and I want us as a democratic people to demand and support those who responsibly hold our leaders and institutions accountable. If that goes away — game over.
Journalists aim to enlighten and in so doing protect and serve its citizens. We need journalists who don’t simply take the words of the powers that be. We need Jimmy and Petes to walk the walk. The devil is in the details and coming face to face with the story itself.
McCarthy: The film is pertinent today because many of the issues Breslin and Hamill covered — race, poverty, war, injustice, gender discrimination are still plaguing our society. The film makes clear that we need smart, hardworking journalists to report on these stories and tell them from the viewpoint of the common person. People need to know that someone is listening to them. We have a situation today where many people feel disconnected from the big media companies and reporters who report from behind a computer. Jimmy and Pete went out the door and went to meet the people and speak with them directly. They gave voice to the voiceless.
What do you think Breslin and Hamill’s best attributes were as full-time journalists and columnists?
Block: They were so-called ‘shoe leather reporters’ who reported the story out and dared to speak out — even against their tribe or prevailing crowd-pleasing opinions. They were vigilant, always on high alert and had the capacity for empathy and outrage. They also had a sense of irony and a sense of beauty. And they were arresting storytellers. They made you care.
McCarthy: They came from the streets of Queens and Brooklyn and never forgot where they came from. They understood the working woman and man. They were also brilliant writers and keen observers. They looked the other way from where the pack of reporters were looking. They found the person or group of people who faced injustice and government incompetence and they told their stories.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Breslin and Hamill: Deadline Artists will air Monday, Jan. 28 at 8 p.m. on HBO. Click here for more information. Click here for an interview with Jonathan Alter.
