Online Interview with the Winner
of the Hollywood Casting Director’s Contest

Ellis:
Congratulations on winning the “BEAR ANY BURDEN” Hollywood Casting Director’s Contest. I hope you are excited about your forthcoming trip.

Phyllis:
I’m very excited about winning the Contest. I’ve never seen Universal Studios, so that will be a great experience, as will staying at the hotel where they’ve just had the Golden Globe Awards.

Ellis:
Where did you hear about or buy “BEAR ANY BURDEN?”

Phyllis:
I was in line at my bank and there were two people in front of me talking and one of them was holding a copy of “BEAR ANY BURDEN,” and I was attracted to the cover. So, I interrupted them and asked about the book. They told me it was an espionage novel, covering World War II, and they recommended it.

I saw the advertisement for your book signing and discussion at The Bookstore On Chestnut in Winnetka, and I bought the book there.

Ellis:
Do you like this genre and what other authors have you read, and what are you reading now?

Phyllis:
Yes I do. I’m a fan of John le Carré, Graham Greene, and Richard Ludlum. Most recently, I’ve been reading “WHITE TIGER,” a biographical story of life in India, and I also read “SUITE FRANCAISE,” a true story about a family in France under German occupation during the Second World War.

Ellis:
“BEAR ANY BURDEN” covers 90 years of European history as well as being a family saga and espionage novel. Which particular area interests you the most?

Phyllis:
The Second World War period has always interested me. My father was Polish, and so I was able to relate to the historical aspect of the story and could imagine what his family might have gone through had they remained in Poland and not come to the US. I found those parts of the book particularly moving.

Ellis:
What part of the book did you find the most fascinating?

Phyllis:
I liked the descriptions of Maria’s life before and after the German invasion, the transport to the Russian Labor Camp, and the five years that she and her family spent there. I thought it was a compelling part of the novel, and I found Maria’s character to be admirable, strong, but compassionate.

Ellis:
Were you able to identify with Sir Alex Campbell and his family?

Phyllis:
Having read your Bio, I wonder whether Sir Alex’s story was based on your own family experience, but in any event, the Campbell family’s “rags to riches” success is very much part of the American story, so it was easy for me to identify with Sir Alex’s family.

Ellis:
Do you think the description of his life and family’s history is realistic?

Phyllis:
Yes, it was all very believable and obviously well researched. I think any reader could identify with one or more members of his family and his life, particularly if they lived through the Second World War.

Ellis:
Why did you choose Daniel Day Lewis as the potential actor to play Sir Alex Campbell in the movie version?

Phyllis:
I envisioned Sir Alex Campbell as a strong, but quiet successful businessmen, who kept his emotions and inner thoughts to himself and in check. I always admired Daniel Day Lewis as an actor. He is one who can change persona and character, and I felt he would have no difficulty in portraying Sir Alex Campbell extremely well.

Ellis:
Why did you choose Scarlett Johansen to be the potential actor for Anna Kaluza?

Phyllis:
I love Scarlett Johansen. She is a great young actress that appears to be able to play any role. She’s very attractive with a lot of sex appeal, tall, blonde, and blue-eyed. To my mind, she seems to fit Anna’s character perfectly. Also, I saw Scarlett Johansen as being able to transform herself over the years, into a forty-two year-old in 1983, when most of the action takes place.

Ellis:
Have you ever visited Poland or Eastern Europe and, if so as a follow-up, what is your impression of the accuracy of the Book?

Phyllis:
Yes, my husband and I did visit Poland in the early 70s, which was during the Cold War. It was an uncomfortable feeling to be in that country at that time. I remember distinctly that there was a black market in currency trading going on, and men were hanging around our hotel trying to persuade us to change our dollars. I found people to be furtive and unfriendly at that time. We visited the former Jewish ghetto in Warsaw, but had difficulty in getting people to even tell us where it was located.

Your research about Poland during the Cold War was obviously detailed, and the descriptions certainly rang true.

Ellis:
What did you like about the characters – Anna Kaluza, Maria Kaluza Zyrardowski, and Erik Keller?

Phyllis:
I loved Anna’s cool character. She didn’t let her guard down. She was beautiful and elegant, but was also strong and determined. I think she was looking for a father figure in her emotional life, and so I thought her marriage to Jack didn’t have a chance. After all, he was a party guy, who was nearly forty, and it was obvious to me that the marriage wasn’t going to last.

Her Polish love affair also never had a chance, since she was involved with a much older married man with a sick wife. I thought she might develop a romantic relationship with Alex who would be another father figure in her life.

Maria was a wonderful character. She was confident, intelligent, and capable, a clear leader – both physically and mentally strong – who was able to adjust to her circumstances whether in the Labor Camp in Russia or when moving to Australia. She obviously had considerable charisma because even her employers became her friends.

I found Erik Keller harder to read. I envisaged him as being older than his years. His wartime experiences, loss of family in the Holocaust, and working under a repressive Communist system had pushed him down. He appeared to be consciously in denial about his Jewish background; and, if he survives at the end of the Book and finds out he’s related to Alex, I perceive a situation where he would totally break down with that news on top of the death of his wife, and perhaps not be as useful to the British SIS as planned.

Ellis:
Were you surprised at the ending?

Phyllis:
Yes. Things did not turn out as I expected. There were a lot of unanswered questions, but I liked that, because it made me think.

Ellis:
Would you like to see a sequel?

Phyllis:
The unusual ending certainly begs for a sequel. I want to know what happened to Jan, Erik Keller, and Anna. I do hope you’ll consider writing the next stage of this intriguing story.

Ellis:
Have you recommended “BEAR ANY BURDEN” to your friends?

Phyllis:
Yes, and also to the Wilmette Public Library who have stocked it.

Ellis:
Do you have any further comments on the book?

Phyllis:
I thought it was a great read, a spy story, family saga, and World War II historical novel. I really enjoyed it. Like many readers, I could see the story being turned into a movie, so I hope it makes it.

The Winner of this Contest and Guest Will Receive:

v Two Return Airline Tickets from your hometown to an American Airlines connection to Los Angeles, California

v Three Nights (including a Saturday night) – Four Days at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, site of the Annual Golden Globes Awards Show

v Private pick-up and delivery at Los Angeles Airport

v Tour of Universal Studios with transfers to and from the Hotel

v Grand Tour of Los Angeles, including Movie Stars Homes

v A Marina Del Ray Dinner Cruise on Saturday night

Ellis M. Goodman was born in England and moved to the United States in 1982. He was educated at Brighton College Sussex, and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, and is the former Chairman and CEO of a major US Beverage Alcohol producer, importer and distributor. Ellis M. Goodman is the author of a number of magazine articles on the US Beverage Alcohol Industry, and the business book, Corona: The Inside Story of America's #1 Imported Beer.He serves on a number of civil, educational, and cultural boards in Chicago; and, in 1996, was invested as a Commander of the British Empire by HM Majesty Queen Elizabeth for services to British exports. He and his wife, Gillian, live in Glencoe, Illinois.