Welcome…
This website is dedicated to setting the record straight.
Today’s truth exists in a virtual world. And since, as Frank Lloyd Wright once noted, “The truth is more important than the facts,” I have decided to attempt to put my house in order. Hopefully you’ll find your visit worthwhile.
You may browse the site by clicking on the tabs that line the top of this page. Each tab will take you into a different arena. The tab marked “Films” will take you to movie projects both present and past. Those interested in the life and work of Sam Peckinpah might consider clicking on “In Print.” Writing samples…? A Director’s Reel…? Simply click on the appropriate tab.
Discover something’s amiss…? Drop me a line and let me know. If you’re right, I’ll be the first to change it. If you’re not, in the saintly words of the dear departed mother of Chicago’s late Mayor Richard J. Daly: “There’s a sprig o’ mistletoe dangling off the tail o’ me coat…”
Slainte…
Garner Simmons
Recent Updates
THE LOCARNO FILM FESTIVAL — GARNER SIMMONS was a principal speaker at A Retrospective on the Life & Films of SAM PECKINPAH August 7th – 10th, 2015 in Locarno, Switzerland
The Retrospective included screenings of all of Peckinpah’s feature films along with much of his television work coupled with panels and discussions.
Following Locarno, the SAM PECKINPAH RETROSPECTIVE traveled to the Cinematheque Franciase in Paris and then on to Turin, Italy before concluding its run in New York City’s Lincoln Center on March 31st thru April 8th, 2016, where again, Simmons was a principal speaker introducing The Deadly Companions, The Wild Bunch and Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia.
The Writers Guild of America, West has selected the screenplay The Wall by Garner Simmons for recognition in conjunction with its 2016 Feature Writer Access Project. This is the second year in a row that Simmons has had his work selected for recognition. In 2015, his screenplay A Cool State of Blood won this same competition.
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MARCH 13TH, 2021 — ANNOUNCING:
THE EXFILTRATOR – a new novel by Garner Simmons [Publication date: 13 February 2021]
THE STORY BEGINS 32,000 years ago in the mountains of northern Iberia (modern day Spain) where a young Neanderthal male encounters a Cro-Magnon hunting party and is attacked and murdered.
TODAY in the holy city of Najaf a powerful Iraqi cleric is attacked and critically wounded by Islamic terrorists. Should he die, any chance for peace in the region dies with him. The only hope lies with his son, Tariq, who has gone missing somewhere in the mountains north of Madrid.
With time running out, the CIA turns to…. MICHAEL CORBETT.
American by birth and Oxford trained, Corbett is a renowned archeologist. But this is simply his cover. For to the CIA he is an EXFILTRATOR — a freelance independent contractor who specializes in locating and extracting high value targets from extreme circumstances.
But there are complications…
At Oxford, he and Tariq were friends. Today Tariq is rumored to be living with a woman who was once also Corbett’s lover. Meanwhile, Corbett becomes involved with Ella Beckwith, an attractive young graduate intern…
At the same time, AN ISIS TERROR CELL – religious fanatics obsessed with carrying out the “Will of God” – begin to track Corbett believing he will lead them to Tariq. Racing against time and the Terrorists, Corbett must find Tariq and exfiltrate him…before ISIS takes his head!
Available in paperback and Kindle e-book editions on Amazon beginning MARCH 13, 2021.
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Peckinpah – A Portrait in Montage (Audiobook)
Written by Garner Simmons and read by Jason Culp
Peckinpah: A Portrait in Montage (The Definitive Edition) is a comprehensive biography on the American filmmaker Sam Peckinpah, creator of such films as The Wild Bunch, Ride the High Country, Straw Dogs, and Junior Bonner.Buy Audiobook from Audible
Written by Garner Simmons, whose relationship with Peckinpah began in 1973 and continued until the director’s death in December of 1984, the book is read by the gifted actor Jason Culp, son of the late Robert Culp. It examines Peckinpah’s genius, his conflicted life, and his controversial films in the words of those who knew him. Because Robert Culp and Sam Peckinpah had been friends since the mid-1950s, Jason grew up knowing the director.
Thus his ability to capture Peckinpah’s distinctive voice is uncannily accurate as are the voices of the more than 70 actors, writers, producers, collaborators, family, friends, and enemies, including Strother Martin, LQ Jones, RG Armstrong, William Holden, Charlton Heston, Ida Lupino, and many more. It concludes with the special bonus: “Remembering Sam – A Conversation Between Jason Culp and Author Garner Simmons”. Buy Audiobook from Audible
More about the book…
PECKINPAH: A Portrait in Montage — The Definitive Edition
This new definitive edition of the book was first published through the University of Texas Press (1982) then updated and expanded through Limelight Editions of New York (1998). Available here in paperback, hardcover and an audiobook it brings together for the first time all of my writings on Sam Peckinpah in one place.
Of special note is the audiobook from ACX Audible. Read by the gifted Jason Culp whose father, the late actor Robert Culp, and Peckinpah were friends, he flawlessly captures the tone, timbre and edginess of the director’s voice as well as those of the 70+ actors, writers, cohorts and crew, friends and family, enemies and lovers who spoke with me. A remarkable creative genius whose films challenged the established norms of Hollywood, Peckinpah remains a unique 20th American artist whose chosen medium was motion pictures.
Today, more than 50 years after the release of his masterpiece The Wild Bunch, his work still resonates with audiences throughout the world. My relationship with Sam began in the summer of 1973 and continued until his death in 1984. He was only 59. Like all great artists he sacrificed everything for his art — 14 feature films and a small but commanding body of television work — a legacy that will live for as long as people continue to tell stories on film. If you find this intriguing and are interested in owning a copy of the book, either in print or audio, please click on the following link. Thank you and enjoy.