The CLASS of 1986 PRESENTS
A Virtual Evening with
Tim Blake Nelson
Acclaimed character actor Tim Blake Nelson
discusses his debut novel City of Blows.
The Brown Class of 1986 Activities Committee is delighted to announce that the inaugural event in our Alma Matters: Virtual Conversations with Brown Alums series will showcase esteemed actor/writer/director Tim Blake Nelson ’86, P’27, now interviewed by journalist and TV writer Joseph V. Amodio '86, who is based in New York.
Nelson will discuss his debut novel, City of Blows, which contains material drawn from personal experiences and relationships at Brown. He will share anecdotes from his career in entertainment and provide a sneak peek into upcoming film projects, including Asleep In My Palm and Captain America: Brave New World (2024). A classics concentrator and Phi Beta Kappa Society member, Nelson performed stand-up at the Underground, starred in theatrical productions, and was elected by classmates to deliver the 1986 commencement address as Baccalaureate orator.
BOOK PURCHASE: Signed copies are available at North Figueroa Bookshop, an independent bookstore. Use code "BROWN" for Free Shipping.
REGISTRATION and "Q&A"
- Pre-register here. Event link sent to registrants prior to event.
- Free registration for the Brown community
- Registration in advance of event required
- Link to event recording may be sent to registrants after the event
- Submit questions in advance to anne_vollen@alumni.brown.edu or via registration form; they'll be addressed in a Q&A, time permitting
Tim Blake Nelson is an actor, filmmaker, and playwright with over one hundred screen credits. He has directed five films, four of which he wrote, all released in the US and internationally. He has written and published three plays produced Off-Broadway in New York and regionally.
Nelson is perhaps best known for his roles in The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018) and O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), but his filmography spans four decades and includes many other celebrated deep cuts, including Minority Report (2002), Lincoln (2012), and Just Mercy (2019). He received acclaim for his role as Wade Tillman/Looking Glass on HBO's Watchmen miniseries (2019).
City of Blows is Nelson's debut novel, a dramatic story of Hollywood brought to life in a way only a veteran actor can. It’s early 2020, and legendary producer Jacob Rosenthal is looking to make his next film. The project is Jacob’s envisioned magnum opus, and likely his swan song. He selects David Levit to direct, a major opportunity for the classically trained actor/director whose own films, while critically adored, have not achieved box office success. But the announcement of his hiring doesn’t sit well with a producer from David’s past, Brad Shlansky, who channels the last vestiges of his creativity into a revenge plot that could scupper the film, ruining the lives of its producer and director in the process.
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Praise for City of Blows:
"This hard-edged debut looks at the power, savvy, and ugliness that go into making movies...Nelson is a solid writer whose dialogue is smart, pacy, and pointed...An ambitious, acerbic, entertaining take on the film business."
—KIRKUS STARRED REVIEW
"A travelogue of purgatory. Brutal, but minutely rendered—a chronicle of small betrayals and vicissitudes in a ruthless world. Losers, hustlers and delusional artists, all trapped in their pretense and hollow lives; making deals with the devil at the crossroads of Tinseltown."
—Guillermo del Toro
"The best, funniest, most incisive depiction of Hollywood's brute illogic since The Player, and the only one I can think of that so perfectly situates that illogic within the greater American power structures that have deformed us all. Tim Blake Nelson's City of Blows is phenomenal."
—Matthew Specktor, author of American Dream Machine
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Alma Matters: Virtual Conversations with Brown Alums is a fresh digital series spotlighting distinguished Brown 1986 graduates. They will share their expertise spanning areas like the arts, entertainment, design, medicine, politics, societal issues, and other pertinent subjects.
Alums from '86, if you'd like to be interviewed for this new series, contact: anne_vollen@alumni.brown.edu
Please note, spots are limited, and participants will be selected based on various criteria.
For questions about attending the event and registration, contact:
cecilia_pineda@alumni.brown.edu