ARMISTEAD MAUPIN KNOWS NIGHT LISTENER

The Night Listener is based on an actual experience which happened to author Armistead Maupin. Famous for his scandalous and openly gay Tales of The City series which was turned into a miniseries for television, Armistead explains how the mystery surrounding a young boy confiding in a talk show host inspired the screenplay for The Night Listener.

The Night Listener starring Robin Williams, Toni Collette and Rory Culkin opens today in theaters nationwide.rn

“The Night Listener I like to refer to as a thriller of the heart. I was a huge fan of Vertigo when I was a kid and I’ve always loved a mystery story that involves the mysteries of the human heart. It keeps you guessing but it’s really about something else. I had this thing happen to me. It came and arrived as a sort of gift. About 13 years ago I began a phone correspondence, a phone relationship with a 14 year old boy who’s dying of AIDs and I had been sent a manuscript of his memoirs and I was so impressed by them I asked if I could speak to him. Out of that friendship grew this enormous mystery. I began to wonder who exactly was on the other end of the line.”