Beat the Reaper
Encyclopedia
Beat the Reaper is a crime
novel published in 2009, the debut novel
of author/physician Josh Bazell
. The plot concerns Peter Brown, a medical resident in the Federal Witness Protection Program. Through flashback
s, Brown narrates how under his real name of Pietro Brwna, he fell in with a Mafia family and became a hitman after avenging the deaths of his Auschwitz-surviving grandparents. In the present, Brown must help save the life of a mobster from his past, lest the patient reveal Brwna/Brown's location to the local boss.
While several, including Phil Proctor, have noted that "Beat the Reaper" was also the title of a comedy sketch by the Firesign Theatre
, it is not currently known whether Bazell was aware of the previous usage.
New Regency Productions
has acquired film rights to the novel with an eye toward Leonardo DiCaprio
as co-producer and lead actor.
Crime fiction
Crime fiction is the literary genre that fictionalizes crimes, their detection, criminals and their motives. It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as science fiction or historical fiction, but boundaries can be, and indeed are, blurred...
novel published in 2009, the debut novel
Debut novel
A debut novel is the first novel an author publishes. Debut novels are the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to publish in the future...
of author/physician Josh Bazell
Josh Bazell
Josh Bazell is an American author and physician.Bazell graduated from Brown University with a B.A. in English Literature. He entered the PhD program in English Literature at Duke University before earning his MD from Columbia University. He is currently a medical resident at the University of...
. The plot concerns Peter Brown, a medical resident in the Federal Witness Protection Program. Through flashback
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
s, Brown narrates how under his real name of Pietro Brwna, he fell in with a Mafia family and became a hitman after avenging the deaths of his Auschwitz-surviving grandparents. In the present, Brown must help save the life of a mobster from his past, lest the patient reveal Brwna/Brown's location to the local boss.
While several, including Phil Proctor, have noted that "Beat the Reaper" was also the title of a comedy sketch by the Firesign Theatre
The Firesign Theatre
The Firesign Theatre is an American comedy troupe consisting of Phil Austin, Peter Bergman, David Ossman and Philip Proctor. Their brand of surrealistic humor is best known through their record albums, which acquired a cult following in the late 1960s and early '70s.The troupe began as live radio...
, it is not currently known whether Bazell was aware of the previous usage.
New Regency Productions
New Regency Productions
New Regency Productions is a production company founded in 1991 by Arnon Milchan and a subsidiary of Regency Enterprises.It is located on the 20th Century Fox lot, and Fox is the current distributor of Regency releases since 1998, but is a wholly independent company. Warner Bros. Pictures was the...
has acquired film rights to the novel with an eye toward Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio is an American actor and film producer. He has received many awards, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Aviator , and has been nominated by the Academy Awards, Screen Actors Guild and the British Academy of Film and Television...
as co-producer and lead actor.
External links
- Beat the Reaper review from The Washington PostThe Washington PostThe Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
- Beat the Reaper review from Bloomberg L.P.Bloomberg L.P.Bloomberg L.P. is an American privately held financial software, media, and data company. Bloomberg makes up one third of the $16 billion global financial data market with estimated revenue of $6.9 billion. Bloomberg L.P...
- Beat the Reaper review from The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
- "Leonardo DiCaprio Aims To 'Beat The Reaper' With Mob Adventure" from MTV Movie NewsMTV NewsMTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...
- "DiCaprio set to 'Beat the Reaper'" from VarietyVariety (magazine)Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...