Anthony Mora is a novelist, playwright, director and producer whose writings have been compared to Fante, Cheever and Salinger.
Anthony has been featured in the New York Times, The Huffington Post, CNN, the BBC and other media.
“Hang Fire,” is a dark comedy of the Hollywood film industry where ambition know no bounds and excess is the norm.
In 2019 Hollywood, struggling novelist James Lansing is trapped in a seductive dilemma when a fast-talking, on-the-fringe producer dangles the promise of a film adaptation of his book. She tantalizes James with introductions to Hollywood elites and promises of deals just out of reach. James finds himself bankrolling a dizzying parade of power lunches and star-studded dinners, convinced that success is just around the corner, and wondering why he always picks up the check.
Enter a Felliniesque parade of L.A. characters: parasite producers, desperate directors, guileless ingénues, exhibitionist shrinks, and stars in danger of falling. In this maze of Hollywood ambition, lives intersect in unexpected ways, forming a complex web of competition, lust and greed. Unlikely partnerships and betrayals emerge driven by an insatiable hunger for success and fame.
No one suspects the approaching pandemic and total lockdown of 2020 which is about to upend their world, threatening to turn their Hollywood hustles and dreams into so much nuclear dust.
“’Hang Fire’ is an electrifying tale of power, greed, lust, and cutthroat ambition. A razor-sharp satire of Hollywood, think ‘The Great Gatsby’ meets ‘La La Land.’”
– In Entertainment
“Everything entwines in Mora’s novel …so much so that the culture and psyche of Hollywood assumes a complexity that other novels about Los Angeles rarely achieve… hard to put down.”
– D. DONOVAN, SENIOR REVIEWER, MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW
– KIRKUS REVIEW
El Paso Native Anthony Mora Looks Back on a Career in Hollywood
Anthony Mora, an El Paso native who’s made a career in Los Angeles as a writer, spoke with KTSM about his latest novel “Hang Fire,” which he said serves as both a love letter to Hollywood and a warning sign about how difficult it is to succeed there.
“I have seen so many people come here and they look and they see what other people accomplish. And they ask, ‘Why not me?,’ but you become drunk. People think this role or this book, or this film is going to change my life and it can be a very dangerous path,” Mora said.
Anthony Mora talks 'Hang Fire,' fame, and the dark side of dreams
Former journalist, editor, author, playwright and screenwriter Anthony Mora joins FOX 5 Atlanta’s Jada White to talk about his new novel “Hang Fire,” which has drawn comparisons to “Day of the Locust” and “The Player.”
Set in 2019, the novel follows a cast of characters chasing fame—just as the looming COVID-19 pandemic threatens to derail their dreams, symbolizing the brutal intersection of ambition and crisis.
‘Hang Fire’ explores ambition and risk in pre-pandemic Hollywood
Author Anthony Mora’s new book, ‘Hang Fire,’ offers a razor-sharp satire on ambition in Hollywood, drawing from his own experiences with a producer in the film industry.
Inspired by a personal encounter with a Hollywood producer, Mora’s book explores the cutthroat nature of the entertainment industry through a fictional narrative set in 2019, just before the pandemic.
Hang Fire by Anthony Mora: Lies and Secrets in Hollywood
Anthony Mora’s gripping tale Hang Fire tactfully disillusions the oldest film industry, Hollywood, in a maelstrom of power games, ordinary people who become caught up in it, and fading stars fighting to rise again.
Let’s dive right into the synopsis and my thoughts on Hang Fire.
WORKS
Swan Place Productions
Founded by Anthony Mora and Ann Convery, Swan Place Productions is a writer-centric company that works with playwrights, authors and screenwriters to bring their stories and visions to the screen. Whether it be an adaption of a book, play or an original script, Swan Place’s focus is on bringing quality projects to life.
