The Wine Down – Wine and Writing: Rex Pickett Author of “Sideways” and “Vertical.”

EPISODE SYNOPSIS: The Wine Down is devilishly excited to host novel and screenplay author, Rex Pickett. Rex, having almost single-handedly jump-started the Santa Ynez wine valley with his sensation “Sideways,” was not shy about shedding light on the making of the movie and how it feels to have cut the legs out from the Merlot market. In addition to talking about the splash that “Sideways” created, Rex opened up about the ups and down of working in the film and publishing industries, crafting a play and sequel to the work, and the labor of love that goes into researching the seminal wine film of our time. As can be expected by anyone familiar with his work, Rex speaks with no hold barred and a candor that doesn’t take a wine buzz to enjoy. GUEST BIO: Rex Pickett grew up in San Diego and attended the University of California at San Diego. He graduated summa cum laude with a Special Projects major, specializing in contemporary literary and film criticism, and creative writing. Rex has written numerous screenplays, some original and some for hire. In 2004, Alexander Payne directed ‘Sideways,’ which would go on to win some 350 awards and be called one of the 101 Greatest Scripts of All Time, by the Writers Guild of America. More recently, Rex has been a regular blogger for the Huffington Post, and has released ‘Vertical,’ the novel sequel to ‘Sideways.’ In addition, Rex will be doing the stage adaptation of Sideways for the Ruskin Group Theater in Santa Monica. ADD’L LINKS …