30 Minutes of Royko?

By Karl Klockars in Arts & Entertainment on Oct 13, 2008 6:35PM

Chicago loves Mike Royko so much, over a decade after his death, that the equivalent of a student film about the guy merits press mentions everywhere. Perhaps we should self-edit on the fly: Chicago press loves Mike Royko so much...you fill in the rest. And yes, we like Royko as much as the next person (as long as the next person didn't run into him around closing time at a bar) but do we really need to be excited about a half hour film based on three of his columns?

Norman Skul, a "freelance information technology consultant" is financing and filming the short flick, which will be based on Royko's "A November Farewell," "Shortage of Short Greeks Ruining Us," and a column to be named later. May we suggest that a Slats Grobnik related column be used? In any event, the film is being shot by a collection of Columbia College students (with no disrespect to film students or Columbia alums), with no solid release date and no idea about distribution.

And still, it gets mentions in the Tribune, the Reader, and the HuffPo, all after starting in the Wisconsin State Journal. Nothing in the Sun-Times, but they can bring back his old columns whenever they want. And, of course, now us - guilty as charged. But you'll allow us to be the Doubting Thomas in the mix, asking if this was just a slow news day story, or if we all just miss seeing the guy's columns on a daily basis and are applauding the relative outsider's attempt to bring his writing to a new audience.

If you'd like to spend ten minutes of your day watching actual Royko, an interview is posted here on YouTube, but if you'd like to join us in going through a bit of his stuff, our Wayback Machine set the controls for the heart of the sun right here.