One of the primary influences for my novel, TV Heaven, was the 1998 movie Pleasantville, directed by Gary Ross. I initially saw Pleasantville around when it first came out and liked it, though being only 12 years old at the time, I didn’t fully understand it. I rewatched Pleasantville around ten years later and appreciated it more deeply, with it becoming one of my favorite films.

I loved the meta fantasy concept of modern teens being transported into a 1950s TV show. And I loved the visual aesthetics, mixing black-and-white cinematography with color. That idea of visually mixing characters from different eras inspired me to write TV Heaven, originally a screenplay. While editing the novel adaptation, I rewatched Pleasantville again this past year, and I still enjoyed it, but noticed some issues I hadn’t picked up on before.