Here’s The Interesting Story On Why The Author Of ‘The Revenant’ Won’t Be Promoting The Film

Imagine writing a book, garnering some acclaim, and then having it optioned to be a film starring Leonardo DiCaprio. You’d be excited, right? Now imagine you can’t make a peep about your involvement in the book or help to promote it in any way. It’s kind of a kick in the gut while you’re celebrating on a trampoline, or some similar situation.

That’s where Michael Punke is at right now, lying on the ground next to his grand trampoline, trying to enjoy the success his book is about to have on the big screen. Punke wrote The Revenant, but is barred from having anything to do with its promotion due to his other job as a deputy U.S. trade representative and World Trade Organization ambassador. A new profile in the Washington Post details Punke’s bittersweet success, noting that his government position bars him from doing any side work that might affect his position in the trade business. If he even attended the premiere or spoke to the Post for the article, he’d be breaking the rules.

“Oh, he wishes he could talk about it,” said Tim Punke, who in addition to working for a Seattle lumber company has become his brother’s de facto spokesman. “Can you imagine having your book turned into a movie, having Leonardo DiCaprio in it?”

The profile in the post details how Punke went from lawyer to writer / teacher before getting the call to take on his role in the government. He wrote and published The Revenant in 2002, selling the movie rights shortly after and, according to the Post, “never certain that a film would get made.”

He left his law firm and moved the family to Missoula, Mont., where he became an adjunct professor at the University of Montana. He planned to spend his days teaching and writing — until Ron Kirk called to offer what Traci refers to as a “once-in-a-lifetime, can’t-pass-up opportunity.”

When Kirk, the former mayor of Dallas, was appointed as President Obama’s first U.S. trade representative, one name kept coming up for the WTO job: Michael Punke.

“I looked at the résumé and it was great, but I was confused by the fact that he had been in Montana for the past few years,” Kirk said. “I called him up and said, ‘You’re either the perfect person for the job or you’re the Unabomber.’”

The profile is definitely worth a read, if just to get a feel for how a K-street creature managed to turn a small bit of reading from a plane ride into a total life shift. It’s cool and there’s little that’s not to like about Punke. You don’t always get compared to John Wayne — at least not in the good light.

(Via The Washington Post)

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