Oona O’Neill |
“There is no book in history that has been associated to the degree that Salinger’s has with some horrible crimes,” states Shane Salerno when discussing the notorious publicity associated with The Catcher in the Rye. “What’s unique about it is that the killers brought the book with them when they did the crime like some sort of evil talisman. In the case of Mark David Chapman he brought the book to court, read it and said, ‘This is my statement.’ When he shot John Lennon he sat down the curb and started reading The Catcher in the Rye. He had gotten, as it is said in the film, totally immersed in the character. Obviously, Salinger has no responsibility whatsoever in these horrible crimes which the film makes clear. You couldn’t make a film about J.D. Salinger and ignore that his most famous book was involved in the shooting of the President of the United States and John Lennon.” Salerno adds, “It was something he never spoke about publicly. We did talk to people both on and off the record who told us that he was deeply traumatized but it.”
Many thanks to Shane Salerno for taking the time for this interview.