Anthony Mora talks 'Hang Fire,' fame, and the dark side of dreams

Anthony Mora talks about new book

Former journalist, editor, author, playwright and screenwriter Anthony Mora joins FOX 5 Atlanta's Jada White to talk about his new novel "Hang Fire," which has drawn comparisons to "Day of the Locust" and "The Player."

ATLANTA - Hollywood may be the city of dreams, but for author and filmmaker Anthony Mora, it’s also a city of illusions, ambition, and sometimes, madness.

Mora, a former rock journalist turned playwright, novelist, and producer, joined FOX 5 Atlanta's Jada White to discuss his latest novel Hang Fire—a cautionary tale rooted in his own surreal experiences navigating the film industry.

"Hang Fire is both a love letter to and an exposé of Hollywood," Mora said during the interview. "It’s inspired by a true story—something that happened to me after I adapted my first novel into a play."

That experience involved a charismatic but chaotic producer who promised to turn Mora’s stage work into a movie. The meetings, often held in high-end Hollywood hotspots, never produced a script—but always ended with Mora picking up the check. "She kept stringing me along with promises and celebrity connections," Mora recalled. "At some point, I realized it was all smoke and mirrors—but I still stayed, because that’s the pull of Hollywood."

That strange chapter eventually became the inspiration for Hang Fire, a novel that blends satire and social commentary with raw experience. According to Mora, the book is like The Great Gatsby meets La La Land—equal parts dream and disillusionment.

The story follows James, a novelist whose book is optioned for a film, and Jerry, his opportunistic friend trying to hitch a ride to fame. Alongside them are a washed-up auteur, a successful actress chasing a superhero role, and a psychotherapist longing to be a movie star. "All the characters are chasing something, no matter how far along they are," Mora explained. "That hunger never ends in Hollywood."

Mora chose to set Hang Fire in 2019, with the looming COVID-19 pandemic serving as an ominous backdrop. "The characters are charging toward their dreams, but the readers know what’s coming—that the door is about to slam shut," he said.

Despite the heavy themes—cutthroat ambition, broken promises, and pandemic-fueled derailments—Mora approached the novel with biting wit. "Hollywood is impossible to parody," he joked. "Whatever madness you invent, something crazier has already happened."

Before writing fiction, Mora built a career in music journalism, interviewing the likes of Tom Petty, Pat Benatar, and Alice Cooper. That front-row seat to stardom helped him understand the entertainment industry's precarious nature. "Both music and film are about risk," he said. "You gamble your life on making it."

Mora also shared an anecdote about passing on a young filmmaker’s project years ago—a short film called My Best Friend’s Birthday. The aspiring director? Quentin Tarantino. "He learned the craft and stuck to his vision," Mora said. "That’s rare. Hollywood is an industry of compromise, but he held on."

Still, Mora believes that perseverance is more important than luck. "You do the work, and then let go," he said. "If Hang Fire becomes a film next year or in ten years, I believe it will happen."

In the meantime, Mora is keeping busy. He and his wife started a production company during the pandemic, releasing a short film (Exposé) and a documentary (An Important Girl). His long-shelved play Revenge Sessions is now in post-production as a feature film.

For Mora, it all comes back to storytelling—even when dreams falter. "Writers have one advantage," he said. "When things go wrong, we can turn it into a story."

Where to Buy "Hang Fire"
Hang Fire is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Mora’s official website anthonymorawriter.com, which also features his other novels, plays, and films.