Victor Gischler: The Louisiana Author Taking Over Hollywood

Louisiana is home to some of the most talented people on planet earth. Terry Bradshaw, Peyton Manning, Tyler Perry, Louis Armstrong, Tim McGraw...I mean, you can pretty much throw a rock at any industry, business, or sport and hit a Louisiana native with a big name and huge following. There's just something in the water down here in the Bayou State, I guess.

But, in the land of giant global talent, there's one man whose name you're probably not that familiar with but should be - Baton Rouge writer Victor Gischler. He's been in the writing game a LONG time, producing great novels and comic books. But, now his work is starting to gain some momentum in Hollywood.

Victor Gischler's Journey from Louisiana to the Big Screen

Victor has been around for a long time and has had a fascinating career. His debut novel, GUN MONKEYS, was nominated for an Edgar Award (named for Edgar Allan Poe) - which is kind of a big deal in the literary world.

That debut novel was recently turned into a major motion picture called Fast Charlie - starring Pierce Brosnan, Morena Baccarin, and James Caan. The film was released in 2023 and got a pretty solid reception. In fact, it has an 83% rating on Rotten Tomatoes - which is a solid score. If you haven't seen it yet, it's available to stream on Hulu/Disney+.

Beyond Gun Monkeys, several other of Gischler's novels were nominated for various awards including Shotgun Opera.

If crime novels aren't your thing. Victor has dabbled in the world of fantasy and comic books. Including an extended run on comic book titles including the Punisher, Wolverine, X-Men, and Deadpool. In fact, many characters that Gischler helped create appeared in the Deadpool vs Wolverine movie - which is pretty darn cool.

And now that Gun Monkeys/Fast Charlie was pretty successful, it seems that other stories from Victor's brain are starting to get put into production.

More Victor Gischler Projects on the Way

In 2024, it was announced that Duke Nicholson, William H. Macy, Tiffany Haddish, and others would be starring in a movie based on a different Victor Gischler book The Deputy. However, since the initial announcement, I haven't heard much about the project. According to the co-financers of the film, Highland Film Group, the movie has been completed. I just haven't seen when/where it'll be released. Sometimes, it takes a while for things to come together.

But, beyond that movie's pending release, sounds like Victor has ANOTHER project on the way. Deadline announced today that Stephen Dorff (who also is in the Deputy movie) and Kevin Dillion will star in the new action thriller Red Stick Hoods. "Set in Baton Rouge’s neon-lit underworld, Red Stick Hoods follows a seasoned criminal and his volatile young partner as a routine job spirals into a violent chain reaction neither can control." Deadline says that this is Victor's first original screenplay.

So, he's had his novels turned into movies. Now, he's writing screenplays for Hollywood that are getting green-lit. How cool is that?!?

How to Support Louisiana's Own Victor Gischler

I don't know about you, but I LOVE supporting our local peeps. To me, when one of us does well, we all do well. So, if you're anything like me and want to show Victor some love, here's some simple ways you can do it:

Stream Fast Charlie on Hulu
Buy his books. You can find the full list of his novels here.
See The Deputy & Red Stick Hoods when they get released.
Follow Victor on X

I met Victor at the very first Geek'd Con here in Shreveport 11-ish years ago, and have been a big fan of the man ever since. Can't wait to see what he does next!