After an initial hesitance from a few film fans, Michael Mann’s Heat has cemented itself as an all-timer, as both a great Los Angeles movie, an actors’ showcase, and, more importantly, an expansively novelistic character study inside a cops-and-robbers heist movie. So, when the Heat-universe expanded last year into book form, co-authored by Meg Gardiner, and became a bestseller, did the film world rejoice? On this episode is Mann-fanatic Ted Haycraft, who explains:

- the long history of the Heat universe as a project;
- the odd circumstances its initial version, the TV-pilot-turned-TV-movie LA Takedown;
- why Ted took so long to finish the book extension of one of his favorite movies.

Also:

- this novel as a Rosetta stone for all of Mann’s themes;
- the Godfather II structure of the sequel novel;
- and casting speculation for an eventual, hopeful, inevitable film adaptation.

Ted Haycraft is film critic for WFIE-14 and co-hosts Cinema Chat on its Midday show. He can also be found on Cinema Chat’s Facebook page.

Heat 2 is published by Harper Collins and is now available in paperback.