Meet Anthony Breznican: King of the SCV Geeks

I have to be honest:  I’m a geek.  I’m a pretty big geek, actually.  I have a sizable collection of comic books “aging” in the garage, waiting to become valuable enough for a mortgage or tuition payment.  I have boxes full of cool geek swag from the movies, TV shows and comic books I love, and I’ve been to several comic conventions, including the geek “mecca:” San Diego Comic-Con.  I follow all of my fandoms with a precision that should be paid to every facet of my life.
Having said that, it’s an interesting experience to meet the person behind the dream job you’d always envisioned for yourself.  Case in point, meet Anthony Breznican, Santa Clarita resident and SCV’s King of the Geeks.
And how does one get to wear that crown?
Breznican is a senior writer for Entertainment Weekly and gets to do, see and report on all of the very best in geek culture.  In the last six months, Breznican traveled to sets and reported on films like Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Stephen King’s Dark Tower and several of the upcoming films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).  Up next, though, is a visit to an old friend.
“I’m gearing up to head to England and the set of Ready Player One, the new film from Steven Spielberg,” Breznican said over apps and brews on a recent visit to the Newhall Refinery.  Coming off of a thrilling interview and guided tour of the Universal Backlot with Spielberg, Breznican indicated that the legendary director is a favorite interview of his, and he’s looking forward to visiting the set of the hotly anticipated sci-fi film.
When asked about other favorites (and not so favorites), Breznican let slip with a few names that might not surprise.
“Tommy Lee Jones was tough.  He’s not an easy interview, but I always came away with great stuff.  He’s easily a favorite.  On the other hand, I had to interview the Olsen twins for their first ‘grown-up’ project (New York Minute, a 2004 film that proved to be a bust), and they were detached and bored – not a good interview at all.
“Jessica Chastain (The Martian) and Clint Eastwood were both great interview subjects, for very different reasons,” he continued.  “She was fascinating, insightful, thoughtful, smart and had really solid opinions about the story being told, while he was Clint Eastwood.  This was before his appearance at the Republican Convention a few years ago, and we talked about his opposition to the Iraq War … It was Dirty Harry talking like a dove.”
In addition to his magazine duties, Breznican also is an accomplished author, having published his first novel, Brutal Youth, in June 2014.  The novel is “a coming-of-age tale, a dark comedy and a tragedy all rolled into one.”  According to his website, “Brutal Youth follows this band of students as they learn whether it’s possible to protect yourself without losing who you are.” Or as Breznican likes to put it: “Breaking Bad goes to high school.”
As an avid reader and fan of both books and authors, I was impressed by the list of authors who gave him positive reviews for the book, among them: Gone Girl author, Gillian Flynn; Maze Runner series author, James Dashner; Up In The Air screenwriter, Jason Reitman; and Breznican’s personal hero, Stephen King, who called the book “an unputdownable tour-de-force.”
“Oh man, when I got Stephen King’s blurb, I was run-across-the-ceiling insane,” Breznican recalled.  “I had to explain to my daughter (then 5) why I was so happy.  I finally took her to the bookcase in the living room and pointed to the three shelves of King novels and asked her if she saw that the name on all of those books were the same.  When she said ‘yes,’ I told her that daddy had so many books from the same person because he was his favorite.  And this person just said really nice things about daddy’s book.  She got that.”
The success of Brutal Youth has allowed Breznican to continue to write non-magazine pieces, including multiple short stories included in several different collections, like the recently released Last Night a Superhero Saved My Life.  His contribution to that collection, Dented Hearts, relates the story of his wife’s family, their history of heart ailments, and the one brother who avoided the ailments and became their Iron Man.
“I really enjoy working in the short-story medium,” he added.  “It allows me to tell so many different stories.”
While a sequel to Brutal Youth is coming up, it’s “way on the back burner” while he works through some other story ideas he is currently writing.
Breznican is originally from Western Pennsylvania and, after graduating from the University of Pittsburgh, he moved west – first to Arizona for an internship at the Arizona Republic then on to Los Angeles for a job at the Associated Press as an entertainment writer.  Finally he ended up at USA Today before Entertainment Weekly snapped him up.
Of course, sitting in the Refinery, chomping on an order of Refiner’s Fries, the talk turned to “why Santa Clarita?”
Breznican shared a recent conversation with Bill Paxton (Big Love), who he spent time with at San Diego Comic-Con while he moderated a panel about the Paxton film, Aliens.  In a down moment, he and Paxton began chatting about Santa Clarita, where the HBO series Big Love was shot, and Paxton shared his affinity for our town.  It made Breznican feel even better about the decision he made 7 years ago.
“We were looking to buy and saving up our money, but no matter how much we saved, the housing market in LA just kept getting away from us,” he said.  “I came up here for a few stories, went to Mountasia, rode the go-carts, drove around and realized that this could be exactly what we were looking for – a small town on the perimeter of the big city.”
Breznican took note of the great schools, friendly people and backyards.
“We have no family out here so we have become close with our neighbors and because we could own more home, we have a backyard that allows us to show movies and invite our friends,” Breznican added.
And that is what it comes back to: movies.  Breznican, a known Star Wars fanatic and EW’s go-to expert on all things Rebel Alliance and Empire (or if you prefer, the Resistance and the First Order), likely found his calling in 1980.  When entering a darkened theater to watch The Empire Strikes Back, he encountered a stark snow covered moon in the remote Hoth System and fell deep in love with “that feeling.”
“Empire was my favorite Star Wars film growing up.  The story is really great, and it has iconic moments that stand the test of time,” he said.  “But I have come to love The Force Awakens as another real favorite.  When you cover something as closely as I did, from beginning to end, you develop a fondness for it.”
Oh, and that King of the Geeks thing?  Breznican sees it a bit differently.
“I’d say I’m more ‘Lottery Winner of the Geeks,’” he said.  “I’m just lucky to have a job where I get to write about things I love, so I try to do it in a way that makes everyone else who love this stuff happy, too.”
And that makes total sense.  Breznican has embraced his geek side and paired it nicely with his suburban side.  Living in the SCV has given him a home, 3,000 miles away from the home he grew up in, that allows he and his wife to raise their children in a happy and safe environment with good friends – and movies in the backyard.
Anthony Breznican’s stories can be read in both the print and online versions of Entertainment Weekly.
Lee Morrell is a 10-year SCV resident and works for the Saugus Union School District as its Public Information Officer. 

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