TORONTO – Television mogul Anthony Zuiker knows full well he could roll out "CSI: Chicago" and notch another series hit.
But instead of sticking with his thrice tried-and-true recipe for success, Zuiker is taking aim at the book market with his newly-released crime thriller, "Level 26: Dark Origins."
Dubbed the world’s first "digi-novel," Zuiker's ultra-violent murder mystery, co-authored by Duane Swierczynski, reads like an R-rated episode of "CSI" with a twist. Every 20 to 25 pages, the author teases readers to visit level26.com where they can unlock brief video bridges and interact with an online community.
"I caught myself wondering what would happen if after you finished a chapter in a book you got a chance to watch a great motion picture scene?" Zuiker says over lunch in a Bloor Street hotel.
"If people want to read the book traditionally, cover-to-cover, this will certainly satisfy that without ever logging in. But if you want to read, watch the bridges and get involved in the social community there’s that option, too."
The first-time director funneled $200,000 into the videos, which he shot with a small crew with actors he mostly knew from his work on "CSI," now in its 10th season.
"I wanted to make sure there were some faces that you'd recognize from motion pictures and television," he says, adding that he did give a small part to an up-and-coming actress who reached out to him on Facebook.
Confident his mode of storytelling will become the publishing industry's new norm, Zuiker tells JAM! why he thinks Level 26 is a precursor for things to come.
JAM!: Most people in your position go from TV to more TV or TV to feature films. Why did you want to write a book?
Zuiker: I've studied Silicon Valley for many, many years and I've been infatuated with social communities and how they work and my philosophy is this: There's no future in [entertainment] for the one-off; the one great television show; the one great movie; the one great book. I feel it needs to be an immersive and interactive experience. When you put the launch mechanism down, whether it's a book or a TV show, it still must continue day-to-day to engage an audience. I have this philosophy that I won't get off of.
JAM!: How did Level 26 get off the ground?
Zuiker: Since I think everything is converging anyway, I thought, why not converge the best of what novels, motion pictures and social communities have to offer and combine them into one for the consumer? But I wanted to build a short bridge from 'CSI' to 'Level 26.' I didn't want my first 'digi-novel' to be a romance book and I have so much information from research I've done for 'CSI' that it makes perfect sense that I would do a serial killer-type novel. And it feels pretty good with no one telling me what to do. There are no cooks in the kitchen. There's no network to answer to. I wanted to have something that was unadulterated that I could really run with. Kind of like Joss Whedon's 'Dr Horrible.'
JAM!: The cat-and-mouse game between detective Steve Dark and the serial murderer Sqweegel is pretty sinister. Where did you get the idea?
Zuiker: It first started when I was in Tokyo and the BBC had a special on serial killers and this philosophy of the evil scale that judges murderers on a scale from one to 25. So I wanted to take it one step further and have a level 26 killer that was forensics-proof.
JAM!: Do you see any crossover possibilities with any of the 'CSI' shows?
Zuiker: I've been thinking about it. It would be a lot of fun to have Sqweegel on one of the 'CSI's.' It would certainly work. We've had some talks about movies, but right now I'm just focused on getting the book off the ground. The next book launches in 2010, so we're focused on building a strong house.
JAM!: The book is also quite violent, though. Why did you choose to make a 'Hard R'?
Zuiker: At the time, I didn't want readers to pick up the book and say, 'I can get this on television.' That was my biggest fear. So it's like an NC-17 'CSI' episode. The traditional book reader might be feeling that this is a little too dark, and I can sympathize with that. But my thoughts were I'm going to learn as I go forward. Book two will be very much a psychological thriller with less shock value.
JAM!: Do you think this is the future of how people will want to interact with fiction?
Zuiker: I love that question. Will the 'digi-novel' replace traditional publishing? Never. There have been books since the dawn of time. But you've seen the shift, you've seen [Amazon's] Kindle, it's like carrying a bunch of books in your bag, but the behavioral shift is there to be reading books on a small device. It's only a matter of time before we demand interactivity and that's precisely what this is. Is there going to be a 'digi-novel' section in the book store? I hope so. I hope this starts a revolution.
JAM!: Are other authors going to follow you into this?
Zuiker: I welcome imitators. I think that would be a lot of fun because it would just pull more eyeballs onto the project. It's like the original Coca-Cola. I do envision walking into a bookstore one day and there being a separate section for 'digi-novels' whereby the consumer can walk in and say, 'I can buy this novel and let my imagination run wild or I can buy this other book and I know inside that book is a high-quality motion picture and a live community with levels of engagement everyday for the same price point.'
JAM!: With Jorja Fox back on 'CSI' indefinitely, one last question: Will Grissom return this season?
Zuiker: We're trying to get Billy [William Petersen] back. It's really up in the air right now. He's sorely missed and I’d love to have him back. Nothing would please me more to get Billy back.
