>>> WE ARE BACK AT 8:35 WITH A MAN THAT CAPTIVATED US WITH HIS STORY TELLING FOR NEARLY 30 YEARS. ED BURNS SHOT TO FAME IN 1995 AS THE WRITER, DIRECTOR AND STAR OF THE FILM "THE BROTHERS McMULLEN." HE HAS SINCE WRITTEN AND DIRECTED NEARLY 20 OTHER FILMS AND SHOWS WHILE ALSO STARRING IN MOVIES LIKE "SAVING PRIVATE RYAN." NOW HE'S OUT WITH HIS FIRST NOVEL. IT FOLLOWS A 12-YEAR-OLD BOY AND HIS IRISH CATHOLIC FAMILY IN THE '70s. IT SOUNDS FAMILIAR, BUT THIS IS NOT A MÉMOIRE. IT IS A NOVEL, BUT IT'S PERSONAL. >> IT IS. YOU KNOW, I BASED IT ON MY WORLD, ON MY CHILDHOOD. I BASED A LOT OF IT ON MY PARENTS' HISTORY, MY GRANDPARENTS' HISTORY. MY DAD YESTERDAY WAS READING IT FOR THE THIRD TIME. AND HE GOES, HEY, I DON'T REMEMBER THAT HAPPENING. I WAS LIKE, YEAH, DAD, BECAUSE IT DIDN'T HAPPEN. I MADE IT UP. IT'S A NOVEL. >> IT IS A NOVEL. I WANT TO SAY, I LOVE THIS. IT IS DELIGHTFUL. IT'S FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF A 12-YEAR-OLD WHO I THINK MAY HAVE SOME CONNECTION TO YOU. >> YEP. >> TELL ME ABOUT THE PROCESS OF THIS AND WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO TELL THIS PARTICULAR STORY. >> WHEN I WAS IN FILM SCHOOL, THERE WAS A FILM CALLED "THE COMING OF BLOWS." IT IS THE TYPE OF MOVIE I SAID, THAT'S WHY I WANT TO BE A FILM MAKER. I WANT TO TELL THOSE TYPES OF FILMS. I THOUGHT, ONE DAY I WILL WRITE THAT SCREEN PLAY. COVID HITS AND I SAY, THIS IS THE TIME. BUT WE DIDN'T KNOW WHEN WE WOULD BE ABLE TO GO BACK INTO PRODUCTION. I ALWAYS HAD THIS NOTION THAT ONE DAY I WOULD TRY MY HAND AT A NOVEL. SO I THOUGHT, MAYBE THIS IS THE STORY TO TRY AS A NOVEL. AND ONCE I GOT STARTED, YOU KNOW, I HAD NEVER WRITTEN BEFORE. I WAS NERVOUS ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT I COULD DO IT. I FELL IN LOVE WITH THE PROCESS. AND, YOU KNOW, SO -- >> IT SEEMS TO COME SO NATURALLY. IT IS AN EASY READ, JUST A DELIGHTFUL READ. AND IT IS VERY POIGNANT BECAUSE I UNDERSTAND DURING COVID, DURING THAT PANDEMIC, YOU WERE TALKING TO YOUR MOM A LOT, AND YOU STARTED GETTING HER MEMORIES, WHICH WE VERY MUCH SEE IN THIS BOOK, WHICH TURNS OUT TO BE KIND OF A MOTHER-SON STORY. >> IT IS A DIFFERENT BOOK THAN THE BOOK I THOUGHT I WAS GOING TO WRITE. IT REALLY IS. IT IS THE STORY OF THIS KID AS HE'S TURNING 13 AT THE END OF THAT SUMMER HAVING TO BREAK UP WITH HIS MOM AT A TIME WHEN SHE NEEDS HIM THE MOST. THE REASON THE STORY MORPHED INTO THAT BECAUSE I WAS SPEAKING TO MY MOM EVERY DAY AND RATHER THAN SAY, WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV, WHAT DID YOU HAVE FOR DINNER, I STARTED ASKING HER SPECIFIC QUESTIONS. WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER ABOUT THE DAY YOU GRADUATED HIGH SCHOOL. AND THAT STORY ENDS UP IN THE BOOK. YOU KNOW, WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER ABOUT, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU AND DAD -- YOUR FIRST DATE? AND ALL OF THOSE KIND OF STORIES STARTED. I WOULD SPEAK TO HER IN THE MORNING AND GO UPSTAIRS TO WRITE AND THE STORIES FOUND THEMSELVES IN THE BOOK. >> AND SHE PASSED. >> SHE PASSED, SO SHE NEVER GOT TO READ IT. >> BUT IT IS SO SPECIAL THAT YOU THOUGHT TO KIND OF CAPTURE THAT MOMENT IN TIME WITH HER. >> WELL, IT'S -- YOU KNOW, THE BOOK NOW, AND, AGAIN, NOT MY INTENTION, BUT IT REALLY IS A LOVE LETTER TO HER. AND, YOU KNOW, YOU COULDN'T HELP BUT ALL OF THE -- YOU KNOW, SHE TOLD ME SO MANY STORIES THAT I HADN'T HEARD BEFORE THAT I FELT LIKE I KIND OF HAD TO PUT THEM INTO THE BOOK. >> WELL, AS A MOMMY WHO HAS A LITTLE BOY, AND I CAN JUST IMAGINE IN A COUPLE YEARS HIM HAVING TO BREAK UP WITH ME, I REALLY RELATED TO THE CHARACTER. BY THE WAY, SPEAKING OF HEARTBREAK, YOU AND YOUR WIFE ARE NOW OFFICIALLY EMPTY NESTERS. GRACE AND FINN OUT OF THE HOUSE. HOW IS YOUR EMOTIONAL DEALING WITH THIS? >> WE'RE THREE WEEKS INTO IT. FORTUNATELY, WE'RE BOTH BUSY RIGHT NOW, SO WE DON'T HAVE TO DEAL WITH IT. DROPOFF WAS OBVIOUSLY VERY EMOTIONAL. WE BOTH GOT BACK TO THE HOTEL HOLDING BACK THE TEARS, AND THEN THEY JUST CAME. BUT, YEAH, WHAT'S INTERESTING IS, LIKE, THIS IS THE NEXT CHAPTER IN A NEW CHAPTER. AND, YOU KNOW, I COULD FEEL LIKE CREATIVELY I'M BURSTING. >> YEAH. >> SO IT'S GREAT. >> BY THE WAY, CHRISTY, WHO IS AN ACTIVIST BUT ALSO OG SUPERMODEL WALKED IN THE RALPH LAUREN SHOW WITH YOUR DAUGHTER GRACE LAST WEEKEND. PRIDE LEVEL ZERO TO STRATOSPHERIC. >> INCREDIBLE. >> THERE'S CHRISTY, AND HERE COMES GRACE RIGHT BEHIND HER. >> YEAH, YEAH. >> THAT'S PRETTY INCREDIBLE. WE LOVE YOU FOR "BROTHERS McMULLEN." I'M SO HAPPY THERE IS A SEQUEL. >> I LITERALLY JUST FINISHED THE SCREEN PLAY A MONTH AGO. I WANTED TO GET IT READY IN TIME FOR THE 30th ANNIVERSARY. >> DID YOU GET SOME OF THE ORIGINAL ACTORS BACK? >> YES. I HAVE SPOKEN TO CONNIE BRITAIN. SHE'S IN. MICHAEL PLAYED THE YOUNGER BROTHER. >> IS ED BURNS IS IN? >> ED BURNS IS IN. >> OKAY. CAN'T DO IT WITHOUT HI