by CHRIS BARRY

Name: Max Wallace

Age: 41

Occupation: Investigative journalist/filmmaker

Bio: This lanky hunk of a Mile-End heartthrob first got into journalism as a feisty young activist in the early 1980s. Taking on the issues of the day - cruise missile testing, apartheid, Ronald Reagan - young Max quickly "sensed the power of the pen to effect change" and wasted no time positioning himself as a contributor to that most influential of publications, the Concordia Link. Since those halcyon days of righteous political activism, Max has grown into an author of international renown, co-writing the bestsellers Who Killed Kurt Cobain? and Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight, as well as being the man behind several film documentaries of varying degrees of acclaim and distinction. Considerably "more cynical" now than in his days as a "young idealist," Max will soon be leaving his beloved Montreal for the blue skies of Toronto, where he intends on establishing his non-profit Children's Rights Watch organization as a national entity.

When taking on a project, is he primarily motivated by the potential salaciousness of his subject matter (read: book sales), or because he feels certain issues as important as Elvis Presley's alleged Jewish roots [his book and movie Schmelvis] are stories that simply must be told? A bit of both. "I really hate the idea of preaching to the converted, like a lot of lefties end up doing. You make a much more substantial impact when you address these so-called apolitical audiences. I once did a film about racism in hockey, and it reached an entirely different audience than your typical documentary or book about racism, where you're just reaching other liberals and patting yourself on the back for being so enlightened."

His latest book: Love and Death, based on 30 hours of "incredibly incriminating" audio tapes supplied by Courtney Love's own private investigator, who, by the way, strongly believes Miss World is, in fact, a murderous beast.

Has he ever received death threats? "Oh yeah, for sure, while working on the Cobain book."

Is it a challenge finding people who are somewhat less than enamoured with Courtney Love? No. "The bigger problem is everybody hates her and wants to believe the worst, so we were always hearing these outlandish stories that we'd filter through to discover that 99 per cent of them were motivated by hatred and not the facts."

His career highlight to date: Writing the Ali book. "It was just so cool, hanging out with Muhammad Ali, my childhood hero. He's as sharp and funny as ever. It's amazing how quick-witted that guy is. I was very nervous, you know, I've idolized him all my life for the stand he took against the Vietnam war."

Was it difficult resisting the obvious temptation of always beginning his Ali phone conversations with a "What's shakin', baby?" Not really.

Where he hangs: Café Esperanza, Barfly.

Last book read: A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving.

Musical preferences: The Pogues, REM, Nirvana.

Words of wisdom: "If I can't dance, I don't want to be part of your revolution."

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