Holly Will They or Won't They?

Some more rumblings in Hollywood to cheer or jeer.

First, the jeer. A little while back, I mentioned the remake of Fright Night. A summary: It's a bad idea... unless you use the twist they had decided upon. Well, twist again. Chris Sarandon will not be involved with the movie. If the reason for doing the remake requires his presence to work, then, yes, the spark of fun in it has gone. At least for me. It's now to be set in Las Vegas with 'Charlie Brewster' going to a 'Criss Angel' type figure to help. I suppose it could be good. But I'm just not psyched anymore without the "metaphysical" approach.

On the cheer side, a director has been set for OZ - The Great and Powerful. That's the movie starring Robert Downey Jr. as the man from Omaha who would be a Wizard - i.e. a prequel to The Wonderful Wizard of OZ. See this post for more info. Sam Raimi has found a place in this balloon. He's a great choice. I enjoyed the hell out of the first Spider-Man movie (yes, I did have some issues, but they're minor) and although I didn't care for the story in the least for the rest of Spidey, Raimi did a great job staging imagery on screen. He's just the grounded fantasy we need for a movie like OZ. Up, up and away.

Putting Down the Pen on Another Pan

Woo!
Last night I finished writing
Peter Pan: Betwixt-and-Between.

For those who do not already know:

This novel is an interquel.

That means it's a sequel to one work, but a prequel to another. You see, there's a major gap between Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens (really part of the novel The Little White Bird) and Peter and Wendy (aka Peter Pan.) In PPiKG, Pan's "origin story" by Barrie, he is an eternal infant living among the birds and fairies in the famous London park. But the next time we see him, he's a young boy fighting pirates in the Neverland. One could just chalk it up to Barrie changing his focus for the character. Sure, that's true. Yet reference is made in Peter and Wendy as to the first adventure having happened. That means story-wise, we have a major chunk missing. How did the little boy who wouldn't grow up...er... grow up to being a boy? And how did he get to the Neverland? Thus, I've pored through Barrie's works again and devised that very story. Those and some other ponderous elements are made clear.

I must, of course, read through it all again and make any necessary revisions. And I've got a few very minor details (such as which birds specifically) to fill in... but otherwise it's a completed book. It clocks in (currently) at 53,533 words. Naturally that will change. It's a short novel, but then, so are Barrie's.

Before I unleash it, I am going to have (at least) three people take a gander at it first. Not just anyone, either. Andrea Jones (Hook & Jill) will be delving into it for me. Since she's quite versed in Barrie's world it can only behoove me to get her opinion. Her obsession has the very helpful advantage of a feminine perspective as well as masterfully manipulating Barrie without sacrificing any of his integrity and themes. My faithful reader Anon will also have a read. Anon rivals my own obsession with Pan and Barrie and also matches my insistance on the meticulous details. Anon has been anxious to read this tale since I mentioned it. And of course, Bart.

I really am curious what they will think of it. I'm hoping it doesn't seem completely off the mark to them. Not that I doubt the work. I am very pleased with it. I just wonder if since I've been dealing with and living with it for so long that I'm more readily accepting of some of the ideas, characters and events in it. After all, I am more than touching a subject that is both delicate and difficult - namely the wherefore of how Peter Pan...er, grew up, so to speak. There's the chance that at first experiencing this adventure it could seem too outlandish. But I do feel it remains true to Barrie's universe while expanding it just that much further.

At this point, then, I am not entirely sure of this novel's fate. But I will be sure to keep you posted.

*Yes, that's the cover I've devised for it. The photo is of a walkway gate in Kensington Gardens. Bart took the picture when we visited London and the "world" of Sir J.M. Barrie.

See Peter V. in Person?

Printers Row

Hey look! That's me next to the Printers Row 2010 logo. What am I doing there?

There's a simple answer: I'll be there!

Yup, thanks to Joe and Leah Guillemette, you will find me sitting at the Old Towne Books & Tea table both Saturday, June 12 and Sunday, June 13 from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. I'll have paperbacks (the "cooler" of the two versions) of Peter Pan's NeverWorld with me and an orange pen to sign 'em if you want to stop on by and see me. I'm a "wishful recluse" so it's a "rare" opportunity to view me in person.

I'll be there with Andrea Jones, author of the marvelous Hook & Jill, and a whole slew of other authors will be at the Old Towne Books & Tea table, too.

So if you're in the Chicago area... check out the Printers Row book fair and say "Hullo!"

(Oh yeah, and be sure to pick up your personalized copies of Peter Pan's NeverWorld and Hook & Jill!)

Using Another James...

You know how I'm always referencing back to Barrie to be able to properly complete Peter Pan: Betwixt-and-Between? Well, I just had to delve into the work of another James... None of other than James Fenimore Cooper. Yes, that's right, I needed information from his pages as well.

Why? Because Barrie said to do so, of course. As if I'm taking orders from the great Scotsman. In a way, yes. You see, in one of his writings on Pan he himself makes a reference how the Redskin/Indian characters perform a particularly nasty task in the Cooper manner. I'm using that idea which Barrie had presented in my novel. Therefore, it became my duty to hunt through Cooper's work. Fortunately, there's a new kind of "Hawkeye" in the form of the 'find' command in a text document. I put in a few keywords from Barrie's desire and voila - I had the very references he intended. I'll do a little more searching (especially the other adventures of Natty Bumpo [aka Hawkeye in Last of the Mohicans]) just to be thorough.

To think, Barrie saw the Turn of the Century (i.e. into the 20th) and crafted his tales of Peter Pan not so far into it. And here I am, just after the next Turn of the Century crafting a Peter Pan tale, tracing his steps in literature and using the latest conveniences to do so.

Trying to Grok Gilliam

One (or more) of the following are true:

Terry Gilliam is a weird, strange and twisted man.
I am not clever enough to understand his films.
Terry Gilliam purposely designs stories to confuse us to no end.
I am a glutton for punishment when it comes to bizarre storytelling.
Terry Gilliam needs to make more films.
I need to stop watching his films.
Terry Gilliam should stop telling stories.
I can’t wait for more of his tales.

I’m not sure… perhaps all of them are true, none of them are true or vice-versa - which is to say it’s rather like a Terry Gilliam movie.

What brought this on? Last night Bart, Buttercup and I watched The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. Well, Buttercup and I did. Bart zonked out at a slower bit of the film and never recovered. Let me make it clear that both Buttercup and I liked the movie. We’re just not sure we did. By which I mean we didn’t really understand it. Or if we did, we’re not sure we actually have. But it had been one hell of a great ride!

Looking at IMDb, I have not seen just one of his movies. That film is Jabberwocky. In talking about his work, I am not counting the Monty Python films (which I’ve seen and I “got”) as those can be regarded as a different category. My two favorites are Time Bandits and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen.

I’ve made a post about Baron Munchausen before. In a nutshell, I adore that it’s designed to be impossible to discern when and where reality and fantasy begin or end. Time Bandits I have not seen for quite some…er…time. I have very fond memories of it and know I’ve seen it more than once. As I recall, it’s the most linear of his stories. But yes, it does (or so I think) have some bends and turning of tables characteristic of Gilliam.

Brazil is a film that my mind won’t seem to let me remember. Sure, I recall bits and pieces of it. But when I watched again there were large chunks I didn’t think I’d seen before. Not in the sense of not remembering them, but in that my brain decided to black them out due to them being disturbing or unnerving somehow. I can’t tell you which parts, since they’ve blacked out again.

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas I saw once and that seemed to be enough. It didn’t sit right with me, nor did it sit wrong with me. We’ll leave it at that.

His movie Tideland is, well, odd. Very odd. To the point of I don’t get it at all. I might even be sickened by it, I’m not entirely sure. None of it “blackened” in my head, though. But all the while I felt as if I’d been missing something. Like Gilliam is completely off his rocker or I’d not been savvy enough to comprehend it.

And The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus is just like that… only without the (possibly) disgusted bit. It’s a little like Munchausen in that fantasy and reality blend to the point of numbing the mind. But unlike Munchausen it didn’t make me stand up and applaud that aspect. But by no means did I not enjoy it. It’s visually stunning. And the backstory of how it came to be made (or almost didn’t) is fascinating. It’s Heath Ledger’s last film - he died during production. Gilliam reportedly had a nervous breakdown after having also had ridiculously horrendous bad luck during his first attempt at a movie called The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (see the documentary-like film called Lost in La Mancha.) But a solution presented itself. Since Parnassus deals with fantasy, Gilliam decided that going through his magic mirror ‘changes’ Ledger’s character each time… and actors Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell stepped up so that the film could be completed.


I suppose I need to see Jabberwocky.

At the very best Gilliam’s films get one talking and thinking, that’s for sure.

So thank you, Mr. Terry Gilliam, for being one hell of a delicious creative convolution! May you always continue to bring us wild and wicked whimsy. And best of luck in upcoming productions. I’m looking forward to The Man Who Killed Don Quixote.

Gilliam's Arc - A Flood of Films Flowing into Fantasy

As said in "Gilliam's Arc" post: I’ve also come to realize that I’d been looking at the works Gilliam had written. There is, of course, also The Fisher King, Twelve Monkeys and The Brothers Grimm. I've seen each of those, too. And on the whole, I liked them as well. But each of them is a linear tale... although the fantastic hand of Gilliam is definitely present in each!

I Agree with Jake Morgendorffer

Just a quick gripe.

There's a movie of the comic panel Marmaduke coming out.
I've read Marmaduke in the paper, but only because it had been on the page. I never once laughed at it. Perhaps if I'd grown up with an oversized dog I could have related. So it stands to reason I won't see the movie. (I don't see "dog movies" anyway.)

But here's the gripe: Marmaduke talks in the film. Marmaduke does NOT talk in the comic. Maybe that changed, I don't know. I haven't read it in probably 20 years. So, assuming that the past panels still hold true, even if I had been a Marmaduke fan I would not see the movie based on the talking factor alone.

Bart recently got the complete series of Daria on DVD. Watching one the other day had a line that made me laugh out loud. Daria's father, Jake Morgendorffer, is reading the paper and says, They should just put Marmaduke to sleep.

The Aurora Adventure

I had a little adventure last night.

I schlepped over to a Chicago El train with two boxes on my head and a Peter Pan’s NeverWorld bag over my shoulder… and then trekked through downtown to Union Station. I hopped the next train to Aurora. On the hour or so ride out there, I broke out some paper and began scribbling out more of Betwixt-and-Between. (Yes, the old fashioned way.) And why had I been headed out to Aurora?

It partially answers the question to say Andrea Jones (author of Hook & Jill) met me at the train station and whisked me away in her car. What a thrill to see Andrea in person again! We talk regularly through emails and chat boxes. But there’s nothing like discussing theories of Barrie face to face.

And why did I go out to see Andrea? Because of the boxes on my head, of course! The boxes contained copies of Peter Pan’s NeverWorld. I had to deliver them to her because she’ll be toting them along to the Port Washington Pirate Festival. Naturally she’s there to sell her own novel, and because she’s terrific she’s going to have mine available, too. The Port Washington Pirate Festival is this weekend, June 5 - 6 in Wisconsin. Hook & Jill is certainly more “pirate heavy” than my novel, but mine is not without its share of buccaneers. Thanks, Andrea!

Playing delivery boy had not been the only purpose for my visit. Andrea scooted me over to Old Towne Books & Tea. I finally saw this marvelous bookstore for myself (as I’d heard about it from Andrea many times.) Old Town Books & Tea is not your typical bookstore. It’s much better. What other place can you walk into that feels like an inviting home and sells great books to boot? A simple charm radiates there, from the literal individual rooms to the comfortable plush seating arranged just so - perfect for the frequent Book Club meetings and author appearances. I also had the pleasure of meeting the owners, Joe and Leah Guillemette. I’d talked online with Joe before, but he’s even cooler in person, just the sort of guy you’d want as a friend. Leah, too, is a delight. Oh - Peter Pan’s NeverWorld is now featured on their shelves by the check out desk, right near Hook & Jill. Thanks, Joe and Leah!

If you want to visit the appealing Old Towne Books & Tea for yourself, you’ll find it at 61-63 Madison Street in Oswego, Illinois.

We continued our chatting and visit at the Tap House Grill not so very far at all from Joe and Leah’s store. I had a quite tasty chicken pesto wrap and downed more than my share of bottomless ice tea. (Look at me, I’m a rebel ;] ) Good food, good conversation and new friends… doesn’t get much better than that.

Before long it had been time for Andrea to escort me back to the Metra train station… and yes, we tittered away about Barrie's work. (We just can't help ourselves.) I bounced a few ideas I had for subsequent NeverWorld books off her. She especially loved one location I've created. And I quite enjoyed hearing more about her plans for the further adventures of Hook and Jill. I hugged her goodbye and got into Chicago about twenty minutes before midnight. The walk to the El train proved much easier without heavy boxes on my head. I returned home to Bart well after midnight. And then I typed in (and revised as I typed, as per my usual habit) what I’d written for Betwixt-and-Between on the ride to Aurora. I find a certain satisfaction in having composed some more of the Peter Pan story on my way to see another Peter Pan devotee. (Okay, so she’s more into Hook. But I won’t hold it against her. ;] )

To make a grand end to a great night, I discovered that the new material has put Peter Pan: Betwixt-and-Between over the “book length” mark of 50,000 words. Voila. It’s officially a book. Hosah! Now I just have to finish the rest of it. I’m still estimating a fifth left to go, but as I always say it’s hard to know for sure since some scenes take less words/time than expected and the characters always have more to say.

And so went my adventure in Aurora.

Old Towne Books & Tea