What Scares Me...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Want to know what frightens me?

It's on the left there. And not this specific picture, no. (Although I don't particularly like looking it!) But these spooky characters in general. They just up my creep level beyond any hope of a comfort zone.

The only one that doesn't freak me out (yes, even the "cute" ones do - there's just something about a person 'created' in this fashion) is the one in The Wizard of OZ. No, I can't come up with a reason why he doesn't.

Oh sure, I've got other "fears" but we can save those for another time.

And let me take this opportunity to make a quick review:

Paranormal Activity - THIS movie is taking the country by storm?? REALLY?

I'd like to know two things.

1) How they accomplished some of those F/X so convincingly (didn't say scarily, just convincingly) on that budget.
2) How this is supposed to be the scariest movie of all time. Seriously?

HEY! Is That a Fact?

There's a Japanese show where contestants are given random facts and they must discern whether or not they are true with an outburst of "HEY!" Or something to this effect. I learned about it from the 'net.

How did I come across such a strange show? Via Peter Pan, of course.
Recently they had one about Barrie's eternal boy. They tried seeing if people would believe that the reason no one grows up in the Neverland is because Peter Pan kills them before they can. This may or may not be true. I intend to put up a post on the idea (if I ever remember to or have enough gumption to write it out.)

There is a passage in the novel which can certainly be construed as such, yes. But it's not entirely clear, as can sometimes be with case with Barrie's Pan-Universe. I'll discuss it when I, um, discuss it. But for right now, it's kind of funny because the Japanese "game show" actually takes two different parts of the book and presents them as one clear fact. The thing is, they are just that - two different parts of the book and not talking about the same thing at all. Rather clever of them to try and fool contestants in this fashion, since it's a fact that each are actually in the book when most people would think such things are not in it.

The lines they use are:
The boys on the island vary, of course, in numbers, according as they get killed and so on; and when they seem to be growing up, which is against the rules, Peter thins them out...
in conjunction with
...and Peter was killing them off vindictively as fast as possible.

Now, as I said, I'll get to that first part in another post. But the second line is actually about grown-ups. The rest of the passage:

But of course he cared very much; and he was so full of wrath against grown-ups, who, as usual, were spoiling everything, that as soon as he got inside his tree he breathed intentionally quick short breaths at the rate of about five to a second. He did this because there is a saying in the Neverland that, every time you breathe, a grown-up dies; and Peter was killing them off vindictively as fast as possible.

For the record, I use this odd tidbit in Peter Pan's NeverWorld.

Here's the clip from the Japanese show. MOST of it is in Japanese, but it's worth watching to see the "scholar" present the "truth." Odd pictures of Peter Pan, too. Yes, it's a pet peeve that the drawings are derived from the Disney version.

It's also curious that he seems to think that the children can be dropped to their deaths. Doesn't he realize they can all fly in the Neverland? Just goes to show he's a sham. :)




Either way, it's a nice reminder that the Neverland (and NeverWorld!) are not always the happy, fun dream place we might think it is... it's dangerous and sinister, too.

* The image seen above is not related to the Japanese program.

No, Not Seuss's Sam!

Last night Bart and I took a little dip into Halloween with a movie called Trick ‘r Treat. If you’re looking for a fun movie this season, this is it. If you want an absolutely scary movie to fill your sack, this is not it. It’s not flat out scary, no. But it’s not entirely a romp, either. It’s a fine line between genuinely creepy stuff and the frightfully funny. Then again, I wouldn’t call this film humorous at all. Actually, it’s a little more serious, as part of its goal is to bring to light some of the darker elements that make up this haunting holiday.

It’s told in a very excellent way. There are four stories going on in this movie, all intermingled and “followed” by a great character named Sam. Sam is “short” for Samhain (pronounced sah-win [or thereabouts]) which is a Celtic festival and the earliest origins of Halloween. Sam (pronounced as Sam) is the spirit of Halloween and he doesn’t like it when you break the strange rules of the holiday. Such as do not blow out a Jack-O-Lantern until Halloween is over. He’ll come to “play” if you do. I’m making it sound cheesy, but on the contrary, it’s done quite sinisterly in the film.

The movie jumps back and forth, putting up labels for “Later” or “Earlier” and you will then see in the “next” story the characters whose events you just watched walking by the “new” characters. Another example is two neighbors. Experience both sides of the fence at different times to be able to see the rest of the each story, with glimpses of each otherwise. I hope I’m making sense to you. If you’ve seen the episode of The Simpsons in which it’s divided into “Lisa’s Day,” “Bart’s Day,” “Homer’s Day,” etc. and you are only able to really know what caused certain events in each by seeing it from the other character’s perspective -- Trick ‘r Treat works much the same.

I also have to say that there are a lot of wonderful surprises in this movie.
Quite a few tricks that‘r definitely a treat. It’s clever, creepy and well crafted.

Bravo to writer and director Michael Dougherty. He wanted Sam to be the “missing” Halloween frontrunner character. (Xmas has Santa, Easter has Peter Cottontail, Valentine’s Day has Cupid, etc.) But Halloween does not have one. Hence, Dougherty went back to the ancient Celtic version. His pumpkin-head appearance pays homage the front-running icon of All Hallow’s Eve as well as the pumpkin-headed figures depicted throughout history. But never has there been a single, named entity. Unless you count Burton’s Jack Skellington. But that movie for me, although a technical marvel of stop-motion animation, is deeply flawed and half-baked story-wise. I’ll stick with Sam.

Do yourself a favor and celebrate with Michael Dougherty’s Trick ‘r Treat.
Don’t make Sam come on October 31st any other way….MuhaHAHA!

PAN-dering to the New Stuff

Some Pan news, briefly.

Peter and the Sword of Mercy, the latest installment of the “Peter” series by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson is out. I do not condone it, for the entire series has numerous mistakes compared to Sir J.M. Barrie. How they can be so disrespectful of another author (especially one so revered by many) is beyond me. And before you tell me it’s only supposed to be prequels to the Disney version (as the publisher Hyperion is a subsidiary of Disney) they even manage to contradict that, too. I’ve posted this link before, but here’s a list of what’s wrong with the first three in the series as shown on Wikipedia: Differences from the Works of Barrie

Disney’s second movie starring Tinker Bell, Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure, will be flying into stores soon. No, I’m not going to watch this one. For you see, I’m not a fan of Tink. Not even Barrie’s. However, I did watch the first Disney venture into Tink’s past. And you know what? I liked it, surprisingly. No, it’s not phenomenal. It’s your standard fare, but it did have a great charm to it. Plus it did not have any inconsistencies with Disney’s own Pan or even Barrie. But it’s not like I enjoyed it so much that I need to continue watching this series. Especially when this is just another adventure, not something as important as Tink’s origins. (And if this one winds up with a contradiction, it's just the general par for the course. I'm not all that interested in Disney's Pan anyway.) It is already "famous," however, for giving Tinker Bell a new outfit (for Disney.) I neither like it nor dislike it.



I’ve also heard that a movie adaptation of Régis Loisel’s graphic novel(s) version of Peter Pan is in fact in production. It’s not necessarily a reliable source, so don’t quote me on it. If you don’t know what I’m talking about at all, see here. (In that post I already had thought it to have been done as a movie. But an Anonymous (not the now "famous" Anonymous, however!) commenter informed me that what I have posted seems to be just a promotional short. [Which is SO worth watching!])

I, of course, am most looking forward to Other Oceans, the next book from Andrea Jones.

Not WILD, But Worth It

I’ve been posting here and there about the movie adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are. Well, after about four years of waiting, I finally saw it. (Granted, I waited a little longer that I had to because I’d been trying to coordinate an entourage to attend. But alas, everyone’s schedules don’t easily mesh. So Clara and I just went on our own. [For I have missed seeing films in the theater due to waiting for others to be able to go all at once.])

I could have loved this movie. Don’t take that the wrong way, I did enjoy it. I liked it very much, in fact. But I did not love it. It’s beautifully made and the way in which the picture book has been expanded is wonderful. I even liked the addition of Max’s older sister. I didn’t mind the talking monsters or their assigned personalities. I didn’t dislike the new locations of the wild land. It captured the feel of the book while bringing a whole lot more to it. So what didn’t I like? My favorite scene in the book is gone. It’s not even attempted. With the F/X in Hollywood today, it could have been done magnificently. But no… completely rewritten. Oh…I’m talking about the part where the forest grows in Max’s room. I remember as a kid I so adored the posts on the bed becoming trees. And the plant overgrowing, etc. Just imagine that coming to life… Well, keep imagining, for the film has no such scene. In the film he is sent to his room, but instead runs out of the house (in his wolf suit, thank goodness) and his mother chases him. He runs faster than her, of course (both with a head start and a kid’s energy), and keeps running, yes, into a forest and on to the boat. Perhaps it had meant to be a bit more realistic this way? For despite the giant crazy monsters, it had a grounding in reality. Emotional and social issues were touched on much more so than the book. And that’s fine, great even. Nevertheless, I truly missed my favorite part! In that way, it lacked. By which I mean it didn’t quite feel like the book, not truly. The magical element has been removed.

Much less important, there is also no scene of Max and the monsters swinging from tree branches. Okay, I didn’t actually remember this, so I didn’t miss it as much. (I watched a still-image animation and narration of the book on YouTube.) But once I knew of it again, I wondered why it’s not in the film.

Otherwise it’s an amazing movie. Apparently kids are enjoying it, but it seemed to me more so for adults who read it as child. It had a definite nostalgic quality. And in terms of production, truly stunning. The ocean scene could not have been better. The monsters, which could have been utterly cheesy, seemed quite realistic. All hail the combination of monster suits, animatronics and CGI! The monsters were brought to life straight from the book. And Max Records as Max, well, my heart went out to him the minute he first appeared. (And oh what an ideal beginning to the movie!)

Another terrific aspect is it did not beat you over the head with its messages. I suppose you could argue that it does. But what I’m saying is it could have been a lot more heavy handed. It doesn’t pander to the audience, it lets the audience experience the themes for itself.

At least I didn’t hate it. At least a childhood classic has not been tainted.
It’s well crafted, beautifully done and worth seeing. However, I do think you have to have been a fan of the book.

Thanks, Spike Jonze, for marvelously bringing to life a itsy bitsy book that had a real impact. Great job on a very difficult task. I know that Sendak told you to make the book as what it meant to you. I loved your "meanings" and insights. If only you'd cared as much as me about that one bit...

P.S. - Clara and I both want Max's wolf suit.

Re-Formatting the Writing

Drifting off to sleep…
what better time to let the subconscious and conscious work together?
When I’m working on a novel, I always make sure to “listen” to characters and attempt to work out parts of the narrative while in bed.

Last night turned out to be such a time. As I’ve mentioned, I’m churning around ideas and easing my way back into a series. I’d been thinking about what a reader mentioned regarding the second book in the series. About how the book shared time between two sets of characters, leaving the reader “hanging” until the next chapter, until the two sets converged. Not that it had been problematic - just observed as noticeable. Now, granted, short of giving each set their own single section, there’s really not much that can be done about it. For halving the novel in that manner would require filling in a great deal more about each set’s activities. I don’t mean that in the sense of “I just don’t want to write so much.” (Believe me, writing more is not a problem for me, thank goodness.) The “bridge” activities would begin to feel as such, I think - extraneous and tedious. And coupled with the fact that it would take away the suspense for each, it just doesn’t behoove me to present it otherwise.

What I’ve been thinking of, though, is that the third book in the series will also require “jumping” back and forth between characters in various locations. I didn’t want to follow the same pattern as the second, so as to avoid being exactly the same as well as quelling the “issue” raised by the reader. Nor will it work to present it as I had in Peter Pan’s NeverWorld. In that case, many more characters needed to be followed and the bouncing around reflects the abundant activity of a planet. So...how to create a similar effect without repeating myself?

I’m happy to say I figured it out last night. Yup - how to do each chapter so that the momentum is not lost, characters are not abandoned for a spell and yet their events are kept separate — except when they intersect — which the format will also allow for quite easily. It will also mirror the action of the book.

I’m not saying it’s anything brilliant. Or new. It probably has been done before. But not by me. And it should work beautifully with this adventure.

Right now I’m trying to work out some details regarding the recent pre-history of this story. It takes place ten years later from the second book (as the second does from the first.) I know what happens, sure. But I’m looking into the specific events that shaped the beginning of this novel. Yes, I will be writing out of sequence as I keep saying I prefer. But in order to dive into the part that interests me most right now, I need to know the details of the sequences that lead up to it.

So I’ll continue to think on it… and see if the characters will tell me.
And then I can look forward to writing in this “new format.”

The Quill Be Not Quelled...

Last night when I went to do something or other on my computer, I wound up clicking on something entirely else. I knew what I should have been doing, but instead, I followed this other route of drags and clicks. What caused the sudden turn of activity? I’m going with “fictional character interruption.”

Yes, folks, last “night” in the wee hours of the morning, if you want to get technical about it, I took the first steps on the novel I’ve been saying that I will get back to someday soon. It’s the third in a series of four. However, it’s really the final part of the series, as the last book is a prequel (meant to be read fourth which tells the “real story” of what happened in ages past.)

Don’t get too excited, though, for all it really entailed: Redesigning the “title logo” I made about five or so years ago and rewriting the first half of the opening line. I’m happy to say that both are a vast improvement. By leagues. Plus, I’ve been thinking about the story quite a bit lately, doing some preliminary research and hearing from the main character. So it won’t be long now.

The best part, of course, is that I will be able to write whatever I’d like first. By which I mean I can return to writing a novel out of sequence. As a general rule, I find it best to first write the parts that excite me. Since I have an outline to follow, I don’t get lost along the way. However, the past three novels I’d been working on required me to write in sequence. By the nature of each piece, for a different reason on each, it behooved me to compose in chronological order. I’m quite glad to be rid of this stipulation. (Although when I go to finish the one on the back-burner I might have to follow the actual timeline again. There’s a chance I won’t as I’ve reached a certain place in the novel and it may no longer require me to do so…we’ll see.)

At any rate, I’m happy to say that I can’t deny I am working on another novel.