Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
Neil - that was a lovely morning giggle for me... btw, on a bizarrely
related note, I sent an e-mail a week or two ago to the account listed
in your Well profile. I know that you're completely overwhelmed at the
moment, but I'm curious if you ever got it.

Maure - I think that Spider-man is a totally valid thing to talk about
here. I mean, I'd imagine that most or all of us have seen it already.
.. besides, there seems to be a lull here lately... I long for the
days of stimulating discussion about people having sex with stuffed
animals.

On a totally unrelated note - send good vibes my way, as I'm doing a
camera test for an independent film tomorrow. I have *very* limited
experience on film, although my preferred style of acting is very film
oriented, and this would be a wonderful role for me.
  

    
Dan == got the e-mail, replied to it, and it was severely and
immediately bounced back to me. I think I suggested that your friend
might enjoy the character of Bilquis in American Gods as well.

Good luck. Act small.
  

    
Maure - I didn't find any real similarities in Elfmans Spiderman score
either. His Batman theme is actually one of my favorites; hulking,
bombastic, and mysterious at the same time. :) 

I was disappointed in Elfmans Spiderman score though. I may have gone
in with unreasonably high expectations as he's one of my favorite
composers, but it seems like I haven't been struck hard by any of his
soundtracks in recent years. I'm wetting my pants though at finding out
that he will be orchestrating the Red Dragon movie. 

Hannibal Lector and Danny Elfman; Mmmm...
  

    
I had Chinese food for dinner last night. My fortunes from that
particular restaurant are always eerily resonant with whatever is going
on with me. Last night, my fortune was "Your luck was completely
changed today." I don't know whether or not I like that. I've always
thought I was very lucky in most respects. Is it a warning or an omen?
Is it a sign of even more luck to come? Is it just a piece of paper
assigned a random combination of words?

Dan,  Oooo, best wishes for role-snagging. 

Shawn,  I loved small bits of Sleepy Hollow (most notably, the main
titles), and some of the phrasing and instrument-use from Planet of the
Apes. I absolutely loved the subtlety of Good Will Hunting - thought
it was gorgeous, and clean. I love Spiderman. Elfman's indescribable
sweetness and sadness is in it, and I've missed that. I think it's
definitely more advanced, musicality-wise, than Batman, precisely
because of its restraint (where Batman is bombastic, Spiderman slides
around from chord to relatively unexpected chord without becoming too
dense). I don't know if I'm making sense. I'm not a musician. Edward
Scissorhands will always be my favorite, though, I think. 
I will echo your "Mmmm" with enthusiasm, and add a swoon as well.
  

    
[...] that he will be orchestrating the Red Dragon movie.

     Uh, what, again?  RED DRAGON was filmed a decade and a half ago
by Michael Mann (it was originally released as MANHUNTER, but has been
shown under both titles).  There are two cuts; Mann's is much superior,
though both alter the ending severely.  The picture is, like the book,
effectively gruesome while showing relatively little.
     Brian Cox plays Lecter, and to me does at least as well as
Hopkins.  (Most of the other major parts are Mann's stock company --
Dennis Farina plays Jack Crawford, for instance, and Stephen Lang is
the tabloid reporter.)  Recall that in DRAGON Lecter is very much a
supporting part, never out of his cell.  If the movie alters that, it
ceases to be an adaptation of the book. 
     Of course, given what's happened to Tom Clancy's SUM OF ALL
FEARS, I look forward to JANE AUSTEN'S PRIDE AND PREJUDICE starring
members of the World Wrestling Federation and set on one of Jupiter's
moons.
  

    
Mike,  from what I've heard, Hopkins will be having just the small,
caged role in it, except for the flashbacks Graham has. I liked
Manhunter. But I don't like William Peterson, and I prefer Hopkins'
Lector. Anthony Hopkins is one of the few actors who compels me to see
all of his films. This is especialy disturbing after seeing the BAD
COMPANY trailer. Dear god.
  

    
... who is getting her newsgroup posts and well posts mixed up in her
head.

Erynn - Lots of places are carrying the H2G2 on DVD. We've got it at
our store too. And $34.97 seems to be the going rate. I think the
bigger challenge isn't so much *finding* it, as finding it *cheaper*.

DanGuy - I'd suggest Good Omens, but I always suggest that when
nothing else pops into my head right away, and you've probably already
flown off and away already any way.

Maure - The poem is wonderful! (but that ending... 'the end' - it just
has no rhythm. ;P) Oh, and nothing to do with anything here, but let
me know if you haven't heard from me within the next week. Um... oh, I
remember; If you're ever in SF, you should stop by the Cartoon Art
Museum. They have a lovely Gorey exhibit that they change every 3
months or so.

on Elfman - I tend to *like* all of his stuff pretty equally. Except
for Edward Scissorhands - maybe it's just all the waltziness of it, but
it just sits on a pedestal so high above everything else he's ever
done.

In completely 'yay! I'm cool!' news: I managed to get a bunch of
in-store appearances for our store! Peter Murphy, Apoptygma Berzerk,
and Beborn Beton - all in the same week. And it looks like I'll be
playing chauffeur to Mr. Murphy. One of my friends is starting to tease
me about collecting Bauhaus, as I also had to drive around David J a
couple of years ago. 

Neil - I showed Paige your response to his post at the last band
meeting and he went all silly on us. There was much bouncing (well,
more 'bobbing' than 'bouncing' really), and at one point he grabbed his
girlfriend and made her read the reply. It's like he reverted to a 10
year old on his birthday who just saw that the cake was twice as big
and chocolatey as expected.

And he was amazed at how nice the rest of us are. Apparently my word
on the matter just wasn't enough. ;)

okay, off to get my Buffy fix... I blame my father. He's the one who
hooked me up with the DVD player.
  

    
Mike -- You're thinking of PRIDE AND EXTREME PREJUDICE. 

Mobster 1: It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man
in possession of a good fortune, must--

Mobster 2: Have his friggin head blown off.

...

Michelle. Peter Murphy and I have a mutual friend, Jamil in Trieste,
so say kind of hi from me.
  

    
Neil - it got bounced back? *sigh* That's it... I need to take action.
That seems to happen from time to time and I thought I had figured out
why and fixed it. I wonder what other e-mails I've missed.... Thanks
for the reply, though. *wanders off, grumbling... realizes something,
and comes back more composed.* Yes, thank you. I will "act small"...
it's part of why I want to do more film. I like the subtlties of that
kind of acting. *nips off, pauses for a moment, then does a funny
little sort of job-walk back* Oh, and I'll have to read the Bilquis bit
to my friend when I get it back from my other friend. I'm actually
curious as to what she'll make out of it. She's not very fond of men in
general, and has a history as a radical lesbian feminist activist, so
I'm not sure what the image if getting eaten by a godly vagina will say
to her. She has a very particular worldview...

Mike - Actually... I'd LOVE to see Pride and Predjucie set on Io with
the World Wrestling Federation. I mean... what a concept! They have to
keep all the original dialogue, though.

Squeaks - Yay for you! 

Maure- Thanks for the good wishes. I'm about to throw on some shoes
and head north for the camera test. I'm taking a somewhat evil thrill
from all this, since the director is recasting the part because he's
not confident in the guy currently slated to play it... and that guy is
the same actor that walked out on me the day before Darkness Box
opened. So, yes... "snagging the part" is a good way of putting it.
(I'm not a vengeful person by nature, and I certainly don't seek it...
but when fate drops it into your lap, is it so wrong to savor the
flavor of it?)

Dan *who turns to walk out the door, pauses, goes to say something to
Neil... then shakes his head and goes out the door*
  

    
Mike- dunno if you've heard but figured I'd say; they're remaking *Red
Dragon* as *Red Dragon*, with Hopkins in the cell as Lecter, Ed Norton
as Will Graham, and Ralph Fiennes as Jame Gumb.  Elfman's scoring. 
There's also, apparently a nice little *Silence of the Lambs* touch to
it, that will truly make it a prequel.  I'm looking forward to it for
Norton alone.

Dan- Good luck to you, man.  Hope you do, in fact, snag it.

Neil- Man, I envy your seeing movies at a drive-in.  We used to have
one around here but, sadly, it died long before I was actually born.  I
always think of coming-of-age novels when I think of drive-ins but
that might be because I associate them more with the generation
previous to mine.

And *Pride and Extreme Prejudice*; that'd be Great.  There are Diet
Dr. Pepper commercials out right now, with golf crossed with the XFL, I
guess, to form the XGA that always remind me of things gone bad. 
Those and the "Hoboken RiverDance" spots, with the guys in kilts and
tank tops gettin' jiggy.  <chuckle>  I was production assistant on some
of those, which rocked, because the producer, Jennifer Kirstein,
rocked the house in every way.

Michelle- well, we *knew* you were cool.  Very cool bookings.

And, on a personal note, I just got my first rather-good rejection
letter.  My first one that wasn't "Thanks, but no."  The editor of a
Bram Stoker winning anthology (*Extremes 5*) said my opening was strong
and my premise was good, and said some really nice things about the
story I'd sent him before declining it.  I wrote him back to say
thanks, and he responded with a terrific "look forward to seeing more
of your work in later anthologies".  Which, besides my 24th birthday on
Wednesday, made my week.
  

    

Hmmm. I don't think you'll find Jame Gumb in Red Dragon, will, unless 
they're really messing with it. More like Francis Dollarhyde. 
  

    
Snagged it.
Hoo-ya...

We start filming on Wednesday. This is going to be a scary intense
month, with me working in the mornings, filming in the afternoons, and
then either working again or rehearsing in the evenings.

Also I turned in a batch of stories for consideration for my company's
October show. The Artistic Director asked for "creepy" stories again.
Among other titles I submitted were "Splatter" from the Sandman Book of
Dreams, "The Sadness of Details" by Jonathan Carroll, "Having Keith"
by Martha (or is it "Wanting Keith"? I don't have the book with me at
the moment), The Six Fingers of Time by Lafferty, and Neil's Body
Snatchers/VD story (whose title escapes me a the moment, but I know it
isn't "Changes"). Hopefully I'll be adapting and directing one of these
for the fall.

Will - Congrats on the first rather-good rejection letter! That's a
grand sign!

Dan - whose hair color has now changed, again.
  

    
Dan--whoo--hooo!!  You rock!  Congratulations!  Ain't karma a bitch
for people who walk off of shows?

Go Sqeaks!  Yay for in-store appearances!  Peter Murphy was here this
week & I thought of you.

Maure--the poem rocks.  You rock.

Will--Happy Birthday!  I shall tell you what my friends told me on my
24th birthday:  Twenty-four's not old.......for a tree!  ;-)

Dan-Guy--have a good trip & tell us everything when you get back!

Neil--there do seem to be rather a lot of birds about here, too. 
Probably because Spring isn't yet sprung, and the little blighters
aren't finding much chow.  Awfully good of you to feed them.  I miss
living where I could have a bird feeder.

Mary (who just read "Nickel & Dimed: (Not) Getting By in America"  and
thinks everyone should read it.)
  

    
Saiyuk- you are correct, of course.  He *is* Dollarhyde (Gumb's the
killer in *Silence of the Lambs*, do I recall?  Is that where I got
confused?).  And I should have said they're re-*adapting* *Red Dragon*
as *Red Dragon*, not remaking it.  Basically, there's another coming
out, is what I meant.
And you know, I realized Hopkins brilliant, Oscar-winning performance
was so spot-on because it was so calm, so deadening.  I wonder if his
director told him to bunt.

Maure- I forgot to tell you how much I enjoyed your poem.  Very cool.

Dan- re: Creepy stories... have you at all considered Stephen King's
"Strawberry Spring"?  It's not *creepy* exactly, but it's beautiful and
then so quickly *turns* creepy it spins your head, which is, I think,
where its brilliance lies.  Either way, congrats on the snagging.
  

    

Congrats, stagewalker!  Good news.
  

    
Dan,  I always get a kick out of vengence when it comes indirectly. It
reinforces the propaganda on which I was raised that eventually, all
scores are settled somehow. Congratulations on a successful snagging!!
(Not to be confused with a successful snogging, although the two are
not mutually exclusive.)

Will,  hooray for an encouraging rejection letter! It's very cool that
you got the second response. And happy birthday!! And thank you, very
much.

Mary,  As do you, and thank you. There are two doves or pigeons or
some sort of cooing bird that are nestng right outside my window. They
are very loud. They sound like owls, but they are not. I kind of like
them there. 

I just got home from a WonderWoman marathon with Tara. We haven't
watched the big gorilla episode yet, though. It was really fun to watch
them. We had snacks that we either ate as kids, or wanted to eat as
kids (but our parents wouldn't let us). I cut the corner of my mouth on
the plastic edge of the Flav-R-Ice popsicle. I forgot about the
hazards involved.
  

    
Neil,  just read your latest blog, about the drive-in. My brother
asked me what I would like, when he's making millions (haha). I told
him I wanted my own private theater, for two reasons. 1) because people
who chew popcorn very loudly and wetly are invariably sitting right
next to me in public theaters, and 2) because sometimes I'd like to
talk out loud. The last drive-in around here (that I know about, at
least) closed down a few years ago, or that would work just as well as
my own theater. Cheaper too.
  

    
Neil - Yay! Now I have something to talk to him about. When I met
David J I started out with 'hello' and 'i really like a couple of Love
& Rockets songs' and then the conversation kind of died, as I hadn't
actually heard any of the stuff he had worked on with Alan Moore.
Actually, the only time it wasn't entirely awkward with him was when he
was cracking wise about Peter Murphy. ;)

Will - Way to go on the cool feedback! Now write more. :D

DanW - Awesome! <bouncing with joy for you> Creepy stories... don't
know how well they'd adapt, but have you picked up any Margret Atwood
(oh, good grief, now I'm doubting the name and I can't find the book to
check it)? Any way, it's full of cool ideas.

squeaks, who is loathing M-day tomorrow. Nothing against my mom, or
even the giganto-family-gathering. But at 9:30 on a Sunday morning? 
Are they high?
  

    
Michelle,  You know, I kept trying to rework that last bit, but I gave
up in a fit of frustration. I fully admit my rhythmless-ness. ;)I'll
keep my eyes peeled for you this week. I've never been to San
Francisco, but I'd like to go, some day. And I completely agree --
Edward is pedestaled for me too.
  

    
Tension strikes as I got an e-mail today from the director saying that
the producer (who has the final 1% vote... but it's a very important
1%) wants to see what I did with my hair yesterday, as I had it colored
back to a darker version of my original hair because they didn't want
the albino blond that I was currently sporting. So, I sent off a pic a
second ago with my drying hair in the sunlight... 

I should know by now, not to start celebrating until the contract is
*signed*... still, it's a good color job, and very natural looking, so
I think it'll be ok.

Thanks for all the support, everyone. I've been all bouncy energizer
bunny since yesterday and it helps to pop my head in here when I can
and go "whoo!" or "augh!"

Will - I haven't ready Strawberry Spring, or if I have, not for about
seventeen years. I have no recollection of the plot at all. King's
stuff tends to be rather longish, though. It would need to condense
down to no longer than 40 minutes...

Maure - Assuming this fish doesn't get off my line in the next 24
hours... I'll start working on a successful snogging next. *target in
sight... engage!*

Squeaks - I've actually never read any of Atwood's stuff? Shocking,
isn't it? I'm currently reading "The Haunted Looking Glass: Ghost
stories chosen by Edward Gorey" in hopes of finding more material.

Ok, off to call mater... which will shock and astound her as she knows
that I despise Hallmark Holidays and have a mental block about
remembering Mother's Day in particular.

Dan *who is constantly keeping one eye on the e-mail program*
  

    

Last night I went to a little party and heard, for the first time, the Flash
Girls. My introduction to them? A little ditty that I believe is called
"Yeti." Very amusing, Neil. I got a kick out of it.
  

    
madman -- oh good. They slipped that onto the album to surprise me.
  

    
Mike - I'd only seen bare snippets of Manhunter when Hannibal was
released a few years ago, so I tracked down the two-disc DVD set with
both the Theatrical and Directors Cuts of the film. It really is an
under-appreciated movie, mostly thanks to the stigma of not having Tony
Hopkins in the role of Lector. 

The descision to remake it was made simply so that the studio could
have a Hopkins bookend of it's Lector films; and I wouldn't be
surprised to find that the Studio Exec who claims credit for the remake
had no idea that Red Dragon had been previously adapted. What worries
me is that they seem to be making Red Dragon another Hannibal movie,
which it isn't, and shouldn't be. 

Neil - My fathers living room is half surrounded at a right angle by
floor-to-ceiling windows. Many poor birds have met their makers on
those windows, and they make a huge banging noise that I can only
describe as the noise a bird makes when it meets its maker while
crashing into a floor-to-ceiling window. :(

Shawn - who would die to see Buffy : The Musical on a drive-in screen
"This is *my* verse, helloo..."
  

    <scribbled by dfowlkes Tue 3 Jul 12 10:14>
  

    
hair good... producer pleased...filming wednesday
I'll try to be a little more quiet about it for a while...

Manhunter - having never read the book or seen the movie, whenever I
read "Manhunter" I think simultaneously of "Man Eater" by Hall and
Oates and the old TV series "Manimal"

But then again, I may just need therapy for too much exposure to bad
pop culture in the 80's.

Dan-guy - mmmmm, Max Headroom... hey, have they put the (horribly
short) run of Max Headroom on DVD yet?