There's a stack of stuff I should be reviewing right now, but one of them is 'The Mist', the review for which will include a massive spoiler, and I know at least one of people who read this blog hasn't seen it. So I will hold off on that until we watch it at one of our film evenings :)
In the meantime...heavy, almost primal drumbeats echo, evoking memories of many, many hours spent listening to the surprisingly good soundtrack for a very bad but very stylish vampire film, long before 'Twilight' even existed. It's time for some Anne Rice, baby.
Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles were a staple of my teenage years. I didn't read anywhere near all of the books (like, two), but I loved the films made of them in the nineties/early millenium. The novel 'Interview With the Vampire', illicitly picked up in the horror section during my first tentative forays into the genre, was for me the first experience I'd had of vampires being sexy, not monstrous (well, 'Dracula', but he's mostly monstrous in the original novel), and a whole world opened up. I also read 'The Vampire Lestat', but I never got as far as 'Queen of the Damned' in book form as I realised the author had got a little precious about the sociopathic and gloriously snarky creep from the first book and had decided to make him a lot more likeable.
Basically, there was no particular reason for me to like any of the characters any more, as I find the 'sympathetic vampire' one of the most boring tropes of modern horror fiction when not balanced by a touch of monstrosity (even if Rice was one of the first to do it). I can't help but see it as paving the way for insipid characters like Edward Cullen. So, I stopped reading the books. By the point that I read 'The Vampire Lestat', I'd already seen the 'Interview With the Vampire' and 'Queen of the Damned' films, so I had a very definite mental picture of what the characters looked like, which was sadly not helpful. I like 'The Vampire Lestat' a lot - it's a highly enjoyable if rather overly-romanticised novel. The film 'Interview With the Vampire' was pretty much everything I wanted from a film adaptation, even with the changes they wrought (because, well, I'd always rather have Antonio Banderas as Armand than a teenager if I've got the choice, even if it's less close to the books). Anne Rice wrote the screenplay, so it's pretty close to the book.
Still, 'Queen of the Damned', with its stylish, silly goth-ness and genre soundtrack, was a film I watched over and over again, pretty much uncritically.Where 'Interview With the Vampire' follows Louis, a recently-turned vampire, 'Queen of the Damned' takes up the story of Louis' sire/maker/whatever, Lestat, who mostly functions as an antagonist in the first book and film, as well as an example of a vampire who just loves being a vampire. Where the first film (which is, frankly, quite a lot better), is a period piece full of floppy shirts and big dresses, with surprisingly good performances from Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise and a very young Kirsten Dunst, 'Queen of the Damned' throws the previous continuity out of the window. Cruise's blonde, charming, unbalanced Lestat was a dead ringer for the book Lestat. Stewart Townsend's Lestat is a smug, self-satisfied goth kid who thinks he's God's gift to emo girls and rock music. Jesse Reeves (Marguerite Moreau) is an occult investigator with a past that's apparently a lot more complex in the books but is hardly delved into here except to assist with plot expediency. Most of the action takes place in [swinging] London for pretty much no reason, except that all ancient occult societies come from England, duh...despite the fact that Lestat is French, Marius is apparently a French Roman (he's a Roman in the books, but played by French actor Vincent Perez), and Marguerite Moreau is American (and her character is at least part American, though also seems slightly French given 'young Jesse's' accent).
So Lestat is woken from his centuries-long slumber by rock music (as in the book) and becomes a rock star who is openly a vampire. The first half of the plot is really quite like 'The Vampire Lestat', but as I've said before, I can't speak for 'Queen of the Damned' as I haven't read it. The world treats him with a kind of bemused admiration and he acts like a pretty princess who gets all the groupies he wants. Meanwhile, a member of the Talamascan occult group, Jesse, is delving into Lestat's history with the help of her mentor David (woo, Paul McGann!) who is a bit obsessed with Marius, Lestat's sire (I don't blame him). Through Lestat's journal, we flashback to his making/Embrace/hot man lovin' and how he was favoured by Akasha who, with her husband Enkil, is the originator of vampires. Akasha and Enkil turned to stone long ago: Marius had been keeping them in the basement for centuries but when Lestat drunk Akasha's blood (in an awesome bit with a lovely crunch of marble-flesh) he abandoned Lestat, taking Akasha and Enkil with him. In the present day, Marius turns up again because a) Lestat is annoying a lot of vampires by being so open and b) Akasha, the most powerful vampire in existence, ripped out Enkil's throat and is up and about, btw.
Lestat and Jesse have a slightly weird relationship as she tries to get close to him and he wonders why she bothers, but then Akasha decides Lestat is about right to be her new king and grabs him when he's being attacked by the other vampires during a concert in Death Valley (if they want discretion, why would they attack him in such a public, filmed place? Bad vampires, no Masquerade for you). The other ancient vampires (Armand, Marius, Pandora, Maharet, Mael and Khayman) unite against Akasha. She commands Lestat to drink Jesse dry, but the Ancients all attack Akasha together and drink her blood. Maharet drinks the 'last drop' and turns to stone, Lestat turns Jesse into a vampire to save her life and they walk off into undeath together (blah). On the plus side, Marius does actually come and see David *fangirl*.
So basically, ignoring Jesse's role in the book version, the film is about Lestat being pulled between a hot all-powerful vampire chick and a boring human girl. And of course, this being written by a human girl, he chooses her. The film is tightly-made to a large extent - if you're invested in the love story or the overarching narrative, you'll probably enjoy it as it goes along at a fair clop. But the Death Valley fight feels like it should be the climax of the film - as a result, the ensuing bit where Lestat and Akasha bathe in rose petals, have kinky blood-play sex and kill people is (ironically) an anti-climax. The final fight with the Ancients is really cool, especially for fans of the novels (although I've only read the first two, I know the backstories of most of the characters) and has some lovely cameos (Lena Olin is Maharet, 'Farscape' veterans Claudia Black and Matthew Newton are Pandora and Armand, who does look much more like the book character in this version), but it feels tacked on, like they wanted to include the big narrative of 'The Vampire Chronicles', but had difficulty integrating it with the teen wish-fulfillment vampire lover plot.
Though admittedly, this is suprisingly self-conscious: Lestat is meant to be a bit of an arrogant prick, and when he wants to show Jesse that he's a monster, he rips a woman's throat out. And...well, Jesse's still keen, so you can't fault her on that one. Also, Jesse is the one who stalks Lestat, not the other way around, so she mostly just comes across as a groupie. I personally assume that Lestat will get bored of her at some point after the film has ended.
The whole Talamascan thing is weird, too. I mean, I'm all for ancient monster-hunting societies but there's no reason for them to exist beyond referencing the books and meaning Jesse and David aren't just crazy loners. The script is also cringingly terrible. Any film where what passes for sexy seduction talk between the two leads is "Boo back" is a bad, bad idea. I don't like Stuart Townsend as a rule and in this he either gives the most wonderful parody of a film vampire or a laughably bad performance. I think you have to buy into him being attractive before you can find Lestat at all engaging and he's only been attractive as Dorian Gray (and was therefore the only good bit about 'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen' film). The dark-haired sallow emo kid thing does not do it for me. Luckily, there is also Vincent Perez in a performance that includes a playful, almost whimsical side, but fails to convince as he struggles with dramatic vampire lines that are a) not in his first language and b) bad. He is extremely attractive and charming, though. A wonderfully cultured vampire, and his ye olde outfit from the flashbacks is delectable.
'Queen of the Damned' is silly and gothy and yet highly enjoyable. I suspect I've got rather a skewed view due to enjoying this film so much as a teenager, but it's genuinely not that bad. Just really, really trashy, and proud of it. It's laughable and loveable and if you can cope with the badness, at least it's got more of an edge than 'Twilight'.
Edit much after the fact to add: I realised upon re-reading this that I totally ignored Aaliyah, who played Akasha, a singer, actress and model who was tragically killed in a plane crash not long after this film was made. I'm afraid I don't know much of her music, though I am assured by my more R&B-savvy better half that her songs were good. I have seen 'Romeo Must Die', in which she plays Trish, the Juliet stand-in (her debut role and the film credited with bringing Jet Li to the attention of the American film industry). She was actually a good actress, and in 'Queen of the Damned', Akasha is really cool. I'd personally define her performance as 'lissome': she moves and dances with snakelike grace but manages to bring weight, power and (amazingly) credibility to the character. Because she never winks at the camera, even when she was given laughably clueless lines, Aaliyah managed to convince as an ancient vampire with a completely alien mindset. RIP.
Lestat: "Well, that makes you a very clever librarian..."
Thursday, 23 December 2010
Thursday, 25 November 2010
Violence solves nothing but it sure makes the headlines
You know what's sad? That people in a modern civilised society feel they have to fall back on violence as the only way they'll be listened to. Because the ideas that David Cameron puts forward about 'asking the public' about where they want the budget cuts and 'measuring happiness' are just gimicks, and not even convincing ones. David Cameron doesn't care about the British people or the vulnerable members of society or the potential that's being wasted by making further and higher education fees prohibitively expensive except for the rich - but I think he does genuinely care about Britain and its economic prosperity. The budget cuts are tough and highly unfair, but you can't fault him for cutting spending. Unfortunately, he's hamstringing the average person as he goes.
And to anticipate one of the tiredest and most depressingly selfish arguments I've heard about this whole matter, it does affect everyone. OK, so some people went straight into work and never got the chance for university, but what if they had wanted the chance? What if they wanted more than anything to be a doctor or an environmental scientist? Hell, what if they wanted to be a plumber and needed a vocational qualification? What if they wanted to be a teacher? For that matter, what if the next great film-maker or an inspiring politician who could one day be PM doesn't follow their dream because they can't afford it? Just because you never had the opportunity (and are just fine without a degree), it doesn't mean your kids shouldn't have the opportunity. You're going to be the one telling them they can't study law because you can't afford it. You're going to be the one who has to put everything you earn into paying for their degree because with all the funding cuts, surely universities are going to only provide the minimum amount of bursaries they have to. If your children are grown and got through university already, how will they feel about their children coming out of university with truly crippling amounts of debt? Launching into the start of their adult life owing tens of thousands of pounds already with no guarantee that they'll get a job any time soon. This affects everyone. Except the people who are implementing it, because they can easily afford the new fees.
In this article in the Guardian the education secretary says that he will respond to arguments but not violence. Because, frankly, violent protests do not achieve anything beyond vilifying those who commit the violence. An awful, awful lot of people who would otherwise have shown sympathy for the student protests now say "Yes, but I can't condone or associate myself with a cause that involved violence towards the police." Hell, I truly care about the top-up fees issue (or, rather, the wider spending cuts issues) but I have a good friend who's a special in the Met (and would have been a full police officer now if the recruitment hadn't been cut) and if he was injured, my sympathy with the cause would be really difficult to maintain. But to anybody who justifies it by saying that to make an omelette, you have to break a few eggs - well, I suspect that's rather the PM's attitude too. And stop having a go at Nick Clegg - he's certifiably a slimy bastard who's ruined his political career now, but he probably did have pretty good reasons for betraying his voters.
My problem with the above quote from Michael Gove is that it's a lie. People tried arguments and no-one listened because as long as violence isn't involved it's OK to ignore protestors. The coverage is limited to one or maybe two articles per newspaper and it just reads a variation of "Students protest - nothing interesting happens". When peaceful protest is ignored, people who are both ideological and frustrated will take matters into their own hands, and they will get an awful lot more coverage in the newspapers. That photo of a hooded, anonymous student spraying 'Revolution' on a wall is now iconic. It's not right, and it's counter-productive, but it's also the way things go. Ignoring public dissent about measures that directly influence their finances and even their livelihoods has far-reaching consequences.
And to anticipate one of the tiredest and most depressingly selfish arguments I've heard about this whole matter, it does affect everyone. OK, so some people went straight into work and never got the chance for university, but what if they had wanted the chance? What if they wanted more than anything to be a doctor or an environmental scientist? Hell, what if they wanted to be a plumber and needed a vocational qualification? What if they wanted to be a teacher? For that matter, what if the next great film-maker or an inspiring politician who could one day be PM doesn't follow their dream because they can't afford it? Just because you never had the opportunity (and are just fine without a degree), it doesn't mean your kids shouldn't have the opportunity. You're going to be the one telling them they can't study law because you can't afford it. You're going to be the one who has to put everything you earn into paying for their degree because with all the funding cuts, surely universities are going to only provide the minimum amount of bursaries they have to. If your children are grown and got through university already, how will they feel about their children coming out of university with truly crippling amounts of debt? Launching into the start of their adult life owing tens of thousands of pounds already with no guarantee that they'll get a job any time soon. This affects everyone. Except the people who are implementing it, because they can easily afford the new fees.
In this article in the Guardian the education secretary says that he will respond to arguments but not violence. Because, frankly, violent protests do not achieve anything beyond vilifying those who commit the violence. An awful, awful lot of people who would otherwise have shown sympathy for the student protests now say "Yes, but I can't condone or associate myself with a cause that involved violence towards the police." Hell, I truly care about the top-up fees issue (or, rather, the wider spending cuts issues) but I have a good friend who's a special in the Met (and would have been a full police officer now if the recruitment hadn't been cut) and if he was injured, my sympathy with the cause would be really difficult to maintain. But to anybody who justifies it by saying that to make an omelette, you have to break a few eggs - well, I suspect that's rather the PM's attitude too. And stop having a go at Nick Clegg - he's certifiably a slimy bastard who's ruined his political career now, but he probably did have pretty good reasons for betraying his voters.
My problem with the above quote from Michael Gove is that it's a lie. People tried arguments and no-one listened because as long as violence isn't involved it's OK to ignore protestors. The coverage is limited to one or maybe two articles per newspaper and it just reads a variation of "Students protest - nothing interesting happens". When peaceful protest is ignored, people who are both ideological and frustrated will take matters into their own hands, and they will get an awful lot more coverage in the newspapers. That photo of a hooded, anonymous student spraying 'Revolution' on a wall is now iconic. It's not right, and it's counter-productive, but it's also the way things go. Ignoring public dissent about measures that directly influence their finances and even their livelihoods has far-reaching consequences.
Wednesday, 3 November 2010
Sometimes the reverse is true, too...
So after yesterday's fluffy and bubbly post about how amazing NaNo is, I read Nicola Morgan's post on how some people might feel pressured into it. I guess I never even thought about it like that. For me, I never feel like I should do NaNo. For me, it is fun, pure and simple. It's the one month of the year where I feel I have a legitimate excuse to just sit down and write. I'll make myself write rather than playing computer games or wasting time on the Internet because 'it's just for one month' and after that I can go back to wasting time. I'll feel like a bit of me is missing if I don't write every single day. Basically, November is how I should be living my life if I ever want to be a published author. So I suppose for me it's a month of pretending I'm a real writer.
But seriously, it's geniunely not for everyone and, frankly, I don't produce my best work in November. I don't use any of the projects that are close to my heart for NaNo because I know I'll have to make some compromises of planning and thinking to get the daily word count. OK, the last two NaNos I've done have been things I don't think I would have ever produced without NaNo, but certainly the first one is distinctly pedestrian and the second one is an absolute mess. I never get a free bound copy of my book from the NaNo offer because it's never fully drafted by the time the offer expires, so it would be a waste to me.
I love NaNo and try and make sure everyone knows about it, but it's not useful to everyone and could in fact set some people back. I suspect I'm always going to do it, though, because it's a month to just go for it, not thinking, not doubting, not looking back. It's refreshing and revitalising and (eventually) exhausting, like an impulsive and ill-advised sprint down a beach that leaves you panting and painful, but was totally worth it. But not everyone sees the point in running down a beach, or even understands your motivation in doing so. And very few people want to sprint all the time!
An update
It's three days in and I'm already behind. Food and water are getting scarce and I think I heard something rustling in the bushes last night...
I've only done about 1200 words of my primary NaNo but about 3000 words of a secondary one which is designed to stop me from putting more adult content in my primary (which is a Young Adult novel) by giving me somewhere else to work out those violent, sexy, foul-mouthed and cynical itches I can't put in my primary. It currently looks like my primary is the winner right now, but I'm trying to work on both so I don't get bored. Not sure how I'll work it out in the end, since I had started my secondary before November, so it's technically cheating, but I'm hoping that added together the words I write in November on the two pieces will make 50,000. Must...resist...temptation to just write the violent, sexy piece and actually write the other one, because if I don't, the characters that need to be in it will never exist.
One of the best aspects of the NaNoWriMo site is the large archive of pep-talks dating from 2007 to the current year. These pep-talks are also sent out via e-mail to participants who've signed up on the website, but it's good to have past years archived. They're definitely worth looking at, as event organisers Chris Baty and Lindsey Grant write regular pep-talks for every week of the process and one before and after November itself, and they also get established authors to write pep-talks, which are often wonderful if you're a fan of the author. You'll find Philip Pullman, Neil Gaiman, Gail Carson Levine, Robin McKinley, Jonathan Stroud, Piers Anthony, Meg Cabot, Kelley Armstrong, and many, many more. Also, Kristin Cashore, whose blog (and writing!) I am a big fan of, wrote a pep talk one year and still blogs about NaNo, and Nicola Morgan is also supportive of it on her blog. The one thing to be wary of is that while Chris Baty's pep-talks are organised and dated by year and date (so you can tell at what point in the month you are meant to read them), the others are organised alphabetically and it's impossible to tell what time of the month they refer to, which can occasionally be an issue. So I made myself a handy chart of 2008/2009 (I wasn't doing it in 2007) so I could remember when to read the pep-talks. Of course, most of them are just general advice, but it's a bit unnerving to open one up and read "Congratulations! You've finished your novel, isn't it a great feeling?" when you're only a week in. They are definitely worth a read, though, and a really great motivator.
The Forums are lovely and a great place to go if you feel lonely or angsty or frustrated. There are word wars, inspirational prompts, dares and challenges, and plot-solvers aplenty. It's a great community and a fun place to be. For those who've formally signed up and are keeping their wordcount up to date (I'm infamously bad for forgetting to do so), there are cool charts and stats for your progress, as well as guilt-tripping things saying you're behind schedule and what your current cumulative goal is. There's almost daily news on the site throughout November, videos, the personal experience of spotlit NaNo writers, a massive cumulative wordcount of all NaNos put together and a 'Procrastination Station' where you can find challenges, dares and suggestions of things to do when you're bored. Overall, the support provided by the Office of Letters and Light is phenomenal and a big part of why NaNo is so brilliant and successful.
On the downside today, if the university puts up its fees for the second year of my part-time MA in accordance with the government report, I will probably not be able to afford to do my second year. But that's fine, though, because I'm being self-indulgent by doing further education in a non-vocational subject, right? I mean, I should probably get a real job and become a useful member of society instead of splitting my time between a part-time job, a part-time degree and working towards what I hope will someday come to fruition as a writing career. After all, survival is what matters, not self-fulfilment or being all you can be. The intellectual disciplines are dead because they are not useful, and do not serve the great Capitalists in the sky, unless I'm rich enough to cough up almost treble the previous fees or poor enough and doing a pre-decided subject area that means I can get support.
Ugh, sorry, I sound like an overexcited Socialist (not that I have anything against Socialists in general), but it really gets me down. We're ending up in a world that is putting the divides back up so the only people who can access purely intellectual disciplines are the rich, and the poor must become the workers once more. I'm glad I've got my BA at least, but I really feel sorry for those who are coming to the end of their schooling and have to start making decisions about university. What the hell legacy are we leaving? Without the arts and humanities, you end up with a functioning society that works like clockwork, but that's not enough for a civilisation.
On the other hand, today brought good news of the developments of medical technology: read this report on a retinal implant to help a blind man and see if it doesn't warm your cockles just a little.
I've only done about 1200 words of my primary NaNo but about 3000 words of a secondary one which is designed to stop me from putting more adult content in my primary (which is a Young Adult novel) by giving me somewhere else to work out those violent, sexy, foul-mouthed and cynical itches I can't put in my primary. It currently looks like my primary is the winner right now, but I'm trying to work on both so I don't get bored. Not sure how I'll work it out in the end, since I had started my secondary before November, so it's technically cheating, but I'm hoping that added together the words I write in November on the two pieces will make 50,000. Must...resist...temptation to just write the violent, sexy piece and actually write the other one, because if I don't, the characters that need to be in it will never exist.
One of the best aspects of the NaNoWriMo site is the large archive of pep-talks dating from 2007 to the current year. These pep-talks are also sent out via e-mail to participants who've signed up on the website, but it's good to have past years archived. They're definitely worth looking at, as event organisers Chris Baty and Lindsey Grant write regular pep-talks for every week of the process and one before and after November itself, and they also get established authors to write pep-talks, which are often wonderful if you're a fan of the author. You'll find Philip Pullman, Neil Gaiman, Gail Carson Levine, Robin McKinley, Jonathan Stroud, Piers Anthony, Meg Cabot, Kelley Armstrong, and many, many more. Also, Kristin Cashore, whose blog (and writing!) I am a big fan of, wrote a pep talk one year and still blogs about NaNo, and Nicola Morgan is also supportive of it on her blog. The one thing to be wary of is that while Chris Baty's pep-talks are organised and dated by year and date (so you can tell at what point in the month you are meant to read them), the others are organised alphabetically and it's impossible to tell what time of the month they refer to, which can occasionally be an issue. So I made myself a handy chart of 2008/2009 (I wasn't doing it in 2007) so I could remember when to read the pep-talks. Of course, most of them are just general advice, but it's a bit unnerving to open one up and read "Congratulations! You've finished your novel, isn't it a great feeling?" when you're only a week in. They are definitely worth a read, though, and a really great motivator.
The Forums are lovely and a great place to go if you feel lonely or angsty or frustrated. There are word wars, inspirational prompts, dares and challenges, and plot-solvers aplenty. It's a great community and a fun place to be. For those who've formally signed up and are keeping their wordcount up to date (I'm infamously bad for forgetting to do so), there are cool charts and stats for your progress, as well as guilt-tripping things saying you're behind schedule and what your current cumulative goal is. There's almost daily news on the site throughout November, videos, the personal experience of spotlit NaNo writers, a massive cumulative wordcount of all NaNos put together and a 'Procrastination Station' where you can find challenges, dares and suggestions of things to do when you're bored. Overall, the support provided by the Office of Letters and Light is phenomenal and a big part of why NaNo is so brilliant and successful.
On the downside today, if the university puts up its fees for the second year of my part-time MA in accordance with the government report, I will probably not be able to afford to do my second year. But that's fine, though, because I'm being self-indulgent by doing further education in a non-vocational subject, right? I mean, I should probably get a real job and become a useful member of society instead of splitting my time between a part-time job, a part-time degree and working towards what I hope will someday come to fruition as a writing career. After all, survival is what matters, not self-fulfilment or being all you can be. The intellectual disciplines are dead because they are not useful, and do not serve the great Capitalists in the sky, unless I'm rich enough to cough up almost treble the previous fees or poor enough and doing a pre-decided subject area that means I can get support.
Ugh, sorry, I sound like an overexcited Socialist (not that I have anything against Socialists in general), but it really gets me down. We're ending up in a world that is putting the divides back up so the only people who can access purely intellectual disciplines are the rich, and the poor must become the workers once more. I'm glad I've got my BA at least, but I really feel sorry for those who are coming to the end of their schooling and have to start making decisions about university. What the hell legacy are we leaving? Without the arts and humanities, you end up with a functioning society that works like clockwork, but that's not enough for a civilisation.
On the other hand, today brought good news of the developments of medical technology: read this report on a retinal implant to help a blind man and see if it doesn't warm your cockles just a little.
Monday, 1 November 2010
It begins
Oh God, it's the 1st of November. That means NaNoWriMo 2010 has officially begun.
I have a load of reading for tomorrow's seminar and I'm working extra today to make up for the hours I have to spend at my seminar. I have an idea but haven't started work yet. I have another thing weighing on me for stuff I have to do that is way overdue.
*sigh* sounds like the month's begun. But you know what? That's totally OK, because one of my friends got some awesomely awesome promising project news on Saturday about her artwork and I am suddenly insanely happy for her, and hopeful for the rest of us who are still working towards that first step. She deserves every success this brings her, and so much more in the future :D
So ups and downs, and starting the month at a nice even keel. Unlike last year, I didn't start my novel early (I made compensated for it in the word count), and unlike the year before that, I do have an idea before I start writing. In fact, I basically have the whole thing plotted out roughly, which is good (and unusual). I'm psyched about the idea but I won't die inside if it doesn't come to anything or turns out awful.
BPAL of today: Fearful Pleasure :)
"I try to leave out the parts people skip" - one of my favourite quotes about writing, from Elmore Leonard.
I have a load of reading for tomorrow's seminar and I'm working extra today to make up for the hours I have to spend at my seminar. I have an idea but haven't started work yet. I have another thing weighing on me for stuff I have to do that is way overdue.
*sigh* sounds like the month's begun. But you know what? That's totally OK, because one of my friends got some awesomely awesome promising project news on Saturday about her artwork and I am suddenly insanely happy for her, and hopeful for the rest of us who are still working towards that first step. She deserves every success this brings her, and so much more in the future :D
So ups and downs, and starting the month at a nice even keel. Unlike last year, I didn't start my novel early (I made compensated for it in the word count), and unlike the year before that, I do have an idea before I start writing. In fact, I basically have the whole thing plotted out roughly, which is good (and unusual). I'm psyched about the idea but I won't die inside if it doesn't come to anything or turns out awful.
BPAL of today: Fearful Pleasure :)
"I try to leave out the parts people skip" - one of my favourite quotes about writing, from Elmore Leonard.
Friday, 24 September 2010
Puppy Power!
The Nostalgia Critic did a review of the Pound Puppies movie, 'The Legend of Big Paw' and was suitably scathing about it. I can understand, since it's not exactly quality cinema, but this film was one of the staples of my childhood, along with the Care Bears film. Both were adventurous and fun, not too girly (for a kids film, I mean - I wanted to be Nicholas in the Care Bears film, with his ultimate cosmic power and Faustian descent into evil, rather than the kids who had to 'learn to care') and had songs that, while they sound dumb today, were plenty impressive to kids of the right age. I'm not arguing for quality here, but there are some aspects that are OK when you're six. Nicholas' character arc is surprisingly dark and in the Pound Puppies movie, almost all of the sympathetic characters are transformed against their will into ravening monsters. OK, they are saved by the power of love, but it's still pretty sinister seeing the previously maternal dog Collette snarling at her puppies.
The main reason I still have a lot of respect for the Pound Puppies movie is that, contrary to the Critic's constant rants against the songs, they aren't all that bad. Not because of the lyrics, or the performances, no. Because they're based on rock 'n' roll songs of the 50's. As a child who was brought up in a house ruled by Classical music and the occasional dip into the 60's when my dad wasn't listening, this film was a revelation. The languid beats of these songs based on Elvis and Danny & the Juniors provided some of the most enjoyable musical experiences of my childhood, even if they are the deformed children of an incestuous meeting of 50's rock 'n' roll and knock-off Disney.
So while it wasn't the best introduction to the joys of Elvis, for a kid who was sung to sleep by Mahler's endless symphonies played far too loudly downstairs, it was a revelation.
The main reason I still have a lot of respect for the Pound Puppies movie is that, contrary to the Critic's constant rants against the songs, they aren't all that bad. Not because of the lyrics, or the performances, no. Because they're based on rock 'n' roll songs of the 50's. As a child who was brought up in a house ruled by Classical music and the occasional dip into the 60's when my dad wasn't listening, this film was a revelation. The languid beats of these songs based on Elvis and Danny & the Juniors provided some of the most enjoyable musical experiences of my childhood, even if they are the deformed children of an incestuous meeting of 50's rock 'n' roll and knock-off Disney.
So while it wasn't the best introduction to the joys of Elvis, for a kid who was sung to sleep by Mahler's endless symphonies played far too loudly downstairs, it was a revelation.
Thursday, 23 September 2010
True B-Movie genius
So what could possibly be better than vampires?
Vampires...in Space!
Out of D&D games come glorious things. One of my fellow roleplayers has decided to write a script for one of the trashiest movies I've ever heard of, but I will not tell you its name as it is not for me to wow the world with its brilliance until it comes out. The one thing that has ever motivated me to write a script? The idea we came up with afterwards...'Vampires in Space'. Hell, there could be a whole series of them: 'Werewolves in Space', 'Mummies in Space', 'Zombie Flesh Eaters in Space', etc. Hell yeah.
Oh, and 'Sci Fi Musketeers', since it's shocking that 'Lux Aeternum' never spawned any kind of offshoots in fiction or film. It has musketeers with freaking energy swords! What more do you want? Oh yeah, it also has psychic alien jellyfish, piratical dragon people, and cyber Catholicism. It's awesome.
Vampires...in Space!
Out of D&D games come glorious things. One of my fellow roleplayers has decided to write a script for one of the trashiest movies I've ever heard of, but I will not tell you its name as it is not for me to wow the world with its brilliance until it comes out. The one thing that has ever motivated me to write a script? The idea we came up with afterwards...'Vampires in Space'. Hell, there could be a whole series of them: 'Werewolves in Space', 'Mummies in Space', 'Zombie Flesh Eaters in Space', etc. Hell yeah.
Oh, and 'Sci Fi Musketeers', since it's shocking that 'Lux Aeternum' never spawned any kind of offshoots in fiction or film. It has musketeers with freaking energy swords! What more do you want? Oh yeah, it also has psychic alien jellyfish, piratical dragon people, and cyber Catholicism. It's awesome.
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