Who deserves the domain names anyway? Obviously, this is a case of a company taking advantage of a the fame of a celebrity, and you could argue that they're diluting trademark and taking advantage of the situation, but if I'm John Doe New York, and I get johndoe.com, and so big celebrity has the same name, do they get to sue me to get it?
I think Madonna tried something like that...and there was a member of the Rolling Stones (Bill Wyman?) who sued a newspaper columnist for using his name. Except the columnist was older. And had his name from birth, unlike the band member.
Oh, I think the melancholy feeling from the books is missing a bit from the films. The business with the travelogue through middle-earth is one, stylistic, and two, meant to emphasize the fact that war and evil touches everywhere- a pt which deleting the scouring of the shire is almost lost in the movies. The characters aren't so much the focus though, of the books, as the world. If anything, only Frodo is a real person in the books.
That said, the books characters were always a little simplistic (thats not meant as a knock) characterwise, and the movies did the best job of adapting the story that I could ever have imagined. The characters develop and have so much more emotional weight in the films- Boromir being the best example. Gimli's take is unfortunate, but he's a bit better in ROTK than in TT. Its ironic, though, that his lines are comedic in the stories, and were taken whole for the most part...
In the end though, I could have done less with crowd-pleasing and more with grand in the trilogy. You can see a bit more of his frighterners and horror buff background than his heavenly creatures in the last two films. But this bit is to taste, and I its an astonishing set of films.
Yes, this is one gorgeous movie. The colors, and views are amazing (expect no less from Christopher Doyle). The acting is decent to good- except Zhang Ziyi, I admit to not liking her, and it seems to me the cuts that the film (even your free world version) underwent under studio orders happened in her portion mostly, but she was bad...
But this movie is a subtle as a rock or 700 Club parable about the bible. Eeegad, its a hard task to compare oneself to Kurosawa, but the format immediately recalls Rashomon. It consists of several retellings of portions of the story, from alternate points of view. In this case, color-coded, but likewise heavyhanded.
Each portion is beautiful, but so stylized (and detail changes so drastic) that I wouldn't call it subtle. Everyone is arguably a collection of tics with vague motivations. The character with the most time to explain his thoughts is the future first emperor- a divisive person in history to put it lightly. May'be its just cynicism on my part, but I can't help but attribute a bit of propaganda to a movie so heavily supported by the Chinese gov't, that ends with the a inspiring (or tragic) view of the great wall, and basically pushes a nationalist, right or right, view at the end.
Heck, may'be I think unity was better than smaller kingdoms at war, may'be I even agree. But Hero wasn't trying to explore anything. It doesn't have a villain- when it should. Ambiquity isn't turning everyone strictly into heroes- ambiquity must show complexity and doubt- and Hero doesnt.
I honestly haven't heard of cuts being enforced onto other Miramax foreign buys. They own the rights and release far too many good films for me to ignore and boycott. They might not get entirely even coverage, but Amelie, City of God (yeah, it got shafter overall, that one), and non-asian movies seem to get released eventually- w/o cuts.
Hell, Iron Monkey got cuts. Who the hell were they thinking was going to see Iron Monkey!? I believe that Zhang Yimou (the director of Hero) has also come out to say that Miramax forced it to be shorter than he wanted.
May'be the Weinsteins' are still upset over losing Crouching Tiger, but I haven't heard of this kind of delay, and this constant cutting to their other purchases. Things they produce themselves is something else.
I believe they own the rights to Infernal Affairs too, a good, tight, cop thriller that's the best HK smart gangster film in a long time. The sequel is already out, there's an american remake in the works (they should beef up the women's roles)- but you won't see it in America...
I remember MERP. I remember only being able to boil water...
Nerds, at the very least, have to have long discussions regarding arcs, themes, and characters that are missing while waiting on line to be let in for the opening midnight show.
Now, you've evolved into a geek if you appreciate deviation from the fanboy view without falling into fits.
Well, for me, the LOTR movies are far more enjoyable, and cohesive, beyond the success of the Matrix. So much to say, and the energy for may'be an eighth of it, but here'd be why:
1) Pure emotional response. In this case, as a fan of the books and Tolkien, I like seeing what I consider an adaptation on screen, made by a great director with an equal, if not greater appreciation for the material. --this is obviously something that biases me, so keep it in mind-- the matrix still feels a little flash in the pan. Newish, and the emotional pull isn't so much. I'll give it a hearty go to disregard this feeling.
2) Craft wise, LOTR, beyond being a feat of endurance to make 3 movies worth of material in one long shot, is by and large a better made movie. Much as I like the W bros, a lot of their style is cribbed. It homages, its inspired from things, and its fun to watch the combinations of all these influences play out, but that makes their films more stewy and like a melange stylistically. For instance, much as I love Yuen Woo Ping, and most of the action sequences in the Matrix pieces are more set pieces than in the Tolkien movies. I don't mean simply, time for fighting and here one is, but they're longer not for a sense of story, but purely for visual appreciation and coolness. Fun stuff, but Kung-fu training sequences? Not story.
LOTR is more straightforward, hell, its been cut to be streamlined from the books (cutting, as far as I can tell, is the hardest part of editing. Cutting good but unnecessary parts being the worst) with spectacle fights as well- but more in service of the story than the Matrix films. The matrix movie feel comes from Bladerunner, and cyberpunk, and video games, and all sorts of sources, and works by reference- a method which in me at least- takes me out a bit of the movie. LOTR has the luck of a singular source which they drew on to make a totally realized world- purely as backdrop. Fun and all as all the background matrix stuff is, I'd say you can see the scaffolding a lot quicker.
3) Source material- Tolkien has a bunch flaws (lack of women, fated view, black and white), but it is a wholly flesh out world decades in the making. The man has languages that work, and tracts of scholarship to give it depth- and cohesion that the more widely sourced W bros don't have.
I haven't seen the 3rd matrix yet, so may'be it all clicks, but if they were trying to explain themselves, I felt it was more than a bit rushed and awkwardly paced. I do like the fact that they deal with sex and race in more mature ways, but having a lot of things to talk about probably lost the W bros some clarity.
Admittedly, Tolkien's worldview is "simpler"- but the focus isn't on "what is life" but "what is it like"- its the people we're interested in and their struggle, not the answer to the questions perse. A more humanistic tone that probably goes better with a general audience. In that sense though, its more resonant and relevant, perhaps, and since the struggle and the carrying of the burden is issue. What makes frodo a hero? How is one built?
As for the matrix, I hesitate a bit as I've not yet seen the third, but I've read return of the king before. But as you say, its not like the philosophy of the story changes... I've always felt that the discussion created my matrix was part because of interesting questions, and part because its just a muddled execution, that isn't sure what it wants to say.
I'm one of those who likes the 1st one as Philo 101, but admittedly gets irritable talking about old ground. The matrix asks us to question reality, but not the character of the people. I enjoyed the first movie a lot, but when morpheus says "They're some rules you can bend. But they're some rules you can break", fairly early, I sat for the rest of the movie waiting for the guy too figure out what a dumb line that was. Neo's emotional dilemmas are more like Hamlet's- he pretty much knows the action he's going to take. We know he's good. He's just stalling. The traitor f
Neil, judging from how all your work is so open to all walks of life and beliefs- have you ever been really aggressive confronted with with hostility over it, and how do you deal with it? I'd imagine you get a lot of the occasional satanic and deliquency flak that adheres to fantasy, comics, role-playing, and the sundry.
And what's your take on Alan Moore's magician status?
Not so much a question, as an opening to talk about the Comic Book Leagal Defense Fund. Its obvously close to home for you, what can we do to help- esp. those of us without the monies to help with money?
Re:American Gods "book of the century"????
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Ask Neil Gaiman
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· Score: 1
I've read them both- and I like them both. Why did whoever started this enter this thread anyway? Its not even like the original post said it was the best book of the new century, just a favorite.
Anyway, I expect that Alan Moore is the comic James Joyce though.
The state comics industry
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Ask Neil Gaiman
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· Score: 5, Interesting
As one of the rock-style stars of the comics world (and more than a bit outside it), what do you think of the state of the industry as a whole?
They've been pinning a lot on the sales of your Endless Nights and 1602 work to bump sales and get readers into shops, but as whole the direct market continues on a slow downward arc- and the great savior graphic novels are grow more in bookstores than comic shops- what can we do to keep comics vital an interesting? To encourage more genre bending work like your own (I'd be happy with more gneres though)?
I don't really presume to answer for him, but I was at his talk/signing this past weekend. His basic talk was that he has a lot of stories left that haven't been told. Still, he likes the control that novels, children's books, and the other projects afford him- which doesn't take away from his love of comics, but those things are important to him right now.
Two novels, another kid's book, and then a Delirium story a ways a way. It'd include some coverage of her change from Delight to Delirium.
Speaking as a former Liberal Arts student... which one of us claimed they were a superior society? And which "they" am I defending right now, the liberals, the indians, the martians?
Let me straighten it out: You cannot expect Indians to hire anybody from the USA (or any foreign country) w/o a work visa in India. If they're doing that in the US, and the job doesn't requrie speaking Hindi and Gujarat et al, or any other special qualification that after time searching results in no American applicants, when they can hire whoever the hell fills the qualification, then its damn illegal and we fine them or whatever until they change.
You don't need to hire anybody for anything. But those pesky non-American companies/clients/customers like talking to people they relate to, its salesmanship. And people like working with other people they relate to. But hiring for diversity in backgrounds with US citizens doesn't have the same crux issues as to hiring foreign nationals.
Can't say I liked Road to Perdition- well, visually anyway. But anything by Alan Moore is just as good as Gaiman, he's a great big influence, and he's a magician to boot. Promethea is his most consistent and unique title, though any of his America's Best Comics line are good (Top Ten, Tom Strong, League of Extraordinary Gentleman). A lot of his stuff plays better with a familiarity with superhero comics in general, as they play off those conventions.
Gaiman related: I think Lucifer is the only offshoot that is well written, though Tim Hunter from Books of Magic is planned to have a restart with either Gaiman at the helm or with a stronger consultant hand.
And for those who want less socially stigmatized "graphic novels", the stuff that the mainstream press likes more, Chris Ware, Love and Rockets, and quite bit more is around.
Really, I occasionally tail off because comics are expensive, but theres a lot of good material out there. Gaiman's quality isn't such a lonely thing, just visit any decent sized comic store and ask the hopefully helpful help.
Anyway, Tori Amos is friends with Neil Gaiman. They make a couple references to each other here and there. Neil uses Delirium for that, and Ms. Amos has a few lyrics here and there that refer to him.
Think of it as a DVD extra
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New Heinlein Novel
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· Score: 2, Insightful
Well, for some fans completism is part of it appreciating and author/artist. Personally, I feel that grandmaster or not, I like the missing work of someone like Heinlein to be published for me or for study- it'd be partly for the story, partly out of fandom, but something for study. Especially with early works, or partial works, you can learn about the process of your favorite authors.
If you take it in context, I think it adds a lot to appreciation of a subject. But its like an audio commentary, if you don't want it, ignore it. I personally to see the development of a writer in a full arc.
I'm not sure were the limit would be- like bad studio sessions or jazz album remasters, there's probably a limit to what you learn from extra releases. I don't think you should just shut the door on it though.
Well thats me. I'm going to sit here puzzling about "heinlein blood drives".
man, I'm glad I don't see those little comments again about how long I've been playing next to the count.
that said, its never failed to convert those soccer friends of mine who've sat down to it. even after many hours of good times poking fun at the game (often self-inflicted).
At least its better than pokemon. Its upfront about being a management game.
Oh, thats entirely possible. My leanings toward having it be cantonese (i'm a mandarin speaker myself) come from remembering that I sat with a friend trying to piece it together ever so slowly from - come to think of it--It was mandarin. Hell, what do you know.
Its like they wrote it in wade-giles then got the actors to speak it. One bad form after another. I also remember another source of confusion coming from the fact that they didn't seem to use complete phrases- just the beginnings or ends of them.
I actually liked the show, from thsoe episodes that i caught. Though I have to admit to feeling like there weren't enough Chinese people for a world where some vague form of cantonese is common slang...but I'm digressing.
The strength of Whedon's tv shows seem to come from the continuity driven stories, I know he's worked on the scripts of some good/popular movies (Buffy being the exception), but I don't see Firefly as making a great movie- just a longform episode or something. I don't see what bigger better effects, production value stuff they could pack in to really justify a movie either. So what would it be?
I recall watching the Cowboy Bebop, or Xfiles, or ST movies and mostly feeling like nice long episode, but not really a feature experience.
Maybe bookstore owners classify it by customer taste- or their expected taste. Admittedly it might turn into a circle of expectation and execution, someone who reads sci-fi might read fantasy might play role-playing games might read comics.
Chris Ware, "graphic novelist" du juor of the nytimes and the other non-comic press has a blurb on one of his comics to the vendor:
Do not sell to minors, critics, estranged parents, or gym teachers; Do not display in respectable bookstore anywhere near fiction, art, or literature. File only under: Science Fiction and Role Playing Games.
Its just the way things are marketed- genre is a ghetto.
Hey! I like Sao Paulo! Well, all my relatives in Brazil live there, and it was my home while I lived there. Though its interesting to note that when I visit, I'm the one with the desire to see more of the country rather than the paulistas who I visit.
Oh, I didn't intend the word nationalist to come up. It carries many complicated connotations. Basically, I wanted to say that the impulse to criticize the state of Brazil stems from the same source of...ownership?/pride in the country. One of concern for it. The same thing as in the US, when anti-war activists are confused with people being non-patriotic. But yes, to say there are problems in Brazil (or any country) that everyone must deal with isn't to say everyone is causing it.
Saudade...absolutely right. I was thinking in english.
>Rich and poor, very defined.
Not different from US, UK, Spain...
I believe the poster is referring to near complete lack of a middle class and poor wealth distribution compared to other countries.
>Kids huffing gas, and police squads killing kids.
Didn't look up what "huffing gas" means, but it has being some time now since last killing squads (rogue police groups) made a hit on minors here. and so on...
Huffing is breathing, sniffing glue, etc. All of it is not so long ago, and the horrible corruption in the brazilian police is hardly a new topic...Jose Padilha's "Bus 174" is a great documentary on for those unfamiliar- chk it out when it finally comes to the US. Regarding the Catholic Church- as often as it supports the communities that its in well, it also supports repressive policies or hurtful stances in topics like birth control (not touching abortion, just birth control) and in general, being a status quo type of ideology.
Sigh...I love Brazil. I was born there and my family moved away when I was young (because of the crime)- I understand the impulse to defend Brazil, the pride that comes with the sadly always soon-to-be-modern nation. I imagine its the same impulse that made the parent poster so passionate about Brazil's problems.
Hopefully I'm not contributing too much to the back and forth, but Brazil is a country riddled with resources and crime, it has lots of problems and lots of working to fixing them...I don't know, I'm either a bit choked up or just daunted. If anyone else has a 20 word description of a country pipe it in. That said, the best thing to be said is that the Brazilians themselves are my favorite kind of people in the world. Its a mixture of the sadness/melancholy that comes with such a troubled state and a lust for life that is present at a scale that no other country compares to. Its a lot of pride that too, but luckily one of the things to be proud of is the openess of the country....ah shucks...
I work for S&S, number 4 or 5 in the world. We still use OS 9.x.
I'd say you underestimate the inertia big companies have. You need to retool a lot of machines, you need a lot of people to reorient themselves, and you need to justify the expense of doing it- especially in a large corporation, where the publishing arm of the multimedia companies are treated like the ugly stepchildren. I work on a G4 because I'm in the production dept.- but none of us have a dual processor.
From my experience in a smaller firm, you're lucky to get a new computer every couple of years. So they'll be a powerpc sitting next to an imac siting next to a G4.
And lastly, publishing is even more inert than other industries. Even the move to desktop publishing is relatively new, we're not a bunch who move quick, even with an imaginary budget that would allow it.
Given a sufficiently melodramatic script, John Woo might pull something off with it (though its been a while since he has). But Ben Affleck is horrible, so I doubt it. And the story (I'm unfamiliar with its source text) doesn't sound close enough to the good cop/bad cop/noble enemy thing that Woo works best in.
I don't necessarily like Spielberg's movies, tonally mostly, he has a fairytale, populist itch that prevents him from hitting hard I think, but he's probably one of the few directors whose grasp of telling a story is stronger than the ego (present in all these music video trained new breed) that makes so many movies fancy editing with excitement but no flow.
As for Ridley Scott, I think he makes brilliant looking films. But its pure craft, the man has no idea what you're supposed to feel when he gets a script. Black Hawk Down was a technically great movie, with strong material and scenes, and startlingly amoral and strangely apathetic. At the end, I had no idea what the director wanted me to think about the soldiers.I know what I think, I'm speaking only about Scott's apparent intent. Bladerunner thrived on ambiguity, and other than that he's produced a great thriller, Alien, pretty fantasy claptrap, Legend, and Braveheart 2.
Soderburgh could try it I think. Not thrilled with the newer Solaris, but he'd take the sci-fi themes seriously and make a good movie.
Slashdot Mirror
Who deserves the domain names anyway? Obviously, this is a case of a company taking advantage of a the fame of a celebrity, and you could argue that they're diluting trademark and taking advantage of the situation, but if I'm John Doe New York, and I get johndoe.com, and so big celebrity has the same name, do they get to sue me to get it?
I think Madonna tried something like that...and there was a member of the Rolling Stones (Bill Wyman?) who sued a newspaper columnist for using his name. Except the columnist was older. And had his name from birth, unlike the band member.
Oh, I think the melancholy feeling from the books is missing a bit from the films. The business with the travelogue through middle-earth is one, stylistic, and two, meant to emphasize the fact that war and evil touches everywhere- a pt which deleting the scouring of the shire is almost lost in the movies. The characters aren't so much the focus though, of the books, as the world. If anything, only Frodo is a real person in the books.
That said, the books characters were always a little simplistic (thats not meant as a knock) characterwise, and the movies did the best job of adapting the story that I could ever have imagined. The characters develop and have so much more emotional weight in the films- Boromir being the best example. Gimli's take is unfortunate, but he's a bit better in ROTK than in TT. Its ironic, though, that his lines are comedic in the stories, and were taken whole for the most part...
In the end though, I could have done less with crowd-pleasing and more with grand in the trilogy. You can see a bit more of his frighterners and horror buff background than his heavenly creatures in the last two films. But this bit is to taste, and I its an astonishing set of films.
Ummm...you're kidding right?
Yes, this is one gorgeous movie. The colors, and views are amazing (expect no less from Christopher Doyle). The acting is decent to good- except Zhang Ziyi, I admit to not liking her, and it seems to me the cuts that the film (even your free world version) underwent under studio orders happened in her portion mostly, but she was bad...
But this movie is a subtle as a rock or 700 Club parable about the bible. Eeegad, its a hard task to compare oneself to Kurosawa, but the format immediately recalls Rashomon. It consists of several retellings of portions of the story, from alternate points of view. In this case, color-coded, but likewise heavyhanded.
Each portion is beautiful, but so stylized (and detail changes so drastic) that I wouldn't call it subtle. Everyone is arguably a collection of tics with vague motivations. The character with the most time to explain his thoughts is the future first emperor- a divisive person in history to put it lightly. May'be its just cynicism on my part, but I can't help but attribute a bit of propaganda to a movie so heavily supported by the Chinese gov't, that ends with the a inspiring (or tragic) view of the great wall, and basically pushes a nationalist, right or right, view at the end.
Heck, may'be I think unity was better than smaller kingdoms at war, may'be I even agree. But Hero wasn't trying to explore anything. It doesn't have a villain- when it should. Ambiquity isn't turning everyone strictly into heroes- ambiquity must show complexity and doubt- and Hero doesnt.
Oh, yeah, its worth seeing.
I honestly haven't heard of cuts being enforced onto other Miramax foreign buys. They own the rights and release far too many good films for me to ignore and boycott. They might not get entirely even coverage, but Amelie, City of God (yeah, it got shafter overall, that one), and non-asian movies seem to get released eventually- w/o cuts.
Hell, Iron Monkey got cuts. Who the hell were they thinking was going to see Iron Monkey!?
I believe that Zhang Yimou (the director of Hero) has also come out to say that Miramax forced it to be shorter than he wanted.
May'be the Weinsteins' are still upset over losing Crouching Tiger, but I haven't heard of this kind of delay, and this constant cutting to their other purchases. Things they produce themselves is something else.
I believe they own the rights to Infernal Affairs too, a good, tight, cop thriller that's the best HK smart gangster film in a long time. The sequel is already out, there's an american remake in the works (they should beef up the women's roles)- but you won't see it in America...
I remember MERP. I remember only being able to boil water...
Nerds, at the very least, have to have long discussions regarding arcs, themes, and characters that are missing while waiting on line to be let in for the opening midnight show.
Now, you've evolved into a geek if you appreciate deviation from the fanboy view without falling into fits.
Well, for me, the LOTR movies are far more enjoyable, and cohesive, beyond the success of the Matrix. So much to say, and the energy for may'be an eighth of it, but here'd be why:
1) Pure emotional response. In this case, as a fan of the books and Tolkien, I like seeing what I consider an adaptation on screen, made by a great director with an equal, if not greater appreciation for the material. --this is obviously something that biases me, so keep it in mind-- the matrix still feels a little flash in the pan. Newish, and the emotional pull isn't so much. I'll give it a hearty go to disregard this feeling.
2) Craft wise, LOTR, beyond being a feat of endurance to make 3 movies worth of material in one long shot, is by and large a better made movie. Much as I like the W bros, a lot of their style is cribbed. It homages, its inspired from things, and its fun to watch the combinations of all these influences play out, but that makes their films more stewy and like a melange stylistically. For instance, much as I love Yuen Woo Ping, and most of the action sequences in the Matrix pieces are more set pieces than in the Tolkien movies. I don't mean simply, time for fighting and here one is, but they're longer not for a sense of story, but purely for visual appreciation and coolness. Fun stuff, but Kung-fu training sequences? Not story.
LOTR is more straightforward, hell, its been cut to be streamlined from the books (cutting, as far as I can tell, is the hardest part of editing. Cutting good but unnecessary parts being the worst) with spectacle fights as well- but more in service of the story than the Matrix films. The matrix movie feel comes from Bladerunner, and cyberpunk, and video games, and all sorts of sources, and works by reference- a method which in me at least- takes me out a bit of the movie. LOTR has the luck of a singular source which they drew on to make a totally realized world- purely as backdrop. Fun and all as all the background matrix stuff is, I'd say you can see the scaffolding a lot quicker.
3) Source material-
Tolkien has a bunch flaws (lack of women, fated view, black and white), but it is a wholly flesh out world decades in the making. The man has languages that work, and tracts of scholarship to give it depth- and cohesion that the more widely sourced W bros don't have.
I haven't seen the 3rd matrix yet, so may'be it all clicks, but if they were trying to explain themselves, I felt it was more than a bit rushed and awkwardly paced. I do like the fact that they deal with sex and race in more mature ways, but having a lot of things to talk about probably lost the W bros some clarity.
Admittedly, Tolkien's worldview is "simpler"- but the focus isn't on "what is life" but "what is it like"- its the people we're interested in and their struggle, not the answer to the questions perse. A more humanistic tone that probably goes better with a general audience. In that sense though, its more resonant and relevant, perhaps, and since the struggle and the carrying of the burden is issue. What makes frodo a hero? How is one built?
As for the matrix, I hesitate a bit as I've not yet seen the third, but I've read return of the king before. But as you say, its not like the philosophy of the story changes... I've always felt that the discussion created my matrix was part because of interesting questions, and part because its just a muddled execution, that isn't sure what it wants to say.
I'm one of those who likes the 1st one as Philo 101, but admittedly gets irritable talking about old ground. The matrix asks us to question reality, but not the character of the people. I enjoyed the first movie a lot, but when morpheus says "They're some rules you can bend. But they're some rules you can break", fairly early, I sat for the rest of the movie waiting for the guy too figure out what a dumb line that was. Neo's emotional dilemmas are more like Hamlet's- he pretty much knows the action he's going to take. We know he's good. He's just stalling. The traitor f
Neil, judging from how all your work is so open to all walks of life and beliefs- have you ever been really aggressive confronted with with hostility over it, and how do you deal with it? I'd imagine you get a lot of the occasional satanic and deliquency flak that adheres to fantasy, comics, role-playing, and the sundry.
And what's your take on Alan Moore's magician status?
Not so much a question, as an opening to talk about the Comic Book Leagal Defense Fund. Its obvously close to home for you, what can we do to help- esp. those of us without the monies to help with money?
I've read them both- and I like them both. Why did whoever started this enter this thread anyway? Its not even like the original post said it was the best book of the new century, just a favorite.
Anyway, I expect that Alan Moore is the comic James Joyce though.
As one of the rock-style stars of the comics world (and more than a bit outside it), what do you think of the state of the industry as a whole?
They've been pinning a lot on the sales of your Endless Nights and 1602 work to bump sales and get readers into shops, but as whole the direct market continues on a slow downward arc- and the great savior graphic novels are grow more in bookstores than comic shops- what can we do to keep comics vital an interesting? To encourage more genre bending work like your own (I'd be happy with more gneres though)?
I don't really presume to answer for him, but I was at his talk/signing this past weekend. His basic talk was that he has a lot of stories left that haven't been told. Still, he likes the control that novels, children's books, and the other projects afford him- which doesn't take away from his love of comics, but those things are important to him right now.
Two novels, another kid's book, and then a Delirium story a ways a way. It'd include some coverage of her change from Delight to Delirium.
Speaking as a former Liberal Arts student ... which one of us claimed they were a superior society? And which "they" am I defending right now, the liberals, the indians, the martians?
Let me straighten it out: You cannot expect Indians to hire anybody from the USA (or any foreign country) w/o a work visa in India. If they're doing that in the US, and the job doesn't requrie speaking Hindi and Gujarat et al, or any other special qualification that after time searching results in no American applicants, when they can hire whoever the hell fills the qualification, then its damn illegal and we fine them or whatever until they change.
You don't need to hire anybody for anything. But those pesky non-American companies/clients/customers like talking to people they relate to, its salesmanship. And people like working with other people they relate to. But hiring for diversity in backgrounds with US citizens doesn't have the same crux issues as to hiring foreign nationals.
Gee, that makes sense.
Can't say I liked Road to Perdition- well, visually anyway. But anything by Alan Moore is just as good as Gaiman, he's a great big influence, and he's a magician to boot. Promethea is his most consistent and unique title, though any of his America's Best Comics line are good (Top Ten, Tom Strong, League of Extraordinary Gentleman). A lot of his stuff plays better with a familiarity with superhero comics in general, as they play off those conventions.
Gaiman related: I think Lucifer is the only offshoot that is well written, though Tim Hunter from Books of Magic is planned to have a restart with either Gaiman at the helm or with a stronger consultant hand.
And for those who want less socially stigmatized "graphic novels", the stuff that the mainstream press likes more, Chris Ware, Love and Rockets, and quite bit more is around.
Really, I occasionally tail off because comics are expensive, but theres a lot of good material out there. Gaiman's quality isn't such a lonely thing, just visit any decent sized comic store and ask the hopefully helpful help.
Both with the NY book fair. Most of this info comes from his own site (www.neilgaiman.com), which has one of the most entertaining blogs around.
f air.asp
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At the street festival (early):
http://www.nyisbookcountry.com/content/
And at an earlier ticketed signing:
http://www.ticketweb.com/user/?region=n
Sorry to lazy to do more than cut and paste.
I think he might be winding you up...
Anyway, Tori Amos is friends with Neil Gaiman. They make a couple references to each other here and there. Neil uses Delirium for that, and Ms. Amos has a few lyrics here and there that refer to him.
Well, for some fans completism is part of it appreciating and author/artist. Personally, I feel that grandmaster or not, I like the missing work of someone like Heinlein to be published for me or for study- it'd be partly for the story, partly out of fandom, but something for study. Especially with early works, or partial works, you can learn about the process of your favorite authors.
If you take it in context, I think it adds a lot to appreciation of a subject. But its like an audio commentary, if you don't want it, ignore it. I personally to see the development of a writer in a full arc.
I'm not sure were the limit would be- like bad studio sessions or jazz album remasters, there's probably a limit to what you learn from extra releases. I don't think you should just shut the door on it though.
Well thats me. I'm going to sit here puzzling about "heinlein blood drives".
Not that I disagree, but this one would be interesting because its a pre '45 novel.
man, I'm glad I don't see those little comments again about how long I've been playing next to the count.
that said, its never failed to convert those soccer friends of mine who've sat down to it. even after many hours of good times poking fun at the game (often self-inflicted).
At least its better than pokemon. Its upfront about being a management game.
Oh, thats entirely possible. My leanings toward having it be cantonese (i'm a mandarin speaker myself) come from remembering that I sat with a friend trying to piece it together ever so slowly from - come to think of it--It was mandarin. Hell, what do you know.
Its like they wrote it in wade-giles then got the actors to speak it. One bad form after another. I also remember another source of confusion coming from the fact that they didn't seem to use complete phrases- just the beginnings or ends of them.
I actually liked the show, from thsoe episodes that i caught. Though I have to admit to feeling like there weren't enough Chinese people for a world where some vague form of cantonese is common slang...but I'm digressing.
The strength of Whedon's tv shows seem to come from the continuity driven stories, I know he's worked on the scripts of some good/popular movies (Buffy being the exception), but I don't see Firefly as making a great movie- just a longform episode or something. I don't see what bigger better effects, production value stuff they could pack in to really justify a movie either. So what would it be?
I recall watching the Cowboy Bebop, or Xfiles, or ST movies and mostly feeling like nice long episode, but not really a feature experience.
Maybe bookstore owners classify it by customer taste- or their expected taste. Admittedly it might turn into a circle of expectation and execution, someone who reads sci-fi might read fantasy might play role-playing games might read comics.
Chris Ware, "graphic novelist" du juor of the nytimes and the other non-comic press has a blurb on one of his comics to the vendor:
Do not sell to minors, critics, estranged parents, or gym teachers; Do not display in respectable bookstore anywhere near fiction, art, or literature. File only under: Science Fiction and Role Playing Games.
Its just the way things are marketed- genre is a ghetto.
Hey! I like Sao Paulo! Well, all my relatives in Brazil live there, and it was my home while I lived there. Though its interesting to note that when I visit, I'm the one with the desire to see more of the country rather than the paulistas who I visit.
Oh, I didn't intend the word nationalist to come up. It carries many complicated connotations. Basically, I wanted to say that the impulse to criticize the state of Brazil stems from the same source of...ownership?/pride in the country. One of concern for it. The same thing as in the US, when anti-war activists are confused with people being non-patriotic. But yes, to say there are problems in Brazil (or any country) that everyone must deal with isn't to say everyone is causing it.
Saudade...absolutely right. I was thinking in english.
>Rich and poor, very defined.
...ah shucks...
Not different from US, UK, Spain...
I believe the poster is referring to near complete lack of a middle class and poor wealth distribution compared to other countries.
>Kids huffing gas, and police squads killing kids.
Didn't look up what "huffing gas" means, but it has being some time now since last killing squads (rogue police groups) made a hit on minors here. and so on...
Huffing is breathing, sniffing glue, etc. All of it is not so long ago, and the horrible corruption in the brazilian police is hardly a new topic...Jose Padilha's "Bus 174" is a great documentary on for those unfamiliar- chk it out when it finally comes to the US. Regarding the Catholic Church- as often as it supports the communities that its in well, it also supports repressive policies or hurtful stances in topics like birth control (not touching abortion, just birth control) and in general, being a status quo type of ideology.
Sigh...I love Brazil. I was born there and my family moved away when I was young (because of the crime)- I understand the impulse to defend Brazil, the pride that comes with the sadly always soon-to-be-modern nation. I imagine its the same impulse that made the parent poster so passionate about Brazil's problems.
Hopefully I'm not contributing too much to the back and forth, but Brazil is a country riddled with resources and crime, it has lots of problems and lots of working to fixing them...I don't know, I'm either a bit choked up or just daunted. If anyone else has a 20 word description of a country pipe it in. That said, the best thing to be said is that the Brazilians themselves are my favorite kind of people in the world. Its a mixture of the sadness/melancholy that comes with such a troubled state and a lust for life that is present at a scale that no other country compares to. Its a lot of pride that too, but luckily one of the things to be proud of is the openess of the country.
I work for S&S, number 4 or 5 in the world. We still use OS 9.x.
I'd say you underestimate the inertia big companies have. You need to retool a lot of machines, you need a lot of people to reorient themselves, and you need to justify the expense of doing it- especially in a large corporation, where the publishing arm of the multimedia companies are treated like the ugly stepchildren. I work on a G4 because I'm in the production dept.- but none of us have a dual processor.
From my experience in a smaller firm, you're lucky to get a new computer every couple of years. So they'll be a powerpc sitting next to an imac siting next to a G4.
And lastly, publishing is even more inert than other industries. Even the move to desktop publishing is relatively new, we're not a bunch who move quick, even with an imaginary budget that would allow it.
Given a sufficiently melodramatic script, John Woo might pull something off with it (though its been a while since he has). But Ben Affleck is horrible, so I doubt it. And the story (I'm unfamiliar with its source text) doesn't sound close enough to the good cop/bad cop/noble enemy thing that Woo works best in.
I don't necessarily like Spielberg's movies, tonally mostly, he has a fairytale, populist itch that prevents him from hitting hard I think, but he's probably one of the few directors whose grasp of telling a story is stronger than the ego (present in all these music video trained new breed) that makes so many movies fancy editing with excitement but no flow.
As for Ridley Scott, I think he makes brilliant looking films. But its pure craft, the man has no idea what you're supposed to feel when he gets a script. Black Hawk Down was a technically great movie, with strong material and scenes, and startlingly amoral and strangely apathetic. At the end, I had no idea what the director wanted me to think about the soldiers.I know what I think, I'm speaking only about Scott's apparent intent. Bladerunner thrived on ambiguity, and other than that he's produced a great thriller, Alien, pretty fantasy claptrap, Legend, and Braveheart 2.
Soderburgh could try it I think. Not thrilled with the newer Solaris, but he'd take the sci-fi themes seriously and make a good movie.