CONTORTED PASTA

Dear Marcus Brigstocke, production staff of I've Never Seen Star Wars, and anyone else who may want to evangelize the good news of Discworld to the infidel:

Don't start them on Colour of Magic.
Listening to Ardal O'Hanlon berate it for being disjointed (which it is), lacking cohesion as a world (which it does) and not really all that funny (which it isn't) and tarring the rest of the series with the same brush, while lauding books that have a good strong story, compelling characters, and which just happen to be funny (which is a pretty bang-on description of most of the latter 2/3 of the series) was downright painful. If you read a good one and don't like it, fine, but don't read the weakest and first book in a very long series and assume they're all like that.

Yeesh.

In other news, I've been trying to read Small Gods again, over meals and while waiting for meetings to start, etc. When I'm drawing stuff from books it's always fun to imagine that someday I'll actually get to use it for an animated movie, though the chances of that ever happening are microscopically slim. Small Gods, on the other hand, will never get made. Not on this continent, anyway. Not for a thousand years. They say there's no such thing as bad publicity, but if a huge block of people boycotted a company for extending health care coverage to same-sex partners, imagine what they'd do if blatant blasphemy was spoon-fed to their children in animated form. In that tiny pocket universe where it does get made, and I get to direct it, no grand soliloquy on how this book was perhaps inordinately responsible for saving my own faith would prevent the scenario from going something like this:

CHRISTIAN RIGHT: How dare you insult the power and love and wisdom of the Almighty God!
ME: Um, it's not the god of Abraham, Jacob, and Isaac, it's a fictional god in a fictional world, and he's a tortoise.
C.R.: Yes but it's implied.
ME: Oh, well, that's quite a lot of figurative thinking from people who practically define themselves by taking things literally.

And then I would never work again, either because I'd be considered too much of a PR liability or because the mob with pitchforks and torches would have cut off my hands. Or head. And set everything on fire.

YES OH YES:

The Hollywood Reporter announces that this year’s adapted screenplay writer Simon Beaufoy, winner for Slumdog Millionaire, has joined DreamWorks to fashion the script for the long in development Truckers. Although the Reporter states that nothing is known about the story line, those following the Studio’s progress must assume that this is indeed the first in Terry Pratchett’s Bromeliad Trilogy, which DreamWorks optioned some years ago. Beaufoy’s assignment to the film suggests that he has the British slant necessary to adapt Pratchett’s work to the screen. DreamWorks are certainly looking for a new franchise: the author has sold over 30 million books and, if successful, Truckers could well be followed by the other titles in the trilogy, Diggers and Wings.

via Animated News

Please please please please please please please don't make it standard Dreamworks fare ... pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease. Keep your grubby cheapening hands off it, Mr Katzenberg! Back! BACK I say!

After seeing Frost/Nixon (um ... again ...) I realised how much I miss Moist.

( Moist went into the building, ran up the stairs to his office, shut the door, crammed his handkerchief in his mouth, and whimpered gently until he felt better. )

Maybe I'll reread Going Postal after Frog is done. I've got two and a half boards on the go for that one and ought to refresh my memory. This is purely a professional duty, I assure you.

Just saw Frost/Nixon.

Y HLO THAR, MOIST VON LIPWIG

In other news, it was fantastic.* Wonderfully written, very well shot, and the production design made me cringe with all the vigour that only the 1970s can induce. The fact that I like it so much speaks wonders for it,** as it's a topic I know little about, have little interest in, and involved such a scungy time period and crowd (I mean, politicians and media types? Bleh!). I was surprised at both how suspenseful and funny it was, even at the same time. But mostly I was just watching Michael Sheen's perfect facial acting and million-watt smile. Heee.
*Possibly because of Moist, but I spotted at least two objectively movie-making things that were completely non-Moist related
**Unless of course it's all down to Moist

I also saw all the Oscar-nomtinated shorts today – I'm sticking with 'La maison en petits cubes' to win because 'Lavatory Lovestory,' while arguably uglier, was too cute and simple to rake in the art points. 'This Side Up' was a very pleasant surprise, though I may be biased by the dark humour and wackiness and also the BBC production credit at the beginning ... it was like Edward Gorey meets Warner Bros. Neverthless, I still have a shred of hope, because 'The Danish Poet' did manage to win its year so someone out there knows entertainment...

By the way, this is my ONE THOUSANDTH POST! Ring in the new millennium with some craaaazy wallpaper action!

Small Gods is airing on 7 – Episode One and Episode Two are up now; more will follow.** You know, it's a lot more bearable when your memory of the book isn't quite as fresh ... Why do I always come back to this story in the spring? I'm always way too busy in the spring!

The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents is also available, till Saturday ... it's by far the best dramatization of a Pratchett book that I've heard, a prime example of the "radio movie," and stars David Tennant as a rat, if that piques your interest.

*because Wednesday is too late
**providing the snow doesn't gum up the BBC's internet works

Arise, Sir Pterry

I hope it comes with tights and plumes and a ceremonial breastplate.

Complete fluff (haha) news:

Presidential Dog Gossip

"Once the Obamas have chosen their puppy, the next challenge for the 44th First Family will be picking a suitable name."

I wouldn't ordinarily draw attention to such a shallow article but please, tell me, just how awesome would it be if they named it Wuffles? Tell me, internet!

Chances are it'll be named by his daughters, and knowing kids and names I'm putting my money on 'Cheesecake.'

I'm about to launch another 'What I Love About X' list/thesis/rave (already taken the notes, nothing's stopping me but time and cowardice) but remembered that I hadn't quite finished the Going Postal one I'd started last fall. When I moved, I found the folded up piece of paper that had been my notepad and carefully put it with my computer stuff, so now I am finally typing it up and calling it done. I don't remember most of the thinking behind the notes, now, and I'm coming at it with a bee in my bonnet about character development and audience involvement so it's a different list than it would have been a year ago but dangit, it is completed!

So, starting at pg. 342 (341 for context) of the Commonwealth edition ...

( Needless to say, Spoiler City )

In case you missed the previous episodes in this series of insanity, here are some links:
Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3

I've found another of Pratchett's sources: All the Time in the World, a story about a thief who is commissioned by a mysterious beautiful woman with no regard for material wealth, which also features personal time-manipulating gadgets, famous art, and a device sufficiently technologically advanced to bring about the end of the world.

Random neurons firing today brought up these ancient questions:

1. Anyone seen Ever After? Does she actually call herself the Comtesse Nicole de Lancre? A quick Google search seems to say so but IMDb spells it 'Lancret.' Does anyone know the official spelling?

2. The train Bruce Willis' character (very much the watchman) gets onto at the beginning of Unbreakable is #177. Is this an actual train number that goes between Philadelphia and ... wotsit ... New York? Is it a coincidence?
(Possibly also a coincidence is that the Pasadena Rapit Transit bus that goes to the Jet Propulsion Lab is #177 ... then again, it is full of science nerds, so this may not be a coincidence...)