MetaFilter posts tagged with Books and movies

Matt Helm

Joe Beese — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:37:37 -0800

Matt Helm is a fictional character created by author Donald Hamilton. He is a U.S. government counter-agent—a man whose primary job is to kill or nullify enemy agents—not a spy or secret agent in the ordinary sense of the term as used in spy thrillers. ... The character appeared in 27 books over a 33-year period beginning in 1960... A movie series was made in the mid-to-late 1960s starring Dean Martin... the series bore no resemblance at all to the character, atmosphere, or themes of Hamilton's original books, nor to the hard-edged action of Bond. One reason was the attitude of the filmmakers that the only way to compete with the Bond films was to parody them. - Wikipedia (links may be mildly NSFW) We reported earlier this year that the messy breakup of Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures may have killed the director's opportunity to bring the swinging, pulp fiction super-spy, Matt Helm, back to the big screen... a source close to the project tells us a new director has his hands on the project — none other than Gary Ross, writer-director of "Pleasantville" and "Seabiscuit"... - The Playlist The first - and by all accounts the best - of the Dean Martin films is The Silencers. It can be viewed in its entirety here. Don't miss the opening credits - featuring Elmer Bernstein's razzmatazz score and a bombshell performance by Cyd Charisse. (previously)

Ozmapolitan

crossoverman — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 05:59:20 -0800

Somewhere, over the rainbow, way up high,
There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby.

The MGM musical version of L. Frank Baum's 1900 children's book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz turned 70 this week. It wasn't the first time it was a movie, nor the last time it was a movie or a movie musical. You just keep on keepin' on the road that you choose Don't you give up walking cause you gave up shoes Ease on down, Ease on down the road (come on) Many people read politics into the story, some read queer sexualties into it. Adapted as a radio play in 1908, Oz has been sequalised, reinterpreted, reimagined twice as science fiction and Muppet-ised. So if you care to find me Look to the western sky As someone told me lately - Everyone deserves the chance to fly Gregory Maguire's literary reinterpretation is a parallel novel (and the musical a further interpretation on top of that), while Ruth Plumly Thompson followed Baum's 14 Oz books with 19 novels - the bulk of the "Famous Forty" canon novels. Talk of another film. The Wiki of Oz.

# The thunder of his own guns filled him with stupid wonder.

kbanas — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 08:56:40 -0800

Stephen King has described The Dark Tower as his "Jupiter." The epic series, inspired in part by Robert Browning's poem, "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came", has spanned 22 years, 7 books and nearly 4000 pages. The first book in the series, The Gunslinger, begins with a simple, memorable declaration, "The Man in Black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed." The Dark Tower tells the story of Roland Deschain, the last Gunslinger in a world that has "moved on", and his ka-tet as they quest to find the Dark Tower - a tower of obsidian in a field of red roses - where all space and time is bound together by a powerful energy. This is a world where the forces of the Red battle the forces of the White across the plains of existence, where there are countless worlds beyond our own, and where things don't look so great for the good guys. On April 15th, StephenKing.com launched a newly redesigned Dark Tower website, with all sorts of goodies. When King calls the series "his life's work", he is not exaggerating. The Dark Tower, ka and ka-tet, gunslingers and Gilead - these things, and Roland's struggle to set things right - provide the overarching backdrop to dozens of King's other stories. And, like any great fantasy book, it's steeped in its own set of words and terminology. The series also features some great illustration by artists like Dave McKean, Michael Whelan, Darrel Anderson and Phil Hale (my personal favorite). Although the last book of the series, The Dark Tower, was published in 2004, that has not marked the end of Roland's saga. Recently, The Dark Tower has found new life. Robin Furth was a PhD student in English at the University of Maine in 2000 when she heard from her advisor, Burt Hatlen, that Stephen King was looking for someone to do some part-time work. That part-time work turned into something more when King asked Furth to create a concordance for the first four books of the Dark Tower. After all, a series which had spanned, at that point, 18 years and 4 books, could prove hard to keep straight for even the most seasoned writer. "Never ask a frustrated folklorist to map out your imaginary world," Furth said of the thick tome that was the result of her effort. That effort (and another for the last 3 books) eventually turned into Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Complete Concordance, one of two major books that have been published about the Dark Tower (the other being Bev Vincent's The Road to the Dark Tower). Stephen King and Marvel Comics have also recently come together to publish a 5 arc, 31 issue series of comic books set in The Dark Tower universe, plotted and written by now-Dark-Tower-guru Robin Furth and comic legend Peter David, and illustrated by Jae Lee. The first story arc, The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born, was released last year. The second arc, The Dark Tower: The Long Road Home, launched last month. And if that weren't enough, Stephen King recently sold the move rights to the Dark Tower saga to the creative team of J. J. Abrams and Damon Lindelof for the bargain price of $19. King and Abrams have long confessed mutual-admiration for one another. Those who have read the series (or much recent King at all), will recognize the number 19 as having an unusual power in the universe The Dark Tower. And no wonder.

Edward Samuel's Illustrated History of Copyright

carter — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 10:49:00 -0800

Edward Samuel's Illustrated History of Copyright A fascinating illustrated historical tour, looking at how different technologies have shaped how we think about copyright and intellectual property.

Poisonville

CCBC — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 18:04:22 -0800

In 1917, Dashiell Hammett, working as a Pinkerton detective in Butte, Montana, was offered $5000 to murder union organizer, Frank Little. Or was he? Maybe not. Anyway, Hammett quits being a detective and starts writing fiction. He draws on his Butte experiences to write Red Harvest about a lone detective who sets opposing factions in a corrupt city against one another and watchs the bodies pile up. Lots of people have wanted to make movies from Red Harvest. Akira Kurosawa did. Or did he? Maybe not. But Fistful of Dollars is certainly based on Yojimbo and there's a lawsuit that proves it. So, in 1996, when Walter Hill released Last Man Standing, he was sued by the Italian owners of the Fistful copyright. But Hill had permission to remake from Kurosawa so the Italians looked foolish. Hill mentions Hammett in interviews but Dash gets no credit. Nor did he get credit for the Coen brothers' Miller's Crossing which may be a blend of Red Harvest and The Glass Key. Certainly the Coens borrowed at least a movie title from Red Harvest. But, after all these years, the only movie directly based on Hammett's novel is a Jimmy Durante comedy.

It's a gift to be simple... provided you have the means

Tommy Gnosis — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 14:50:49 -0800

Starbucks saved his life , and now Tom Hanks is saving his bank account. A story of a middle-aged man with a successful career in advertising, was fired from his high-paying job, was divorced by his wife, and was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and found himself getting back to basics working for $10.50/hour at Starbucks, finding himself, and loving it. How does he manage to deal with such a huge downgrade from his previously life? Well, turns out it doesn't matter too much, as it's soon to be a movie starring Tom Hanks.

"...my most ambitious idea, 'The Bourne Arpeggio,' in which Bourne, now a violist, prevents the assassination of a Russian dissenter at the reopening of Alice Tully Hall."

djgh — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 19:00:16 -0800

With the Bourne Ultimatum released, that would appear to be it for the series. Not so for the books, even though original author Robert Ludlum has been dead for six years. This type of thing isn't exactly new, but do these ghost-written books do the originals justice, or are the authors' estates just cashing in?

"LOCK UP THE DATE!" --FBI for writers

amberglow — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 09:15:44 -0800

FBI 101 -- "Essentials for Writers," an "exciting and informative" interactive workshop for writers being offered to members of my union -- the Writers Guild of America, East - by the FBI Office of Public Affairs and FBI New York. ... -- Very interesting account of a workshop the FBI puts on for writers in NY. What's in it for the FBI? ...The only question we have for you is 'Will it show us in a good light?'" ...

Lyra and her dæmon moved through the darkening hall...

blahblahblah — Mon, 31 Jul 2006 23:11:01 -0800

The His Dark Materials movie is taking shape. The award-winning children's series, considered the "anti-Narnia", is due on the screen in 2007, starring a actress found in open casting, along with Nicole Kidman (as Mrs. Coulter, for those who know the books). Unfortunately, the screenplay by Tom Stoppard has been dumped, though the new one appears to be to the author's liking. There is no official trailer yet, but there are several more or less painful fan-made ones. The series has also been made into a successful play, and a radio program. For those who haven't read it, an excerpt is here; and for those that have, try the interactive alethiometer or find out your daemon's name. Previous discussion on the debate with the Archbishop of Canterbury was here.

The beat goes on...

veryape — Sat, 27 Aug 2005 04:18:48 -0800

Looks like Buk is b a c k and Jack is On The Road again.

Edward Bunker, 1933-2005

matteo — Mon, 25 Jul 2005 03:05:06 -0800

"It has always been as if I carry chaos with me the way others carry typhoid. My purpose in writing is to transcend my existence by illuminating it."
Crime novelist Edward Bunker, who died last Tuesday at age 71 (LATimes obit), became at 17 the youngest inmate at San Quentin after he stabbed a prison guard at a youth detention facility. It was during his 18 years of incarceration for robbery, check forgery and other crimes that Bunker learned to write. In 1973, while still in prison, he made his literary debut with "No Beast So Fierce", a novel about a paroled thief James Ellroy called "quite simply one of the great crime novels of the past 30 years" and that was made into the movie "Straight Time" starring Dustin Hoffman. Also a screenwriter ("Runaway Train"), Bunker appeared as an actor in nearly two dozen roles, most notably as Mr. Blue in "Reservoir Dogs." (more inside)

Spoil Yourself

Jim Jones — Wed, 09 Mar 2005 13:03:16 -0800

It's all about the journey, not just the ending.

Not just for Trekkies anymore...

FunkyHelix — Wed, 16 Feb 2005 08:15:35 -0800

Fandom is, at the core, neither good or bad. It simply is. [+]

berating the classics

reklaw — Fri, 02 Jul 2004 21:45:48 -0800

"First, look up the most popular and critically-acclaimed books, movies, and music on Amazon. Click on 'Customer Reviews,' and sort them by 'Lowest Rating First'..." The Amazon.com Knee-Jerk Contrarian Game.

Hollywood's Golden Era

crunchland — Sat, 28 Jun 2003 16:30:16 -0800

GLAMORLUX Cool Collections ~ vintage photos, movie posters, book covers and album covers from Hollywood's golden era.

Best of Best of Lists

Ufez Jones — Wed, 14 May 2003 10:27:50 -0800

List of bests permits you to keep track of how much you've read, seen, or heard according to all of those fun "X Greatest X's" of all time. A recommendation feature may be soon to follow.

Movie Adaptations of Books

MiguelCardoso — Mon, 02 Dec 2002 06:13:10 -0800

Sometimes Movies Are Even Better Than The Good Books They're Based Upon. [More inside]

serafinapekkala — Thu, 29 Aug 2002 07:48:54 -0800

On The Road... coming to a theater near you (scroll down in link). Francis Ford Coppola is working on a film adaptation of Kerouac's classic (?), starring Brad Pitt. Genius? Heresy? I can see the Barnes & Noble tie-ins now...

kirkaracha — Sat, 02 Feb 2002 15:12:52 -0800

Alexandre Dumas on film This AP/CNN article says Dumas’ books make good movies, but aren’t being read as much as they used to be. Do the changes the movies make improve the books, or would more faithful adaptations be better?

crunchburger — Fri, 26 Oct 2001 22:17:07 -0800

When The Lord of the Rings series rolls around to Xmas 2002, will they have to change the name of the second episode from The Two Towers? Will Hollywood have settled down by then? Maybe it won't be a sensitive problem anymore. But what would be a good alternate title?

christina — Sun, 01 Jul 2001 18:36:41 -0800

Cultural popcorn

Everybody's got their indulgences-- maybe it's an impressively bad tv show, a blatently comercial film you've watched dozens of times or the upteeth sequel of a good book by a lazy author. What's your cultural big mac? What can't you admit you love?

inviolable — Sun, 22 Apr 2001 13:55:18 -0800

You've seen the movie, maybe even read the book. But have you experienced the website? When the flash intro comes up, click on "You're a dead rat" for a good chuckle.

lbergstr — Sat, 24 Mar 2001 23:25:37 -0800

I'm sick of the Cunningham rumors. I no longer believe the Neuromancer movie will ever happen. Music by Aphex, in my dreams. Console yourself by listening to William Gibson read the whole freakin' thing.

cfj — Sat, 10 Mar 2001 18:11:03 -0800

Don't make Hunter mad. Hunter S. Thompson doesn't think the production company that optioned The Rum Diaries is doing a very good job. And he tells them. Man, does he tell them.

Avogadro — Sun, 15 Oct 2000 13:08:34 -0800

You've seen the movie, you've read the book. Now, watch Dead Man Walking, the Opera. (more inside...)