Keeping the Score

I'm a fan of TV theme songs, sometimes more memorable than the shows they preceed. Some of my favorites are "Magnum, P.I.," "Quantum Leap," "Spenser For Hire," and "Mission: Impossible." From a Hollywood Reporter article comes the following insight from Steve Bramson, composer on "JAG" and "NCIS":

"Navy NCIS" (CBS)
"Don Bellisario (the series' creator) wanted something that was distinctively different. He wanted to take a big step away from 'JAG,' so that 'Navy NCIS' would have its own identity. (Usually,) we score 'JAG' the same way a feature film is scored -- like a minimovie -- more traditionally, with an acoustic orchestra and strings and brass. For 'Navy NCIS,' we took a leave of the typical approach to 'JAG' (by making it) a rhythm-driven show, using drums, electronic sounds and pulses to drive it. It's more of an ambient feeling of energy and tension for different scenes, as opposed to using the traditional melodic and harmonic kind of music (normally used) for a film or TV show like 'JAG.' Don is also trying more contemporary ways of shooting and cutting the show, and he wanted the music to be in sync with that -- (it's) the idea of music working hand-in-hand with how he cuts the images. I think it's a good marriage and a good approach.

"The most challenging for me was going from a show like 'JAG' -- which is entering its ninth season and is a well-oiled machine -- to coming up with a whole different approach. Even though I had direction, I had to find a way to make it happen. I am used to working in a traditional manner with pencils and paper and live orchestras. ('Navy NCIS') was all done at my home studio. We recorded 80% of the score with synths at home, then to add dimension we took that work to the scoring stage and sweetened it with a group of string players and a couple of guitarists. One of the good things about working this way is that the sounds are so dramatic; that's why (this technique) works so well with scoring. We are creating (scores) in a way that give a lot of character to the (music), which is part of the fun for me, too. It was fun to see how it would all really work together. For example, I had a scene that was quite long. It was a great visual scene, kind of a dark moment between two main characters. As the camera did a very slow circle around them that took almost two minutes in a very serious tone, I had this sort of ambient drone play all by itself with just a very sparse touch of something else. It was satisfying."
-- Ada Guerin

On Short Stories

On DetecToday, we've been discussing the differences between the novel and the short story. Sarah mentioned some of my onlist comments on her blog. I'm getting to it late myself, but this space allows me to share my personal account.

I was first drawn to short stories by their length, thinking they were more managable (in the annoying Michael Kay sense of the word) than novels. Though I probably wasn't aware at the time, short stories also spoke to my reading tastes. I enjoy the ideal of "no wasted words": dialogue that conveys imagery and subtext; exposition that draws the reader in; everything with a purpose.

Three eye-opening stories for me were "Fat" by Raymond Carver, "Lamb to the Slaughter" by Roald Dahl, and "Wants" by Grace Paley. I also enjoyed the short suspense work of Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne.

And for those of you with stream-of-pop-culture consciousnesses like mine, I regard the short story as Obi-Wan regarded the light saber: "An elegant weapon from a more civilized age."

"Forget it, Jake, it's Chinatown."

I started the day by watching (for the first time) one of the modern classic movies of the P.I. genre, Chinatown. I enjoyed the movie for its realistic portrayal of a PI firm (multiple ops, contracts), its unflinching use of tough language and sex crime, and of course, Jack.

It's one of those rare occasions when a character does everything I would do in his place. There was no need to rewrite Jake Gittes.

So now, as with Hellboy, I'm going to seek out all I can on "Mr. Gitts."

License to Read

Yesterday's birthdays included the current James Bond, Pierce Brosnan (51); Janet Jackson (38); and Angel star David Boreanaz.

I'm reminded that I haven't read all of Ian Fleming's original Bond books. When budgeting time to write and time to read, writing takes precedence because I always have something to read; I don't always have something to write.

Sometimes while reading I get the urge to write, like gazing out the window during a history lecture. In the first days of Font, one of the staff's favorite activities was watching movies. Now that we see each other less often, there are fewer movies and more meals with chances to chat.

Watching movies is passive, as my philosopher friend Matt Tedesco first pointed out. I do it when I'm in the mood to take in without offering something back. The same is true of reading. The best reading gives me something to write and still engages me enough to want to return and finish reading.

Road Trip

I took a road trip yesterday to visit my brother's godparents in South Hadley, MA. They live in a condominium complex called Pine Grove Commons, and their house is set up with two independent living spaces, so they never have to come up- or downstairs--a great benefit for the elderly.

After having lunch with them (Chinese food, natch), we drove two hours to Boston, only to be stuck in traffic in Copley Square. I saw a lot, but didn't visit. :( I did see the Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts supposedly across the street from Spenser's office. Yipee.

Flashback Friday

Sarah Weinman relays this link of the Top 10 Eightiest Movies, one man's opinion of the movies which typified the footloose and fancyfree decade.

Of the movies to make his list, I must say I enjoyed The Last Dragon, and Weekend at Bernie's is one of my all-time favorite bummin' around summer movies. (Now Weekend at Bernie's 2 was cashing in.)

In response to this, here are my lists of the Good and Bad of the 80s:

Good

10. Risky Business
9. Wall Street
8. Lethal Weapon
7. Die Hard
6. Three Amigos!
5. The Empire Strikes Back
4. Top Gun
3. Ghostbusters
2. Stand By Me
1. Raiders of the Lost Ark


Bad

10. Tango and Cash
9. Splash
8. Rambo: First Blood Part II
7. Weird Science
6. Star Trek V
5. Cocktail
4. Dirty Dancing
3. Dead Heat
2. The Karate Kid
1. Mannequin

Bugs Bunny Under Siege

From IMdb, this report of a bizarre standoff:

Cartoon Star Burson in Police Siege

Bugs Bunny star Greg Burson has been arrested by detectives after barricading himself inside his Los Angeles home for six hours. The 54-year-old cartoon actor - who provides the voices for children's favorites Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and Yogi Bear - screamed a stream of nonsensical words at cops who were alerted to his home after two women rang them claiming he was holding his roommate against her will. Armed Special Weapons And Tactics teams joined the stand-off which eventually ended when a seemingly inebriated Burson surrendered following hours of negotiations. Cops later discovered a collection of guns in his home. One officer says, "He was so drunk we couldn't tell if he was trying to do one of his voices or was just slurring his words." Officer Rudy Villarreal has confirmed all three women involved in the incident - who were unharmed - lived with Burson.

Calling all Firefly Fans

Like any proud owner of the Firefly DVD, I've been tracking the progress of the Firefly movie, SERENITY. Dale Stoyer offers a link to the latest

Dale also found this Firefly Personality Test. I'm a 61% match for the man they call Jayne.

The Big Finale

One of the first things I blogged about was the WB's cancellation of Angel. I wrote that I had given up on the show after its fourth season and looked forward to seeing the cast in other roles. With only the series finale yet to air, I've lost major interest in the show, haven't watched it since Cordelia's one-episode return/sendoff. I've taped it but am in no hurry to watch those tapes. They seem to be wrapping up various storylines with the biggest bang possible. And I don't mean that in a good way.

I'm only slightly less annoyed with season finales, which have become synonymous with cliffhangers. Remember when season finales were merely "action-packed" and not "heart-stopping"?

Let's look at the past few finales of JAG:

Season 6: Harm's Tomcat hits bad weather on his way to Mac and Mic's wedding and crashes into the ocean. Will he be rescued?

Season 7: After the rest of team thwarts a terrorist plot to launch a nuclear missile on America from a Russian diesel sub, Bud steps on a land mine in Afghanistan, blowing off part of his leg.

Season 8: After quitting JAG to rescue Mac from a spy mission gone awry in Paraguay, Harm is forced to crash-land.

And in next week's Season 9 finale: Harm suffers a personal loss, Mac receives devastating health news, and the Admiral makes a life-altering decision.

I guess I don't mind amping up the drama for final episodes, but some of the effect is lost because we know in advance when the amping-up will occur. From there, it's only a question of what shocking scenario the writers can imagine. And we all know writers can imagine quite a lot.

Some Thoughts atter Watching THE SUM OF ALL FEARS (2002)

One of the last movies Ben Affleck made before his hiatus in J-Land was 2002's THE SUM OF ALL FEARS based loosely on the book by Tom Clancy. This past Sunday, after treating our moms to Ayhan's Shish Kebab, Henry, my cousin Alan, and I screened the DVD.

Alan asked a fair amount of questions about how the movie compared to the book. My frequent answer was "None of this happened in the book," and to me it was a good thing. THE SUM OF ALL FEARS is the longest and worst Clancy book I've read, about Arab terrorists detonating a nuclear bomb at the Super Bowl.

Some Clancy fans on IMdb strained to reconcile the Harrison Ford movie CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER with this one. Good luck. I'm well past wanting movies to be faithful to books. I say do what works best for a movie. In the case of the Ryan franchise, the best thing to do was "retcon" Ryan (That's retroactive continuity for non-comics fans). In SUM, Ryan has been with CIA for fourteen months when the Russian president dies and is replaced by someone Ryan has researched for a paper.

Ryan goes to Russia on an American weapons inspection tour and discovers three Russian nuclear scientists are missing. He teams with John Clark (played superbly by Liev Schreiber)--called back into the field from a desk job--to locate the scientists and find out what they've been doing.

In short, all the best Clancy movie elements are here: the two superpowers grappling while spies on both sides keep the back channels open, Ryan's relationship with a father figure (Morgan Freeman in a James Earl Jones-esque role), his comparison with CIA field personnel (the professional Clark), all balanced with the everyman's desire to make a love relationship work.

I give it three out of four stars.

(Incidentally, I haven't read a Clancy book since DEBT OF HONOR, in which every link in the president's chain of succession is killed, allowing Ryan to step in, no doubt something Clancy can only dream of doing.)

"I'm a Little Bit Quixote, I'm a Little Bit Rock and Roll..."

Sarah Weinman's guest blogger Olen Steinhauer posted about translations this morning, and Sarah commented, mentioning one of my favorite books, Cervantes's DON QUIXOTE. We all know the anecdote of Quixote tilting at windmills, seeing dragons, and perhaps we've all seen the dental commercial replacing Quixote's lance with a toothbrush, but I find the genuine story all the more rich.

It helped that by the time I read it in a college class called "DON QUIXOTE and the Modern Novel," I had heard the original Broadway cast recording of Man of La Mancha, and had seen an episode of Quantum Leap in which Sam Becket leaps into an actor understudying to play Alonso Quijana. All that said, for my final two undergrad years at Hofstra (with no chemical assistance), I, like Quijana, decided to see the world and people around me not as they were, but as they might be--full of potential.

In the years following, like Quijana at the end of Cervantes's book, I've hung up the sword and armor, but every now and then:

Oh, the trumpets of glory now call me to ride...

Not Quite Red October

CNN reports a missing unmanned U.S. mini-sub was found on a beach in Norway. Submarines have always fascinated me, even bathtub subs. THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER and CRIMSON TIDE are two of my favorite movies. This does not mean I'll watch anything with a sub in it. Seaquest DSV didn't interest me in the least. I did watch the Kelsey Grammer comedy DOWN PERISCOPE twice (not in the theater).

Waiting for the Fog to Lift

Now that "Home" is out of my hands, I'm suddenly doing no writing (unless you count blogging and commenting). Even the shortest periods of inactivity can get to me, probably because I'm aware of how much time I spent doing no writing in the past. I'm talking months without a sheet of laser paper used.

They say if you wait for inspiration, you won't make a living as a writer, but there are periods where all one can do is wait on an idea. The key, then, is to cultivate several ideas--all at different stages of readiness. If one idea flags, don't call it a day, but switch to another idea, and another, and so on.

Every idea starts in a confusing fog that lifts a little each day until I can see the idea in its entirety. I take heart in that.

There's Cozy and then There's Casual

Yesterday I followed a thread from Sarah Weinman's blog, to Lee Goldberg's blog, to Jim Winter's blog, commenting on a New York Sun article by publisher Otto Penzler, wherein Penzler slams the cozy (subgenre of mystery where violence and death occur offstage), saying among other things, that cozies contain "not a scintilla of style, originality, or depth. They must have the texture and nuance of an infomercial, lacking only its philosophical power."

I haven't read cozies myself--I identify better with more direct, more graphic crime fiction--but I don't believe any book earnestly written by an author can be dismissed as Penzler does. I'm the first to admit I haven't read widely in any genre, including "literary fiction." Instead, I've sampled some of each and all have informed my writing.

More than any particular genre, I don't like the way certain books are marketed. I mentioned shopping for books at BJ's. The bestselling, most talked-about books are stacked there like any bulk product, a casual reader's paradise.

Casual readers lead to casual writers who try to produce the most book with the least work. I can't blame them. If my teacher gave me an A on my first assignment, I'd try to match, not exceed, that effort the next time out. If casual readers keep buying a writer's books, the writer has no incentive to change the most book/least effort routine.

Penzler believes cozy writers are casual writers. In fact, he has exposed himself as a casual writer who dismissed his subject as "throwaway" from the outset, and thus did not do enough research or fact-checking to support his premise.

What a Difference a Pad Makes

The other night we went on a shopping trip for the first time in two months. At Staples, I picked up a glorious new anti-static carpet pad for the office portion of my bedroom. My previous pad, ill-suited for carpet, had cracked in several spots and would slide slightly when I moved, eventually leaving my chair no room to roll.

Next at our local BJ's Club, I picked up three shirts and one pair of shorts for workouts, various cereal products. In the absence of LOST LIGHT by Michael Connelly, I settled for A BODY TO DIE FOR by Kate White, whose debut mystery was recommended on Reading with Ripa (which Regis Philbin calls the Beach Trash Book Club). I'll read any story well told.

Finally yesterday, Henry installed a glare-free light atop my monitor so the keyboard is well lit with no reflection off the screen. With natural light all day from my window and the 13-watt Ott Light lamp already at my bedside, I no longer need my previous incandescent track light. Energy efficiency rocks.

"I've Got a Preposition for You."

Today is Kenan Thompson's 26th birthday, which prompted me to click over to his partner Kel Mitchell's IMdb bio, where I found the following:

Kel is the middle child of two sisters. At the age of 13 he appeared in the Chicago theater production of Dirt. He has studied at Santa Monica College in California along with his buddy, Kenan Thompson.

This would have us believe a couple of strange scenarios:

1. Two sisters can give birth to a child.
2. Two sisters can share legal guardianship.

It is safe to assume (or is it?) that the amateur biographer meant Kel has two sisters, an older and a younger. The preposition between would save a lot of confusion (but not be as fun).

As my friend Dale Stoyer likes to point out, I can't stop editing.

"Here I Am...Rock Me Like Hurricane."

I've uploaded the latest picture of myself (I mean taken today) to my various personal pages, including Gerald So - Just the Facts. If by chance you don't know what I look like, take a gander, and (gulp) comment even.

Bumming a Ride with My Characters

My Hardluck submission is officially submitted. Titled "Home", it follows a former Marine who faces a hard reunion with his sister after learning the aunt who helped raise them has died.

This is the fastest I've crafted a story from beginning to end, five days. I was encouraged upon reading that Guest Editor Charlie Stella writes fast. Up to now, I've mostly written stories a chunk-a-day over a week or two. Gearing up my pace, I stayed aware of the emotion of each scene as well as the story's momentum. I'm proud to have worked this swiftly but also thoroughly, and now I'll see where the story lands.

Hardluck's deadline helped me sharpen one of a writer's most important intangibles: openmindedness. I realized I couldn't achieve all my goals for "Home" following routes I'd chosen at the outset. All I could do was keep the final destination in mind and let the characters arrive by any route they wanted. With this temperament, I was able to recognize and implement changes more quickly and not mourn too long scenes I had to cut.

Looking at Lyrics: "Wherever You Will Go" by The Calling

After writing the ending to my Hardluck submission, I played "Wherever You Will Go" from The Calling's debut album, Camino Palmero. I first heard the song's chorus in previews for the Star Trek prequel series "Enterprise":

If I could, then I would,
I'll go wherever you will go.

Way up high, or down low,
I'll go wherever you will go...

I then heard the song's opening verse on the second episode of "Smallville", in which Clark Kent battles a boy with enhanced insect abilities who has kidnapped Lana Lang intending to mate and kill her. Clark defeats Bugboy, but it's Lana's boyfriend who shows up to collect the credit:

So lately, been wond'rin'
who will be there to take my place.
When I'm gone, you'll need love
to light the shadows on your face.

The song was heavily requested after 9/11, perhaps due to the verses:

If a great weight shall fall, fall upon us all.
There between the sand and stone--
could you make it on your own?

And maybe I'll find out
a way to make it back someday,
to watch you, to guard you,
through the darkest of your day.

If a great weight shall fall, fall upon us all,
then I hope there's someone out there who
can bring me back to you.

A bit too optimistic, perhaps. Then again, illogical optimism is needed most when times are darkest. If it's accepted, you'll see my story's connection to the song as well.

Your Friendly Neighborhood Van Helsing

The initial reviews of monster-medley movie VAN HELSING are positive. I plan to see it with friends in a couple of weeks, and I'm just looking for a check-reality-at-the-door ride.

I'm sure many movie fans have noticed the tagline for VAN HELSING echoes one for 2002's SPIDER-MAN:

Peter Parker: "It is my gift; it is my curse..."

Van Helsing: "My job, my life, my curse..."

"Friends" Fanfare

The "Friends" finale aired last night, and I missed it revising my Hardluck submission. It's hard to believe "Friends" had gone ten years. I lost interest after the third season, losing track of the Ross-wants-Rachel, Rachel-wants-Ross arc.

I always thought Phoebe should end up with Joey, but then Joey couldn't move to Los Angeles for his spinoff, "Joey."

This much said, here are my Favorite Friends' lines, lyrics, and whatnot in no particular order.

1. "Monica, they are cute; they are doctors. Cute. Doctors. Doctors who are cute."
2. "He's trapped in an ATM vestibule with Jill Goodacre!"
3. "My scone! My scone!"
4. "Stop being so testosteroney."
5. "How you doin'?"
6. "Gum would be perfection."
7. "My sandwich? You ate my sandwich? MY SANDWICH?"
8. "The correct answer is 'Chenandeler Bong.'"
9. "That's good. Just keep rubbing your head. That'll turn back time."
10. "You kept Joey's underwear? Why, why would you do that?"

Silent Knight Rider?

From IMdb:

Hasselhoff's 'Knight Rider' Set Back

David Hasselhoff's dreams of taking his Knight Rider TV show to the big screen have hit a snag, after a dispute with his movie studio. The Baywatch hunk has spent years trying to resurrect the hit series about a talking car and had reportedly lined up a studio to make the movie - with Ben Affleck being touted to play Hasselhoff's Michael Knight character. But the 51-year-old has parted ways with the studios after an "artistic difference". A source tells American news site The Scoop, "The studio didn't want the car to talk. David was like, 'Hello?' So he's switching studios."

Speechless K.I.T.T. aside, think of it: Ben Affleck as everyone's favorite pseudo-cool bubblehead. Perfect casting.

Cinco de Mayo - Free at Last

On this day commemorating the independence of Mexico, I'm proud to announce I've finished the first draft of my Hardluck story, and should have it polished in time to meet the deadline. In the ecstatic words of BLUE STREAK's Miles Logan, "Viva las Mexico, and ah'm out!"

"You Must Unlearn What You Have Learned."

I have a treatment for my Hardluck submission, but the story isn't appearing line by line on my monitor. Akin to the Blank Page Syndrome is the Blank Screen or Flashing Cursor Syndrome.

Diagnosis: It's too early in the story-birthing process to use the computer. My solution? Go down to my basement Batcave and break out the PaperMate (medium point, black; shaken, not stirred) and legal pads.

"Luke, you've switched off your targeting computer. What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm all right."

Now Playing in My Head: "Kung Fu Fighting"

I've spent the morning working on my aforementioned story for Hardluck, and for some reason "Kung Fu Fighting"--Jamaican Carl Douglas's one hit from 1974--is repeating in my mental CD player:

It's an ancient Chinese art,
and everybody knew their part...

There's no kung fu in my story. Yet.

Beat the Clock

I aim to meet the May 10th deadline for the Summer 2004 issue of Hardluck Stories Zine, edited by Charlie Stella. For this purpose, I'm working on what I hope will be my darkest, lonliest protagonist yet. Further info when I come up for air.

Glenn Ford and Julie Benz

Today is a birthday for Western star Glenn Ford (88) and "Buffy" and "Angel" player Julie Benz. While I haven't seen many of the films for which Ford is famous, I did see him as Jonathan Kent in SUPERMAN (1978). One of his lines is the most memorable for me: "There's one thing I do know, son, and that's you are here for a reason."

For me, the most appealing aspect of Superman lore is not the power given to Kal-El by Earth's sun, but the values and lessons in humanity taught by Jonathan and Martha Kent. I was gratified to see the father-son chemistry between John Schneider and Tom Welling on "Smallville."

Julie Benz played Darla, the vampire who sired Angel (David Boreanaz) and was his lover for a hundred and fifty years until he met Buffy. Originally expected to appear only in the Buffy pilot, Darla appeared in half the first season's episodes, and "Angel" expanded upon her history. I found Darla and Angel's relationship more interesting because it wasn't "meant to be." I find many fictional meant-to-be relationships forced. (Buffy and Angel, Lois and Clark, Zach and Kelly, Ross and Rachel...)

In real life, Benz is married to John "The Crypt Keeper" Kassir.

Tipping the Fedora

In an effort to become a paying market and defray some of its web costs, Thrilling Detective has begun using the Amazon Honor System to accept voluntary donations. Similar to PayPal, Amazon takes a 30-cent surcharge and 2.9 percent cut, but the rest helps Kevin Burton Smith maintain Thrilling as a top resource for anyone interested in P.I. fiction.

Your donation will also help me as Thrilling Fiction Editor to attract more stories and keep the Fiction section a viable outlet for writers. Thanks in advance for supporting our work. (FYI, I've donated $30 to start.)

End of an Era: Marsters Buzzed for Charity

Finally from IMdb, with "Buffy" and "Angel" soon to be TV history, American actor James Marsters, who played British cool-despite-himself vampire Spike, has shaved off the character's signature bleached blond hair:

Former Buffy The Vampire Slayer star James Marsters has shaved off his famous peroxide locks for charity. The actor, who played vampire Spike on Buffy and spin-off Angel, is sick of his slicked-back blonde look and has shaved it all off to raise cash for the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation in Los Angeles. Marsters raised $25,000 for the cause by auctioning off his locks, and has now adopted a shaven new look. He says, "I've been looking forward to like looking in the mirror and seeing the old James - the one I'm used to. I want him back."

Derek Busts Out; Doc is In

Yankee captain Derek Jeter, mired in the longest slump of his charmed career (0-for-32), led off tonight's game with a first-pitch homerun off Barry Zito. I was lucky enough to channel-surf to the YES Network and catch the moment in its entirety: the crowd's standing ovation, Jeter's big swing, the flight of the ball into the stands, the homerun trot, high-fives, curtain call, and Joe Torre's fatherly smile. Way to step up.

In other news, one-time Knick point guard and TV analyst Glenn "Doc" Rivers--fired as coach of the Orlando Magic early this season--has been hired to coach the Boston Celtics. The Celtics are run by Rivers's fellow former player, analyst, and coach, Danny Ainge. Love 'em or hate 'em, the Celtics are a large cut of the fabric of the NBA, and Doc seems a good man to restore some of their mystique.

Four Years of DetecToday

I got busy yesterday and didn't get to mark the fourth year of my longest-running Yahoo! Group--DetecToday. The list has allowed me to meet almost everyone I know in the mystery fiction community, and my life is richer for them all. If you're interested in private eye or crime fiction and would like to find out who's writing it today, give us a try.

Robert Crais's THE LAST DETECTIVE

I finished THE LAST DETECTIVE yesterday, and am mixed about it. Mild spoilers ahead, so you may want to skip this entry if you plan to read the book. The good news: There was enough of the main protags, Elvis and Joe, to satisfy. The bad news: Elvis and Joe are swerving back toward Spenser and Hawk's superheroics. I would not have expected this given Crais's breakaway in L.A. REQUIEM, but TLD reminded me of Parker's A CATSKILL EAGLE, with Ben Chenier standing in for Susan Silverman and Richard Chenier subbing for Russell Costigan.

Lastly, Crais's multi-POV style turned the supposed-to-be climactic ending into a frenetically slo-mo John Woo showdown. (If you've seen FACE/OFF or MI2, you know what I mean.)

Book-to-Movie

From IMdb:

Novelist Cussler Tries To Halt Shooting of 'Sahara'

Famed action/adventure novelist Clive Cussler has sued Philip Anschutz's Crusader Entertainment in an effort to halt the shooting of a movie version of his book Sahara, maintaining that his deal with Crusader gave him unqualified script approval and that the screenplays that have been submitted to him have been unacceptable. He told the Denver Post: "They've sent me seven scripts, and I've inserted each one in the trash can." Crusader has now countersued, accusing Cussler of delaying production of the film. In its complaint, the company said, "To option the rights to the entire [Dirk Pitt] series, Crusader paid Cussler an extremely handsome price -- even by Hollywood standards." Production of the film, which stars Matthew McConaughey as Pitt, Penélope Cruz and Steve Zahn, has already begun. In its counterclaim, Crusader accuses Cussler of attempting to "foment opposition to the film among his fans, and to organize a fan campaign to coerce Crusader into letting Cussler write the screenplay."

This may sound ironic coming from a writer, but once a piece (story, poem, etc.) is sold, the writer is no longer the authority on its success. While it's true that writers write for personal satisfaction and sometimes financial gain, we also write for audiences. The act of selling the movie rights to one's books is a commitment to a wider audience than writing the books alone.

Given Hollywood's rap for "butchering" books into movies, a writer may think creative control/approval is the answer. This can lead the author to try and fine-tune the presentation for the "right" reaction. Ultimately, though, and especially with a movie, audiences have the most say in how material is received. What an author finds moving or dull may be just the opposite to a viewer. If pleasing oneself is so much more valuable than pleasing an audience--if an author feels he is always the best judge of his work--why market one's books to the public? On the other hand, wanting to transmit your work to others requires some willingness to let it go.

I, for one, welcome movies made from books. As the book is the author's creative expression, the movie is the collaborative expression of everyone involved. Each deserves to be presented and heard. Whether audiences think a movie portrays its source accurately, the source receives greater attention. Isn't that precisely the author's goal in selling the rights?

If You Felt Bad for Ron Howard...

It's classic TV week on "Pyramid" (a Donny Osmond-hosted update of the "$10,000 Pyramid") and Marion Ross is facing off against her TV daughter Erin Moran. As you might expect, Mrs. C. has improbably dark red hair for someone her age, but 43-year-old Moran's hair is a strung-out scare, and her eyes bulge involuntarily.

Whoa!

Rocky Mountain High

I've been debating posting about the WB's "Everwood" for some time. It's one of those shows that, for better or worse, seems to parallel my life. Treat Williams stars as Andy Brown, a New York surgeon who, after his wife's death, decides to move with his adolescent son and daughter to Everwood, Colorado. My father was a surgeon and outdoorsman who relished more time to get to know his sons when he retired. I relate not only to the son, but also to the father as each tries to grow closer.

This season, in a story arc that just wrapped, Andy fell for a rival doctor's sister (Marcia Cross) who, after causing the obligatory dramatic stir, left for Namibia. Meanwhile, Andy's son Ephram and the rival's daughter Amy completed walks-on-the-wild-side and just might get on track to a relationship of their own. While these outcomes are more optimistic than my own, they are not so far from what might have been that I can't relate.

One of the show's themes particularly works for me, that of regeneration by escape into the wilderness, for times (as Wordsworth described) "the world is too much with us." There's not much wilderness where I live, but I've learned to get away from the computer, the TV, whatever each day to recharge the batteries.

Show, Don't Tell

I finished WALKING THE PERFECT SQUARE a week ahead of schedule, and am now reading the paperback of Robert Crais's THE LAST DETECTIVE. As I may have blogged before I'm not a fan of Crais's multi-POV style. It worked for his breakout book, L.A. REQUIEM, but in the long term it has lessened the suspense of his books.

I'm reading the book to catch up with Elvis Cole, Joe Pike, and friends after Crais took a two-book break from them (DEMOLITION ANGEL, HOSTAGE). While TLD has hooked me, there are three reasons I'm not more into it: 1) I've never warmed to Elvis's love interest Lucy Chenier and her 10-year-old son Ben. The plot involves Ben being kidnapped because someone wants revenge on Elvis. 2) My feelings aside, it's harder to feel Elvis's concern for Lucy and Ben because Crais went away from them a while. 3) At the end of L.A. REQUIEM, Lucy and Elvis seemed pretty much on the outs, and in TLD Elvis is taking care of Ben when he's abducted? The scenario might have been believable if we'd seen Lucy and Elvis patch things up. As it stands, there's a gap like the inexplicable one between THE PHANTOM MENACE and ATTACK OF THE CLONES--where it's dumped on us that Anakin has spent ten offstage years pining for Amidala. Where's the show?

So I find I'm reading as I would read a Clancy book, skipping the kidnapping angst, and reading the action.

That's My "Smallville", Part II

Last night's was a top-notch episode of "Smallville." Titled "Truth", it focuses on girl reporter Chloe Sullivan who, during at attempt to blackmail Lionel Luthor, inhales a Kryptonite-laced gas that compels anyone she questions (except Clark) to tell the truth.

For a while the power is a reporter's dream: Chloe uses her cell phone to record Lionel's admission that he blacklisted her father out of work; Pete declares his love for her; Lana reveals plans for art school in Paris; Lex reveals he just wants his dad to love him. Of course, the gas turns out to be highly toxic, its antidote untested.

The most tempting secret is Clark himself. Chloe is on her way to get the truth from the Kents when a disgruntled classmate rams her car into a guard rail. Clark arrives just in time to heft both cars out of danger and administer the antidote to a shocked Chloe.

The episode ends with Chloe accessing her cell phone records only to hear a message from Lionel: "Don't bother looking for our little conversation, Miss Sullivan. That's gone." Evil.

He's the Unknown Stuntman...

Lee Goldberg, a writer/producer on such shows as "Spenser: For Hire", "Diagnosis: Murder", A&E's "Nero Wolfe", and USA's "Monk", recently started a blog. Great to get his perspective.

A Little Buildup

I subscribe to several e-mail lists of interest to writers, mostly on Yahoo! Groups. On a couple of these, announcements of publication, corresponding congrats, and other acts of self-promotion are the order of the day. At best, self-promotion feels slick to me. At worst, it's desperate: "Read my wife, please." Still, if a writer's work can't sound good to himself, how can he invite others to read it?

My normal m.o. is to announce a story when it is published and not before, but seeing as my next story--the third C.J. Stone--is due out in two weeks or so, I thought you'd like a chance to get caught up. (I'm taking a page from Miramax, who released KILL BILL Vol. 1 on DVD a week before Vol. 2 premiered in theaters.)

If you haven't stumbled upon it before, you can now visit a webpage of background on Stone and cohorts, complete with links to his two previous appearances. Thanks, and let me know what you think.

Donnie Baseball

Today is a birthday for Don Mattingly, the best Yankee player never to win a World Series (43). One of the good guys in sports, Indiana native Mattingly brought a mix of Larry Bird's work ethic and Michael Jordan's spectacle, great field instincts and power hitting. His career unfortunately shortened by back injuries, he retired in 1995, one year before the Yankees started their latest string of championships with Tino Martinez (no Donnie, but worlds better than Jason Giambi) at first base.

"He's Making a List..."

I know I'm eight months early for Christmas, but I thought I'd give you a look at what I'm reading from time to time. Today's order is from eCampus:

HELLBOY: Seed of Destruction by Mike Mignola - Loved the movie; will I love the book?

EVERYBODY'S SOMEBODY'S FOOL by Ed Gorman - Gorman's fifth book with 1950s-60s P.I. Sam McCain of Black River Falls, Iowa.

SUCKER BET by James Swain - the third book from expert card-handler Swain featuring casino security specialist Tony Valentine.

SHUTTER ISLAND by Dennis Lehane - the standalone that started the latest discussion on DetecToday.

HEX by Maggie Estep - a mystery novel by the performance poet and hip commentator.

THIEVES' DOZEN by Donald E. Westlake - the collected comic capers of John Dortmunder.

This Trilogy Needs to Go Far, Far Away.

Today is a birthday for the teenaged Anakin Skywalker, Hayden Christensen (23).

Is it just me, or is something missing from the second Star Wars trilogy? Dave White says an everyman ala Han Solo is missing. I also think these movies are less magical--due in no small part to the quantification of The Force into microscopic creatures called mitichlorians. The biggest downer is knowing in advance the story will end darkly: Anakin (an unsympathetic, arrogant Jedi prodigy) will become Darth Vader, scourge of the galaxy. Yay?

Is George Lucas full of himself enough to believe audiences will keep watching simply to fill in backstory (fatalistic backstory at that)?

Hellboy

I saw HELLBOY today, and am seeking all the source material I can lay my hands on. As a member of DetecToday recently pointed out, humor can get you through the darkest stuff. I'm hoping the Hellboy comic is a good mix.

Somethin' to Talk About

Let's give 'em somethin' to talk about,
a little mystery to figure out.

With this Bonnie Raitt lyric, I begin another post on the act of writing following posts by Sarah Weinman, Jim Winter, Ray Banks. Essentially, I agree with Ray that it's difficult to talk about. Writing is everything that goes on before the opening curtain. Performers are often asked what goes on behind the scenes, and they say things like, "I need a ton of rehearsal," "I'm such a klutz," "If you want to see the real me, catch me first thing in the morning."

Fans like to ask, but no one really wants to know a performer is just like you or me. Some part wants to maintain the illusion of what we see onstage: the best or most dramatic we can be. Talking about it lessens the magical experience that writers deserve to give and readers deserve to have.

In the best writing classes, we don't talk about writing very much; we write and then, having read our writing, talk about story. You can only discuss something so far before giving an example ("But here, I'll show you what I mean.")

When I was learning to drive, to calm my nerves I asked, "Is there anything I can do outside a car that would help?"

The answer, as you might expect, was "No."

Talking about writing is not writing. The only way to learn to write, to learn what will work for you, is to write. As Elvis suggested:

A little less conversation,
a little more action, please.