I'm probably going to regret telling this story, aren't I?

[cleolinda]

So. Haven't done much today except finish rereading The Amber Spyglass, which I find I like a lot more the second time around. I think I was so anxious to get to the end the first time (some three or four years ago) that not a lot of quality reading got done, so it was almost like reading the book for the first time again--except that I knew the ending this time. And as much as I initially loved the books, the ending's always been wrenching, and I've been less and less satisfied with that as time's gone on. Although I hear now that Lyra's Oxford is supposed to be a bridge between the trilogy and a new upcoming book called The Book of Dust, so I'm not giving up hope.

(Sob.)

Meanwhile, I went to scope out the available websites, and from Bridge to the Stars I found that the official movie site now has a blog! With articles and links and photos (PAAAAAAAAAN!)! (Awww! Daniel Craig is "a longtime fan of the books"! Pullman "had [Nicole Kidman] in mind years ago"!) I ended up going back to the official site proper to dig up all the desktops, which have the characters... and their daemons. You can grab them as follows: Lyra and Pan; Lee and Hester (HESTER!); Asriel and Stelmaria; Mrs. Coulter and... wait, he doesn't have a name?; and Serafina and Kaisa.

Meanwhile: Kidman Attached To Horror Remake.

‘The Dark Is Rising’ Interns Webisode 3. Here's my question: What did Rowling and Pullman do right that poor Susan Cooper obviously did wrong, that she doesn't have filmmakers devoted to capturing the Pure and Sacred Essence of her work? You can't even say she offended the Almighty in some way, because that's Pullman's field, and he doesn't seem to have suffered any for it.

Meanwhile, how is Stardust going to do this weekend? Well, yes, it is going to be bulldozed by Rush Hour 3, because that is what movies like Rush Hour 3 do. I actually saw Rush Hour 2 in the theater because a bunch of friends and I were looking for something, anything, to pass the time with, and I will say this (although you may later wish I had not, in fact, said this): I had a horrific, random boil at the base of my spine that week. I seem to remember that I was extremely stressed out about something, although I can't imagine what, and thus developed this excruciating, malignant thing. I'm serious, I've never felt pain like that at any other time in my life--mostly because it was very easy to sit down in a way that made this golf-ball-sized horror press on a major nerve. Pain like that, good God--I nearly threw up at one point. I tried to bandage it, cushion it--nothing worked, and there wasn't anything lanceable at that point. (See, I warned you.) So we went to Rush Hour 2, and I managed to situate myself all slunk down into the seat with my knees up, somehow, and during the two hours that followed, two hours of laughing at a brainlessly mediocre action movie (the only part of which I can remember to this day is, "How'd she chopstick up her hair with one hand? "), the boil quietly, painlessly burst.

I don't really remember where I was going with this now, except that everyone should go see Stardust because it will help Unca Neil but also because it is v. v. good. Or, as Gaiman himself says, "If you're in two minds about Stardust, about whether or not to see it or even when to see it, please go and see it this weekend. Friday night if you can. Take friends. If necessary, take them at gunpoint. They will love the movie so much they will forgive you afterwards. And if they don't forgive you, you can dispose of them quietly -- you're the one with the gun, after all -- and you will have a wonderful time for the rest of your life with the new friends you made at the Stardust screening." Also, I hear there may be a new Cloverfield preview. So, in conclusion--unless you're afflicted with boils: Stardust.

'300' Breaks High Definition Record.

Gugino Is Watchmen 's Spectre.

Yelchin Is Trek 's Chekov. Wait, isn't that the kid from Hearts in Atlantis ? How old is he? Meanwhile, Abrams Wooing Cruise For Trek?

NY Magazine reveals major Cloverfield spoilers?

Lost Ringing Veronica's Bell?

Bollywood Director To Remake 'Casablanca.'

MTV Exclusive Clip: ‘The Invasion.’

Kathleen Turner for Chuck Palahniuk’s ‘Snuff’ Film?

P.J. Hogan to Direct Kinsella's Shopaholic.

Harris, Mortensen & Zellweger in Appaloosa.

Ian McShane Joins Death Race. Which has already acquired Jason Statham, Tyrese Gibson, and... Joan Allen? Seriously, I still can't get over that.

Coming Soon Exclusive: The One and Only Hans Zimmer! Wait, he scored The Simpsons ?

Jennifer Connelly is 'Just Not That Into You.' Yes, a movie of the self-help book He's Just Not That Into You. In which, I am sure, she will discover that he really is.

New August Rush poster.

trailer_spot: Lions for Lambs, Reservation Road, Kite Runner, Fierce People, Last Winter.

And finally, a Married to the Sea comic I intend to repurpose as an image macro the first chance I get:

Comments

Married to the Sea

[elisa0984.livejournal.com]

It's still been funny this week, but all the illustrations have been more modern so it's not quite the same.

But the one above had me giggling.

Re: Married to the Sea

[sweet-pessimism.livejournal.com]

May I just say that I'm in love with your avatar? Eddie Izzard is my hero!

[hulamoth.livejournal.com]

this Star Trek venture just sounds worse and worse the more I hear about it. I think when it finally comes out, I'm going to shut myself inside, hide from newspapers and reviews and sing until the horror dies down.

[yarha.livejournal.com]

I would suggest listening to REALLY LOUD rock and roll instead, 'cause one can sing only for so long.

Yarha, La-La-La, Nobody's Hearin' Nothin'

[supersyncspaz7.livejournal.com]

Ohh man, I'll bet that the VM fans/haters will have a field day when they hear of Kristen Bell's possible addition to the cast. [anticipates potential wank]

[anne-jumps.livejournal.com]

That's so cool how the daemons vaguely resemble the humans. In some cases, anyway.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't be surprised if the CGI artists took reference photos and did that on purpose. But then... Hester, what?

[girlalmighty]

I have such a love-hate relationship with the end of Amber Spyglass; it makes me cry, but that's mostly 'cause I'm a sap.

Meanwhile... seriously? Remake Casablanca? Hopefully the idea just stays in Bollywood and no one tries it out here.

[plazmah.livejournal.com]

Agreed. Bollywood will remake anything, let's hope they're the only ones. ;P

[spectralbovine.livejournal.com]

Oh my God, Bollywood Casablanca. This won't end well.

[plazmah.livejournal.com]

Oh my God, Bollywood Casablanca. This won't end well. will end in hilarity!

Fixed! ;)

[cleojones.livejournal.com]

Yes, PAN is a cutie!

I can't remember what form Pan eventually settled into. Don't answer! I'm a non-spoiler-nut.

I'll google it. ;)

*please, be a good movie, please*

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Hee! That said, I kind of want him to be a... whatever that is... forever and ever, because he's so darling. And his little voice in the CC footage! Eeeee!

(I really think this is going to be as good as humanly possible. I have yet to see a single frame that did not make me squee out loud, and there are several things I didn't even care all that much about until I saw them brought to life. Well, Hester, maybe. I was imagining more of a jackrabbit, not... whatever that is.)

[khaman.livejournal.com]

I took a look at the wiki info for Nicole Kidman's 'Invasion' flick, and seriously, if that's 'original' enough for it NOT to be officially labelled yet another 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers,' I have a great idea for a seven part novel series starring an orphaned girl named Mary Popper.

[penmage.livejournal.com]

Poor Susan Cooper! Actually, she had a filmmaker devoted to capturing the Pure and Sacred Essense of her work. The rights were purchases by Jim Hensen Pictures, but unfortunately it was never developed, and the film rights were purchased by Walden.

I suspect that she would never have sold them to Walden directly - I know that she is not pleased at all about this travesty, and would never had allowed it had she had a choice.

More details here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seeker:_The_Dark_Is_Rising

[queenofattolia.livejournal.com]

This makes me want to cry. If Henson and company had retained the rights and made the film, it might have been good.

Now what we'll get is a 15-year-old Walker who is afraid of "losing his soul," and the complete deletion of the pre-Christian solar cross Signs, which were essential in the book. No, Walden Media doesn't have a fundamentalist Christian agenda AT ALL.

I hope to God it tanks, and tanks hard.

[shangrilaur.livejournal.com]

Somehow I never got around to reading anything by Pullman... but now I feel like I kind of have to :)

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

I really liked "The Ruby in the Smoke," the first of his Sally Lockhart books, but the second one made me so mad that, while I finished it, I could never bring myself to read any further than two pages into the third book.

[thea-scooter.livejournal.com]

If Kristen Bell ends up on Lost, I'll actually start watching it again.

[rosetapestry.livejournal.com]

Although I hear now that Lyra's Oxford is supposed to be a bridge between the trilogy and a new upcoming book called The Book of Dust, so I'm not giving up hope.

...that will either be completely awesome, or possibly ruin everything. I shall hope for the former.

*goes off to squee over blog and desktops*

[londonsparrow.livejournal.com]

I read it (but didn't buy it because I'm dumb), and... well, "bridge" is a good way to put it, because I wouldn't say there was a lot of solid story in it itself. There's a short story about Lyra before the events of The Golden Compass, and many other bits and bobs (notes, maps) that Pullman chucked in there. It's almost like looking at his notes for ideas he may write, but no clue how and if they'll connect to the HDM world.
If anything, it's a very pretty little book (bound in red cloth).

[londonsparrow.livejournal.com]

Somehow I find it worthy of squee that Stelmaria and Daniel Craig appear to have matching eyes.
And Cleo, you probably already know this, but there are some good links over at The Costumer's Guide to very good detail pics of some of the movie clothes (particularly Serafina).

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Hee, yes to the eyes. And I think I actually contributed one of the Serafina costume links, although I'm a bit behind just now on the most recent updates.

[notemily.livejournal.com]

I would just like to point out that Carla Gugino is a mere seven years older than the woman playing her daughter. I hate Hollywood. :P

[theatre-angel.livejournal.com]

I will never be able to think of Rush Hour 2 the same way again.

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

MOO HA HA.

[emerald-skies.livejournal.com]

Hans Zimmer didn't score The Simpsons! Danny Elfman does! It says so in the show's credits...or wait...did you mean the movie? If you meant the movie, than I have fuck all clue who scored that.

[elbales]

What did Rowling and Pullman do right that poor Susan Cooper obviously did wrong, that she doesn't have filmmakers devoted to capturing the Pure and Sacred Essence of her work?

Uh... not win Newbery Awards?

Srsly.

Cooper: 1 win, 1 runner-up
Rowling: 0
Pullman: 0

I rest my case.

[elbales]

NB: Someone posted to IMDB with a good round-up of links on the travesty that is the DiR movie.

Yeah.

[lyrainverse.livejournal.com]

Good god, I am reaching LotR-levels of excitement for Golden Compass. In fact, I feel that I may surpass those levels as the months go by. Lee looks perfect, even if I did think of Hester as brown. She was described as scrappy-looking, so I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that she looks, well, scrawny.

The only thing I have reservations about is Dakota Richards' acting skills. Let's hope she's more Dakota Fanning (shut up, she was really good in I Am Sam) than Emma Watson as far as first movies go.

I really must revive my Golden Compass icon. Are you planning on making any that I might steal?

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

Hmm--depending on the images that come out, probably. That is, if anything awesome comes out that looks iconable. As for Dakota Richards--I wasn't sure about her... until the part(s) in the new trailer where she spits. And that's when I knew she'd be okay. Heh.

[kismeteve.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure where I read this, but I think the golden monkey's name is "Ozymandias". (That name could be from the stage version, actually.)

[cleolinda.livejournal.com]

It must be the stage version, because Wikipedia claims the name is never mentioned, and I know that name would have jumped out at me if I'd seen it in my reread this week (since Ozymandias is also a character in Watchmen). What an odd choice--that is, wouldn't that pretty much be the only daemon name to have a real-world namesake?

[delilahbrown.livejournal.com]

Kristen Bell joining LOST would make my life.

[word-herder.livejournal.com]

From ComingSoon.net article:

So we said, "We can turn this into the Spider-Pig Contata." We just sort of made it up very very quickly. I never played it to them, because there wasn't really any room in the movie for it, and then one day, things were a little tense all around and I thought we needed a laugh and said, "Hey, have a listen to this." And I put up "Spider-Pig Contata" and Jim said, "Why is the funniest thing in our movie not in our movie?" So we figured out that maybe Spider-Pig had a longer life than just me amusing myself.

From my resourceful husband, I give you the Spider Pig Cantata (http://www.spikedhumor.com/articles/116619/Spider_Pig_Choir_Song_from_the_SoundTrack.html).

It's hilarious in a rather spooky way.

Zimmer the Sly!

[chris-walsh.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the Hans Zimmer Simpsons link. I remember how a year ago the Ain't It Cool News people acted all scandalized that Zimmer had been hired for the flick (http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=23277), and that I was amused by their scandalization; I also wrote about why I thought Zimmer was a good choice (http://chris-walsh.livejournal.com/103588.html). I'm glad he's doing more interviews now: he can show his sly side more than he does in his scores...

(I may have sent you that link once before, but I felt it was worth repeating.)

[lauramcvey.livejournal.com]

Susan Cooper had the misfortune to fall into the hands of people trying to leech off the fantasy craze. Adaptations are very hit-and-miss; Anne Rice had Interview made, which was excellent, and Exit to Eden, which was . . . not. And then there was Queen of the Damned which, among various other atrocites, turned Nicki into some random gypsy chick. I still refuse to forgive them for it. If I ever get published, I will only sell he rights to my stuff to people I trust to not fuck up.

[lotusbiosm.livejournal.com]

To be fair, I think it's much harder to properly adapt Exit to Eden for a mainstream audience than Interview with a Vampire. Which is why they probably shouldn't have tried.

[pottersues.livejournal.com]

People like this (http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyid=2007-08-08T132307Z_01_WEL75563_RTRUKOC_0_US-NEWZEALAND-NAME-ODD.xml) are the reasons behind the existence of pottersues.

[particle-person.livejournal.com]

Cleo, ursulav is trying to gauge interest (serious, actual, I-will-buy-this interest) in her forthcoming line of soaps with custom boxes, so there's a poll:

if you're interested in any of the Elder Soap (http://ellenmillion.livejournal.com/702791.html) [as in Lovecraft], Naked Mole Rat Soap (http://ellenmillion.livejournal.com/703375.html), or Savage Orange (http://ellenmillion.livejournal.com/703052.html), boogie on over to Ellen's poll (http://ellenmillion.livejournal.com/706533.html) and let her know!