Take the ten minutes to watch Keith Olbermann eviscerate the Bush administration. This may well go down as one of THE memorable commentaries of the Bush era of disingenuousness and attack politics.
Clock with an eggtimer how long it takes the Daily Show or Colbert to have him on as a guest.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9g8fzNSOrY
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Just letting you guys know that at http://www.jkwoodward.com, J.K. has added several of his painted pieces from Fallen Angel issues 1-5, and also lowered the page price to $75 for art pages that don’t feature the Fallen Angel in them.
Check it out.
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Remember how I was talking about how Max Allan Collins could have done a far better job on the George Reeves murder in a Heller novel? Well, Al Collins dropped me a line, and among other things, said the following (quoted with his permission):
The last Heller proposal I put together was about a Reeves novel. It was
declined by Penguin, who didn’t pick up the Heller option; and then I
shelved Heller myself to pursue the prose PERDITION sequels. Along the way,
however, I pitched a Reeves murder graphic novel to DC, specifically Dan
DiDio (about two years ago). Dan seemed intrigued, but they ultimately
turned it down, not wanting to be connected to anything having to do with
this particular historical incident.
I liked HOLLYWOODLAND, and thought Affleck was surprisingly good (that’s the
general take on his performance). But I think I could have done it better.
I had substantial research gathered, but I doubt I can do that novel now —
maybe I could do a novella version somewhere….
With all respect to the esteemed Mr. Collins, I disagree. I think he not only can do the novel now, but should, because I think there’s a market for it. And don’t go telling me he should publish it on the web: Screw that. I’d like to see a publisher step up and take it on. Regular novel, graphic novel, I don’t care. I want to see Nate Heller tackle the Reeves case.
So hey, publishers: Award winning novelist and writer of “Road to Perdition” with a marketable idea ready to go, sure to pique the interest of comics fans. Who wants to get it done?
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…and fixing all the comments and display problems. Should be all better now. And just so you know, going on vacation without my laptop wasn’t my idea.
John M. Ford (“Mike” to friends) passed away abruptly last night. An accomplished writer of fantasy, SF and RPGs, many fans will remember him for two of the best Trek novels ever, “How Much For Just the Planet” and “The Final Reflection.”
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Part 2 of the three parter involving the showdown with Singularity Investigations. Whad’ja think?
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Al Collins does a terrific series of books about a detective named Nate Heller. Sharing his memoirs of his greatest cases with us, Heller was an active participant in such famous cases as the kidnapping of the Lindbergh baby. Although he does nothing to change the historical facts or outcomes, Heller’s tales invariably provide solid resolutions and eye-opening perspectives.
Kathleen and I came out of “Hollywoodland” and all I could think was that the script desperately needed Al Collins to come in and do a rewrite. We witness two storylines: The struggle of George Reeves with his perception that his career had stalled while forces that could him harm gather round him, and a noirish detective, Louis Simo, hired to investigate. The acting is brilliant all around, and the direction is solid, but the vagueness of the script betrays all participants. An attempt to say something profound about the price of fame nibbles around the edges of the story, but really, it’s no point that hasn’t been made elsewhere and better. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that there’s no resolution: Not to the mystery of who killed Reeves and not to the resolution to Simo’s emotional journey.
The observation could be made that, since we don’t know what happened in real life, the movie is likewise hamstrung. Except, as noted, Al Collins tackles this kind of challenge all the time and routinely produces stories that hew to the truth while simultaneously coming up with satisfying conclusions all around. That’s because he takes a solid point of view, something very much lacking in the wishy-washy script of “Hollywoodland.”
I would love to see Al Collins tackle the Reeves murder (the book “Hollywood Kryptonite,” along with conversations I’ve had with Noel Neill, convinced me it wasn’t suicide). People might claim that “Hollywoodland” covered the same material; but at least Collins would cover it well.
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