- John Cribbs at The Pink Smoke takes an in-depth look at Made in USA and The Jugger: http://t.co/6wCwEbVT #
- Jimmy Callaway at Criminal Complex–The Posthumous Donald Westlake: It’s All Bullshit
http://t.co/rLpoJfUp # - Statham on Parker: “Great script, great characters. And that’s the direction I really want to go in now. Thinking-man’s action, you know?” #
- Richard Stark in space? http://t.co/q6kiaF2t #
- Port Vila Blues, the first of Garry Disher's Wyatt series of Parker pastiches, returns to print in the States on 8/21: http://t.co/o0qLSanW #
- Director Park Chan-wook (Oldboy) plans to direct an English-language version of Donald Westlake's The Ax: http://t.co/O4LNriNu #
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News for week ending 2012-05-12 |
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Apparently U of C will publish a new edition of Flashfire in January to coincide with the new film, and it will be called Parker, like the film. Seems pretty dumb, since Flashfire is still in print. Do they think people are so stupid they can’t deduce the film is based on Flashfire even though it’ll say so in the opening credits?
Also, Cooke’s The Hunter adaptation will be reprinted in time for the film’s opening and it’ll say “Now a major motion picture” on the cover even though it is not the book the film is based on. What the heck’s going on? Has everybody lost their mind?
Sorry you think it’s a bad idea, as it was mine!.
Well, not really mine. I suggested a movie tie-in edition in the style that used to be quite common but isn’t really these days, and they told me that they had already thought of that and were considering it. Great minds think alike, or maybe not-so-great minds. ;)
Who knows how prominent the credit in the film might be? Also, it presents an opportunity to get the book at brick-and-mortar stores on the “new release” tables out front and at airport bookstores, where some impulse buyers may pick it up and discover the series.
As it likely won’t be a huge print run, it also may make a nice collectors item further down the line.
I wasn’t aware of the IDW reprint. I hope it’s as an affordable paperback. The hardcovers are beautiful, but I’d really like to see an option more for the regular Joe.
These books seem huge in our world, but they really don’t bring in that much money. Opportunities to market and expand the audience need to be taken advantage of. A reasonably high-profile movie adaptation is one such opportunity. A lot of folks discovered the books through the reprints, including the tie-in edition of The Hunter, that came out when Payback was released.
I guess I’m grown up enough to understand the marketing issues concerned, Trent. And I am on board with getting new people to the table. I love the books enough to believe anyone who casually picks one up and has even a fleeting interest in crime fiction will become a convert. The collecter’s item aspect is cool now that you mention it–let’s hope U of C at least redesigns the cover and does not just change the title; maybe a cool picture of Statham holding a gun or something, to make it at least a little more enticing for us who already own it to order another edition.
I haven’t seen it (and don’t even know if the cover’s finished yet), but the original concept was something along those lines.
I know they originally had something in mind more than just changing the title. I suspect it will be more like (small letters) Flashfire, Inspiration for (big letters)Parker starring Jason Statham. Maybe with a shot of the movie poster or a glossy of Statham like the tie-in edition of Payback.
But I don’t really know yet.
I guess that would pass as a collector’s item. I know Point Blank and Payback were movie tie-ins. The Split obviously as well. I’m not sure if The Outfit or Slayground got an official tie in and I’m feeling too lazy to check;-) lol
Anybody remember the Bond movie tie-ins? They were novelizations of the screenplay! Moonraker, I know, was one. I think The Spy Who Loved Me was also one. They forgot the original books altogether.
By the way, Trent, I enjoyed your letter to the editor in the Cine Du Mart free Kindle magazine. So you’re knowledgeable on Japanese cinema and the Lone Wolf and Cub stories as well? Wow, you are pretty eclectic! I read the First comics reprints of Lone Wolf and Cub back in the 80’s–the ones with the Frank Miller covers, but that’s the extent of my knowledge on that subject.
To David Plante
There was definitely a novelisation of The Spy Who Loved Me, written by Christopher Wood. That’s “definitely” as in I have a copy.
There was nothing from Fleming’s novel in The Spy Who Loved Me, and almost no Fleming in Moonraker, so I guess that’s why they did novelisations.
Thanks for the confirmation, David! Yeah, I guess the Producers of the films thought they’d blow too many minds if someone decided to buy a copy of the book after seeing the film and the characters/plot didn’t match. Original Spy had no Stromberg, Jaws, Agent XXX. Didn’t even have a water sequence, if memory serves. Bond films in the 70’s were kind of about cashing in on fads. Jaws lead to Spy, Star Wars lead to Moonraker. At least Bond kind of returned to form in For Your Eyes Only.
Hallo MrWells Would it be possible to order ahntoer Sportsman association pin badge as I seem to have lost or miss placed my original one, and let me know the cost, and Iwill add it to the renewal payment when my good lady phones.Yours Sincerely B.Bruton.
Of the Bonds I read, the film versions of Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger and Thunderball were all recognizable versions of the books. You Only Live Twice, Diamonds Are Forever, Live and Let Die and Moonraker, very little to nothing.
The only non-Fleming Bond I ever read was Colonel Sun by Kingsley Amis writing as Robert Markham. That was a long time ago but I remember it as being pretty good. Anybody have any idea why, of the many post Fleming Bonds that have been written, NONE of them have been adapted into film?
Double Daves:
I used to have (and may still have) both those novelizations, too.
According to The Book Bond, the novelization of The Spy Who Loved Me is actually good.
http://www.thebookbond.com/p/bibliography.html#uds-search-results
Update: Co-blogger Nick might want to take a look at those hardcovers at the link, if he hasn’t seen them before.