Surfacing just briefly to say that I’m plugging away at the script book right now … will have more to say on that next month.
Meanwhile, courtesy of Talk Talk, here’s some advice that never fades:
Roger Corman, 1926—2024
I never met Roger Corman, but I did once get a nice email from his assistant. I had reached out to him because Wyott Ordung, credited for Robot Monster’s script, directed one of Corman’s earliest features Monster from the Ocean Floor (1954). A pretty decent movie for its budget, I believe, even if the monster could have been better. The windy, oceanside atmosphere of the movie gave it a certain something that put it above a number of the cheap ‘50s monster movies.
In any case, Roger Corman was a real force of nature in how he got so many movies completed and successfully released on low budgets, while jumpstarting the careers of so many in the film industry. And, by the way, his 1990 autobiography is a great read. Here’s a Monster from the Ocean Floor preview:
Rest in peace.
Summer Book Update
Since we’re already going into February June, here’s an update. I’m working, and shall be for a while, on the Phil Tucker script book (which is on for this fall). I’ll surface and have more to say about that in a couple months. Stay tuned …
Blogging for Film Masters in 2023
During this now closing year of 2023, I’ve had the honor of writing blog pieces for Film Masters. This is a recently formed company that is getting some great classic monster releases out there on Blu Ray. I can’t think of a better way to close out the year here and look forward to 2024 than by mentioning them, and here’s a piece I wrote for their blog about Christmas ghost movies.
Brief Writing Update
Everything intended for 2023 is shifting into this impending year of 2024. Expect some updates on the Phil Tucker script book along the way to a publication later in the year. And new fiction projects are on the way. Will be back in February … best wishes to all for a wonderful New Year!
Holding Pattern
Writing work continues in the material world. Meanwhile, here’s this fun TV performance by Robyn Hitchcock. There was nothing quite like ‘80s alternative rock when it was alternative, and the host of this show was clearly having fun introducing the band:
“Man or Ro-Man” Short Film
Matthew Muhl is a filmmaker and writer who has been keeping the Robot Monster flame alive with his script Man or Ro-Man, for which he was kind enough to ask me for input. Matthew has assembled a creative little short film that previews some of Man or Ro-Man, which I believe he’s working on presenting as a theatrical play. It’s now up on YouTube, so please check it out, give it a like, and spread the word!
Hobbit Rock, Part V
From postpunk, the hobbit rock thread can be traced onward to later in the same decade. A mellow strain of alternative rock began to emerge in the mid-1980s, or so it seemed to some of us in America. I suspect that in Britain, funnily enough, much British music seemed mainstream. And this example, courtesy of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions, fits the jangly guitar sound that was more and more common then.
I like this song, and the banter at the end is amusing, but I’ve got another reason to like this video. I can’t quite remember, yet I’m convinced that I owned Lloyd’s shirt in junior high school.
Bonus video: Back in 1968, Leonard Nimoy graced the world with this lighthearted ode to a hobbit. This is not postpunk or alt rock, but it is quite literally hobbit rock.
This Year’s Posts, Script Book Set for 2023
And I’ve been absent from here for a while. Probably my longest absence, in fact. Been having a year of what expert writer Dean Wesley Smith calls “life rolls,” and the old schedule has been thrown seriously out of alignment. Some bloggers have streaks, and lately my blogging streak has been absences.
Anyway, onward …
These three posts will be it for this year. A lot of stuff going on behind the scenes, and I’ll be back in January. And, specifically:
- The script book for Phil Tucker’s Space Jockey is planned for 2023.
- A number of other writing projects are set for 2023.
Stay tuned …
Hobbit Rock, Part IV
Another year, and blogging has been too infrequent around here. There will clearly be much more Hobbit Rock work to be done in 2022. In the meantime, here is an easy one.
As my previous Hobbit Rock post showed, all the Joy Division influence in northern England could not extinguish the Hobbit Rock flame. Like a stubborn Viking invader, it merely moved north to Scotland and never left the island. And here’s a further ‘80s Scottish example of Hobbit Rock to follow up “All About You” by Scars. This is one that everyone knows, but here in a fantastic live performance:
RUNESTAD WRITES 