Sara Ossana: On Collecting

Check out Sara’s guest blog today for New England Home Magazine ‘On Collecting’ http://www.nehomemag.com/blog/sara-ossana-collecting

Photo courtesy of soane.org

Comic Books, from Page to Screen

Comic books and their denser counter parts, Graphic Novels have been adapted into everything from Movies and Television Series to Broadway Plays.  With the upcoming releases of Thor: The Dark World, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, Captain America: The Winter Soldier and The Amazing Spider-Man 2, we were curious how and why this genre and their adapted films, have reached such unimaginably large audiences and revenue. 

Recently we asked producer and writer friend of ours, Damian Dydyn, to talk with the co-star of his upcoming web-series Selene Hollow, Doug Sobon.  Staring as Augie, an odd obsessed man, running a comic book shop out of his living room; Doug was able to channel his life long passion of comics, into creating a character with the perfect balance of off-beat quirkiness and an intimate knowledge of a very complex world.

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Damian:  Doug, thank you for taking the time to chat with me, how have you been?  What have you been up to since we wrapped on Selene Hollow?

Doug:  Hi Damian, it’s my pleasure, thanks for having me.  Well, since we last worked together I’ve been really busy with writing and pre-production work for my upcoming web-series Occ the Skeptical Caveman.  We start principle photography in three days, so I’m very excited.  Outside that, the little free time I have has involved video games and catching up on my TV shows and Films.

I just saw Man of Steel.  I know a lot of people have been critical of the film, and probably for good reason, but I’m an unapologetic, non-critical hyper-fan of comic movies, and watch them often, over and over.  For me, the escapism and fantasy is therapeutic and I really enjoy the different spin they put on some of my beloved childhood heroes.

Damian:  I agree.  Even when a comic book movie isn’t very good, I can often still enjoy it for the escape it provides.  The very premise of a superhero movie is unrealistic and forces you to leave the real world behind as the story plays out.  It takes you to a place where you have to accept that anything is possible before the opening credits are finished.  In fact, these movies do a better job of leaving me in a creative mood than any other kind of movie.  So tell me, where and when did your love for this genre spring into being?

Doug:  Well, I saw Richard Donner’s Superman when it was originally released, I think I may have been four years old and I’m pretty sure I was a Superman fan before that, so very early on.  Of course, it was a while before comic heroes got a another film of that quality.  As a child, when I would play, I was always pretending to be extraordinary in some way, super strength, invisibility, I learned the word “teleportation” when I was less than ten (thanks Nightcrawler!)  It’s funny to think about now, because my best friend and I would play together, he was always a sports star, while I opted for alien with superhuman powers.

Damian:  I suppose that’s one of the reasons you act.  You can still play an alien with super powers as an adult without the social stigma attached to someone who runs up and down the streets of their neighborhood, with a towel wrapped around their shoulders making laser sounds and exploding noises.

Doug:  Well, I still do that too, but yes, the acting is more socially acceptable.

Damian:  Earlier you mentioned Man of Steel.  I also enjoyed it, though I do understand the criticism.  One of the most insightful comments I’ve seen written about the movie is that it broke the unspoken contract we have with Superman as an audience.  Superman doesn’t just save us, he protects us.

The distinction is that saving is more about the big moments and individuals.  Lois Lane falls from a building and he catches her just before she hits the pavement, or Jimmy Olsen dangles from a crumbling dam and Superman scoops him up just as he slips.  Behind those moments, however, he protects the world from catastrophic doom.  In Donner’s Superman he manages to rewind and undo the quake that destroyed California.  In Superman 2 he draws the Kryptonians away from Metropolis to minimize the damage to the city and the people that inhabit it.  In Man of Steel however, Metropolis is leveled.

Superman saves people like Lois and Perry White, but he fails to protect the city.  It didn’t feel like Superman to many people.  Personally, I think the biggest issue is that we didn’t have a dichotomy between Superman and Clark Kent.  Clark is Superman’s mask.  It’s sort of backwards from most heroes who wear a mask to protect their civilian identity.  Clark is also a glimpse into how Superman views humanity.  Good, wholesome, and utterly helpless.  It’s the biggest example of Superman’s hubris and that was lacking in this film making him feel entirely alien.  Even still, it was a fun action movie with wonderful special effects, and the boys who played young Clark did a phenomenal job.  So I still had a lot of fun despite the flaws.

Doug:  That’s actually the one criticism I could bring myself to admit.  The big effects, building smashing, ultimate battle in the city could have worked along those lines had Superman made every attempt to pull Zod away from the major population – but failed, or even a couple of shots of him zipping off to rescue people from falling debris before returning to confront Zod again.  I didn’t mind the exclusion of Clark so much.  I thought the retelling of his relationship with Lois Lane and that fact that she recognizes him through the impenetrable disguise of a pair of glasses did need to be updated.

So Superman first, then Clark.  I would have liked to see more of him of course, but I imagine he’ll be quite prominent in the sequel.  But you’re right, outside Kryptonite he’s invincible, his only weakness being his obsession with protecting others, something on which Luthor often capitalized.  That being said, I’ve seen it three times and really, thoroughly enjoyed it.  Hell, I even enjoyed Superman Returns.  Don’t judge me.  I watched Smallville for it’s entire run, fully aware of the fact that it could be described as sub-standard at best.  But slap that S on some farm boy type and I’m probably going to watch and enjoy it.

Damian:  I thought I was the only adult on the planet who stuck with Smallville up to the schlocky end.  I was also fine with redefining his relationship with Lois, and honestly, I prefer taking previously used characters and trying new things.  I just don’t think the approach in Man of Steel worked as well as they wanted it to.  I like the idea of a Superman who has more flaws than a glowing green rock and a superiority complex.

Alright, let’s transition to that old cliché no interview about favorite movies would be complete without.  If you were stranded on a desert island and could bring only one superhero movie with you, which one would it be?

Doug:  Easy, V for Vendetta.  It happens to be my favorite movie of all time.  Hugo Weaving was absolutely brilliant and pulled off that role without ever showing us his face.  I’m also a big fan of any revenge story, and the parallels with my favorite novel, The Count of Monte Cristo, only enhanced my love for the film.  The political statements, the allusion to Nazi rule, the call to revolt after years of complacency, and a massively obsessed, even psychotic hero all blended together so beautifully.

Alan Moore, who wrote the original graphic novel is, quite frankly, a genius.  His redefinition of the graphic novel is unsurpassed, in my opinion.  Many of his works have gone on to become great films.  His extreme distaste for Hollywood has kept him from ever viewing an adaptation of his work.  It’s a small irony because the Watchmen was nearly a panel for panel recreation, probably the most faithful adaptation ever made.

Watchmen Panels

Damian:  Except for the ending, though I can understand not being comfortable with selling the idea of a giant mutated squid popping into existence in New York City and killing millions of people with a psychic blast.  For me, it would be down to a coin flip between the first Iron Man and The Avengers.  Iron Man blew me away.  I wasn’t expecting it to be anywhere near as good as it was, and I could watch Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark all day.  The Avengers is, well, a shiny example of just about everything Joss Whedon does well and I’m an unabashed Joss fanboy.  If pressed to choose, I would probably go with The Avengers, though, since I get my Stark fix along with my hit of Joss.

Joss Whedon on the set of The Avengers

Doug:  Loved them both, completely.  In fact, the entire “first phase” of the Marvel move to films was just awesome.  Once in a while I treat myself to a marathon culminating in The Avengers, which was a brilliant success when it could have fallen flat in so many ways.  So yeah, props to Whedon on that one.

Damian:  Let’s flip this on its head.  What is the worst adaptation you’ve seen so far on the big screen?  I’ll jump in quickly to say that Daredevil was it for me.

Growing up there were three books I read religiously.  Captain America was one, The Amazing Spider-Man was another, and yes that includes the Ben Reilly run, and of course Daredevil.  Spider-man was the most fun to read and Cap satisfied that little flame of patriotism every kid had drilled into their heads at school back then, but Daredevil was something different for me.

He first caught my eye because the emblem on his chest was my initials, and he was in a red suit with devil horns.  Growing up with the name Damian, most of my nicknames played off of the devil somehow, especially in Catholic school.  So I took to reading his books quickly and was immediately drawn in by the idea of a blind superhero.  It was fascinating to me, and seeing him constantly getting beat up and broken while saving the day was also refreshing.  There were immediate personal consequences for his decision to fight crime.  It made him more real than the other heroes I had seen.

When the movie came out, even though I wasn’t a big fan of Ben Affleck playing Matt Murdock, I liked seeing him in pain early in the film.  The addiction to pain killers was a wonderful touch.  Then it fell off the rails.  The grittiness that made the comic book so good was eschewed in favor of an over the top Elektra, a jovial socialite version of The Kingpin and a plot that made very little sense.  It was a huge blow as it was an early entry in the Marvel universe and made me wonder if films like Spider-man and X-men were going to end up outliers.  Thankfully, that didn’t end up being the case, but Daredevil had me worried for a while.  What would be your big flop?

Doug:  Well, the 70s-80s produced a host of truly horrific comic adaptations.  Spiderman and Captain America most notably.  They’re actually good to watch now for the pure, unintended comedy they provide, but man those were awful.  I don’t think it’s fair to count those, though.  They had shoestring budgets and no one working on the projects seemed to even be familiar with the original material.

In recent years, I would have to say Ghost Rider.  Before even seeing it you wonder how a motorcycle rider with a flaming skull for a head, delivering justice, is going to avoid a high level of corniness.  Well, the portrayal was pretty weak, and the whole thing was just lackluster.  But it pales in comparison to it’s sequel, which is firmly at the top of my list.  So many flaws I don’t have time to go through them, but a truly awful film.  And for me to say that about a comic book movie, that really is something.  But I’ll add another category:  biggest disappointment.  For a film that was capping off a phenomenal (so far) trilogy X-men 3 was a let down of Lucasesque proportions.  Two wonderful films preceded that dung heap.  It was good news indeed to hear that Bryan Singer is working very hard to, ahem, underplay some of the terrible choices made in the film.  Not as bad as the Ghost Rider films, but the personal slight I felt for X:III was definitely more acute.

Damian:  Last Stand was a close runner up for me.  Likewise, Spider-man 3 did a terrible job of following up two excellent films and it didn’t even have the excuse of hiring Brett Ratner.  Let’s try looking ahead.  There is a Guardians of the Galaxy adaptation about to start filming, for which Karen Gillan shaved her head, and there are plans to try and develop films for Black Cat, Deathlok, Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Silver Surfer, Sub-Mariner, Venom, Black Panther, Ant-man, Deadpool and even Runaways.  What property would you be most excited about seeing an adaptation for?

Doug: Oh, I would absolutely love to see The Silver Surfer get the adaptation he deserves, instead of a supporting role like last time, and more Galactus please!  I’ve always loved the grand cosmic scale on which his stories took place, and the Godlike power he wielded.  He’s also a tragic character which makes him all the more appealing to me.  With Nolan and Whedon, the bar for comic adaptations has been raised quite high.  I think in the next run through SS will be presented to us with more respect for the material.  I’m optimistic like that.

Damian: I think Runaways is the one that I’m most interested in.  It’s a really interesting premise and it doesn’t have such a huge following that they would be compelled to play it safe with the material.  There’s some potential for some really bold story telling there, and they could even try to cover some ground that The Hunger Games teased at but failed to deliver on.  Specifically, the idea of children committing violence to survive.  So, of the comic book movies currently in production, which one excites you the most?  Marvel has The Amazing Spider-man 2, The Avengers: Age of Ultron, Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Thor: The Dark World and Big Hero 6 which is an animated feature they are working with Disney on.  DC has recently hinted at a Batman Superman team up, or possibly a Batman vs Superman film and have green lit a Man of Steel sequel, but don’t have much else that looks immanent.  What jumps out at you?

Doug: Yeah, I can’t say I’m familiar with Runaways.  I’ll have to brush up on that.  But man, when I heard about the promo hinting at a Batman/Superman film, I giggle like a child.  That is, Bale’s Batman, I hope.  I’ve been following the gossip, and it appears he’s open to the idea, even if his signing on hasn’t been officially announced.  He and Henry Cavill together on screen in those characters would just be epic.  I think this would be far preferable than a Justice League film, at least before the other characters have some established screen time, like the Avengers model.  Even then, some of the characters just seem, I don’t know, problematic for a modern film?  But a film focusing on these two and their divergent world views?  I would lose my mind.  There is so much great material to draw from.  It’s all there in decades of comics.  I even recall a particularly astounding graphic novel where Superman has his ass handed to him by an amped-up aged Batman.  Though I think we should wait before recreating Miller’s masterpiece.

Damian: Batman vs Superman would be incredible to see on screen, especially I they can get Bale back for the role.  If I had to pick one that I’m most excited for, however, it’s probably Thor: The Dark World.  Chris Hemsworth managed to take Thor from the “take him or leave him” level to a must watch character.  I never got into Thor as a stand alone comic, but the first Thor movie was epic fun and made him a character I could actually relate to.  I’m really looking forward to seeing what he does with the role in the sequel.  I’m still not quite sold on Ultron as the villain in the next Avengers movie, but I trust Joss Whedon and I’m sure it’ll end up being a great ride, but Thor has me invested in a way I was absolutely not expecting.  Honestly, I’m just grateful that we have so many to choose from.  It’s a golden age for comic book fans.

Doug: Yeah, how great was Thor?  I was sure that one would fall flat on it’s face, but Hemsworth is so damned charismatic you just fall in love with him.  And the realization of Asgard was just breathtaking, can’t wait to see more of that.  Last I heard, Thanos was to be the big bad in the next Avengers film, didn’t know they were going with Ultron.  Interesting, but you’re right, they really haven’t let us down yet with that franchise, so I’m sure I’ll love it.

Damian: Thank you for taking the time to talk to me about all this, Doug.  We appreciate you taking the time from the production for Occ to chat with us.

Doug: It’s been my pleasure.

If you’ve seen any of these films or have a favorite (or least) we’ve missed, we’d love to hear about your experience.  Don’t forget to LIKE us on Facebook, FOLLOW us on Twitter, and SUBSCRIBE to our Blog for all the latest news and updates.

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Larry McMurtry: May the Books Flourish!

Larry wrote a piece for The Daily Beast today and we have it here for you… Enjoy!

“For writer Larry McMurtry, auctioning off part of his vast book collection was bittersweet, but they are off on a new adventure in the hands of new readers. He writes to urge readers to support a film on Kickstarter documenting this remarkable sale.”

Art of various kinds is often expensive, and filmmaking especially so. Thousands of gifted filmmakers, young and old, have waited hat in hand at the studio gates, only to be turned away with nothing.

That’s why Kickstarter and like organizations—which secure funding through donations from people with an interest in art-to-be—are a healthy and adventurous way to go. Let the studios eat cake, as a famous lady once said.

Writing prose, on the other hand, is a solitary endeavor (unless one has a fine writing partner, as do I). And as such, it’s not very expensive. Paper, a typewriter, and a place to write is all I needed; that is, until I was given a laptop computer.

I came to the world of computers at least 20 years late, thus missing whole generations of pods, tablets, and the like, which is too bad. Diana Ossana, my writing partner and close friend, purchased a MacBook for me recently, at my request. I let it sit for six months and then made a cautious approach to the keyboard, as one might approach a wary woman. I respect it greatly, and though I work at it every day, we are not yet on familiar terms. But maybe, if time allows, I’ll improve.

At present, the fledgling artistic project nearest to my heart is a worthy one called “BOOKS, A Documentary,” a film about my own passion for books, a passion that led me to create a book town in my home place of Archer City, Texas.

At its peak, my book town harbored between 500,000 and 600,000 volumes, not counting my own 28,000 volume personal library. I love my books, all of them. Holding them in my hands, leafing through the pages, is a comfort to me. But this is a lot of books: my son and grandson might not be so inclined as to simply sit and appreciate their presence.

So, I held an auction in Archer City over three scorching summer days in August 2012 to reduce the burden of books that might be left to my heirs, should I depart before my inventory does. I managed, during said auction, to launch two-thirds of said inventory back out into the world, all taking up residence with new and enthusiastic owners. The adventures of those books will be documented, should the smart young filmmakers have their way.

It’s been a bittersweet experience for me, parting with my beloved stock, but they’ve been given a second life, on bookshelves and in storefronts all across America.

The filmmakers are my goddaughter Sara Ossana and her husband Mathew Provost. May they–and the books–flourish! — Larry McMurtry

Support Books by becoming a backer –http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/studioseven7films/books-a-documentary-take-2

The Top 5 Cities for Pop-up Libraries Across America

The world is more mobile now with smart sensors and wearable technology embedding themselves into every aspect of our lives.  As a result, people are increasingly rediscovering the original mobile device – the book.  It’s completely secure, doesn’t mind being dropped and never runs out of power.  As Ray Bradbury pointed out, it can even survive temperatures up to 450 degrees F.

As we enter the second decade of the 21^st century, we have begun to see the real world equivalent of the ubiquitous app store is something called a “pop-up library.”  People who love books are transforming vestigial cultural icons into mini-libraries for the exchange of books.  In the Netherlands, a shipping container has become a friendly green children’s library.  In Bulgaria, a trolly bus has transformed into a book nook with 600 books and cozy chairs for reading.  Perhaps the most poignant example is Argentina’s Weapon of Mass Instruction, a tank filled with books as a mobile library and cultural commentary.

Pop up libraries like these are appearing all over the US as well, as another generation discovers just how cool books are.  Here are five of the more ambitious projects in cities across the country.

1. New York – When you hear the name John Locke, do you think of the 17^th century English philosopher or Jack’s mystical antagonist on ‘Lost’?  Actually, he is also an architect who has built pop up libraries in abandoned New York phone booths.  Locke’s project is open ended but his site points out that there are almost 14,000 pay phone booths in NYC.  No one knows where books will be popping up next.

2. Orlando – Even smaller cities like Florida’s Amusement City have been dabbling in displays of books as sharable art.  The Corridor Project installed boxes of books all over the city for residents to “take it or leave it.”  Is it art or public service?  It doesn’t have to be a choice.

3. Chicago – The “Second City” hasn’t been second in size or population for a long time, but it is right behind New York in terms of pop up libraries.  The Chicago Underground Library has launched popups all over the city, with displays of printed treasures going back more than 100 years.

4. Austin – Texas represents the past in terms of cattle drives and outlaws, but Austin is a different animal.  Thanks to the University of Texas, Austin has become a little Hollywood and mini-Silicon Valley.  At the annual SXSW festival, Austin has introduced new technology like Twitter and Foursquare.  Popups of all kinds, including popup libraries, have been a staple at SXSW for years.

5. San Francisco – Newspaper stands are another rapidly disappearing cultural artifact as print has moved online.  Once a day is too slow for the contemporary news cycle, so newspaper stands have been converted into pop up libraries by the San Francisco Public Library.

If you’ve been to any of these pop up libraries or have plans to start one in your own city, we’d love to hear about your experience.

~ Mathew

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5 Books every American should read…

In celebration of Independence Day, we asked Larry if he would give us a list of the 5 books he thinks every American should read, here is what he said:

One of the fun things to do in a well-stocked bookshop such as the one shown in this lovely, haunting documentary is to create Best Book Lists.  I was working on a history of these harmless exercises for Barbara Epstein, a great woman of letters and editor for The New York Review of Books, when she passed away.

Here’s a sampler of five great books every American should, at the very least, hold in their hand and browse:

“The Journals of Lewis and Clark,” by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark – the journey Lewis and Clark made across North America in 1806 helped secure for us much of the continent. It is also a robust work of literature.

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“Awakenings,” by Oliver Sacks – a tragic account of those victims of the l9l8 Spanish flu epidemic who didn’t die, but instead slept their lives away.

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“Huckleberry Finn,” by Mark Twain – the book Hemingway said all American literature derives from; he was far from wrong.

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“The Sun Also Rises,” by Ernest Hemingway – the novel that set a new high standard for American prose.

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“V,” by Thomas Pynchon – the great book of the Seventies generation.

—Larry McMurtry

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