Recently James Cameron indicated that he was going to write a book based on his blockbuster 3D flick, well, we have happened across the possible film sequel to the CGI-laden event.
Yeah, it starts out slow and a tad predictable, then turns disturbingly funny, so you know we totally liked it ourselves.
The Perfessor
Having successfully beaten back one copyright infringement lawsuit against them, J.K. Rowling, and Bloomsbury Publishing (which printed Harry Potter books), were named this past June as defendants in new lawsuit regarding the property.
Well, It seems that the estate of Adrian Jacobs just figured out that they were ripped off (13 years later).
The estate of the deceased author of a children's book has accused the author of the stunningly successful Harry Potter books of plagiarizing concepts and themes from Adrian Jacobs' The Adventures of Willy the Wizard: No 1 Livid Land, which was published in 1987.
You seriously have to wonder about people who want a piece of your pie, long after your pie has been served to millions of people (we are reminded of the fellow who waited until after Seinfeld went off the air to sue NBC over the fact that he felt George Costanza was based on him).
Still, now that I think about it, there are elements of the book that are similar to a dream I once had...(now where is my lawyer's number?).
The Perfessor
Yeah, you read that right, the king of CGI SPFX is going to turn his latest blockbuster into a prose novel.
Cameron said he first considered writing the book when he was filming the movie. “I told myself, if it made money, I’d write a book,” the director said.
All of which simply begs the issue of how he plans on doing that. Well, we here at Cuppa have an idea or two in that regard...
Can you say Pop-up"?
Yeah, we have plenty of time on our hands too.
The Perfessor
P.S. Here is the list of his "source" material for the film (and one would guess) the book as well.
I just got a FedEx package from Marvel, containing not only the last several issues of The Official Index to the Marvel Universe (#s 10–12) as well as dust jackets to the last three Marvel hardcover compilations to which I wrote the cover copy.
These three books are; Timestorm 2009/2099, House Of M: Spider-Man, Fantastic Four & X-Men, House Of M: Wolverine, Iron Man & Hulk
As I’ve indicated I have been contributing to this on-going series (#13 is the most recent one out, and which is pictured here.)
I know that I have yet another House of M compilation for which I have written cover copy as well as issue #14 to the Index, only those books apparently not quite ready as of yet.
Given that this is a new year, I can only hope that I’ll have more work on both of these projects as the year progresses. I’m currently lobbying to get more Marvel work, and (again hopefully) more of that will be coming through as well.
Seriously, how cool is that?
The Perfessor
As the title of this blog so clearly indicates, we love coffee, so when a wicked-cool coffee-related product comes out, we like to talk about them. So, needless to say, you can imagine how excited we were when we discovered that Shannon Wheeler’s iconic comicbook Too Much Coffee Man was (and still is) one of my all-time favorite comics. So when I got an e-mail this morning from Boom Studios that they are about to release a Too Much Coffee Man Animated mug, we could hardly contain ourselves.
Interestingly enough, this discovery was followed up by an all-to-brief online chat with Mr. Wheeler himself, who told me that Boom was about to launch a new line of books that will kick off with a compilation of Wheeler’s cartoons that were submitted (but rejected) by The New Yorker.
The new imprint (named Boom! Town), will publish and market selective reissues of out-of-print works and merchandising, including the collection of Wheeler’s cartoons that didn’t make it into the The New Yorker. Wheeler’s book, I Thought You Would be Funnier, will be among the first wave of releases under the new imprint.
Too Much Coffee Man fans can also thrill to the announcement that it looks like Wheeler will also be writing and illustrating a new eight-page TMCM story for the relaunch of the Dark Horse Presents.
Seriously, how cool is that?
The Perfessor
OK, I can understand not liking certain types of books, and I understand that, over the course of time, throughout the history of this country, people have chosen to dislike certain works of literature (Lady Chatterley's Lover) or films (The Moon is Blue), and trying to get them banned, but this, this goes too far...
Perhaps it's not that surprising that a mother in Menifee, California, asked the Menifee Union School District to ban all copies of the 10th edition of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary after her child stumbled across the term "oral sex." What is surprising, indeed horrifying, is that district officials immediately complied with her request, and pulled all dictionaries off classroom shelves throughout the Southern California school district, which serves 9,000 kids, kindergarten through eighth grade.
Apparently, district officials indicated that they are going to form a committee to consider a permanent classroom ban of the Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. A spokeswoman for the district, Betti Cadmus, stated that school officials plan on reviewing the dictionary to decide if it should be banned permanently because of the "sexually graphic" entry. Cadmus went on to say, "It's hard to sit and read the dictionary, but we'll be looking to find other things of a graphic nature."
Yeah, and we all know that's just what those fourth and fifth graders like to do. OK, OK, so when I was that age and I got my hands on an "adult" dictionary, the first thing I did was look up the definition to all of the sexual terms that I knew, and no, none of them were either satisfying or even vaguely erotic.
Still, this totally blows, and we, as a society are morally and ethically bankrupt if we let the puritanical police (and our own fears) rule us.
The Perfessor
The problem is, I have seen the film and well it is easily one of the worse films I have ever seen, and no, it is not because I’m a guy and this is a “chick flick†(I saw Julie and Julia and thought it was great). This film blows chunks because it is badly written, badly acted, lays down bad role models for teen girls, and well, completely screws with the historical legends of both werewolves and vampires, but I’ll get to all of that in a minute.
First up, the good news, a Judge dismissed the lawsuit against Stephenie Meyer (New Moon’s author, but you all knew that part). According to a report by TMZ. the lawsuit against Stephenie Meyer was officially dismissed by judge.
A judge told vampire book author, Jordan Scott, her allegations about Meyer taking her ideas from her book were deceptive and “completely unfounded.â€
The Twilight author was accused on August of having stolen the idea for the last book Breaking Dawn from Scott’s The Nocturne, which was allegedly published in 2006.
We’ve already discussed the film’s opening weekend earnings, and that it did great guns and all, still, I believe that just helps me make my case. You see, first let’s talk about the story itself.
My nearly 15-year-old daughter (her 15th birthday is at the end of this month) who hasn’t read the books, and didn’t see the first film, but saw this film twice — both times with friends, told me that she agreed with me about the bad message of the film. According to her, she believes that it will teach girls to look for that perfect boy (Edward) and no one in real life could possibly measure up to his level of “perfection†and “dedicationâ€. Hence they will spend their whole lives looking for someone they cannot possibly find.
I agree, except I go further, and say that it teaches a worse lesson. Consider this, both Edward and Jacob “love†Bella, but can’t be with her because she might “accidentally†get them “worked up†and they would then “accidentally†hurt her. Needless to say, when this does happen Bella not only apologies to them both, but informs them that it is OK, and she “deserved it.â€
WTF??
This is the really lesson we want to be teaching our young daughters? The film He’s Just Not that into You starts off with Drew Barrymore’s character stating that little boys and girls get along fine, then as they start to develop a boy will decide that he likes a girl and will hit her. Surprised the girl will go to her mom who will explain that boys do that because they like the girl, but don't know how to deal with their emotions. Needless to say, this incident forever retards the emotional growth of girls and they grow into adulthood thinking that whenever a guy hurts her it is because he likes her.
Funny theory, but as Col. Sherman Potter would say “Road apples!â€
That’s really not the life lesson that I’ve personally taught my daughter. I taught her that if you act stupid to attract boys, you will attract stupid boys, and if a boy hits you it is his fault, not yours. And you call the cops the first time it happens. That’s just for starters. Sorry kids, but I don’t care how hard the bodies of the male vampires are in this film or how dreamy their eyes are, they are screamingly effeminately gay, while the werewolves all come off as rough boy butch gay.
The liberties that Meyer’s has taken with their respective legends (vampires walking in daylight, flying over open water; werewolves that change on command, and not under a full moon), I could go on, but it makes me ill just to think about it. Between the liberties taken with the legends of these mythical creatures and the horrendously bad message targeted at teenage girls this would make the film bad enough, but seriously, is Bella the only one who doesn’t realize that this tribe of Native Americans are werewolves? I knew that the last film. (Hey, she’s already dating a vampire, why is the existence of werewolves such a far stretch?)
And then there is such a misty, gooey-eyed approach to the acting that that it makes you want to gag (if Bella bit her nails or brushed her hair back over her ear one more time I was going to toss my popcorn at the screen as well as my cookies). Seriously, even the goofy afternoon made-for-TV Disney and Nickelodeon specials my daughter watches have better (more believable) acting than this crap. I have to say that the only other place I’ve seen writing this bad has been for the past year-and-a-half on all the post Brand-New-Day Amazing Spider-Man comics (and hey, I love Spidey!)
I honestly don’t understand the appeal of this drivel, Sure, sure, I see that vampires and werewolves are sexy, and I don’t mind having fun with both groups, but really, this stuff is just crap, but hey, if you want, head down to Burger King and snap up a large New Moon drink cup. I already got mine.
The Perfessor
While I haven’t run out to burn, er buy my copy of Sarah’s book, I did watch Stephen Colbert review it.
Last night on The Colbert Report, Stephen Colbert discovered the one under-the-radar story that nobody is talking about: Sarah Palin's new book, "Going Rogue." Naturally, it was only fair for him to review it.
| The Colbert Report | Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
| The Word - Grand Old Pity Party | ||||
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You know, listening to Stephen ‘splain about the book just makes everything clearer.
In fact, the only thing that could help, is Jon Stewart chiming in as well:
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Daily Show: The Rogue Warrior | ||||
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Perhaps, with a helping hand from John Oliver.
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Excitement Over Sarah Palin's Book Release | ||||
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Ahhh, I feel better now!
The Perfessor
So, unless you have been living in a cave, under a rock, or have been walking around for the past couple of days with your fingers in your wears going "LALALALALALALALALALALALA, I can’t hea-r you!†You probably know that the former VP candidate, Ex-Alaskan Governor, and future recently-resigned president of the Quitters of America Club, has a book out now.
Burn these books! (well, the one on the left, anyway)
...it turns out the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.’s flagship newscast The National put the wrong Palin book cover image on air Monday night as it introduced an item for her current Going Rogue book tour.
Rather than display the cover for Going Rogue: An American Life, Palin’s memoir, National viewers saw the graphic for the anti-Palin essay collection Going Rouge: Sarah Palin, an American Nightmare, by the Nation editors Richard Kim and Betsy Reed.
You couldn’t have planned this better, or could you have...
The Perfessor
Just when you thought that it was safe on the political landscape from mindless soundbites from empty-headed former VP candidates...
Sarah Palin’s memories are about to hit the book stands, and the former Maverick-y Alaskan Governor is hitting the lecture circuit, only things aren’t going entirely as she and her handlers, have planned.
Sarah Palin is not selling well on the lecture circuit, an industry insider told the New York Post.
"The big lecture buyers in the US are paralyzed with fear about booking her, basically because they think she is a blithering idiot," the source said. "They don't want to tick people off."
Palin's fee for a recent speech in Hong Kong was rumored to be in the low six figures.
Palin finished her memoir, "Going Rogue," in just four months -- ahead of schedule and in time for the holiday season.
Gotta say, it’s just a heckava darn shame, now ain’t it?
The Perfessor
Remember a week or so back when we talked about Ryan O’Neal hitting on his own daughter, Tatum, At ex-lover Farrah Fawcett’s funeral? Well Mackenzie Phillips (One Day at a Time) says she had sex with her dad, John Phillips, a member of the ‘60s Rock band, Mamas and the Papas.
This information is detailed in her new book, High on Arrival
And people say I’m whacked.
The Perfessor
(This one is for Walt)
We’ve seen it all, vampires in forbidden love affairs (with mortals), vampires getting married (to each other, and mortals), vampires on honeymoons (doin’s it “mortal style†as it were), vampires having babies (biting mom on the way out?).
And now you can read you can all read it all in the fourth installment of Stephenie Meyer’s best-selling "Twilight" series, Breaking Dawn, which has spawned hordes of fans and a movie franchise. However, according to a little-known author named Jordan Scott, you may have read it all before. Scott, who is a California college student, claims that Meyer’s vampire romance scenes were actually lifted from her 2006 novel, The Nocturne.
Scott's lawyer, J. Craig Williams, a partner at Sedgwick, Moran, Detert & Arnold, sent a cease-and-desist letter to Meyer's publisher, the Hachette Book Group, this week claiming Meyer plagiarized parts of Scott's book.
Read the rest over here.
The Perfessor
Apparently, not you.
As some of you may have already heard, this past Friday, Amazon (in an ironic Orwellian “Big Brother†moment) reached into subscriber’s Kindles and deleted the subscriber's electronic copy of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four. The reason given for this was that Amazon had apparently just learned that the publisher of the ebook did not have the legal right to electronically publish the tome.
As you can imagine, this move seriously irritated many of the subscribers who had purchased the book (even though their respective accounts were credited for the purchase). Needless to say, that didn't satisfy customers, like Antoine J. Bruguier, a 28-year-old engineer living in Milpitas Calif., who was stunned to find his copy missing from his Kindle on Friday. According to Bruguier “They have the technical ability to do this, but I'm not sure if they have the legal right to do it," he said. "I love my Kindle, but if they can take back a book after I buy it, that bothers me."
According to an Amazon spokesman promised that the company would to change its system and “not remove books from customers' devices in these circumstances." The paper went on to state:
Regardless, the incident raises some difficult questions about what it means to “own†books in the digital age. The same legal conundrums came up with music. Consumers raised on sharing records and CDs suddenly found themselves challenged in court by music companies for violating intellectual-property rights when doing the same thing through computers. Books have a more entrenched culture of sharing — libraries exist for lending dog-eared volumes — raising potentially knottier legal issues. Some experts say that, barring a creative industry solution, these matters can only be remedied by passing new laws that clearly define digital ownership.
The real problem with this is that it is not clear if the ebook is owned or if the consumer is simply purchasing a service.
Case in point: an ordinary bookstore wouldn't be allowed to come into a buyer's home to retrieve a book that he or she owned. Legal experts are divided on whether Amazon broke its own contract with consumers by removing the Orwell e-books. The fine print in the company's terms of service gives consumers the “right to keep a permanent copy†of purchased titles, but also reserves Amazon's “right to modify, suspend, or discontinue the service at any time.â€
Personally, I don’t know, and currently, Amazon isn’t talking. As I don’t own a Kindle, I don’t know if an owner can back up all of those books onto a CD, thus making them permanent copies, and ensuring the digital owner can keep them (though I suspect this is not possible).
The Law Blog columnist from the WSJ also weighed in on this issue. Though I suspect that it will be quite some time, and quite a bit more discussion before any real movement is made on this issue.
In the mean time, let the (digital) buyer, beware.
The Perfessor
When I was a High School teenager, I met my science teacher who later became my Judo Instructor. During the course of High School (and after) I came to realize that he also had a love for flying, and sky diving. It was this love of his that led him to learn about Gustave Whitehead, a German immigrant who settled in Bridgeport, CT, which was one town over from where I went to High School.
Well, Gustave is important to this story because not only did he he actually fly before the Wright Brothers flew at Kittyhawk, but he sold them a couple of his engines. My teacher met and interviewed some guy (who was in his ‘80s or ‘90s at the time of the interview), who, as a young boy, worked with Gustave on the plane. My teacher made a documentary about the subject I believe. He also went on to build and fly a replica of Gustave’s plane. He also established a small museum dedicated to Gustave, and operated it for many years at the Marina at Captain’s Cove in Bridgeport.
Story & Art (c) Sodaro & Lundeen
Flash forward several years later and I, while working with the Comicbook Artists Guild, had the opportunity to participate in the creation of a graphic album which revolved around new/different stories told about historic/mythic, and/or fictional characters. I had originally pitched an updated retelling of Jack the Ripper, which was accepted, and then deemed possibly too violent for the all-ages-themed book, and was asked to pitch a new story. (Don’t worry, the Jack story wound up having a nice home and will also be published later this year.)
I chose to pitch the Gustave Whitehead story, which was accepted and then beautifully illustrated by Rick Lundeen, an artist out of Chicago that I was introduced to over this project,and have gone on to with on the third installment of my on-going Wülf Girlz storyline (now being published under the Atlas Unleashed banner — more on that as it happens). So now, I’m happy to announce that that Graphic Album, titled Iconic, is now available.
In addition to my story, Iconic contains short stories about Prometheus, Talos, Cuchulainn, Ebeneezer Scrooge, Sherlock Holmes, Robin Hood, John Henry, Mark Twain, St. George, and (of course) Gustave Whitehead. Some 30 writers, artists, letterers, and others worked together to develop 10 short stories revolving around these mythological fictional, and historical characters. The resulting 120-page tome (with an introduction by renown comicbook scribe Gary Cohn) retails for $9.99, and is currently available.
Hopefully you will all rush right out (well, figuratively as I just gave you the link), and purchase your own copy. We are intending this book to find it's place in libraries, schools, and book stores around the country. Hopefully it will, and you will all know just a little bit more about the characters,and individuals about whom we've written.
The Perfessor.
For a book. Take that, you movie hounds.
See more at Harper Collins.