Had a lot of crazy times lately, so I’m a bit behind – new roommate moving in, new roomdog moving in, family visiting, work, etc.
Plot Twist Generator
The Plot Twist Generator definitely is behind after the busy week and weekend and I plan to return to it. It’s pretty straightforward actually, almost refreshing – less crazy-making than the Writing Prompt Generator.
It also makes me think about how many plot twists are almost archetypical – a mix of trope and mythical. Some we take for granted yet we also joke about ones similarly repeated. Part of what I’m trying to do is take some basic twists and tropes and shake them up – the villain is always the hero’s father, why can’t (s)he be their uncle or grandmother?
Way With Worlds
The book is roughly formatted, and I’ve done some editing – and then just decided to switch over to the old print-and-edit method. It’s not like it’s not done, it’s just that the book needs to be edited. So I’ve got piles of papers marked up so I can start entering changes. A few sections are probably getting extensive rewrites.
I also am debating splitting it into two, but right now just can’t bring myself to do it – it’s roughly a mix of direct advice and worldbuilding approach and philosophy so I could split it but it just doesn’t seem right.
Oh, and I’ve got some lighter sequels/spinoffs/extras in mind, but you won’t see that until it’s out . . .
On that note, I probably will write out more things next year because, simply, I want to preserve more of my theories and knowledge. Hey, I’m not young here . . . oh, and there may be a book on creativity and brainstorming coming even sooner . . .
The Informotron
I’m merging my work at MuseHack into my press site, The Informotron! There you’ll get both my published writing, free stuff, and blog entries and speculations. It’ll probably double up with some of my work at Seventh Sanctum, but will be mostly original stuff – and I plan to package up and make a lot of my past writing more accessible.
You know when I get time . . .
Respectfully,
– Steven Savage
http://www.informotron.com/
http://www.seventhsanctum.com/
Welcome to Lost in Translation. If you’ve followed along over at MuseHack, what follows will be familiar. If Lost in Translation is brand new to you, again, welcome.
Adaptations, reboots, remakes, and spin-offs, all of them are fraught with risk. The more popular an original work, the greater the risk in adapting. Yet, these risks are often not apparent at first glance. Many a movie adaptation has stumbled because the hidden risks weren’t taken into account.
Lost in Translation looks at these works, comparing them to the originals, and works out what went wrong and what went right. It is said that you can learn from your mistakes, but you can also learn from someone else’s. And even the worst adaptation can get something right. Not every entry is a review; there are also analyses and essays that takes the lessons the reviews discover and applies them.
Please join me on Saturdays for Lost in Translation. Steve has brought the entire series over from MuseHack, so they’re in the archives here at Seventh Sanctum, This Saturday, I continue the History of Adaptations with the Eighties.
Hello everyone. Had a bit of a busy/crazy time here (work, family visiting, friend busted their car). So I may take a break on the Plot twist Generator.
However, Scott Delahunt, the genius of translations is now publishing here as well – his column Lost In Translation has a home here (as well as other sites), so you can get a brain full of adaption news and analysis. I STRONGLY recommend reading his work, it’s made me understand a lot more about media.
Respectfully,
– Steven Savage
http://www.musehack.com/
http://www.informotron.com/
http://www.seventhsanctum.com/
Hello everyone, here’s the latest.
Plot Twist Generator
It’s starting to shape up, and right now what I’m finding is it actually works best if I keep it simple. You don’t really want things to get too complicated – you want impactful ideas. It may be easier than I thought, though the challenge now is diversity not complexity.
Here’s some examples:
- There is a predicted snowstorm – but it’s not what was expected.
- The world is revealed to be in another time instead of the one we were led to believe.
- A character suddenly reveals a sentimental side.
- The protagonist turns out to be the antagonist’s father.
- It turns out that everything that is happening actually takes place inside a computer – this is revealed by the antagonist.
- A mysterious string of numbers turns out to refer to the antagonist’s childhood toy.
- A character suddenly reveals a malicious side.
- The secondary antagonist turns out to be the protagonist’s grandfather.
- There is a sudden snowstorm.
- The antagonist suddenly reveals a romantic side.
What I’m doing now is reading famous plot twists and randomizing them. As I go on those inspire some variants and ideas. So forward!
Way With Worlds Book
The WWW Book editing continues – and I’m really busy re-editing the part on species and race (which will spawn one or two new sections), and the part on sex (which needs a little more coherence).
One thing I’m debating is splitting the book in two – there’s really two sections, the worldbuilding and the being a worldbuilder. As for now I’m keeping it as one, but I may want some feedback – that means a poll (we haven’t had one of those in awhile).
Still projecting next spring, depending how fast my editors and pre-readers get to it.
New Columnist
Well, old Columnist. Scott from over at MuseHack is going to be doing his Lost In Translation column here as well. I’ll be uploading the old ones – and we’ll see his new stuff soon. It should be a great addition.
Respectfully,
– Steven Savage
http://www.musehack.com/
http://www.informotron.com/
http://www.seventhsanctum.com/
Hello everyone, been a bit occupied (and caught a cold, allergy season makes people so vulnerable). But here’s the latest update.
Plot Twist Generator
Is in the works! Has data in place! Has some ideas, is really boring right now!
The big issue is just stocking more data and structure, and polishing it – and like the Writing Prompt Generator, it’ll just take time. So far some are good, like . . .
“The antagonist thinks everything is happening is inside a story – and this is due to a substance abuse problem.”
Others are sort of WTF?
“The alternate antagonist turns out to be the protagonist’s father.”
Others are blunt.
“There is a sudden tornado.”
But it’s there, and as I flesh it out, we’ll have more to work with. I figure it’ll be on the level of the Writing Prompt Generator, maybe even a bit better as I have less language structure limits.
Way With Worlds
This is going OK, but . . . I gotta say some of those columns could be better. When I rewrote Way With Worlds, I eventually intended it to be a book, but as I was rewriting columns from 15 years ago I also added a lot, did different voices, small series, etc. Now I’ve got to get it back into a book, and . . . yeah. This is all over the map, and in a few cases I could have done better.
What I’m finding is that the quality was – frankly – erratic. Sometimes its precise (I’m proud of some of my columns on Magic and Technology), other times it kind of meanders, and a few times I somehow avoided the point (like my discussions on Race and culutre, more to come). I think at times it was turning a braindump of 15 years ago into another braindump – and other times it was polishing and precision.
So editing is a lot more work than I expected. Things get cut down, rearranged, rephrased, and in one case I actually am having to reverse a previous conclusion.
However the core information is good even in places that need to portray it better – if anything some of the problems are me massively dumping out ideas and doing it in my coachy/chatty/live talk style as opposed to a better written style. So I’ve got to tweak it – and make sure the book has one voice.
It’ll be worth it, but we’re definitely not seeing this sucker until 2016. I’m going to give my pre-readers two months at it.
Respectfully,
– Steven Savage
http://www.musehack.com/
http://www.informotron.com/
http://www.seventhsanctum.com/
CG Peanuts movie to use classic comics for thought bubbles.
The CGI animated Peanuts feature will pay homage to the original comic strip through the use of the classic comics in thought bubbles.
Dan Aykroyd excited as Ghostbusters reboot starts filming.
Aykroyd, who was the co-creator of the original movie and is the executive producer of the remake, is happy with how the new movie is turning out. While that may not be persuasive, the photos of the costume and the new Ecto are promising.
The Rock’s going to be busy.
Not only is he working on a remake of Big Trouble in Little China, as reported last month, he’s also looking at an adaptation of the classic arcade video game, Rampage. The video game allowed players to take the role of kaiju and destroy a city while fending off the puny defenders.
New Spider-Man film, new Spider-Man actor.
Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios have announced the casting of Tom Holland in the title role. Holland will play Peter Parker in the new movie.
The Rocky franchise continues with Creed.
Rocky Balboa turns coach this November. Michael B. Jordan plays Adonis Creed, son of Apollo Creed, played by Carl Weathers, from the first four Rocky films.
Classic Canadian animated series, The Raccoons, may be returning.
Kevin Gillis, the creator of the original cartoon, is working out how to bring back the the show, featuring raccoons Bert, Melissa, and Ralph. The Raccoons aired on the CBC with TV movies in the early 80s and a regular series starting in 1985. The series also aired on the Disney Channel.
Farscape movie has been confirmed.
Rockne S. O’Bannon has confirmed that a Farscape movie is in the works. The film doesn’t have a script yet, but one is being drafted by Justin Monjo, who wrote for the series.
Dynamite Entertainment to bring Atari classics to comics.
Dynamite will produce comics based on classic Atari video games, including Asteroids, Centipede, and Missile Command. The same company will also be producing James Bond comics helmed by Warren Ellis.
Lost in Translation to take a hiatus.
There’s a shake up coming here at MuseHack. Steve will have the full details, but Lost in Translation will be on hiatus during this time. The reviews will return, as will the history of adaptations.
Like everything, these ideas are free for the taking. Consider them to be public domain. Just… grab them, and use them, and stuff. That’s what they’re there for.
- Financial Astrology
Developed in the throes of the Great Depression, financial astrology is the art of using magic to make money, and using money to make magic. To those that have sworn the oaths, the signs of the stars unfold to their understanding. They are able to decipher the currents of the future, at least so far as it pertains to currency. The stock market becomes child’s play to them that have sold their eyes and their hearts to the great god Pluto, and the more learned among them can predict its changes to the minute.
What they do next is based upon a principle that everyone knows: Wealth shapes the world. Only the merchant-kings know how true that statement is, however. Currency has an effect on the ley lines of the world, which themselves have subtle effects on the environment when “plucked” by the presence of money. Where a ley line is plucked, and how strongly (that is, how much money is affecting it) determines what happens, so that the right amount in the right place can lead to decreased social stability in another city.
With the right plucks nearly anything can be done, with the caveat that ley lines influence only living organisms and not natural systems like the weather, and so the financial astrologers carefully manipulate the flow of money to get the changes that they want (which is not to say that others want it— they are not a unified lot). With enough money, ley lines can be plucked so severely that they actually shift in place.
The one thing about their condition that makes life difficult is that they cannot physically handle money. Credit cards and checks are okay, but actual money catches fire or melts in their hands, leaving them with dross (and burned hands).
- Orthosurgy
A system of magic based upon the principle of sympathy, using teeth and nails as foci. While teeth are reasonably potent and retain their power until destroyed, a single full nail is useful for no more than a couple of weak spells, to say nothing of a mere clipping. They may, however, be used for reanimation, whereas teeth can do nothing to one that has died (including those that have suffered death temporarily), and reanimation is not a terribly powerful spell. Full resurrection may require years of clippings, but to turn a corpse into a shambling walker bound to one’s will for a few weeks requires only a few nails.
However, whether they be teeth or nails foci must be taken, not given. This is why children leave offerings for the tooth fairy. It robs the leavings of their power by explicitly giving them out to anyone who would be interested in taking them.
The power of orthosurgy is a gift, however, twisted, and it must be passed on to another in order to persist. Without a declared heir, the death of an orthosurgeost permanently reduces their number by one. Heirs may not be replaced except in the case of premature death, so orthosurgeosts are careful about speaking the “naming words.” Orthosurgeosts become more inhuman as time goes on, first in mind and eventually in body. Among other things they are prone to developing slight kleptomaniacal tendencies, long fingers, and in some cases fingers without nails. Their teeth may change shape and their stomachs change, both in response to whichever diet the orthosurgeost prefers.
- Lychery
A kind of ritual magic that makes you the temporary channel for a Power, timeless things from outside existence. The exact ritual sets bounds on the Power and guides its actions toward the desired result: healing, transformation of the body, the unleashing of fire, or whatever other effect is desired.
Lyches know how to use preexisting magical patterns easily enough but experimentation is dangerous. The slightest error can give the Power summoned too much free reign or, if the binding is successful, force it to take an undesired action. Accordingly, innovation is very slow.
Another limitation is tied to candles, which are necessary to strengthen the invoked Power— it might be said that a Power is like a hole of a certain shape which supplies nothing of itself but determines the shape of whatever is put through it. Each candle adds to the potency at hand to make the spell 1.05 times greater than before.
Repeated channeling of Powers affects the body, most principally granting longevity. A lych’s mind is not equipped for this, however, and the weight of memory proves an eventual but inevitable strain. Suicide among very old lyches is common, as senility begins to settle in over the course of centuries. On the bright side, however, senility within the context of a conventional lifespan is far rarer, due to the efforts of lyches to ward off the effects of aging wherever they can, for as long as they can.
If you want some quick figures: 15 candles are necessary to make a spell 2.078 times as powerful as with one candle. 33 to reach 5.003x potency, 50 candles gives it a potency of 11.467x, and 93 candles before the potency overtakes the number of candles at a potency of 93.455x. 100 candles gives a potency of 131.501x and 200 gives a potency of 17,292.58x.
- Greensinging
In the earliest days of Man, he was taught language. The language that was taught him was the language of the world— of life and death, or connection and destruction, of bonds and the severing thereof— and Man’s teachers were the birds. But Man’s first act was to sever the bonds that were between him and the birds, so that they would hold no power over him, and ever since that time the birds have spoken no word that can be understood.
Or so goes the story of the langua verde, a peculiar tongue consisting of whistles and other sounds in marked similarity to bird song. Greensingers, or Green Men, sing songs of empathy and decay. The songs allow them to feel what others are feeling and transmit the same. Skilled Greensingers can learn how to feel falsely, to give fear when they are calm, or to calm the crowd though they have also been roused to anger. The songs also allow them to accelerate the natural processes of destruction by spying weaknesses, magnifying flaws, weakening strengths, and instilling, nurturing, and hastening all rot.
Your turn: What’s your favorite system of magic, and what do you like so much about it?
R. Donald James Gauvreau works an assortment of odd jobs, most involving batteries. He has recently finished a guide to comparative mythology for worldbuilders, available herefor free. He also maintains a blog at White Marble Block, where he regularly posts story ideas and free fiction, and writes The Culture Column, an RPG.net column with cultures ready for you to drop into your setting.
Hope everyone is doing well! Here’s what’s up!
New Columnist/Old Columnist
Working out when we’ll bring over a new columnist – who’s really an old columnist for another site. Look for something around August . . .
Plot Twist Generator
I’ve built the initial code for the Plot Twist Generator, and now I need to start populating it. As noted I’m going to pretty much dive on in.
I figure this one will be one like last year’s Writing Prompt Generator where I just keep at it, make it public early, and take feedback.
Way With Worlds
Still editing the Way With Worlds book. I expect to have the first editing run-through done around the start of August.
At that point, it does need a more structural review – does each section flow well, complete the goals, etc. I was a bit concerned some things may need extensive reorganization, but so far (about 1/5 to 1/4 the way through) it seems decent. I just made a lot of stylistic and flow choices based on subject matter not consistent style. I need to review it as a whole.
After that? Pre-readers. Probably in October. And yes, I’m lining them up.
Right now it’s still looking like it’ll be Spring for the release.
I do think the book presents a lot of value, and I’m really glad to have this “final,” more polished edition coming out for purchase. I’d like to see more books done on worldbuilding.
That’s a hint, by the way . . .
Respectfully,
– Steven Savage
http://www.musehack.com/
http://www.informotron.com/
http://www.seventhsanctum.com/
The History of Adaptations
Twenties
Thirties
Forties
Fifties
Sixties
Welcome to the history of adaptations. I’ve been looking at the top movies of each decade, analyzing them to see which ones were original and which ones were adaptations, and of the adaptations, what the source material was. I’m using the compiled list at Filmsite.org as a base. So far, the number of popular adaptations has outnumbered the original films in each decade, with the Fifties having just three original works, two of those being demos.
The Seventies was the New Hollywood era of the auteur director. Studios gave the directors a greater leeway in creativity, thanks to the success of the early films of the era in the previous decade like The Graduate. The results often outweighed the risks, though studios did get nervous at times. Elsewhere, American troops were pulled from Vietnam by President Richard Nixon in 1973. The Watergate scandal broke in 1974, showing the dirty tricks Nixon used against opponents culminating in the break-in at the Watergate Hotel. The scandal led to the impeachment of and the resignation of Nixon from the presidency and the arrest and conviction of several highly placed government officials. Adding to the misery, a series of energy crises struck as oil prices spiked, notably in 1973 and in 1979. In 1973, OPEC, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, limited oil sales to the US due to the country’s support of Israel during the Yom Kippur War. In 1979, revolutionaries overthrew the Shah of Iran, leading to a lower oil production in the country and causing a panic in oil prices.
A few genres of movies became popular during the Seventies. The disaster film featured an all-star cast trapped in a dangerous situation, such as a plane crash or a burning building. The car chase movie evolved, with the muscle cars of the decade almost built for the roles. While movies like 1968’s Bulitt and James Bond movies after Goldfinger integrated a car chase into the story, films like Smokey and the Bandit elevated the chase as the main plot. Soundtracks are still important, just as the previous decade, providing another means of conveying the mood of the film. The Hong Kong action movie, long a staple in Asia, gained in popularity in North America, with stars like Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung becoming known to a new audience. Blaxploitation took the Hong Kong action flick and Americanized it, with a black cast and music to groove on while mowing down mooks; Shaft may be the quitessential example and Pam Grier the genre’s kickass leading lady.
The popular movies of the decade:
1970
Love Story – original. Erich Sagal would adapt the screenplay into a novel released before the movieès debut.
Airport – adapted from the 1968 novel of the same name written by Arthur Hailey. Airport would have three sequels in the Seventies; Airport 1975, Airport ’77, and The Concorde … Airport ’79. Hailey also wrote the script for the 1956 CBC TV movie, Flight into Danger*, which was remade in 1957 by Paramount as Zero Hour!**, which would then be used as the base of the 1980 parody, Airplane!. Hailey essentially sowed the seeds that would kill the airplane disaster film as a genre.
1971
Billy Jack – sequel. The first film of the series of four was the 1967 movie, The Born Losers. Distribution was a problem for the film in 1971; Warner Bros. picked up the film and re-released it in 1973, where it had a far better run in theatres.
Diamonds Are Forever – a loose adaptation of the Ian Fleming 007 novel of the same name. Sean Connery returned to play Bond one more time after George Lazenby took the role in 1969’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
1972
The Godfather – adapted from the 1969 novel, also titled The Godfather, by Mario Puzo.
1973
The Exorcist – adapted from the 1971 novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty, who was also the movie’s scriptwriter. The book was based on a case of demonic possession and subsequent exorcism in 1949.
The Sting – original. The plot was inspired by an actual grift known as “The Wire“, which has also appeared in the Leverage episode, “The Bottle Job”. The movie used the ragtime music of Scott Joplin.
American Grafitti – original, based on the events of George Lucas’ youth.
1974
Blazing Saddles – original. Mel Brooks parodied Westerns and their tropes while making statements about racism. Mel Brooks co-wrote the script along with Andrew Bergman, Norman Steinberg, Al Uger, and Richard Pryor. Pryor was Brooks’ choice as Bart, but Warner Bros. overrode him, leading to Cleavon Little in the lead role.
The Towering Inferno – adaptation of two novels, The Tower by Richard Martin Stern and The Glass Inferno by Thomas N. Scortia and Frank M. Robinson. Irwin Allen produced the star-studded movie.
1975
Jaws – adapted from the 1974 novel by Peter Bentley. Steven Spielberg used what he learned filming the TV movie Duel and applied it here. The movie is celebrating its fortieth anniversary with re-releases to repertory theatres and was the reason many people stayed out of the water at the beach. Jaws briefly enjoyed holding the record for highest grossing film in history.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show – adaptation of the stage musical, The Rocky Horror Show. The Rocky Horror Picture Show has been in a limited first run since its release and can still play to packed theatres. The movie is a textbook case of a cult film, with fans participating as they watch.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest – adapted from the 1962 Ken Kesey novel of the same name,
1976
Rocky – original. Sylvester Stallone wrote and starred in the movie.
1977
Star Wars – original, inspired by pulp films and serials of the Fifties as well as The Dam Busters and the Akira Kurosawa film, The Hidden Fortress. The top grossing movie of the decade, grossing more than the next three movies below combined, and why Jaws held the record briefly.
Saturday Night Fever – adapted from “Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night”, an article in New York Magazine in 1976. The movie popularized both disco and John Travolta, previously known from the TV series, Welcome Back, Kotter.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind – original. Steven Spielberg explored the idea of first contact with aliens through music.
Smokey and the Bandit. The movie was based on events and laws in existence at the time, including the legality, or lack there of, of shipping Coors beer from Texas to Georgia. The would be two sequels and a short-lived TV series.
1978
Grease – adaptation of the 1971 Broadway musical, Grease. The movie’s soundtrack finished the year second only to Saturday Night Fever‘s in sales.
National Lampoon’s Animal House – adapted from stories written by Chris Miller in National Lampoon magazine. Miller’s stories were about his experiences at college. Harold Ramis, one of the movie’s scriptwriters, and Ivan Reitman, the producer, added their own experiences to the film.
Superman – adapted from the titles published by DC comics. Superman is the first comic book movie to appear in the list of popular movies and still stands as the movie about the character. Star Christopher Reeve showed how removing a pair of glasses could change Clark Kent into Superman.
1979
Kramer vs. Kramer – adapted from the 1977 novel of the same name by Avery Corman.
Links on the titles in the above list lead to key songs in the movie’s soundtrack. I’ve left out the two musicals on purpose; the soundtrack is the draw, at least initially. American Grafitti used songs popular in the Fifties for its soundtrack. Kramer vs Kramer used music from the Baroque period.
Of the twenty-two movies listed above, thirteen are adaptations. The rest are eight original films and one sequel, which continues the story about the character. About 3/5 of the popular movies of the Seventies are adaptations, a huge shift over the previous decades. Two of the adaptations are from musicals, The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Grease. Two more came from magazine articles, Saturday Night Fever and National Lampoon’s Animal House. The first comic book character appears with Superman. The remainder of the adaptations came from novels.
Superman was the oldest work adapted, with the character appearing in Action Comics #1 in 1938. The next oldest was Diamonds Are Forever, published in 1956. The rest were made in a few years of the publication of the novels or articles and a few years after the stage productions. In the prior decades, it wasn’t unusual to see a work dating from the 19th Century or earlier. Here, though, there is nothing from before the 20th Century, nothing over fifty years old. Biblical epics, popular in the Fifties, faded in the Sixties and are non-existent in the Seventies.
Star Wars deserves some extra mention. The film did far better than the studio, 20th Century-Fox, expected and remained in theatres for over a year. The price of a ticket, especially a matinee, was such that a weekly allowance could be spent seeing the movie a couple of times in a week, three times while foregoing the popcorn and drink. The success of the movie paved the way for more A-list science fiction, including Star Trek: The Motion Picture and E.T. The Extra Terrestrial. Science fiction was no longer relegated to B-movies and television. Star Wars also represented a huge leap in special effects, especially done on a tight budget.
The soundtrack became a key part of promoting Saturday Night Fever. The movie and the soundtrack promoted each other, allowing the Bee Gees to become a popular band in the Disco Era. Grease took the lessons offered; the movie’s soundtrack was second only to Saturday Night Fever‘s, leading to more cross-promotion. The result of the cross-promotion will appear in the Eighties.
The number of popular adaptations in the Seventies still outnumbers the popular original films, but the ratio has shifted towards parity. The choice of work adapted comes from works popular in the decade; Superman was celebrating his fortieth anniversary and Diamonds Are Forever had a popular actor returning to the role of Bond, while the remainder used popular works. The exception, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, stands out because of its cult status. Overall, the Seventies had the best showing for original films so far and is a great improvement from the Fifties, but adaptations are still popular.
* Starring James Doohan as the shell-shocked Spitfire pilot who has to land a commercial airliner after the pilot and co-pilot suffer from food poisoning.
** Starring Dana Andrews as Ted Stryker, taking on the Doohan role.
