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Subj: Re: A few more thoughts... (and a free sample) Posted: Wed May 18, 2011 at 08:20:13 pm EDT (Viewed 3 times) | Reply Subj: A few more thoughts... Posted: Tue May 10, 2011 at 04:19:34 pm EDT (Viewed 667 times) | ||||||
Quote: Quote: If you haven't seen it before, I do highly recommend you watch "The Frighteners" by Peter Jackson. I think its probably the closest to the mix you're suggesting. It was something of a flop at theaters, in no small part due to that mix of tone between comedy and true horror, but it has a fair amount of fans who find a lot to admire in it, myself included. I'll see if I can track it down. Quote: So I took a break to walk the dog around the block after writing this, and it was still running through my mind. What's interesting about the structure of this film is that it has the feel of being divided into three acts, each in their own genre:Quote: Act One, the comedy: They wacky hijinks of Michael J. Fox and the dead, along the tone of Ghostbusters or Beetlejuice.Quote: Act Two, the comic book adventure: There's an evil cloaked figure preying on the innocent, and our hero has to come to terms with the fact that, with his powers, he's the only one with a chance to stop it in a climactic battle.Quote: Act Three, the horror film: It's not that easy as the horror stands revealed. To finally put an end to it will require our protagonists to take a mind trip through a chilling mass murder while scrambling for their lives through a dilapidated abandoned hospital.I've been analysing the flow of what I've written so far - around 35,000 words, perhaps half or a third of a book of the size my publishers would consider (but short for a major printing house). In order to get the story out of my head I first just wrote what I wanted to write, which turned out to be a massively-long Vinnie scene that covered 24 hours of his life. In order to not bore the pants off people with Vinnie's low-key weird lifestyle I've cut that up and thrown a whole series of cutscenes and flashbacks in there to develop the actual plot and instil some threat. Here's one I wrote today: The tourist stand proprietor looked up at the constant downpour that drenched Tottenham Court Road, removed his Union Jack top hat, and tossed it onto his cart. “Bugger this for a game of soldiers,†he declared to the universe in general. He folded down the sides of his trolley, packing away the Tower of London souvenir tea towels, the bearskin busbies, the snow globes of the Houses of Parliament, the pop-up maps of London, and all the rest. He pulled the half-bricks from under the wheels so he could push the cart back to his lock-up. “Excuse me,†someone asked him. “No refunds,†he said automatically before he even turned round. Two giants towered over him. Both had swarthy brown skin and black beards. They were dressed in red boiled leather armour with gold trimming. One carried a spear and was crowned with a golden wreath. The other carried a shield and had a golden helm. “Ah,†said the street vendor. “’Ello.†The giants glared down at him. “Gog and Magog, I presumes,†the vendor said to them. He fumbled to retrieve his read white and blue topper and pulled it on so he could elaborately doff it again. “Or is it Gogmagog and Corineus? What do you prefer? I’m Edgar Endelby, by the way. Pleased to meet you.†The giants continued to stare. “It’s not me you want, gents,†Endelby told them. “I’m no ‘ero. I don’t do no protecting of the city and that.†In the London Guildhall stand two carved figures, representing the giants that ruled the land before the coming of men to Albion’s shores. Often called the protectors of London, these statues are carried each year in the Lord Mayor’s parade. Endelby’s visitors exactly resembled them. “You needs a younger man,†the street vendor advised. “More spry. Bit more vim left in ‘im.†He rummaged in his cart then held out a crumpled business card. “Here, try this one.†The Guildhall giants melted away as if they’d never blocked the footpath to McDonalds. Edgar Endelby shrugged and dropped Vinnie De Soth’s business card back into his cart then headed off for a pint. There's a footnote to the effect that Thomas Boreman's “Gigantick Historyâ€Â, 1741 states that “Corineus and Gogmagog were two brave giants who richly valued their honour and exerted their whole strength and force in the defence of their liberty and country; so the City of London, by placing these, their representatives in their Guildhall, emblematically declare that they will, like mighty giants, defend the honour of their country and liberties of this their City which excels all others, as much as those huge giants exceed in stature the common bulk of mankind.†By the reign of Henry V there were giant statues residing in Guildhall. By 1554 they appeared in the Lord Mayor's Show under the names of Gogmagog and Corineus. The earliest effigies were destroyed in the 1666 Great Fire of London and a second pair replaced in 1708. The current set was carved in 1953 modelled on the previous effigies that were destroyed in the London blitz. Mythological sources such as Geoffrey of Monmouth tell of giants who were defeated and enslaved by the survivors of Troy that tamed and settled in Britain (Trinovantium, the Roman name for London, may derive from ‘New Troy’). The Bible mentions "Gog and Magog" in Ezekiel 38.4 and Revelation 20.7-10. Quote: It's definitely an interesting attempt to get from "Beetlejuice" to "The Shining" by transitioning through a hero film on the way. I think "Buffy" handles things by keeping to the first two acts and foregoing the third entirely... Had the battle between Michael J. Fox and the Reaper character resolved the matter, then it would have fit well within the tone of your average Buffy adventure (and probably had a much greater chance for being a commercial hit.) I think the tone so far goes from medium-Vinnie to medium-Hellraisers (not surprising since this is going to be Vinnie vs the Chain Knight). Quote: It's a fairly interesting challenge to go from one extreme to the other... I look forward to seeing you tackle it. The main problem I've had is introducing so much weirdness so quickly without it seeming like info-dump of absurdity. Fortunately, since damn near every occult villain in the world is trying to find our lovely heroine right now for their nefarious arcane purposes it gives me a chance to pile up the name chacks and walk-on guest spots. | |||||||
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