There's a website at which someone in the movie business posts descriptions of films from cover letters on spec scripts that come to him. These tend to be funny, although it's worth remembering that each one that makes me smile at the awfulness of it could just as easily be a capsule description of something that actually was made. (Most plots sounds stupid when reduced to their essentials. Black convict is pulled off a chain gaing and made sheriff of a little Western town. Hilarity ensues.) Even so, I'm starting to think that Alan Moore was tapping some kind of Jungian vein when he co-wrote the Sinister Ducks song all those years ago. In steam engine time (well, duck-warning time), people start needing to warn the world about the ducks: http://queryletters.blogspot.com/2005/02/episode-iv-attack-of-ducks.html
(And this news story solved, for me, the vexing question of What Killed The Dinosaurs? The answer, again obviously, is those evil ducks did. I'm glad we've sorted that one out.)
Hi Neil, So it occurs to me that Mirrormask is not the first time you and Mr. Mckean have teamed up in the audio-visual department. Some time ago, you were given an award for Best Guest on a little known show called, "Prisoners of Gravity". Your acceptance speech, filmed by Dave, was by far one of the funniest moments in TV history... at least in my humble opinion. Any chance that will ever be available online? Your devoted reader, Kipp www.underduck.com
I don't know. I don't believe it's ever been repeated. I've asked Mark Askwith, who was the producer of Prisoners of Gravity, for an official answer, anyway, and will report back.
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When I was about 12 or 13 I was completely obsessed by Mike Moorcock. By the time I was 17 or 18 I was almost embarassed that I'd ever been that completely fascinated by any living author. I'm not sure that I sorted it all out in my head until I wrote the pretty much autobiographical short story "One Life, Furnished in Early Moorcock" many years later.
Anyway, there's a lovely interview with Mike Moorcock over at http://www.irosf.com/q/zine/article/10115. And if you're curious about the Michael Moorcock and the Deep Fix music, the whole of the "At The New World's Fair" CD is available for download at Mike's official site. http://www.multiverse.org/article26.html for details.
Which reminds me -- apparently the Neil Gaiman Audio Collection is only available on the US version of iTunes. (But I assume that Audible.com will sell it to you wherever you are.)
Neil,I read the article you linked to about Bill Messner-Loebs. I'm pretty sure I remember enjoying his work on The Flash in the early and/or mid-nineties. Do you have any idea how I might possibly be able to send him a few bucks? I probably can't help a whole lot, but I can probably help a little. Thanks. Steve
Personally, I'd love someone to a) give Bill a title to write or draw and b) collect WASTELAND, the very strange protovertigo series of short stories that DC did in the late 80s. Over at http://www.carterscomiccritiques.net/ there seems to be a coordinated effort to do good things for Bill and Nadine that you might want to check out, Steve...
And finally, a few people sent me links to the new Minneapolis public radio music station at 89.3 -- and having checked out their playlist --http://minnesota.publicradio.org/radio/services/thecurrent/playlist.php -- I think I'll be tuning in. (They also broadcast over the web.)