Author of adventure/thriller and horror fiction

Andrew Stanton on Storytelling

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In this interesting TED Talk, filmmaker Andrew Stanton (TOY STORY, WALL-E) talks storytelling.

Story telling has a lot in common with joke telling, he says. Namely, everything in the story must lead up to the punchline. Writers should begin their novel with a singular goal, and build every sentence, paragraph and chapter piece by piece toward that goal. While, he notes, ideally noting a truth that deepens the reader’s understanding of humanity.

His pointers include:

1. Make the reader (or viewer) care
2. The reader is a participant in the storytelling, they just don’t want to feel like they are (don’t give the reader 4, give them 2+2)
3. Good characters have a “spine,” a dominant unconscious goal they’re striving for
4. Change is fundamental to story
5. The character doesn’t like to be perfectly likeable but should have at least one thing that is likeable about them
6. A strong theme always runs through a well-told story
7. Invoke wonder wherever possible

Good stuff. This and other wisdom can be found here:

SHAH OF SHAHS by Ryszard Kapuscinski

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shahRyszard Kapuscinski was a legendary Polish journalist who chronicled various wars, coups and revolutions that rocked Latin America and Africa during the ’60s and ’70s. His books transcend traditional journalism into the realm of literature, resulting in him being labeled a “mythographer,” able to capture the zeitgeist of great change.

Years ago, I enjoyed reading THE EMPEROR, in which Kapuscinski talked to former palace officials after the tall of the Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia, that country’s last ruler in a dynasty going back 3,000 years–legend has it to King Solomon. These conversations reconstructed life under the Emperor, particularly in the palace. In my view, it provided a remarkable look inside a bloated, decaying and capricious regime incompatible with the modern world.

More recently, I read SHAH OF SHAHS, in which Kapuscinski chronicles the brutality and fall of the Shah of Iran. The result is a compelling document of ordinary Iranians talking about life under the Shah and the hopes of the revolution that toppled him.

Kapuscinski’s books are long on zeitgeist and short on breadth and facts, providing a deep, emotional and literary take on history, and often cutting to the bone about the primary movers in great world events. SHAH OF SHAHS is a fascinating study of tyranny and revolution through the lens of Iranian culture.

Check out Kapuscinski’s work if you’re interested in a different way of looking a history.

Photographer Brings Gustav Klimt’s Paintings to Life

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Austrian painter Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) produced a variety of works, many of which focused on erotic portrayals of the female body. Photographer Inge Prader recreated several of his notable works in stunning photography using models, costumes and props.

Shown below is “Beethozen Frieze,” based on Richard Wagner’s interpretation of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony as humanity’s search for happiness. The frieze depicts humankind struggling against insanity and sickness and vices to find eternal joy in art. Klimt’s frieze is above, Prader’s photo, focusing on a detail from the frieze, is below.

Check more of the photos here.

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CELL (2016)

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In CELL (2016), based on the Stephen King novel, a strange cell signal wipes the brains of anybody on a device, reducing them to violence savages. Caught up in this storm is Clay (John Cusack), who braves the apocalypse to try to find his son. He’s accompanied by several companions, notably Tom (Samuel L. Jackson).

cell

The film has an intriguing concept but here it’s squandered on a movie that has some bright spots but is otherwise pretty lackluster and dreary. For a film about the apocalypse, it simply has no energy, and Cusack, a very capable actor, brings little to his role. Even during the initial outbreak, the slow pacing and Cusack’s incredulous but ho-hum reactions make it kind of boring. Not even its downer BRAZIL-style ending could save it, making it fairly forgettable. The highlight of the film was Jackson, who shines in almost anything he does as an actor, and whose quiet fortitude and friendship with Clay made me care about what happened to these people.

CELL isn’t a movie to be avoided but I’d suggest consuming it like fast food. Or maybe rewatch THE SIGNAL, which handled a similar concept in a much more fun way.

BATTLE STATIONS Now Available in Audiobook

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battle-stationsBATTLE STATIONS, the third episode in the popular CRASH DIVE WW2 submarine adventure series, is now available in audiobook!

Fresh from PXO School, Lt. Charlie Harrison is offered a posting on Sandtiger under Captain Gilbert Moreau, a legendary fighting captain in the submarines. Sandtiger’s mission is to join a wolf pack that will penetrate the heart of the Japanese Empire. Along the way, Moreau teaches Charlie how to fight. And what lines should never be crossed.

The audiobook is narrated by the great RC Bray, whose other credits include THE MARTIAN, YESTERDAY’S GONE and SUFFER THE CHILDREN. In my view he’s truly the best in the business, bringing this action-packed war story to life.

The paperback will be out soon. Until then, I hope you enjoy the eBook, available for the Amazon Kindle, and audiobook.

Check it out here.

GLITCH (2016)

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In GLITCH (2016), an Australian paranormal dramatic series, resurrection from the dead is approached from a very human angle. James Hayes, a policeman in a small town, is called out due to a disturbance at a local cemetery. Mysteriously, six people have returned from the dead with no memory of who they are and how they lived and died. What follows is a struggle to keep the risen people safe and help them learn about why they came back. The antagonist is a strange force that wants the risen to resume their natural state of death.

The show did very well in Australia, where it aired on ABC, and I was able to watch it on Netflix, which streamed it for international audiences. The show was signed for a second season, which began shooting in late 2016.

glitch-abc-tv

Overall, I liked it though I didn’t love it. Something always comes up to prevent genuine conversation, the plot is rife with strange plot questions, and often you ask, why don’t they just do X? In many ways, it rolls out like a typical TV melodrama.

On the plus side, the show’s creators approach the subject in a natural and interesting way. If you returned from the dead to find out you died a hundred years ago, what would that be like? If you returned to find your spouse had moved on, what would you do? The plot questions keep things moving, the characters are interesting, and the acting is good.

Though it won’t be at the top of my list, I’ll be watching the second season.