The one who wrote Coraline, and co-wrote the book of Good Omens and made the TV show, also the Sandman comics writer and co-creator who made the Sandman TV show. Quite nice really.
So I may have gotten into a heavy discussion recently regarding how picky authors can be when their books are adapted into shows, movies and theater. Apparently the person was a director, and hated it when the author actually had a hand in the directing portion of the adaptation.
I do happen to know of one author who was a nightmare to work with when one of his books was adapted into a comic. He apparently went off on a characters neckline. It was showing a little too much, or so the stories say. Sadly he passed away, and now what might have been now will never be, show wise.
My question is, what was it like for you? In both American Gods and Good Omens. What was the experience adapting it to the big screen, and how much did you have to fight others to keep even some small things from changing?
You might have been asked this before, but I had to ask. Sorry if I'm bothering you.
I didn’t have a lot of say in American Gods. Each season had its own showrunner. (I did a draft of the script of Episode 1 of Season 2 of American Gods, but I don’t think a lot of what I wrote made it onto the screen.)
I was showrunner and sole writer and working hand in hand with the director on Good Omens Season 1, and co showrunner with the same director on Season 2. I fought hard for what I wanted to keep. It was harder in Season 1 – on Season 2 they trust me, and as long as we could do whatever the plan was within budget, we could do it.
I wish Terry was still with us. I’m trying to decide whether there are werewolves in the Good Omens universe. (Not for any actual reason. It just started itching at the back of my head.) I think the answer is probably no, but now I want to call Terry and see what he thinks.
For the full timeline and tons of information on the HarperCollins strike, here’s the long post.
It has been FIFTY-SIX days since the HarperCollins Union went on strike… and Harper has at last agreed to sitting down with an independent, mutually agreed upon mediator to at least discuss the Union’s demands.
What this means:
- The pressure is working. Brian Murray and the leadership at HarperCollins have spent the last fifty-six days lying, spinning, hiring scabs, and doing everything except speaking to their union employees. That they’re even willing to talk now means the steady pushback has made things uncomfortable.
Therefore: Keep writing to [email protected]! Keep supporting the strike fund! Keep buying your books through the union’s Bookshop page! And keep sharing the union’s posts online and in your in-person communities!
- The strike IS NOT OVER. No agreement has been reached. Do not post reviews of Harper titles, accept work for any of their imprints, submit manuscripts for consideration, or in any way cross that picket line.
Additionally: The union is holding two separate rallies for folks in New York. The first, on January 31, is for industry professionals. The second, on February 2, is outside the NewsCorp HQ and is for everyone. If you’re not in the metro area and can’t attend, I’m sure folks would appreciate online support. New York is cold and gross and wet right now.
This is not the time to ease up, but rather to push HarperCollins, News Corp, and Rupert Murdoch even harder to cede to the beyond reasonable demands of their employees and to put an end to this absolute farce that they initiated.
I was at Barnes and Noble with a friend and saw this. I wanted to ask what you thought/think about Neuromancer. I read it and quite liked it, but can't pinpoint why. I assume you liked it, having written a series introduction.
I liked it very much – the introduction I wrote to the Penguin SF series explains why, at much greater length that I could manage here.
It was an introduction to the whole series, that also went into specifics for each book:
You will probably never see this but. My mother told me artists and authors would starve on the streets after she saw me drawing. But I love it too much and I don’t know what to do.
I’m the worst person to ask about this, because I didn’t starve on the streets, and I’ve been earning my living with my pen for 40 years.
Centaur at the Village Blacksmith, Arnold Böcklin, 1888
When I first saw a picture of this painting I was about twelve and immediately assumed that where there was a centaur there was bound to be a satyr. And I decided, based on the odd hat and foot on the right hand side of the person with the baby on the left, that they must be half-faun, and have only one horn and one goat hoof.
Which means that whenever I see a reproduction of this picture, I go and look at them and feel vaguely friendly. Also I wonder about what the baby is wearing or wrapped in.
And then I think about my favourite teenage typeface. We used it once in Sandman, in the first issue…
You’re probably too busy to answer questions about book recommendations, but I figured, hey, why not ask the expert? I mainly read contemporary books, with a few magical realism books mixed in, so which of your books would you suggest that I read first?
