Today seems as good a day as any to quote from the Bible, particularly when I’m hearing good news about a couple of my favourite writers, to wit: “As the vibe-ups descendeth upon the brows of my brothers, so too am I vibed up, verily.” First out of the traps is John ‘transcending the Johnre’ McFetridge, who got the hup-ya from Quill and Quire. Quoth Johnre: Quill and Quire, “Canada’s Magazine of Book News and Reviews,” picked 15 books from 2008 “to remember,” and EVERYBODY KNOWS THIS IS NOWHERE is one of them. The article says, “Some are critical favourites, some are bookstore blockbusters. Some dive into difficult subjects, some are about pure pleasure.” About EVERYBODY KNOWS they say it’s, “a sprawling portrait of a city that’s rare for any novel, genre or literary.”Hmmmm, nice. Meanwhile, a little birdie with a dulcet Norn Iron lilt tells us that Brian McGilloway’s Inspector Devlin series – currently BORDERLANDS and GALLOWS LANE, with BLEED A RIVER DEEP to follow in spring – has been optioned as a TV serial. Which is very nice indeed. What are the odds that Jimmy Nesbitt will play Devlin?
Or, indeed, that Colin Bateman will take a hatchet to Brian McGilloway? Only time, that notoriously doity rat, will tell …Back down south, panting hotfoot, for the news that Colm Keegan’s play A NIGHT TIME CRACKLE will be one element of the latest Shoestring Collective jamboree. It all takes place on November 22nd, at the James Joyce Centre, 35 North Great George’s Street, Dublin 1, and I believe the poster pretty much tells its own tale. For more details, clickety-click here.
Finally, and in keeping with our Biblical-ish tone – is it just me, or does this guy doth protest too much?
6 comments:
I hope Brian's Devlin series does get made, think it would work very well. But it is such a frickin' mine field trying to get stuff made, and, ultimately soul destroying. I've just spent six months of my life as a hired gun on a series of novels by an English author trying to turn them into a tv series for one of our major broadcasters - the hook for these was that they were crime stories set in a particular RURAL area. Six months of visiting the RURAL area, writing an outline multiple times, writing the pilot script, re-writing it twice, having it hailed as wonderful, best we've read etc. etc. only to be told by the very people who had raved about the books, bankrolled the development, loved the script, 'We've decided to go urban' and they're off doing another series. Sure, I get paid, but that isn't the (entire) point - tv is so fluid that they change their minds at the drop of a hat, and particularly with adaptations, there's no prospect of the work appearing in a different format. And this happens ALL the time. I hope Brian's experience is different, as long as he remembers the books are the books and anything else is gravy.
Squire - I know you won't be hatcheting Brian: you'll have something far more subtle and sneaky up your sleeve. I like the way you're disarming him early on with the comment above, for example ...
Seriously, though, it fair breaks my heart that a couple of Bateman projects in particular haven't seen the green light ... esp. when there's SUCH FUCKING SHITE on the box these days. But that's just me.
Cheers, Dec
Re the controversy over the gay poet, and the Christian ringleader who clled their actions "Christlike:"
Did you ever notice how few people who wonder 'what would jeses do" will actually do it? My Spousal Equivalent and I have a more appropriate, and usefu, term: What would Al Swearengen do?" Only Deadwood fans will fully appreciate that, but it seems to me intolerance in any form is much more like Al than like Jesus.
BTW, lots of Bests Lists are crocks, but I've read NOWHERE, and it's as good as any book I've read this year.
I heard a whisper about Brian's news a couple of days ago. Massive congratulations to him, and I hope the planets align correctly for it to be made.
Thanks for the good wishes folks.
I fully expect the whole thing to fall through at the earliest opportunity anyway, so it's just a bit of fun imagining it might happen. Colin's spot on though - the books are the only thing over which a writer has any control - all the rest of the stuff is just a bonus. Sorry to hear about the aborted project Colin - a bit of a pisser to say the least.
It's just the nature of tv - if you think there are only perhaps six channels in the UK and Ireland actually making drama, and most of their schedules are made up with reality tv and light entertainment then every writer is fighting for an incredibly small number of slots. And if the million to one shot comes through - then you get sacked from your own show. Bitter? Me? Actually not any more, I think the books got much, much better once I stopped writing Murphy's Law. (And I hear on the grapevine that Sky are trying to resurrect it)
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