A movie based on Neil Gaiman's "Sandman" stories has long been a topic of discussion among fans -- and even moreso lately, given the success of Gaiman's recent film projects like "Coraline," "Beowulf" and 2005's "Mirrormask."
While the likelihood of "Sandman" being turned into a film is largely dependent on whether rights-holder DC Comics wants it made into a film, there's been no shortage of fans arguing that both "Sandman" and some of its various spin-off titles (most notably, "Death") deserve the big-screen treatment. But who could get behind the camera to bring "Sandman" to (figurative) life? The popular author recently offered his own answer to that very question. Read more...
Two big events converged last month: the US Presidential Election, and the 20th anniversary of Neil Gaiman's epic "Sandman" series. So, to celebrate one without ignoring the political climate of the other, the folks behind a recent dramatic reading of stories from "Sandman" to benefit the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund chose two of the more politically-minded tales -- one about the Emperor of the United States, and one about the first teenage president.
"They definitely both seem more political now," Gaiman told MTV. "Probably the other one we could have done which would have been just as political in its own strange way would have been 'Ramadan,' [a story about how fairytale-like Baghdad lives on in war-torn Iraq]."
Even so, Sandman stories such as "Three Septembers and a January" and "The Golden Boy" seem especially apt now considering the spectacle around Barack Obama (which echo the sentiments in the country when Bill Clinton was elected). Read more...
Supposedly the only things certain in life are death and taxes -- but Death sometimes has plans of her own. You know the plans to release a Death anthology next year? The so-called “Compleat Death”? That’s just been revised, according to Neil Gaiman.
“This is news,” said Gaiman. “This is breaking news.”
During a Sunday appearance at the 92nd Street Y in New York to celebrate the 20th anniversary of “Sandman,” Gaiman let slip that as of a day or two ago, "The Compleat Death" was canceled… to make way for an “Absolute Death.” Read more...
Excited by the trailer for "Watchmen"? It's probably because you thought Alan Moore's groundbreaking graphic novel might have been -- how did they put it? -- "unfilmable." Several thought the work too dense, too self-referential, too much about comics. But with the little we've seen so far, that seems to be proven otherwise. So what else could Hollywood be wrong about? For starters:
Alan Moore's "Lost Girls" -- It's a wild tale, even by Moore's standards. Alice from "Alice in Wonderland," Dorothy from "The Wizard of Oz" and Wendy from "Peter Pan" meet up and realize that their stories are actually metaphors for sexual awakening, and go for some girl-on-girl action while they're at it. Very erotic. Or, as Moore prefers to think of it, very pornographic. Either go for an unrated version like "The Dreamers" and be true to the text -- or keep the sex less explicit.
Read more...