James Alexander Thom R.I.P.

 

I just found out that author James Alexander Thom died on January 30th of this year. That's him seen here with my Manager Brenda, bookseller Miriam, and myself in 1983 or '84. He was the first author where I was a major part of setting up his signing. His book FOLLOW THE RIVER was Miriam's favorite and she actually managed to get local schools to make it required reading. For years. It's historical FICTION, but Thom spent years meticulously researching his books. They were only called "Fiction" because he put words into his characters' mouths. He was soft spoken and distinguished, intelligent and witty, and everything I considered an author to be. We never had him back again for another signing but all of his books became consistent bestsellers that I was able to continue selling long after Miriam had left the company. In fact, I always kept stacks of FOLLOW THE RIVER in stock 25 years later when I was managing the Airport Borders location. When someone asked--as they inevitably did--"What's just a good book?"--I would say, "Well, our bookseller Miriam LOVED this one." Sold thousands over the years. Rest in Peace, James Alexander Thom.

 

Bonnie Lou

I stopped by the Library used book sale in the next county yesterday and one of the books I picked up for a quarter--LETTERS TO PAUL BABY-- turned out to be autographed by pioneering rockabilly hall of famer Bonnie Lou! 

Bonnie Lou was also one of the very first female co-hosts of a talk/variety show--THE PAUL DIXON SHOW--which she stayed with for two decades, even after Paul Baby died! An early crush of mine!

 

Booksteve Reviews: WE3-The Deluxe Edition

 

I hadn't read this before so even though it's more than a decade old, it was new to me. 

Grant Morrison’s WE3-The Deluxe Edition re-presents the 3-issue Vertigo mini-series from 20 years back about the incredible journey of a dog, a cat, and a rabbit. Yes, there’s more to it than that. You see, these are genetically reengineered animals meant to be used as weapons of war. They can talk, but only in giving voice to their own base needs and desires. They’re all in bulky suits of armor equipped with all sorts of weapons, too. 

 

One day, the government decides to decommission (as in kill off) the trio but the scientist behind the program, Dr. Berry, the woman who has taught them and trained them every step of the way and knows them better than anyone, releases them, causing the Army and various agents to go after 1, 2, and 3—as they’re called, respectively. And eventually, 4 is sent to terminate them.

 

  

Grant Morrison showed up on the comics scene back in the 1980s, originally as a kind of Alan Moore-lite, with more than a touch of Neil Gaiman thrown in for flavoring. The Scottish author also followed those two to DC Comics in the US. It wasn’t long before Morrison developed a reputation there for turning the comics he wrote, such as Animal Man and Doom Patrol, on their existential ears.

 

Morrison’s frequent collaborator is fellow Scotsman Frank Quitely, who pulls out all the stops as far as creative layouts for WE3. A whole sequence features 18-panel pages, with relatively tiny panels but no loss of understanding or storytelling. 

 

Morrison and Quitely, having long since mastered their medium and their teamwork, make it look simple as they craft their short, sweet, but actually complex tale of survival, loyalties, instincts, and friendship. In spite of the series’ violent scenes, more genuine emotion wells up from time to time than you’d expect in just a “comic book.” In spite of all that comes before it, they even manage to give the story a happy and most satisfying ending. 

 

Alan Moore may have been the great innovator, and Neil Gaiman may have turned out to be the better writer, but in the long run, one can easily make the argument that it was Grant Morrison who has truly become a Zen master when it comes to comic books, and their somewhat symbiotic collaborations with Quitely on titles like WE3 just add an extra touch of same.

 

What makes WE3-The Deluxe Edition deluxe is that after the story, the reader gets to go behind the curtain and learn how some of the magic they’ve just witnessed was performed. Take a look for this Vertigo collection at your local comic shop. You won’t regret it. 

 

Booksteve recommends. 

 

Happy Birthday Brittany Rose

For those who remember our companion photography blog which ended about a dozen years back--BRITTANY ROSE & ME, here's a bit of a flashback. Brittany Rose now lives in Connecticut but I spoke with her on the phone today for her birthday. 

We took probably a thousand or more photos over about a five year period and posted several hundred on the now long-defunct blog. Decided to share some of our most memorable portraits with you here today.

 

Booksteve Reviews: M3GAN

 

M3GAN is not your standard modern horror movie. In fact, in some ways it’s closer to the original Boris Karloff FRANKENSTEIN in that a scientist creates a form of life never before seen and then attempts to destroy it when it becomes uncontrollable. Dressed up in modern-day trappings, that’s exactly the plot of M3GAN. Similarly, there’s an unspoken warning about playing with forces humans perhaps shouldn’t be playing with.

 

Playing, in fact, is the essential concept behind M3GAN. The title character is a life-sized, lifelike little girl doll powered by artificial intelligence. She’s created by toy company scientist, Gemma. When Gemma’s niece, Cady, comes to live with her after her parents were killed in a traumatic car accident where she was the only survivor, M3GAN is used to pacify Cady. The two are bonded together by the doll’s programming, with Cady now being her “person.” With a capacity to learn and add to her own programming as she goes along, M3GAN acts as a friend, a counselor, a teacher, and a protector to Cady. At first Gemma is thrilled, and her company begins to prepare to market the $10,000 toys to an eager world. But then things start happening.

 

An obnoxious boy at a school camp steals M3GAN and is found killed by a car after falling down a hill. An accident, plain and simple…but when another body turns up, Gemma slowly becomes suspicious. When M3GAN begins to show more and more autonomy and Cady more and more dependence on her, Gemma slowly becomes concerned, then scared. 

  The movie works as a straight suspense narrative, with top-notch performances all around, particularly from Allison Williams (daughter of TV anchorman Brian Williams) as Gemma and young Violet McGraw as Cady. There’s a surprising emotional layer to the film, also, though, that might even bring some viewers to tears. Step back a bit further and you see it’s actually a dark comedy, both parodying the current and future state of the art as far as AIs go, and at the same time celebrating same…and warning of its possible dangers.

 

 

The real star of the picture, of course, is M3GAN “herself,” fresh from the uncanny valley. Credited on IMDB to Amie Donald in the mask and Jenna Davis’s voice, the effect is stunning and, presumably because of the leaps and bounds of progress we’ve seen in Artificial Intelligence, we not only accept her, we LIKE her. 

 

Unlike, say, Chucky, M3GAN is not a monster, even if she seems like one by the end of the picture. She’s a likable personality who finds herself in a situation where in order to follow her basic programming to protect Cady, she has to ignore Isaac Asimov’s famous Three Laws of Robotics:  A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. A robot must obey orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

 

I’ve read where there’s an unrated, gorier version, but it’s not needed. Director Gerard Johnstone paces everything perfectly in the basic version, allowing the violence when it comes to be more of a shock. In fact, M3GAN overall is a bit of a shock. Unlike movies like HELLRAISER, NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, etc, this little bit of science fiction really does seem just around the corner.

 

Booksteve recommends.

Bert Freed as Lt. Columbo

Many people seem to know the possibly apocryphal story about how Bing Crosby was originally offered the role of Lt. Columbo in the TV movie PRESCRIPTION: MURDER. Some have also heard that Lee J. Cobb was offered the role as well (a role he more or less would play in his final performance, in THE EXORCIST).

True aficionados, though, know full well that Thomas Mitchell played it in the stage play version.

BUT! How many of you realize that the TV movie was, yes, based on that stage play but that the stage play itself was adapted from a 1960 teleplay that aired on THE CHEVY MYSTERY SHOW and starred character actor Bert Freed as the very FIRST actor to portray Lt. Columbo?

Long thought to be lost, someone posted the entire episode on YouTube a couple of years back but it's gone now. 

 

Announcing: Connecticut in the Movies by Illeana Douglas (assisted by yours truly!)

Seen here is my friend Illeana Douglas, the movie star. We were introduced virtually by Kliph Nesteroff in 2021 and she and I spent much of 2022 with me doing behind the scenes work on her forthcoming book, CONNECTICUT IN THE MOVIES. I lead a very surreal life.  

CONNECTICUT IN THE MOVIES is a passion project for Illeana, as she grew up in Connecticut, and also grew up around movies with her adored grandfather, actor Melvyn Douglas. She lives there again these days.

Me? I started out as a proofreader but ultimately did research and copy-editing for the book. We had do much fun working together that we're looking at other book projects now.

It's a great book! Makes no difference whether you've ever even been to Connecticut, either, as the book is  about more than 80 movies set in Connecticut, and some of the most famous of those were never actually in the state, either.  

  

 

CONNECTICUT IN THE MOVIES talks about both--movies set in Connecticut but filmed in Hollywood, and movies actually filmed in Connecticut (although sometimes set elsewhere!).

The book is scheduled to be published in October of 2023 by Lyons Press, a Connecticut-based imprint of Globe-Pequot, a major publisher for many years. Online sources are offering it for pre-order but they're also saying it'll be 320 pages and our assembled ARC comes in at 700 so don't be surprised if the announced $32.00 price goes up as publication gets closer. 

So I'm asking you all to consider pre-ordering it now. If you order from Amazon, no money will be deducted until the book ships in nine months but you're guaranteed to get it at the current price.

CONNECTICUT IN THE MOVIES is the book on which I have had the most fun, and I've never been to Connecticut once! Illeana's light and lively explorations discover a whole new sub-genre of film--The Connecticut Movie: Dark Suburbia. She's also an excellent photographer and the book will be filled with color photos shot exclusively for this book. 

Here's the order page:

https://www.amazon.com/Connecticut-Movies-Dream-Houses-Suburbia/dp/149307573X?fbclid=IwAR1VYU-Nz9ngz4B7L0wlGouGwa4RgnOAJbi9UUECNok7gv6ssdY1SXxNJ04

And here's the book's dedicated Facebook page, where I've been posting all sorts of extras and trivia regarding Connecticut films. I'd appreciate it if you'd "LIKE" the page, even if you don't plan on buying the book.

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090652861160

Thanks in advance!