nightshade1972

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Relic, by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, was turned into a movie in 1997 (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120004/).  The book was very interesting and thought provoking, and the authors had obviously done a great deal of research to make the story as believable as possible.

Preston and Child sold the rights to the book to a Hollywood studio, who hired  independent screenwriters to do the script.  Neither Preston nor Child wrote any part of the screenplay.  The opening credits of the film state only that the movie was "based on" the book. 

Unfortunately, the finished product bore about as much resemblance to the original book as a silkscreen tshirt bears to the original Mona Lisa hanging in the Louvre.  The screenwriters literally omitted the central character in the book, because "they couldn't figure out who to cast in the role" (I heard that from Douglas Preston himself, when he was in town recently for a book signing).  You might as well try to write the Bible without mentioning God. 

I couldn't even finish the movie.  I stuck it out till about the last half hour, because I kept hoping the awful, B-movie horror flick I was watching would somehow turn into the well-written, engrossing tale I'd stayed up until 3am to finish.  Alas, it was not to be. 

It's also worth noting here that, at about the same time "Relic" was released in the theatres, Preston and Child had also optioned the rights to another novel of theirs, Riptide.  I saw promotional trailers for that movie in the theatres, but never heard another word about it.  At the recent Douglas Preston book signing I attended, someone asked him about that.  Apparently Preston and Child were (whodathunk) so disgusted with what had been done to Relic, they decided to forgo making Riptide into a movie unless they were granted complete creative control, and they couldn't find a studio willing to let them keep those rights.

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I "collect" yarn.  I like to do a lot of crochet and plastic canvas work.  Both hobbies require large amounts of yarn.  I have a bad habit of buying excessive quantities of a given color because I think it'll make a nice afghan/sweater/kleenex box "someday".  That's one of the reasons I posted pictures of the sweater I made for hubby's aunt, and the kleenex box I made for hubby's cousin--it'd be nice to dig into my current yarn stash, so I'd have a good excuse to go buy more yarn.

:-)

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Depends on how you define "criticism".  I've had negative feedback to things I've said on LJ.  More often than not, that criticism reflects more poorly on the commenter's intelligence than my own.  Constructive criticism, delivered kindly, can and does "inspire me to change".  But telling me I'm an idiot for thinking the world is round, when "everybody knows" it's flat, just makes me laugh.

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"That Thing You Do!" always makes me happy. It embodies everything about the movies that most of the big studios seem to have forgotten about. To wit:

You don't have to have a "big star" in the lead role for it to be a good movie. Tom Hanks is in it, but not from the beginning, and it's not really a "lead" role.

You don't have to have the F bomb dropped every third word in order for the dialogue to be "interesting" or "grown-up".

You don't have to have nudity or sex in the movie *at all* in order for the movie to have an interesting plot.

You don't have to blow things up every ten minutes in order for the movie to have an interesting plot.

"That Thing You Do!" always makes me smile because it's about working hard to succeed. Not having everything you want because you're rich, or pretty, or famous. Actually *working* to get where you want to go, how much sweeter success tastes when it's not handed to you on a platter...and what happens when working hard just isn't enough to maintain that success.

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I do not believe in a mythical creature called "god". I believe that religion is man's way to explain things which he otherwise cannot. While it's true there's still an awful lot about the universe we don't understand, or can't yet explain, it's ridiculous to just brush all that aside by covering one's ears, tightly closing one's eyes, and chanting "God did it! la la la la!"

I believe in ESP and psychic phenomena. I also believe there are an awful lot of charlatans out there who use that to prey on the needy and the lonely. I believe in such things because, as I said before, there's still an awful lot which we can't explain. The fact we can't explain certain things doesn't mean that ghosts aren't real, or that the future can't be predicted.

I think we make our own choices. I don't believe that things are "predestined". Life events might push us one way or the other, but it's ultimately up to us to decide our fate. If things were "predetermined", we'd never have a reason to question our actions or our decisions. We'd already know the "right" path to take. "Bad judgment gives us experience. Experience gives us good judgment."

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Yes. I have told my mother directly that I no longer wish to have contact with her. I've also told Dad I don't want contact with her, as much as I can avoid it. I've also told them I'm really not interested in talking to Gram (my maternal grandmother) anymore either.

I need the Maternal Unit out of my life because she's always made me feel that if she'd had the legal choice back then, and if prenatal testing for hydrocephalus had been available back then, I wouldn't be sitting here right now. And I'm not interested in maintaining contact with Gram because she's a constant source of negativity. She belittled the Maternal Unit to the point that my mother decided that must be the right way to raise a child. My brother and I are in our thirties, and neither of us have seen fit to provide the Maternal Unit with a grandchild.

I'd be happy to maintain contact with Dad and my brother, but they've both made it pretty clear that if Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy, and they'd rather keep her happy than try to maintain a relationship with me if I don't want the Maternal Unit in the picture.

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Hubby and I will probably go to The Reggae Hut, a Jamaican restaurant in the downtown Houston area. We're members of our local museum, and a while back they did an after hours tasting thing at the museum where about thirty restaurants from around the city brought samples of their food. The Reggae Hut's garlic shrimp was the highlight of my evening, and I want to go back for a full plate :-)

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The William Petersen character from the movie "Manhunter". That movie was based on the novel "Red Dragon", the prequel to "Silence of the Lambs". That role is what helped him get the part of Gil Grissom on CSI: LV.

Is there any song you'll never grow tired of hearing? If so, what is it, how long have you loved it, and why?

Submitted By connxx




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"My Life", by Billy Joel. I first heard it when it was new and I was very young, and even back then I thought it would be the perfect song to sing to the Maternal Unit. However, I knew she wouldn't "get it" at all, so the fun would have been mostly lost :-)

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I had a guy tell me once (as a joke, we were already friends) "I consider myself an 'international lover', I have Russian hands and Roman fingers."

:-D