Posts by Sonya Bateman
The candid Stephen Colbert
Posted:
12.02.2010
Comments: 0
So earlier this year, the good folks at reddit helped raise money for the DonorsChoose rally. Stephen Colbert promised to chat with them and answer some questions if they reached a certain amount. They did. So he talked.
Most Colbert fans know that, behind the character he plays on The Colbert Report, Stephen is an intelligent, insightful and often fascinating man. Of course, he’s also funny. Funny and intellectual go a long way toward helping folks become more informed – it’s easier to digest facts with a dose of humor, which probably goes a long way toward Colbert’s popularity.
The casual interview on reddit features the man behind the character, and contains some great stuff like:
Saw 3D: Full circle, indeed
Posted:
11.05.2010
Comments: 1
Allow me to get this right out in the open: I’m a huge horror fan. I started reading Stephen King novels at the tender age of 10, and watched my first real horror flick at 11 (Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, which I must have watched a hundred times from the first to when I graduated high school). But I do have some standards – I need a little plot with my horror. Gore-fests are great, but gallons of blood and guts just aren’t enough to keep me coming back for sequel after sequel after sequel.
That’s why I fell in love with the first Saw movie. (Well, that, and Cary Elwes, who will forever be the Dread Pirate Wesley to me but still rocks my world whatever he’s in.) The original Saw was amazing – it was new and different, filled with both gore and heavy psychological scares, and the ending (which, thankfully, no one spoiled for me) completely blew me away. I actually stood up and cheered for it. Good thing I was watching it at home.
Naturally, I wanted more. I continued to watch the Saw franchise (though I waited for the DVDs rather than going to the theater). None of the sequels were as mind-blowingly awesome as the original, but they were certainly satisfying. Plot was maintained along with a lovely high gore factor, and for most of the movies, I managed to take away a surprise or two.
When I heard the final installment was going to be in 3-D, I knew I HAD to see it in a theater. Eye-popping splatter! Bring it on!
The Strain by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan
Posted:
10.27.2010
Comments: 0
How many people are sick of vampire books? Here, I imagine vast hordes of people raising their hands, crying, “Please! Save us from Twilight fever!” (No offense to the multitudes of Twilight fans out there…) I know I’m at least overwhelmed by the sheer mass of vampire fiction out there – sure, I love a [...]
Neil Gaiman: Leaving a trail of Internet destruction
Posted:
10.19.2010
Comments: 0
In addition to writing novels, comic books, kids’ fiction, TV scripts, film scripts, and most recently, editing a Year’s Best comic anthology, Neil Gaiman is perhaps one of the most technologically with-it authors today. While many old-school creative types admit a certain reluctance to embrace all things gadget-like, Gaiman has thrown himself into the brave new e-world with a certain reckless abandon – a characteristic that’s served him well in his immensely popular body of work.
Perhaps best known for The Sandman comic and Coraline, the book and film, Gaiman has worked successfully in just about everything, including collaborative fiction with another fantasy powerhouse, Terry Pratchett. Recently, New York Magazine’s culture blog,The Vulture coaxed a few more than 140 characters (the limit for Twitter comments, which Gaiman puts out voraciously for nearly 1.5 million followers) from the fantastic fantasist.
Here are some highlights from that interview. You can read all about it here.
Guillermo del Toro is fat, awesome
Posted:
10.12.2010
Comments: 0
“I’m going to sit, because I’m fat. I hope you’re drinking stuff.”
These are the first words from the mouth of one of the most visionary directors of our time as he mounts a stage in Portland for a fascinating interview that is supposed to be about his new book, The Strain – but ends up revealing so much more.
The eminently possible return of Dr. Horrible
Posted:
10.07.2010
Comments: 3
Back in 2008, during a Hollywood writer’s strike, Joss Whedon set out to prove that filmmakers didn’t need big budgets and big distribution to create something that would resonate with movie fans. So he took Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Fillion, and Felicia Day, and put them in a… musical. Which is not something one would immediately deem a “good plan with a high probability of success.” Honestly, on the surface, the concept sounds ridiculous – Doogie Howser, M.D. and Captain Malcolm from Serenity, not only together, but singing?
However, we’re talking Joss Whedon here. There’s a reason he has millions of rabid fans – the man’s a genius. “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog“, released exclusively online in three acts, was a resounding success, garnering a server-crashing 2-plus million views in its initial week-long run, not to mention spawning countless fan and tribute videos, sites, and Internet memes. Then, Whedon and Company released a Dr. Horrible DVD with bonus features like singing commentary, to very brisk sales and overwhelmingly positive reviews.
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