Neil Gaiman

[thepaulo]

Neil Gaiman wrote the comic book series Sandman and it's spin offs based on the character Death. He had some involvement with the Spawn series and sued it's creator, Todd McFarland, and won $45,000. He wrote Don't Panic: The Official Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. He wrote the BBC fantasy miniseries Nevermind. He also wrote Mirrormask and the upcoming Beowulf.
I say all this to bring you up to speed on the new film Stardust which is a fantastic fantasy film. It has all of the humor and fun that was missing from Lord of the Rings and Narnia. I know it's blasphemy to attack those films but I honestly thought there was something missing from the Lord of the Rings trilogy
and Narnia is barely getting started. In both cases, the books are much better.
Neil Gaiman adapted his novel for the screen and frankly it seems like the movie has been underpromoted. It probably won't do well because of it. If you like fantasy, Stardust is among the best.
Michelle Pfieffer and Robert Deniro have never done a film together and unfortunately they don't share any scenes here but both are terrific. The film also makes good use of Ricky Gervais, Claire Danes, Rupert Everett, Sir Ian McKellen, Sienna Miller and the living legend Peter O'Toole.
This is truly a film for all ages and kids from 7 to 70. 84 out of 100

[TheMojoPin]

Isn't an 84 a B-?

[thepaulo]

my new new philosophy is too be a tough grader...no easy A from me.....but is an 84 a B-?

[angrymissy]

I want to see this. Neil Gaiman can do no wrong in my book.

[Freitag]

my new new philosophy is too be a tough grader...no easy A from me.....but is an 84 a B-?

No. 80, 81, 82 is B-, 83, 84, 85, 86, is B, 87, 88, 89 is B+.

[Furtherman]

This is getting good reviews - one review said: "For a generation that grew up on "The Princess Bride," it's got to feel like a long-overdue happy ending."

[JustJon]

I'm a huge fan of Neil's. I really enjoyed reading Stardust (had the oversized version with the Charles Vess drawings) and am really looking forward to seeing this.

[thepaulo]

sorry about the outburst

[Badinia]

I want to see this. Neil Gaiman can do no wrong in my book.

I love Neil also. If you ever saw An Evening With Neil Gaiman, your friend Badinia is in it.

[TheMojoPin]

I really loved this book, and the move looks pretty good, but I think Gaiman is vastly overrated as a comic book writer. The Sandman series is amazing and he has a few other decent one-shots and limited series, but he has a LOT, in my opinion, of really mediocre and unremarkable funnybook series and issues. I think he's proven himself to be a much better novelist at this point than comic book writer.

[Judge Smails]

I don't know anything about comics so I'll just say this and bow out. This guy's name is really Neil Gaiman (Kneel Gay Man)? This guy's elementary school years must have been a living hell. No wonder he got into comics.

[TheMojoPin]

I dunno.

[Furtherman]

No, it's pronounced "Guy-mon."

Yea, I'm sure the kids would have left that alone.

[Kublakhan61]

I saw this film last night at a screening and knowing nothing of Gaiman, who was in it and without having seen the trailer, I am pleased to say I really enjoyed this movie. I agree with PaulO's review - this really is a movie for everyone. DeNiro's best performance since Brazil - It felt it had a real Princess Bride feeling to it and this morning I realized why (thanks to some online review) this movie is so much fun because it is a movie concerned with storytelling not concerned with money making. From the opening lines of the film "This is the story of how a boy became a man."

Fantastic fun!

[sailor]

love gaiman's novels, never read a comic of his.

[furie]

i really enjoyed the Death series.
I'd love to see that made into a mini-series

[DarkHippie]

Stardust is a fantastic novel. i think that the casting for this movie is really good from what I've seen. i'm looking forward to this like no other movie this summer

[Kublakhan61]

Whew ... I didn't even know Stardust was a novel. I had figured it was Comic book series a la Sandman (which I also know nothing about). Seeing as how I was so impressed with the Stardust movie .. if I were to read something Gaiman what would I start with?

[sailor]

Whew ... I didn't even know Stardust was a novel. I had figured it was Comic book series a la Sandman (which I also know nothing about). Seeing as how I was so impressed with the Stardust movie .. if I were to read something Gaiman what would I start with?

i liked american gods and neverwhere. if you're younger, coraline might be a good place to start.

[Kublakhan61]

i liked american gods and neverwhere. if you're younger, coraline might be a good place to start.

I'm 25 ... Neverwhere sounds familiar. Was it a graphic novel? I may have flipped through it yesterday at the NYPL without realizing it was Gaiman. I picked it up for the title.

[DarkHippie]

I'm 25 ... Neverwhere sounds familiar. Was it a graphic novel? I may have flipped through it yesterday at the NYPL without realizing it was Gaiman. I picked it up for the title.

before it was a novel, neverwhere was a miniseries on the bbc. I liked the novel better. I think American Gods is his best. there's a sequel to it called Anansi's Boys, which follows a supporting character and his two sons. I have yet to read it, but its on my list.

[sailor]

I'm 25 ... Neverwhere sounds familiar. Was it a graphic novel? I may have flipped through it yesterday at the NYPL without realizing it was Gaiman. I picked it up for the title.

the age thing was for people in general. coraline is basically a kid's book, but still well done. neverwhere (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neverwhere_%28novel%29) was just a plain ole novel. (ah, it's also an unrelated comic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Den_%28comics%29) by someone else.)

it was apparently a mini-series (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115288/) made in 1996.

[sailor]

before it was a novel, neverwhere was a miniseries on the bbc. I liked the novel better. I think American Gods is his best. there's a sequel to it called Anansi's Boys, which follows a supporting character and his two sons. I have yet to read it, but its on my list.

i put three links and you just barely beat me to posting? tsk-tsk

[C_T]

I want to see this. Neil Gaiman can do no wrong in my book.

I thought MirrorMask was pretty disappointing.

The Sandman series though is the greatest thing ever.

[sefskillz]

The Neverwhere mini-series is pretty bad... really poor BBC low budget affair. See it only after reading the book (even though the novel came after the series) :)

Saw Stardust last night and you're right on with it Paul. Some good performances mixed in there and some really great moments throughout the film.

[sefskillz]

Ouch. 3$ million estimated take on Friday.

[ShockValues]

I'm a big fan of Neil Gaiman. I'd recommend reading American Gods if anyone wanted to check out one of his novels.

[Chigworthy]

I would recommend readers start with his short story "Tastings".

[Midkiff]

Kneel, gay man!

[thejives]

It was really odd to see this thread, since I'm rereading the Sandman Comics right now.
When I was in high school I worshipped them, but they aren't holding up as well for me right now. I think he's a bit self serving with his characters.

Here's Morpheus, "lord dream"
http://www.julest.com/sandman/dream/dream19.jpg

And here's a picture of the author
http://i.imdb.com/Photos/Events/2839/NeilGaiman_Vespa_4281221_400.jpg

What I'm thinking is, to some degree, Gaiman lionized his inner goth with the Dream character.

Anyway, I liked the bits of Mirrormask I stayed awake for, and I'm a big fan of Neverwhere, so hopefully I'll dig this movie too.

[TheMojoPin]

What I'm thinking is, to some degree, Gaiman lionized his inner goth with the Dream character.

Well, obviously. I hate to be snotty, but it's like he was trying to hide it or even be subtle that he was writing a lot of himself in the character. Most authors at some point write themselves into their works, often as the main character.

[thejives]

Most authors at some point write themselves into their works, often as the main character.

Yeah ... but I think he's much more successful when he doesn't do that. That's why a lot of people like Neverwhere and American Gods, which are works where he spreads himself among multiple characters instead of being so obviously the main character.

I think he's really growing up as an artist.

[DarkHippie]

I hate to be snotty.

Since when?

[OddlyLurking]

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc219/Astrale4567/OddlyLurking.gif

[PapaBear]

http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc219/Astrale4567/OddlyLurking.gif
You're peculiar.

[Chigworthy]

I hope someone has taken my advice and read the masterpiece that is "Tastings".

[thepaulo]

I think Gaimen did a pretty good job adapting Beowulf with Tarentino's buddy, Roger Avery.

[sailor]

i just finished good omens which he co-wrote with terry pratchett (another personal favorite) and definitely recommend the book.

[thepaulo]

an update......Tne Nightmare Before Christmas's Henry Selick is currently filming Neil Gaiman'x Coraline.....Seems like a good fit.

[JustJon]

an update......Tne Nightmare Before Christmas's Henry Selick is currently filming Neil Gaiman'x Coraline.....Seems like a good fit.

Some preliminary footage has already been released and it looks fantastic. Really enjoyed the book, can't wait to see the movie.

[Miles of Smiles]

With Coraline and his new book this guy's still got cred.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/26/AR2009012602011.html

[Miles of Smiles]

This is paulo...I forgot I was using the ron and fez computerand i wasn't logged in.