Paradise Reel

Some enchanted evening…

Adam Rogers moderating a Q&A session with Neil Gaiman.

As all of you would know from the previous post, I made a quick trip to NYC to attend a Q&A session by my all time favourite (living) author in the world, the master of Dreams, Neil ‘the Sandman’ Gaiman. The talk was sponsored by WIRED magazine in a series of conversations with the leaders in business, science, entertainment, design and technology and the event is hosted by WIRED senior editor Adam Rogers.

Neil Gaiman appeared on stage with hoots and whistles and he stepped up to the podium to read a short excerpt of his latest novel, “Anansi Boys”. I shall not bore you with the finer details of the session lest you think of me as a blubbering fanboy but he did, however, touch on a few of his upcoming projects which I absolutely cannot wait to get my hands on, watch and read!

“StarDust” (Audio Book)

Neil commented that he is currently working on an audio book recording of his second novel, “StarDust” (which is my favourite book to date). One of his many talents, and he has quite a few mind you, is that he has a terribly enchanting voice. I can imagine him be perfect voicing the “Lord of Dreams” if ever an animated feature on his beloved Sandman series came about. I definitely would pay good money to see that happen but there are things that are just best left alone in their element.

StarDust tells of a boy from a remote english village who ventures out into the magical forest to retrieve a fallen star for his beloved. Along the way he meets a host of zany characters who aids or hinders him in his quest. The best part about the novel is that it is a very quick read which you could start and finish it in less than a day.

“Beowulf” (3D animated feature)

This is going to be a computer animated film based on an old English poem that chronicled the exploits of a certain bloke by the name of Beowulf who manages to save a bunch of Danes from some fearsome creature back in the 8th century. A terrible movie version of this poem starring Christopher “Highlander” Lambert came out in 1999 and it should be noted that Neil’s version has no relation what so ever.

Mr. Gaiman co-wrote the script with Roger Avery who also supplied the literature for the Christopher Gans’s “Crying Freeman” and the upcoming “Silent Hill” adaptation (coincidentally also directed by Monsieur Gans). It will be produced by the same people behind “The Polar Express”. I know, I know, that was one of the least well received 3D animated features of 2004 with their weird character designs and funky animation but Mr. Gaiman assures that they have learnt from their mistakes and have taken steps to rectify said problems. Neil asked for a show of hands that had seen the film “The Polar Express” and a flurry of hands (including mine) shot up. Then he asked to leave our hands up if we were freaked out by the character’s eye movements and only a handful stayed up this time (including mine).

He described a moment when he visited the motion capture (Mo-Cap for short) set and saw Angelina Jolie and Crispin Glover all dressed up in limey green jumpsuits with close to a million red dots all over their bodies. But what he found really interesting was this smallish device that was positioned right above their eyes. When asked what it was, the technician told him that he was to record the brainwaves that are sent to the cornea so that they can duplicate the proper eye movements during animation. Well bugger me…

“The Graveyard Book” (Children’s novel)

Neil’s next children’s book offering is oddly titled “The Graveyard Book”. He actually got his inspiration from when he was living in a house next to a graveyard and since the house had no yard of its own, the graveyard doubled for their front lawn. His boy would ride out with his tricycle around the graveyard everyday and he figured that the image itself was quirky enough to spawn a children’s book.

He described his book as like “The Jungle Book” just with dead people in it where a young boy is raised not by jungle creatures but by the undead. He went on to say that the theme for the book is that the undead are harmless; it is the living ones are the ones who can do us the most harm.

Neil was extremely gracious in the thereafter when the signing of his books began, making sure that every single one of his fans got the chance to meet and shake his hand. I managed to get my StarDust novel signed (amongst other things) and went home happy as a pup.

I shall conclude this little piece with some quips from the Master of Mirth himself that showcases his acerbic wit and sardonic tongue…

“When asked what was his creative hours were like, he responded that in the beginning he usually worked through the course of the night but when he gave up coffee and cigarettes, his sleeping habits reverted back to normal.

Neil: So at about 1 in the morning I would be dozing off at the computer and 4 hours later I would lift my head off the keyboard and find 350 pages of the letter “M”…”

Adam Rogers and Neil were fielding questions and Adam commented on the different kinds of people that made up the audience, that there was middle aged, seniors and young children in the crowd.

Neil: Ah yes, Adam mentioned backstage before we came out that there was a surprising lack of pretty Goths in the crowd today.

Adam (trying for composure): Hey, I didn’t say it exactly like that…

Neil (deadpan): Yes, I improved it…