George R.R. Martin's Blog, page 57
November 21, 2017
City of the Angels
I have a love/ hate relationship with Los Angeles.
I spent a lot of time there back in the 80s and 90s, when I was on TWILIGHT ZONE and BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, and in the years that followed, when I was in development hell. A good decade, all told. At least three of those years were spent on the 405, I seem to recall... but in any case, I have lots of good memories of LA, and some bad memories as well. I made lots of friends out there. And even now, my work requires me to visit the City of Angels (which seems less angelic every day, if you're reading the news) several times a year.
Those visits are usually mixed bags. I do business, which is necessary. Sometimes I come home with awards, which is great. I check in on old friends, always a pleasure (though all of us get older every year). From time to time I make new friends, always a joy. But I hate driving in LA even more than I did in the 90s, if that is possible, and the weather is usually beastly. So bloody hot and humid I don't know how anyone can stand it. Then, of course, there are the meetings. Some are fun, some are not. Even the best meetings, it seems, seldom lead to anything real.
Last week, however, I had a great visit to LA. The weather, for once, was gorgeous. Not too hot, not too humid, beautiful blue skies, stunning sunsets.
When I wasn't gazing out over the city from the balcony of my room at the Four Seasons, I was having meetings. HBO meetings, for the most part... exciting stuff, and they all went well... and meetings with some major film studios as well, about possible adaptions of some of my other work. All very exciting. Cross your fingers, cross your toes, I might have thrilling news down the line.
I also got to check in with some of those old friends I mentioned. One of the highlights was the dinner I shared with some of the folks I worked with on BEAUTY AND THE BEAST.
The whole gang could not be there, but we did gather (from left to right) Linda Campanelli (writer), Jay Acovone (Joe Maxwell), Ron Koslow (creator, showrunner), yours truly (writer/ producer), Ron Perlman (Vincent), and David Schwartz (producer). It was a grand gathering. We told some stories and shared some laughs, and of course we all lifted a glass to the memory of Roy Dotrice, our Father... who made it to 94, and still died way too young.
It was an honor to work on BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, and I'm proud of the work we did there.
((Comments permitted, if you STAY ON TOPIC))
I spent a lot of time there back in the 80s and 90s, when I was on TWILIGHT ZONE and BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, and in the years that followed, when I was in development hell. A good decade, all told. At least three of those years were spent on the 405, I seem to recall... but in any case, I have lots of good memories of LA, and some bad memories as well. I made lots of friends out there. And even now, my work requires me to visit the City of Angels (which seems less angelic every day, if you're reading the news) several times a year.
Those visits are usually mixed bags. I do business, which is necessary. Sometimes I come home with awards, which is great. I check in on old friends, always a pleasure (though all of us get older every year). From time to time I make new friends, always a joy. But I hate driving in LA even more than I did in the 90s, if that is possible, and the weather is usually beastly. So bloody hot and humid I don't know how anyone can stand it. Then, of course, there are the meetings. Some are fun, some are not. Even the best meetings, it seems, seldom lead to anything real.
Last week, however, I had a great visit to LA. The weather, for once, was gorgeous. Not too hot, not too humid, beautiful blue skies, stunning sunsets.
When I wasn't gazing out over the city from the balcony of my room at the Four Seasons, I was having meetings. HBO meetings, for the most part... exciting stuff, and they all went well... and meetings with some major film studios as well, about possible adaptions of some of my other work. All very exciting. Cross your fingers, cross your toes, I might have thrilling news down the line.
I also got to check in with some of those old friends I mentioned. One of the highlights was the dinner I shared with some of the folks I worked with on BEAUTY AND THE BEAST.
The whole gang could not be there, but we did gather (from left to right) Linda Campanelli (writer), Jay Acovone (Joe Maxwell), Ron Koslow (creator, showrunner), yours truly (writer/ producer), Ron Perlman (Vincent), and David Schwartz (producer). It was a grand gathering. We told some stories and shared some laughs, and of course we all lifted a glass to the memory of Roy Dotrice, our Father... who made it to 94, and still died way too young.
It was an honor to work on BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, and I'm proud of the work we did there.
((Comments permitted, if you STAY ON TOPIC))
My Great Nephew
Brady is eighteen months old. Son of my nephew Jeff. Which makes him my great nephew, I guess. And me a great uncle. A grunkle.
On my trip east a couple of weeks ago I visited Bayonne and saw him for the first time since he was a babe in arms. What a difference a year makes.
He's a true Jersey Boy. He's already learned that pizza -- New York style thin crust, please, accept no substitutes -- is the one true food.
Don't be fooled by the name. Brady is an old family name, nothing to do with that guy on the Pats. He'll be a Giants fan, I expect, like his dad Jeff.
On my trip east a couple of weeks ago I visited Bayonne and saw him for the first time since he was a babe in arms. What a difference a year makes.
He's a true Jersey Boy. He's already learned that pizza -- New York style thin crust, please, accept no substitutes -- is the one true food.
Don't be fooled by the name. Brady is an old family name, nothing to do with that guy on the Pats. He'll be a Giants fan, I expect, like his dad Jeff.
November 16, 2017
Autumn Gold
The cottonwoods are turning in Santa Fe.
Always a glorious sight, at one of my favorite times of the year in the Land of Enchantment.
Always a glorious sight, at one of my favorite times of the year in the Land of Enchantment.
November 8, 2017
Jon Snow Goes Lame
Damn.
Jon Snow has gone lame.
https://www.punters.com.au/news/jon-snow-out-of-melbourne-cup_163670/
There goes my plan to wager my entire fortune on the Bastard of Winterfell.
Jon Snow has gone lame.
https://www.punters.com.au/news/jon-snow-out-of-melbourne-cup_163670/
There goes my plan to wager my entire fortune on the Bastard of Winterfell.
Roots
I am not the man you think I am.
I am not the man I thought I was.
Day before last, I spent the afternoon with Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr, taping a segment for his television series, FINDING YOUR ROOTS.
I thought I had a pretty good idea of my roots, but Dr. Gates and his crack team of DNA researchers had some revelations in store for me... and one huge shock.
I could tell you more, but then I'd have to kill you.
You'll just need to wait until my episode is broadcast, next season. Watch this space. I will let you know when the segment is scheduled.
I am not the man I thought I was.
Day before last, I spent the afternoon with Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr, taping a segment for his television series, FINDING YOUR ROOTS.
I thought I had a pretty good idea of my roots, but Dr. Gates and his crack team of DNA researchers had some revelations in store for me... and one huge shock.
I could tell you more, but then I'd have to kill you.
You'll just need to wait until my episode is broadcast, next season. Watch this space. I will let you know when the segment is scheduled.
Old Friends
The first SF convention (as opposed to a comicon) I ever attended was the 1971 Disclave in Washington, D.C. The first person I met at the con was Gardner Dozois, who was working the registration table when I walked in. When he wasn't volunteering at cons, Gardner was the slushpile reader for GALAXY... and the very same guy who had fished my story "The Hero" out of said slush pile several months previously, leading to my first professional short.
In other words, Gargy was the first friend I made in fandom, and my first editor as well.
He's still a fan, he's still a pro, he's still the best editor out there... and in the decades that followed, he's been my editor, my collaborator, and my partner in crime, the guy who founded the Hugo Losers Party with me in 1976... before going on to win, like, thirty-seven Hugos in a row.
I had the chance to catch up with him last week in New York City, and I'm pleased to report we're both going strong.
Friends like the Great Gargoo are the reason I love fandom.
In other words, Gargy was the first friend I made in fandom, and my first editor as well.
He's still a fan, he's still a pro, he's still the best editor out there... and in the decades that followed, he's been my editor, my collaborator, and my partner in crime, the guy who founded the Hugo Losers Party with me in 1976... before going on to win, like, thirty-seven Hugos in a row.
I had the chance to catch up with him last week in New York City, and I'm pleased to report we're both going strong.
Friends like the Great Gargoo are the reason I love fandom.
November 7, 2017
Sunday Woes
The Jets are playing better football than anyone could have expected.
And the Giants are unbelievably bad. Before the season began, some people had them picked as SuperBowl contenders. Instead they are contending for the number one draft pick.
"That's why they play the games," Chris Berman used to say.
(And damn, do I miss Chris Berman. ESPN's Sunday COUNTDOWN has become unwatchable without him and Tom Jackson. I've deleted my season pass).
Weirdest NFL season I can remember.
(Comments allowed. FOOTBALL ONLY).
And the Giants are unbelievably bad. Before the season began, some people had them picked as SuperBowl contenders. Instead they are contending for the number one draft pick.
"That's why they play the games," Chris Berman used to say.
(And damn, do I miss Chris Berman. ESPN's Sunday COUNTDOWN has become unwatchable without him and Tom Jackson. I've deleted my season pass).
Weirdest NFL season I can remember.
(Comments allowed. FOOTBALL ONLY).
October 26, 2017
Aces Assemble!
Lots of cool new stuff coming down on the Wild Cards front of late.
Earlier this month we had our big Wild Cards event at the Jean Cocteau Cinema, hosted by yours truly. Local New Mexico authors Melinda Snodgrass, John Jos. Miller, Victor Milan, Sage Walker, Daniel Abraham, and Walter Jon Williams were joined by out-of-towners Diana Rowland, Christopher Rowe, Caroline Spector, Walton (Bud) Simons, Mary Anne Mohanraj, Kevin Andrew Murphy, David D. Levine, Leanne C. Harper, David Anthony Durham (and his son Sage), Carrie Vaughn, Michael Cassutt, and... last but not least... the one and only Howard Waldrop, father of Jetboy, the kid who never saw the Jolson Story.
It made for an amazing evening, for those lucky enough to be there. And for those of you who weren't, hey, no problem. We're put the whole thing up on YouTube:
After the interviews, the whole WC crowd adjourned to the lobby for a mass signing (which included not only the Wild Cards books, but also their own non-series novel), where they were joined by Ian Tregillis and Laura J. Mixon. The result being that we have TONS of autographed books on hand, the WC mosaics often with multiple signatures. While the supply lasts, you can pick up copies of WILD CARDS, INSIDE STRAIGHT, ACES HIGH, JOKERS WILD, SUICIDE KINDS, BUSTED FLUSH, FORT FREAK, LOWBALL, HIGH STAKES, DOWN & DIRTY, DEAD MAN'S HAND, ACE IN THE HOLE, ACES ABROAD, and many other titles at the Jean Cocteau bookstore http://jeancocteaucinema.com/product-category/author/
We've also added a number of new posts to the Wild Cards blog at http://www.wildcardsworld.com/blog/ , with the most recent contributions coming from David D. Levine, Victor Milan, Laura J. Mixon, and John Jos. Miller. Check it out.
((Comments welcome, but ONLY ON WILD CARDS))
Earlier this month we had our big Wild Cards event at the Jean Cocteau Cinema, hosted by yours truly. Local New Mexico authors Melinda Snodgrass, John Jos. Miller, Victor Milan, Sage Walker, Daniel Abraham, and Walter Jon Williams were joined by out-of-towners Diana Rowland, Christopher Rowe, Caroline Spector, Walton (Bud) Simons, Mary Anne Mohanraj, Kevin Andrew Murphy, David D. Levine, Leanne C. Harper, David Anthony Durham (and his son Sage), Carrie Vaughn, Michael Cassutt, and... last but not least... the one and only Howard Waldrop, father of Jetboy, the kid who never saw the Jolson Story.
It made for an amazing evening, for those lucky enough to be there. And for those of you who weren't, hey, no problem. We're put the whole thing up on YouTube:
After the interviews, the whole WC crowd adjourned to the lobby for a mass signing (which included not only the Wild Cards books, but also their own non-series novel), where they were joined by Ian Tregillis and Laura J. Mixon. The result being that we have TONS of autographed books on hand, the WC mosaics often with multiple signatures. While the supply lasts, you can pick up copies of WILD CARDS, INSIDE STRAIGHT, ACES HIGH, JOKERS WILD, SUICIDE KINDS, BUSTED FLUSH, FORT FREAK, LOWBALL, HIGH STAKES, DOWN & DIRTY, DEAD MAN'S HAND, ACE IN THE HOLE, ACES ABROAD, and many other titles at the Jean Cocteau bookstore http://jeancocteaucinema.com/product-category/author/
We've also added a number of new posts to the Wild Cards blog at http://www.wildcardsworld.com/blog/ , with the most recent contributions coming from David D. Levine, Victor Milan, Laura J. Mixon, and John Jos. Miller. Check it out.
((Comments welcome, but ONLY ON WILD CARDS))
October 23, 2017
NIGHTFLYERS at the JCC
The SyFy channel will be debuting their new NIGHTFLYERS series late this year or early next, I am informed. The series is based on my novella "Nightflyers," first published in 1980.
"Nightflyers" was one of my Thousand Worlds stories, part of the future history that formed the background for most of the science fiction I wrote and published in the 1980s. The earliest version of it was a 23,000 word novella originally published in ANALOG, with a gorgeous cover by Paul Lehr.
That version of the story was a finalist for the Hugo Award at Denvention II (that's me and Parris at Denvention in the pic). It lost our to a Dorsai story by Gordy Dickson, but as always it was great to be nominated... and it did get me back in the Hugo Losers Club, after I'd disgraced myself my winning two the year before. ;)
The story had a lot of fans, though. One of them was editor Jim Frenkel, who was doing a new series called 'Binary Stars,' a sort of revived Ace Double concept with two 'short novels' sharing a single book. He wanted to use "Nightflyers," but needed it to be longer. I was thrilled to oblige, since I'd always felt the original needed a bit more room to breeze. I happily expanded the novella to 30,000 words, and in that form it was paired with Vernor Vinge's "True Names" in a Binary Star, and later reprinted as the lead story in one of my collections from Bluejay Books.
((I kinda hate that cover. For various seasons, which I will explain at the JCC)).
I don't know where screenwriter/ producer Robert Jaffe first encountered the story... in ANALOG, or via my collection... but somehow he did, and reached out to be in 1984 to option, and then purchase, film and television rights. The movie was filmed in 1986 and released in 1987.
NIGHFTLYERS... the movie... was not a huge hit. But it's a film that I have very warm feelings toward. NIGHTFLYERS may not have saved my life, but in a very real sense it saved my career, and everything I have written since exists in no small part because of that 1987 film.
Tomorrow night we'll be screening at the Jean Cocteau Cinema, with Robert Jaffe flying in from Los Angeles to talk about the making the film with me.
Come join us.
"Nightflyers" was one of my Thousand Worlds stories, part of the future history that formed the background for most of the science fiction I wrote and published in the 1980s. The earliest version of it was a 23,000 word novella originally published in ANALOG, with a gorgeous cover by Paul Lehr.
That version of the story was a finalist for the Hugo Award at Denvention II (that's me and Parris at Denvention in the pic). It lost our to a Dorsai story by Gordy Dickson, but as always it was great to be nominated... and it did get me back in the Hugo Losers Club, after I'd disgraced myself my winning two the year before. ;)
The story had a lot of fans, though. One of them was editor Jim Frenkel, who was doing a new series called 'Binary Stars,' a sort of revived Ace Double concept with two 'short novels' sharing a single book. He wanted to use "Nightflyers," but needed it to be longer. I was thrilled to oblige, since I'd always felt the original needed a bit more room to breeze. I happily expanded the novella to 30,000 words, and in that form it was paired with Vernor Vinge's "True Names" in a Binary Star, and later reprinted as the lead story in one of my collections from Bluejay Books.
((I kinda hate that cover. For various seasons, which I will explain at the JCC)).
I don't know where screenwriter/ producer Robert Jaffe first encountered the story... in ANALOG, or via my collection... but somehow he did, and reached out to be in 1984 to option, and then purchase, film and television rights. The movie was filmed in 1986 and released in 1987.
NIGHFTLYERS... the movie... was not a huge hit. But it's a film that I have very warm feelings toward. NIGHTFLYERS may not have saved my life, but in a very real sense it saved my career, and everything I have written since exists in no small part because of that 1987 film.
Tomorrow night we'll be screening at the Jean Cocteau Cinema, with Robert Jaffe flying in from Los Angeles to talk about the making the film with me.
Come join us.
October 22, 2017
Pfui
Life for a Jets fan is an unending torment.
Last week the refs gave the Pats an win over Gang Green with a bullshit reversal of a touchdown, one of the worst calls in the history of the NFL.
This weeks the Jets did it to themselves, blowing a two-touchdown lead in the fourth quarter to lose to the Fins. Total choke job.
Josh McCown finished the choke with a horrible INT with seconds left. He's a decent quarterback, but he's not the answer. He's too old to be the future. He's Fitzmagic the Second. The Jets need to bench him and play Petty and Hack to see if one of those might offer hope.
But they won't. They will keep on playing McCown, and win just enough games to make sure they don't get a good QB prospect in the draft, thereby assuring us of another decade of mediocrity.
That's the Jet Way.
Last week the refs gave the Pats an win over Gang Green with a bullshit reversal of a touchdown, one of the worst calls in the history of the NFL.
This weeks the Jets did it to themselves, blowing a two-touchdown lead in the fourth quarter to lose to the Fins. Total choke job.
Josh McCown finished the choke with a horrible INT with seconds left. He's a decent quarterback, but he's not the answer. He's too old to be the future. He's Fitzmagic the Second. The Jets need to bench him and play Petty and Hack to see if one of those might offer hope.
But they won't. They will keep on playing McCown, and win just enough games to make sure they don't get a good QB prospect in the draft, thereby assuring us of another decade of mediocrity.
That's the Jet Way.
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