Christopher Fowler's Blog, page 442

Re:View – 'World's Greatest Dad'

Bobcat Goldthwait was the scratchy-voiced irritant in the Police Academy movies who has become a kind of reincarnated Bob Klane in the field of directing black comedy.

His taste-free epic 'Bad Santa' was hilarious, and would make part of a great double-bill with 'Shakes The Clown ('The Citizen Kane of alcoholic clown movies'). Now he's gone [...]

NYC In September

If you're East Coast-based and wonder why I don't come to sign books anymore, it's not that I've been ignoring you – I love the US and miss my trips there, I've just been busy here.

To make up for it, I'll be in New York at the end of the summer (September 17-21), signing [...]

Make Room, Make Room 2

More on the overcrowding of London. I find myself wondering how the tourist overload brought about by the Olympics will affect the tube system. Crossrail won't be finished, which means that the Tottenham Court Rd interchange won't be open, and the nearest other stations are already crowded to breaking point.

I'm the world's least claustrophobic [...]

Make Room, Make Room 1

I'm kidding, we love you, but please stop seeing lousy old shows in the West End. You won't gain any credibility back home by telling people you saw a show that's been running intermittently for 37 years ('Chicago') or 59 years ('The Mousetrap').

I was talking to Howard, my New York agent, today, and he explained [...]

Welcome To Smallpoxville

This comes via the ever-excellent Skip's Acorn Treasury – Skip's not his real name but I've forgotten what it is, although I did meet him at a dinner. I think he probably thought I was overexcited and annoying, as I become when I meet people I instantly like.

Near King's Cross is an area called Somerstown. [...]

Page Turners

Keith Page, the highly talented comics artist with whom I am privileged to be working, has finished over half of 'The Casebook Of Bryant & May: The Soho Demon' now, and has just drawn white witch Maggie Armitage's house in Avenell Road, Highbury.

Keith has architectural training, and it shows in his buildings of London. [...]

Futury!

While you're all teasing me about my writing chair, you may wish to try out my other writing chair, where I use my MacBook Air (a device that feels like the professional equivalent of the iPad).

It's the only shaded part of my home, and the insulated walls keep out all city noise even with the [...]

Say It With Flowers

Dean Street is not known as a through-route for funeral cars unless the deceased were Soho alcoholics – this was apparently spotted near my Bateman Street office outside Bar Italia earlier in the week.

Too Clever By Half

May I direct your attention to two very funny and somewhat esoteric books?

One was published a couple of years back. The second volume is new, and has inexplicably grown taller than the first, as books, meals, children and other expensive items are wont to do. This means they now don't match on a shelf.

They contain [...]

Tying Up The Threads

I blame you lot for this. Next years's Bryant & May will be the tenth, and it is going to be the Big One. It will tie up at least three (or possibly four) strands of the B&M story arc that have been twining together through the last few volumes. And – somehow, I don't [...]