Christopher Fowler's Blog, page 453

Hollywood Never Runs Out Of Ideas

It's said that there are only seven basic plots (see 'The Seven Basic Plots' by Christopher Booker) and Hollywood uses them all, again and again. For proof, check out this guy's 'premakes', which show some of those plots in action. You'll find more of his premake trailers on YouTube.

Too Many London Statues

There are literally thousands of statues in London, so many that most of us don't notice them as we pass by.

My photo shows the Jewish children statue at Liverpool Street Station, taken by Joel Meadows, editor of the knockout graphic novel/ pop culture magazine Tripwire. We were talking about London's statues, and I realised how [...]

Justin Bieber Hits London

Mr Grumpy here says: Can London hit him back? The singing mop is here surrounded by easily-led screaming girls, and makes me realise how easy it is to manipulate the lost, particularly if they're children.

One thing I notice again and again is that the children of very media-savvy directors and writers have very strong opinions [...]

Stare At A Wall

London walls, what a mess, eh? In the eighties every square inch of Camden was covered in band posters, and now you can't move for street art. That's when the council isn't accidentally painting over original Banksy works. Visit a round-up of street art here…

Confess!

Here's another thing to do if you're bored. Take confession. The good thing is, you don't have to be religious – it's an artistic experience. Find out about it here. Thanks to Porl Cooper for the heads-up.

Vagabond's Voyage

Innovative storytellers 'Little wonder' are running an audio journey along the Regent's Canal in King's Cross. Following the success of their site-specific promenade performance 'Vagabonds' Voyage', the company has created an audio tour based on the piece.

The audio tour is inspired by the rich history of the canal, drawing participants into this hidden [...]

Forgotten But Not Gone

'Work, work, work!' Mel Brooks' quote is my mantra, and this week I find myself on an alarming variety of projects.

I've delivered 'The Soho Devil' – Bryant & May's first case in graphic novel form, and the pleasure is working with the artist Keith Page, whose work actually makes me laugh aloud.

'Hell Train' has been [...]

'Content Free' And 'Free Content'

News that Arianna Huffington is selling her website to AOL for $315 million fills me with inexplicable annoyance. She has spent years writing in wearying detail about her rich friends and expounding on homeopathic treatments, vitamin supplements and self healing through breathing and energy foods.

Visiting the site was like having a tepid bath, okay [...]

My Favourite Literary Practical Joke

It seems I've always owned a copy of this book. I'm something of a practical joker, and this is the perfect trick to play on someone.

Bookshops are flooded with gift books based on TV shows, wartime hobbies and compendia of schoolboy knowledge played for ironic laughs. Who would have thought there was money to be [...]

Cliches In Crime: 'Looks Like He's Struck Again, Sir.'

I'm drowning under the weight of books.

Reviewing them for the Financial Times, judging them for the Crime Writers' Awards, researching them for my Forgotten Authors column, researching them for my own novel – oh, and reading them for pleasure.

Last night, tired, I read the same book twice by accident. When I was in the [...]