Revealing The Cover: The 2009 LA Times Festival Of Books
The 2009 LA Times Festival Of Books brought in focus the pendulum of writers but none more so than in the paradox of Clive Barker and Ray Bradbury in two separate panels in the bright dusk of a Saturday afternoon.Clive Barker This essence of this man is the aspect of his choices. The angles of what interests him cross a vast element of territory. Granted most people are regimented by his more gruesome outings like "Hellraiser" or by his more flagrantly lurid work like "Nightbreed" but the balance is in the make. Books, poems and paintings seem to be more in his thought these days. He himself comments that he has moved himself away from the cinema but this was more because of the advent of CGI and his disgust with it. These CGI incarnations in his mind are too smooth and perfect. He is working on another film right now which follows his "Midnight Meat Train" which after being spotlighted at Comic Con two years fell through theatrical quietly. But he wants to use old school effects. When asked about a return to "Nightbreed", he says they have been working putting a TV series but nothing seems definite. What Barker seems to have been getting a lot of response on as of late is his children's books. An art teacher from a middle school made the comment that "Thief Of Always" is quite a magnetic and beloved book that the kids really take to. Barker found this really cool and related that his publisher, Harper Collins, originally didn't even want to release the title. He eventually sold it to them for a dollar but it got no publicity because they didn't get behind it. It is the kids that got behind it.Barker is currently finishing what sounds like an anthology called "Journeyman" which has different books inside it possibly including one of horror, one of poems, etc. He read a short poem called "Angels" to us which seems to talk about souls that are being redeemed that are supposedly pulled back to hell. In his raspy voice, the words have just the right amount of hope and menace. He is hoping to deliver "Journeyman" by summer so they can have it out in late fall. They want him to give it a more sinister title though. Barker was also inquired about his next "Book Of The Arts" which would be the third in a trilogy. He says that it is a massive undertaking. Some people have already been waiting a decade for it. He said it might be another 4 years. He first has to finish the next "Abarat" book which is the order he would rather go in. He also aired his opinion that "Lord Of The Rings" as book was not graphic enough for him when compared to his work. The key in his mind is creating more powerful women roles within the context and allowing the element of sexuality to come through. He believes it is through the gender wars that most of the energy seems to come through.
Ray Bradbury The essential Godfather of science fiction (balanced only by Arthur C. Clarke) imparted his wisdom but not without a generous dose of humor. For him nothing is done without love. His big insistence at the very beginning of his talk was bringing in a man in the perception of the fire chief in "Fahrenheit 451" and having him act back a scene from the play adaptation. Bradbury watches with a twinkle in his eye. When the man is done, Bradbury orders the chief to make the Los Angeles Times bring back its book section which, according to Bradbury, had been cut to one page. This cannot stand for him. He says for them to reinstate it or he will not be back next year When someone like this says this, people usually hear it. After making his point, Bradbury, always a storyteller, proceeded to give 5 examples of doing art for love, not for money, which if can be maintained is the best way.The first one was when he was writing a review on Fredrico Fellini Photo Book back in the 1940s. Bradbury said that he had always been a fan of Lon Cheney and Charlie Chaplin. He saw a lot of this imagery in Fellini's films specifically in "La Strada" when the wife is going over the hill. Fellini wrote Bradbury a letter after the article was published saying that the next time Ray was in Rome to give him a call. Bradbury eventually brought one of his daughters there for her birthday. He spent a week having meals afterwards with Fellini. When he was about to leave, he says Fellini hugged him and remarked: "My Twin!" Pure love. The second element came as he was writing "The Martian Chronicles". He was always a lover of poems but they did not necessarily get read on a widespread basis. He decided to write a small part of "Martian Chronicles" in prose poetry. He did this because he remembered riding cross-country on a greyhound bus and being enamoured with John Steinbeck and "The Grapes Of Wrath". He admired how Steinbeck, as a novelist, was able to weave these two styles together seamlessly. After "Martian Chronicles" was released, he got a call for lunch from Aldous Huxley, the author of "A Brave New World", who briskly told him that he was a "poet". He said he didn't write the poetry elements of "Martian" because he had to. He wrote it out of love. The poetry continued.He was approached by Pro Football Magazine some years later to write an article and they offered him $5000. He said he could not be bought. His brother was a professional player and he did love the sport but it was not the right thing. Because it was in his mind, he set about and wrote a 40- line poem about his love of football. Of course, he thought no one would buy it. So he sent it to Pro Football Magazine. They ended up publishing it 3 times over the next 5 years including once on the cover. Bradbury said he imagined all these hardcore football players in the stadium with the magazine in their hand looking at each other saying "You want to read a poem?"Another story he imparted was of his want to work with Director John Huston since he was such a fan. When he was 19 years old, he was hanging out around the movie studios in Los Angeles. He loved the industry. When he finally got into the arena in terms of an entry job, his mentor, who was in radio at the studio, invited him to have dinner with him and John Huston. Bradbury declined graciously saying he didn't want to go until he had something to offer the director. Three years later he had published three books including "Martian Chronicles" and "The Illustrated Man". He had his agent get him a dinner with Huston, put all his books on the table and said: "If you ever have need for a sceeenplay, I will write it." A couple months or a year later (he wasn't specific), Huston called him back up and asked him if he would move for a couple months to Ireland with him to write a new screenplay. Bradbury asked what it was. Huston said "Moby Dick". Bradbury's response is one that most of us have had: "I can't finish that damn novel!" Huston asked him to go home and read the book and call him in the morning if he could do it. Bradbury told his wife that it wasn't possible. But, then that night as he read, he saw something in the pages: his love of Shakespeare. He began to put his vision at work saying "I am Herman Melville". He came back and told Huston that he would go with him. He recounts how in one day once they got over there he wrote the last 40 pages of the screenplay in one sitting. So, in effect, the last 30 minutes of that movie were written in a day. That wasn't because of time crunch according to Bradbury. That was out of love.Another story involved when he was invited to meet Gene Kelly, one of the most revered stars in screen history, who had just starred in "Singin' In The Rain", the best musical ever made according to Bradbury. Ray told Kelly he wanted to do something with the star. He then wrote an entire screenplay on spec without Kelly ever asking but just for him. Kelly loved the screenplay and wanted to make the film since it was something different. He went over to Europe to try and find the financing but couldn't make it come together. He apologized to Bradbury but the author was just glad to have written something one of his idols loved. Later Bradbury adapted the screenplay into a novel. It was made into a movie nearly 40 years later. That book was "Something Wicked This Way Comes".Right before he concluded, Bradbury relayed one more fact. Less than 100 yards from the Ackerman Ballroom where we all sat on this Saturday afternoon lies Powell Hall. In the basement of that building, more than 50 years ago, Bradbury had rented a typewriter for 10 cents a half hour. He nearly lived in this spot for a good while. It was here that he wrote "Fahrenheit 451" with a roll of dimes. It cost him 9.80 cents for the typewriter time to write that book over less than a dozen weeks. And he did it out of love.The 2009 LA Times Festival Of Books stop although brief for this attendee brought definite stories on the nature of interaction and storytelling between two extreme masters, one of the first generation and one of its rebranding.