• Inside Entertainment,  Media Rants

    A Pop Culture Rant

    As if it isn’t obvious, I’m a pop culture nerd. Or was. I think I’m just about done. I don’t have a lot of confidence in today’s industry to make good adaptations of those characters I love. In fact, most of the time I feel insulted. What’s happened? Why has it changed so drastically? Why are these blockbusters so often style without substance? It wasn’t always this way. Superman’s a good example. The original two Richard Donner movies – Superman (1978) and Superman II (2006: this is the year the official Richard Donner version was released) –  are classics. Donner knew Superman. He loved Superman. He created a vision of…

  • Inside Entertainment,  Media Rants

    The Star Wars Conundrum

    As a writer, I live by a simple rule when it comes to revision: if two of my alpha readers cite the same issue, then I must (absolutely non-negotiable) address that issue – even if I vehemently disagree with what those readers are saying. Where two people have seen a problem, others will also. When I’ve worked as an editor, I’ve seen writers steadfastly defend their narrative. Working on an anthology about eight years ago, I had one author refuse to address a plot point that four editors had cited. I told him we were a representation of his readers. He refused to be moved. The Star Wars Sequel Trilogy…