Just posted on Bill Thom’s Coming Attractions…

Centipede Press: Conversations with the Weird Tales Circle
Now available to order with the majority being released in late November
and early December.
Conversations with the Weird Tales Circle is a massive, oversized celebration of the lives of H.P. Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, Robert E. Howard, Frank Belknap Long, Seabury Quinn, E. Hoffmann Price, Henry Kuttner, C.L. Moore, Lee Brown Coye, Hannes Bok, August Derleth, Edmond Hamilton, Manly Wade Wellman, Fritz Leiber, Ray Bradbury, Robert Bloch, Donald Wandrei, Mary Elizabeth Counselman, and many others. Each writer has their own section in the book, complete with a custom drawing of the author by noted artist Alex McVey.

(Continue reading this post)

Ever since Clint Morris (pictured above), founder of Moviehole.net, posted the “casting breakdown” for the upcoming Conan film from Lionsgate, there have been those who persist in claiming that the whole thing is a “trick” or a “hoax.” Such is not the case, and I have proof.

(Continue reading this post)

Back in this post I clued you in that a pair of French Howard books, Les nombreuses vies de Conan (edited by Simon Sanahujas) and Échos de Cimmérie (edited by longtime Cimmerian subscriber Fabrice Tortey) were among the nominees in the “Essay” category for Le Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire, a prestigious French award dedicated to Sci-fi, Weird & Fantasy fiction. Well, the results are in, and Fabrice’s Échos de Cimmérie took home the loot.

Here’s Fabrice (right) holding up his award certificate with his REH pal, runner-up Simon Sanahujas, playing the good sport.

Those of you who went to Robert E. Howard Days in Cross Plains last June were able to meet Fabrice — and if you subscribed to the print Cimmerian you’ve already read a trio of the essays from Échos de Cimmérie in English translation — so you know how both editor and book were eminently award-worthy. Congratulations to Fabrice for striking such a solid blow for Howard scholarship in France.

As a colder-than-normal October wanes into November, the Light Half of the year gives way to the Dark Half of the year (as they would say in old Ireland), with a hunter’s moon on the rise.

(Continue reading this post)

It has been pointed out to me that when I recently commented upon/railed against the “casting breakdown” for the upcoming Conan movie from Lionsgate, I spent a lot of time looking at the various innovative and exciting characters therein, but spent little time teasing out the fairly detailed synopsis which can be read between the lines. So, with all disclaimers, I present below what I gleaned from the myriad hints in the “casting breakdown” as far as the plot of the film (such as it is) is concerned. (Continue reading this post)

I’m not that big a fan of heavy metal, Jack Black or video games, but for those who are, this might be of interest. Though they namecheck Frazetta,, but not Howard, in the wiki write-up, Howard’s influence is seen in some of the promo material. Another review here.

Over on the Official Robert E. Howard Forum, this was just posted by a member with the handle of “TortolaBVI”:

28 years ago, British television company Carlton Television, which was (and is) part of the massive ITV network, paid an extremely large sum to be one of the first terrestrial channels to be able to broadcast the motion picture Conan The Barbarian. An additional clause in the deal stated that Carlton television would have complete right to adapt for the television medium original works by Robert E Howard under the proviso that said work was in the public domain. Bearing in mind that this deal was made in 1981, The rightsholders to Conan really were not concerned with a date that was a quarter of a century away. Carlton Television did not have the rights to create original material. Everyone got that? They could create original material provided it did not make up more than 10% of any adaptation of an original Robert E Howard public domain story.

Which is where we are at, at the moment. The production has finance firmly in place to the tune of £7m, has a new director onboard (Mr Graham Harper has left due to scheduling commitments but was outstanding in helping find his replacement) the script has undergone revision to tighten the narrative, and a number of locations have been scouted.

(Continue reading this post)

CROM!

WARNING: The review below has been written in full “snark” mode. It is about four thousand words long. You might want to grab a drink (a strong one) or a sandwich (or both)…

In the past few weeks, there have been persistent rumors of Jared Padelecki, the co-star of the series, Supernatural, being cast as a “young Conan.” This provoked dismay amongst many Conan fans. Personally, I had a “wait and see” attitude about it.

More troubling news was posted on the Official Robert E. Howard Forum recently, thanks to Pete Roncoli. A “casting breakdown,” to be used for casting actors to appear in the projected new Conan movie (set to begin shooting in Bulgaria in February 2010), has been leaked to the Internet. This guideline does more than reveal what a casting director is to look for.  Putting together the clues within it provides a fairly detailed synopsis of the script. Many fans have already done so, and they are on the war-path like blood-mad Picts. Below you’ll find my commentary, accompanied by excerpts from the guideline as posted on Moviehole.net: (Continue reading this post)

Courtesy of Bill Thom’s Coming Attractions website…

ALTER EGO #92 presents Sword-and-Sorcery in the Comics, Part 3! – Coming in March 2010! (Continue reading this post)

The Nom de Guerre Theatre Guild is proud to announce that the 2009 Wicked Literature Halloween Theatre Festival will debut at Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills. Wicked Lit will be produced as a joint venture between Nom de Guerre and Theatre 40 in association with the City of Beverly Hills Recreation and Parks Division.

The plays featured for 2009 include:

The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe ~ Adapted and Directed by Paul Millet
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving ~ Adapted by Jonathan Josephson & Directed by Paul Millet
Pigeons from Hell by Robert E. Howard ~ Adapted and Directed by Jeff G. Rack (Continue reading this post)