Dryden Theatre: The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981)

Just a reminder. The neo-noir remake of THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE, with Jack Nicholson and Jessica Lange is showing at the Dryden Theatre tonight. And Jessica Lange will be there in person on July 25.

Dryden Theatre: Clash By Night

Don't forget. The 1952 film noir CLASH BY NIGHT, with Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Ryan and Marilyn Monroe, and directed by Fritz Lang, is showing at the Dryden Theatre tonight. Maybe I'll see you there.

Dryden Theatre: The Man From Laramie

Don't forget that THE MAN FROM LARAMIE is screening tonight at the Dryden Theatre. James Stewart! Anthony Mann! Noir Western? You decide!
This is the best of the series, and now's your chance to see it on the Big Screen!

Of Plot, Character and Cinnamon Rolls

One of my favorite blogs is "Type M for Murder," a group blog of mystery writers, mostly Candian, but all insightful. Recently, they have been ruminating over the age-old question of plot vs. character, what takes precedence, and have even added setting into the equation. But, with all due respect to all involved, I would like to politely disagree with these fine writers and answer the question in my own way. So...

Q: What is more important in a novel, Character or Plot?

A: Whatever is more interesting in that particular story.

Let's take a step back. This question doesn't even identify who is supposed to answer it. Are we talking to writers, now, or readers? I think Vicky Delany explained it best in her post on Setting. Vicky explains that when she is seeking out a book, setting plays a large part in whether she buys it or not. In the same way, this interest is reflected in her writing. But not everyone thinks this way. I know that setting plays a very small part in what I choose to read, but a much larger part in what I choose to write.

And other readers may have completely different priorities. A cop might like to specifically pick out police procedurals because he likes to check the authenticity of the writer's information. Another cop might seek out romance novels, because he deals with cop stuff every day and doesn't want to deal with it on his downtime as well. A third cop might pick up books because he has enjoyed the author's previous work.

The analogy I came up with in my head is this: What is most important in Cinnamon Rolls: the smell, the taste, or the texture? Surely one of these things draws you to eating a cinnamon roll, likely a combination of two or all of the factors. For instance, the smell might remind you of the soft, flaky texture of a roll. Or a hankerin' might come over you and the smell would seal the deal. And this limited scenario doesn't even take into account the ingredients, the literary equivalent of which might be vocabulary, or use of language, or a long, languid style.

My point is this: one of those factors might attract you to a project, but the project can't exist without the rest. Interesting characters with nothing to do is just as boring as constant action performed by cyphers. A cinnamon roll might taste good, but the experience won't be good if it smells burnt and the dough is stale. All of these factors have to come together in a particular way to be appealing to the eater, er, reader. And not all readers have the same tolerance level. Some may not want a cinnamon roll at all. Some may want a really big cookie. Or pretzel sticks.

I gotta stop hanging out at the mall.

So, in my opinion, there is no single important element in writing or reading a book. I may even pick different projects for different reasons. I love Lawrence Block's writing style. I'm attracted to Sean Chercover's Ray Dudgeon and Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs. I love Stephen King's twisty, unpredictable plots. The first book I wrote came from the setting, with the characters and plot shoe-horned in. Which is probably why I don't like it, now. But the book I (have been) writing now is more character-based, with the setting enhancing the character and the plot coming along. And I'm also thinking about doing something similar with the first novel.

Someday, I hope to put all the ingredients together for a tasty treat. But it's likely the recipe will never be the same.

Remember the Prime

There are very few books I've read more than once in my lifetime, but one of them is SPEAKER FOR THE DEAD, by Orson Scott Card. I got it from the Science Fiction Book Club in an omnibus with its predecessor, ENDER'S GAME. I still have that somewhere. The idea of a "Speaker for the Dead" is someone unconnected to the deceased that researches their life and speaks the truth of them to a gathered audience. This impartial cleric will be able to see the deceased for who they truly were, getting beyond the petty prosaic travails while they were alive and the sentimental yearning after their death. Thus, by hearing the truth about the deceased, their friends and family will truly be able to cope with their conflicted feelings and move on. This is a concept that fascinates me to this day, probably in ways I'm not ready to deal with yet. And I think it works well for people about whom not much is known. Celebrities don't have this luxury. Especially in an age of constant scrutiny and entertainment/gossip as news. We lost three major TV icons in the last week. But despite the memorials being planned and the TV specials being aired, they are three people that have most recently been in the public eye, even before their death, for the tragedies their lives had become. These are the truths the American public knows about them. But I am here asking you to look beyond their lives to their work. See them for who they were at their best. You might actually find something you like. Farrah Fawcett is probably best known as a pin-up girl. And secondarily as one Charlie's original Angels. But her peak as an actress probably came in the mid-'80s, with the TV movie THE BURNING BED and its loose cinematic companion piece EXTREMITIES. In BED, she is an abused housewife who takes revenge upon her husband in drastic ways. In EXTREMITIES, she is an attacked housewife who takes revenge upon her attempted rapist in drastic ways. You can Netflix both of them. Ed McMahon did a lot in his career in the spotlight. He was the host of STAR SEARCH for twelve years. He MCed the Jerry Lewis telethon every Labor Day weekend. Heck, I even rmemeber him with Dick Clark on TV'S BLOOPERS AND PRACTICAL JOKES every week. But I think everyone can agree that he is best-remembered for his stint on THE TONIGHT SHOW, where he was brilliant. Yes, Johnny was the front man, but it was the wonderful chemistry between the two that helped the show endure. Netflix any one of the TONIGHT SHOW DVDs. Yes, Michael Jackson was a music star the world over, and innovative and creative. But to people like me, who matured when MTV was nascent, he was a daily TV companion. And after having seen "Thriller" again recently, I know now that I never fully appreciated him at the time. This classic video (and I'll admit I saw it on the Big Screen, which has aggrandizing effects) shows what a charismatic performer Michael was at his prime. A good-looking, talented young man who was somehow able to convince one of Hollywood's most successful directors of the time (John Landis already had ANIMAL HOUSE, THE BLUES BROTHERS and AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON under his belt) to make a 15-minute short film about high school date that turns into a zombie attack with state-of-the-art special effects to accompany a pop/dance track that features an in-song "rap" by Vincent Price. And yet he pulls it off. It's brilliant. We are completely drawn in by his enthusiasm and the driving beat under the song. When the music stops and the dancing takes over a capella, even the shuffling zombie choreography provides its own percussive melody. And the choreography! Taking the Hollywood-accepted movements of a zombie and using it as the platform for an entire sequence? Brilliant! Exclamation point! I suggest you Netflix either "The Number Ones" or "History, Vol. 2," both of which feature the "Thriller" video.

So, let us all speak for the dead, and be the ones that honor their gifts to us, instead of remembering their pain.

Crime Beat

At 3:34 p.m. June 1, a newly appointed general manager at a store in Culver-Ridge Plaza, 2255 E. Ridge Road, reported that $2,156.02 and two parakeets valued at a total of $280 were missing.

And hopefully this was a pet store...

Dryden Theatre: The Far Country

Don't forget that THE FAR COUNTRY is screening tonight at the Dryden Theatre. James Stewart! Anthony Mann! Noir Western? You decide!