SIT REP

Let's see...

I'm up to 3128 words on my third Writers of the Future (WOTF) story after 2-3 weeks of eking out 1-2 pages a day 4-5 times a week.

I'm eagerly awaiting comments on my first WOTF sub from Leslie What.

Don't know yet who'll crit my second WOTF tale, but it will be looked at come 10-16-06 or so.

Very excited.

Once I finish off my WOTF stuff, I'm putting my screenwriting cap back on.

Looking forward to Clint Eastwood's WW II flick "Flags of Our Fathers" in a few weeks.

SNW 10: The final edition?

I just learned that there's some serious doubt about the Star Trek Strange New Worlds (SNW) 11 anthology coming out.

What's definite is that editor Dean Wesley Smith announced on his forum that he will definitely give up the reins after assembling SNW 10.

If Pocket Books decides to continue the SNW anthology series, they'll have to do it without Dean.

It's been a great opportunity to first learn from Dean and his wife Kristine Kathryn Rusch at their final Oregon Master Class in 2004 and then submit to SNW.

I've learned a lot of lessons that I'm appling to my writing in both fiction and film.

I'd actually expected this to happen sooner because Dean did say at the 2004 Master Class that he had some projects in the hopper. SNW has had a great 10 year run, but, as every scientist knows, nothing escapes the law of entropy.

If the gods're with me, one of my Trek stories will make its contribution to the SNW library.

"FEARLESS" REVIEW


Martial-arts films have entered a classic, high-style period to which Jet Li is well suited, and will be missed. They have an appealing blend of rich visual style (beyond the action) and mythic storytelling

"Fearless" in particular doubles as a hymn to Chinese nationalism and traditional eastern virtues. "Mastering others is strength. Mastering yourself makes you fearless." This quote from Lao Tzu, the father of Taoism, forms the premise for the film’s title, and underlies the emergence, fall, and rebirth of real-life Chinese martial-arts master Huo Yuanjia (played by Li).

The film is loosely based on the life of Huo, who lived from 1868-1910, and his exploits as a master of wushu (the general Chinese term for martial arts), which raised national morale during the period when troubled China was dismissed as "The Sick Man of the East."

We shoot into a Shanghai arena in 1910 to find Huo creatively putting a hurt on some foreign opponents. We're in the middle of a public match, one blatantly rigged to humiliate China. Three European challengers go down quickly, and a tough-looking Japanese master, Anno Tanaka (Shido Nakamura), steps into the ring for the final showdown.

As Huo readies to face Tanaka, the film flashes back to his boyhood in northern Tianjin, showing his father holding back and thereby losing a public martial arts bout. Huo, furious, takes on the victor’s preening son--and gets the tar beaten out of him. Despite his father’s opposition, Huo trains in the martial arts and becomes a local celebrity, but loses sight of what's important--family and integrity. Huo eventually challenges a rival master in a brutal battle over a seeming slight. His victory, however, turns to ashes when his opponent dies and Huo learns that he was misled about the insult and his mother and daughter lose their lives as a result of his actions.

Up to this point "Fearless" has had plenty of action, and accomplished naturally, without a lot of wire work or CGI effects; now it becomes quieter and meditative as the broken Huo finds himself in a distant Hobitton-like rural area, where he’s practically adopted by Moon, a blind peasant girl (Chinese TV star Betty Sun), and her wise Yoda-like grandmother. He learns while working in the rice paddies the virtues of humility, self-control and fidelity to the ancient ways. Huo and Moon enter into a chaste, underdeveloped romance. But Moon's inspiration reminds Huo that martial arts have their Zen side, that the word "wushu" combines two words that mean "stop war"--and that reinforces this film's sometimes incongruous pacifist themes.

After an unnamed score of years, Huo returns home, where he’s disturbed to see the Chinese kowtowing to exploitive westerners. He seeks help from his oldest friend, restaurateur Nong Jinsun (Dong Yong) to establish the Jingwu Sports Federation in Shanghai as a place to teach the true wushu way of focusing as much on spiritual self-awareness as on pure technique and to fight "with honor and civility". His success against a U.S. strongman (Aussie Nathan Jones) leads the foreigners to set up the four-against-one tournament to destroy his popularity. At this point the film reverts to the opening, with the final match against Tanaka, who proves to be a true samurai-in-spirit when his sponsors seek to win by dishonorable means. That scene excites and pulls heartstrings.

Yes, the story is pretty standard. Funny at times and both sincere and serious at others, though it stumbles occasionally when the plot gets predictable and sentimental. But the film benefits from the work of Yuen Woo-ping, who staged the numerous fight scenes with gusto, and the behind-the-camera crew: Poon Hang-seng’s cinematography is grittier than a lot of modern Asian cinema but just as sumptuous. Both Kenneth Mak’s art direction and Thomas Chung’s costumes are exceptional. And editors Virginia Katz and Richard Learoyd seamlessly integrate the quieter expository material and the explosive combat sequences. "House of Flying Daggers" composer Shigeru Umebayashi provides a sumptuous score as well. Not to mention Li’s amazing showmanship (I hope to be that agile at 42).

In terms of production value and dazzling action, the film rivals "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (2000) and "Hero" (2002), the latter being considered by many as Li's best recent work. "Fearless" also features a smiling, charismatic Li that hasn't been seen much since his "Once Upon a Time in China" series in which he played another real-life Chinese legend, Wong Fei-hung.

The film offers Li a few opportunities to stretch dramatically. Different subplots deal with Huo's flaws as a son and father, his strained friendship with his boyhood friend, Jinsun, and his romance with Moon (one very self-sufficient blind woman). Li is too young for the early scenes, but they still work. And, at the end, when Li's current age matches Huo's, he's able to give the part a depth and gravity that this kind of movie, unless directed by Ang Lee or Zhang Yimou, often doesn't have.

I came into the film with somewhat low expectations, but "Fearless" is director Ronny Yu's best work since his 1993 Hong Kong hit "The Bride With White Hair." Since then, he's come to America and made some busts like "Freddy vs. Jason," "Warriors of Virtue," and a "Chucky" sequel.

Reportedly, a major 40 minutes were cut from the film, right before its American release. The subplot of Michelle Yeoh’s character for one thing was edited out. A body will just have to look for a DVD version later. This explains the condensed storytelling, but "Fearless" doesn't feels gutted and still exhilarates and inspires.

"Fearless" deserves an audience larger than the one that already plans to seek it out. Sold as a martial-arts film, it's also the type of film that deserves to draw the kind of moviegoers who came out to gaze with wonder at "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"--a film that was geared not just to genre enthusiasts but was also sold as a "serious" movie suitable for a discriminating mainstream audience.

The story is told simply and clearly, and in striking visual terms. The fights themselves, including one on a high, nose-bleeding platform, and the numerous weapon combats are done simply and clearly, without too much editing razzle dazzle--a bit like the classical, lean way Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly filmed their dances.

In a way, martial arts movies are like musicals. Their soul lies in their action routines, but the best of them need a strong, supporting story to set off those scenes. "Fearless" isn't in the class of "Crouching Tiger," where the drama and the action fuse on a sublime level. But it's a personal project for Li, who loves his character of Huo Yuanjia and wants to use Huo’s story to raise his countrymen's spirits.

This story of China fighting for self-respect in the early 1900s plays well with today’s Far East Asian audiences because it nods to China's rising prosperity and confidence as a world power. Li's character symbolizes China itself, moving ahead by uniting past and present, urban and rural, clan and clan.

Jet Li has also stated that it’s his goal to express his personal philosophies about the balance between humility and self-respect, and the coexistence of violence and peace. The film is his chance "to use a violent story to talk about a nonviolent idea." Violence in service of serenity in other words.

Though "Fearless" is a story with incredibly staged fight scenes every 10 minutes, it is, first and foremost, about inner peace. It's brazenly sentimental with no major villain beyond Huo Yuanjia's flawed, impulsive self. And it preaches earnest Buddhist ideals; the post-enlightenment Huo tends to make statements like, "Competitions can uncover our weaknesses and open a path to discovery."

The film mentions the Jingwu Federation’s guiding principle of "mind, body and soul." Here, in my opinion, "Fearless" glosses over a major point. Kung fu, as practiced by the monks of the Shaolin temple, was a vehicle for attaining enlightenment. Self-discipline, good health, and the ability to defend oneself came as a consequence of practice, but weren’t the end goals. Through meditation and learning to master physical techniques, practitioners came to sharpen their minds and cleanse their spirits. When one takes martial arts to their end, one need not fight at all. A point that "Fearless" doesn’t dwell on.

In clarifying his public statement about the movie marking the end of his career as a martial arts star, Jet Li has said that it is only the last film in which he will practice the strenuous traditional wushu style of masters like Huo Yuanjia. At 43, Li’s body won’t allow him the acrobatic feats of athleticism that the genre demands. He will however continue to perform parts that utilize his skills in various action films as he works to build his reputation as a serious actor.

"Fearless" may be only his last martial-arts epic, which certainly leaves a lot of windows open.

(Note: Those interested are welcome to read an excerpt of my UCLA contest-winning Chinese Joan of Arc script, "Heaven's Mandate".)

"Clarion Moves" Chat

On Thursday, 9-28-06, I participated in a chat with Clarion board members, alumni, and Clarion hopefuls, who talked about the workshop's move to the University of California San Diego (UCSD) starting in 2007.

It ran for about 2 hours.

Here's a transcript:

------------------------------------------------------

"Clarion Moves" chat with the Clarion Foundation Board of Trustees

September 28, 2006, 9:00 P.M. EST

Participants were Tim Keating (chat host), Kate Wilhelm (Foundation President), James Patrick Kelly (Foundation VP), Leslie What (Foundation Secretary), Nancy Etchemendy (Foundation Treasurer), Karen Joy Fowler (Trustee), Jim Sheah (UCSD Constituent Relations), Liz Zernechel (2006 Clarion Director), Kate Fedewa (2005 Clarion Assistant), Jeff vandermeerr (2007 Clarion faculty), Boris Layupan (Clarion alum and Circle member), Traci Castleberry (Clarion alum and Circle member), Michael Furlong (Clarion alum and Circle member), Sarah Kelly (Clarion alum and Circle member), Keith Watt (Circle member), Thomas Doyle (alum), and Ray Vukcevich (innocent bystander).

TimK:
First I will outline how things are going to run for the participants, then I want to give each of you a chance to introduce yourselves.
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skelly:
Hi Jim and everyone!
LeslieWhat:
Even if we haven't started, can I take a sec to thank everyone for making space to be here.
NancyE:
Sure
LeslieWhat:
(it was a rhetorical question:)
NancyE:
=8)
lzernechel:
It's nice to be forced out of the theatre for a few hours
NancyE:
Good! Happy to help you out.
TimK:
Seems like the audience is small enough that they can be expected to behave themselves.
jkelly:
Maybe, but how about the Board?
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TimK:
OK everybody, we're running a little behind due to technical issues I introduced :-)
TimK:
I'd like to go ahead and get started now, unless anyone objects.
TimK:
(Silence is tacit statement of preparedness.)
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NancyE:
Hi, Ray
rvukcevich:
Hi Nancy
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mburstein:
Am I back?
TimK:
You are.
kwilhelm:
Hi, Ray, Jeff, all, welcom to chaos
mburstein:
Did I miss the opening statement?
TimK:
Nope.
jvandermeer:
hello
TimK:
Just about to get the party started.
TimK:
OK everyone, welcome to this Clarion (non) Circle chat.
TimK:
Our guests this evening are the Clarion Trustees and our topic is the recently announced move to UCSD.
TimK:
OK folks, we have left the channel unmoderated, so anyone can post.
TimK:
I noticed in the archived chats the moderator tends to take the lead in asking questions, but I honestly don't have a long history with Clarion, so I may not be the best person to do that.
NancyE:
Tim, just be our traffic cop. Keep things organized for us.
TimK:
You guys probably have more salient questions than I would, so I'm going to go directly into open Q&A.
jkelly:
Good!
TimK:
Right, if you have a question please say "question"
TimK:
I will give everyone the go-ahead in turn.
TimK:
I do expect everyone to be polite. I would hope that needn't be said, but there, I said it.
jvandermeer:
tea and crumpets polite?
lzernechel:
just thought I'd mention that if someone wants to speak to another outside the big chat area you can double click on their name to the right and it'll put you in a new room with them
TimK:
No, just no unnecessary cussing and childish name-calling polite.
LeslieWhat:
Good, because I already spilled my tea on my crumpet.
TimK:
I have been reassured by Nancy et al that they are here to answer even hard questions.
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kfowler:
sorry I'm late
NancyE:
Glad you made it
TimK:
I was going to ask each of the Clarion folks to briefly introduce themselves . . . but it seems that may not be neceessary?
NancyE:
Not a bad idea
TimK:
OK let's do that then.
kfowler:
I'm Karen Joy Fowler, part of the Clarion board.
jkelly:
My intro: Jim Kelly, Clarion victim 74 and 76, Clarion overlord 90, 92, 94, 96, 98, 01, 03. I think that's it.
kwilhelm:
Kate Wilhelm here. I've been involved with Clarion since l968 and presently am the chair person of the Clarion Foundation.
NancyE:
I'm Nancy Etchemendy, the Foundation's Treasurer, and a board member.
NancyE:
Oh yeah...I'm a Clarion victim, too. 1982
kfowler:
We call you survivors.
NancyE:
LOL
jkelly:
Thanks.
LeslieWhat:
I'm Leslie What, Clarion 1976 and BoD Secretary. Hi, all!
kfowler:
I think that's it for board members. We have a few who couldn't be here.
kfowler:
Would anyone else like to introduce themselves? I recognize some of you, in spite of your clever disguises.
kfowler:
Jim Shea should also be introduced, assuming he arrives.
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NancyE:
Jim, better now?
JimatUCSD:
Boy am I embarassed.
NancyE:
S'okay.
kfowler:
It's not Star Trek yet, is it?
TimK:
Nope.
NancyE:
Jim, welcome. Please introduce yourself.
JimatUCSD:
Yes, hello. I'm Jim Shea, obviously technology-deficient
TimK:
Hehe join the club.
JimatUCSD:
I work in Development at UCSD.
kwilhelm:
I have a statement I'd like to present, explaining a bit about the background of our move.
TimK:
Great! Before we start taking questions, Kate has a prepared statement she would like to post.
TimK:
Go ahead, Kate.
kwilhelm:
In the late spring of 2005 the Clarion Workshop was declared dead, with no future funding to be granted after 2006, and the projected budget for 2006 was seriously deficient in meeting the needs of the workshop. The Clarion Foundation was organized at that time, with the mission to ensure the continuation of the workshop into the future. Liz Zernechel agreed to become the Director for 2006, and with her dedicated assistance, along with Mary Sheridan and our own board members, we reworked the budget and the 2006 workshop was a tremendous success. Soon after organizing, our first formal motion adopted our priorities for seeking a new host. Topmost among them was to stay east of the Mississippi if at all possible. Next was affordability, then stability, and sufficient funding. There were two tentative offers that met the first priority but failed all the rest. We had to reject them. For the following year we pursued other possibilities that would meet our priorities, but we were not able to find a new host.
kwilhelm:
Early in the summer of 2006, with no home and no funding for another year, we agreed that we had to widen our search to include all of the states. To our surprise soon afterward there were three good proposals for us to consider. They came from Lenoir-Rhyne, a private college in North Carolina, one from MSU Outreach, and one from UC San Diego. Any one of them, had it been the only offer, would have been acceptable, but we had to choose. For several weeks we discussed and debated them all, asked for and received clarifications when needed, and modifications if needed. When we finally took a vote on which to accept, the overwhelming vote of the Board of Directors was for UCSD. It failed our first early priority, which we had been forced to abandon, but met the test of the others.
kwilhelm:
We are convinced that UCSD offers the affordability students require, stability, and sufficient funding for the next five years, at the very least, to ensure the continuation of the high quality workshop that Clarion has always been. For hundreds of past students of Clarion the memories of the workshops will forever evoke memories of the beautiful MSU campus and the two will be forever inseparable.
kwilhelm:
And to ensure that Mary Sheridan will always be associated with the Clarion Workshop, as she has been for nearly three decades, the Clarion Foundation has started a Mary Sheridan Endowment Scholarship Fund, to be administered and maintained by the Clarion Foundation itself. We’ll miss you, Mary, but you will be a part of Clarion forever, too.
NancyE:
Is Kate's statement finished?
TimK:
Yes it is.
mburstein:
If no one else has a question, I have one or two, but they're rather trivial.
kfowler:
trivial is a great way to start
TimK:
Agreed, go ahead mburstein.
mburstein:
Ahem. Can it really be Clarion without mosquitos, heat, tornados, and creaky elevators?
LeslieWhat:
You got tornados?
mburstein:
Many stories were generated with those elements, IIRC.
NancyE:
LOL
mburstein:
And my other question...
jkelly:
Damn, We forgot the mosquitos!
NancyE:
To be honest, I will miss the fireflies.
kfowler:
We will have to substitute earthquakes and tidal waves. Won't that work?
jvandermeer:
Can mosquitos be imported, perchance?
blayupan:
?
mburstein:
I have to admit that I am constantly annoyed at the way Clarion kept being referred to as "Clarion East." Will you work to have people stop calling it that?
kwilhelm:
Clarion is a state of hte mind. Furnish your own mosquitoes, etc.
jkelly:
Well they won't anymore
mburstein:
Earthquakes are good for stories.
NancyE:
We are trying hard to eradicate the "Clarion East" thing. SFWA is not helping.
kwilhelm:
WE have NEVER been Clarion East, Never, never!
mburstein:
For those of us from the east coast, it was really more like "Clarion midwest" anyway.
TimK:
I have a newb question -- Clarion West is a SFWA organization?
LeslieWhat:
No!
blayupan:
I can't remember mosquitoes and fireflies during my stint at East Lansing, but there was plenty of pollen to set allergies off.
TimK blushes
jkelly:
The street will find another name for us, I'm afraid.
kfowler:
The street is merciless.
blayupan:
It seems to me the workshop may be called Clarion Sun, Clarion Beach, Clarion Surf now.
NancyE:
Yes. "Clarion East" was just a street name. It's very difficult that it has stuck so well.
jkelly:
But we have no control over that in the same way we couldn't stop "Clarion East."
kwilhelm:
I insist. WE are Clarion. Period.
blayupan:
I always called it Clarion.
NancyE:
And Clarion always called itself Clarion.
mburstein:
I always called it Clarion, and I recently blogged about the change and reminded people to call it "Clarion." Period.
blayupan:
What's the chat's agenda?
jkelly:
Thanks, Michael.
NancyE:
Open Q&A, Boris.
NancyE:
Type "question" and Tim will call on you.
blayupan:
Ok
LeslieWhat:
Boris, by the time I key this in someone else might answer, but it's to talk about the move to UCSD.
blayupan:
cool
jkelly:
Yay!
blayupan:
I can only wonder what the MSU dorms and cafeteria is like along with having Damon & Kate as instructors. Any immediate effects of the move to UCSD?
jkelly:
UCSD is a beautiful campus in an entirely different way from MSU. Think ocean front view and beautiful weather
kfowler:
Thank you, Kate. Let me just add that one of the advantages in our minds to UCSD was that UCSD's thinking was very long term.
NancyE:
What are the immediate effects of the move to UCSD? Any takers?
LeslieWhat:
I want to reinforce the idea that the the board formed to work for Clarion and the writers who invest the resources (emotional and financial) to attend the program.
mburstein:
Um, are we still supposed to use the word "question" to indicate that we have a question?
NancyE:
Yes.
mburstein:
question
TimK:
Go ahead.
kfowler:
The immediate effects that come to my mind are the difficulties involved in moving from a place that was our home for so long.
NancyE:
Yes, a battle to get people to understand this is not the end of Clarion. We're just moving, not dying.
mburstein:
This is a little less trivial. MSU has an archive of all the stories written and photocopied at Clarion by the resident workshops there. Will that material be moved to UCSD?
jkelly:
yes, the archive will move.
lzernechel:
question
jkelly:
The library at UCSD is well equipped to handle them
kfowler:
The archives will move. Our arrangement with UCSD is that, should the workshop cease to be housed there, the archives will join the current collection of sf materials at Riverside.
NancyE:
The Eaton collection, one of the largest sf collections in the world.
kwilhelm:
WE will be certain that the archives are well stored and available at UCSD They are a very valuable asset.
NancyE:
Liz, go ahead.
TimK:
Sorry, missed that *sheepish*
lzernechel:
It is our understanding that all materials that were created while Clarion was at MSU, including the archives, could not be moved from MSU
lzernechel:
That was part of the reason we were so pushing to keep it here
NancyE:
Maybe Kate can answer this...or Jim Shea?
kfowler:
We were told otherwise.
NancyE:
Agreed.
JimatUCSD:
I can try. I don't know what the situation is at MSU, but generally, the archive would be movable if there were not a specific agreement to keep it.
kwilhelm:
We belive it can be moved, and we're working on that premise with the cooperation of Peter Berg, a librarian in Special Collections.
NancyE:
Peter Berg at MSU?
kfowler:
Yes.
JimatUCSD:
I know that in past conversations, our Special Coll Librarian has been in touch with Peter.
kwilhelm:
Yes, he is at MSU.
JimatUCSD:
Peter has provided a detailed list of the documents that are in the Archive, and outlined the size and space needed to house it
JimatUCSD:
So I assume he considers it movable
NancyE:
Other questions?
Mfurlong:
question
blayupan:
?
kwilhelm:
Jim, he indicated as much in an earlier e-mail.
TimK:
Go ahead Mfurlong
Mfurlong:
Will next year be the 40th anniversary for Clarion, and if so, is there any kind of event planned for alumni
JimatUCSD:
This is a great question
Mfurlong:
next year? at the new location?
JimatUCSD:
I've already been thinking ahead to which year is the 40th -- 2007, the fortieth class, or 2008?
NancyE:
Yes, I've been wondering that, too. Started in 1968...
kfowler:
Which year was the thirtieth reunion? I was there, I should know. But I don't.
Mfurlong:
lol
kwilhelm:
I've never been able to grasp what century it is when it changes from one to another.
lzernechel:
This year was the 39th Clarion class
jvandermeer:
Wow. Started the year I was born. So that would make it 38, the same age as me. LOL!
kfowler:
That was a mighty fine year, Jeff
NancyE:
Second that. :)
JimatUCSD:
Yes, we generally do events when it's been 40 years since, rather than the 40th time
JimatUCSD:
At least in fundraising, and event planning
NancyE:
I think the answer is there will definitely be an event, but details aren't worked out yet.
tcastleberry:
I work in a hotel here in San Diego; I can help with the event location and housing and such
lzernechel:
We already had a number of things in the hopper at MSU for the 40th anniversery and if the Foundation would like, we'd be happy to host it as right now the office is still open.
NancyE:
Thank you, Traci.
Keith:
Just my opinion, but I think having the move and the 40th anniversary coincide would be a good omen...
JimatUCSD:
You're obviously not caught up in the move ;-)
Keith:
heh heh, true nuff
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NancyE:
LOL
blayupan:
?
TimK:
There's a good question.
TimK:
Can anyone talk a bit about the logistics of the move? What is happening when?
kfowler:
We probably need to think this through more before we make a plan here. But there should certainly be a 40th bash, someplace or other.
NancyE:
I think Boris had a question.
blayupan:
yes
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TimK:
OK, sorry to stomp on you Boris -- go ahead first.
LeslieWhat:
(Liz, I'd love to know what you had planned--another time if this isn't the venue.)
blayupan:
I was wondering what the strengths of next year's instructors are?
blayupan:
I'm afraid I'm not familiar with them.
NancyE:
One of them is here tonight. Jeff?
LeslieWhat:
Jeff V, are you ready with an instructor statement? :)
kfowler:
We have Greg Frost in Week One. Greg is a very experienced Clarion instructor and always does a fabulous job.
NancyE:
Yes, Greg taught in 1996 and 2000
LeslieWhat:
Traci or Liz, perhaps you could say something about Cory D.?
kfowler:
We have Mary Anne Mohanraj (did I get that spelled right?) in week two. Mary Anne is also absolutely terrific, though this will be her first Clarion outing.
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kfowler:
Is Jeff week three? I think so,
lzernechel:
Cory was a great suicide week instructor
lzernechel:
:P
blayupan:
was Mary Anne in a Year's Best anthology of Dozois'?
NancyE:
:)
jvandermeer:
yes, i'm week 3
tcastleberry:
Cory talked a lot about electronic publishing and related things. Very fun to have around
NancyE:
Mary Anne is interesting in that she writes lots of different stuff.
kfowler:
Jeff is amazingly imaginative and edgy and we are counting on him to push students in directions they are surprised to find themselves going.
jvandermeer:
I have some idea of focus and approach that I think will be both imaginative and team-building.
kfowler:
Both Jeff and Mary Anne have experience in publishing as well as being incredible writers.
jvandermeer:
My wife Ann will also be with me, and she has a lot of publisher/editor experience.
NancyE:
Mary Anne's home page: http://www.mamohanraj.com/
jvandermeer:
so she's an additional asset.
NancyE:
(Yes, I spelled it right.)
jvandermeer:
and i'll be making myself available 24-7 for any questions they have about anything connected to writing or publishing.
kfowler:
Cory Doctorow is week four. As Liz says, his job is to keep everyone upright, inspired and non suicidal.
NancyE:
Heh heh
Keith:
My wife will appreciate that
jvandermeer:
But as for a statement. I plan to make them work hard, to see their writing from a different perspective, but still have fun.
LeslieWhat:
http://www.endicott-studio.com/bios/bioellendelia.html is for Delia and Ellen.
kfowler:
Ellen Kushner and Delia Sherman will do the last two weeks.
NancyE:
Vee vill hef fun!
tcastleberry:
Who's the editor-in-res?
kfowler:
They are primarily fantasy writers, fantastic teachers, full of energy of the kinder, gentler sort.
LeslieWhat:
Delia has editorial experience with Tor.
kfowler:
I think it's one of the strongest line-ups we've had.
NancyE:
And, of course, there'll be Jeff's wife.
LeslieWhat:
Also, Maryanne has edited short fiction and has worked as a consulting editor.
kfowler:
We haven't picked the editor yet.
jvandermeer:
I don't know about an editor in res but I ran an indie publishing company for 15 years and have edited several award-winning anthologies. I know the scene inside and out, including foreign markets, etc. Both indie and big publishers.
jvandermeer:
I'll make sure they know that. Even as I focus primarily on the writing.
kfowler:
As I said, we've got it all covered.
LeslieWhat:
Except the mosquitos
NancyE:
And the fireflies.
blayupan:
no pollen?
JimatUCSD:
No misquitos here
jkelly:
And the humidity
jvandermeer:
Any land whales?
NancyE:
Plenty of pollen
JimatUCSD:
Some pollen -- but I'm allergic to everything
kfowler:
We are breeding an unholy cross species of Mosquito.firefly in the San Diego labs even as we speak.
NancyE:
LOL!!
kfowler:
You light up like a firecracker if you're bitten.
Keith:
Ocean sunsets, quite sufficient for me
blayupan:
I like long walks along the beach with pleasant company.
TimK:
Any more on the 2007 lineup?
kfowler:
And rainy afternoons, Boris?
blayupan:
nope
jkelly:
How about the dorm space, Jim? Quads with living rooms?
JimatUCSD:
Yes, the dorms are among the newest on campus
JimatUCSD:
Quads with kitchen and living room; single bedrooms
jkelly:
I'm thinking that there will be more Clarion togetherness.
NancyE:
Ah, sweet Clarion togetherness.
jkelly:
More late night bull sessions
JimatUCSD:
Some are quints (?) instead of quads.
jvandermeer:
(Thanks for inviting me, and I'm sorry to do this but I'm packing for a trip and must head out now. I'm thrilled about the opportunity to teach and think San Diego will be lovely. Bye for now.)
*** Signoff: jvandermeerr (QUIT: )
NancyE:
What, no sexts?
kfowler:
Harder to sneak off unobserved?
JimatUCSD:
Bye. Stop by any time.
blayupan:
How're things with assistant/volunteer help for Clarion?
JimatUCSD:
Well, in addition to Traci, who's here tonight
kfowler:
Traci was our first volunteer
JimatUCSD:
there are two more who have checked in so far
JimatUCSD:
One is a computer specialist who works on campus
JimatUCSD:
Another is part of the local smof community
NancyE:
One great thing about UCSD is the size of the local sf community
JimatUCSD:
And we have a large on campus club, Darkstar
NancyE:
The volunteer picture is definitely off to a great start.
JimatUCSD:
third largest sf lending library in the country
JimatUCSD:
Darkstar, that is
blayupan:
I don't know if my perception is correct, but I didn't have the feeling the SF/F community was so huge in East Lansing like it is in Seattle. Does anyone know what E Lansing was like?
kfowler:
East Lansing's community was small but mighty
Mfurlong:
there was really good local support from the booksellers in the area that had formed relationships with CLarion.
LeslieWhat:
The Ann Arbor community was also active.
Mfurlong:
The archives bookstore was particularly helpful.
Mfurlong:
in East Lansing.
lzernechel:
there is excellent support here, it's just a matter of letting them know you want to be a part of them
kfedewa:
As a student at MSU, I can safely say that the SF community is there and growing. Within MSU, classes are now being offered in everything from Tolkien to SF game design.
blayupan:
Too bad I didn't connect with the SF/F people while I was there.
kfowler:
But we never had the social scene that Seattle provided.
kfowler:
I don't know if that's good or bad.
NancyE:
The social scene, and interactions with UCSD scientists, should be terrific.
NancyE:
Yeah, Karen. I'm not sure either. :)
kfowler:
I'm really excited about the possibilty of discussions with the UCSD scientists.
blayupan:
Too bad about the social sitch too. I wanted to reach out while there, but didn't know where to go during my Clarion.
JimatUCSD:
They're excited too
jkelly:
I'm very psyched by some of the science touring opportunities at UCSD
lzernechel:
The sci-fi community here at E. Lansing is sad to see Clarion go and truly wants to find a way to stay involved.
skelly:
The only way I got through 06 was the lack of a social scene, it was me, the manuscripts and my computer.
kwilhelm:
Karen, the social scene was regarded as great, or awful and too distracting. Depends on who asks and who answers, I think.
Mfurlong:
ditto skelly
LeslieWhat:
Being a writer is always just you and the page. But when you're not writing, the social scene is great.
blayupan:
I try to balance being a hermit and a social butterfly.
Keith:
Question, when you get around to it
kfowler:
I never was a student at Clarion so it's frankly hard for me to imagine how anyone can write six stories in six weeks. But I'm pretty sure I would need outside stuff to give me story ideas.
NancyE:
I think it would be wonderful if we could find a way to keep the E. Lansing sf community involved.
TimK:
Go ahead, Keith, I think we're just vamping :-)
JimatUCSD:
We'd be interested in how we can help support that (responding to NancyE and Liz)
Keith:
Heh heh... For Jim and Jim. You mention the science touring, what is at UCSD? I'm an astrophysicist and NASA engineer, so I'm curious what they work on
JimatUCSD:
Oh my, let's see...
JimatUCSD:
We're in the top three in the country in oceanography and neuroscience
JimatUCSD:
in the top five in bioengineering
JimatUCSD:
very strong interdisciplinary research focus, especially in emerging sciences
kfowler:
Jim Shea -- when you finish with the science accolades, could you say something about Sixth College and its mission statement?
JimatUCSD:
like stem cell, nanotechnology, and IT blending into telecom
blayupan:
any work in synaptic computer interfaces and human gene therapy?
skelly:
What kinds of research facilities does UCSD have? Touring the super collider at MSU was interesting. Anything like that?
*** Signoff: jkelly (Connection reset by peer)
JimatUCSD:
Yes
NancyE:
Oceanography is much involved with global warming issues, as well.
*** Signoff: mburstein (Connection reset by peer)
JimatUCSD:
that's yes to the computer interfaces and gene therapy
kfowler:
Nevermind. Answer the science questions --
JimatUCSD:
Tours--California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technologies http://www.calit2.net/
JimatUCSD:
Scripps Institution of Oceanography (on the beach)
blayupan:
thanks
JimatUCSD:
Center for Research in Computing and the Arts -- motion capture, etc.
JimatUCSD:
Okay I'll stop....
NancyE:
LOL
Keith:
That's really encouraging. Most all of that is well outside of my field, which is exactly as I'd hoped -- very useful.
lzernechel:
Jim, in response yours and Nancy's comment, I've been working on keeping science fiction / fantasy events thriving here in central MI and I'm pleased to say that the future prospects look very good. Maybe this isn't the place for it, but our ideas are wide and far-reaching, and we would be happy to discuss opportunities with you.
*** jkelly has joined channel #clarion
NancyE:
Other questions?
JimatUCSD:
And Sixth College is an undergraduate college that focuses on the interrelationships between culture, art and technology, and the way each influences the others: think longitude and the ability to cross the oceans, and compare it to computer technologies...
kfowler:
That's wonderful, Liz.
JimatUCSD:
Okay, really, I'll stop...
JimatUCSD:
Thanks, Liz
kfowler:
Now Sixth College?
JimatUCSD:
I'm happy to work with you on links back into E Lansing
kwilhelm:
Liz, I think that the board would be delighted to continue our relationship in one way or another.
kfowler:
One of the people we spoke to about bringing Clarion to San Diego was the head of Sixth College.
*** Signoff: jkelly (Connection reset by peer)
TimK:
Other questions?
blayupan:
?
lzernechel:
well, we are trying to make as many opportunities as possible in this complicated matter.
blayupan:
I have a question.
lzernechel:
thanks Kate
TimK:
Boris, go ahead.
blayupan:
What does the board think of the idea of an abbreviated one week
blayupan:
workshop for grads at MSU every year? Odyssey has one for its grads called
blayupan:
the never ending odyssey (TNEO).
lzernechel:
well... that is something we are in the planning but NOT under the name Clarion
lzernechel:
and we DON'T want to add to the confusion
lzernechel:
:)
blayupan:
I'm certain many Clarionites would like to go back for a taste of yesteryear.
tcastleberry:
If you really want to do an alumni party--would anyone have ideas on dates and size? I could get a quote from my hotel; we do a lot of cons. And how long? 3 days on a weekend or something?
lzernechel:
Reunions are also in our planning
lzernechel:
:)
kwilhelm:
I love the idea of workshop reunions for grads. I've been asked about this many, many times.
lzernechel:
Did you guys tap into my computer and get my proposals?
lzernechel:
:P
blayupan:
Odyssey's workshop reunions are very popular.
Mfurlong:
that sounds like a really great idea to have for grads
tcastleberry:
Or maybe we could do a welcom-to-San Diego for alums; give them tours of UCSD and such too
*** jkelly has joined channel #clarion
kfowler:
I think Walter Jon Williams (a board member who couldn't be here) and Connie WIllis are planning a grad level workshop, too.
tcastleberry:
Um--it's Taos Toolbox. http://www.taostoolbox.com/
tcastleberry:
A couple weeks in July
Keith:
(I think a "welcome to SD" for alums would be an excellent idea -- might alieviate some anxiety about the move)
JimatUCSD:
I have to say that the amount of time and energy the Board's been putting into the move is an incredible amount of work
kfowler:
Thank you, Jim
JimatUCSD:
so I'm not sure how much psychic energy they have for more new stuff in 2007
kwilhelm:
I don't think it matters how many or where they are if they're open to all grads. Travel to the nearest one could be essential for a short stay.
LeslieWhat:
(Thanks, Traci--was searching through the emails to find that url)
blayupan:
Kinda wish I didn't go to to Clarion at MSU now. What's the Taos Toolbox for?
LeslieWhat:
Boris, check out the URL Traci posted.
kfowler:
You'll have to get the details from Walter Jon. It's not one of our projects.
tcastleberry:
The Taos thing is geared toward Clarion and Odyssey alums, novel-focused, mostly for those of us who aren't published and need a boost
lzernechel:
That's right, Kate, there aren't many opportunities for Clarion grads and we think that more possibilities only enhances the bond
blayupan:
thanks for info.
lzernechel:
And proximity is important for those types of reunions
lzernechel:
not to mention seclusion
JimatUCSD:
I like anything in 2007 that facilitates the move and maintains links into the East Lansing community, for the start
JimatUCSD:
And then focus on the newer ideas, for alums
LeslieWhat:
Jim Shea's comment about energy is true. There's a lot more the board could do if our focus widened, but the Workshop is our top priority.
kfowler:
Jim Shea has also been working incredibly hard on fund-raising possibilities. As Kate said in her opening statement, keeping the workshop affordable is a primary concern.
jkelly:
My connection for the past fifteen minutes has been dicey so I think I'm going to sign off. Thanks to everyone for coming!
JimatUCSD:
One of our goals is to do the kind of broadbased fundraising that allows the Board to focus less on that and more on new, interesting ideas for the program
kfowler:
Along those lines, I'm really happy with the Mary Sheridan endowment.
tcastleberry:
Yeah--that's really neat
kfowler:
Nothing we can do would be thanks enough for all the times Mary kept us safe and dry.
kfowler:
You go plan the reunion party, Jim Kelly.
kfedewa:
Yes. I work with Mary, and I know that she would want you to know that she is honored. (A little embarrassed, but honored.)
kfedewa:
=)
NancyE:
Bye Jim K
jkelly:
Thanks, I'll be there. Bye all!
*** jkelly has left channel #clarion
blayupan:
bye
TimK:
Other questions?
blayupan:
trying to think of something.
NancyE:
I don't know about others, but I sure need my dinner
kfowler:
Maybe we're done here?
kwilhelm:
Question: Can I go eat now?
blayupan:
looks like it...
Keith:
I'm looking forward to it -- you'll have my application in a month or two ;-)
rvukcevich:
Thanks for letting be the fly on the wall. Very interesting. :) You guys are doing a great job. I've got to run now. Ray
blayupan:
the body needs food.
kfowler:
Early submission recommended.
NancyE:
LOL! Yes, let's go eat!
TimK:
OK, let's wrap things up then.
blayupan:
I've eaten.
JimatUCSD:
Sorry I was so late....
NancyE:
Bye, Ray
TimK:
Thanks everyone for attending.
blayupan:
better late than never.
skelly:
Bye everyone, thanks to the board for making this decision.
*** rvukcevich has left channel #clarion
Mfurlong:
Jim, does UCSD have an MFA program?
kfowler:
Thanks to all
TimK:
Thanks to our guests from the board, and Jim from UCSD.
NancyE:
Bye skelly
JimatUCSD:
Thanks for putting it together
kwilhelm:
By all. My stomach is making a terrible racket. Out of here.
*** skelly has left channel #clarion
JimatUCSD:
Bye all
tcastleberry:
Have a good night, folks
*** Signoff: kfowler (QUIT: )
Mfurlong:
Yes, starts this fall
Keith:
'Night to all, time to get the baby to bed. Many thanks!
JimatUCSD:
Creative Writing MFA
Mfurlong:
hmm, interesting timing. OK, thanks.
NancyE:
Thanks to Tim Keating, our honorable host.
*** kwilhelm has left channel #clarion
*** Signoff: tdoyle (Connection reset by peer)
kfedewa:
Goodnight all, and thanks.
TimK:
Night all.
*** Signoff: kfedewa (QUIT: )
Mfurlong:
Goodnight, Kate
Log file closed at: 9/28/06 7:41:24 PM

"Hero of the Empire" Fiction Excerpt

The opening 400 or so words for my SNW 10 sub "Hero."

Storyline: Commander T'Pol, a Vulcan officer, struggles alone to thwart human rebels from conquering Earth...in an alternate universe with a Terran Empire that oppresses nonhumans.
----------------------------------------------------

Hero of the Empire
by Boris Layupan

T’Pol’s heart hammered in her throat.

The Starship Defiant orbited Earth, prepared to bombard the planet into submission. She had no time to lose.

T’Pol slowed her pace in the ship corridor before her two guards. “You must assist me in preventing Lieutenant Sato from overthrowing the emperor and Starfleet.”

T’Pol’s marine MACO captors, both human, grunted derisively. Corporal Mackenzie, a lithe, muscular blond female in brownish-grey combat fatigues with a skull patch on her sleeve, trailed T’Pol on the left side. Mackenzie prodded T’Pol in the back with the end of her phaser rifle.

“Empress Sato’s expecting you on the bridge,” said Mackenzie. “Move along...Commander.”

T’Pol resisted an urge to thrust the weapon into Mackenzie’s mouth. The unseemly impulse was a telltale of her eroding emotional control, the result of much too close association with the humans of her universe. What would it be like to deal with the benevolent, egalitarian humans of the parallel universe this starship came from?

“I ask forgiveness,” said T’Pol, increasing her pace just a fraction. “It was kind of Lieutenant Sato to allow me to live to witness her conquest of your homeworld.”

The second MACO, Corporal Chang, a wiry oriental human male, chuckled. “I didn’t know Vulcans had a sense of humor, Commander.”

Chang wore the red shirt and black trousers of the Defiant’s original security complement as if it were a badge of honor. T’Pol wasn’t one to criticize as she wore the light blue skirted uniform of a Defiant female science officer.

Her top was stained green, though. A cut on her cheek from where Hoshi Sato had slashed her with a dagger had dripped blood before clotting at last. It’d happened when Sato apprehended her for conspiring against Jonathan Archer on the Avenger, their former escort.

T’Pol fingered her throbbing wound. She would take Sato to task for it very soon.

“As you say, Corporal,” said T’Pol, her tone agreeable.

In the next heartbeat, she crouched to her knees, pivoted back, and spun her left leg around to sweep both MACOs by their ankles. The two corporals cried out and their weapons clattered onto the deck as they fell back.

T’Pol pounced in between the MACOs. She took hold of each at the junction where their necks met their shoulders and pinched the nerve clusters bundled there.

Both MACOs slumped unconscious.

T’Pol scanned the matte-white corridor ahead and behind her. Empty. On a ship designed to be manned by over four hundred personnel, the eighty odd survivors of the Enterprise and Avenger crews were, as a human saying put it, a drop in the bucket.

A red door lay to the left two meters ahead. She grabbed both MACOs by an ankle. Her Vulcan strength put her in good stead as she lugged the corporals to the door.
------------------------------------------

"Trial by Fire and Mis-Q's" Fiction Excerpt

The opening 400 some words of another SNW 10 sub of mine.

Storyline: Captain Picard is hurled onto a Napoleonic French warship by Q, a cosmic being of unlimited power...minutes before the ship comes under British attack.
------------------------------------------------------

Trial by Fire and Mis-Qs
by Boris Layupan


Captain Jean-Luc Picard struggled to gain his bearings.

A yellow tropical sun--Earth’s he realized--blazed high in a clear sky. The main deck of a large sailing frigate swayed beneath him. Heat shimmered from the white wooden planking, and a ball of perspiration rolled down into the small of his back. Blue water turned to a sparkling white as the warship broke through it; and in the waves thrown off her pointed bow, dolphins tumbled and somersaulted.

At the ship’s peak, a French tricolor flag fluttered above a man-of-war pennant. Sailors in faded shirts and linen trousers, many wearing caps, bustled around him and aloft in the rigging. Orders, conversations, and curses in French rang in the air, most with his native lyrical southern accent, but some with harsher northern tones also.

“How did I get here?” he murmured in English.

Moments before Picard had been in his ready room on the Enterprise, recording a log entry on his encounter with the cosmic being, Q, at Farpoint Station--

This was Q’s doing!

Picard thumped a brass-plated telescope he held in his right hand against his left palm. He realized that instead of his one-piece red and black Starfleet uniform he now wore a dark blue coat with gold lace, white pantaloons, and half boots. He brushed his hand against two cool and heavy flintlock pistols strapped to his waist and a gilded saber at his left side. Picard reached up to rub his head. He brushed back a luxuriant forelock of dark hair protruding beneath the brim of a black bicorn hat. The outlandish headwear offered him no real protection from the sun.

A sudden thrill of wonder over his new head of hair electrified him. He recognized his outfit as that of a senior French naval lieutenant’s circa 1800 or so.

“Mon Dieu!” whispered Picard, his mind reeling.

His father, Maurice, had spoken of the Picard family history continually when he was a boy. One ancestor of note was the Picard who fought at Trafalgar. Had Q placed him in the life of his ancestor, or was this an elaborate fantasy? What did the cosmic being hope to gain from it?

“Computer,” said Picard. “End holodeck simulation.”

The sailing vessel remained in place around him.

“Recognize Captain Jean-Luc Picard,” he said. “Terminate simulation. Override code zed--”

The look-out at the fore masthead hailed the deck.

“Sail ho to windward!”

Picard stood riveted.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

"History's Pawn" Fiction Excerpt

I'm posting for the heck of it the opening 400 some words of my SNW 10 sub "History's Pawn."

Storyline: Captain Braxton, a Starfleet temporal enforcer trapped in a repeating time loop, sets out to avenge himself on the man who set the loop in motion.

Gary Seven, a human time travel agent for unknown aliens.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

History's Pawn
by Boris Layupan


NEW STARDATE 1789.49.3.135
EARTH STANDARD: MAY 2866

Captain Braxton's two future selves gazed at him. He caught the deranged glints in their eyes. Thrills of fear corkscrewed up his spine.

Is this what the future holds for me? He couldn't let that happen.

On the bridge’s upper level, Lieutenant Ducane, the young, spare-framed first officer, sat in the captain’s chair. Ducane draped his hands over the arms in a manner befitting a judge.

“Release me, Lieutenant,” said Braxton. “We’re in a Pogo Paradox causality loop: actions taken to forestall an event will trigger it. Reintegrating me with my doppelgangers and arresting me for their crimes ensures I will commit them.”

Apprehending Braxton’s older self at the end of a circus-like pursuit across different periods of Voyager’s journey through the Delta Quadrant hadn’t satisfied Ducane. In his zeal to clean up the timeline, the rigid officer enlisted Voyager’s Captain Janeway to apprehend Braxton’s older self again at the instant his older self first set foot on that blasted ship. Trying to keep the temporal mechanics of this farce straight gave Braxton a headache.

Ducane steepled his fingertips together. “I’m sorry, Captain. The longer the three of you remain separated the greater the resulting temporal psychosis will be. And regulations require you stand court-martial for violating the Temporal Prime Directive.”

Braxton drew on his emotional reserves to keep his composure before the pitying looks of the Relativity’s bridge crew. But his mood was as somber as the dark tones of his blue-gray uniform. Security Chief Haran'asar stood by Braxton, a full head taller. The bony spikes along the Jem'Hadar’s jaw gleamed in the bridge’s illumination. Lieutenant Kalrynn Oyama, the assistant security head, was all business too. Her Japanese features, fused with her Klingon skin tone and intensity, gave her an air of exotic beauty and danger as she guarded Braxton’s doppelgangers.

Intolerable! thought Braxton. Not only was he relieved of his command over the Timeship Relativity, but he faced two manic versions of himself from the future. Years of rehabilitation from being lost in time had just gone out the airlock. This was Gary Seven’s doing, but his situation was only a byproduct of some larger scheme he knew Seven had to be orchestrating.

Braxton had to wrest back his freedom and stop Seven. If left unchecked, there was no telling how that menace would disrupt the established timeline even further....

-----------------------------------------

Sit Rep (New handle I'm trying out)

Let's see...

Screenwritingwise, on Friday, 9-22-06, I made calls to some film companies and managers that requested to read my Chinese Joan of Arc script in June or July.

One person who I've been in touch with at Jerry Weintraub productions has said that she's waiting for the comments of a reader who has the script and asked if it was available as in not optioned or sold. I answered in the affirmative.

Regarding the others, I've been leaving messages on office voice mail. So we'll see.

I also called up on my own Focus Features and Rogue Films since they're both co-headed by James Schmaus ("Crouching Tiger" producer & writer plus long-time Ang Lee collaborator).

The person who took my call at Focus gave me the rote "We do not take unsolicited material" answer. No problem.

At Rogue, which released "Fearless" on 9-22-06 and which I'm planning on writing up a review, I reached the office of Adrienne Biddle, who was named the senior vp production in January 2006.

I queried his office about my script. There was enthusiasm. Then I was asked if I was the writer, which I admitted. I was told very nicely that Rogue can't get the script directly from the writer, but they can take it from any representation I obtain. I thanked him for his time and left messages on the voice mails of the managers who have my script on the following Monday of 9-25-06. I'll see what comes of this.

I have other strategems in mind, though.

On the fiction front, I mailed off some stories for Pocket Book's Star Trek Strange New Worlds 10 (SNW) contest. Very excited. I sent all my tales via priority mail. They're supposed to arrive sometime in the afternoon on Friday 9-30-06. Well before the Monday 10-2-06 deadline.

Now I'll have to wait till late December 2006/early January 2007 for the results. I think I've got a shot this time.

Tempus omnia relevant.

Time reveals all.

Now I'm going to smooth out some Writers of the Future (WOTF) contest subs before I get cracking on my screenplay contest tales.

Now I'm gonna prepare 3 stories for this year's Star Trek Strange New Worlds (SNW) fiction contest and then another 3 stories for the Writers of the Future SF/Fantasy fiction contest.

Once I take care of those, I'll prep 3 scripts for all of next year's major screenplay contests.

Hmmm...

3 stories each for 3 contests. I wonder what the odds are? Is there some hidden meaning here with 3 three's?

If the gods're with me, I'll get some of my first fiction sales in the next year and I'll be in LA again (not relishing that 100%) to see my cousin, receive some film script contest awards, and build on the connections I've made so far this year.

Later

Clarion Moves

On September 11, 2006, Board of Directors for the Clarion workshopped announced that Clarion will pull up its roots and leave Michigan State University (MSU) for the University of California San Diego (UCSD) starting in 2007.

Considering everything that's been happening over the last 5 years or so, I can't say I'm surprised.

MSU slashed Clarion's funding around 2003 (I forget exactly when). This led to a whole domino effect that affected the workshop at all levels, which I experienced first-hand.

After attending a great Odyssey 2000 workshop, I applied to Clarion a few times:
* 2001 (alternate list)
* 2002 (alternate list) Clarion West 2002 also but rejected. :-( I wanted Dan Simmons as an instructor again (had him at Odyssey 2000), and there were plenty of other good instructors that year. (Don't know where I placed).
* 2003 Didn't apply. Too busy with UCLA screenwriting classes.
* 2004 I applied one last time. I wouldn't have minded too badly if I hadn't been accepted since I was also attending the Master Class in Oregon run by Dean Smith and Kris Rusch. (It was scheduled for 2005 too, but got cancelled. The 2004 Master Class was the last; so I was real lucky to get in when I did.)

I placed second on the high alternate list. The notification deadline came and went. A few days later, I learned that I made it in after another applicant ahead of me couldn't clear time away from her job to attend.

Anyhow, I became a 2004 Clarionite.

My class was the first of two (Clarion 2005 also) to stay off-campus. Clarion 2006 was the last class to gather at MSU and stay on-campus. My classmates and I didn't experience the famed MSU grad student dorm and cafeteria food. And it was well after Damon Knight and Kate Wilhelm stopped teaching at Clarion. Some people bought a few squirt guns, but didn't deploy them for the traditional squirt gun fight. (Can't remember seeing any fireflies, but there was plenty of white pollen hanging in the air to set allergies off). We stayed in the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority house, which was actually nice. We all had separate rooms and wireless internet. The house mother was something of a Nazi in sheep's clothing and forbade us the services of the house cook and kitchen. We used the kitchen anyway (and cleaned up afterwards).

I was one of 3 SF writers in a group stacked with literary and slipstream writers. Some bordered on soft fantasy, but there were no traditional sword and sorcery scribes.

Instructors included:
Week 1 Nina Kiriki Hoffman
Week 2 Suzy Charnas
Week 3 Nancy Kress
Week 4 Andy Duncan
Mid-week 4 to mid-week 5 Editor Gordon Van Gelder
Week 5-6 Kelly Link & Jeff Ford

Nancy Kress was the only SF writer in that group.

My Clarion experience didn't go the way I'd expected it to, but it was still nice to have gone.

I'd somehow expected Clarion to stay somewhere east of the Mississippi, but the dice didn't roll that way. From what I've learned, only UCSD provided the financial support the workshop needed to support itself and bring it back to the level it was at 10-20 years ago. I wonder what Clarion was like back then?

Considering that the workshop is in San Diego now, a few names that come to mind since Clarion West is taken are Clarion Sun, Clarion Beach, and Clarion Surf.

It's interesting to witness the end of an era. I'll be curious to see what comes.

It's Kirk...Again

JJ Abrams reversed himself without saying so.

Not only is he revisiting the classic Trek era, but he's recasting Kirk. Rumors once pointed at Matt Damon, but he hasn't stated that he wants to sit in the captain's chair.

I wonder how far off a new Next Generation film with a new Picard and gang is?

It seems that Trek has reached the retread territory occupied by Batman, Superman, James Bond, and other franchises. Is it a good thing for Kirk, Picard, and others to be recast every 10 years, though?

Shatner made a recent announcement at a convention about how we can look forward to at least one more Kirk adventure.

IMHO, without new stories driving the Trek universe ahead, the Trek well is running dry. I therefore favor going forward or letting Trek go gracefully into the sunset.

The current Paramount studio leadership won't do either. They want to continue milking Trek as a cash cow, but won't take it forward into the future. And they decided to bring in JJ Abrams.

I was once a fan of Abrams, but after having seen how Alias ran in circles recycling its characters and storylines before getting itself canceled and Lost began to lose some of its mysterious allure, I seriously doubt he'll reboot the Trek franchise like what Chris Nolan did for Batman with Batman Begins. Barring a new film or series featuring a new crew and ship, it seems a good stand alone Kirk story is the best people can hope for.

Abrams says he wants to create a new generation of Trek fans. His method is finding new actors to play old characters. I wonder how well that'll work?

Before Abrams was brought in to helm the upcoming 2008 film, a prequel Romulan War trilogy was being considered. A first draft for the first movie was written by Erik Jendresen, who worked with Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg (Saving Private Ryan) on the epic HBO TV mini-series Band of Brothers. It was a critically acclaimed story of a WW II company of airborne infantry, 501st Easy Company, who fought in Normandy, the Netherlands, and spearheaded the American drive into Nazi Germany. Jendreson said he had written his script with an eye to portraying a close-knit group of men and women defending Earth in tough conditions who were doing heroic things as a matter of course a la the Greatest Generation of Americans who won WW II. Speaking for myself, this vision appeals to me more than Abrams's plan of giving us Matt Damon in an unfilmed chapter of Kirk's life.

If DS9 alumni Ronald Moore (currently Battlestar Galactica), Ira Steven Behr, Michael Pillar, or Joss Whedon (Buffy, Angel, Firefly, & Serenity), or Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5) were calling the shots on the new Trek film, I'd be less dubious than I am with Abrams at the helm. Another person I wouldn't have minded seeing in charge, but got passed over was Bryan Singer (X Men 1 & 2 and Superman Returns).

I wonder what part Abrams'll give his actor friend Greg Grunberg in the new movie?

UPDATE

Hey all,

I've been busy with fiction lately, hammering out some stories for this year's Star Trek Strange New Worlds (SNW) anthology, which is published by Pocket Books.

Some very useful readers have given good feedback. In a word, I'm "hopeful."

I'm starting to shift gears to my Writers of the Future (WOTF) subs now. I'm "hopeful" for that, too.

On the screenwriting front, Tapestry Films, one of a couple of production companies and film reps, that requested to read my Chinese Joan of Arc script got back to me on Friday, 9-8-06.

Tapestry Films likes the script...except they're into comedy, thrillers, and horror.

But when I have a script appropriate for them, they want to read it. Woohoo!

When I finish with my fiction stories, I'll have to get cracking on a romantic comedy I have in my portfolio.

I can hardly wait till the other companies and reps get in touch with me.

I also did talk to an entertainment attorney earlier this year in July when I went to LA. Things are in the early stages now. Her role would be to hammer out contract details when I have a contract that needs to be negotiated. As things build up, it'll come with the territory

That's one of 3 recommended reps for screenwriters: attorney, agent, and manager.

Some recommend that a person also get an agent for the tactics of submitting stories and a manager to provide strategy and help advise one's career. Managers/agents often help a client get the other.

I'll see how things shape up as they go.

Later

MEETINGS WITH MAJOR TV COMPANIES & THE EMMYS

Hey all,

I've been to LA from 8-23-06 to 8-28-06. Now I'm resting and getting back into the groove.

I gained a lot of good info about filmmaking in July and now the TV biz in August. But the organization and professionalism (or lack thereof) of the Sherwood Oaks Experiemental College that offered the meetings leaves a lot to be desired. Speaking for myself, I won't contract Sherwood Oaks' services again.

Day 1
I arrived in LA and explored Little Tokyo for a bit before bunking down in my cousins' place in Van Nuys.

Day 2
I met with my group in the Cyber Cafe in Hollywood at 9:30 A. It was a mix of ScriptForSale and Sherwood Oaks people: a range of serious writers and raw newbies.

At 10 A, we met with a manager at the Wilshire Screening Room, who told us her take on dealing with film & TV clients. Nice person.

From 11 A to 5 P, we were at Fox Studios, where a bunch of execs talked about everything from show development to staffing season. Very enlightening. A random person snagged into speaking to us was Hugh Laurie of HOUSE. Funny guy. I'll have to watch his show some time.

We ate for a bit at the Kate Mantilini Restaurant before going to the WGA Primetime Emmys at the WGA Theater. It went from 7 to 9:30 P or so. Dennis Miller moderated the writers' panel. He was a pistol.

Day 3
My group went to Universal Studios, where we met with writers from a few shows. Michael Reaves was supposed to come, but he didn't.
:-(

Bradley Thompson and David Weddle from BATTLESTAR GALACTICA were great. If there was one show that would tempt me to enter TV, that would be it. But I'm sticking with fiction and feature film.

It was a short day from 10 to 4 P. :-)

I invited a few people to join me in a salsa club, but they wanted to stay in their hotel rooms and write. I went alone and learned some steps with a couple of partners before calling it a night. Ole!

Day 4
Before heading off to my meetings, my cousin unexpectedly gave me 2-3 copies each of the June 26, 2006, Hollywood Reporter and July 7, 2006, Variety Entertainment magazine editions. She got 'em through her Universal Studio events planning office becuz they both contained press releases announcing the results of this year's UCLA screenwriting contest in which my Chinese Joan of Arc script was a winner. Nice doesn't begin to describe my cousin.

After I picked up some people, who needed a ride, we joined the rest of the group at the Four Seasons Hotel, where we met with agents and managers, who gave us more of the same information. I saw Marshall Flinckman of ALIAS chatting in a lounge. The actor didn't seem as interesting as the character.

Some people were crashing from information overload and/or jet lag. But I was OK.

Things lasted from 10 to 6 P. We could've gotten out earlier, but Gary Shusett, the Sherwood Oaks organizer, was obsessed with cramming as many people into the meetings as he could. He also tried selling tickets to an HBO Emmys party on the spot, asking for $300 and then $250 in cold cash.

No one had the extra money to spend.

Day 5
Several, but not all of my group gathered in the hotel lobby to go to the Emmys via limo. Other people showed up, who were there just to go to the Emmys.

Two limos came, but one was a humvee model that was too big to enter the drive thru of the theater hosting the Emmys. Gary asked some people to forfeit a spot on a limo to ride in a person's car because there wasn't enough space. Eventually, some one day people volunteered.

Most of us who'd gone to the conferences got into the regular-sized limo and were driven to the Emmys. The rest went into the humvee and were stopped 4-5 blocks away at which point they walked the rest of the way to the theater.

As my group entered the theater, we went by crowds of fans who were screaming everytime they saw an actor or other celeb. Entertainment Tonight and E reporters were about with their mikes and camera crews. I can't say I was caught up in all the celebrity worship.

We made our way to our seats high up in the theater. Conan O'Brian started things off with a skit going through LOST, THE OFFICE, 24, SOUTH PARK, and some other shows, topping it off with a vaudeville dance routine.

Things dragged from there for the next 3 hours.

The award presentations were stretched out with commercial breaks for TV. People stepped out to buy food and drinks and/or gaze at any stars walking about randomly.

From what I learned afterwards, hardly anyone watched the Emmys on TV. I can't blame 'em. It's an event for TV insiders being foisted on the general public.

When the Emmys finally wound down at about 9 P, most of my group reassembled outside and called up the limo driver to pick us up. Gary found us, though, and had us cool our heels outside the theater for another hour while he went into a party to give us the opportunity to chat for a few seconds with some stars. About 2-3 came out eventually, and a few rushed to have their pictures taken with 'em before they hurried away. Gary finally said it'd be OK for us to leave. It was after 10 P by then.

A person in our limo, who had the driver's cell phone number, organized the limo recall. We went in the regular-sized limo to where the humvee limo was waiting, then piled into that and went back to the hotel. The regular-sized limo went to retrieve the rest at the theater.

After snacking at the hotel, I went back to my cousin's at 11 P to pack up and catch a lil' shut eye for my flight back.

The Emmys was certainly an experience. Just not the kind I'd expected and will not repeat.

Anyhow, I'm back and wiser.

A tout a l'heure as they say par francais.

UPDATE

It's been a little while. Rewriting, doing chores, and such.

My three Trek short stories are coming along. I've got an idea for a fourth, but it won't be ready in time for this year's Trek SNW contest. Very hopeful about getting into the anthology this time.

T-minus 13 days before going the meetings with heads of TV companies and the Emmys. If I weren't busy, I guess I'd be nervous.

Later

MEETINGS WITH HEADS OF MOVIE PRODUCTION COMPANIES

I'm back.

Where to begin...?

I meant to blog while meeting with producers, managers, etc. in LA from July 12-15, 2006, but I've been busy.

The long and the short of it was: I met. I saw. I learned.
LA's also still expensive and has lots of traffic--except on Sundays.
And I didn't notice till the first day how many songs there are with the word "California" in it when I played my rental car radio.

July 11.
I checked into my room at the Orchid Suites in Hollywood and saw my cousin who works as an events planner at Universal Studios. We caught up and she generously offered to contact an assistant she knows--sort of--at Focus Features Productions, which is co-headed by James Schmaus, who co-wrote and produced "Crouching Tiger." He also collaborates with Ang Lee. Hope he likes my Chinese Joan of Arc script.

I plan on pitching it to Focus Features after I get some distance from my script and then rewrite/revise it for the Chesterfield, Scriptapalooza, Austin, and Nichols contests next year.

July 12.
I met the people in my ScriptForSale group for the first time. They were OK. A whole mix of personalities and talent. We then met with independent producers, managers, etc. Very interesting. Lots of good stuff. They work with lower budgets and want good stories, but not necessarily high-priced A-list talent. Meetings went from 10 A - 5:30 P. Whew!

On my own, I went to L'Ermitage Hotel in Beverly Hills to meet with an entertainment attorney from a top talent firm. She'd contacted me on the same day the UCLA professional programs office put out a
press release in the Hollywood Reporter about the UCLA contest winners this year.

Following mapquest (ugh) I got lost a few times on the side streets, but got directions here and there and still showed up 20 minutes early for my 7:30 P appointment. I asked a few women if they were the attorney, but no dice. I had some nice conversations, though.

At 7:40 P, I called the attorney on her cell. She said she saw me then and we started talking.

Very personable.

I'd say it was a promising start and I look forward to working with her. Just have to find a manager/agent to help submit stuff.

July 13.
My ScriptForSale group and I went to Sony, where we got the big studio perspective. Big budgets, franchise movies, and big name talent and directors. If one has a period (that is, historical) or SF/Fantasy story, the odds're uphill, but ya gotta find the producer who's into that kind of genre. It'll just take longer, but it'll be worth it. James Schmaus is at the top of my list for my Chinese Joan of Arc script.

Going on 50 minutes of sleep on July 11 caught up with me. I kinda crashed midway through the meetings. I stayed awake just enough and the Sony people didn't notice. :-)

The marathon lasted from 10 A - 5 P. We were invited to watch the screening of an indie film, forgot title. I bowed out. A few later said they liked it, but more said they didn't. I didn't miss out on anything, I'd say.

July 14.
I went to another round of meetings with my associates. We saw more indies and heard more of the same.

July 15.
My final round of meetings.

My group went to the Burbank Hilton. There we attended a nice lil' memorabilia show where we chatted with actors who worked in old and recent TV shows and films. The meetings with the guests were great, too. We got the low down on the writing and directing side this time around. I also met a script consultant/agent broker. Very personable. I think I'll like working with her.

I learned from some "V" actors that the series could be coming back in the next year or so. The lizards are as bad as ever--and hungry for human munchies. And there may be other aliens who aren't too fond of 'em or us.

And I had a nice chat with Ray "Darth Maul" Parks. He shared some bits about his wushu training and what it was like on the Star Wars and X-Men sets. He says he has some upcoming projects that I'll look forward to seeing. When I told him about my Chinese Joan of Arc script, he said I should try Quentin Tarantino's production company also. Doh! I should've known since he released "Hero" in the US a few years back.

I also got 4 signed pictures from Ray and one from Marc Singer of "Mike Donovan" fame on "V" (plus another for free which Marc signed, but didn't like). All nice shots.

After our event ended at 4:30 P, the ScriptForSale group scattered to the winds. I'd followed some people to the Burbank Hilton hotel, but they didn't wait for me to follow 'em back.

Nichevo. Or c'est le vie.

I made my way to Universal Studios, where I met with my awesome cousin. She got me into the press junket for the upcoming "Miami Vice" flick. Saw where the reporters got some snacks and where Jamie Foxx, Colin Farrell, and Gong Li were being interviewed. Gong Li's English has an interesting accent.

I also saw a bit of Wisteria Lane, the crashed 747 from "War of the Worlds," and other sets that showed up in umpteen some films and TV shows.

July 16.
Went home and am getting back into the groove--till I meet with TV execs and attend the Emmys in August.

Must take care of some fiction now.

FLICK REVIEW-- PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN 2: DEAD MAN’S CHEST

Avast, mateys!

Here be the swashbuckling sequel to that seaworthy treasure “Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl.”

‘Tis a long-winded tale with a plot a mite complex this be, but loaded with twists and merriment and a final hour that will blow ye down. So gather a ration of hardtack and a bottle of rum — or a hotdog and soda, if that be yer choice — and drop anchor with “Dead Man’s Chest.”

Swaying about in a constant state of bewilderment, three sheets into the wind, Johnny Depp’s second turn as our favorite, mascara-wearing prancing pirate is the prize of the seven seas — equal if not superior to the performance that won him an Oscar nomination in the first film. The thrill of discovering Jack Sparrow the first time around is gone, but it's still a joy watching him play this narcissistic, word-slurring anti-hero. Just seeing Depp run — and Capt. Jack runs a lot in this movie — is to behold a live Loony Tune chracter.

When we last saw our beloved sea dogs, Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) had battled cursed skeletal pirates to retake his beloved ship, the Black Pearl, and his unwilling mates in piracy Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) and Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) were on their way to the altar. But before the happy couple can say, "I do," they're arrested by newly appointed Lord Cutler Beckett (Tom Hollander) of the evil East India Trading Company for helping Jack escape the hangman's noose. To barter for their freedom, they must find Jack and retrieve his compass that doesn’t point north. But the good Captain has problems of his own. Thirteen—Thirty—whichever—years ago, in exchange for his captaincy of the Pearl, Jack offered his soul to Davy Jones (Bill Nighy), the undead, half-octopus captain who controls the sea depths and his damned, barnacle-covered crew from his ghostly ship The Flying Dutchman. Unfortunately for Jack, Jones has come to collect.

Davy Jones and his crew are fantastic, flawless creations — you can't take your eyes off them. John Knoll's Industrial Light & Magic visual effects team have gone above and beyond the call here, creating a band of characters that impeccably serve the story without needlessly calling attention to themselves.

There's a Hammerhead Shark Man, a Hermit Crab Head ... Although they're almost entirely computer creations, they feel as real as the flesh-and-blood humans.
More real, in fact. If Depp was the Oscar nomination waiting to happen for "Black Pearl," it's Nighy's turn for "Dead Man's Chest." Here, even though everything about the squid-faced Jones, even the eyes, are artificial, Nighy's performance comes through loud and clear, full of magnificent menace, a villain for the ages.

Disney put back together the filmmaking team (Elliott and Rossio, producer Jerry Bruckheimer, director Gore Verbinski) and set off on to film Pirates 2 and 3 (titled At World's End, and scheduled for release next summer) back-to-back. Unfortunately, it seems Elliott and Rossio, felt bigger meant better. That's not to say “Dead Man's Chest” isn't good. It's just not as good as the first “Pirates” film, but it could have been.

"Dead Man's Chest" seems to believe that there needs to be more of everything to work. We’re given two of everything — villains, self-sacrificing fathers, love triangles — when one would have been plenty. I'll sail with Captain Jack any day, and the writers have crafted a fine story with Davy Jones and his famous chest that will keep you guessing and interested, but there are too many action scenes that go on a few beats too long. Jack's lengthy rescue from gibberish-speaking cannibals is a Disney cartoon adventure come to life, but does nothing to move the film ahead that couldn't have been done an easier (and shorter) way.

Still, one mustn’t miss a three-way sword duel between Jack, Will, and Norrington (Jack Davenport) atop a runaway mill wheel.

Lucky for us, Verbinski always finds a lighthearted moment or joke to keep the audience interested, which saves “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” from getting lost in a sea of confusing plot twists and average dialogue. Plus, you get a great set up for the next “Pirates” movie.

Miss Swann, who was so fresh and rebellious the first time around, seems more like an anchor in this film. Jack is being chased by Davey Jones and his pet sea monster, the kracken, while Will reunites with his dead father, Bootstrap Bill (Stellan Skarsgård). The writers give such attention to these two stories (as well they should) that Elizabeth's mini-adventure to join their company seems pointless in comparison. She sheds the frills and finery of home for the smelly rags of a pirate, and looks prettier than a school of mermaids in doing so. And she’s learned to swing a sharp sword. But once she meets up with the rest, her intentions are cloudy and she starts showing sudden feelings for Jack (the second triangle here). She’s not the bonnie lass we thought she was.

While action and effects are plentiful, it’s the characters who drive this nautical tale. Will continues the exploration of his inner pirate and whether that's such a bad thing, and Captain Jack keeps the other characters and the audience entertained and unaware of his intentions until the very end. All the eccentric side characters from the first go-round are back as well, and Elliott and Rossio keep the jokes flying as fast as the swords and cannon shots. The film ends on such a surprising one-two punch that it may take you a full hour to realize that neither shock made much sense -- a perfect summation of “Pirates of the Caribbean 2” and its charm.

Though the script sometimes gives us too much of a good thing, when the scenes cook they’re the essence of summer moviemaking. They shiver your timbers and make you feel like a kid eager to keep a weather eye on the horizon as you wait in line for the next “Pirates” voyage. See you “At World's End.”

WEEKLY STORY UPDATE

I put on a spurt because I know I'll be busy in the next few days and I've typed up my whole 1st draft of my latest Trek short story now. It's at 5854 words and 44 pages. Woohoo!

I expect I'll fine tune it some, but this sucker's done.

Then I'll see if I can cook up another story for this year's Strange New Worlds contest.

T-minus 2 days to LA now. This should be interesting.

Weekly Update

I'm up to page 33 or 4,395 words in my latest Trek short story now. The end is in sight. Only 1/3 left of my handwritten draft to type up. I'm loving this story.

I've also been told by the UCLA Professional Programs office that a second press release for the contest results will come out in this week's edition of Variety Entertainment magazine, which is... today.

Woohoo!

I've also had another manager call me up, asking to read my Chinese Joan of Arc script. Bene as an Italiano would say.

And it's T-minus 4 days to my trip to LA with 20 or so film producers and studio execs. Things're looking busy.

I'm also planning on watching "Pirates of the Carribbean II: Dead Man's Chest," though the buzz is it's not as good or fresh as the original. :-(

Nichevo.

Later.

"Superman Returns" Review

After having viewed a 10 P showing on Tuesday night before the wide release, I come away with mixed feelings.

“Superman Returns” is heads and shoulders better than the average Hollywood summer movie, but it suffers from a variety of problems, some of which aren’t even its fault (like the high expectations that’ve been placed on it). Singer’s over-reliance on the Christopher Reeve films is nice at first, but eventually it gets a bit grating. Snippets of dialogue and entire scenes seem lifted from Richard Donner’s “Superman: The Movie.” It’s been almost 30 years since that film was released. Why not start completely from scratch with a new incarnation of our hero?

As the title indicates, "Superman Returns" isn’t a true franchise reboot like "Batman Begins," but instead, a very late sequel that builds on the events of "Superman" (1978) and Richard Lester's "Superman II" (1980). (Thankfully, "Superman III" and "Superman IV" are ignored.) This visual and emotional continuity is what's right and wrong with "Returns" IMHO.

One of the things that made last summer’s “Batman Begins” so interesting was the way in which it answered origin questions big and small, but also used these details to drive the story forward in a fresh and organic way. “Superman Returns,” by contrast, has little of this type of innovation going for it.

Screenwriters Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris — working from a story devised with Singer, their boss on X-Men 2 — have at the center of their movie a suitably thorny interpersonal hurdle in the form of Lois’ romantic entanglement and son, but the eventuality of this strand is fairly obvious from its introduction, and not just because Richard, says to Clark upon first meeting him, “No matter how close I get to her, that woman is always a mystery to me.” Trading in the same sort of elegance and high-stakes emotionalism that made his work on the X-Men franchise so enthralling, everything here seems stretched like taffy. When a big interpersonal reveal comes, we’re still more than an hour away from the finish line; when disaster for Metropolis is averted, 50 minutes; when Superman plummets to the ground in a moment of sacrificial grace and glory, 20 minutes.

The film, too, is hamstrung by a few inconsistencies, whether it’s Clark seeing Lois off in a cab, immediately donning his Superman get-up and arriving at her home after her commute, or Lois taking Jason with her when she decides to snoop around Lex’s hideout, a massive boat. Brass tacks: the film feels less essential than either of the first two Spider-Man and X-Men films, and even Batman Begins. For all its flash, Superman Returns is way too long at 156 minutes— particularly its first hour, which could stand to be trimmed almost totally.

Instead of starting off “Superman Returns” with the Man of Steel (Brandon Routh) crashing back on his mother’s farm (“Hi, Mom. I’m home”), we have to wait awhile. Not exactly an iconic entrance.

Set after a five-year absence, during which he’s traveled to the destroyed remains of his home planet of Krypton, Superman returns to Earth. Returning to work in Metropolis as clumsy and bespectacled Clark Kent, where it seems only cub photographer Jimmy Olsen (Sam Huntington) has really noticed Clark’s absence. Superman is shocked to discover "fearless reporter Lois Lane is now a mommy," according to Jimmy. Not only does Lois have an asthmatic and "fragile" young son (Tristan Leabu) and a handsome fiance (James Marsden, who plays Cyclops in the "X-Men" movies), but she's also the recent winner of the Pulitzer Prize for her essay, "Why the World Doesn't Need Superman."

In other words, Lois is suffering a crisis of faith, although her desire to believe is signaled by the fact that her boyfriend is a pilot -- another guy who can fly. (And while Lois may have earned journalism's highest honor, the first time we see her on the job, she asks a colleague: "How many f's are there in 'catastrophe'?")

On Lois’ home front, Jason believes Richard is his father. Richard believes Jason is his son. Lois has not married Richard because she is still in love with Superman. Has she deceived the worshipful Richard? I felt sorry for Richard.

What parents do not know their son? Lois and Richard take Jason to work with them. They are a close family, but they have never noticed that Jason is “different.”

When Superman returns to action in a lengthy and exciting space shuttle rescue, Daily Planet editor Perry White (Frank Langella) seems more excited than Lois. "Three things sell newspapers: tragedy, sex and Superman," he barks, ordering his reporters to find out if the mystery hero still stands for "truth, justice -- all that stuff." Note that "the American way" -- a phrase added to the Cold War-era Superman TV show but absent from Superman's earlier radio and cartoon adventures -- is left out: As TV news reports show us, this Superman is a savior-citizen of the world, which apparently doesn't worry Luthor. "Bring it on!"

Like Donner, Singer is adept at action (the highlight is a robbery with a "Wow!" moment in which a bullet flattens against Superman's cornea) but he excels at quiet. "Superman Returns" allows Superman and Lois another romantic flight together; more effective and inspired is a scene in which the lonely superbeing uses his X-ray vision to spy on Lois' seemingly happy domestic life -- a sequence that vividly literalizes the hero's outside-looking-in status.
Unfortunately, Singer, like Donner, falters in his depiction of the villains. Gene Hackman's Luthor at least seemed somewhat lecherous, which justified the presence of Miss Teschmacher (Valerie Perrine) in two films; but Spacey's female foil, Kitty Kowalski (Parker Posey), seems to serve little purpose, sexual or otherwise. Here especially, Singer's fidelity to Donner rather than to DC Comics is a mistake in my view. The comic books have seventy years of great frights and menaces, but the Singer team didn't seem to look beyond 1979 and the cinematic precedent of a toupeed and real-estate-obsessed Luthor in its search for an evildoer. You'd think a budget of $200 million could have paid for a few back issues. Dark Seid is one baddie who’d give Superman all kinds of problems.

Bosworth as Lois Lane comes across to me as too far young and over her head, and has none of the edge or aplomb of Margot Kidder’s depiction of the character.

One key star does return from the Donner film, in recycled footage: the late Marlon Brando, who again appears as Superman's Kryptonian father, Jor-El, resurrected at the Fortress of Solitude in a crystal-powered projection. "Even though you've been raised as a human being, you're not one of them," Jor-El reminds his son. "They can be a great people ... they only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all ... I have sent them you ... my only son." In case the parallels are too obscure, Singer depicts the exhausted Superman falling from orbit with his arms outspread, like a man on a cross. The religious references become redundant and distracting, and we wonder if Singer is trying to justify his serious approach to the squarest and most wholesome of superheroes.

Superman may lack the edgy, misfit cool of the X-Men, the neurotic humor of Spider-Man and the spookiness of Batman, but his uncertainty regarding Lois Lane in the new film makes him easy to identify with, despite his near-invulnerability. His cloudy frame of mind is matched by the relative darkness of the movie's handsome cinematography and even by the tone of Superman's slightly redesigned uniform: The red of his cape is now wine-dark instead of cartoon-bright, and I'd like to see it flapping through the breeze again, in a more original context.

Brandon Routh is great as Superman, though, but perhaps even more so he is amazing as Clark Kent, providing healthy doses of geekiness undercut with sadness that works very well. His Superman is as close to the mark as you can get, rivaling only Reeve’s portrayal of the character. The film’s willingness to diverge from canon – in a big way – is, well, super, and in some ways I’m surprised the studio let Singer do what he does here. And the subtext of the film, the Supes-as-savior theme, approaches real art at times, with imagery that truly, finally reflects what Superman can and should be capable of.

In the end, Superman Returns’ success relates somewhat to one’s level of expectation. Measured against the relatively high bars of other recent superhero fare, it feels uncomfortably familiar. For those looking for a slice of high-flying entertainment, however, it sure pays off.