Wilt by Tom Sharpe
There are a lot of definitions of comedy floating around out there. My personal favorite is the theory of "bad to worse." There's something about watching someone go from bad to worse, but still bring cheerful, even upbeat about it, that just cracks me up. It certainly works in Curb Your Enthusiasm, the reigning heavyweight champ. You'll also see it on The Simpsons. Family Guy, ditto. The hell with the three-act, Robert McKee, story-structure hoo-haa. Instead of getting someone up a tree, throwing sticks at him, and getting him back down again, in comedy, for me, it's just about throwing sticks at him. Then trees. Then the whole frickin' Great North Woods. You get the idea.
Wilt, a book by a Brit named Tom Sharpe, a book written way back in the mid-'80s when women's lib and sexual lib and educational lib were all the rage,...
There are a lot of definitions of comedy floating around out there. My personal favorite is the theory of "bad to worse." There's something about watching someone go from bad to worse, but still bring cheerful, even upbeat about it, that just cracks me up. It certainly works in Curb Your Enthusiasm, the reigning heavyweight champ. You'll also see it on The Simpsons. Family Guy, ditto. The hell with the three-act, Robert McKee, story-structure hoo-haa. Instead of getting someone up a tree, throwing sticks at him, and getting him back down again, in comedy, for me, it's just about throwing sticks at him. Then trees. Then the whole frickin' Great North Woods. You get the idea.
Wilt, a book by a Brit named Tom Sharpe, a book written way back in the mid-'80s when women's lib and sexual lib and educational lib were all the rage,...
- 4/1/2014
- by Ken Krimstein
- www.culturecatch.com
Actor who played many major Shakespearean roles on the stage
Few actors played as many major Shakespearean roles as did Paul Rogers, a largely forgotten and seriously underrated performer, who has died aged 96. It was as though he was barnacled in those parts, undertaken at the Old Vic in the 1950s, by the time he played his most famous role, the vicious paterfamilias Max in Harold Pinter's The Homecoming at the Aldwych theatre in 1965 (and filmed in 1973).
Staunch, stolid and thuggish, with eyes that drilled through any opposition, Rogers's Max was a grumpy old block of granite, hewn on an epic scale, despite the flat cap and plimsolls – horribly real. Peter Hall's production for the Royal Shakespeare Company was monumental; everything was grey, chill and cheerless in John Bury's design, set off firstly by a piquant bowl of green apples and then by the savage acting.
The Homecoming...
Few actors played as many major Shakespearean roles as did Paul Rogers, a largely forgotten and seriously underrated performer, who has died aged 96. It was as though he was barnacled in those parts, undertaken at the Old Vic in the 1950s, by the time he played his most famous role, the vicious paterfamilias Max in Harold Pinter's The Homecoming at the Aldwych theatre in 1965 (and filmed in 1973).
Staunch, stolid and thuggish, with eyes that drilled through any opposition, Rogers's Max was a grumpy old block of granite, hewn on an epic scale, despite the flat cap and plimsolls – horribly real. Peter Hall's production for the Royal Shakespeare Company was monumental; everything was grey, chill and cheerless in John Bury's design, set off firstly by a piquant bowl of green apples and then by the savage acting.
The Homecoming...
- 10/15/2013
- by Michael Coveney
- The Guardian - Film News
More than 30 years after Stephen King first terrified readers with The Shining, he's written a sequel, drawing on his alcoholism and a near-death experience. He talks about being a drunk father and why the Twilight series is just 'tweenager porn'
Stephen King has written a lot of books – at 56 novels, he's closing in on Agatha Christie – some of which have been great, some of which less so. Still, he says, when people say, "Steve, your books are uneven", he's confident "there's good stuff in all of 'em". Now and then, a story lingers in his mind long after it's published. When fans ask what happened to Charlie McGee in Firestarter, for example, King isn't interested. But when they ask what happened to Danny Torrance, the boy from The Shining, he always found himself wondering. Specifically: what the story would have looked like if Danny's father – mad "white-knuckle alcoholic" Jack Torrance – had "found AA.
Stephen King has written a lot of books – at 56 novels, he's closing in on Agatha Christie – some of which have been great, some of which less so. Still, he says, when people say, "Steve, your books are uneven", he's confident "there's good stuff in all of 'em". Now and then, a story lingers in his mind long after it's published. When fans ask what happened to Charlie McGee in Firestarter, for example, King isn't interested. But when they ask what happened to Danny Torrance, the boy from The Shining, he always found himself wondering. Specifically: what the story would have looked like if Danny's father – mad "white-knuckle alcoholic" Jack Torrance – had "found AA.
- 9/23/2013
- by Emma Brockes
- The Guardian - Film News
Washington, Sep 22: Bestselling horror novelist, Stephen King, has slammed 'Twilight' franchise as "tweenager porn", and has called 'The Hunger Games' dull and derivative.
During an interview with Guardian's Weekend magazine, King, who is all set to release his 56th novel, was apparently less than impressed by 'Fifty Shades of Grey', but he praised Jk Rowling for her "fabulous" non-Harry Potter debut 'The Casual Vacancy' while comparing her style to that of the late Tom Sharpe.
The 65-year-old author said that he had read Twilight, out of professional interest, and didn't feel any urge to go on with it.
He said.
During an interview with Guardian's Weekend magazine, King, who is all set to release his 56th novel, was apparently less than impressed by 'Fifty Shades of Grey', but he praised Jk Rowling for her "fabulous" non-Harry Potter debut 'The Casual Vacancy' while comparing her style to that of the late Tom Sharpe.
The 65-year-old author said that he had read Twilight, out of professional interest, and didn't feel any urge to go on with it.
He said.
- 9/22/2013
- by Smith Cox
- RealBollywood.com
Bestselling horror novelist dismisses Stephenie Meyer series and 50 Shades phenomenon, but praises Jk Rowling
Read the full interview here
Stephen King, the prolific and best-selling patriarch of the horror novel, has used a rare interview to express disdain for modern pretenders to his title, dismissing the Twilight franchise as "tweenager porn" and calling The Hunger Games dull and derivative.
More predictably, King, who is about to release his 56th novel, is less than impressed by Fifty Shades of Grey, although he does have praise for Jk Rowling's "fabulous" non-Harry Potter debut, The Casual Vacancy and compared her style to that of the late Tom Sharpe.
In an interview in the Guardian's Weekend magazine, the 65-year-old author said he had read Twilight, among other modern titles, out of professional interest, and had been underwhelmed. "They're really not about vampires and werewolves. They're about how the love of a girl can turn a bad boy good.
Read the full interview here
Stephen King, the prolific and best-selling patriarch of the horror novel, has used a rare interview to express disdain for modern pretenders to his title, dismissing the Twilight franchise as "tweenager porn" and calling The Hunger Games dull and derivative.
More predictably, King, who is about to release his 56th novel, is less than impressed by Fifty Shades of Grey, although he does have praise for Jk Rowling's "fabulous" non-Harry Potter debut, The Casual Vacancy and compared her style to that of the late Tom Sharpe.
In an interview in the Guardian's Weekend magazine, the 65-year-old author said he had read Twilight, among other modern titles, out of professional interest, and had been underwhelmed. "They're really not about vampires and werewolves. They're about how the love of a girl can turn a bad boy good.
- 9/21/2013
- by Emma Brockes, Peter Walker
- The Guardian - Film News
News Den Of Geek 20 Jul 2013 - 14:44
The writer, actor and director Mel Smith has died at the age of 60.
Some really sad news to report. The actor, writer and director Mel Smith has died, at the age of 60. The news has now been officially confirmed by the BBC. A heart attack is believed to be the cause of his death.
Smith sprung to fame in the groundbreaking and hugely influential Not The Nine O'Clock News, and then he joined up with Griff Rhys-Jones for a long running and fruitful partnership, the highlight of which being Alas Smith And Jones. The pair's monologues were so popular, they even become part and parcel of the annual build up to the F.A. Cup Final. They also joined together for the movie of Tom Sharpe's Wilt.
Smith co-wrote and starred in the movie Morons From Outer Space too, and he made...
The writer, actor and director Mel Smith has died at the age of 60.
Some really sad news to report. The actor, writer and director Mel Smith has died, at the age of 60. The news has now been officially confirmed by the BBC. A heart attack is believed to be the cause of his death.
Smith sprung to fame in the groundbreaking and hugely influential Not The Nine O'Clock News, and then he joined up with Griff Rhys-Jones for a long running and fruitful partnership, the highlight of which being Alas Smith And Jones. The pair's monologues were so popular, they even become part and parcel of the annual build up to the F.A. Cup Final. They also joined together for the movie of Tom Sharpe's Wilt.
Smith co-wrote and starred in the movie Morons From Outer Space too, and he made...
- 7/20/2013
- by simonbrew
- Den of Geek
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