09/10/07 [#817] Nasty weather

[DarkAudit]

Edit:  And the screenplay for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was written by the author of the book for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

And he also wrote the screenplay for You Only Live Twice.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

There is only one place logic belongs, and that is alongside reason; on the curb.

... is that the reason that people will listen to?

[Zedd]

There is only one place logic belongs, and that is alongside reason; on the curb.

... is that the reason that people will listen to?

That or give them the ol fashion curbstomping

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

... and the reference goes -right- over Zedd's head....

[Naldru]

Edit:  And the screenplay for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was written by the author of the book for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

And he also wrote the screenplay for You Only Live Twice.

Incredible.  I verified that myself.  I would never have expected him to write a James Bond movie.  I guess Broccoli and Salzman were happy with his work.

[pseudocompulsion]

There is only one place logic belongs, and that is alongside reason; on the curb.

... is that the reason that people will listen to?

If that's a Snow Crash reference, you're officially my hero.

After all, eventually everybody listens to Reason.

Edit:  And the screenplay for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was written by the author of the book for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

And he also wrote the screenplay for You Only Live Twice.

That's wild. Roald Dahl: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, The Witches, The BFG, and You Only Live Twice??

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

If that's a Snow Crash reference, you're officially my hero.

After all, eventually everybody listens to Reason.

It would be, but I haven't got around to reading it yet. ;-]

[superluser]

That's wild. Roald Dahl: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, The Witches, The BFG, and You Only Live Twice??

It gets weirder.

He also wrote a short story about wife swapping and another about a guy who bets that he can light his lighter ten times in a row or he'll have a finger cut off.

[pseudocompulsion]

If that's a Snow Crash reference, you're officially my hero.

After all, eventually everybody listens to Reason.

It would be, but I haven't got around to reading it yet. ;-]

Well then, sir, you must get on it!

That's wild. Roald Dahl: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, Matilda, The Witches, The BFG, and You Only Live Twice??

It gets weirder.

He also wrote a short story about wife swapping and another about a guy who bets that he can light his lighter ten times in a row or he'll have a finger cut off.

Damn. I almost wouldn't have thought it possible if I weren't somewhat familiar with Dr. Seuss' "adult" art... Somehow, I think I just gained a lot of respect for Mr. Dahl.

[Sienna Maiu - M T]

Roald Dahl wrote many novels for children, but mostly only short stories for adults.
One such story I read in Grade Nine of an old woman who only let attractive young men rent her bed and breakfast room.
Essentially this old coot would poison these young men and then stuff and preserve them to keep in her attick for ever.

Suffice it to say, Roald Dahl's genre for the adult masses ran a slightly darker path.
However, consider things like the BFG and you'll see certain shades of dark there too. It just happens that in the end the heros win.
In the adult world, there are no heros.

[Tapewolf]

He also wrote a short story about wife swapping and another about a guy who bets that he can light his lighter ten times in a row or he'll have a finger cut off.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tales_of_the_Unexpected_%28TV_series%29

Oh yes, there's a lot more to Dahl than Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

[Timothy]

I'm totally lost as to what to make of todays "pretty chitty bang bang" title though.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0K3wQMWqZKI ? 

NUUUUU!!!!

Well, there are a few things about Chitty Chitty Bang Band that might relate to DMFA.

Dick Van Dyke plays a character named Caractacus Potts ("crackpot", in case you don't get it), who is an inventor who builds all sorts of strange inventions.

In the course of the movie, they are carried off to a very bizarre land with very bizarre characters.  (Benny Hill plays a toymaker, who only makes toys for the Baron since the Baron has banished all children from his land.) Actually, I think the Baron's Duchy might be even stranger than the Fae kingdom.

They spend most of the film trying to get back to their home in England.

Caractacus is dating a girl whose father is extremely intimidating.  (Lorenda's mother is extremely intimidating.)

And finally, last but not least, who says it has to make sense.

By the way, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was written by Ian Fleming, and the movie rights were sold along with the rights to the James Bond books.  So you had Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, a children's film, from the same producers as the James Bond films.  (Of course, the title does contain "Bang Bang".)

Edit:  And the screenplay for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was written by the author of the book for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Description of file from IMDB

Aha!
Screenplay of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was (at least in part I gather) written by Roald Dahl.
... and it's Roald Dahls birthday today!
Maybe it was an advance happy birthday Roald Dahl page title. 

[Caswin]

In the adult world, there are no heros.

What about the aforementioned Bond?

[Sienna Maiu - M T]

So I sign on to Google and I'm all like "oh look, a shiny picture" *scrolls over* "OMG! Roald Dahl's Birthday!?!?". So basically I'm like "awesome" and then the next thing I know I'm here. Posting about Roald Dahl's B-day. First I'm thinking amazing coincidence, but then I remembered why the subject came up in the first place and realized that Miss Amber was too cool for coincidence.

In the adult world, there are no heros.

What about the aforementioned Bond?

Doesn't count.
We were talking about short stories besides

[Naldru]

It being his birthday explains the display of Roald Dahl books at the Philadelphia Barnes and Noble.  The connection could be clever planning on Amber's part or sheer coincidence.

The greatest coincidence would be if there were no coincidences.

[Caswin]

Doesn't count.
We were talking about short stories besides

There were Bond short stories, if I'm not mistaken...

So when you said "the adult world", you meant "the world of Dahl's adult material"?

The weird thing about Dahl is that he's the only author whose movie adaptations I've actually consistently liked better than the books themselves.  Weird.

[Naldru]

I assume that you are mainly referring to instances where he wrote both the book and screenplay.  Most authors don't go into both on an equal footing, so I find it difficult to find someone else to compare him to.  You really have to have different techniques for screenplays and novels.  Wasn't Raold Dahlone of these who used typographical tricks in the books.  (Words being written in circles or otherwise having the method of displaying the words as part of the story.)  That always bothered me a bit in books.  So I guess it just means that you liked his screenwriting style better than his novelization style.  Some things work better in one medium than another.

I have seen a number of cases where the book and screenplay were by different authors, and the movie was much better than the book.  In these cases, the book usually wasn't very popular or very good, which meant that few people had read the book.  I would put Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in this category.  (Even though it was by Ian Fleming, it wasn't one of his best sellers.)  Another movie that I remember and would put in this category is Viva Max.

Of course, in many cases, the plots for the book and the movie were so different that you couldn't even see the connection.  This would include I Can Remember It For You Wholesale (movie was named Total Recall) by Phillip Dick and the Beastmaster books by Andre Norton.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Or "Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep" / "Bladerunner", to pick another movie adaptation that bears little or no resemblance to the original story...

[Janus Whitefurr]

Or "Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep" / "Bladerunner", to pick another movie adaptation that bears little or no resemblance to the original story...

"We Can Remember It For You Wholesale" / Total Recall (Naldru beat me to this one but I like getting names right.)
"Second Variety" / Screamers

...they have some comparisons to their original texts mind you. I'm just a little "I got a collection of Dick's short stories the other day, wooo!"-ish.

[Sienna Maiu - M T]

Doesn't count.
We were talking about short stories besides

There were Bond short stories, if I'm not mistaken...

So when you said "the adult world", you meant "the world of Dahl's adult material"?

The weird thing about Dahl is that he's the only author whose movie adaptations I've actually consistently liked better than the books themselves.  Weird.

I meant it was supposed to be a dark and depressing statement!

My actual opinion on the matter has no bearing.