Comedy, As Black & Cold As Space (a look back at the novelization of “Dark Star” (1974))

 

Dark Star by Alan Dean Foster, adapted from a script by Dan O’Bannon & John Carpenter

First printing/Ballantine Books: October 1974 ($1.25)
Third printing/Del Rey-Ballantine: October 1978 ($1.75)

The intelligentsia have always sneered at mass-market paperback novelizations of popular Hollywood movies (and even more when those read-‘n’-toss books routinely ended up on the NY Times bestseller lists), and perhaps understandably so.

But the novelizations (or box-office tie-in/reprints)—

Star Wars, Logan’s Run, Alien, First Blood, The Black Hole, I Am Legend (The Omega Man), 2001: A Space Odyssey, Make Room! Make Room! (Soylent Green), Jaws (and its sequels), The Island, not to mention Planet of the Apes, the 1970s Battlestar: Galactica, or Star Trek tie-ins—

These (along with comic books) were what really got me interested in reading when I was a kid, so I don’t look down my nose at them. What? You think I found out about Heart of Darkness through one of my teachers? Ha! Apocalypse Now pointed me in the direction of Joseph Conrad (and back in the day, the book fair paperback Heart of Darkness had a sticker affixed to it proclaiming paternity of the film).

These movie/TV tie-ins helped me, and I recognize that—and I am absolutely certain, this sort of media cross-pollination can assist students—I have seen it happen in my own classrooms!

And, So…
(about five or six years before I ever got around to seeing the film itself—
and then it was a 16mm projection in a side-room at a Star Trek convention) probably the first movie novelization I read was Alan Dean Foster’s adaptation of Carpenter & O’Bannon’s cult classic, the black comedy Dark Star.

Welcome to the “Favorite That’s Not” Silver Medal Quiz! (Featuring Pix of B-List Kaiju)

Cinematic, Genre-Centric, Potentially Mayhem-Packed!

Yes’m, this is LERNER INTERNATIONAL’s First Quiz, and welcome to it!

Look, Hurricane Sandy has trapped you indoors if you live on the Eastern Seaboard of the US, so what else are you going to do? Take a movie opinion quiz!

Why “Silver Medal” and “Favorite That’s Not” Quiz?

One thing that bugs me most about some movie quizzes (aside from my frustration at the questions) is the lack of bandwidth, with the same answers appearing from all contestants.

Of course, there are classics out there that all filmgoers love across the board, and so you’ll get a million people all answering “Godzilla” or “Willis O’Brien’s King Kong,” when the question is “What Is Your Favorite Giant Monster?”

Let’s try and shake that up! (And doesn’t Hedora, the Smog Monster [above, at top] look like he’s made of silver?) (And NO, monsters are not the only topic discussed in this post...)

Questions below!

The Girl With the White Halloween Meme 2012

Despite our apparent differences, one of the sites LERNER INTERNATIONAL visits routinely is the wonderful The Girl With the White Parasol (and if you don’t recognize that movie reference, shame on you!).

Usually concentrating on more civilized films than us, Rachel’s The Girl With the White Parasol has posted its “Halloween Meme” quiz, and who are we to fight the inevitable?

Like ghosts drawn to the psychic, LERNER INTERNATIONAL is compelled!

Answers (and possible spoilers) below…

LIE #53: Be Cruel to Your School (From 1976, DVD MIA “Massacre at Central High”)

Massacre at Central High (1976; Rene Daalder) is an incredible political metaphor disguised as a sleazy B-movie that needs to be (re)discovered*. 

Copious violence and teen nudity is the hook to get asses in the seats, but like with the best grindhouse potboilers, a strong sociopolitical message is inserted.

Not that that should stop you from enjoying naked teenagers getting slaughtered.

LIE #45: The “Mom” Is a Harsh Mistress

Mom (1991; Patrick Rand) can only be recommended if you are a horror-comedy completist, or working on your graduate thesis on the topic.

Not to say there aren’t moments of almost pure genius, but they are few and far between, and I just don’t know if you should spend your time on this movie.

LIE #25: In Brief: “Hollywood Boulevard,” Where Dante, Arkush and Davison Got Started

Hollywood Boulevard (1976; Joe Dante & Allan Arkush) is at best a curio—conceived as a bet between New World honcho Roger Corman and producer Jon Davison (who later produced Airplane, Robocop and Starship Troopers), that Davison and then-New World trailer editors Dante and Arkush couldn’t put together a flick in 10 days, using short ends and footage swiped from a dozen other New World action flicks.