Carpetbaggers in the media

May 8, 2006

Just to let readers know, a couple of Carpetbagger regulars have informed me of some of recent successes that I thought I’d pass on.

First, Russ Krauss, whom many of you know as “hark” from the comments section, had a terrific short story published in the current issue of Peridot Books. Be sure to take a look.

Second, Tom Cleaver, another one of my favorite comments-section regulars, wrote a movie called “The Terror Within,” which will be on the Sci-fi Channel on Thursday, May 11, at 11pm. Check local listings.

I mention these to congratulate my friends Russ and Tom, and to offer proof that, slowly but surely, the Carpetbagger community is taking over the national media. I’m optimistic that we’ll be benevolent while exercising our power.

And now, back to the news….

Outstanding!! Congrats all. Maybe hark isn’t as pessimistic as he generally appears here…

  • Why do hark’s posts appear as a narrow column compared to other posts? Does hark have a newspaper background or something?

    Also: I have 2 minutes of fame, but I am waiting to fill up my 15 minutes before sharing (smile).

  • Great job! I feel just like a three year old looking up with inquisitive glee at the giants around him, hoping one day to be able to reach the curiosities on that top shelf. Again, congrats!

  • Slip kid – I’d bet that Hark authors his posts in a text editor, then copies and pastes them into the comment field here (and the word wrapping from the text editor shows up as line breaks when posted).

    Just a guess.

  • Thanks for the mention, CB. That’s an honor on this site. Astute observation, slip kid. Has to do with line breaks and old dogs and new tricks. Don’t want to bore everyone with an explantion.

    And congrats Tom Cleaver! Now that’s an accomplishment.

  • Thanks very much, oh mighty Carpetbagger.

    I do want to let you all know that – while this is the only movie I wrote of which I can say “what you see on the screen was on the page” (and very few screenwriters can say that) – the “terror within” gets seen too soon and too often, for what it is (an extra in a rubber suit). But the day before shooting started, Roger Corman called in the director and said “I paid $25,000 for this monster and I want to SEE IT!” Roger himself later said that was a bad idea, but what’s done is done.

    BTW – Hark, that’s a good story. Tommy liked it..

  • We must use our powers only for Good.

    Except on Saturday nights when Evil slips its leash just a little bit. 😉

    Great stuff, hark and Tom. You’re an inspiration to us all, and may you continue for many years to come.

  • It is a good story, hark. Gave me goosebumps in the middle of the afternoon, and I’ve spent the rest of the day staring at everybody’s hands…

    Congrats to you both – it’s an honor to comment in your company!

  • Why do hark’s posts appear as a narrow column compared to other posts?

    That has always made me wonder too!

    Anyway, awesome work! We’re all becoming famous! Congratulations hark and Tom, that’s great news for both of you!

  • To paraphrase Groucho Marx I would like to offer both of you a Laurel and Hardy handshake.

    Congrats, and thanks for the great posts.

  • A bit more on “full disclosure” – this movie is not a new achievement, unlike Hark’s. TW was released 17years ago. It’s big claim to fame is it made more money for Roger Corman than everything else he released in the 1980s combined, and became something of a minor cult hit among sciffy fans (which is why it is making the cable rounds again). Those facts did have a positive effect on my career, and it makes me the only blogger/screenwriter currently working (in both fields still! – having just finished another creepy script that goes into production later this summer – I’m the only screenwriter my age who didn’t make them a bazillion dollars before I was 40 who can say that) who ever did anything good – go search Roger L. Simon at the IMDb and you’ll see what I mean.

    It’s also proof of what Wiliam Goldman meant when he said the three rules of Hollywood are “nobody knows anything,” since it was supposed to be a straight-to-video little nothing, while the other script I wrote at the same time was the best thing I ever did for Roger and so good he kept it back for a couple years and got it made at a good budget. Unfortunatley, the director was the son of the richest man in Spain and a creative moron, thus proving money cannot buy talent, and the movie (thankfully) sank from sight immediately upon release because it stunkstunkstunk (and no, I won’t tell you the name) – it was so bad Roger apologized to me (since the script really was good). Making movies is the biggest crapshoot around.

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