So a couple days ago a friend sent me a link to a video.
And I thought, “Yeah. That’s pretty much it in a nutshell.”
I’m assuming a lot of you already know about Tales of Mere Existence. But if you don’t, well, here you go.
I’ve loved Lev Yilmaz’s stuff for years. In fact, I feel a certain amount of shame that it’s taken me this long to mention him on the blog. However much attention he gets for his work, I can’t help but feel that he deserves more.
Occasionally someone sends me a youtube video that’s just too cool to ignore.
That said, even the really cool ones I keep to myself. I worry if I posted them up here, I’d eventually become the blog-equivalent of that guy at work that forwards you two dozen funny cat stories every day.
Still, there are a few cool videos that are book related and cool, so I feel like I’m justified in sharing them here…
Here’s a guy who showed me that you can actually play a guitar with three strings. You can play the hell out of it, in fact.
And here’s some guys that took a crack at writing and playing Tinker, Tanner.
A while back I did a video interview over at San Diego Comic Con with Shawn Speakman. It was supposed to be a short interview, but apparently that’s not something I’m capable of and they ended up breaking it into four bite-sized chunks.
The fashionistas among you will note my stylish geekware. Remember guys, a Legend of Neil T-shirt not only establishes your geek street cred, but it impresses the hell out of the ladies.
If you’ve fallen behind, there are five episodes of Legend of Neil Season two out right now. And #3 is musical brilliance that’s been stuck in my head for days.
I’ve talked before about my movie daydreams. It’s a fun thing to think about mostly because we haven’t sold the rights yet. That lets me imagine it the way I hope it will be, without any irritating reality getting in the way.
If a movie does get made, it will be probably be terrific in the traditional sense of the word. The truth is, the more I think seriously about who I would cast in the movie, the more I realize that I’m really not qualified to make those sorts of choices.
Sure sure, there are actors that I really enjoy and admire. But just because I like an actor doesn’t mean they’d be right for the movie adaptation of my book.
I think what a lot of people forget is that there’s a huge difference between enjoying a role an actor has played in the past, and being able to predict whether an actor will be right for a role in the future. I love James Marsters as Spike, But that doesn’t necessarily mean there’s a good role for him in the book.
Casting is profoundly speculative. Predictive. Not predictive like poker. We’re talking weather forecast predictive. Voodoo predictive. Even with my caveman knowledge of the movie world, I respect the hell out of the casting directors who can do it well. And though I enjoy daydreaming, I haven’t fooled myself into thinking I could do their jobs.
(That said, I still stick to my choice of Neil Patrick Harris for Bast. That is an opinion that fire cannot burn from me.)
The same is true with cinematography. And special effects. And a lot of the other technical elements involved in working in film. Those are highly specialized skills and I would be an idiot to think I could do them better than the professionals.
Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying I wouldn’t want to be involved in the movie. I know the book better than anyone. I know the characters and the world. What’s more, I understand how stories work, and story transcends medium. Story trumps all. That’s where I’d be helpful.
Still, these days when I daydream about the movie, I don’t think about the big picture. It’s more fun for me to think of little things that would add to the movie. I like to think the powers that be would let me amuse myself with some small things in order to shut me up while they re-write the screenplay to turn Kvothe into a lesbian, shape-changing unicorn.
I think a lot about music in the movie. Not the score, mind you. That’s another specialized skill. What I mean is that I think about who we could put on stage when Kvothe is in the Eolian. I think about who would play the troupers from the early part of Kvothe’s life. I think about how cool it would be to have some really awesome musicians doing cameos in the movie.
I’m not talking about celebrity walk-ons, like Britney Spears. I’m talking about modern-day troupers. People who spend so much time making music that it’s practically a superpower.
I’m talking about people like this:
I want them in the movie. How could I not?
I just stumbled onto this clip, and I don’t know anything about the musicians other than the fact that their names are Cecilia Siqueira and Fernando Lima. They’re Brazilian. And they’re obviously awesome.
Extra minion points for anyone who can dig up some contact info on them. The Brazilian edition of Name of the Wind came out just a little bit ago and I’d love to send them a book.
Later all,
pat
P.S. There’s no news about the book. If I had news, or a release date, I would post it up in a blog.
No blog = No news.
