With ‘NOS4A2,’ Joe Hill Finally Sinks His Teeth Into TV - The New York Times
With ‘NOS4A2,’ Joe Hill Finally Sinks His Teeth Into TV - The New York Times |
- With ‘NOS4A2,’ Joe Hill Finally Sinks His Teeth Into TV - The New York Times
- 8 of the Best Comic Adaptations of Classics - Book Riot
- The 11 Best Fiction Books of 2019 So Far - TIME
| With ‘NOS4A2,’ Joe Hill Finally Sinks His Teeth Into TV - The New York Times Posted: 31 May 2019 12:00 AM PDT On a sunny spring morning in a hotel near Central Park, the writer Joe Hill settled into an overstuffed chair before an 18th-century-style fireplace, received tea and sandwiches — rectangular, crusts removed — and stroked his graying beard. He was there to talk about a vile old man with rotten teeth who feasts on the souls of young children. The contrast was one he seemed to relish, with self-awareness. "The tea I'm drinking is called Mystical Creatures, which is a little bit on the nose for today's themes," he said. "But we'll roll with it." Those themes, in no particular order, included: vampirism; feminism; supernaturalism; sadism; his father, the best-selling novelist Stephen King; and his own best-selling novel "NOS4A2," which has been developed into a TV series that debuts Sunday on AMC. An update to the classic vampire tale (the title is a play on "Nosferatu"), the series follows a supernaturally gifted young heroine from a broken New England home and her battles against the villain Charlie Manx, who carries children off in a demonic Rolls-Royce to a terrifying place called Christmasland. Image  "NOS4A2" is both the first of Hill's stories to make it to the small screen and one of several TV projects he now has in the works, a dramatic reversal of fortune after multiple stalled attempts. Misfires included a reboot of George A. Romero's horror series "Tales From the Darkside," which never made it past the pilot stage after Hill wrote several scripts, and two adaptations of "Locke & Key," a comic Hill did with the artist Gabriel Rodríguez. Separate pilots were produced for each — first for Fox, then for Hulu — but both were dropped. Then suddenly, abundance: In addition to "NOS4A2," "Locke & Key" was finally picked up for a Netflix series, which is expected to debut by early next year. A Netflix film based on "In the Tall Grass," a short story Hill wrote with his father, is expected this fall. And in a development that completes a personal circle for Hill, the streaming service Shudder is in postproduction on an adaptation of his 2014 short story "By the Silver Water of Lake Champlain" for its anthology series "Creepshow," a reboot of the 1982 movie written by King — which also starred Hill as a little boy. "I feel like I've had a real lucky run," he said. "But it's kind of a gold rush, right?" Networks and streaming services were now "vacuuming up books and comic books and short stories," he argued, which presented new opportunities for writers who worked with "suspense and high concepts." "We'll see how long it lasts," he added. "Probably until the environmental apocalypse finishes us all off." Image  "NOS4A2" traveled a comparatively straightforward path to TV. Published in 2013, the novel was an immediate best seller; by 2015, it had found its way to AMC, which has made horror a core part of its programming. "The Walking Dead" remains one of TV's most popular shows, and a spinoff, "Fear the Walking Dead," begins its fifth season Sunday as the lead-in for "NOS4A2." This summer AMC will present a second season of its well-received anthology series "The Terror," which brings supernatural horror to historical settings. Screen adaptations of sprawling stories are, of course, a tradition in Hill's family. Dozens of his father's stories have been adapted, many into classics, like "Carrie," "The Dead Zone" and "The Shawshank Redemption." Others, like "Maximum Overdrive" and "The Lawnmower Man" … weren't so classic. (AMC is also developing a pilot script based on "Sleeping Beauties," a novel written by Stephen and Owen King, Hill's brother.) Hill said his father had offered some good advice about the vicissitudes of having one's work adapted, a process over which the writer often has little control once the rights are sold. "He'd say, 'If someone takes one of my novels and makes a brilliant movie, it doesn't make my novel one word better,'" Hill said. The important thing, King told him, was to "be working on the next book." As valuable as it was to have the world's most famous living horror writer for a father, Hill was determined to succeed on his own merits. "I knew by the time I was 12 that I really wanted to make stuff up for a living," he said. Still, he "was deeply insecure" about being taken seriously. "I needed to feel like when I got published, I got published for the right reasons," he said. Hence the pseudonym, which Hill adopted in college — a shortening of his full name, Joseph Hillstrom King. (That's not to say there is no family loyalty: Of Stanley Kubrick's revered adaptation of "The Shining," which King hated, Hill said, "It has an iconic performance by Jack Nicholson, which makes it easy to ignore how lousy the rest of the picture is.") After early attempts to separate himself even further — writing what he called "New Yorker-type stories about divorce and difficult children and middle-age ennui" — he soon realized that the stories "had no inner life." Once he embraced the uncanny storytelling he had always loved, success soon followed, including several best-selling novels. (His identity was officially outed by Variety in 2006.) "NOS4A2," Hill's third novel, was an obvious fit for television, said David Madden, the president of programing for AMC's entertainment networks. Madden believed that recent years had seen a deepening interest in what he called "immersive horror," with its longer arcs and detailed character building. "I don't think you could have compressed it into an hour and 45 minutes and done it any version of justice," Madden said. (Hill's second novel, "Horns," was made into a movie, released in 2014 to middling reviews.) Still, the world of "NOS4A2" required some compression, even though the 10 hourlong episodes of Season 1 cover only one-third of the novel. The protagonist Vic McQueen is 8 when the novel begins; in the series, she's a high school senior with a dirt bike. And much of Manx's back story was drawn from Hill's spinoff graphic novel, "Wraith," named for the model of Manx's 1938 Rolls-Royce. "You really begin to understand what a horrific upbringing Charlie had as a child — how abandoned, how neglected, how abused he was," said Zachary Quinto, who took the role partly because he was drawn to its moral complexity. "It really gave me a lot to understand that, no, I don't think he is pure evil. I just think he's someone who seriously lost his way." Jami O'Brien, the series's showrunner and head writer, said that Hill had been very hands-off with the adaptation, letting her do what she needed to bring the story into a different medium. But the two swapped insights. "We did have lots of conversations about tone, about voice," she said. "I remember the first conversation I had with him he said to me, 'There's nothing scarier than a candy cane in July.' And I held onto that throughout as a way to think about the scary parts of the show." They agreed that the female perspective of the young protagonists should drive the production: The writers' room was deliberately staffed with mostly women. Kari Skogland, who directed several episodes of "The Handmaid's Tale," was hired to direct the first two for "NOS4A2," an attempt to "set our tone out of the gate," O'Brien said. Compressing the story also let O'Brien confine Vic's portrayal to a single actress. Ashleigh Cummings ("Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries"), who plays Vic, said she had been drawn to the character in part because she relied on powers other than the traditionally masculine ones valued in most superheroines. It was important, she said, to "broaden the scope of the term 'strength' to include qualities that have been typically attributed as female." "She does have the courage and bravery that you see in superheroine females, but her strongest muscle is actually her heart," Cummings said. "And her superpowers are her creativity, her intuition, her empathy, her vulnerability." It seemed important to Hill that his brand of horror should convey that depth of character, beyond the blood and guts. (Though the story has plenty of that, too.) Television was great for that, he noted, because a viewer could really fall in love with the characters over many weeks and months, and thus come to root for them. "I think some people think horror is about sadism; it's about flinging intestines at the camera," he said. "And some is. And I like some of that stuff. But I do think the really effective horror is about empathy."  |
| 8 of the Best Comic Adaptations of Classics - Book Riot Posted: 06 Jun 2019 03:44 AM PDT During the summer, I always get ambitious with my reading plans, and every year, they usually involve picking up a classic I never got around to reading. But sometimes, big complicated texts are intimidating, or I'd like to revisit an old favorite in a new way. Graphic novels are perfect for poolside reading, and these eight graphic novels and comics are exactly what I want to read this summer when I'm ready to dive into my own personal summer reading assignment.
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| The 11 Best Fiction Books of 2019 So Far - TIME Posted: 23 May 2019 12:00 AM PDT  For the characters in many of the best novels and short-story collections of the year so far, the search to understand oneself is fraught. Teenagers facing the turbulence of first love wrestle with their places in the world as they mature into adults. Immigrants, families and even a spy grapple with what it means to be an American when faced with growing hardships. A mother struggles with her identity as a parent after losing her child. From veterans including Susan Choi and Amy Hempel to emerging voices like Namwali Serpell and Angie Kim, the authors of these stories ask their characters and readers alike to consider how they've become who they are. Here, the best fiction books of 2019 so far. Read TIME's picks for the best nonfiction books, movies and TV shows of 2019 — so far. Trust Exercise, Susan Choi It's hard to write about Pulitzer Prize finalist Susan Choi's latest novel without spoiling its magic. Trust Exercise begins with Sarah and David, first-years at a performing arts high school, who are on the precipice of an angsty love affair. Their somewhat conventional journey twists when a minor character takes center stage, calling into question everything the reader has learned about the teens and their seemingly dramatic lives. The slow build of this mind-bending book is worth the wait as Choi challenges readers to consider the boundaries between fiction and reality. Sing to It: New Stories, Amy Hempel The 15 stories in Sing to It demonstrate the masterful way in which celebrated short-fiction writer Amy Hempel can pivot between humor and sadness, often in fewer than two pages. From a volunteer at an animal shelter to a wife dealing with her husband's affair, the characters that populate this collection are rendered in specific yet sparing terms. Hempel constructs quick and quiet narratives that probe the intersections of love and loneliness.  The Brief NewsletterSign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now. View Sample Black Leopard, Red Wolf, Marlon James When a child goes missing in the mythical world of Black Leopard, Red Wolf, a mercenary named Tracker is hired to find him. The novel, the first in a promised trilogy, follows Tracker's adventures as he passes through ancient cities inspired by African history and mythology looking for the boy. Man Booker Prize winner Marlon James, who described his latest book as an "African Game of Thrones," shows off his impressive skill at blending mystery, magic and history in this thought-provoking epic. Miracle Creek, Angie Kim In Angie Kim's gripping debut, an experimental medical facility mysteriously explodes in a fire that kills an adult and a child. Although the plot of Miracle Creek is propelled by a murder trial following the incident, the book shines when the characters involved open up about what it's like to make intense sacrifices for the people they love. From the immigrants who ran the facility to the single mother of the child who was killed, Kim makes a case for compassion that surpasses the suspense of her page-turner. The Other Americans, Laila Lalami Nine characters narrate the events of Pulitzer Prize finalist Laila Lalami's fourth novel, which follows an investigation after Driss, an elderly Moroccan immigrant, is suspiciously killed in a hit and run. From Driss' daughter to the undocumented laborer who witnessed the crash, the narrators showcase the concerns and insecurities they feel toward their places in the California community where the mystery of Driss' death looms large. Together, their voices create a vivid image of a fractured America. Where Reasons End, Yiyun Li What if the living could communicate with the dead? In her latest book, novelist and memoirist Yiyun Li imagines conversations between a mother and her son who recently took his own life. In pages that transcend time, Yi conveys in delicate, moving prose the ferocity with which a parent can love a child. Although a devastating read, Where Reasons End provides a sensitive and essential look at the complexities of grief. Lost Children Archive, Valeria Luiselli A family pulled in different directions makes its way across the U.S. in Valeria Luiselli's road-trip saga. The husband intends to drive to Apacheria, while his wife wants to investigate the status of her friend's two undocumented daughters who were last seen at an immigration detention center on the border. As the family's journey unravels, the couple's children become aware of the cracks forming between their parents and worry what will happen to their unit. Politics, history and a familial crisis come together in Luiselli's dynamic examination of immigration and equality. An Orchestra of Minorities, Chigozie Obioma Man Booker finalist Chigozie Obioma's bold second novel is centered around Chinonso, a Nigerian poultry farmer, who is lovestruck after stopping a woman, Ndali, from jumping off a bridge. A chi, or guardian spirit, narrates Chinonso's story as the young lover sacrifices everything to go to college in Cyprus, desperate to prove his worth to Ndali's wealthy family. But when he makes it to Cyprus, Chinonso's plans quickly fall apart. What ensues is a heartbreaking quest, inspired by The Odyssey, as Chinonso makes the long, trying trek home. Normal People, Sally Rooney In Sally Rooney's follow-up to Conversations with Friends, we're introduced to Irish teens Marianne and Connell in terms of how they differ: he's popular, but working class, and she's a loner, but wealthy. They embark on an enthralling on-again, off-again relationship, rendered completely lifelike through Rooney's tight language and attention to detail. Although the melodrama in the last quarter of the book undercuts the expertly crafted tension that precedes it, Normal People remains a deeply immersive rumination on social class, self-doubt and first love. The Old Drift, Namwali Serpell This multi-generational epic follows three families over four generations, beginning in a colonial settlement near the Zambezi River in 1904. The characters in The Old Drift interact in subtle and surprising ways, adding to a bigger narrative that tackles class, race and ancestry. Namwali Serpell's debut can't be placed in a single genre — it oscillates fluidly through sci-fi, historical and romantic fiction — and establishes Serpell as an exciting new voice in literature. American Spy, Lauren Wilkinson This spy thriller follows former FBI agent Marie Mitchell in the form of a letter she has written to her young twin sons. The novel travels in time as Marie tracks both her career in espionage during the Cold War and her upbringing in Queens in the 1960s to paint a vibrant portrait of a woman at odds with her identity. Lauren Wilkinson's page-turner asks potent questions about politics, race and what it means to be an American.  |
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