Neil Gaiman Tagged Articles at Cinematical

If you're not a fan of comic book flicks, it's going to be an interesting couple of years at the movies for you. Between Marvel and Disney joining forces, and DC having started their own media conglomerate (as Elisabeth told us just last week), there is no escaping the ink and panel crowd. But there's an upside if you're especially sick of superheroes, because during a conversation between MTV and the head of the newly formed DC Entertainment, Diane Nelson, she hinted that DC is planning something a little different in the world of comic book movies. Splashpage recently spoke with the woman of the hour, and she told them that not only will DC be putting some lapsed titles back into the pipeline (leaving us to speculate on whether or not Wonder Woman will get her film debut), but that the so-called 'lesser known' titles of the Vertigo universe could be getting a big-screen makeover as well.

According to Nelson, Warners will be the main arm of the film component of the new initiative, but like most business dealings in the Dream Factory, Nelson was pretty light on the details. What she did say was the following: "Vertigo is an area of great interest to me. It is even less well tapped than other parts of DC, and could potentially offer amazing stories" Now, a few of Vertigo's titles are already in movie development (like Preacher and the occasional rumblings of a Constantine aka Hellblazer sequel), but most of those projects haven't made much progress.

After the jump: the trouble with Vertigo, and some of the titles I would like to see on the big screen...

Neil Gaiman, the darling of comic book and fantasy fans everywhere, has been alluding to a short film project he's been working on on Twitter. Apparently, his fans aren't the only ones who can't resist snapping up his every project, because Variety is reporting the British TV channel has already picked up the short film as part of a "12 Days of Christmas" series.

Gaiman, who is very open to fan interaction and uses Twitter both effectively and charmingly, Tweeted in August, "Oh good. I have my star, who was my first (and only) choice. I have a costume designer. We agree about things. This is fun."

The dapper Bill Nighy is the star of Gaiman's short silent film which is "a love story involving two statues and Christmas shoppers." We can, no doubt, expect music from Gaiman's muse and collaborator Amanda Palmer for the soundtrack. it's so cool that he wrote a short silent movie screenplay, got it made, and sold it all in one summer. Such is the power of Neil.

The real question is, when does the rest of the world get to see it? Can we hope that Neil releases the film the same way he released videos of him reading The Graveyard Book to adoring audiences around the world?

So, fan girls and boys, let's hope this holiday season will bring another treat under the tree or Hanukkah bush from the prolific author behind Coraline (the book), American Gods, Stardust (the book), Anansi Boys, and of course, the graphic novel series Sandman. Along with that lump of coal you no doubt deserve.

Yes, yes, I know, the "book to film to musical to TV show to web series to comic book" multimedia exploitation explosion feels a bit played out nowadays. Still, a good story is a good story, and I'm always interested when an artist in one medium dreams up a novel way to adopt a creative work from a different medium. Such is the case with Stephen Merritt and his plans for a musical version of Coraline, detailed at Vanity Fair.

Neil Gaiman created Coraline, with illustrations by Dave McKean, as a book for young readers, though it left at least one adult (our own Eugene Novikov) looking at it with "amazement bordering on disbelief." Henry Selick directed the marvelous film version, also titled Coraline, which our reviewer Jette Kernion called "gorgeously fantastic, in all senses of the word." (I loved it too.) The stage version features music and lyrics by Merritt, and 35 pianos "are the only instruments used," Vanity Fair says. Why pianos? "The piano is a symbol of domesticity and middle-class life," Merritt told VF. "The prepared piano is a symbol of the avant-garde attack on that domesticity, and the toy piano is a symbol of childhood." Musician Phyllis Chen dashes around the stage to play all 35 pianos.

Previews for Coraline began at the MCC Theater in New York last week, with the official opening set for June 1. If you can't make it to New York, a graphic novel version of the story, adapted and illustrated by P. Craig Russell, will go on sale on June 24.

When it was revealed that Tim Burton and Dorian Gray ( I mean Johnny Depp) would be taking us all down Lewis Carroll's rabbit hole in 2010's 3D IMAX adaptation of Alice in Wonderland, a million bat-filled brains exploded with joy. Burton, who could perhaps be held personally responsible for the popularity of black-and-white striped stockings, has stocked his fantasia with a panoply of freaky faves, from Crispin Glover ("I can kick high!") and baby mama Helena Bonham Carter to Hammer Horror super-spook Christopher Lee. Anticipation is already running high just from the names attached and the few photos floating around the Internet. Empire Magazine has an interview with Burton in its issue coming out Thursday in the UK, along with a few photos from the movie.

But what about the other flicks that are getting our fishnets in a tangle? Naturally, Burton has a slew of projects coming up, including a big-screen adaptation of Dark Shadows with Depp rumored to be Barnabas Collins, and a full-length version of Frankenweenie, but there are a few other films coming out or in production (or in perpetual production) that make it a good time to get your goth on.

There are good writers, there are great writers, and then there's Neil Gaiman, who inspires slack-jawed awe. His omnibus Fragile Things contains my all-time favorite short story, "A Study in Emerald"; I don't want to give away too much, because I think you should read it for yourself, but suffice it to say that it begins as very clearly one thing, and slowly, organically turns into something else entirely. Gaiman's ability to tell a fully-formed, absorbing story while moving between genres with confidence and grace is nothing short of astonishing. His brand of fantasy may not be for everyone, but as a writer – in terms of versatility and control of the form – he is second to no one.

In the afterword to one of the more recent editions of Coraline, Gaiman calls the short novel his proudest achievement as an author. He's right to be proud. Some people are stunned to learn that Henry Selick's recent animated adaptation was made using stop-motion: frame-by-frame manipulation of physical objects and sets. I look at the book with a similar sort of amazement bordering on disbelief. It's an remarkably meticulous and effective work, such a stylistic and formal balancing act that it almost seems fragile.

Coraline begins by lulling you into complacency. We know it's a "children's book," and the opening pages are filled with the lovable naiveté, repetition, and short, declarative sentences we usually associate with writing for tykes. And so we settle in for a gentle children's fantasy story. The title heroine will have an adventure – scary, but not too scary – learn some lessons, and give her parents a big hug when it's all over.

I review a fair amount of children's and family movies, and often my eyes hurt from me rolling them so much because too many of these films rely on tiredly predictable plots, stupid animal jokes, morals so blatant that even the youngest audience members must be fed up, and poop jokes. (The same could be said about comedy films supposedly for grown-ups, but we'll argue that another time.) The idea seems to be that if a movie is squeaky clean and suitable for all ages, it doesn't have to be very good.

On the other end of the spectrum, I also watch well-made films like Wall-E and Ratatouille and now Coraline -- films that I enjoy very much. But are these really family films? How many children will like these movies, and what ages? Coraline is a bit scary at times and some kids are going to have trouble with it. But for children and adults who can appreciate the experience of a darker movie, Coraline is gorgeously fantastic, in all senses of the word.

Before I get started, I should probably let you know that I was a child of the 70's and 80's, so I'm used to a little more grit in children's entertainment (I mean, have you seen Jacob Two Two Meets the Hooded Fang?). But, the times have 'a-changed', and now parents are afraid to let their kids read Charlie Brown in case they get too depressed. Which is why I have to ask myself (and you) whether Neil Gaiman's Coraline will be too scary for its own audience? Focus Features have released the final trailer and an extra clip from Henry Selick's stop-motion animated tale, and it's as chock full of freaky imagery as you would expect from the man who brought us The Nightmare Before Christmas. But you still have to wonder: who was the film made for? Because it really isn't scary enough for the grown-ups, and yet it might be too intense for the kiddies (especially the wimpy ones ... only kidding).

The story of Coraline could have been taken right out of a fairy tale (like most of Gaiman's work). The action centers on Coraline, a young girl who enters a fantastical universe where everything seems to be the exact opposite of her life at home; attentive parents, constant entertainment, you name it. But here's the catch: to stay, you have to be willing to sew buttons over your eyes – and yes, it looks as creepy as it sounds.

No sooner does Neil Gaiman win the Newberry Award for The Graveyard Book than the movie deal is announced. CHUD got the scoop from The Today Show and Gaiman's Twitter that none other than Neil Jordan is being tapped to direct the big screen adaptation.

I still haven't gotten my hot hands on a copy of this book (and I must rectify this right away), but the premise is awesome, and the reviews have been gushing. Graveyard is a neat spin on the classic The Jungle Tale. A young boy escapes from his crib one night and wanders into a graveyard -- and on that same night, his entire family is wiped out by an assassin named Jack. The young child is taken in by some kindly ghosts who christen him Nobody, and protect him from the dangers of the outside, living world. There's a trailer for the book on Amazon.com, but I think this is a story you should experience as freshly as possible. In other words, just buy the book as soon as you can.

Nothing has been officially announced in the trades yet, and no other details of the film or Jordan's involvement are known, except that UK FX company Framestore will be doing the effects. Jordan is certainly a great choice for the material, as his Gothic gloom is classier than anyone else's.

What has to be one of the stranger, more unique ways I've ever seen a movie marketed, Focus Features created a video featuring Coraline's art director Bo Henry and his ... dancing mustache? Oh yes, through the magic of stop-motion animation, we have a man with a very large mustache that dances in tune to the music being played. There's not much else to it. That's the video. And it must have taken some real patience on Henry's part while making this, since he needed to sit still with the same facial expression while everyone screwed with his mustache. I hold my cup of ice tea high in the air for you, my good man. Salute!

But on a related note, Coraline looks pretty good. Based on the book by Neil Gaiman and directed by Henry Selick (The Nightmare Before Christmas), Coraline stars Dakota Fanning as a girl who walks through a secret door and finds and alternate version of her life where things are similar, but better. However, when her alternate parents try to keep her, Coraline must find a way back home before the life most important to her ceases to exist. It sounds trippy as all hell, and definitely worth a screening. Coraline hits theaters on February 6.