The event at the Imagine Festival in London went very well, as I thought it would. It was the second time I was on stage talking about the movies that had influenced the books— the first time was last year, at the Mountains to the Sea Festival in Dublin.
The place was packed out and the response was fantastic. Afterwards I signed for about three hours, seeing a lot of familiar (worryingly familiar) faces in the queue... It was all so much fun, and I want to thank everyone who turned up.
For those of you who couldn't make it, here are the trailers we showed... and here are the trailers— because of age restrictions— we COULDN'T show...
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
The whole Indiana Jones series has been a huge inspiration to me (except perhaps the fourth film.. ahem...) in terms of sheer fun and adventure and character. Jones is a perfect hero because, bizarrely, he rarely succeeds... Look at the first film, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and count how many times he messes up. He loses the idol, he loses Marian, he loses the Ark, he loses Marian (again), his bluff is called, he's captured... The guy never wins. But he NEVER gives up. And that's what makes him a hero.
I said none of this to Steven Spielberg when I met him, of course. I just started grinning.
But for the first book, this is exactly the kind of vibe I was going for. Fun, fantastic, and faintly frightening.
Another film that influenced the first book, and the series as a whole, is this one...
Big Trouble in Little China was a film that confused the hell out of me when I first saw it as a kid. I saw Kurt Russell and thought, okay, here we have the big strong American hero who has all the tough guy lines... and then he proceeds to bumble his way through the entire film. This is a guy who fights the bad guys at the end, totally unaware that he has lipstick smeared over his mouth.
It was only when I saw it again, years later, that I got the joke and I realised just how fantastic this film really is.
Playing With Fire is my monster movie. The Grotesquery, made up of parts of so many other creatures, is my Frankenstein's monster.
Every Saturday night I'd stay up after my folks had gone to bed, and I'd watch the old black and white Universal horrors, all the stuff from RKO... I don't know why I loved horror movies from such a young age, don't know what it was about me that responded so well, but I ABSORBED these things.
The Faceless Ones, I always say, is my whodunnit- it's my mystery book. Batu, after all, is the man behind the scenes, pulling all the strings. But this is also the first time we see the Faceless Ones themselves, which were inspired by the Cthulu stories by HP Lovecraft. The wonderful Hellboy comic is inspired by Lovecraft also, as you can see in the trailer for the movie adaptation...
(Oh, and also? Hellboy 2? They KIND of stole something from Skulduggery. Check out the poster and see if anything seems... familiar...)
(Ahem. Moving on...)
Dark Days is my revenge flick. You can't beat a good revenge flick, you really can't, and I jammed so much into this book. We have Tanith torture, we have Moloch and his vampires, we have Scapegrace becoming a zombie, we have the first real mention of Darquesse (even though she'd been in my plans from the very start) and we have the chapter entitled "Mid-Afternoon of the Dead".
Now, I could show the trailer to Night of the Living Dead, or Dawn of the Dead, or Day of the Dead, or the first two Evil Dead movies... but instead I'll show the trailer to Army of Darkness, the third Evil Dead film by Sam Raimi, and one of my favourite movies of all time...
Mortal Coil is my Invasion of the Bodysnatchers. It's my The Thing. It's the book where the Remnants run wild, and you can't trust the people you know, because they may not be the people you know anymore... Behold the glory of the hairstyles of the 1970s, and one of the most terrifying films I'd ever seen...
The Thing is the second John Carpenter/Kurt Russell film on my list, and it's here because it deserves to be. A masterclass in tension. If you're old enough, watch it... and watch it ALONE.
And in the chapter "By The Sword", we get one of my many nods to wonderful movies such as The Princess Bride. This one is pretty blatant. See if you can spot it in the middle of this, one of the greatest sword fights ever put onto celluloid...
Death Bringer is my superhero story. Between this and KOTW, the whole secret identity thing really starts to become a major issue, and this is the first book where we have a fight between two people who are powerful enough to punch each other through buildings... just like in Superman 2...
And this is also the book where Val gets attacked by that guy in her house. For me, this is the book where I switched from "realistic martial arts" to "realistic fighting", both in my writing and my own training. Take a look at my darling Gina Carano in Haywire...
And now we arrive at Kingdom of the Wicked, my science fiction story, where we have unsuspecting teenagers suddenly gifted with amazing powers, and we watch as it corrupts them. For this, Akira was a huge influence.
And it was also an influence on Chronicle, the trailer we showed at the festival. I THOROUGHLY recommend this movie.
And because it was science fiction, I felt completely justified in slipping in a nod to a certain Doctor...
We ALSO have a werewolf scene, which I did my best to link to the transformation in An American Werewolf in London. I'm not going to show that clip here, because it contains some brief nudity, but if one or two of you were to search for it, you would find that changing into a werewolf is a lot more painful than it appears in Twilight...
And SPEAKING of Twilight, how could I forget the debt I owe it for certain aspects of Death Bringer? So here we are, the trailer. Oh, be warned- one case of swearing at the very beginning.
And to top it all off, a massive influence on my writing...
And now I'm going to watch Ronda Rousey defend her UFC title against Liz Carmouche, in the FIRST women's event the UFC has ever held. In Ronda's own words, it is on like Donkey Kong...
4,961 comments:
1 – 200 of 4961 Newer› Newest»2nd
3rd as well
Tom Baker (4ish) Byees!
OH GOD, I FORGOT MY PICTURE.
DAMMIT.
Anyway, I laughed at the fact that you put Twilight up there.
DOCTOR WHOOOOOOOO! I LOVE THAT SCENE!
AND BUFFY! Buffy makes me want to write. Really badly. But if I write, I can't watch the screen, so...
ALSO, YOU REALLY NEED TO POST YOUR TOUR DATES AND YOU REALLY NEED TO EMAIL ME.
Princess Bride scene is amazing.
Hai
That honest trailer... I am wetting myself.
OMG DEREK GET ON HERE!!
THAT IS A LONG POST WITH A LOT OF TRAILERS!!!
Also,
WHAT IS BOOK 8 CALLED?!?!
YOU SAID YOU WOULD ANNOUNCE IT THIS MONTH!!!
And lastly,
HI EVERYONE!!
Dunno what number I am, but I always read the post before commenting, and I never notice the post first, so this is very high up for me! :)
HI NJ!!!!
Hey Star!!
Been a while! How're you?!
*hugs*
Has been a while! :(
I'm . . . *considors* I'm meh, I suppose. :)
I haven't been on as much,
GCSE's are hard. :/
Right then, here's my better pic. It's Fletcherless. YAY.
Oh, so Inkyness got twelf comment?
Twelf like an elf.
. . . I'm spelling twelf wrong, aren't I? . . .
I have mind blanks like this sometimes. *shrugs*
MSD!!!!
It's twelveth, Star...
@Ivy: *laughs*
NJ: -_- Nearly everyone stops coming on coz school work. I'm dreading the day it's me . . .
Gotta go bai
No, it's twelth. I think. Yeah, twelth.
When I write the comment it has this odd font, so I can't tell my mistakes as easy. When I posted the comment and looked at it in a better font, I remembered how to spell it and I knew for defin. twelf looked wrong.
However, the remembering how to spell it was probably just a concidence . . .
My brain remembers and forgets the oddest things.
GCSE's suck.
They make me want to punch a wall until I break my hand so I have a legitimate reason for not being able to do the work... :P
Bye Robin!!
*smiles*
FOURS, ROBIN! :(
GCSEs should be eaten by Ieniness . . .
They bore the hell out of me. I wish I was in primary school again
These blogposts are my favourites.
And the way each book has a different... Theme? Oh Golden God, it's genius. It's yet another thing I adore about the Skulduggery books - not one other series is quite this amazing. I love it. :)
Hey Luce!!
*hugs*
How're you??
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AVhKt4eJUw
It's so sad when the best lyrics vid you can find has terrible sound quality . . .
Hey Scathles. :)
hey everybody
A certain Doctor. Definately my favorite on the list. (I can't wait for March 30).
Oh and hey people!
hey
May I just say, Derek, your taste in movies is G L O R I O U S.
It makes me curious as to what games you like, too. And if you read manga/watch anime... I mean, you mistook my character for L in London, so I guess that means you read/watch Death Note..? :D
Hey Kaleb!
Nice to meet you :)
*shakes hand*
Also; HELLO EVERYONE~ *Waves*
So wait, Derek is revealing the title this month, right?
Hello. :)
I'm in a funny mood... I don't exactly know what mood it is... You?
*Scáthles
hey mav also nice to meet you
*returns hand shake*
Hello Sophie!
Nice to meet you!! :)
*Shakes hand*
@Dragonheart: He said he was... so, hopfully.
And Hi!!
Nice to meet you!! :)
*shakes hand*
Hi Kaleb, Sophie, Dragonheart. :)
If you're all stayers.
Sophie, are you dressed as Springheeled Jack? It looks a bit like it...
No word of Derek? O.O
Sophiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeee c:
hey star, sophie and val
HEY ZAF!!
*hugs*
How're you?!
I'm stuck wearing a skirt today because my jeans are in the wash, and my mum pointed out the fact that my legs are so pale they're whiter than the carpet. Which is basically white.
AND THUS, MY CHARACTER IVY'S SKIN COLOUR MAKES SENSE.
No word of Derek, Zaffles.
Sorry, I'm not being very social and communitive and hyper. I'm all flat. :)
All you new people should meet me on better days. *nods*
Every time I refresh the page I start laughing at picture on the top. It's hilarious.
better days?
*tilts heads, looks confused*
I don't have skirts, apart from school skirts.
I'm so odd. Out of school, I refuse to wear skirts and just wear trousers. In school, I refuse to wear trousers and just wear skirts. :)
I wouldn't mind making a lyrics playlist for Nine Inch Nails. *frowns thoughtfully*
WAIT
DEREK KNOWS WHO L IS
OMG
Derek just got a million times more perfect
If that's even possible
*hugs NJ*
It actually took me ovef an hour to load into Bloglad due to Derek so kindly putting WAY too many videos for my ipod to handle
*shrugs* Mostly, I'm more happy and insane and ME. I've got better as the conversation has gone on, but I was just being all plain and full-stoppy and I was like, oh dear, not good first impression. XD
I hate skirts, but I have them for emergencies. Like when I'm out of trousers.
Aww Zaffy
*hugs*
*laughs*
I may have mentioned this before, but I love Disturbed.
The tremor in my hand is still here.
They said it would have disappeared by now...
Hmm...
*frowns*
Thiugh I hoped to speak to Derek
And NJ i wrote a list of what I want to say in April in case I manage to completely forget what i planned to say
:/
What kind of temor, Scáth?
derek join us, join usss
*bows*
*wonders whether to change profile pic back or not*
OOPS, GOT SIDE-TRACKED. But yes, hello everyone! C:
And no, Valkyrie V, not Springheeled Jack XD I'm dressed as Undertaker from the anime/manga 'Black Butler' :D
Awesome Zaf!!
Zaf, if Derek comes on will you ask him on my behalf that question I have been asking him for ages and he has yet to give me a definitive answer??
I am going to go to bed now. Night guys!!
*hugs*
Lol we're meowing at Derek on Twitter
*grins*
Evil genius plan number one in action
They thought it was anxiety...
But said it would go soon.
Yet, I'm getting worse.
:/
Brb, going to take some meds.
:( FOURS NJ!!!
Of course NJ i will gladly
*takes out chainsaw*
:/
That's not good. I hope it goes away soon . . .
I hope so too Luce!
*sits with chainsaw waiting for Derek*
CHAINSAW WOOOOOOOOOOO !!!!
Naww, Luciana ;w; *Hugs* I hope you feel better
*laughs*
Watch him come on telling me he doesnt trust me with sharp objects
Maybe I'll explode Ronda THAT may get his attention
@Zaf: *laughs*
im sure it will
Back.
I should be a little better in ten/twenty minutes. At least my headache will go away, and possibly the tremor... *decides to eat sugary foods*
Hey Derek, you still have that picture of Skul in a bikini, right? :D You didn't just burn it as soon as I left, did you? Eheheh
AND OH GOD. IF YOU EVER READ MY BOOK...I MAY JUST DIE OF EMBARRASSMENT *Flails* Don't hate me for how terrible it is ;w;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf3qkLVmI1g
It's funnier the more you watch it. I'm practically crying.
Can't see any of those YouTube videos, but the words on that poster do sound familiar...I wonder why.
Hope you feel better, Lucy.
Or it could get me spooned....
Ah well
*explode Ronda*
Did you doubt me?
*hides in a closet*
goodnight my fellow minions
Toodle pip, Kaleb~ *waves*
Oh dear. [Officially denies responsibility for Zaf's actions] and hides behind something-or-other.]
Night, Kaleb.
*nods* Goodnight, Kaleb. :)
Headaches suck. Hope you get all betterness soon . ..
*really hopes Derek is watching*
See the funny thing is he'll never know xD
Next signing...
Em; Zaf exploded Ronda
Derek: *flies to America to hunt Zaf down*
JUST FOUR MORE DISTURBED SONGS NEXT TO DO.
Dehumanized, 3, Midlife Crisis and Living After Midnight.
Uh why is mom watchinf Twilight?
Haha, you're not finished with your playlist, Star?
[Distant hiding fr--making popcorn. Mmm hmm.]
Oh, and hi Sophie! I don't believe we've met before, or maybe we have and I just forgot because I do that.
Also hi everyone else!
Zaf, your mom has bad taste in movies, apparently. Twilight is just...eww.
Hey, Fabi! I don't believe we have met before, but you never know. I also have a short memory span :D I'm terrible with names OTL
(Also, apologies to everyone if I'm a little inactive. Off to replay Bioshock 2 :D *Skips off merrily* )
Well, since neither of us remembers meeting, let's assume we haven't.
Hi, I'm Fabi. Adept, specializing in metal, freelance. Nice to meet you! [shakes hand]
Have fun with that!
Nice to meet you too, Fabi!
I am Sophie, professional procrastinator, fangirl, nerd and weirdo at your service~ *Bows* :D
( And I shall, thank you! C: )
Zafira Kerias! Necromancer American Grand Mage but MAY be an Elder of America in Book 8 DEREK NEVER CONFIRMED THAT BIT
Lemme rephrase: He confirmed I am in the book he never confirmed being an Elder
And toast, Zaf. [Grins]
That's awesome, Zaf! :D
God forbid Derek ever putting my character, Rapture, in one of the two remaining books. It would be a disaster. Ehehehehe *snort*
She's like Captain Jack Harkness, but with boobs.
Derek: I'm going to post book eight's title sometime in February............> March arrives, along with the title.
~hasn't properly read this because this comp doesn't have an earphone jack, and I don't want to miss anything~
But I couldn't resist commenting :]
Glad you had fun, Derek Landy.
Next time, come to America.
Then you can have to new faces and not be so worried ~grins~
Just saying.
...
I was planning on writing more, but I haven't been online for DAYS, and I have THINGS TO DO! AND FRIENDS TO SEE! AND BROTHERS TO BARRAGE! Among other things. :D
So see you later. :3
i got out of bED FOR THIS
worth it omfg
i need to see a lot of these films, especially Chronicle. Me and Georgina just looked at each other at the end of that clip in london and went "I need to see that."
looks so good.
anyhow have fun watching Ronda kick some ass. tell us how it goes.
"worryingly familiar"
laughs darkly and returns to the sewers
and on the title front, i bet he's gonna release it at midnight on the 28th
Oh Becky
BECKKKKYYYYYY *Clings*
Oh crap, Becky's a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, living in the sewers.
SOPHIIIIEEEEE *clings back*
val has discovered my true identity
SOPHIIIIEEEEE *clings back*
val has discovered my true identity
BECKY YOUR NEW NAME IS MICHELANGELO
BECKY!!! :D
yes i am ok with this
ZAF MY LOVE I DON'T KNOW IF GERO TOLD YOU BUT DEREK SAID THE WAR WITH MEVOLENT ENDED AROUND 90 YEARS AGO
oh and also that Haywire film is so good. That fight scene omg. Mum called me in to watch it, and when i wasn't entirely captivated by how fine Fassbender was, i was paying attention to the fighting. please let the sp movie fight scenes be like that.
/please/
Howlett told me but thanks :)
Sorry I keep disappearing...
I'm sort of writing to get my mind off chest pains. ._.
Talking of Howlett, Derek calls her it so much that when I met up with her again, by force of habit, I couldn't stop calling her it. Dammit.
And okay~
joRDAN
*hugs face*
That's not normal Luci :/
Sorry I poofed! It started hail/raining, and I had to go outside and get wet, and laugh at the people who were running to get indoors.
Hi Becky, Willow.
Michael Fassbender should play Skulduggery Pleasant if there is ever a movie to be made
... Just saying
The war ended 90 years ago? I thought it would be longer...
Well, that's my long and complicated fanfiction ruined 8D
OTL
Oh :-( Hope you feel better, Lucy.
Hey Becky.
Willow, it's normal for me. Given the date, and circumstances. It's just really annoying. ._.
My own mind hates me. It's great .-.
hwy fabi, lucky i want it to hail over here.
Well that sucks, hope it feels better soon
Aah
Nooooooo, David Tennant should play Skulduggery. He's skinny as a skeleton anyway.
And as for Valkyrie... *hint hint*
Derek, you just had a pool party, didn't you???
*hugs*
PYRO AND RED GOT MARRIED!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D
*nods* it should be David Tennent, and it'd be cook if you did play Valkyrie, Val
DEREK, IF YOU EVER READ MY BOOK (GOD HELP YOU IF YOU DO), THEN IGNORE THE TIMELINE. I DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT THE WAR ONLY ENDING 90 YEARS AGO *Cries forever*
90 years ago, more recent than I thought it'd be. Hmm...
Normal for you. That sounds...bad.
Noooo, not David ;-; His voice isn't right.
Benedict Cumberbatch has the right type of voice...
Cumberbatch for skully.
Scott for Serpine.
Hiddles for Ravel.
Ivy for Val. c:
Ooh
for skull's voice this singer I listen to has a smooth deep voice
L, every time you say that you go to the top of my favourite people list, just saying. :D
I was about to say that omfg. Literally Derek has ruined my life along with Andrew Scott. Harmpine why.
Hiddleston is literally the only option for Ravel. There are no other candidates. They are one and the same.
Richard Grant is Shudder too just FYI
Oh my gOD BECKY. YOUR NAME *Dissolves into peels of laughter*
Idk who i want
ohohohohohohohohohoho i am a master of all things funny hahasarcasmmyjokessuck
and my mum wants to be beryl so there's that
you really have no idea Zaf?
Becky is Harmony
Hmm... Considering as I don't watch many movies, and am bad with names, I don't have any actors to suggest.
Beryl....Ehehehehehe *snort*
I think I /am/ Elsie, though, tbh.
yes i am harmony
do you think the films would still be suitable for kids with m-rated fic worthy harmpine sex scenes or
Msd. But its more of a hoping I disappear. Because I'm tired, but in too much pain to sleep and I'm hoping my painkillers will kick in...
SCREECHING ELSIE IS THE BEST
no but i just thought
if the SP films are made...
does that mean there'll be an online mini series or a TV show for the novellas?
TOO MUCH PAIN? WHAT IS THIS?! *Smothers Luciana in hugs*
If it's any consolation, I have a whopping head/stomach ache combo right now. It's a pretty normal, every day thing. FML
OTL
Hmm... I think I'd better go. Mom's freaking out about onions... I have to see if I can help.
Hope you feel better, Lucy.
I hope so Becky!
See the docs Luci! Well you know I was just hella sick, so I'm sure you won't get that bad (I hope)
Bye Fabi
Hey guys wbd.
hdbjydgsvjysgrv jordan sophie stop it come here *hugs you both* sTOP BEING NOT OK
Bye bye Fabi~ *waves*
It's just my chest, Sophie. Probably anxiety, again.
Willow, they keep telling me it's all in my head...
None lol
Bye Fabi
*murders phone because autocorrect*
I'm sure it's not all in your head, and if you have anxiety you're not the only one, I can get it pretty bad
BECKKKY *Hugs you back* I can't help it. Believe me, I'd like to. The doctor's can't quite figure out what's wrong with me, and I'm too much of a wuss to have another blood test, and all these horrible tests .___. I think a main factor of it is anxiety, but I'm pretty much allergic to every food going, so I can't eat anything without PAAAIIIINNNNNN *Collapses and rolls around on the floor*
MORNING!
Wbd, I've got to get ready for camp...
morning Miss!
Morning Aussie
Hi Willow!!
Hi Zaf!!
Hey
another new post? or are you just stating this new post?
I dont see another one
I just realized I've seen the movie Chronile before, and I remember the teddy bear part, lol
HI NIX!!!
Your post took a hellova long tinme to load. THank YOu
HI THRUST!
HI MISS!
Thrust! We don't really talk, but hi!
The one I remember was when I read what you wrote when he switches hands during sword fighting. I knew that was from The Princess Bride straight away, years ago! I love that film.
Also love Big Trouble in Little China. I remember seeing the trailer for it when I was a kid and I couldn't wait for the film to come out.
You have great taste in movies, Mr Landy.
Hi, Willow!
I got the Princess Bride reference but I wasn't exactly sure if it was from Princess Bride, because I only ever saw a few parts of it.
Also because I wasn't sure if you'd reference something with Princess int he beginning, but you would. *slaps own face*
I'm lost at what you're talking about, but then again, i'm doing three things at once :p
the second paragraph was addressing the princes bride reference. I wish there was a shorter way of saying that. There is, I just don't remember it. Crediting? All other possible words are mangling in my mind.
New MC chapter, random plot twist, and weird font/time experiment thingy! Yay!
ohhh, I get you now Thrust
I shall read now!
...My sisters are crazy. *nods*
Hi Willow, Missy!
My sis is perfectly normal for a martian. 'Cept she likes to be younger than she is. And she is more often then not upside-down.
As is my sister, lol.
Nice chapter Fabi
Thanks, Willow. It turned out different than I was expecting it to, but whatever.
Well it's still good. But I'm leaving for now, so Auf Wiedersehen! (goodbye)
Thanks, and bye! Distant!
BYE WILLOW!
I had a chapter up well i still do
The 'Killing Vinette' one? I did read that, Zaf.
Oh, wait, I did hit 'publish' on my comment, didn't I?
[Goes to check] [is Fabi]
You did
hi
any one
Any One?
HI VIENNA!!
guess not
HI
Am so glad some one was on
Any way...
Ah, okay, found the new one!
The MC has been really quiet lately.
Hello, Vienna.
Still here
So am I.
Oh lawd. HI PEOPLE. Sorry. A bit distracted, eheh heh.
Still here, I mean. Now I am distant, writing a dedication.
Please don't be offended if I respond slowly.
Post a Comment