Jinx is willing to work for nothing? No wonder “she’d be perfect“. Where does Tom Batiuk get his notions of “Hollywood”? I always thought Hollywood stood for glamour and success! But in the mind of TB and his characters, Hollywood is a soul-sucking void that only takes, takes, takes. That certainly fits in well with the depressing Westview worldview, I guess.
John
August 2, 2011 at 5:12 pm…I doubt even the most ardent fan would be with Les on his oh-so-deep angst over this. You keep pretending that this is something awful. But. It. Is. NOT.
…Stop trying to pretend this is misfortune, instead of you once again rewarding your favorite character.
…He wants to be paid, and paid well, but he also wants to pretend that being paid is a trial? Fine. Just stop showing it in-strip, ’cause we’re not buying it.
Not that I need to add to John’s comment excerpted above, but man alive, Les keeps outdoing himself in the insufferable martyr department. By panel 3 his arms are even extended in a crucifixion pose.
Les gets Susan up to speed regarding the movie option, up to and including his grudging acceptance of having to deal with those “Hollywood” people. No sooner does he conclude this update than Susan launches herself at him.
“I guess you’d better!” listen to Hollywood, Susan advises Les, before she engages him in some tonsil hockey. What a weird, vaguely threatening turn of phrase. Why not just go straight to “I’m so happy for you”? This is the plucky gal who stood up to the parents who bitched about the cancer play. Does she not share Les’ highfalutin’ convictions about his “art”?
File today’s strip under Pisses Me Off: a whole stupid week of Les fretting over what “that Hollywood producer” might do to his masterpiece. When at last Les grudgingly concedes to allow his book to be optioned, Ann tells him what many of you have been pointing out all week…that just because your book’s been optioned, doesn’t mean the movie will ever see the light of day.
Erich
May 19, 2011 at 11:31 am…I’m trying to remember the name of another author with a pragmatic attitude towards adaptations…when somebody asked him about Hollywood “ruining” his books, he replied “They’re not ruined. They’re still right there on the shelf.” Who said that?
redbird
May 19, 2011 at 5:17 pmErich: Finally found it at Slate:
“…Except, of course, it was supposed to be exactly that. Comics writer Alan Moore, whose dislike for adaptations of his books has been widely documented, is fond of telling a story about Raymond Chandler. When asked if he worried about Hollywood ruining his books, Chandler replied, “They’re not ruined. They’re right there on the shelf….”
My own research led me to this very old posting on a discussion board, where the expression is used by author James Ellroy (who I guess was quoting Chandler). Anyway, in today’s strip, Lisa’s Ghost says pretty much the same thing.
Today’s post title was inspired by Lisa’s cold, spooky hand on Les’ in panel 3, which in turn reminded me of this 80’s classic:
“There, There, My Dear” –Dexy’s Midnight Runners
Son of Stuck Funky 
