Les’ yellow shirt – Page 42 – Son of Stuck Funky

There, There, My Dear

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 pm

Erich: 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

Borders, Books

In likening himself to Hemingway , Les leaves out a key element of Papa’s quote: “You throw them your book, they throw you the money. Then you jump into your car and drive like hell back the way you came.” Although in this case, instead of money, Hollywood would throw the book back. After using it for asswipe.

Les But Not Leese

Vampires? Vampires are so 2008! Zombies, man! We want zombies!

The Les You Know

smartjock
May 16, 2011 at 1:55 pm
Panel 2 has Les talking with who he imagines are “Hollywood” people. The bald guy is not Lisa, and the woman is not anyone we’ve met.

OK, now that that’s cleared up…Les continues to psych himself out of the movie deal. “They’re going to want to change it…” Yes, sunshine, change it from a book to a movie. It’s a necessary step. In the HOLLYWOOD of Les’ mind, the Philistines are already hacking away. Late Night’s Paul Shaffer (when did he get into the movie biz?) wants to revise some crucial plot points, based on “some preliminary sampling”, and Les is aghast at the suggestion. Back in the “real” world, even Lisa has had it with Doubting Les, raising her hand to hopefully deliver a much needed bitchslap.

Hollyweird

Poof! Lisa’s ghost has materialized after all, and Les proceeds to bring her up to speed on the book being optioned. But in panel two the setting abruptly shifts from the park bench to…a room…somewhere…I can’t figure out where they’re supposed to be…Les is still wearing the same clothes, but Lisa is wearing glasses and a blue jacket and has reverted to her cancer-baldness. Les’ old ladyfriend Ronnie sits between them, looking like she did in college. And and then boom, back to the park bench. Very weird!