That Austin Chronicle piece is maybe the best Westlake interview I've read. Do check it out if you're a Stark/Westlake fan.
Slayground could have made a terrific movie, as a standalone or part of a series. Unfortunately, it got turned into a strange variant of the slasher film (they were hot at the time). Someone really ought to take another stab at filming this one. It wouldn't need a big budget or an A-list actor if it had a top-notch set (preferably a real old amusement park), and a skilled director, cinematographer, and editor.
--Trent
The Violent World of Parker
http://violentworldofparker.com/
--- In rara-avis-l@yahoogroups.com, "docsavage80" <docsavage80@...> wrote:
>
> The Slayground predated Nothing Last Forever/Die Hard as well as The Captive Tower (a pre-Die Hard TV entry featuring Nicholas Hammond). Many people have pointed out the similarity between Die Hard and The Slayground.
>
>
> http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid:519304
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> By the way, the idea that Westlake denied the use of the name Parker due to people refusing to sign on for a comprehensive series of adaptations receives verification in the above link to The Austin Chronicle.
>
> However, Westlake evidently did not realize that almost all attempts to produce planned out R-rated adventure films or hard-boiled films have flopped, with Shaft as something of an exception. Remember when Kathleen Turner bought the rights to all those Sara Paretsky novels? We only ended up with one V.I. Warshawksi film. Since R-rated film series tend not to produce ancillary merchandise, few people tend to plan them out. Meanwhile, Harry Potter has all its entries turned into PG-13 or PG films.
>
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