--- Kevin Burton Smith <
kvnsmith@colba.net> wrote:
> (And speaking of EIGHT MILLION WAYS TO DIE,
isn't
> that about the
> worst, most disappointing adaptation of a
great
> hard-boiled novel
> ever committed to film? I saw it years ago
and
> thought it reeked. I
> re-watched it just this weekend, and I've decided
I
> was too generous
> originally. The video should bear the
warning:
> "Watch only in a
> well-ventilated area.")
I agree whole-heartedly. Block has two new movie deals
currently in the works. If memory serves, one is based on the
Scudder novel _Everybody Dies_ (and is set to feature Jeff
Bridges again as Scudder--why??) and the other is based on
_Hit Man_. Since _Hit Man_ is really a collection of short
stories as opposed to a novel (Block calls it an "episodic
novel," which phrase has the same ring to it as "daytime
drama" in my opinion), I assume the latter film will be very
loosely based on it.
And speaking of Block short story collections, I am working
my way through _The Collected Mystery Stories_, which was
published only (to my knowledge) in Great Britain by Orion in
1999. I don't know why there seems to be no U.S.
version--it's a great collection, with something like 70
shorts. Block claims that it includes all of his short
fiction except for most of _Hit Man_ (it does include
three
"chapters" or stories from that release) and his earliest
works, which have previously been collected in _One Night
Stands_. He also claims that there may be a few out there
that he's forgotten about. Ten or eleven of the stories
included are previously uncollected, and two of them feature
Martin Ehrengraf,
"the little lawyer who rarely sees the inside of a
courtroom."
I love Block, even if I find his self-merchandizing somewhat
over the top every once in a while. I recommend the
collection, particularly to our members in the UK, where I
imagine it would be easier to come by.
G.
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : 24 Jul 2001 EDT