I've been fond of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror (of quality) since
the womb. I've always had a thing for robots and artificial intelligence, dinosaurs,
spaceships of any kind, monsters, and elves / faeries / magic etc.
I have a library
of over 4,000 books, about half of them fiction and the other half either non-fiction
or pseudo non-fiction. A vast majority of my fiction library is science fiction,
space opera or fantasy. I am not a huge reader of short stories, nor do I write
them very often. I like to read (and write) epics most of all.
I love seeing
movies -- both studio pictures and independents -- in all genres. But of course
I prefer SF / Fantasy. I've seen an average of about a hundred movies a year
at the theater since 1983, plus more on TV, VHS and later DVD. Consequently,
I am also a trained filmmaker, though I am not necessarily an avid fan of film
itself (that is, the celluloid medium). Rather, I'm a fan of visual storytelling,
whether it's with film or digital video, live action or animated, experimental
or contemporary.
Favorite Directors: Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Alfred
Hitchcock, M. Night Shyamalan,
James Cameron, and Ridley Scott.
My actual "hobby" (not a career goal) is genealogy. I am not a
genealogist (I am not licensed and I do not waste a lot of time digging up
primary sources), and I am not as hard-core about proof as I should be, but
I love piecing together family trees. I am generally content to rely on secondary
sources of reasonable authority which are cross referenced here and there with
documentary evidences. Most of my own family tree is fairly certain, and most
of the famous ancestral lines are in fact proven and partially published.
I also like to fuss around with my various
web sites, but this is a huge time-waster and I have very little time to waste
these days.
Music
Selection of music for Faith & Fairies composed and performed by Don Brunning.
The Secrets of Haviland Hollow
Mariam's Theme
Katy's Theme
Be Mindful of the Soultoucher
The Cloven
Horde Kaa's Theme / The Sacrifice of the Twelve
Halvire Suite: Burnt / Regrown
The Orphanage
I mostly listen to movie soundtracks. John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, John Barry, Alan Silvestri, Basil Poledouris, Danny Elfman, Ennio Morricone, Hans Zimmer, James Horner, James Newton Howard, Tangerine Dream, John Carpenter, and Wojciech Kilar. I also love classical music, especially Beethoven. It helps me write.
I can't listen to "singing" very much because it distracts me from writing.
But if I do listen, my favorites are Enya (probably the most brilliant musician
of our century), Billy Joel, Elton John, John Denver, Loreena McKennitt, The
Allman Brothers, The Doobie Brothers, Fleetwood Mac, Yanni, Simon and Garfunkel,
and a mixed bag of others. I don't listen to most of the new music (which for
my age means any musician who came out after 1990). Just never kept up.
Movies
ABOUT MY MOVIE INTERESTS
AND THE FIRST OF MAY
Movies have been an obsession since I first snuck down to the basement at 11 PM at night to watch Godzilla when I was 6 years old. Since 1983 when I entered the film program at the University of North Texas (then called North Texas State University), I've watched about 2 movies a week at the theater (which adds up to about 2600 movies), plus anywhere from 5-20 movies a month on video (though many of them repeated watchings). In film school I studied all the film discliplines, and while I was single I watched the entire range from foreign independents and art / experimentals to blockbuster Hollywood movies. It is very difficult for me to wade through a weekend without seeing a movie at the theater.
My first attempt to work on a movie project was my submission for extra work on Endangered Species, starting Robert Urich, which was filmed in my highschool home town of Buffalo, Wyoming in 1981. It was about the mysterious cattle mutilations that took place mostly in Colorado in the 1970's which many people attributed to "Extraterrestrial visitation." (Ironically my step-father at the time was a former deputy from Woodland Park, Colorado and had investigated several of these mutilizations himself. He was not a believer in aliens from other worlds but said he'd never seen anything like it.) Endangered Species did not cast me, but two of my schoolmates did get a brief shot in a scene, pointing at a mutilated cow they tossed up on the town hall lawn.
My first chance to work on a movie was Oliver Stone's Born on the Fourth of July, working as a wardrobe PA, but I wasn't able to work it around my college schedule. My second chance to work in the business was on The New Leave It to Beaver television series (originally called Still the Beaver) in Orlando in 1989, and I moved to Orlando just for that opportunity.
The First of May was shot in 1997, and so far it's the only one produced by the company I co-founded in 1990, and the only one I have with a co-producer credit. Truthfully I intended to set out and direct my own films, but financial pressures forced me into the internet business to make ends meet. Movie making is extremely expensive, and you must have an aptitude for either raising lots of money (tens of thousands for a shoestring budget, hundreds of thousands for a low budget, millions for a normal movie) or whipping lots of people into working for free. (Or both.) I'm a storyteller not a salesman, and so much of my focus since The First of May has been on novel writing. But my fingers are still in the cookie jar, so you never know what may happen.
Listed herebelow are the awards our film has won since its 1999 release:
ABOUT STAR WARS
Star Wars had a profound effect on me when I saw it in Sheridan, Wyoming in 1977 at 12 years old. Prior to this movie I loved science fiction and fantasy, but my biggest love was dinosaurs, and I wanted to study to become a Paleontologist. When I walked out of Star Wars, I had changed my mind. From that day forth I wanted to be a movie maker. But my filmmaker career was handicapped from the start, as I lived in an environment that did not easily foster such interests. In frustration, I turned to writing to vent my passions for storytelling. So Star Wars was largely responsible for dedicating my life to telling stories.
I see the six Star Wars episodes as a single movie (as does George Lucas),
and I see the three Lord of the Rings films as a single story (as J.R.R.
Tolkien intended). As such, Star Wars and Lord of the Rings tie as my two favorite
movies of all time.
With regard to Star Wars, there are some episodes I like better than others.
In the below ranking I am considering only the most recent DVD releases, including
improved effects, added scenes and fixed continuity. In order from best to
worst, this is how I rank the six episodes of Star Wars:
1) Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope - The original 1977 movie
(when it was just called "Star Wars" - no episodes) was a life-changer
for me. I saw it at only 12 years old at a movie theater in Sheridan, Wyoming.
So this episode will always be special to me. R2-D2 and C-3PO were so original
and funny that they charmed millions of people around the world, the light
sabers were startling innovative and intriguing, and Darth Vader was the nemesis
everyone loved to hate. Nobody from my generation will ever forget the opening
shot of the Imperial Star Destroyer roaring overhead firing laser bolts. Nothing
that realistic had ever been seen before 1977.
2) Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back - When this first came out,
nobody knew that Darth Vader would turn out to be Luke's father, so his famous
line knocked everyone out of their seat. It was a huge emotional shocker, and
it was also far more "adult" than all the other Star Wars movies, making it
my next favorite in the series. The awesome AT-AT Walker battle and asteroid
chase sequence were also very memorable. R2-D2 and C-3PO
had some of the best dialog in the series here. In fact, Episodes IV
and V are the only two episodes in which the two droids had dialog of any real
quality.
3) Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith - The Anakin / Obi-Wan showdown
was the most remarkable sword fight I have ever seen. The epic scale of this
movie was mind boggling. And Anakin's conversion from a Jedi to a Sith Lord
couldn't have been done any better. I think this movie was a masterpiece.
4) Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones - The amazing droid vs. Jedi
/ Clone battle sequences were eye candy in the extreme, and watching Yoda finally
spring into action for the first time was quite a thrill for old fans like
me. I qualify this episode almost equal to Episode III.
5) Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace - Darth Maul
really made this movie for me, though we didn't get to see him very much. I
like the political background of the conflict here, but it was a little hard
to follow. Certainly the biggest flaw in the movie was the character JarJar
Binks, because the actor they chose to portray him, and the way George shaped
that behavior, was too goofy. JarJar's personality seemed a better fit for
Howard the Duck than Star Wars. I think this could have been a lot better had
they casted a tried-and-tested comic actor to play JarJar, someone who is witty
rather than hammy.
6) Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi - This is my
least favorite episode
for numerous reasons. Even all its fixes and improvements on the DVD's can't
boost it from the bottom rank because it was written and directly poorly (with
respect to the other movies) from the beginning. The plot and soundtrack both
seemed to borrow too heavily from the previous two films, some of the dialog
was weak or otherwise ridiculous, some of the special effects were not good
(though a few of these were improved in the more recent editions), and some
scenes were just corny. (I hate the robot torture scene.) I wasn't very fond
of the Ewoks. Yes they looked like costumes--but so do other aliens in the
series. I can forgive that. The main reason is that they were not interesting
enough to be featured so heavily. The space battle was incredible, and so was
the confrontation between Luke, Darth Vader and the Emperor, which was the
only scene with strong dialog. I was a little disappointed in the actor they
chose for Anakin when Luke unmasked him. I felt he should have had a stronger
presence.
And now here is my list (not definitive):
Television
Not in any order, here are some of my all-time favorite TV shows:
Pronto! Writings from Rome..
Short Story: "Change"
(Other contributing authors include Terry Brooks, John Saul & Mike Sack, Dorothy Allison, Eldon Thompson, Brian Moreland, Kathleen Antrim, John Oglesby, Elizabeth Engstrom, John Tullius, Marie E. Reid, Bill Neugent, Suzanne Tyrpak, Elva Adams, Robin Field Gainey, Judith K. Clements, David Nutt, Ann Klein, Mary Ann Brock, Phillip Dibble, Carolyn Buchanan, Barbara de Normandie, Andrea Mach, Mark E. Prose, Sandra Loera, Kathryn Mattingly, Leah Tribolo, Octavia Hudson, Joni Barron Brotherton, Coco Tralla, Susan Agee, Sandra Richardson, Jack Smith, Olivia Barbee, Larry Mulkerin, Myrna Murdoch, Mark Sylvester, Diana Rowe, Janette Ressue)
Not in any order, here is just a sampling of my favorite books:
The Wheel of Time series
by Robert Jordan
(I like these as a series
more than any individual
book)
The Hobbit & Lord of the Rings
by J.R.R. Tolkien
The Sword of Shannara
by Terry Brooks
(and its sequels)
A Spell for Chameleon
by Piers Anthony
(and its first sequel, The Source of Magic)
Lord Foul's Bane
by Stephen R. Donaldson
(and a few of its
sequels)
Gateway
by Frederik Pohl
The Complete Robot
(includes I, Robot)
by Isaac Asimov
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
by L. Frank Baum
Peter Pan
by J. M. Barrie
Pinocchio
by Carlo Collodi
White Fang
by Jack London
(the only novel I've
ever read more than
twice)
Frankenstein
Mary Shelley
Dune
by Frank Herbert
(the best Space Opera
ever written)
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
by Jules Verne
The Time Machine
by H. G. Wells
..and many more...
Here are some of the authors in my personal fiction library:
A.A. Milne A.C. Crispin A.E. van Vogt Aaron Allston Aesop Agatha Christie Alan Dean Foster Aldous Huxley Alfred Bester Allen Steele Andre Norton Andrew Lang Anne Bishop Anne McCaffrey Anne Rice Arthur C. Clarke Arthur Conan Doyle Arthur Hailey Avram Davidson Ben Bova Bill Neugent Bram Stoker Brian Herbert Brian Jacques Brian W. Aldiss Brothers Grimm Bruce Coville Bruce Sterling Bruce Wagner C.J. Cherryh C.M. Kornbluth C.S. Lewis Carl Sagan Carlo Collodi Cary Osborne Charles de Lint Charles Dickens Charles Perrault Charles Williams China Miéville Christopher Paolini Christopher Stasheff Clifford D. Simak Clive Barker Colin Wilson Connie Willis Cornelia Funke Craig Shaw Gardner Craig Thomas D.F. Jones D.H. Lawrence Damon Knight Dan Brown Dan Simmons Daniel Keyes David A. Kyle David Baldacci David Brin David Drake David Gerrold David Seltzer Dean Ing Dean Koontz Debra Doyle Dee Davis Diane Duane Donald Barr Donald F. Glut Donald Moffitt Doris Egan Douglas Adams Douglas J. Preston Douglas Niles E. E. Knight E. Nesbit E.E. "Doc" Smith Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Rice Burroughs Edmond Hamilton Eldon Thompson Elizabeth Becka Elizabeth George Elizabeth Haydon Elmore Leonard Eoin Colfer F. Paul Wilson Frank Herbert Fred Hoyle Fred Saberhagen Frederik Pohl Fritz Leiber Fulton Oursler Gail Radley Gail Tsukiyama Garth Nix Gaston Leroux Gene Roddenberry Gentry Lee Geo. W. Proctor George MacDonald George Orwell George R.R. Martin Gordon R. Dickson Greg Bear Greg Iles Gregory Benford Gregory Maguire H. Beam Piper H. Rider Haggard H.G. Wells H.P. Lovecraft Hal Clement Hans Christian Andersen Harlan Ellison Harry Harrison Harry Turtledove Henry James Henryk Sienkiewicz Herman Melville Holly Black Holly Lisle Hugo Gernsback Iain Banks Ian Fleming Ian R. MacLeod Ira Levin Irving Wallace Isaac Asimov J.D. Salinger J.F. Bone J.K. Rowling J.M. Barrie J.R.R. Tolkien Jack Finney Jack Higgins Jack L. Chalker Jack London Jack Vance Jack Williamson Jack Zipes Jacqueline Carey Jacqueline Lichtenberg James Alan Gardner James BeauSeigneur James Blish James D. MacDonald James Gurney James Luceno James P. Blaylock James P. Hogan James Patterson James Redfield James Reese James Thurber Jane Lindskold Jane Yolen Janet Kagan Jay Anson Jean M. Auel Jeffrey A. Carver Jennifer Roberson Jerry Pournelle Jim Butcher Joan Aiken Joan D. Vinge Joanna Russ Joe Haldeman Joel Chandler Harris Johann David Wyss John B. Olson John Boyd John Brunner John Case John Christopher John Clute John Cramer John Crowley John D. MacDonald John E. Muller John Grisham John Maddox Roberts John Marco John Saul John Steakley John Varley John W. Campbell (aka Don A. Stuart) John Wyndham Jonathan Swift Joseph Jacobs Judith Tarr Jules Verne Julian Barnes K.D. Wentworth Kate Elliott Kate Wilhelm Kathleen Antrim Kay Kenyon Keith Laumer Keith Miles Ken Follett Kenneth Robeson Kevin J. Anderson Kim Stanley Robinson L. Frank Baum L. Ron Hubbard L. Sprague De Camp Larry Burkett Larry Niven Laura Hickman Laura Ingalls Wilder Laurel Winter Leigh Richards Lemony Snicket (aka Daniel Handler) Leonard Carpenter Lester Del Rey Lew Wallace Lewis Carroll Lin Carter Lincoln Child Lloyd C. Douglas Lois Lowry Lois McMaster Bujold Lord Dunsany M. Bradley Kellogg Madeleine L'Engle Manda Scott Margaret Ball Margaret Mitchell Margaret Peterson Haddix Margaret Weis Maria Tatar Marie Jakober Marjorie Holmes Mark Twain (aka Samuel L. Clemens) Martin Booth Martin Caidin Martin Cruz Smith Mary H. Herbert Mary Norton Mary Shelley Matthew Hughes Melanie Rawn Mercedes Lackey Mervyn Peake Michael A. Stackpole Michael Bishop Michael Crichton Michael Ende Michael Moorcock Michelle M. Welch Mike Conner Morris L. West Murray Leinster Nancy Varian Berberick Nathaniel Hawthorne Neil Gaiman Nelson Erlick Nicholas Meyer Nicole Givens Kurtz Norman Spinrad Norton Juster Orson Scott Card P.L. Travers Paddy Chayefsky Patricia A. McKillip Patricia C. Wrede Paul L. Maier Paul Meier Paul Preuss Peter Benchley Peter David Peter Lord-Wolff Peter S. Beagle Peter Straub Philip José Farmer Philip K. Dick Philip Pullman Philip Wylie Pierre Boulle Piers Anthony Poul Anderson R.A. Salvatore Rand Miller Randall Ingermanson Ray Bradbury Raymond E. Feist Richard A. Knaak Richard Adams Richard Chase Richard F. Burton Richard Matheson Richard Paul Evans Richard Sherbaniuk Roald Dahl Robert A. Heinlein Robert Anton Wilson Robert Browning Robert Charles Wilson Robert Doherty (aka Bob Mayer) Robert E. Howard Robert E. Vardeman Robert Holdstock Robert J. Sawyer Robert Jordan Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Ludlum Robert Merle Robert Shea Robert Sheckley Robert Silverberg Robert T. Bakker Robin Cook Rod Serling Roger Zelazny Roland Green Roland J. Bishop Ross Anton Coe Rudyard Kipling S.L. Farrell S.M. Stirling Salman Rushdie Samuel R. Delany Sara Douglass Scott Ciencin Shane Johnson Shirley Jackson Sidney Sheldon Stephen Baxter Stephen King Stephen R. Donaldson Stephen W. Frey Steve Perry Steven Barnes Steven Erikson Susan Cooper Susan Mallery Susan Torian Olan Susan Wiggs Suzette Haden Elgin Sydney J. Bounds T.H. White T.J. Bass Tad Williams Tamora Pierce Tanith Lee Terri Windling Terry Brooks Terry Goodkind Terry Pratchett Theodore Sturgeon Thomas J. Davis Thomas M. Disch Tim LaHaye Tim Powers Timothy Zahn Tom Clancy Tony DiTerlizzi Tracy Hickman Ursula K. Le Guin Vernor Vinge Virginia Haviland Vonda Mcintyre Vonda N. McIntyre W. Jenkyn Thomas W.J. Stuart W.T. Quick Walt Becker Walt Morey Walter M. Miller Walter Tevis Warren Norwood Washington Irving Weslynn McCallister Whitley Strieber Wil McCarthy Will Collins William Golding William Brown Meloney William Gibson William Goldman William H. Stephens William Peter Blatty William Sleator Wilson Rawls Wilson Tucker
Or visit the Father
Tree Store for FAITH AND FAIRIES posters,
shirts, jigsaw puzzles, signed copies of the novel, and more!
The secrets of three orphan boys. The enchantment of a giant tree.
The charm of five beautiful dryads. The healing power of a kiss.
The luck of an old nail. The mystery of a family heirloom.
The madness of a satyr king. The battle for a dying empress.
The flames of a rampaging dragon. The wrath of God.
I was born in Kansas, then lived in Connecticut, Colorado, Wyoming (high
school), Texas (college), Florida, New York, and now Massachusetts, in that
order. No, I'm not in a military family. We just moved a lot.
"The
Universal Underserve Coils of Server City, Syronia - in the rain"
(some of my original computer art)
I am an author in Science Fiction and Fantasy. As C.S. Haviland I'm the author
of the YA fantasy novel Faith & Fairies,
evolved from a motion picture screenplay I wrote called The
Tree. (More on that
below.) C.S. Haviland is my branded name for fantasy targeted at young adults and children. As Christopher Sirmons Haviland I'm the author of an epic space opera
series called The Symphonitron Septology, the first novel of which is Deitron, as yet unpublished. DAW considered publishing it for several years, but it looks like that fell through. (Story of my life.) Christopher Sirmons Haviland (my full name) is used for writing science fiction and fantasy that targets a more general, adult audience, and is sometimes used as credits in film projects of any genre.
I also write horror under a completely different name, but I will not say what it is here. It's my secret. :-)
I also work occasionally in the television / film business, and in computer
administrative roles. I hold a BA in Radio, Television & Film from the University
of North Texas (1988). In 1989 I moved to Orlando, Florida and worked
as a Production Assistant on a TBS TV series called The
New Leave It To Beaver, starring
the original cast of Jerry
Mathers (as the Beaver) and Tony
Dow, executive produced and occasionally directed by former Mork & Mindy writer Brian Levant who would go on to direct Beethoven, The Flintstones and Jingle All the Way. We shot out of soundstage 21 at Universal
Studios Florida, which at that time did not yet have a theme park. The
theme park sprung up around me in 1989-1990, and in fact I was a VIP guest
at the grand opening ceremonies, which was the same night I met Steven Spielberg. A quick story on how that happened: I had somehow managed to talk my way past three lines of security and into the building where they were holding all the stars away from the public that night (I'll elaborate on this someday), just so I could shake Spielberg's hand and tell him how impressed I was with his work. So we stood together in this room (surrounded by movie and television stars) and talked for a few minutes. He said I looked like his D.P., complimented me on my suit (he's a big fan of suits)... I told him about my production company, and so forth... But we were quickly interrupted by other suits (I don't know who they were) all wanting to shake his hand. He glanced at me and said, "Sorry about that. I feel like an agent."
I met Lew Wasserman that night also (owner of MCA/Universal), and again several times the following day. A funny little story: My cousin Paul Sirmons and I had set out on a mission to arrange a meeting between Wasserman and my grandfather (Paul's uncle) James Sirmons (see below, about my extended family). Wasserman and Grandpa were good friends and business associates and Grandpa wanted to say hi while Wasserman was in town. So I met Wasserman on the night of the Grand Opening ceremony, told him who I was and that Grandpa wanted to speak with him... Then Paul met him at some point the next day and said the same thing. Then Paul and I contacted the office of Steve Lew (then President and CEO of Universal Studios Florida) to find out if we could arrange for Grandpa and Wasserman to meet there, and when was a convenient time. Once that was done, we set out into the park once again to find Wasserman among the crowds, thinking it might be impossible because we didn't know where he was. But we wanted to tell him when Grandpa plans to be in Steve Lew's office, so that he might join us for a quick meeting. By remarkable coincidence this golf cart goes right by us with Wasserman quietly sitting in the back, gazing at the throngs of tourists through those large thick glasses he always wore. Paul and I silently glanced at one another, amazed at our luck, and followed the cart to see where it was going. We were lucky again: its driver stopped not too far from us to talk to someone. So we approached Wasserman, re-introduced ourselves, and asked him if the time and place of the meeting was okay for him. It was. Later when we finally arrived at Steve Lew's office, Wasserman was already there. He saw Grandpa enter the room and shook his finger at him in jest, saying, "I've been running into your family all over my park! Are you trying to take over? I'm going to make a new rule, NO MORE SIRMONS ALLOWED!"
Horsing around on the set of Passenger 57
I'm the Louisiana State Trooper on the right.
We were on location at an airport in Sanford, FL.
Shows on which I worked as a Production Assistant:
My VIP badge for the grand opening of
Universal Studios Florida on June 7, 1990.
That was the day I met Steven Spielberg.
Playing an alien on seaQuest
DSV
I had a picture of me with guest star Mark
Hamill
but the camera failed and it didn't turn out.
I attempted to make a documentary about prehistoric animals
in Florida, but the project lost funding and then the post office lost all
of our footage. I've always been a big dinosaur
fan. My friend Don Brunning (now a high school teacher) and I spent 1991 fanning
for Cenozoic fossils in the Wekiva River in Florida. It was a surreal experience
because the water isn't very clear, and there was a very large 'gator who nested
in this very spot sometimes. Not to mention the snakes, the spiders, and all
the other nasties. There's a lot of litter at the bottom, because boaters toss
all their trash in the water, so you can find a mastodon tooth lying next to
a coke can, just under the sand. We called the Florida State Paleontological
team out to excavate the site, and they pulled up all the biggest items: massive
leg bones, tusks, ribs, etc. What was left over was small, but there was still
a lot we were allowed to take.
In 1992 the movie Matinee was
shooting at Universal Studios Florida and director Joe Dante's temporary
office was just a couple doors down from mine. So I got to know the cast and
crew, and for their mid-shoot picnic I led them all out to this fossil hotspot.
Many of them enjoyed
snorkling around in the river pulling up extinct animal parts. Bob
Picardo,
for instance, found himself a beautiful 10,000-year old turtle shell, and nearby
that a sealed can of 5-year old Marinara Sauce. (Which is ironic as he fancies
himself an Italian cook.) Actress Lisa
Jakub (who was a little girl back then) gave
me a piece of Coprolite as a gift -- petrified dinosaur poo. (She didn't
find it, she bought it in Orlando.) I display it proudly on my shelf to
this day. She would go on to star in Independence
Day and Mrs. Doubtfire.
I Got a Bone to Pick!
This is a Mastodon leg bone we found
under the Wekiva River
in Florida in 1991
In March, 1990 I co-founded SHO Entertainment with my cousin Paul
Sirmons. It was an independent
film company, based out of office 253 in building 22 at Universal Studios
Florida.
Me (sitting) with Paul in our SHO Entertainment
office at Universal Studios Florida, 1990
We made industrials, commercials, a true-crime TV pilot which
only aired in foreign countries and was not picked up for a series, and finally
in 1997 a feature film. Our movie was called The
First of May,
starring Julie Harris, Dan
Byrd, Charles
Nelson Reilly, Mickey
Rooney, Gerard
Christopher, Tom
Nowicki, Robin
O'Dell,
and the late "Yankee Clipper" Joe
DiMaggio in
a very rare cameo role.
This rated-G film, produced and directed by Paul, was distributed at foreign
theaters and HBO worldwide between 2000-2003. I was a Co-Producer and Location
Manager on the project. Be sure to read my behind-the-scenes
diary.
Me with Julie Harris
My favorite movie that she starred in
(besides ours of course)
was the original 1963 version of The Haunting but
she is best known
for starring opposite James
Dean in East of
Eden.
She is also a major award-winning stage actress.
Best of Fest Prize at
the Chicago International Children's Film Festival
The Premier Film Award
at the Heartland Film Festival (in Indianapolis)
The Audience Choice Award
for Dramatic Feature at Film Fest New Haven (in Connecticut)
The Children's
Jury Prize for Best Feature at the Alekino Children's Film Festival (in
Poland)
The
Grand Prize Winner for Adelphi / Bravo Excellence in Independent Filmmaking
at the Hollywood In The Rockies Film Festival (in Cripple Creek, Colorado)
The
Best Film Award in Feature Drama and Best Child Actor Performance (Dan Byrd)
at the Burbank International Children's Film Festival (in Burbank, CA)
The
Award of Excellence (by the Film Advisory Board)
The Dove Award
from the Dove Foundation
A clip of the film was shown at the Lifetime Achievement
Award ceremony for Mickey Rooney at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, and it
has been written up on Entertainment Tonight, MSNBC.com, and ABCnews.com (which
featured a film clip). It received 5-stars from the News-Journal in Daytona
Beach, Florida, and out-grossed all the other movies playing in a Daytona
Beach 12 screen theater with only 2 shows four-walled a day.
In June 2002,
Florida governor Jeb Bush wrote: "The First of May underscores
the extraordinary level of filmmaking talent and expertise found in Florida.
I congratulate Paul and his team for a job well done and encourage Floridians
to tune in to HBO next week to see this wonderful family film."
Baseball Legend Joe DiMaggio in a scene with Dan Byrd
I wrote a few screenplays between 1985-2005, most of them between 1989-1993,
and occasionally have marketed them in the movie industry. My most notable
screenplay is a fairy-tale called Faith & Fairies, originally called The
Tree,
which I adapted into the fantasy novel of
the same name. Like all my scripts, it was rewritten many times, and submitted
it to various contests between 1991-2002. None of them won, unfortunately,
as it's very tough for original fantasy to beat mainstream fiction (fantasy
has a much smaller audience, and therefore fewer judges with a taste for it),
but despite that, it fared very well. Here is it how it performed:
QuarterFinalist in the Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting (sponsored
by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences)
2-time SemiFinalist in the
Chesterfield Writer's Film Project (the second time partnered with my science
fiction screenplay Code & Chemistry)
SemiFinalist in the Maui Writers
Conference National Screenwriting Competition
QuarterFinalist in the New
Century Writer Awards
Honorable Mention in the Writers Network Screenplay & Fiction
Competition
Finalist in the People's Picture Show
QuarterFinalist in the
2002 Screenwriting Expo (sponsored by Screenwriting Magazine)
"2nd
Tier of Judging" at the Austin Film Festival
Screenwriters Competition
My other completed screenplays include Code & Chemistry (a low-budget
science fiction, which I hope to shoot myself someday), Harmless (a
true-crime drama, which was a QuarterFinalist in the Zoetrope Screenplay Competiton
2003), and
a handful more.
Most of these are poised to be completely rewritten on a later date, so I
am not actively marketing them.
You can learn more about the novel version of Faith
& Fairies at its MySpace.com
site, or at FaithAndFairies.com.
Someday I would very much like to see it as a live-action
or high quality computer animated feature film.
A Reading of my short story "Change"
(Published in Pronto! Writings From Rome)
at the Maui Writer's Conference 2002
Having dinner on Maui with...
author Eldon Thompson (the "red neck" on my right), and going around
the table to my left
is
author John Oglesby, author Ben Bova, agent Barbara
Bova (Ben's wife),
Judine Brooks (Terry's wife), and author Terry
Brooks.
Eldon, John and Terry are all fellow Pronto writers.
John Saul (author
of Suffer
the Children) and me
in Pompeii, Italy.
(That's the legendary volcano Mt. Vesuvius
in the background.) - 2002
George
R.R. Martin (author of A
Game of Thrones) and me
Boston, Mass - 2005
He gave me a little plastic knight that day.
He collects those.
I collect plastic dinosaurs and dragon statuettes. So his knight and my dragon are in battle above my desk for all eternity.
Stephen
R. Donaldson (author of Lord Foul's Bane, left),
me, and author Robert
E. Vardeman (right)
Albuquerque, NM - 2004
I sat in between Stephen and author Karen
Anderson (wife of
the late author Pohl Anderson) at the World Fantasy Convention
mass signing in Tempe. Stephen had to beg away from his line
of fans at one point, saying, "I'm sorry, I'll be right back.
But I really have to use the restroom, and if I don't go right now--"
And I quickly interrupted, saying, "He'll become Lord Foul!"
I thought
I was really funny, but not a single person laughed.
Oh well.
Me with Andre
Norton (author of The
Beastmaster)
at her house in Winter Park, Florida - 1992.
Photo is flawed.
She passed away March 17, 2005.
There are many fans, and many cats, who miss her.
My epic science fiction novel manuscript, Deitron (formerly called Diabolon) is
not yet published, but as soon as I know when it will be available, I will
post information about it here. Here are some of the industry remarks I've
recieved about the manuscript while it was circulating. Many of these referred it around to one another:
My former
mentor, the late Andre
Norton,
author of over 200 science fiction and fantasy novels, said that her favorite
character ("Stripe") has abilities she has "never even seen before." She (and Joe Haldeman also) referred me to Jennifer Brehl at Avon Books.
Jennifer Brehl, as Senior Editor at Avon Books, said I have "a good, natural storytelling ability."
iPublish
(former arm of Time Warner Books) staff editors said that I have "talent
to burn" (though
I'd rather not burn any of it, I need all I can get) and Diabolon "is
space opera as it was meant to be."
The editor of the former online
mentoring program Inside Sessions, which featured many authors including
Tom Clancy, Robin
Cook, Kurt Vonnegut, David
McCullough and Nora
Roberts,
said, "I very much enjoyed immersing myself into this world and I especially
liked the characters you have created: Mayla, Stripe, Lord Adah, Drill and
many more." She referred me to Penguin Putnam.
Jennifer Repo, as Senior Editor of <a href="http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vdXMucGVuZ3Vpbmdyb3VwLmNvbS8=&qu
Grace Park and me
She plays "Boomer", "Athena", and various other Cylon clones
on the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica which is one of my favorite shows. One of the most difficult roles on television, IMHO, and she handles it brilliantly.
WHOM I'D LIKE TO MEET ON MYSPACE
1) Anyone interested or working in movies, in any capacity. 2) Anyone interested in science fiction, fantasy or horror. 3) Anyone who is a fiction writer, published or not, especially in said genres. 4) Anyone who is a current or potential customer of my own work. (Duh!)
I should note that I accept about 90% of the people who invite me to be friends. However if it looks like, from your profile, that you have no interest in any of my subjects, and you do not look like a potential customer, your chances may not be good unless you send me a message first. I check all profiles before adding. For instance if you are selling sexual images of yourself or trying to draw traffic to a sex site by adding as many "friends" as possible, I'm not likely to accept you (unless you actually tell me you'd like to read my novel).
I also sometimes go seeking friends who seem to overlap my interests. Any fan of Steven Spielberg, for instance, is welcome to be my friend. Even a profile pretending to belong to a celebrity is welcome to be my friend, if it's an actor or filmmaker or author I like. A vast majority of the celebrity profiles at MySpace are created by fans who have no connection with the celebrity. They are role players, whether they admit it at their profile or not. But the way I see it, they're as much a fan and a potential customer as anyone else. ;-) There are a few legitimate celebrity profiles out there, and someday I may identify my favorites for certain and highlight them in my profile, but for now I don't have the time.
WHOM I'D MOST LIKE TO MEET IN THE MOVIE BUSINESS:
I've seen, met, or worked with many actors and a few directors, though not nearly as many as some of my friends and associates. Though I've met Steven Spielberg, I'd still like the opportunity to work on one of his movies someday, but at this rate that doesn't look possible. I've also met John Landis on several occasions (the first time at a wrap party for The New Leave it to Beaver, which he crashed), Joe Dante various times while he was shooting Matinee, Mick Garris during the shoot of Psycho IV, and Brian Levant while he Executive Produced Beaver, plus a number of television directors too many to remember. And need I mention Paul Sirmons, my cousin.
I have met many authors, mostly in the SF-Fantasy genre, and I'm working with dozens of them on a book project. The list of authors I have spoken to for one reason or another, or sat with in signings or panels, is quite large and I just don't have the patience to list them all. I have personalized signatures in my library from most of them.
But I have not yet met Stephen King (a master character developer), Dean Koontz (one of the great suspense writers of our time), Michael Crichton, or J.K. Rowling, and I would surely like to. I spoke to Rowling's agent once, but that's as close as I've ever come to her. I would have met Crichton at Book Expo 2005 but I missed him because I arrived too late.
Click on the below headers if you're interested in my family (in the event that you really are that bored).
C.S. Haviland, Fantasy Author's Friend Space (Top 38)
THANX FOR BEING A FRIEND AND I WISH YOU A FABULOUS DARK AND TWISTED WEEK!!! HOPE THAT SANTA LEAVES OUT THE COAL THIS YEAR AND 2010 GREETS YOU WELL! Drop by anytime and see new stories from my upcoming book of twisted tales in rhyme, and preview the first LUNACY MACHINE CHILDREN'S BOOK, 'GREEN LEGS AND HANDS' DUE OUT IN 2010 AS WELL. I will be announcing the first 250 numbered and signed copies in my bulletins so watch for it. Again... Thanks for your support and HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010! -Criss Karver
THANX FOR BEING A FRIEND AND I WISH YOU A FABULOUS DARK AND TWISTED WEEK!!! HOPE THE HOLIDAYS ARE GOOD TO YOU! HERE'S SOME HOLIDAY HORROR FROM ME TO YOU!! ;)
OUIJA
Is there someone there? Is there someone there? Come talk to us tonight. We’re asking for the dead to speak, It’s only us . . .my wife and me. Come tell us how you died.
The oracle moved about the board A figure-eight reply. The oracle started slowing down, then stopped . . . above the Y.
Tell us more, tell us more, what brought you here to me? Tell us how you died tonight. Tell us when you died tonight. Tell us what brings you here tonight. Keep spelling it for me.
The figure eight continues and around the board it moves. It’s slowing down, it’s slowing down. Come, spirit, talk to me right now, Tell us tonight, because we want to know . . Then the oracle stopped on the letter O.
You’re coming in so very clear, Now tell us why you’re roaming here, on this dark and stormy night. Speak to me, speak to me, Travel through this board to me. Tell us why you sleep tonight beneath your resting tomb. Speak to me, speak to me, speak to me now. Then the oracle stopped on the U.
Y-O-U, Y-O-U, this isn’t making sense. You spelled out, YOU is this what you meant to do? Then the oracle stopped on YES.
....to be continued....... http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll
How much do you believe?
In THE LUNACY MACHINE 'R' you will hear of a dark secret between husband and wife, listen as the ouija board speaks on its own, and travel through time to see the crime first hand. Will he have it in him to do what's right? What would you do?
THE LUNACY MACHINE Presents TWISTED TALES OF UNFORTUNATE TIMES 'R'. Coming soon to a bookstore near you! -Criss Karver
Just to let you know, my short story collection “A History of Sarcasm” is now available to buy. (It’s great, by the way.)
You can get it from www.doghorn.com
More details on my website, www.frankburton.co.uk
“The writer William Burroughs once called language “a virus from outer space”, and there’s a sense of that in A History of Sarcasm, where Burton holds words up to the sun and lets the light shine through them.” David Swann.
Thanks for being our friend! Hope you dig the tunes. Please leave us a comment and let us know what you think! Peace, love and rock n' roll, Lights on Fire youtube.com/lightsonfire twitter.com/lightsonfire
Terminate Damnation Radio, 37, Brought to you by SDS Recordings, Bringing you the best in christian underground metal, Hosted by Napalm Dave, 5pm to 9pm mondays and 1 hour pre records on saturday from 1pm to 2pm and from 6pm to 7pm, and a monthly 2 hour podcast, All coming soon...
I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth-Revelation 6:8
Darling As my MySpace friend, I am including you in something exciting--we have begun to show off my new legit FEATURE FILM! NATASHA KIZMET: THE MOVIE! It has been called BORAT MEETS CANDY by the Denver Post's Bill Husted, and I want your feedback, and the feedback of your MySpace friends! You would be doing me a big favor if you would post this comment so people would know to go the the "My Videos" section of my profile to watch the trailer and the other scenes I have posted. This is my market research as to how well we have done. The film is being shopped as we speak by a major film agent, and we are entering it in Film Festivals! This is exciting, and thanks SO MUCH for your help!!
If you want to help market the film, or get on the list to order the DVD when it comes out at a discount, email me at natasha.kizmet.the.movie@gmail.com
xoxo Natasha
Also,my movie features a sequence with a Belly Dancing show that I did under my belly dancing alter ego of Raya--TEMPTATION OF BELLY DANCE. It has been called the most artistic and sensual live belly dance DVD ever!! Please have a look, and visit the DVDs web site!
I'm Super Happy About the New Look of My Myspace and Website! Come check it out!
I'm currently producing this artist called "Anna Belinda Bee" she is like Cute High School Rap from the UK. It is by far the best music I've made so far. We are moving fast and will be done sooner than we expected. Whats up with you? How's everything?
Please help Walter Koenig, "Chekov from Star Trek TOS", Get His Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame! Walter has been nominated for his star and waltersstar.com has raised the money to manufacture and install the star (Thanks!). All Walter needs now is the votes of the Walk of Fame Committee. Write to the Walk of Fame Committee a polite letter in your own words, why you think Walter should have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. These NEED to be letters from each individual fan in the fan's own words. Not copies, Not form letters, Not chain letters. Walk of Fame Committee c/o Hollywood Chamber of Commerce 7018 Hollywood Boulevard, 2nd Floor Hollywood, CA 90028
http://www.walterkoenigsite.com/waltersstar.html
This is my blog about me talking to Walter Koenig at TrekFest about his star: http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=113853884&blogId=498707666
Live long and prosper! FCAPT Gary Barclay Chief Security Officer USS Endeavour @ www.ussendeavour.net Starbase 06 CO @ sb06.starfleet-command.com Starfleet Command Q1 Deputy Chief Of Public Affairs @ www.starfleet-command.com www.starbaseindy.com
If you would like to read a sample of one of the stories from ISLINGTON CROCODILES’ you can do that now as one of the stories is posted on the Islington Crocodiles blog page. RAIDERS is the disturbing story of Barwise and Micky.
As Graham Joyce says in his foreword to ISLINGTON CROCODILES, ‘This is the edge.’
Enjoy it, and let us know what you think, leave a comment.
Also, if you are interested in buying a copy of ISLINGTON CROCODILES you can, as before, do that here: http://host2.clickandbuild.com/cnb/shop/ttapress
Thanks for making the Roy Moore 2010 governor unofficial, your friend. Spread the news that we need (moore)friends for Judge Moore. I don't think you will find a more honest man, we need more men like him in office. Feel free to contact me with any ideas that will help get him elected.
C.S. — I can’t tell you how delighted I am to have you join in, rather than be left behind. — W. Maltese, the chronicler of FLICKER: TEEN-WARRIOR SAGA.
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