The Phantom Project Blog:
Anne knows what she's doing, sort of.
7/14/08:
The forum is back (again)! And while it was down, I finished the Herter review, which has been posted (beware: less of the introspection, more of the growling in this one. I'll try to keep the next one more scholarly).
The pace is slow because life is busy, but since I have a deadline, we'll have to hope I can pick it up soon.
7/8/07:
Revenge of the exploding forum! It's down again. While I twiddle my thumbs and wait for the problem to resolve itself, feel free to ignore me and go about your day.
7/7/08:
The review for the Argento/Barberini film, she is posted. As your long-suffering, desperately wimpy project manager, I hope you'll excuse me if I'm a little vague for a while because I can't sleep at night anymore after watching it.
I'm going to read a romance short story now, which will hopefully cleanse my poor brain of all the blood and gore and bits of person everywhere.
In addition, for all one of you that panicked, the Forums are back up and running. Apparently the host was targeted with a nasty DOS attack, but everything is now restored to its former... ahem... glory.
7/3/08:
Ta-daa. The review for the incredible, the indescribable, the catastrophic Savage/Joboulian film is up, and my caps-lock key needs a hard-earned rest.
In other news, for the six people whom it affects, Getphpbb, where the Project board is currently hosted, has been down for a few days. I'm hoping that doesn't mean that they packed up and quit and it'll never see the light of day again, but if that does happen, at least we can interpret that as an act of God concerning my having a messageboard at all.
6/29/08:
Hooray hooray hooray! The Weibang review is up, and I am a little bit smarter about Chinese history. Good times all around. Next on board is the Savage/Joboulian film, which hopefully will see a review a little bit faster since I won't need to spend two days in the library before I can write about it.
6/26/08:
Got the Savage film in the mail today, after a month of shipping confusion. Hooray!
In more productive news, I'm done viewing the film and a review is pending, hopefully to be up tomorrow.
I'm going to die if I don't get some sleep, though.
6/22/08:
Hooray, the Ebert is finished and posted! It's not exactly a monster of a review, but it wasn't exactly a monster of a book. Regardless, we're moving on.
There may be a new section to the site here soon... I'm not exactly sure. But I figure, what could it hurt, right? Right?
I'm very tired.
6/22/08:
I'm almost finished with the Ebert, I swear! Really!
I wanted to take a second and pause, however, to thank the amazing Fallulke-Elskeren, who has been an enormous help in aiding me to get my hands on some of the rarer, older materials for the project. While F-E doesn't have a website to link to, she has been sharing her impressive knowledge with the world all over the internet anyway; she has informative articles scattered all over on everything from the differing translations of Leroux's novel to Charles Garnier's writings on the opera to research techniques for the student seeking to learn more about this classic of Gothic literature. As a fellow student, I tip my hat to her and encourage everyone interested in background material on the Phantom story to investigate her tireless research.
In other news, it's my anniversary today (four years... seems like just yesterday I was trying to shut the door in his face), so I may not be as productive as I possibly should be. But you only get one of these a year!
6/18/08:
Holy shit, am I failing to keep up the pace this week. Between weddings, internet outages and squalling sick kittens, everything's been a real mess around here. I'm about halfway through the Ebert and hope to have it finished tomorrow, with the review to follow as soon as possible; until then, I'm comforting myself with the knowledge that I've gotten a bunch more materials and the next few should whizz by.
6/12/08:
First of all, I forgot to blog it yesterday when I posted the Kopit/Yeston musical review. Shame on me and my absent mind. It's there, it's larger than life, etc. Moving on to movie critics now (uh-oh... about to realize my own inadequacy, methinks).
Second of all, and this is the cool part, Maury Yeston himself dropped by and gave me a little insight into his musical and its origins. His comments have been appended to the end of my review, and my starstruck haze is following me around at work like a little cloud of positivity.
I'll be updating the links page today, but other than that it's business as usual. Oh, and much love to those two or three people who are valiantly trying to have conversations on the messageboard. Someday there will be people to talk to--I hold out hope!
6/10/08:
The effervescent Jennifer Linforth, up-and-coming author and all around interesting internet presence, posted a wee little interview with me over at her blog. I feel all grown-up and relevant-like. It's nothing that anyone who's been reading the reviews probably hasn't heard before, but go show her a little love, anyway--she has plenty of Phantom-related resources over there, and is well worth your time.
6/7/08:
The Ryan review is finally posted, miserable though it might have been. I'll be moving on to the Yeston/Kopit musical now, and anxiously awaiting my new materials in the mail--it's been a while since I ordered and I'm starting to get worried. I don't exactly have money to throw down the drain, here.
6/3/08:
In my internet travails, I stumbled across this little opinion piece about the various film adaptations of the Phantom story. While I obviously have my own, somewhat different opinion in some areas, it's nevertheless an interesting read. It's very much a layman's interpretation of the various movies, but a valid one nonetheless. I'm particularly interested in that quote that he attributes to Kopit--I'd like to see if that's true, as it would explain some things about the wildly divergent plot in his versions of the story.
In other news, I just realized that the Phantom blowing himself up and sealing himself in or behind the rubble, which I was theorizing about in the case of the Perkins/Daughton graphic novel, is a direct import from the Guest/Mathieson film. Shame on me for not noticing that when I wrote the review. I'll be editing to reflect it.
6/2/08:
A wee little review for the Eternity Comics piece is up. Alas, my internet is out at home, so updates will be brusque as I sneak them in on company time.
5/30/08:
Holy goddamn, I actually posted a review. The Rostaing is up, which means I can move on to the wonderful world of Eternity Comics.
Heh, the forum has three registered users, one of whom is me. So much for you people requesting a forum, you liars, you.
5/28/08:
Strange things are afoot at the Phantom Project.
Specifically, it now has a forum. For the two people that read this--go out! Meet one another! Have a blast!
Actually, more than a few people now have either mentioned that they'd like to have a forum to discuss some of this stuff, or actively asked me to set one up, so here it is. Unfortunately, since I do not have the l33t f0rum skillz, it's pretty basic at the moment, but I'm hoping to pretty it up later, possibly when I have more time this weekend. You can still post on it and talk to one another, and the naive child in my soul says that's what's important, right? Right.
In the meantime, I'm still working on the Rostaing; unexpected houseguests make it hard to get anything done in a hurry. I'm totally on it whenever I have a second, though.
5/23/08:
The Perkins review is up! Huzzah! It's a very interesting one, and I'm glad I dug through the terrifying vaults of eBay to find it. I'm on to the Rostaing now, which I'm worried might fall apart in my hands because it's so old. I'm really lucky to have found a copy at all! Hurray for me!
A few more texts wandered their way in, as well--obviously, I received the Rostaing, and one of the L'Officier short stories is in my hot little clutches now, too.
5/18/08:
Two reviews in one day! Bam, baby! The Pachard/Gillis film review is up, but nobody panic; it's perfectly worksafe and contains absolutely nothing explicit. Just because the film is adult doesn't mean my review has to be (in fact, considering my sailor mouth in some of the poorer reviews, it's positively demure). On to pillage--I get to check out a comic book next!
5/18/08:
The Stuart review is up! I used my lovely check from the government to order a few more texts, which I will await with bated breath, but other than that it's business as usual around here. Now that I'm starting to recover from the Martian Death Flu, I'm hoping to be able to pick up the pace a little bit.
5/15/08:
Lack of updates is due to real life, etc., but more is incoming. For now, I've finished the Stuart and will be working on the review notes today, and I've received my copies of the Cusick and Joyce texts.
5/9/08:
Ta-da! The Rosen/Schierhorn review has been posted, and now I'm off to read some more.
For those of you who are wondering about the adult film saga, I've decided that they will be included but will be placed in a category of their own; consequently, they may be worked on in chronology on their own, rather than with the rest of the materials. This is the same way I'm handling all the versions of Ye Bang ge Sheng.
5/8/08:
Ugh. After two days of having no internet (our landlord forgot to pay the cable bill... le sigh), I am back and ready to boogie. The review on the Rosen/Schierhorn musical is halfway completed, and I got the Ryan text and the Spencer musical in the mail today. Huzzah!
5/5/08:
Happy Cinco de Mayo, tequila lovers! The Richardson/Dance review is finally up in celebration. More thoughts are on the way, but for now, it's time for me to go fall into bed for a while.
4/30/08:
As usual, life is kicking my ass, so the Richardson/Dance is still sitting forlornly on my desk, unwatched. I will be getting to it as soon as I possible can, because I am chafing at the bit of having to do nothing for so long.
Other thoughts, however: specifically, thoughts on fanzines. More to the point, should stories in fanzines count under my self-imposed criteria? I definitely said that I wasn't going to be doing fanfiction that hadn't been published, partly out of the hope for some small amount of quality control and partly because I'd be old and grey before I finished every bit of Phantom-based fanfiction out there. Fanzine stories are, essentially, fanfiction (someone's just printed them out and stapled them together, basically), but do they count as published? I mean, having a story published in an established magazine like, say, Fantasy & Science Fiction definitely means that you're published, even if said story isn't published in a book. However, do I really want to open this can of worms? And if so, does anyone with a little more insight into the fanzine scene have any advice or thoughts on it?
4/27/08:
The Levitt/Cassidy review is up, with a greater modicum of grace and kindness than I expected of myself. It's not that it was putrescent; I'm just usually not very kind. So, I guess, kudos to me for being less of a jerk than usual.
On to the Richardson/Dance film, which I hear from many is either awesome or terrible.
4/25/08:
More fun with packages! Today, the Absinthe and the Hunt joined the serried ranks of angelic prose on my shelves. I owe the Maranto, Black, and Johnson texts an apology; I said that they were a little improvised in format. That wasn't improvised. This is improvised. May the writing inside be captivating and engaging enough to make me forget that it's crazy-looking!
Oh, man, I totally want to order more books. I've forgotten what an undented paycheck looks like.
4/24/08:
It's Mostly Unsupported Rumor Time again in these here parts! This time, there're mutterings about a remake of de Palma's crazy, wacky, lovable Phantom of the Paradise. Considering how much I loved the original movie--who could not love that kind of insanely cheerful drug trip?--I am bizarrely excited by this prospect.
Please make this movie. I will review it with great glee, even if I hate it. Pretty please make this movie.
4/23/08:
The Kay review is up. Whoa, nelly, am I tired now.
Next up, an unexpected treat: someone extremely excellent managed to find me a copy of an ancient film that nobody loves! You know what that means... time for a viewing!
4/21/08:
Bam, texts on my shelf. Today it's the Maranto, Black, and Johnson. They look a little... um... improvised in their binding and layout, but that doesn't mean there might not be pearls of literary wisdom within.
I've finished the Kay, but writing the review is kicking my ass hardcore. I'm on it, I promise.
4/18/08:
I was thinking today: I don't have any porn versions of the Phantom story yet. Why is that? After all, there are at least five that I know of out there, probably more. Sex is such an elemental part of the story that I'm very interested to see how people play that out in a setting which caters purely to sexual fantasy. And, as with all porn, there is so much potential for hilarity.
Goddamn pornos only being released on VHS. Come on. Show me some love, internet--surely there's some enterprising deviant out there that has some of these for sale. PornQuest 2008 is on.
I'm finished with the Kay, so a review will be pending. With little to no porn, in case anyone is worried.
4/13/08:
Why, hello, little tax refund. Do you know where you're going? No, not to the bank. No, not to the bill collectors. No, not to the schools. That's right, you're going to a magical place online where you go away to live with a nice company and they send me some books to console me for my loss. It will be a magical journey.
I'm continuing my quest to find as much published material as I can, and in doing so am now hitting all the subsidy and self-publishing sites online (thanks a lot for making my life harder, Amazon). So far, I've ordered three new texts (the Black, the Maranto, and the Johnson--hee!) and discovered a few more to add to my list. They just keep coming out, don't they? Notably, it seems that there's a new follow-up to the de Mendes text coming out that focuses on Raoul, who never gets his own novels, it seems like. Should be interesting.
Apparently, the Woosley/Kisgen film has been pushed back yet again, probably to this winter. My disappointment is probably surmountable.
4/11/08:
The Little/Englund review is up, so guess what that means (other than that I just watched a horror movie and need to sleep with the lights on)?
Hallelujah! I'm out of movie-land for a little while and I can read a book now!
Even better, it's time for the Kay text, which is apparently so definitive that many fans of the story consider it canon as much as Leroux. I've heard, as usual, various good and bad things both about it, so we'll just have to wait and see what my inexpert but undoubtedly heartfelt opinion will be.
4/8/08:
Ta-daa! The Guest review is up and I'm on a roll (mostly, I suspect, due to the fact that it's no longer the busy season at work and I have time to type reviews while I'm sitting at my desk not doing anything). I'll be hitting the Little/Englund film next, and then--God willing, please, please--I will be out of film-land for a while and able to go back to doing some reading. Let's face it: film is not my first love. Or my third love, really. It's like a date that friends keep fixing me up with, and I'm always mildly confused as to how I ended up here.
This one may take a little while, however... this is the Englund Phantom, and I'm a complete wuss when it comes to horror films, so those two facts together mean that I'll have to keelhaul John into watching it with me. Lest there be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
4/6/08:
Amazing people (John!) have not only fixed my Guest film problem, but bought me extra popcorn and sparkling cider, every film reviewer's hard tack and water skin. He is a fantabulous man, especially since he now has to suffer through 2+ hours of Phantom of the Opera animation from the 1980s.
4/5/08:
The Friedman/Rydall review is up (I had unexpected free time this weekend).
So... yeah, not really a genius sleeper hit. But the theme song is endlessly entertaining!
On to the Little/Englund film next, but that review probably won't be finished until some time during the week.
4/4/08:
So my copy of the Guest film turns out to be defective as well. First Ye Bang ge Sheng, and now this. I'm investigating alternatives while I cry inside, but in the meantime I'll probably move on... to that movie with Pauly Shore in it, the 1988 Friedman/Rydall flick. I really put my money where my mouth is when I say I'm going to watch something bad next, don't I?
Maybe I'm being unfair. Maybe it's a genius sleeper hit in disguise. We'll just have to wait and see.
4/2/08:
I was thinking about putting some kind of joke up here yesterday, but inertia and fatigue won out and I... didn't. You know it's bad when I can't even be bothered to bestir myself for the extra effort of pranking someone.
However, I did manage to bestir myself enough to finish the review on the Markowitz/Schnell film, and to actually put it on the internet in (semi) presentable form! I'm rather proud of that one. It only took about half the time it usually takes me to finish a film review, which is still pretty embarrassingly long when compared to the literature and music reviews. Leave me alone. I'm not a visual learner.
I know I said I was going to do the Pauly Shore movie next, but extensive research (i.e., I remembered to look at my own chronology page) tells me that the animated Guest film predates it. Hot dog! So that's up next. Pauly Shore will just have to wait.
3/31/08:
Since a few people have asked recently (surreal, I know... people, out there on the internet, paying attention to what I'm doing), you can post comments on any review you like on here, but you will have to log into PBWiki to do so. The registration's free and fairly quick and painless, so if you have a serious hankering to tell me how full of shit I am, feel free to comment away! Sadly, the comments don't show up for non-logged-in users, either, which makes me wonder if I need to set up some kind of comment forum elsewhere. Something to consider for later, if I end up having more than a couple of people who want to discuss.
Non-logged-in people can still send me email via the "Contact Wiki Owner" link at the bottom of each page, so even if you don't feel like registering, you can harass me to your heart's content.
In other news, despite recent events outside my control, I finally finished viewing the Markowitz/Schnell movie today, and will start on that review tomorrow. Alas, it turned out that my freshly-imported copy of Ye Bang ge Sheng was faulty, so the wonders of classic Chinese cinema will remain a mystery to me until I can replace it.
So instead of that, I'll be doing the movie with Pauly Shore next. Lucky me!
3/27/08:
For those looking for more information on the authors represented (or lauded, or lampooned, or unjustly criticized) around here, I've added a tasty Links page. In addition to a few pages that may have more information for the wanderer looking to bone up on the Phantom mythos, there are also links to the websites of the authors of works I've discussed, or links to informational sources about them if an official website isn't available.
In particular, check out Jennifer Linforth, author of what looks like a seriously interesting upcoming Phantom novel, who stopped by to look around the place today, and Steve Rasnic Tem, who is not only an awesome writer but was also nice enough to link to my review from his website.
I'm in awesome-author overload from these guys. Leave them some love while I go figure out how to watch a Chinese film three times without driving my poor boyfriend completely out of his mind.
3/27/08:
The Fisher/Lom review is up, and it only took... um... five days. Hands up, anyone who is surprised. I'm definitely not a film student, so my amateur film reviews are much more difficult and take me much longer to churn out. Sorry to all of you (Google tells me that people only come here looking for books I haven't yet reviewed, anyway, so that's probably not very many) who were waiting in unbearable suspense.
The suspense will probably continue, because it's looking like I've got several more films to go before I can settle down with a nice book again. As I'm writing this, I'm not yet sure if I'll go with the schmaltzy 80's versions next or backtrack and pick up the original Ye bang ge sheng, but either way, look for probably at least a few more days before I get another one processed.
I'm learning as I go. This is all kinds of fun.
This film also marks the point at which the notebook I started taking notes in at the beginning of this project ran out of pages. Off to the corner supply store with me!
3/22/08:
Holy crap, the Hill review is up! Look at me make up for lost time, guys! Look at me go! I also cleaned a few things up around here and added some navigational aids for the reviews. In case anyone is, you know. Navigating.
Moving on to the Fisher/Lom film now, because that should have been out there long, long ago. I love it when I finally find versions I've been missing! It's excellent!
Stay tuned for further developments. I will be a film-viewing fiend for a while here as I catch up.
3/16/08:
Ladies, and gentlemen, the Braunbeck review is up. Do you know what that means?
It means the Greenberg anthology is over and done with. Everyone do the dance with me! You know you want to!
I'm probably going to hit the original Hill musical next, possibly followed up by some movies, because I think we all need a change of pace (and by "we all", I mean "me"). La dee da, look at me go!
3/14/08:
Holy gravycakes.
Some of you may recall the recent, extremely snarky, and overabundantly capitalized review I posted of Gary Alan Ruse's "Dark Angel". Those of you who read it know that I completely laid into that story. I was profane; I was critical; I was sarcastic; I was ranty. In short, I was a total bitch, as I often am when reviewing. Then, this evening, to my vast and eternal surprise, the author actually responded to my review.
Mr. Ruse left a very polite, informative comment on my review, which I have added at the end of the article for anyone interested in reading it. Not only was he far more cordial than I suspect I would be if someone was so unabashedly critical of my work, but he had some very interesting points to make about his story, and some background information to boot. I feel enlightened, not to mention incredibly flattered that he took the time out of his busy schedule of being way more productive and published than I am to comment on an amateur reviewer's opinion of his story.
Whatever I might think about the story, Ruse is one classy dude. If you've got the time, check out his website, or maybe even his books. I know I will.
(A professional writer randomly found and commented on my review. This might be the most awesome thing ever to happen to me.)
3/14/08:
Millstead review is up!
One more short story! Onnnnnnne morrrrrrrre!
3/13/08:
The Tem review is up. Go me!
Sadly, I have to send back my mistaken copy of Leroux tomorrow and cry into my beer or something because I still don't have the graphic novel. Alas. However, with the refund I can grab some new texts--so hooray!
3/10/08:
The good news: the Ruse review is up, and I never have to read the Ruse again.
The bad news: my copy of the Leroux graphic novel arrived today, but upon opening it turned out to be another copy of Leroux's original novel text. I emailed the seller and await appeasement, but I am sad and disappointed. I hate it when my presents turn out to be wrong.
3/7/08:
Hmm. Now, this is interesting.
I'm hearing some scuttlebutt that the Julian/Chaney film that we've all seen may not, in fact, be the original. According to sources (unconfirmed and on the internet, so take it all with a grain of salt, yeah?), the widely released version of the film is a recut and redited version of the 1929 "talkie" re-release. The original silent movie from 1925 supposedly includes several more scenes, including the scene in the graveyard and some flashbacks to flesh out the relationship between Erik and Christine a little more. I'm not entirely sure if this is true, but if it is... goddammit, I'll have to buy another DVD, won't I? Like I don't have enough of them yet.
I know that Amazon is selling a collector's edition with two versions of the film, so I'll have to investigate. If this is true, I'd be really interested to see how that changes the film's impact (and who can resist the chance to watch a carriage chase again? Not me!).
3/6/08:
Not a new review today, but an addition to an old one. I just added an important note to the end of the Malzberg review, after being hit by the hammer of realization this morning. If you missed it (yeah, you, one person who read that review), check out the change. I feel so much less like a complete idiot now.
3/5/08:
Holy socks in the dryer, Batman. Two reviews in two days? This is madness! (No! But it is probably not Sparta, either.) The Malzberg review is up in all its glorious overexcitement.
And speaking of overexcitement--only four stories left in this anthology! Everybody shout with me--YAHOO!
3/4/08:
Oh, snap, look. I'm getting faster! The Haber review is up with its many boatloads of hateration. Go me!
2/28/08:
The Kisner review is up and I didn't even have to kill anybody to finish it. On to conquer the world!
Seriously, I'm getting so tired of these short stories... I don't even know how to tell you.
But on the positive side, my copy of the Hill musical arrived! Stay tuned for further developments.
2/19/08:
I'm not even apologizing for my inability to do anything on deadline. It's just getting repetitive, you know?
Instead, look--the Ramsland review is up! Laud me.
2/10/08:
Yeah, so, things are busy around here. I've gotten the next short story read and notated, and I just need to sit down and write the darn thing out so I can move on with my life.
However! I ordered the Hill musical today, so that's positive! Can't wait for it to show up so I can dig in.
2/3/08:
Williamson review is up! Booyah!
I also discovered a new novel coming out in... uh, the near future 2008 some time, and added it to the progress page. I would challenge people to guess which it was, but since A) no one is paying nearly that much attention to my internet shenanigans and B) it's not hard to figure out from the chronological order page, I won't bother.
So, yeah. Go me!
1/28/08:
You know what I suck at? Updating this here blog. Yeah, I do. No, really. It's pathetic. Improvements in future.
However, the Ransom review is up, and I'm one story closer to making it through my morass of short stories!
1/22/08:
The de Palma/Finley review is up! No, really. I swear, it is. I did it! It seems like every movie I watch sees its review take longer and longer in the processing. I'll try to improve.
Back to short story land, and you know what that means... it means I can do them faster and feel more like I'm accomplishing something. Go me!
1/17/08:
Yeah, so it's been a little while since any reviews have gone up. This is because I pulled some ninjary and, instead of reading the next short story in the Greenberg compilation, I sneaked in a viewing of the de Palma/Finley film. I needed the break from all the mediocrity. That review should, theoretically, be up tomorrow--in the meantime, feel free to continue to think I am the world's biggest slacker. I pretty much am.
1/12/08:
You know what entertains me even more than dancing Danish monkeys in yellow bikinis?
Industry scandal.
Yes, I'm a bit of a controversy whore, at least when it comes to things I find interesting (feuds between people I don't know or in, say, most of politics or the movie industry just make me yawn). And what's more fun than a musical theatre scandal involving one composer biting on another's "turf"?
As everyone (meaning me and the other ten people who care, plus probably most of Britain) knows, Andrew Lloyd Webber is working on a sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, supposedly tentatively titled The Phantom of Manhattan and based on the Frederick Forsyth novel of the same name. However, my powers of internet research have today uncovered that respected German composer Peer Raben, who has a list of musicals and movie music credits almost as impressive as Webber's (though less well known in the U.S.) has ALREADY written one. No, really. It's called The Phantom of Paris and was completed shortly before his death last January (as far as I can tell, it bears no relation to the Gwenith M. Vehlow novel with the same title). A Portuguese theatre company is even now putting it on, and states that it has plans to take it all the way up to London's West End (there to, I surmise, thumb their noses at Webber and laugh themselves silly).
I even saw this excellently surreal trailer for the production (sorry, folks, but it's in German, as is the show... nevertheless, check it out to hear a snatch or two of the music and giggle at the chubbytastic Raoul).
Webber so far has no comment.
Is this not fabulous? I imagine even if Webber is annoyed, there is A) pretty much nothing he can do about it, and B) little chance his legions of fans won't make his version just as successful if not more so. But still, my evil little mind thinks it's hilarious to posit how cranky he might be over the whole thing. Can you guys imagine his little old self jumping up and down in a fit of pique with me? It's great.
I must find a soundtrack to this show the instant it is produced.
1/11/08:
Life is a complicated thing that likes to keep me inordinately busy. Despite that and surmounting all odds, the Hoch review is now up.
Aren't you proud of me? No no, just throw money.
More to come, as always. I'll try to maybe hit a movie this weekend.
1/8/08:
You would think this would go faster, with all short stories, but it does not, let me tell you. These short stories have so far been seriously brutal, kind of a chore just to finish much less write about. I'm on it, and will probably bust off another review tomorrow or the next day, but for the moment... just know that I'm trying, people, I promise I'm trying.
And beating my head on the wall every now and then.
1/7/08:
First of all, I need to stop accidentally typing 07 on everything. Stupid new year confusing my hardwired little brain.
Second of all, the Slesar review is up. I would be proud of myself, except the story has left me sad and without faith in literature. Hopefully the next one will be better, and I will cry less.
(Also, it's 60 degrees in New York City in January! I bring the spring with me!)
1/4/08:
The Wellen review is finally up. Huzzah, go me, prosit, etc. It would have been up faster, except that I kept trying to fall asleep every time I started work on it. It was like a soporific drug. It's easy to write reviews on good material, and easier on bad, but mediocre material? It feels like slogging through snow.
On to the next short story, which hopefully will not activate my yawn sensors quite so much.
12/29/07:
It seems I have blogged too soon. The Grell and Binkley just showed up. Huzzah! I've added them to the creaking pile, for later perusal.
John thinks the Grell is the best thing he's ever seen. And, really, who can resist the combination of Phantom and Batman? I certainly can't.
12/29/07:
So, there's a review up for the Woodiwiss... except not really. Le sigh. Like the Fast before it, I was tricked, misled by Amazon.com and helpful people with their slightly not quite right recommendations. Nevertheless, let it not be said that I don't learn from my mistakes.
I should really hit the de Palma/Williams film next, or even the Friedman/Rydell as that's next in line, but my male counterpart is snoring away right next to the television, and considering that he went to bed around 5:30 this morning, I haven't the heart to wake him with all the screaming guitars and frantic pencil-scribbling. So for the moment we'll go to the Greenberg anthology, and hope that we can get a film churned out on Tuesday when I'm off from work.
Also, with a groan I realized that the Woosley/Kisgen film was going to be out on Monday, but I appear to have been spared the axe for another month; the film has been pushed back to January 31st. For all the good it will do me, little masochist that I am.
12/27/07:
The Webber review is up! Everyone, come do the dance of completed work with me. It's liberating! Yeah, I know I said it would be up yesterday, but I didn't take into account a sudden bout of hypersomnia (though considering at what time the kittens woke me up yesterday morning, I probably should have).
Despite some headaches with getting everything posted, I'm extremely grateful to get that monster out of the way. It's probably a lucky thing that the next one on my list, the Woodiwiss, is much lighter fare. However, I'm worried that this will turn out to be another Beast-esque fiasco, and I'm sort of scared to open it up and find out.
Anne, literary wuss. Who knew.
12/25/07:
First of all, merry Christmas to everyone. Glad we got that out of the way.
Secondly, I know I'm a terrible slacker, but I promise the Webber review is 3/4 done and should be up some time tomorrow so I can get on with my life already. In the meantime, I ordered a few more small things (but all my wallet will be able to handle for quite some time, I fear) and will be anxiously awaiting their arrival. I still have not received the Aumack or the Flynn that I ordered a month ago, so I've sent out queries about those and hopefully the situation will be resolved soonish.
Back to writing for me. Woohoo!
12/22/07:
Yesterday was my birthday, so I was a lazy beeyotch. Feel free to sue me. However, in the spirit of garnering sympathy for my lazy ways, here's a photo of my To Be Read shelf (well, really, my To Be Read coffee table... I don't have the shelf space to spare at the moment), full of Phantomy goodness:
Of course, there's going to be a lot more than that--I estimate about ten more books, not to mention twice as many DVDs and way more than just those two lonely CDs there--but it's a start, isn't it?
12/20/07:
The Fast review is up... such as it is. You see, the thing is, it turns out that the book had nothing to do with the Phantom story after all. What a bummer, huh? I'm leaving it on here as a reminder that I need to be less sloppy about things. Besides, we can learn from our failures, right?
I'm much less upset about this than I could be, because it means I don't have to finish that miserable novel. Woohoo! On to more relevant and enjoyable works!
I should really get the Webber up next. It's daunting because it's a big project, and also because I know the damn thing really well and it's difficult to approach it from a completely unbiased standpoint. However, since so many other things are based upon it, I really should get the monster over with so I can move on. Alas.
12/19/07:
As John is prone to saying, "Zomg."
Another package came today, with two more books from my Phantom list (Deney and Newman)! Apparently John just went down the line.
He is the best boyfriend ever.
12/18/07:
I got some unexpected packages in the mail today; they had Phantom books in them. While this isn't strange in and of itself, what is strange is that I didn't order them. It turns out that John did, as my birthday present.
This is the man who has been prone to calling me crazy, insane, unbalanced, weird, and ridiculous since the moment I embarked on my zany grad school quest. He clearly doesn't understand why I would want to do it, what possible point it could have, or otherwise see any redeeming value in the whole project. He's not big on dissertational studies, having been raised on a firm understanding that ladies are for the making and maintenance of babies.
But, he bought me books for it, without being asked to or hinted at. Because he loves me and wants me to be happy even when he has no idea what insanity I'm up to. So thank you, babe. It means the world to me.
(Incidentally, he bought me the ones he thought were the coolest... so, Sherlock Holmes [the Meyer] and a bunch of tabby cats in opera clothes [the Wood]. That's my baby.)
12/17/07:
The Barthelme review is up! Yes, I know, you would think it wouldn't have taken me that long to write a review of a story that was literally only 5 pages long, but I would tell you that you were wrong. And then stare haughtily at you until you backed off, so I could salvage my pride.
Moving on to the Fast next, finally--I feel like I haven't read anything in ages. Even the Barthelme, excellent as it was, felt like a mere tidbit. Satiate my appetite, oh literature!
12/15/07:
Sweet baby Jesus, I hate the flu. But now that that's behind me, productivity can resume.
The long, long, long delayed Lubin/Rains review is finally up--huzzah, the blasting of trumpets, etc. I'll be doing Barthelme's short story next so that I can hopefully slap up another review in short order, and then move on to something meatier.
12/13/07:
Begging for death.
Blind.
Unable to type.
Updates later.
Pray for immortal soul.
12/10/07:
As usual, I have spoken too soon. It looks like the Lubin/Rains essay will be finished tomorrow. But to pacify my conscience, I got the Barthelme, and since I didn't have the chance to start the Fast yet, it will get moved to the front of the queue.
I'll totally pretend that makes it all okay. See?
12/9/07:
Finished the Lubin/Rains film! Despite taking two days to do so. DVD players that panic and freeze in the middle of movies do not make me a particularly happy person. I'll try to get the review for that up tonight or tomorrow, and in the meantime plod along with everything else.
I should be doing the Barthelme short story next, but I've been lazy and not picked it up from the library yet (it's cold! Very cold!). I'll try to swing by and grab it after work today, but in the meantime I'll move on to the Fast for my next endeavor. Let's hear it for progress!
12/7/07:
Look at me go! The Siciliano review is up and vaguely legible! It is also a little bit... er. Well, pointed. But hey, it's my opinion, right? The worst that can happen is they fail me, and after this volume of work they wouldn't dare.
A DVD blitz arrived tonight, including the Yu/Cheung, Argento/Sands and de Palma/Memmoli films, as well as the DVD recording of the Knight musical. So much to get started on! Hopefully I'll get a chance to watch the Lubin/Rains tomorrow, and maybe my laziness will abate for a while.
12/6/07:
Wow. Sometimes you come across people who are kind of amazing. Sometimes you come across people who are pretty awesome. And then there's Pete Bregman.
Remember me whining about how I could only find the second and third installments of The Trap-Door Maker, and how the first book was sold out or out of print or whatever? There was wailing and gnashing of teeth. I'm sure you remember, if only so you could instruct other people to euthanize you if you ever behaved similarly. Anyway, the brilliant folks over at the Phans Online forum were as baffled as I, but one of them (thank you so much, Sultana!) dug up Mr. Bregman's email for me. Since every book retailer and comic distributor and online auction site in the world had already failed me, and since the Treehouse Animation (the company The Trap-Door Maker was published with) website was down, I shot him a note asking where I could buy it, since I figured if anyone would know, he would. And frankly, I was out of other avenues to explore.
I figured, well... the worst that can happen is that he's pissed off I used his email and shouts at me. I hate cyber-shouting.
Instead, he sent me back a very nice note saying that unfortunately, Book 1 had been sold out and not reprinted for some time; and then he proceeded to offer me a link to his personal webserver, so I could download the book for free. For free. Because he is seriously just that nice a guy and wanted to help me out.
(If there are any opportunists out there in the milling throng, be advised that he's already deactivated said link, and that I only downloaded book 1, not the others. Trust me: Pete Bregman is cool enough that he deserves your money. Go buy his other two volumes for their paltry $6 apiece or whatever it is on Amazon, because A) they are awesome, and B) he is a great guy.)
So: Word up, Pete Bregman. You rock my socks. The world would be a much nicer place if people--or even artists--were all as awesome as you are. And your art is pretty damn phenomenal, too.
12/5/07:
The Woodiwiss arrived today, and I finished the Siciliano. I am still too sick to see straight, but will attempt to write... something... in some form... yeah.
Hey, you shut up. My efforts should be applauded.
12/4/07:
The Lubin/Rains finally--finally!--showed up! Glee all around. It came in with the Preiss, and I picked up the Tarchetti at the library, so things are looking up.
Oh, except for the fact that I am sick. Miserably, loathsomely sick. It would be tragic if I had spent all of this time and energy and money on this thing only to die within spitting distance of a degree.
12/3/07:
Oh. My. God.
So, as we're all aware, I'm busily and happily poking along on my little Phantom project, gleefully subjecting my friends list to endless reviews and inane ramblings, all in the name of academic discovery. In the course of collecting material for this mammoth endeavor, I've of course become aware of a new movie coming out at the end of this month. Angel of Music from Lighthouse Ltd. Pictures was originally intended to be a period retelling of the Phantom story, but after the wildly popular 2004 movie and various problems (mostly budgetary, from what I can tell) with the production, the premise was altered. The film now chronicles a reporter's quest to discover the true origins of the Phantom story and whether there is any truth to the events Leroux relates; along the way, events from the story begin to take on a life of their own and the reporter finds himself and his loved ones embroiled in scenes that eerily resemble those of the Phantom story, until no one is certain what is real and what is not. Period interludes begin to pepper the movie as it moves along, intensifying the confusion between reality and memory, fantasy and history.
Sounds cool, right? I was psyched from the description. There are plenty of straight-up interpretations of the story itself; how cool would it be if someone did something like this, that explored the psychological elements by tying them to a contemporary context and laid bare the themes of insanity and social stigma in an updated fashion, while still retaining enough of the period sensibilities to keep things fresh and interesting and hold the allegory together? That would be awesome. Imagine it with me, a Baz Luhrmann-esque journey through surrealism and psychosis.
This is not that movie.
Be sure to watch that first one for the most limp-wristed wife abuse in the history of mankind. I haven't laughed that hard in... I don't know. I think watching the trailers may have killed some of the brain cells responsible for long-term memory. I've seen better acting from five-year-olds smeared with stolen chocolate.
I... just... argh. There are no more words. I'm torn between hysterical laughter and suicide.
I need to go lie down. I'll have to work up a more powerful will to live after the realization that I will not only have to watch this movie and pay attention, but will probably also pay money for the privilege.
At least the Lubin/Rains movie finally showed up, and the Yozaburo. I can go watch an example of good filmmaking, or at least mediocre filmmaking, to scrub my brain.
12/2/07:
Holy crap, I wrote a second essay in as many days. I should get an ice cream cone or something for that kind of dedication!
The Charnas review is online. Time to celebrate by falling into bed and sleeping like a rock until I have to get up for work!
12/1/07:
I need to be encouraged to stop procrastinating. Probably with a whip.
The Meyer review is finally finished and up! Look at me be productive. Be productive, Anne, be productive! I'll be moving on to the Charnas tomorrow as I'm still operating on a library deadline; after that and the Siciliano, hopefully I'll be able to get back to my tentative timeline.
And on the shipping end of things, I got the de Mendes yesterday and the Stuart today. Sundays always depress me because I know there will be no mail and thus, no new books. What does that say about me?
11/29/07:
Finished the Meyer, and then promptly proceeded to get incredibly busy at work and not write anything about it. Somewhere, a professor just tsked an exasperated tsk and doesn't know why. Hopefully, tomorrow will see that little project finished.
But on the happy flip side, I got the Jacobs and the Chappel today! It's like Christmas every day around here.
(Dear Amazon, I am pleased as punch that you wanted to send me the Chappel way earlier than you projected, but are you aware that the Lubin/Rains film has been supposedly "about to arrive" for a month? Please advise.)
11/28/07:
In a blitz of productivity, I'm scant pages away from finishing the Meyer. Supposedly, theoroetically, conceivably, I might even start writing about it tomorrow.
I know, I'm as shocked as you are.
11/26/07:
I am Anne. Watch me procrastinate.
The Bischoff review is finally done and up! Man, for a tiny little book I took a lot of notes. Let's hope that's not a trend, or I may never see the end of this project.
By rights, I should be reading Greenberg's Phantoms next (well, actually, I should be watching Ye Bang ge Sheng and writing a review of that and Webber's musical first, but I think we all know what will happen if we let me detour for that long), but unfortunately reality is intruding upon my carefully crafted deadline. Three of these delightful nuggets of literary zest (the Meyer, the Siciliano, and the Charnas) are due back at the library in a week or so, so unfortunately they must be moved to the front of the queue. I will therefore be moving on to the Meyer tomorrow, and hoping that the note-taking doesn't kill me.
However, I can celebrate a new package today: the Liu, Vehlow and Bruns all landed on my doorstep this morning! Glee, and creaking of my To Be Read shelf!
11/23/07:
Finally finished the Bischoff! Man, that little book took more notes than the Chaney movie by several pages. Now, if only I could get off my lazy ass and write them out so I can move on to the next...
And speaking of the next, package came through from Lulu! Welcome to my parlor, Garza, Soper-Cook and Taylor.
Interestingly, sometime in the last week Sarah Flanagan, one of the most prolfic self-publishers of Phantom materials, suddenly yanked all of her previously available stuff off of Lulu.com. I'm not as distraught as I could be--after all, I'd heard that they were pretty darn awful--but the scholar in me is wailing in depression. Now I'll never get to read them and call them nasty names! Never get to make spurious conclusions about the psychological state of the writer! I'm considering weeping, but instead will probably just poke around the web and see if anyone has any old copies for sale at a reasonable price.
Let's just hope they're on the reality side of reasonable. Whomever that person on Amazon is who thinks those Sheryl Aumack novels are going to sell for over $200 each is both depressing me with their desire to take advantage of hardcore fans and amusing me with their assumption that anyone, even the hardcore fans, is going to buy them at that price. I just backordered it from somewhere else. Sucker!
11/21/07:
Progress was made on the Bischoff today, though again I'm not entirely sure how I could still be only 75 pages into the slim little thing. I blame those pesky people at work... what do you call them... ah, yes, my clients. And the copious notes. If I could just stop taking notes like a demented obsessive-compulsive psychopath, I could just enjoy these books and... ah, yes, I'm supposed to be taking notes. Alas.
But the Sillesen and the second two The Trap-Door Maker volumes arrived today, so the rejoicing can continue unabated. Though, seriously... why does no one in the entire known universe carry the first volume of The Trap-Door Maker? It can't already be out of print, can it? Diamond, I'm shaking my impotent little fist at you right now.
Argh. Is there anything as frustrating as having the second two volumes of a trilogy, but not the first?
11/20/07:
The Hernandez came in today... which is good, because it was quite late and I was beginning to wonder if it had gotten lost in transit.
Now, if only I would stop being a slacker and finish the Bischoff (seriously, it's about three pages long--what the hell), I could keep on moving!
11/18/07:
As usual, everything comes in one big box that makes me wait! Today's haul includes the Minton, the Miller, the Greenberg, the Yoshinaka, the Ebert, and the other Meadows, as well as the Richardson/Dance film and the Yeston/Kopit musical. Eeee! My coffee table is groaning under their weight, but I'm loving it.
11/16/07:
New review up! That's right, despite having been a lazy ass about it, first round of notes on the Julian/Chaney film are up and (mostly) readable. On to the written word (and let's face it... that's always been my first love, anyway). I don't have the films leading up to the next written work, which is the Bischoff, but hopefully I'll be able to fill in that gap later.
Well, actually, I do have the original Ye Bang ge Sheng. But I think I'm going to do the Eastern interpretations separately if I can help it; certainly I don't think I'll have too much of a problem separating the influences that come from previous versions, at any rate.
11/15/07:
One of the Meadows has arrived. My victory dance was epic and scared the cats.
11/14/07:
Finished the Julian/Chaney film tonight. It was very excellent, though the classical score caused John some mild embarrassment when it was overheard by his gaming buddies. Ah, well. I sacrifice, he sacrifices.
The kittens seem to have approved. They watched the carriage chase with me in rapt attention. John approved of my turning it off.
11/13/07:
Bam, a big old box came from Amazon today! Prebler, Cole and Gale all make their way to my shelves while I chortle with glee, as well as the Schumacher/Butler film popping up a day early. It's like Christmas every day!
11/11/07:
The first review is up! Oh, Leroux. You crazy bastard. Next up is the Julian/Chaney film, as it's both next chronologically and probably the third most influential source, beside Leroux and Webber. Watch me be productive!
11/6/07:
There's a smile on my face for the whole human race; why, it's almost like... my Phantom book finally showed up!
That's right, Leroux finally decided to put in an appearance. Time to dive in! A couple of others made their way to me as well, including the Chaney DVD and the third Montgomery, and I'm psyched. Can't wait to get going... though I will say that it was discouraging to see grammatical errors in the foreword, which is supposedly written by the translator. I'm not sure if I'm comfortable with my novel being translated from the original language by someone who can't avoid comma splices... but we'll see. I've heard good things about this translation, and will give it the benefit of the doubt.
Now, I'm very tempted to just buy the rest of my list WILLY-NILLY, WITHOUT REGARD FOR THE CONSEQUENCES. Someone should probably stop me.
11/4/07:
Still short on books, and awake early because of Daylight Savings Time and John's having to get up for class. I haven't been idle, however: a few little exercises in comparative media were enough to sate my ravening desire to get to work already. For now. In the future, who knows? Amazon may yet triumph by claiming my fragile sanity.
11/3/07:
Five books came in the mail today. Five. I walked in with the boxes and John said, "Did you get your book?" and I said, "I got three packages, it's got to be in one of them.
Well, guess what? IT'S NOT.
Sigh. Two of the three Montgomerys, the Pettengill, the Bischoff, and the Charnas, now proudly in my to be read pile. But the original Leroux? Nowhere to be seen. Never mind that I ordered it at least a week before most of the titles above.
Somewhere, an Amazon shipping dude who hates his job is chortling over the agony he's putting me through. Damn you, shipping dude. Damn you.
11/1/07:
The saga continues! I am on a journey of discovery, I tell you.
Is The Phantom of the Opera On Ice not one of the most entertaining ideas you've encountered today? It has been immediately added to my list. For educational purposes.
Somewhere deep in my soul, a gawky seven-year old in skates three sizes too big and mismatched butterfly barrettes thinks that is friggin' awesome.
10/30/07:
Another day, another book (hello, Night Magic!) that isn't the one I need to start. Instead of tearing my hair out, I turn to you, gentlemen and ladies, for your opinions.
I've had a few discussions about this before, but what would be the best way to approach this in terms of which materials to tackle first? Should I go at it chronologically--i.e., start with the original novel and then hit everything else in order of its being written/filmed/what have you, or should I try to organize more by type--all books, then all movies, then all musicals, etc.? And what further delineations should be made within those categories as I figure this out?
I'm leaning toward fully chronological, but as that would entail a lot more sitting around while my deadlines slowly tick down and materials are lost in the mail or orbiting Neptune or god knows where they are (Leroux, why do you want to make me cry?), it might have to be... pseudo-chronological. No one tell the profs.
10/29/07:
Another book arrived! I've added Into the Light to the pile and to the progress page, but... it's still not the original, which I need before I can get started.
What do I have to do, Leroux? What do I have to do?
Sigh. Maybe tomorrow... just in time for vacation to be over.
10/27/07:
Terry Pratchett's Maskerade and Rebecca Ashe's Masque of the Swan have found their way to my door! Unfortunately, my annotated Leroux still isn't here, meaning that I get to sit on my hands for a little while longer as I wait for it to show up so I can get started. It would be kind of silly to do a comparative study without reading the original first, wouldn't it? Le sigh.
10/26/07:
A plague on iUniverse's houses. To include the self-published, or not to include? That is the question. I'm trying to be as all-encompassing as possible, obviously--what good is looking at the diffusion of literature if I don't include enough literature to get a representative sample?--but if I start trying to plow through all the Phantom fanfiction on the web, I'll drown. Literally. In reams of electronic letters that will come out of the screen and choke my nose and throat. On the one hand, self-published volumes are really only fanfiction that someone had a few dollars to put in shoddily bound format; but on the other hand, many of the works we consider from the Gothic era were published by vanity presses. Some of these self-published novels are popular enough to have made it onto Amazon; who am I to say they aren't real literature?
I think, for completeness' sake, I'll include them. After all, everybody's novel is amateur at some point. I wish I could include all the fanfiction out there, too, but I can't write a very effective dissertation if my eyes are bleeding from strain... not to mention the homicide that might occur after the fiftieth really bad one. My powers of mockery can only stretch so far before I snap.
Of course, this means I now have to troll Lulu and iUniverse for material. As if I didn't have enough going on yet.
10/25/07:
The first of my ordered books is here! Susan Kay's Phantom gets to join the distinguished company of my Sherlock Holmes pile.
10/24/07:
Further interesting news in the case of the Phantom, whose mythos continues to spread like a particularly pernicious but prettily colored mold. Apparently, Andrew Lloyd Webber confirmed back in March that he was going to be starting work on a sequel musical to his original adaptation of Phantom, supposedly based on Forsyth's The Phantom of Manhattan, which is currently sitting on my coffee table pining because I haven't started it yet. It's a daunting undertaking; it's hard to imagine a sequel being able to measure up to the smash-hit popularity of the first one, which is one of the most popular musicals of all time at this point.
Leaving aside all the industry scuttlebutt/gossip that goes along with it--who would get cast? Quick, develop your Dream Casts and follow along!--there's the question of fan response. It appears that The Phantom of Manhattan is almost universally hated by fans of Webber's musical, though as I have yet to read it I don't yet know why. Thematically, as well, the idea is problematic; I mean, a lot of the themes of the original story, including the poignant loss at the end, could be invalidated by suddenly plunking the same characters back together as though nothing had happened.
But! I will analyze themes later. When I've actually read the book. For now, I'll just spend time I should be doing work (actual work in my office, that is) scouring the internet for further information. Even knowing it'll be a disaster in terms of the themes of Webber's first musical, I'll still probably be disappointed if it doesn't get made.
...that's the great thing about being a literary vulture. I'm happy if it's good, and I'm happy if it's a hideous carcass of a production. Both will give me insight. Ain't psychology grand?
10/23/07:
The more work I do, the more work I make. Go me.
So, originally, I was planning to do this Phantom project on English-language materials only. This is hypocritical, I know, since the original novel is French, but cut me some slack; I don't speak French, so I have to stick with what I know. I can't really have much of an insight into a piece of literature if I can't read most of the words. Up to this point (yes, this highly advanced point of five days or whatever into things), that hasn't been a problem; I've tripped over a couple of Spanish language films, but they were mostly in the bad pulp film arena, without having much to contribute that the English-language films wouldn't. So I wasn't worrying about it, until I encountered a film that's made me reconsider my stance and praise the gods of subtitling: Ye Bang Ge Sheng.
This is the Chinese version of Phantom, and its title translates roughly to "Midnight Song". There are seven or eight versions of it, from 1937 all the way up to this year. The original 1937 version was a massive cultural event over there from what I can understand, being a hugely popular hit that incorporated elements of the 1925 Lon Chaney version but was magnificently acted and adapted for Eastern culture. The music is supposedly amazing, and each subsequent version has kept some of the original score because of this.
That's probably reason enough to include the films on my list, but as I'm looking at plot synopses, the ideas are practically drowning me. I don't want to say too much in case I'm misreading a translation or something, but there are certain key differences in the plot--for example, it's not a young woman opera singer that the Phantom takes under his wing, but a young tenor--that make it almost irresistible. The whole point of this project is to examine interpretation and the psychology thereof, so a chance to see how an Asian culture's view differs from the Western? Oh, yes, please.
So, despite the fact that it's going to be a huge pain in the ass to import copies, and despite the fact that unless I'm lucky the translations and subtitles probably won't be very good, and despite the fact that I'm opening an entirely new can of worms--another entire paper's worth, really--by bringing in a radically different cultural interpretation... man. I cannot pass this up. At least the original version and the highly-touted 1995 version are going to have to be added to my list.
I think I'm just setting myself up to never finish, ever.
Edited to add: I just found a further two Phantom films, which are both takarazuke (a form of Japanese theatre wherein all roles are played by women) productions, and which are musicals--not the Webber musical, either, but the Yeston! My glee is uncontainable.
10/23/07:
As many famous philosophers have frequently said, the quest for knowledge is fraught with peril.
In this case, I've just discovered far too many Phantom pornos. Good god. There are about five more that I found that I didn't even finish investigating, because I somehow failed to want to keep up with the looking at porn while John wonders what the hell is wrong with me.
I need to scrub my brain with bleach now. I can accept Phantom porn--hell, I was excited about the erotica novel--but does it have to be such bad porn?
Clearly, I will need to include some of these in the research process. It's for knowledge!
10/22/07:
I went to raid the library today, and discovered that the New York Library not only doesn't have most of the books on my list, but the ones it does have are... drumroll... the Sherlock Holmes crossovers. As my sister says, WTF, mate. I don't want to confuse the process by reading those first, so they'll get to sit on my coffee table for a few days, leering at the other books in my room and scaring them.
Today's notecards (man, I can barely read my own scribbles when I'm going fast):
Phantom cult; frequent references to the "magic" or the "passion" or the "beauty" and gag me with a spoon. Fans as rabidly frothing as anime fans. All books given either a 5 or a 0 star review as some point out they suck and others argue that the "purity & beauty" outweigh the suck. Discuss degradation of LeRoux over time/cultural diffusion/popular culture & artistic interpretation vs. original version/themes & mutation via public opinion. Consider pithy quip/hilarious and/or insightful comparison, deformity of Erik = paralleled by deformity of text over time, pat self on back and bask in ego (man I kill me).
10/21/07:
I'll be raiding the Manhattan branch libraries tomorrow, but in the meantime I went out to the Strand and picked up one of the books in question. I always feel accomplished when I go to the Strand and actually find something I was looking for. It's akin to the feeling one gets when one finds Waldo.
For the time being, the New York Public Library system is letting me down a bit (because if there's one thing the library system exists for, it's to supply me with obscure books for my even more obscure and professor-despair-inducing research project); I've so far only been able to pin down about five or six out of that list of thirty-five books, and maybe three of the films. Clearly, my pocketbook will be the one to suffer here. I've already ordered two of the remainder from Alibris, but does anyone else know of good places to look up online for these bad boys? Sadly, for me, cost is more a factor than anything else; with Christmas coming up soon, I'm going to probably have to abandon buying books until far, far in the future, but it's a nice pipe dream.
10/20/07:
With the help of my friendly neighborhood Erika, I've gotten all organized and stuff (well, okay, not really). The bare, bargain-basement bones of things are here for now. Yes, it looks like crap. Give me a break. I did it in ten minutes. This isn't an html editing project, it's a literature project. Dammit, Jim!
It's mostly just so I don't do boneheaded things like buying the same book twice or forgetting what the hell I've just written a review of. Because believe me, I will do those boneheaded things without supervision.
Related thoughts that I wrote on notecards as I worked on things today:
Male vs. female authors, preponderance of females; belies gender-specific tendencies or collective subconscious? Suspense/thriller versions mostly male, romances mostly female, discuss? No go, could be pen names, no way to tell actual gender of authors, epic fail.
Author influences: 80% Webber, 19% transference, 1% Leroux. Poor Leroux.
Tortured hero vs. fluff hero--Byronic influence? Original influences/references for Leroux, annotations or footnotes useful or need further materials? Catharsis = audience reaction = preference for Erik, i.e. tragedy with emotional redemption, vs. good feelings = no closure = audience coolness for Raoul, further fleshed out? Raoul = cardboard character, or just audience preference for extreme suffering as leading point to more impressive resolution?
Harass people for related media? Genres left out--theatre (non-musical), others? Input from other sources, any friends/readers got any ideas?
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