Book vs. Film: Norman Bates

Where would the film industry be if it weren't for books. No, seriously, think of five films off the top of your head, chances are the majority, if not all, are based on a novel or short story, often without your realisation. I find adaptations fascinating, even if they don't work (in fact, that sometimes makes a film even more interesting). It's always interesting to notice what they left out, what they changed slightly, or the complete diversion of the original text, but also "why?". Film is a different medium to a book. Pretty obvious, I know, but it's surprising how purists forget this. It's important to change things from medium-to-medium. In a book, you have the advantage of the author's narration, which can be as poetic as possible. Film is a visual medium, and you should always hire the best actor you can to play a role. Whether their appearance is identical, or not is irrelevant, so long as they embody the character.

This is going to be series I get back to every-so-often, where I draw the same character from book and its adaptation(s).

First, we have Robert Bloch's classic thriller, PSYCHO, famously overshadowed by its 1960 Hitchcock adaptation, starring Anthony Perkins as Norman Bates. As you can see from the image below, the two look very different. Bloch's Norman Bates is a chunkier, middle-aged man, like that guy you encounter on the bus. Perkins portrayal of Norman Bates is the shy, awkward pleasant boy next door. They both work in that idea of anyone in you town, or street could be a killer.

 

A Gentleman's Gentleman & A Gentleman's Gentleman's Gentleman

I love the writings of P. G. Wodehouse. I always find his stories to have that comforting Bank Holiday Monday feeling. 

To me, Wodehouse's strength lies in the text itself, not necessarily the situations, which is something you lose in media adaptations, the hilarity of the narrator.

 “And she's got brains enough for two, which is the exact quantity the girl who marries you will need.”  (Mostly Sally)

They are a joy to read, very easy, very audience-conscious. I highly recommend them.

This old body of mine is wearing a bit thin...

With the recent news of Peter Capaldi's departure from Doctor Who, one question has been on everybody's mind (realting to the show, obviously): Who is going to play the 13th/14th/2nd (whatever the regeneration number is) Doctor? Poor, Capaldi, he still has one more series and everyone is going to be thinking of a new actor. Anyway, being a fan of the show since early childhood, I of course have my own opinions on who would make a great Doctor:

 First, Tamsin Greig. Best known for her comedy performances, which is needed for the Doctor, but Greig is a great actor. I didn't like the film Tamara Drewe, but the scenes involving Tamsin Greig and Roger Allam were gripping me, just because I liked the actors. I could see her Doctor being quite sharp and sarcastic with people, almost like Jon Pertwee's. Greig is my personal top choice, but who made the runner-ups...

 Second, Tuppence Middleton. An odd choice, I know, but she is older than Matt Smith was when he first took over the role. Middleton has a interesting other-worldly quality about her and since the first time I saw her, The White Bear episode of Charlie Brooker's Black Mirror, I thought she would be suited for any role in Doctor Who. I think she reminds me of Carole Ann Ford who played the Doctor's granddaughter Susan Forman (yeah, remember Susan!). I could imagine Middleton's Doctor being patchwork-like, in costume and performance, almost as if the regeneration didn't work properly, like Drusilla in Buffy, almost like a damaged product that still functions.

Sophie Okonedo has had a history with the show already, not only starring in the Matt Smith's series as Liz Ten, but also in the animated web-series The Scream of Shalka, which featured Richard E. Grant as the Doctor. Okonedo brings a grace-like presence in every role, and that would be an interesting path to take the Doctor, who is usually a rebel, quirky and ramshackled.

Finally, an actor I have always wanted to see as The Doctor, Michael Palin, who is basically the Doctor in real life, traveling around having interesting adventures. Like Greig, Palin is most known for his comedy, but in those performances lie brilliantly acting. I've never seen him as a comedic actor, but a classic British character actor, who just happens to do comedy.

So, those are my picks for a character who has been a part of all our lives so long. Doctor Who may have had its ups-and-downs over the years, but they have chosen a bad actor to play The Doctor, so why stop now...

M'Book

Currently I am producing my own children's book. It's been a fun project, writing, rewriting, rerewriting, and providing the illustrations, arguing with myself over the overall design... like I said, fun process.

Here are the illustrations so far. Hopefully they'll make more sense when you read it.

Quatermass and the Pit

A poster tribute to one of my favourite things of all time, Nigel Kneale's Quatermass series. Such a great piece of British sci-fi thriller, in the vain of Wells and Wyndham. Kneale is a writer who craves for ideas, as evidenced in his equally brilliant ghost story The Stone Tape. This poster is for the third story, and perhaps the most famous, Quatermass and the Pit.