Ha ha ha, ho ho ho, and a couple of WTFs

Yet another out of genera Oz adaptaion is on its way! Maybe! Better start holding your breath!

 I'm not going to get excited, upset, or anything about the Oz adaptation. If it ever sees the light (no producer is even attached yet). There have been dozens, if not hundreds of Oz adaptations. It's even been given the horror treatment before, in short stories, an RPG game, and a comic.

If it's good, we'll get another movie to put with Tin Man or the newest Wiz. If it's bad it can go with Dorothy and the Witches of Oz, and Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return.

The best line in the film is a shitty gay joke.

Oz is like Wonderland; there are countless adaptations, there will be countless adaptations, and throwing a dark spin on it will always be trendy. The MGM adaptation is my favorite movie, and direct all remake attempts on that have failed.

So why am I blogging about it now? So that in the years to come when casting comes out and trailers, and even the movie, I can look back and say: "Huh, I'm way too involved in this stuff."

I need to use my time better.

And finish my DHMIS post...

5 Books I'm reading next.

With 500+ books in my personal library, and almost a hundred unread, I've got to get moving. I've made a vow not to buy any more books until I read some of the ones I already have. Now, to be fair, I basically immediately broke that promise since the last Temeraire book is coming out, and Joe Hill's newest book was just published, but hey, at least I thought about it.

\

I wish I could, JonTron.

With that in mind, I'm officially declaring my next five books. No more buying until these are read! Maybe public knowledge will help stem my literary urges. I've already purchased them, so no loopholes there either.

1. The Fireman: A Novel by Joe Hill

I have all of Joe Hill's other books, and I'm real excited about this one. I haven't read much about it, just that people are getting scales and bursting into flames. Intriguing!

Wasn't this a department in the ministry of magic?

2. Akira, Vol. 2 by Katsuhiro Otomo

No, I haven't seen the movie. No, I want to wait to see the movie until I've read it all. Yes, I read volume one. Yes, I know about Bartkira.

And now so do you.

3. The History of Hell by Alice K. Turner

A random find at 2nd and Charles, it purports to detail the history of negative afterlife locations through several cultures. No word on if Phil the Prince of Insufficient Light is involved.

Aww man.

4. The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis

I'm a big Narnia fan. Time to read more of C.S. Lewis's fine work...also about hell. Sorta.

No word on Phil's involvement here either.

5. League of Dragons by Naomi Novik
Epic series about talking, soldier dragons. The final book in the series. I'm happy, but also dreading it, since that means no more. I don't wanna talk about it any more.
 

 More awsome, accurate art by Daniel Govar here.

The Desolation of Smauglock NO SPOILERS

You know what's not easy? Being  Sherlock fan. Not only is the show utterly heartbreaking, it takes literal YEARS between series, due to how the BBC operates. Here's a handy list of things that have happened before Sherlock Series Three came out:


N'Sync came back.

Agent Coulson came back.

The U.S Government shut down AND came back. 

Harry Potter came back.

Moriarty came out. 

So yeah, it's been an eventful few years in between series, and the fans are getting impatient. I only saw the series about a year ago, but for a viewer used to 3 months at most between seasons, it's hard.

Then there's The Hobbit.

 Not only does it star Martin Freeman as  Bilbo Baggins, AKA Dr. John Watson, Arthur Dent, Oliver Chamberlain, Tim Canterbury, Declan,  and many others, but Benedict Cumberbatch, AKA Very Silly Name Sherlock is Smaug!

"Beachbody Compasstrap!"Also, try the name generator! I got "Butawhiteboy Cantbekhan"

And in Desolation, these two get to talk to each other for a WHILE. Seeing as the book is 75 years old, and most fans have read it, this has led to a rather interesting phenomenon. A phenomenon called SMAUGLOCK. Smashing Sherlock and The Hobbit together has created some rather intresting stuff...

There's less savory NSFW stuff too, but that's true of LITERALLY EVERYTHING on the internet. For the most part, you've got a lot of dragons whining about mysteries and wearing purple scarves. No harm done, right?

Well, the problem is, John and Sherlock are friends, and Bilbo and Smaug are not. Duh. But for fans of both, Desolation is the first time in literally years when their favorite actors are back on screen together. And some are having a wee bit of a hard time processing the fact that not only is Smaug a straight up villain with no redeeming qualities, HE GONNA DIE!

Seen here in this strangely leaked footage.

There's a LOT of talk about how 'sad' it is, and how they're 'rooting for 'Smaug'. The only sad part for me is that the fans can't separate two great actors who just HAPPEN to be working together again without making it mash with another fandom. I'm glad the filmmakers didn't put in any little nods or winks: the word 'Deduction' is NOT mentioned by either party during Smaug and Bilbo's meeting. It's exactly as it should be. AWESOME.

It's not wrong to enjoy Smauglock silliness (if it is, I don't want to be right). But don't let fanon get in the way of someone telling a story properly. Take both for what they are: amazing works with the same actors. Nothing more, nothing less.