Tag Archive | "Ask the Oracle"

Ask the Oracle: If Spartacus Died Two Years After Rebelling, How Long Can SPARTACUS Run? Plus, Do Animated Movies Now Suck?

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Q: As I understand it, the real-life Spartacus only lived a short time after leading his famous Roman slave rebellion. Assuming Spartacus leads the rebellion next season, doesn’t that mean the show can only be three seasons long, at most? — Mark, Milwaukee, WI

A: Not surprisingly, not much is known about Spartacus in his pre-gladiator days, but the rebellion he led took place in 73 B.C., and Spartacus died in 71 B.C.

Robert Tapert (left) and Steven DeKnight

Robert Tapert (left) and Steven DeKnight

Or did he? Contrary to the famous ending of the Stanley Kubrick movie, Spartacus’ body was never found — an historical truth that the producers of the new Starz TV show Spartacus: Blood and Sand could certainly exploit.

In any event, there’s no reason why a “season” of the show has to correspond to a year of real time.

What do the producers themselves say?

“Anyone who knows the history of Spartacus obviously knows where this has to go,” Spartacus creator Steven DeKnight tells the Oracle. “There’s been a lot of talk based on [co-creator] Rob [Tapert's] work with Xena and Herculeseverybody says, ‘Well, Rob doesn’t care about history.’ But that’s absolutely not true. Rob does care about history, and we are following the broad strokes of the Spartacus story. We can’t be slaves to every detail — we bend history, we try never to break it.”

So how long will the show go?

“I have a five-to-seven year plan,” DeKnight says. “Definitely enough for five — it could go longer, depending on Starz and the viewership. Definitely at least five planned out. There’s so many great moments in Spartacus’ story, in history, that I’ve never fully seen explored.”

Q: I know we’re supposed to be in an “animation renaissance,” but I think I’m done with animated movies for a while. I tried to sit through the Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs recently, but found absolutely unwatchable — a hyper-frenetic mess on one hand (for kids, I guess) with a bunch of stupid, but ironic quips (for the adults, supposedly). And it got good reviews! Obviously, Up was night-and-day better, but even that struck me as muddled in the middle and just generally over-rated. What do you think? — Madge, Baton Rouge, LA

A: We’ve written before about the animated movie renaissance, but the Oracle has come to reluctantly agree with you.

Disney started the renaissance with The Little Mermaid in 1989, but soon their films started to blur together: a story about a plucky, but ostracized outsider must learn to “own” his or her difference into order to end up saving the kingdom, village, or savanna — all set to truly memorable showtunes.

Two studios inherited Disney’s artistic mantle, furthering the renaissance: Pixar, which had a break-out hit with Toy Story, and Dreamworks, which had its first big success with Shrek.

But just like Disney’s films became derivative of themselves, most animated movies currently seem to follow either the Pixar/Toy StoryShrek formula or the Dreamworks/Shrek one.

The vast majority (like Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs) take the now-insufferable Shrek route: a gimmicky central story with hyper, ironic pop-culture-spouting hipster main characters, usually voiced by celebrities — a shtick modeled after Robin Williams‘ hammy, but memorable turn as the genie in Disney’s Aladdin.

This formula got old three Ice Age sequels ago. Sitting through Jim Carrey in Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who, the Oracle contemplated killing himself.

By contrast, Pixar (which is now owned by Disney) tells much more timeless stories: usually complicated morality tales involving sad or ethically compromised main characters. Examples include Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, WALL-E, and Ratatouille.

In the Oracle’s opinion, the Pixar model is a thousand times better than the Dreamworks’ one.

But I agree with you that Up, while beautifully drawn and acted, was ultimately muddled and overrated.

Q: There was this TV show around ten years ago about this guy who had the newspaper delivered to him (by a cat) a day early. He’d spend the episode trying to prevent the bad things in the newspaper from happening. Do you know the name of that show? — ScreamingMonkez, Birmingham,

A: You’re thinking of Early Edition, about a Chicago man who received a copy of the Chicago Sun-Times a day early. The show, which stared Friday Night Lights‘ Kyle Chandler and Fisher Stevens, originally ran on CBS from September 1996 to May 2000. ABC Family later ran reruns.

Incidentally, Stevens won an Oscar last night for a documentary he produced, The Cove. Yes, that’s why that guy looked so familiar!

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Ask the Oracle: Will KUSHIEL be the Next SPARTACUS? Prologues: Yay or Nay? More!

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Q: With the success of Spartacus: Blood and Sand, and all its eye-popping nudity, I can’t help but wonder if someone — Starz! — hasn’t thought to do the same thing with Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel books. — J.M., Philadelphia, PA

A: The Oracle has been thinking exactly the same thing!

Carey’s Kushiel series — Kushiel’s Dart, Kushiel’s Chosen, and Kushiel’s Avatar — are, of course, the books that finally brought sex into fantasy (in a big way!).

But as wildly entertaining as the books are, they’re probably too sexy for a big-budget film (which is what you’d need to do justice to the story and the setting).

So what about cable television? Starz has clearly had big success with the edgy Spartacus, the buzz for HBO’s upcoming adaptation of George R. R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones is deafening, and even the syndicated series Legend of the Seeker has been surprisingly sexy lately.

So is pay cable the place for Kushiel?

Jacqueline Carey

Jacqueline Carey

“Unfortunately, I can’t say the success of the shows you mention has generated interest in TV or film rights to mine,” Carey tells the Oracle. “While series like Rome and Spartacus have raised the bar for sex and nudity, I think embracing a divinely-ordained masochistic heroine, assuming it’s the original Kushiel trilogy, is still a big stretch. Though that element could be toned down onscreen, it couldn’t be removed without completely altering the essence of the story. BDSM has made some inroads into the mainstream in the past years, but I’m not sure there’s a producer out there ready to put it in the forefront of a major investment.”

So it is hopeless?

“As always, I’d be happy to be proved wrong!” Carey says. “And to be honest, I haven’t talked to my agent about pitching it lately — we’ve been talking about pitching Santa Olivia, which is the one book I’ve written that I think would be extremely easy to adapt to film.”

Q: Prologues: yeah or nay? — Mark, Wilmington, DE

A: The Oracle says: a big nay. The tradition dates to Ancient Greek dramatists, who often had a character (usually a deity) step forth with information to “set up” the action to come. In many cases, they were necessary, as the plays dealt with esoteric events unknown to general audiences.

But times change. Just as the Greek plot device of the “deus ex machina” (where a god, or other convenient event, suddenly appears to set everything right) is now considered hackneyed, I think the prologue is almost always a mistake: (1) either it postpones the introduction of the main characters and the start of the central action (which is what we really care about), or (2) it “works on its own,” and then we’re annoyed when it’s over and we move onto the “real” story.

Yes, yes, it’s “sets the mood,” or it offers important exposition. But in the hands of a gifted writer, both those things can be seamlessly incorporated into the opening chapter.

It usually strikes me as a bit of self-indulgence on the part of the writer — they wrote the prologue so that they could “discover” and build their world. But did we need to read it?

Besides, fantasy novels have already gotten too long. Come on already!

Of course, there are exceptions to every rule.

Q: A Fountain of Youth? Really? Was the explorer Ponce de Leon touched or what? — Michael, San Francisco, CA

A: Not at all! For a species like ours, afflicted with all manner of physical miseries (especially in previous centuries) and whose lives culminate in the ultimately indignity of death, I can see how the Fountain of Youth is, ultimately, the physical manifestation of all our deepest hopes and desires.

In short, if the Fountain of Youth didn’t exist, people would have to invent it — which is exactly what we did. Stories of such waters have been widespread throughout human history, long before Ponce de Leon, just like there have been stories of cities made of gold (the manifestation of another deep human desire, that of material comfort).

But for the record, Juan Ponce de Leon, who was among the first white men to explore Florida, was not really obsessed with the fountain the way he is often portrayed to have been. He never mentioned it in any of his writings. Yes, there are contemporaries of his who casually mention that Ponce de Leon “may” have been searching for fabled magical “springs” in Florida, perhaps to cure his impotence, but that wouldn’t be surprising, since the area was rife with tales of such legendary waters.

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Ask the Oracle: What Other Greek Myth Movies Are Coming? When Will the WIZARDING WORLD OF HARRY POTTER Open? More!

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Q: Given the recent trend in remaking/adapting Greek myth movies/books, are any more due to be made? — Bee

A: By Athena, yes! The unexpected success of 300 (which, of course, wasn’t “Greek” and didn’t involve myths, but was set in the ancient world) and the strong buzz for the upcoming Clash of the Titans, which opens in April, has inspired a veritable mare-of-Diomedes-like stampede of Greek-myth-themed movies.

Dawn’s rosy fingers may soon rise on these projects:

Clash of the Titans

  • Jason and the Argonauts, now in development at Universal, which, unlike Clash of the Titans, isn’t a remake of a Ray Harryhausen classic, but instead tells the story of Jason’s journey home after capturing the Golden Fleece (which is where Harryhausen’s movie leaves off).
  • Dawn of War, now in pre-production, tells the exploits of Theseus, including his battle with the Minotaur, but is to be done in a “Renaissance painting style action,” with a Baz Luhrmann-like mix of ancient and modern worlds.
  • Odysseus, in pre-production at Warners, is based on the end of Homer’s famous epic, the part when the king returns home after 20 years of fighting in the Trojan War, to find his wife, son, and kingdom under siege. Rumor is, this one will include major 300-style gore.
  • Speaking of which, a prequel to 300 is in the works, based on a still-being-written graphic novel by Frank Miller (who wrote the famous 300 graphic novel). 300 director Zack Synder has expressed an interest in directing, assuming he likes the source material.
  • A sequel to Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief called The Sea of Monsters (based on the book series) has long been in the works. The relatively disappointing showing of The Lightning Thief means this one may never get made.
  • Scarlett Johansson was once attached to a movie called Amazon, but it seems to have stalled for the time being.

You’ll note that these movies are still in development. Why? Because Hollywood is waiting to see how Clash of the Titans performs (the film was once in a mad race with Dawn of War to be the “first” of the new wave of Greek-myth-based movies).

Why does it matter how Titans does? Because, in Hollywood-logic, if Clash of the Titans tanks, it won’t be because it’s a crappy movie, poorly conceived or executed.

No, it’ll be because it’s based on a Greek myth!

It’s all complete nonsense, of course — movies tend to succeed or fail because the movies themselves succeed or fail. But it’s easier to blindly follow the latest fad than to, you know, actually make a good movie, so the above kind of thinking makes everyone in Hollywood feel better.

Q: With all this talk about the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios’ Islands of Adventure theme park, no one ever says when it will open! When will that be? — Sophie, St. Paul, MN

A: That’s because, in the mad rush to get everything ready for a “spring” opening, even the park itself didn’t know. They still haven’t announced an actual “opening date,” but Fox News Orlando received a press release from Universal Studios saying they’re offering vacation packages for the attraction starting May 28th. So the attraction will at least be open by then!

Q: This is a test of your fantasy-knowing prowess: Without doing an internet search, what movie includes the Widow of the Web? — MAGPIE, Toronto, Canada

A: The 1983 fantasy film, Krull.

Please. You’ll have to get up much earlier than that to fool the All-Knowing Fantasy-Questioning-Answering Oracle. It was the one cool scene in an otherwise crappy film.

I confess, I did have to do a search to find the scene on YouTube:

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Ask the Oracle: Does Satan Run the Internet? Plus, Just Why is the Oracle in the Tank for Anne Hathaway?

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Q: The one thing everyone seems to agree upon is that the book version of Ella Enchanted is soooooo much better than the movie. Does it make me a bad person if I don’t agree? In fact, I think the movie ending is a thousand times better than the book, where she just sort of nonsensically “decides” to no longer be enchanted. — MAGPIE, Toronto, Canada

A: The Oracle completely agrees with you, at least on the ending. Look, the whole point of the movie was to make a relatively staid children’s book more accessible to teens. Not everything worked, but I thought they gave it the ol’ college try and took some interesting chances.

Speaking of which, there’s one scene that I think is extremely charming. It’s when Ella (who is enchanted to do whatever anyone tells her to do) is commanded to “sing!” by some giants and, mid-performance, is then further commanded to do increasingly ridiculous things:

Yes, the Oracle is in the tank for Anne Hathaway.

Going back to your point about the ending, one of my big pet peeves in fantasy is when a character who is cursed or charmed or under prophecy simply decides not to be. As I wrote two weeks ago about prophecies, once a curse or prophecy has been established as “real,” it’s a colossal plot-cheat to have the author resolve a story simply by having the character “decide” it doesn’t matter any more.

If pressed, the author usually says something like, “Well, she wasn’t able to make that decision until the end! She hadn’t grown enough!”

Of course, that’s ridiculous. Can a character “decide” he or she isn’t susceptible to the laws of gravity anymore either?

And yet, that is exactly the way Ella Enchanted (the book) ends. Ella simply decides, “Well, hey, I guess I won’t be enchanted any more!” Completely unsatisfying to me.

I’m all for having characters change and grow, but that needs to represented by his or her looking at the problem in a new, unexpected way, coming up with a clever, inevitable-in-retrospect, but-still-surprising way to solve the problem.

That’s what Ella Enchanted, the movie, did quite well. Since Ella is enchanted to do whatever anyone tells her to do, the story is resolved she looks at herself in the hall of mirrors and commands herself to no longer be enchanted, to no longer do what people tell her to do.

The perfect ending for this particular story — and one that is far better than the book.

Not Conan

Q: What is the DEAL with all these casting rumors for The Hobbit and Conan? People wrote that Tobey Maguire and Jared Padalecki were “done deals” — but they weren’t.Jim, Rapid City, SD

A: The problem is the internet.

Look, I love new media and the internet — some of my best friends are the internet! But it’s definitely not perfect.

Here’s how I see the problem: since the internet pays for itself with ad revenue (which is derived from page-views and, increasingly, unique visitors), most websites do everything they can to drive search engine traffic to their site. The “easy” way to do this is to be the first to report something — or at least the first to rewrite the latest rumor from somewhere else. If you get your article up early enough, you’ll come in near the top in search results, and everyone else will link to you.

Sometimes the “news” really is a genuine rumor from someone who might know — now many more people are privy to the behind-the-scenes gossip that used to go on just between industry folks.

But gossip is also often wrong.

Anyway, the end result is many websites breathlessly report the slightest and most far-fetched rumor as “news.” Since many website operators have no training in traditional journalism — and because there’s so much pressure to be “first” — very few outlets ever call the source (or his or her representatives) directly and say, “Before I put my credibility on the line with this story, I just want to know: is it true?”

No, they just repeat what they read on some other site, and soon, another rumor is all the way around the world (not just halfway) before the truth even has its pants on.

Too often, the internet becomes one big echo chamber, with everyone repeating some rumor that just wasn’t all that important to begin with.

It’s not that website operators are evil or stupid (although some are). They behave this way because, as a result of how internet advertising is set up, they’re rewarded financially when they do.

I suspect this new media landscape is here to stay (at least until advertising models shift), so the solution is to either roll with it or learn which websites to ignore.

Q: Can you recommend a good D&D dice roller for the iPhone?

A: D20Touch works for me. Despite the semi-confusing name, it simulates all the D&D dice, not just D20.

Here’s how it works:


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Ask the Oracle: David Boreanaz Speaks! Also, What is Turkish Delight — and More!

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Q: Tell me something new — anything! — about David Boreanaz! Needless to say, I’m a fan. — Molly, Vancouver, BC, Canada

A: How about what he thinks, looking back now, at all the Buffy and Angel madness?

“When Buffy came out — it debuted in 97 — I remember distinctly being at a party of all the Fox executives, and feeling this energy of ‘I hope this works!’” David tells the Oracle.

Regarding the phenomenon it would soon become, “I have more of a sense now than when I was in it,” he says. “When you’re in it, everything is going on so fast. When it popped to success the way it did, it was because of the hard work and the story. But Joss [Whedon] put that into place and we just executed it.”

When did he know Buffy had become a genuine phenomenon? “I think it was episode that I got swallowed up by a statue and Buffy had to throw the sword and kill me, and I got sucked into this evil monster’s mouth. And we went to New York and did a signing at the Disney store. Four or five blocks had to be shut down, there was a riot outside — it was madness. The cops were trying to get us out of the building, but there were people on top of cars. It was a mess.”

What does he think was the secret to the show’s success? “Joss took characters, [especially] a female character that he made so strong and so likable, and put them through these archetypes or metaphors — whatever you want to call them. But each character had that drive.”

With the show’s enormous impact, the Oracle was very curious to know if David was ever afraid of being type-cast by the part.

“I never thought about it — maybe that’s the equation,” he says. “Obviously, people bring it up, but to me, it was never really an issue, because I believe in myself and my talent. You just kinda go forward and work on projects and see where that takes you.”

Was he offered similar roles, post- Angel? “No. I don’t think I was ever offered [another] vampire role. For me, it was a lot of comic book stuff. I was going to be in Resident Evil, but I couldn’t do it because the production didn’t work you. Associated with a genre that’s a little bit darker and little more fast-paced? Yeah, but I never quite got the [fear of being type-cast].”

Q: I finally had Turkish Delight. I wasn’t delighted. Thoughts? — Larry, Lakewood, CO

A: It’s a British thing. Ever had blood pudding — for breakfast no less?

Still, much depends on the specific nature of the Turkish Delight you tried. The confection, which really did originate in Turkey (and is called lokum there), is a soft, pink jelly-like confection sweetened with sugar or honey, and dusted with powdered sugar or copra (to prevent sticking). Often nuts are added.

Lewis reportedly liked it — and it, therefore, makes sense that it would be Edmund’s downfall in dealing with the White Witch.

The version you tried may not have been sweet enough for your taste-buds. If so, the Oracle suggests the sweeter Americanized version: Aplets and Cotlets, made in Washington State (although rarely referred to as “Turkish Delight”).

And keep in mind that you’ve no doubt long enjoyed a candy that was probably based on Turkish Delight: the jelly bean.

Q: So the new web series directed by Ted Raimi. What’s the deal with that? Did he write it? – John, Fort Lauderdale, FL

A: “I wrote and created the series based on a short story I wrote a few years ago,” says Suzanne Keilly, Ted’s collaborator on Playing Dead (and the star), which is about an aspiring actress recruited to play Death.

“Ted and I produced it, and Ted directed it,” she says. “We collaborated after the project was written. Once it was and he agreed to direct we talked about my script, the tone of it, who to cast, the pacing, that kind of stuff. He gave me notes on the script, which I mostly ignored to his dismay — although he snuck in some changes on the day of shooting when it was harder for me to disagree much to the better-ment of the series. The look of the show is all Ted. He really took my story and dialogue and added his own very cool vision to it.”

Incidentally, the musc is by Curtis RX of Creature Feature. Here’s the latest episode:

Watch Playing Dead.

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Ask the Oracle: Did Lucy Lawless Give Andy Whitfield Advice? What Happened to Andre the Giant? How Come Crystal Balls Are So Wrong?

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Q: Did Lucy Lawless give Andy Whitfield any advice about carrying a whole TV show like Spartacus: Blood and Sand? — MAGPIE, Toronto, Canada

A: “I never realized I was carrying it until about half-through,” Andy tells the Oracle. “I just always assumed it was an ensemble thing. I was on the poster, but I guess I was in a little bit of denial. I came to acting late, only a few years ago. It’s not something I ever wanted to be, to be in the middle of everything. So I guess I’ve overcome that by enjoying the process and the work. Obviously, Lucy’s been through it before. I need a few ‘asks’ from her right now.”

Q: What ever happened to Andre the Giant, who played Fezzik in The Princess Bride? — Tom, Shoreline, WA

A: Sadly, Andre, the professional-wrestler-turned-actor who stood seven feet, four inches, died in 1993 at age 46 as a result of a heart attack — probably brought on because of the disease of acromegaly, a malfunction in the pituitary gland which was responsible for Andre’s massive size, but which also can negatively affect the heart.

For the record, Andre also played Bigfoot on The Six Million Dollar Man and the Dagoth, the Horned God, in Conan the Destroyer, but considered The Princess Bride’s gentle giant his favorite role.

Andre is sometimes confused with Richard Kiel, the seven-foot-one-inch actor who played Jaws in several James Bond movies, though Kiel, who also has acromegaly, is still living.

Q: How come crystal balls and the like in movies and books always predict what “might” happen? What good is that? I could predict something that might happen! — Em, St. Louis, MO

A: Em, the Oracle could. Not. Agree. More.

In fact, I consider it a cheat when a book or movie has a “prophecy” that, through “courage” or mere stubbornness on the part of the hero, doesn’t ever come true. I think it’s one of the (many) flaws in The Return of the Jedi: Darth Vadar, the Emperor, and even Yoda spend half the movie confidently talking about how that’s it, it’s over, Luke’s going to give into the Dark Side of the Force — only to have it turn out that, nope, that was just the Emperor’s wishful thinking!

Either the story is set in a world where prophecies are “true” — or it isn’t. If a prophecy is there and “real” enough that all the wise characters believe in it, I think it has to be like a gun in a play: if it shows up in the first act, it must go off in the third.

The key, of course, is finding a way for the prophecy to come true … but in a way that no one, especially the villain, expects. The prophecy is “fulfilled” — at least  in terms of the letter of the law. But the hero wins anyway, because he or she is able to create an interpretation of the prophecy that no one expected.

Rowling does this throughout Harry Potter (with varying degrees of success). Likewise, when the key prophecy in The Chroncles of Prydain is first read, some of the words are not quite visible, resulting it to be read as, “Draw Dyrnwyn, only thou of noble birth, to rule with justice, to strike down evil. Who wields it in good cause shall slay even the Lord of Death.

Read that way, our hero is screwed, because he’s not of royal birth, and he can’t use the sword. But when the rune is finally read correctly, the words “noble birth” turn out to really read “noble worth,” meaning our hero, Taran, can definitely save the day.

Finally, sometimes prophecies do come completely true — as when Alti’s vision of Xena and Gabrielle’s crucifixion comes true at the end of the fourth season of Xena: Warrior Princess — but even then, it doesn’t end up where the villain (or we) thought it would.

Anyway, if a prophecy is done right, it can be an extremely satisfying story-ending.

So what’s the deal with Galadriel’s Mirror and the like? Those aren’t “prophecies” per se — as you say, even Galadriel admits it’s only a “possible” future. A prophecy such as that is merely a dramatic device added to increase tension: this is what will happen if our hero fails in his or her quest.

The Oracle admits that this kind of prophecy has become an over-used cliche, but is giving The Lord of the Rings a pass, because it’s pretty much where all fantasy cliches come from.

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Ask the Oracle: Are the AVATAR Blues Real? What’s Up With Conan (the Barbarian, not the Talk Show Host)?

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Have a question about something fantasy-related? Ask the Oracle! (Be sure to include your first name and the city, state, and/or country you are writing from.)

Q: So have you heard of this phenomenon of Avatar Depression?  What is your take on it? — Angela, Mooresville, NC

A: Before you emailed, I hadn’t heard of the “Avatar Blues,” which is supposedly a depression that sets in when, after viewing the beauty of Pandora, people fall into a funk when they realize that it’s not “real” and they can’t ever experience it. According to CNN, more than a thousand people have posted feeling exactly this way on just one Avatar fan forum.

What does the Oracle think?

Well, I’m reluctant to judge other people’s emotional reactions to so-called “fictional” universes. I was moved and depressed for days after the end of Xena: Warrior Princess. And I couldn’t sleep the night I discovered the reason why Buffy was so depressed was because her friends had pulled her out of heaven.

But at the risk of sounding insensitive to those who experience this, the Oracle would diagnose the  Avatar Blues phenomenon as being the direct result of (a) the movie’s extremely effective immersive visual experience (which includes 3-D, making it all the more powerful), (b) the nature of internet and social networking, where people draw attention to themselves by saying extreme, provocative things, and (c) hype-happy media which love to wildly exaggerate news in order to make a story “better.”

Q: Have you heard anything regarding the casting or start of filming on the Conan remake? — Dennis, Los Angeles, CA

Q: The movie currently has a start date of March 15th for a 2011 release. As for the cast, the lead has apparently been narrowed down to three choices: Twilight’s Kellen Lutz (pictured, right), Stargate Atlantis‘ Jason Momoa (pictured, left), and a third unnamed, but more established actor. But according to one connected blogger, Lion’s Gate has nixed both Lutz and Momoa — leaving us with the third, established actor?

Not necessarily. At this point, anything seems possible.

Incidentally, we do know the director: Marcus Nispel, the man behind Pathfinder and the Friday, the 13th remake. He has another intriguing fantasy movie in development, The Last Voyage of the Demeter, which tells the story of the ship that carried Dracula’s coffin from Transylvania to New York, and arrives with no survivors.

Update: JustJared is reporting that Jared Padalecki is the “established” actor.

Q: You always hear about actors getting together to watch their TV shows together. Does that really happen? — Mason, New York, NY

A: “I had the whole cast [of Chuck] over to my house last night for the premiere,” McG, the executive producer of both that show and Supernatural, told reporters this week at the Television Critics Association in Pasadena.  “I like to always show my thanks to the writers and all the staff members and all the cast people, so they come over for the premiere every year.”

Incidentally, they were very pleased with last week’s Chuck numbers. “Hopefully, it’ll keep on Chuck-in’,” he says of the show that has incorporated plenty of fantasy-esque elements this season. “The show was on the edge of extinction, and the fans spoke and people are really passionate about it.”

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Ask the Oracle: Whose Voice is That in Fangorn Forest? What IS Fantasy? And What’s the Best Fantasy Series?

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Q: Settle an argument: in The Two Towers movie when Gandalf the White appears to Aragon, Gimli, and Legolas in Fangorn Forest, he is at first mistaken for Saruman — and, in fact, he looks and sounds a lot like Christopher Lee, the actor who portrays the other white wizard. But Ian McKellen has said that that’s entirely his voice and his face. Can that be true? — MAGPIE, Toronto, Canada

A: McKellen definitely maintains that it’s his voice and face — he still says that it’s “All my own work in Fangorn” on his website.

But he is misremembering. In the DVD commentary, Peter Jackson calls the scene a “visual trick,” pointing out that, “Very briefly, Christopher Lee’s eyes are actually glued onto Ian McKellen’s face…You also hear Christopher Lee’s voice — it’s blended in with Ian’s. We did want people, at least the uninitiated, to think that this possibly was Saruman.”

Co-screenwriter writer Philippa Boyers confirms this version of events: “They both tried to sound like each other” in the looping, she says, but “Christopher Lee could imitate Ian McKellen more than Ian could imitate Chris Lee.”

Q: I’m curious what you and your readers think are the top fantasy book series. Motivation is selfish, too — I want to know what to read. I’m also interested it what people specifically don’t like, and why — e.g., the Narnia series is too religious, and the anthropomorphic animals don’t work for me.  Also not liking Stephen Donaldson. With that, I’ll list mine: The Lord of the Rings, A Wizard of Earthsea, and Harry Potter. — Robert

A: The Oracle would strongly agree with The Lord of the Rings and Earthsea, but would also enthusiastically add A Song of Fire and Ice by George R. R. Marin, the first Kushiel trilogy by Jaqueline Carey, and (yes) The Chronicles of Narnia and The First and Second Chronicles of Thomas Covenant (but not the third trilogy, which is almost unreadable).

Among kids’ books (of which I’m a fan), I’d also add almost anything by Roald Dahl, but especially Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (although not the terrible sequel, Charlie and Great Glass Elevator). The Oracle also loved Michael Ende’s The Neverending Story and Momo, The Chronicles of Pyrdain by Lloyd Alexander, Libba Bray’s Gemma Doyle trilogy, the Bartimaeus trilogy by Jonathan Stroud, and Kenneth Oppel’s Airborn books.

Harry Potter? Truthfully, the Oracle enjoyed them, but found most of the books badly in need of editing, and many of plot-lines forced, especially the conclusion. The Oracle also always thought the following books or series were over-rated, in order from least to most over-praised: A Wrinkle in Time, Inkheart, The Sword of Truth, The Wheel of Time, The Sword of Shannara, and Twilight. (Full disclosure: The Oracle doesn’t read all the books in series he doesn’t like, so perhaps these books improved over time.)

But the Oracle is far more interested in hearing what readers think!

Q: Another question: what is fantasy? For me, it’s not just supernatural. Magic has to be part of that reality. For example, The Dragonriders of Pern series isn’t strictly “fantasy” to me — the planet has spaceflight. Though the dragons can traverse space and even time, my memory is that this ability is never framed as magical, and no other magic seems to exist. — Robert

A: With something as complicated as literature, descriptive genres are, of course, mostly arbitrary, and made that much more so by all the writers who are defiantly (and wonderfully) blurring the boundaries. Labels are just labels, after all.

Here at TheTorchOnline.com, we define “fantasy” broadly. In general, if it involves magic, we cover it, but we’d throw in the dragons of Pern too, even without magic, just because they’re mythical creatures. We also cover some paranormal and “otherworld”-themed projects, as well as some projects involving history-based adventure and/or palace intrigue. Most superheroes also fall under our rubric.

As I said, it’s all pretty arbitrary, and “speculative fiction” is rapidly becoming a catch-all term — although it also includes hard science fiction, outright horror and slasher, and other genres that we almost never focus on here.

Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart famously said about hard-core pornography that it was hard to define, but “I know it when I see it.”

I think the same is true of fantasy. But like hard-core pornography, what’s “fantasy” for me may not be that for someone else. Viva la difference!

Q: In 1976, I read a vast number of science fiction anthologies, and read a story about an outpost planet that only ever had one human inhabitant, but they kept going mad with the loneliness. The story was about the latest man, who was promised a solution from earth. Eventually the ship arrived, but it appeared to disappear.  The closing line of the story was the “sound of a seagull”. Any idea who wrote this, and where it could still be obtained? — Errol

A: Sadly, this is beyond even the All-Knowing, Fantasy-Question-Answering Oracle’s near-omniscience. But perhaps a reader can help us both out.

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Ask the Oracle: STAR TREK’s Transporter Technology — and Why Michael Critchon Sucks

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Q: Did the Oracle do anything interesting for Christmas? — Eddy, Seattle, WA

A: The usual: ponder the universe, contemplate destiny, and finally get a chance to play Dragon Age: Origin (amazing!).

Meanwhile, my channeler (the writer of this column and editor of this site) did absolutely nothing for the Christmas holiday, although I believe he may have played some Dragon Age too.

Q: I remember a few years ago, It’s a Wonderful Life was shown constantly on television, but this year it wasn’t. What gives? I thought the movie was now part of the public domain. Did everyone get sick of it? — MAGPIE, Toronto, Canada

A: A Christmas question? Now?!

Okay, in fairness, MAGPIE, you sent this question in before Christmas, and the site was mostly down for the holiday, so I suppose I have no choice but to answer it now.

Yes, a clerical error led to It’s a Wonderful Life’s copyright not being renewed in 1974, so the movie became part of the public domain (sort of). But the story itself is based on a short story, “The Greatest Gift,” and the copyright to that was renewed, in 1971.

In other words, the movie’s images were part of the public domain, but the story itself was not. Confused? In truth, the movie was never actually in the public domain — although the claim by the rights holders were weak for a time.

In 1993, those rights holders successfully argued in court that because they also held the rights to “The Greatest Gift,” they controlled the broadcast rights to the movie itself. From that point on, any confusion about the movie was gone.

Incidentally, Philip Van Doren Stern, the author of “The Greatest Gift” (which tells the story of a man who wants to commit suicide, but is first shown how his life would be if he had never lived) was unable to sell it, so he sent out 200 copies to his friends as a Christmas card. One of those copies made it to the RKO movie studio which bought the rights for $10,000.

Q: With Pirate Latitudes, Michael Crichton’s terrible posthumous novel, currently stinking up bookstores and bookshelves everywhere, I think it must be asked: was Crichton always a hack and we just never noticed before? — Eartha, The Earth

A: The Oracle firmly believes that Crichton always had within him the potential for great good, but also great evil — just like George Lucas and Dan Brown. Jurassic Park is a stunning page-turner of a novel with a killer hook, and the horrible-ness that is Prey and State of Fear (Crichton’s lowest points, in the Oracle’s opinion) can’t change that.

That said, when an artist produces only one or two works of greatness, usually when they’re young, and then spends the rest of his or her life producing crap, I think you can rightfully ask: where did that brief burst of greatness come from? A good editor? An exceptionally clever idea? Luck? Or did they have some sort of brain aneurysm later in life?

With Critchon (and, frankly, George Lucas), the Oracle suspects it may be all the above.

Q: One thing I’ve never understood about the Star Trek transporter: if it can be used to create duplicates (as it was TNG ’s “Second Chances” or the original series’ “The Enemy Within”) or to basically reverse aging (as it was in TNG’s “Unnatural Selection”), why would anyone ever die? Why not just store a “copy” of everyone to be downloaded in the event of death or old age? — Mark, Boston, MA

A: The Oracle agrees with you that Star Trek was mostly all over the place when it comes to transporter technology. That said, one answer to your question can be found in the question itself: the first two episodes you cite are all about the complications, ethical and otherwise, that come from having the transporter create “doubles.” So it stands to reason that, just as with human cloning, this might not be research the Federation would pursue (or even allow).

But the bigger picture is the fact that Star Trek is entertainment, and the transporter was not real technology, but just an artistic “device” they occasionally used to try to tell a good story. Yes, they had, and have, a responsibility to be as internally consistent as possible (so they don’t annoy viewers such as yourself), but their greater responsibility (far greater, in the Oracle’s opinion) is to be entertaining. Eliminate death, and the show also eliminates all dramatic tension.

It’s called “artistic license” for good reason.

The same thing applies Dungeons & Dragons. If you’ve ever played, you know there’s a type of player or dungeon master that gets hung up on the “rules” — insisting that everything must always be exactly as it is in the rule books, what with annoying “wandering monsters” and an omnipresent chance of random illness. Players such as this can quickly become insufferable, because, of course, the whole point of the game is, or should be, to have fun.

Trust me, Mark, you don’t want to be this kind of D&D player — or this kind of Star Trek viewer either.

Q: When will I get a job? When will i get married? — Amir

A: Really? Does The Oracle look like a fortune cookie to you? Do I? Do I?!

*Sigh*

Okay, whatever. You’ll get a job offer on February 13th at 3:24 PM, and you’ll marry on July 22nd, 2016. Sadly, that will end in divorce, but you’ll remarry on December 11th, 2023 and live (mostly) happily ever after.

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Ask the Oracle: The Plot of the New X-MEN and Xena’s Royal Lineage

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Q: So there’s a new X-Men movie coming. What’s the story? — Eddy, Seattle, WA

A: Here’s what the director, Bryan Singer, recently told Variety:

This is the formative years of Xavier and Magneto, and the formation of the school and where [their] relationship took a wrong turn. There is a romantic element, and some of the mutants from X-Men will figure into the plot, though I don’t want to say which ones. There will be a lot of new mutants and a great villain.

The Oracle agrees that if there was ever a franchise in need of a Star Trek-like reboot, this is it.

Q: Okay, so I’ve watched just about every episode of Xena: Warrior Princess, but I still don’t see it: how is Xena a “princess”? Her mother is the owner of a hotel, and her father is a warrior! — Maid Marion, Boise, ID

A: You’re asking the Oracle to revisit an old controversy, but here goes.

You’re right that the question of Xena’s “royalty” was originally unclear — although there’s considerable (and compelling) debate about whether the warrior Atreus is really her father. But even if Xena really is the daughter of a god, that doesn’t make her a “princess” either, does it?

But all was answered in The Debt, a two-part episode in season three (among the show’s best episode’s ever, in the Oracle’s considered opinion). In China (in a flashback), Evil Xena falls under the influence of Lao Ma, the wife of the ailing Chinese emperor (and also the acting emperor). Lao Ma becomes Xena’s mentor, eventually declaring her the kingdom’s “warrior princess” — to be a force for great good in the world.

Alas, Lao Ma is soon thwarted by her evil son Ming T’ien, and Xena falls back into her evil ways. But once she later recommits herself to the cause of good, she metaphorically reclaims the title of “warrior princess,” acting out the role that she was unable to fulfill while Lao Ma was still alive.

Q: I’m all for movie producers beefing up female roles in male-oriented classics, but there was no woman who ever bested Sherlock Holmes as in the new movie, was there? Did they invent the character of Irene out of thin air (just modern adaptations of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea always seem to invent a “daughter” for Captain Nemo?) — Marcy, Taos, NM

A: Actually, they didn’t invent Irene Adler. She’s taken from the Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes short story, “A Scandal in Bohemia,” and she is, in fact, the only women to have bested Holmes (and one of only four people total to have done so!).

In the story, Holmes is asked by a king to retrieve a compromising photograph of the monarch with Adler. He ascertains the location of the photo, but when he goes to get it, she has already taken it, leaving a letter promising that she won’t spill the beans — providing the king harasses her no more.

Anyway, Irene is American, she is beautiful, and it’s not a crazy stretch to imagine that Holmes might be in love with her, as he is in the movie. Indeed, her refers to her at least four other times out of the fifty-six short stories (and four novels) in which Holmes appears.

Watson, the narrator of the stories, refers to her as the “late” Irene Adler at one point, implying she’s dead by the time the story is published — although scholars say it’s possible he’s simply referring to the fact that she is then married, and her name is no longer “Adler.”

Q: What’s this about the Clash of the Titans remake being reshot for 3-D? — Myron, Somewhere Over the Rainbow

A: Well, additional scenes are definitely being shot next month — which is unusual (and doesn’t bode well, in the Oracle’s opinion), given the movie is scheduled to be released on March 26th.

Turning the movie into 3-D has definitely been discussed (which speaks to how 3-D is fast becoming the trend of the year — and how the industry perceives it as adding to a movie’s gross).

But given the fast turnaround, the Oracle thinks it unlikely in this case.

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Ask the Oracle: Fanatical Fantasy Fans, Exploding Eyeballs in Deep Space, and Cair Paravel!

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