When I was at Adelaide Writers Week last month, I did an extended interview with Sean Williams, who writes the Trouble Twisters series with Garth Nix. The ABC was kind enough to film the talk and put it online.
I talk about Uglies, Leviathan and the history of illustrations, living with another writer, from whence inspiration comes, my other books, and pretty much everything else writerly. It’s a whole hour long!
Hope you enjoy it. Thanks to Adelaide Writers Week for having me, to everyone who asked questions, to the ABC, and to Sean for being a great interviewer.
Here is the ABC page where you can download this as audio or video. Click here for the other talks from Adelaide Writers Week.
A few notes:
1) For you USians, note that “the ABC” (Australian Broadcasting Company) is not the same as “ABC” (American Broadcasting Company).
2) At 13:15, I meant to say “Book 2” instead of “Book 3.”
3) Justine, in the audience, is caught tweeting at 26:45.
4) My pronunciation of “manga” is weird sometimes. I’m from Texas.
5) At 36:00 I briefly confuse Miyake with Miyazaki, because I was wearing the former. #humblebrag
Now I’m singing ABC by The Jackson 5, and it’s all your fault.
@1 and now I’m singing it because of you.
I have yet to watch it, but I’m excited to! =D
Thanks for the “ABC” clarification, by the way.
Uglies movie news!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
awesome interview!
was it just me who felt really special when he mentioned his blog?
Awesome interview, Scott 😀 for some reason I always spell your name ‘scoot’…
Was I the only one who didn’t know about the bonus Goliath chapter and drawing?!? :O
I quickly looked it up and it was amazing 🙂
Hahaha Bovril in a dress XD
I wanna watch it….but it’s like 11:00 p.m. here and you said it was an hour long….I probably won’t watch it for a while now, nooooo…. (or maybe just not this week. My life is too hectic!)
But I’m sort of shocked that this post came so soon after the other one. I got so used to spending weeks on one post. hehe
@7: When you asked if Alek could get hired by the Society, that’s what I directed you to. I’m not sure if you found it or not. 😀 Sometimes I just stare at that artwork….and stare….and stare….and squee….
Quick story: I (printed out and) read the Bonus Chapter aloud to my family in Peet’s (a coffeshop in my area). It was so fun! And only about half the people there looked at me weird….I got my comment signature (that I use on DeviantART) from the Bonus Chapter. Only it’s HUGE spoilers so sometimes I can’t comment on people’s awesome artwork because they’ve only read the first book or something….But I’m never giving it up….When the Bonus Chapter was translated into Portuguese I immediately looked for that line. 😀 Someone once complemented me on the comment signature, so yay. ^^
And don’t worry, I found out there was a Bonus Chapter like a month later. I kept coming across fanart of Alek in a dress and I was like, “Huh, funny theme.” Then someone had the decency to mention it was inspired by the Bonus Chapter of Goliath and I went flying over here in a fit of near hysteria (not really but I got REALLY excited XD).
Also, since no one usually goes back to old threads:
@23(Middy Me): WHOA, really? A movie? I’m trying to imagine the Noise….
And for The Maze Runner too? Huh. I thought that was just a mediocre book. Oh well. Yes, we definitely need a Leviathan SOMETHING. Preferably a movie but I will never give up my silly les Mis-scale musical fantasies. ^^ lol
Heeeeeerreee. Go liiiisteeeeen: (There are many versions of this song, btw. Many versions.) :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hyw753tteYQ
Hope that works.
awesome interview! yay! tons of cool stuff! hehe this made my day 😀
@8 wow that’s a great song. i kind of started singing it at lunch at my friend looked at me funny. but it’s very nice.
@8- I can’t really imagine Leviathan as a musical, for some reason I can’t imagine Alek going around singing, or Volger, for that matter. It would be kind of weird, but probably hilarious…
I loved Scott’s idea that Miyazaki should make Leviathan into a film, that really would be barking awesome!!
They say the movie (Maze Runner) should be out next year. I can’t wait to see it, but I don’t really agree with the Thomas they picked. Anyway, for the Chaos Walking movie, that’s definitely gonna be cool. Hope that it’s better than the Hunger Games movie…
I couldn’t watch the video cuz I’m not on a computer, but I watched another one, here’s the link:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=related&v=si-BkLPtUxI
@9: I was singing it so much at school that I forgot the tune. O_o Because only I could possibly do that >_< Ah, Chaos Walking….
@10: I know. My musical fantasy is weird. But I came out of Les Miserables (the stage production, not movie, that I saw last summer) and I was just like, "Leviathan should be a musical!" I don't know….XD
I should look this movie up….
(But I thought the Hunger Games movie was amazing. What didn't you like?)
(Okay, I thought it was better than the book, or at least the second two books (heresy, I know) but I didn't really like being inside Katniss's head. I guess the whole thing was Katniss for me. I liked the way she was portrayed in the movie better than the book….ah please no pitchforks. ^^')
@11- now there I’m sorry to disagree with you 🙁 For me the kind of central point of the story is that Katniss tells it, and in the movie I didn’t really like the cast (Katniss is too old and Peeta is too small in size), but perhaps it’s just my imagination. I think the movie had too little plot, I guess that’s because in the book you read everything Katniss is thinking, but….well, it’s not one of my favorite movies :/
And I got 100 on my math exam!! I’m giddy happy today 🙂
Did Justine get a haircut? It looks very short in that clip! And I love the interview (: It is a lot like the book tour talks, but better because Scott-la is forced to talk about non-planned things, tehe.
-Lizzy-wa OUT! 😉
@11: I’m dying for Leviathan to be a movie! I just can’t decide if I want the full language changes with subtitles or not (since MOST of it’s in English anyway, it would be kinda cool to do that). They all have to have their proper accents, at least!!!
I wouldn’t mind it being a musical, but not like Les Miserables where they sing EVERY SINGLE WORD. I love musicals, but I couldn’t stand 3 hours of that. Plus, I think there are some golden moments that would be ruined if they sang their lines.
I love the Hunger Games, movie AND book (although admittedly I’ve only read the book once a few years ago, so I don’t remember much [and I’ve heard recently that it’s actually written rather poorly]). I’m so used to movie adaptations being a disappointments, but I saw it was like WOW. It was a fantastic film. And the beard!!! People should see the movie JUST for Seneca’s beard. 😀 The books…I didn’t like the second one much, and Mockingjay least of all. FINNICK!!! 🙁 Sam Claflin better be good! I’m so excited for the Catching Fire movie!!!
@12: Congrats!
@12: I think my problem is just entirely with Katniss. You have no idea how long it took me to get through the first chapter of The Hunger Games (years….). Once I got into it, it was okay. But isn’t every survival story a bit plotless? I didn’t like the second two as much, especially Mockingjay, because it was like Katniss’s drug-addicted descent into insanity in present first person. It was realistic, which is the argument everyone uses against me, but I didn’t want to be inside her head. I didn’t love Peeta in the movie, but he worked. I didn’t like Gale because he gave me too many Twilight feels. *gag* (The teams….) I thought Katniss was outstanding though, because I understood things in the movie that weren’t clear in the book. Like (don’t kill me please) I never got the feeling of how much Katniss actually cared about Prim in the book. She was always so cold, even in present first person. But The Hunger Games was still a fantastic book, I just like the movies better….which, like, never happens for me. Just to clarify….
Congratulations on your math exam! That is amazing. I could never do that….
@14: I liked when they sung every word. I didn’t know it was going to be like that going in, but I found I liked it. It worked once you got into, sort of like how minstrels used to sing tales (only with multiple minstrels and no great heroic adventures to be seen….). I also liked it because I see so much musical theater because of my friend who does musical theater and it always seems so cheesy to me when they suddenly break out into song. Singing the whole thing, your mind just adapted and moved on.
(I don’t think The Hunger Games was the best written book either, but it’s sort of like the opening shots of the movie. Harsh, with no texture in between, until you finally get used to it. It just doesn’t have any added frills. It’s all sharp edges. Not my favorite writing style, nor apparently of the general public if you’ve been hearing that.) I was surprised, too, because (in my opinion, Middy Me 🙂 ), it was very good. Yes, I agree that the costuming and makeup, especially for the Capitol, was incredible. I was like, “I never understood what she meant in the book until seeing this….” O_O …. ^^
Before I say anything else… NO, NO, NO!!! I won’t stand by and watch you take apart my favourite book 🙁 🙁
Firstly, if you think the books are badly written then you obviously know nothing about good books! I hate how everyone labels Mockingjay as the worst book, in my opinion it was the most realistic and brutal.
I disagree with Midshipman K and agree with Middy Me! The book was much better than the movie! But they did a good job with the movie considering how complex and book is…
What does everyone think of the Maze Runner cast? I’m not hugely impressed but I guess they’ll do. I wonder why most of them are British?
I’d cry if Leviathan was a musical. I can’t imagine anyone singing! Apart from maybe Deryn as she runs around the ratlines followed by dancing lorises.. XD
But no defs not! Who would you guys like to see cast in the Leviathan movie?! I might of said Saorise Ronan (have no idea how you spell her name) for Deryn a few years ago but I think she’s too old now! And tbh she actually doesn’t suit Deryn’s character. Alek.. hm I have no idea! If they make a movie I hope they actually cast a European actor! And for the Clankers to NOT have British accents!
Lizzy-wa, can I just say how much I love “Lizzy-wa OUT” 😉 haha
Leviathan movie! this needs to happen. maybe we could all come together and make a self-produced thing. those of us who can act would be the cast, and tech people would work the cameras and special effects… *goes off into fantasy land designing sets and costumes* barking spiders, movies cost a ton of money to produce!
I saw you at Adelaide Writer’s week and got a copy of Leviation signed. You’re my favourite author and I can’t believe I got to meet you! I was almost lost for words and snakes were slithering around in my stomach like crazy. Since then I’ve finished read Leviathan, Behemoth and Goliath. I can’t believe how much research and effort must have gone into that. It’s simply amazing. I love writing and have been to a few workshops and camps. Barking Spiders, how I wish I could go to Alpha!
@15- i don’t know, I guess for me the writing style wasn’t so bad, because (yeah, sorry to say this) it was realistic. Also, I feel like the movie could have more pieces of the story, like they just took the main structure of the story and made the movie with that. But apart from Katniss, Peeta and Gale, I agree with the rest of the cast. And well, I have to admit the makeup was cool, but I guess it didn’t live up to my expectations from readimg the book.
I agree with Zac-la!
@16- i’ve only seen the guy picked tto be Thomas, though I didn’t really picture him like that. Where did you see the cast? Do you have a link or something?
@17- man, that would be barking awesome! Movie made by fans, that is so
cool.
Hey, anyone know where Roxanne went?
Hey I’m from the US, and we aren’t that self-centered!!!
Lizzy-wa @13: Yes, her hair is short now. New author photos for both of us coming soon.
@19: I’m still here! Sorry, I got a new job a few weeks ago, and now have zero time. And what little time I do have I try to write (speaking of which: I HAVE ONLY ONE WEEK TO WRITE THE REST OF MY CHAPTER!!!) It’s nice to know I’m missed though. 🙂
@Hunger Games discussion: Am I the only one who feels like Katniss’s “feelings” for Peeta are NEVER genuine throughout the whole series? I get it was a survival tactic in the beginning, but by the end it seemed like she was just settling, even though I think she was SUPPOSED to have actually fallen for him.
As for Mockingjay, I remember getting really confused through it, and I just didn’t enjoy it as much. The first book’s idea was really gripping, I was thoroughly intrigued. Not really with Mockingjay. To sum up my feelings:
a) Even though Finnick’s death crushed me (he didn’t even get a good death scene, I sort of missed it actually), that’s not the only reason I dislike Mockingjay.
b) The movie’s amazing and I love it!!! (Seen it 3 times.)
c (most important)) I HAVEN’T READ THE BOOK IN A WHILE SO I DON’T EVEN TRUST MY OPINIONS FULLY UNTIL I GET AROUND TO REREADING!
@Leviathan discussion: I agree that Leviathan shouldn’t be a musical instead of a non-musical, period. BUT if it had to be, it wouldn’t be the worst thing. As long as it’s not Les-Mis-esque (sorry, MK, gotta disagree with you). I just want it to happen! The right way (i.e. right accents and ages, little-to-no plot changes, etc.)! Desperately!!!
OMG, we should get a petition! 😀
@16: “Firstly, if you think the books are badly written then you obviously know nothing about good books! I hate how everyone labels Mockingjay as the worst book, in my opinion it was the most realistic and brutal.” <–Whoa! Everyone's entitled to their own opinion! Don't start hating on people.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1790864/ here’s a link to TMR cast 🙂
Scott, would you answer some So Yesterday questions of mine?! Since nobody else seems to have read it on here…
@Roxanne I’m not hating on people 🙂 just voicing my opinion! Gaaaaah, I have no further comments on The Hunger Games discussion (NEGATIVE discussion)
@23- thx for the link, I’ll watch it as soon as the internet is better (somehow I can get on this page but not on any other, it gets REALLY sloooow…)
@Roxanne- I didn’t really think Katniss’s feelings were true until the very end of Mockingjay. I did feel like she was faking through the other books. I’ll agree with you on that but not about the movie. I didn’t really like it that much. I’m crossing my fingers that the second one will be better (cuz I like that book best).
Oh, and Zac-la, I’ve read So Yesterday too! You can ask me questions 🙂
Can’t guarantee my answers will be completely right, but I’ll do my best.
Ahhhhhhh….*hides* I feel like everyone hates me now….
—HUNGER GAMES DISCUSSION IS OVER—
….But, Zac-la, I like Leviathan, don’t I? Goliath is my favorite book in the whole world….And I love Lord of the Rings, and The Book Thief, and Harry Potter….and lots of things. I even thought The Maze Runner was good.
Sorry, I know this discussion is over, and I know you said you weren’t hating on anyone, but I just really can’t let that comment go because it sort of hurt. 🙁 A lot.
I guess I would’ve said similar things for LBG, though….
On a happier note, has anyone seen that screenshot of someone dissing the Harry Potter books on Facebook, saying, “Why would they write such bad books after such wonderful movies? And I think the author got lazy because there are only seven books and there are eight movies” or something like that….Then someone said something very rude back to them, then someone else took a screenshot of that and added a thing of Sherlock going, “Anderson, don’t talk out loud. You lower the IQ of the entire street.” (Because the guy’s last name was Anderson.) It was hilarious….
Yes, I did try to find a link. But apparently my sister didn’t reblog it and I spent forever searching, but couldn’t find it. *sob*
Ok waaaaait, since the Hunger Games discussion is still happenining I have to add that Katniss’ feelings for Peeta were genuine in the Catching Fire Games! And before the Games actually..
ALRIGHT I guess a apolodgy is in order. BUT I just hate seeing my best book being torn apart 🙁
Middy Me@ what did you think of So Yesterday? 🙂
@26: I guess I should apologize, too. I thought I was being critical, not mean. Blurry line, I suppose. I’m sorry.
http://fantasiavii.tumblr.com/search/epic+fail
I found the Harry Potter thing! Because did she tag it as ‘Harry Potter’ or ‘Sherlock’ of anything helpful like that? Did she have multiple tags? Of course not. She tagged it as ‘epic fail’ Sometimes my sister is annoying. >_<
@28 That is one of the greatest things I have ever seen!
@26- I just checked out the Maze Runner cast link. I have to say, it’s much better than I expected, I agree with everybody, except for Alby (looks too old), and Minho (sorta imagined him different). But everyone else is perfect! I can’t wait to see it!
And I loved So Yesterday 🙂 I found Scott’s first person writing really funny, and well, the story is pretty cool, like a theme you’d never think about but when you read about it you go like “hey, this is cool!”. I absolutely loved it.
What else can I say? It’s a Scott Westerfeld book.
@28- Man, that just made my day 😉
IDEA! We should all try and arrange like a meet up thing? And all come one at the same time? 😀 anyone?
What’s everyone currently reading? I’m reading Graceling by Kristin Cashore and OMG it’s amazing :O
Has anyone else heard of Airborn by Kenneth Oppel? It’s strangely similar to the Leviathan series! Although the airships aren’t flying whales 😉 and also the female protagonist reminds me so much of Dr Barlow! Hey I just realised Dr Barlow and Dr Cable… what would they do if they met?
@30 ahhh yes exactly my thoughts! Now I look at everything and try and decide whether it’s ‘cool’ or not! I liked Jen and Hunter, they were awesome characters 😀
My favourite part had to be the Poo-Sham ad! “Lack of ram with keys and parrots”ahahahahaha
@31: That would be so cool and incredibly difficult, but I’m willing to give it a try. 🙂
I LOVE Graceling! Such a good book….Have you read the others? I haven’t read Bitterblue yet….
YESYESYES I have Airborn, but I haven’t read it yet. At the time that I got it, it was just too weird for me to process non-living flight. XD stkidd on dA did some genderbending art for Leviathan and Airborn, but she recently put most of her old artwork in storage so I don’t think it’s there anymore….:(
Back to WWII notes. Thank goodness it doesn’t exist in the Leviathan universe….
Firstly we have to figure out the time difference, it’s 8:45pm here in New Zealand.
YOU’VE READ GRACELING! Haven’t read the others yet but I’m nearly finished the first book. Can I just say how much I love Katsa, like wow.
You need to read Airborn! Oh wow that would be amazing seeing Airborn and Leviathan merged!
@31- a meetup! Barking spiders, that would be awesome! It would be kinda complicated, like Mid. K said, but it would definitely be cool 🙂
I’m currently rereading the InkWorld trilogy, and I’m about two thirds into Inkspell. I’m amazed by how much I don’t remember about the story…
And after that I’ll probably read A Study In Scarlet. I’ve been sort of obsessed with Sherlock Holmes ever since I saw the Sherlock series 😛
And well, I haven’t read either Graceling or Airborn…what is Airborn about?
@28 that so made my day! haha!
@31 it would be so awesome if we could all do a meetup! coming on at the same time though, would that make Westerblog freeze up? still that sound like so much fun. currently reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. my reading teacher crowds out all opportunities to read stuff we actually ENJOY. if i could i’d read Divergent it sounds good.
I think Graceling is such a great book, but everybody I’ve introduced to it has thought it was only ‘alright’. I’ve read the other ones too, but Graceling is still my favorite. I’ve read Airborn too, but it was such a long time ago I’ve forgotten much of it (don’t the protagonists freak out at on point on an island when they hear hissing and think it’s a snake, but it turns out to be hydrogen?)
@34 I started read the canon after I first watched Sherlock too. And when I went back and researched it, I kept see all sorts of little references. You can really tell the writers really like the originals stories. I do too, for that matter.
@31
i’ve read Airborne! and the rest of that series.
i also thought it was a ton like leviathan. Airborne was good, but I didn’t like the other two books as much.
I’ve seen Graceling around bookstores and such but never read it….
and the meet up would be awesome!
WE ALL KEEP MISSING EACH OTHER
I just finished Cinder and I loved it! Super original. Kinda reminded me of leviathan with all the mechanical stuff.
@36- yeah, the adaptation from books to TV is really good. I too keep seeing small references to the stories, which is really cool. Also, Benedict C. Is an absolutely awesome Sherlock!
Helloooo…..anyone?
Y U NOT POST ANYTHING SCOTT?!
How’s everyone doing? 🙂
So we need to sort out this meet up! But you could be right, would the blog crash? :O
@34 I meant to read A Study in Scarlet but never got round to it! I read the whole Young Sherlock Holmes series which is utterly amazing! Check it out if you like Sherlock Holmes!
@36 I’m going to start Fire today, what’s better out of the other two?
And the protagonists think it’s hydrium not hydrogen haha but to be fair they’d been kidnapped and chased by pirates…
@37 The second Airborn book (Skybreaker) was actually my favourite! The last one wasn’t bad either.
@39 Hello 😉
@40 – I’ve heard of the Young SH series, but I’ve never read them. I’ll check them out, though I would like to read the original stories first 🙂
And you’re definitely right. The meet-up! I don’t think the blog would crash, but maybe it would get slow. We would just need to sort out the time zones, and the date, because for some reason the date on the blog post is always wrong. We could do it on a weekend, no?
@41: It says quite clearly under “Leave a Reply” that: “Comments are stamped with Australian Eastern Standard Time.” Hence, the always being wrong. I’m sure it’s only a couple of hours off for Zac-la, am I right?
Ahhhh. I’ve been gone for so long. I don’t really want to put the effort into finding who said what because I’m tired….I was at my friend’s quinceanera from 12:30 to 10:30 yesterday. Rehearsal (aahhh my calves) then dresses (and her dress was barking amazing) then the actual thing….then folklorico which I sat out of. She tried to teach us the basic step, but her dress was so big we couldn’t see her feet and when we ballet people did figure it our we had the hardest time keeping up the rhythm….then more dancing…. My feet hurt so much right now.
ANYWAY.
The meet up….It might crash the blog. It depends on how many people are doing it. I know when I was getting into the Beta version of Pottermore we had to wait until 4:00 am to get in, despite it opening for the one million beta at mignight because so many people were trying to get in. The same thing happens on the last day to apply for the UC system (University of California for those of you who aren’t in the US :D).
I’ve read The Hound of the Baskervilles and a few short stories from the Adventures, but not all of canon Sherlock yet. I intend to, though. I find it kind of amusing that there’s so much published Sherlock stuff by other authors because technically it’s fanfiction. (However, while I find it amusing for Sherlock, our clever detective is classic and the author is dead and, sure, there’s even technical fanfiction for Shakespeare, I do not approve of Fifty Shades. Moving on….) There’s a whole bookshelf in this independent bookstore in Rockridge called Dark Carnival dedicated to Sherlock Holmes (but it’s a SF/F bookstore….huh.) There’s also a shelf dedicated to Star Trek, and Tolkien, and it’s heaven in there. And guess what? When we first went there with my friend, she asked where the W section was and disappeared….And when I saw her outside reading after I got a book, do you know what she was reading? Goliath. 😀 That was the day she told me I HAD to read these books and here I am…. (Slightly ashamed for picking up Leviathan so many times but not buying it. But I’m here now!) Anyway, I suppose I owe that bookstore. A lot. (It’s such a little hole-in-the-wall fire hazard. I love it. Books crammed into shelves! Books on the floor! Books to the ceiling! <3)
I didn't know Airborn was part of a series. Huh. I would say I'd go read it, but in reality that probably won't happen until school ends. 🙁 So much to do. I hate how the weather gets all warm and summery and all you want to do is sit around and read but at the same time everyone starts throwing finals and STAR tests and AP tests and end of the year projects at you. Why….
@40, well, I haven’t read Airborn in the last five years, so you’ll have to forgive me. Personally, I liked Graceling better, but Fire’s still good. It’s interesting additional knowledge.
Hey, Zac-la, you’re on Goodreads, right? Does that only exist so the majority of people in this world have a bullying outlet? I don’t think YOU would do this, but when I was looking at some of my favorite books (Leviathan included), just to see what people said….wow. There are so many more hateful reviews than good. I don’t mean bad reviews, I mean hateful. I was sort of astounded. I mean, couldn’t people be more civil? Leviathan had sort of an even mix, but stuff like City of Bones, which I expected to have millions of dull good reviews because it’s so popular it’s redundant, but….It had the most hateful reviews. It’s like the majority of people on there only care about saying what they don’t like than what they do. Why are people so negative….?
I’m going to go hug Leviathan now because it’s so much better than what everyone is saying*….O_o
*And try to keep myself in a shocked daze so I don’t build up the urge to strangle people for talking about Deryn and Alek like that….
(I should meditate lol: “Everyone is entitled to their own opinion….om….”)
@40
I dont really remember the second one! The reason I disliked the third one was because there was a bunch of weird space creatures and lights flying and awkward love triangles, and by the end i was just kinda like…. whaaaaaaa?
Middy Me 4@ your first comment on this post, did Scott say something about the Uglies movie that I missed or were you just asking for news?
No, this Australian time thing seems quite off to New Zealand but I’ll check the time when I post this. YES, it would need to be on the weekend, oh what a shame we just had one!
Fifty Shades is actually a fanfiction for Twilight, am I right? I haven’t read that book and don’t intend to… Gah, if only Scott would actually reply to our comments! I’d like to know his opinion on a handful of books…
@45 ahh yes all the negative comments shocked me when I first came on Goodreads! But tbh I’m used to them now and actually enjoy reading them 😉
But I never read the bad ones about books I actually like!
I never post reviews because I can’t be bothered and never have time 🙁
(carrying on) wait ok I hate some of the negative reviews BUT the reviews for books I hate are interesting to read 😛
And like I said, I ignore the hateful ones for books I actually like otherwise I’d want to attack my computer screen and send digital punches and kicks!
@47- yeah, Scott said that a visual effects studio was taking an interest in Uglies, and that they’ve done the effects for a ton of movies. He said they were working on the uglie-prettie transformation ad were going to put out some “test shots” or something soon.
Any more news on that, Scott?
It’s not exactly movie news but saying “Ugkies visual effects news!!!” seemed a little weird 😛
…. Didn’t Scott-la declare the bonus chapter 100% canon? Now he’s saying that it’s up to the fans to decide for him/herself. YOU CANNOT RETRACT! It’s canon!
@51 in my opinion, if it’s written by the original author, it’s canon. Of course, there could be exceptions and additiona, but thst’s my basic guideline. Plus, no retractions!
Okay, I have to ask: since I’m so out of the loop/lingo, what is “canon”?
@51: It’s canon! It’s canon! It’s canon! I can’t imagine Deryn and Alek without it….
@49: You’re making me daydream about Weta picking it up….(Or is it WETA? I never know these things….)
@47&48: I should do that. Not read the bad ones for books I like, that is. The only thing that makes me mad anymore….lol.
By the way, Leviathan is number 177 on the list of books 32,000 people voted should be made into movies! (There were like 12,560 books….) (I was just randomly looking at stuff on Goodreads….) (Yay Leviathan!)
@53 canon is (this is my acquired definition, someone correct me if I’m wrong) to original version of a work. The printed book, the aired tv show. The thing all fanfictions, distracted musings, and rambling daydreams are are based off of when they’re related to a published work.
@55: So…you don’t think it’s canon?
@56 no, I do think the bonus chapter is canon; it was written by Scott. Sorry to be so confusing.
@57: Oh okay. 🙂
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSwNFVjCquU too tired to reply, I’ll do it tomorrow. Someone said something about WETA and I was surprised you’d heard about it! That link is a short film they did oh wait, someone from NZ anyway but it screams Leviathan to me!
@59: I know about WETA because of LotR. <3
@59: Whoa, that video was sufficiently weird. But I can see what you mean. 🙂
HELLOSSSSSS EVERYBODY I DIDN’T MISS YOU well its not that I didn’t miss you I just haven’t been on here in a while bleh and I didn’t really think about you guys I’M SOOOOOORRY so hiiii
Ok, I’m sorry. Perhaps I’m supposed to but I don’t know what WETA is. Could somebody help me out?
And I think the Bonus Chapter is half canon and half fan fiction. Except in this case it would be author fiction 🙂
Hey Midshipman K! Guess what? It’s kind of like Alpha is an airship, and we’re both middies on it. So this is pretty neat. You can feed the flechette bats, and I’ll run altitude drills. 🙂
I just drew a picture of Jeff the Killer. I think it turned out good. :3
^
|
|
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Random stuffs.
@64: Just give me the figs. 😉
@63: Oh, well I found out about WETA through Lord of the Rings bonus features (that I used to know as well as the movies….). They’re like a special effects company of something. >_< Gosh, I don't really know. Someone help me. My understanding is that they got really big from LOTR. I saw their name in the end credits of Avatar….(the one with the blue people. Does anyone remember what that was actually about?)
Ne parlons pas de l'amour. Parlons de Paris. Je suis a Paris avec la moindre chose que vous faites.
@65: I'm random too! Just practicing my French….I keep learning random phrases in French that will probably not help me when I do go to France. (Me: awkward Spanish person hanging around with my sister's class. XD) I have been reliably informed that I speak French with a Spanish accent. I can't even speak SPANISH with a Spanish accent. What is wrong with me….?
I am the random girl who will go to the Concordat and scream, "Je peux voir du sang sur les paves!" XD
(If I was as half as funny as I thought I was I would be twice as funny as I am.)
(I steal humor from books.)
Now I see ‘ABC’ and I think of the ABC Cafe. Les Mis is attacking my brain cells….
Weta Workshop isn’t just a effects company, they also do costumes, sets, weapons and just about everything else to make a movie! They’ve done Avatar, District 9, Tintin, LOTR, The Hobbit, Narnia andddddd The Lovely Bones. I actually went to Weta last year and got a tour with one of the artists who works there! Ahhhhhhhh, it was awesome 🙂 and I think Weta would be the right people to make Leviathan!
@68 whoa i didn’t know WETA was so cool! that’s so awesome that you got a tour. what’s it look like?
i must lament: my school isn’t offering German to my grade next year!!!! 🙁 i was going to walk into class quoting LBG probably. and i actually wanted to take that class! i got Italian. at least it’s pretty-sounding….
@66 & 68- Wow! WETA definetely sounds like they could do Leviathan. I was kinda surprised I hadn’t heard from them, with all the movies they’ve done, but I guess it’s just that I always stop watching when the credits start 🙂
@66- Avatar! It’s been a while since I’ve seen it, but it’s awesome. It’s about humans going to another planet and trying to establish a relation between human and the blue people, so they start making these “avatars” of humans, but that look like those blue people. In the end it turns into a full-blown war, but the story’s cool, and the special effects are really awesome.
@68: Thank you! Though I worship them for LOTR’s sake, I’m sadly ignorant to their true purpose. >__<
I am confused. That comment that was just posted up their was like a twelfth of what I actually said. Sometimes these things get cut off for no apparent reason. I don’t think I was even rambling this time. O_o?
Okay then.
Zac-la: YOU ARE SO LUCKY YOU GOT A TOUR!!!! I want one…. They must do Leviathan!
@69: My school doesn’t offer German either. Or Italian. 🙁 We have Spanish, French, ASL (American Sign Language), and Mandarin. And we can’t take two languages at once….Not that we would really have the space for it. My school is messed up and doesn’t have a block schedule so while most of my friends at other schools have like eight class a year, I have six. 🙁
@70: My family just sits through the credits. Because we’re weird like that. I don’t usually read them, but I do notice WETA, usually. If they’re in the credits. Then I like scream and anyone else it the theater is like, “What in blazes….?”
Although, sitting through the credits for LOTR Extended Editions is not suggested. You’ll be there for like ten minutes for the fan club alone. My sister and I have done it. Several times. Sometimes it’s cool though, because you see people with the name Faramir or Elrond. 😀 True story.
Thanks. ^^ I remember liking it, but then it just sort of faded from my mind.
It’s been almost 2 weeks, when are the Pretties pictures going to be released?when I heard that, I almost exploded!
Okay, I know we are long past this subject, but I’ve FINALLY finished season 3 of Merlin. 😀 Just 2 more (although who knows when season 5 will come on Netflix?)!
(\ /)
( . .)
c(“)(“) This is bunny copy and paste bunny to help him gain world domination
And I finally watched this interview! It’s super awesome. I love how much time was spent on Leviathan. 😀
@74 & 76: Yay! But I don’t know when season 5 is coming out on Netflix. I hope it does over the summer, though, because then I could just sit there and watch it. 😀 And at this point I’ll have to wait until the summer to watch the interview. Technically I should not be here right now. I have a ginormous research project to do. I am the queen of procrastination. >_<
We should start a hash tag thing to try and get Scott to show us the photos! How about #PRETTYPICTURES ?
Could we at least have a time frame Scott-la?! Are they coming out this month or next year or never? 🙁
we want Pretty Pictures! we should totally do this Zac-la i’m with you.
#PrettyPicturesPLZ
I bought the Pretties graphic novel! YAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!! ITS SO BUBBLY!!!!!!!! 😀
2P!talia2P!talia2P!talia2P!talia2P!talia2P!talia2P!talia2P!talia2P!talia2P!talia2P!talia2P!talia2P!talia2P!talia2P!talia2P!talia2P!talia2P!talia \(^-^)/
that was one failed emoticon…
#PRETTYPICTURES
(By the way, why a hashtag? I know they show up when you tag something on tumblr, but I don’t know why they’ve appeared everywhere else. People use them when speaking now….And when did it become a hashtag? I thought it was called a number symbol or a pound symbol. Sorry for the questions, but I have been wondering this forever because I have 0 internet presence. Sort of. I’m just very ignorant….)
I KNO ME TOO I thought # was the number sign and everyone in my class is all like HASHTAG (insert random something here) and I’m like =.= “hash-tag? what is this hash-tag you talk about?” They looked at me like i’d been living under a rock for the past few years…
I have no idea either about this hashtag thing. Usually I see them on the internet, like on Twitter, but I’ve never figured them out. I don’t really know what they’re there for. And also I’ve never heard anyone speak like that, so my ignorance on this just gets bigger 🙂
You can look at me as if I’ve been living under a rock too
@84&85: At least I’m not the only one. ^^’ I just sort of tolerate it now. Mostly I’m just like, “Leave it for typing, guys.” People around me seem to think it makes any random phrase funny. Especially in P.E., which is just weird. “Hashtag catch the ball!” or something. The one really funny think I heard someone talk about was naming someone Hashtag (cruel, but amusing, when you think about it). Anyway…. >_< XD
(Why am I on here? I have some much homework.)
(Haha I'm one here because of muscle memory.)
(Every time I open the internet, this is the first place I go.)
(I have mixed feelings about muscle memory.)
(Especially in ballet class.)
Ok lets leave out the hashtag, PRETTYPICTURES
Anyone still on here? I’ve been snowed under with schoolwork 🙁
I’m here. Though now I’ve gotta go do math homework. Now for some reason the teacher decided that our work would all be on a website. It’s kind of weird. I need the problems on paper so I can solve them! But whatever, at least it’s not a lot 🙂
@87: haha okay. Didn’t mean to cause a riot. I was just wondering. lol
PRETTYPICTURES
“Snowed under.” I like that. 🙂 Is there such thing as being hurricaned under?
YEEEESSSS ALL THE GIRLS IN MY CLASS HAVE NOW JOINED THE UGLIES FANDOM!!!!!! I keep saying “I READ UGLIES BEFORE IT WAS COOL!!!” cuz I read the series when I was in 6th grade and we’re all in 7th now…but better late than never, right?
I went into the IMDB site (or IMBD, I never know) the other day and there was this article about the top 80 YA books to be made into movies, and Uglies was there! It was around the 50th place, and there was nothing about it, but it was there! 🙂
@91 YAY! Uglies Movie!!! 😀
@91: Cool!
And it is IMDB because it’s International Movie Database. 🙂
@93- Oh, right. Thanks for clearing that up 🙂
@93: It’s not INTERNATIONAL Movie Database, it’s INTERNET Movie Database. 😀
Why is it that every time I need to use the computer for school work I end up on here? D:
@89 I have no idea haha we don’t get hurricanes in New Zealand! And we don’t even get snow in my city.. 🙁
@90 Woah 6th grade? Does that mean you were 11 when you read Uglies?
I actually have no idea how school systems work in other countries! Here for your last three years at high school you do Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3. Recently I found out that in other countries there’s only two level’s or something o.o
PRETTYPICTURES!!!!!!!!!!
@90 oh and Middy Joe you said all the GIRLS in your class? Am I the only guy that read Uglies…? :l
I don’t get why most guys only like reading books (if at all) with male protagonists? I actually prefer female protagonists 🙂
@97: Because they consider that unmanly. Female authors, “girly” covers, and female protagonists all constitute “girl books” to most males, and they are either embarrassed to read them or scorn them for being feminine (which, most of the time, they’re not). I just recently read a few interesting articles on this subject.
Shannon Hale’s excellent post: http://shannonhale.tumblr.com/post/27853826082/why-boys-dont-read-girls-sometimes#_=_
And Maureen Johnson’s Coverfilp challenge (and post that goes with it): http://www.huffingtonpost.com/maureen-johnson/gender-coverup_b_3231484.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/07/coverflip-maureen-johnson_n_3231935.html?1367956789
It’s so true about the covers. I swear I’ve SEEN some of those books in the stores, lol.
I could’ve sworn there was another article I read, but I can’t remember…hope I helped!
@97: It’s because they think it’s unmanly. Female authors, “girly” covers, female protagonists, all constitute “girl books” to most guys. It makes them embarrassed to read them or scorn them because they’re feminine (though a lot of the time they aren’t). I actually just read some articles on the subject. I could’ve sworn I read four or five, but I can only remember two (oops):
Shannon Hale’s excellent post: http://shannonhale.tumblr.com/post/27853826082/why-boys-dont-read-girls-sometimes#_=_
And Maureen Johnson’s Coverflip challenge (which is SO accurate, unfortunately): http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/07/coverflip-maureen-johnson_n_3231935.html
It’s all really interesting, and I hope I helped!
I think I know why Scott isn’t posting anything. On the last post he said that he was turning off his internet from May 3 to 10. I was going to write some
“Scott!! Post something!!” Kind of comment, but no I realize it wouldn’t have been any good 🙂 I am a Dummkopf
Oh well, let’s hope he posts something soon, anyway
So I know this post does NOT pertain to the ‘Uglies’ series..
However, I am an extreme! fan of those books.
I have noticed that there has not been an update on them since 2010, which brings me to my question:
What’s the latest news on that?
I have heard that the option has been cancelled because the producer moved out of the country..
But my sources are not the most trustworthy.
Scott, I just want to know what is up with the series and if there is any more talk on when a movie will be released?
@95: Really? Now I feel like a Dummkopf. I was so sure I had it right this time. I only learned about its existence last year at CalShakes Conservatory, so….Thanks. 🙂
@96: I have the same problem….Or is it a problem?
I don’t get hurricanes or snow. 🙁 And if there was a tidal wave in my area or anything like that, the Golden Gate Bridge would protect us, as weird as that sounds. People used to talk about it a lot. The bridge would be destroyed, but most of the bay would be okay. Unless the wave didn’t hit the bridge directly, I guess….But we have had two big earthquakes, in 1906 and 1989 (I think). Anyway, we’re pretty low on natural disasters and interesting weather here.
My school system is goes from kindergarten to first grade, then that continues onto middle school. Middle school here is grades 6-8, but if you go to a junior high school, that’s grades 7-8. High school is grades 9-12. Then college.
(Is it just me or is ‘kindergarten’ totally a German word?)
@98: I agree.
PRETTYPICTURES
Okay, so this is the third time posting this comment, but the other two are “awaiting moderation.” Probably because I posted links. 🙁
Let’s try again.
@97: It’s because they’re unmanly. Female authors, “girly” covers, and female protagonists all constitute “girl book” to most guys, so they either embarrassed to read them, or scorn them for being feminine (which, most of the time, they’re not).
I actually just read a few articles on the subject. It’s really interesting. Shannon Hale’s “Why Boys Don’t Read Girls (Sometimes)” post is good. So is Maureen Johnson’s, along with her awesome coverflip challenge, in which people design covers for popular books if they were written by the opposite gender. You all should Google these, because apparently I can’t post links without it taking DAYS to approve.
Hope I helped! 🙂
@101 “kindergarten” is purely German. the word Kind means child, and kinder as a noun is children. i think it can also be like an adjective, used as kinder(insert word here) making it child’s- or children’s-. garten is easy, that’s garden. i’m not sure why whoever named the grade levels chose to call it “children’s garden”, but English is just plain weird at times.
and also you live near the Golden Gate Bridge? that’s cool! of course i live on the complete opposite coast so i’ve never been there. not much travel.
@101- it’s so cool that you live near the Golden Gate. I actually went to San Francisco last year, it’s such a cool city.
Where I live we don’t get much natural disasters either. The city’s surrounded by mountains, so they’re supposed to protect us, although when a hurricane DID come around about two years ago they didn’t do us much good. In fact, some of the most damaged places are still being cleared up. It’s just that we have a river that runs through most of the city, but it’s dry, and when the hurricane came it flooded, destroying nearly everything that was in or near the river. It was awful, but kind of amazing seeing how water can have so much power.
Apart from that one, I don’t think any other disasters have happened in like 20 years or something.
@103: See, that’s what I was thinking. I was like, “Hmm, this sounds a lot like the German word for children….” But my German cannot be trusted; I know very little. Thanks. 😀
Well, I live in the south bay. The Bay Area is huge. There’s lots of us here. 😀 San Francisco itself is actually pretty small, or so I’ve heard. It just has a lot more culture and history than the rest of us. There is literally no space between cities….But yeah, Golden Gate. The most popular place in the world to commit suicide. Smiles all around. XD …. [i’m not funny >_<]
I’m so jealous of you guys being all cool and knowing different languages! All I know is English (woop woop, go English!) and about 7 words in Maori… 🙁
I’m going to sound totally dumb say say I have NOOOOO idea what the Golden Gate is :O
K I actually did know what it is!
@106&107: You are amazing! It’s so refreshing to meet someone who has no idea what this thing is, lol. So, basically it’s a bridge across the mouth of the San Francisco bay. If you go look at a map of California, you’ll notice the bay; it’s hard to miss. It connects San Francisco to Marin County. It’s painted “international orange”; basically bright orange. It’s name apparently comes from the strait it crosses, Golden Gate Strait. I didn’t even know that had a name until I decided to verify a few things and went on the bridge’s website. I’d previously thought it’s name had something to do with the gold rush (when everyone ran over to California to get gold XD). Maybe the strait does? Or was I just under some weird delusion?
Anyway, it’s like the landmark of California (other than the Hollywood sign, I guess). It’s also an extremely popular place to plunge to death. The most popluar, last I heard. Sorry, but it’s true.
Here’s the info I was looking at if you want more detail:
http://goldengatebridge.org/research/facts.php#Name
And you can just google ‘the golden gate bridge’ and hit pictures and get a million, so, yeah….
It’s a bridge. 😀
@105 my dad took German in school for a year so he’s passed on a little basic vocab to me. i’m not fluent or anything but i can stumble my way through.
@106 that’s so cool that you know Maori! where did you even learn something like that?
ME ON CLEVERBOT: (invades vital regions)
CLEVERBOT: Prussia has invaded Austria’s vital regions.
ME: HOLY SHIZ THIS THING REALLY IS CLEVER….
This actually happened. NO FREAKING JOKE.
I am in the same room as you middy joe!!!!!!!!!!!:3
HOLY SH*T YOU CREEPER
OMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMGOMG!!!!!!!!!!!! Summer is almost here and I have promised myself I would finish Specials by the end of the school year. We only have 16 days left and I am on chapter 10!!!!!!!!!:0
READ!READ!READ!READ!READ!
I’m bored.
ANYONE HERE?! HELLOOOOOOOO?! CAN YOU HERE ME; IS THIS THING ONNNNNNNNNN?!
*teeeheee*
ME: Gerita.
CLEVERBOT: Alfred loves Arthur.
ME: ????? No, Alfred loves Matthew.
CLEVERBOT: Okay.
I love Cleverbot!!!
ME: France is sexy.
CLEVERBOT: Francis Bonnefoy is scary!
…-_- No. Just no.
What the heck is CLEVERBOT?
@108 I googled the bridge just after I posted that comment and realised I did in fact know what it was! I just didn’t know its name… It looks more red than orange to me! Haha
@109 well it’s the second official language here in New Zealand 🙂
Some of the words (greetings, thank you’s) are spoken in everyday conversation. Kia Ora <— daz hello
@118: Hehe okay. It does look rather red, I suppose. But not at all gold.
And I’m with you: what is CLEVERBOT?
I don’t really know how to explain cleverbot. But it definitely is funny!
@Liz
You are an EXTREME fan?! (Sorry, I just read all the comments TODAY. I am so late) I am an EXTREME fan tooooooooo!! they are just the best books on the whole entire planet ( except for the Leviathan series. I am also an EXTREME Levia-fan)
i was rereading Goliath today for the ninth time.
I JUST LOVE IT SO MUCH I DONT EVEN KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH MYSELF.
REMEMBER THE GOOD OLD DAYS, RIGHT BEFORE IT CAME OUT?
There was a new blog post everyday, and fan art friday was actually a thing.
There were always like a million people on here at once so we could have awesome comment conversations.
i spent so much time on here that I seriously got no homework done.
but i didnt even care because it was so awesome here.
good times.
that said, i also really support Scott’s no wi-fi thing.
AMERICAS YOUTH IS BEING POISONED.
and by americas youth…. i mean myself and all my friends.
I looked up Cleverbot and spent an hour talking to it! Uggghhh, I want to beat this thing haha
Hellooooooooooooo? Anyone else out there in cyber world or is it just me?
Mr. Scott Westerfeld,
Me and many others would like to present to you an argument. You are no doubt a literary genius and have written many amazing books, but lately we’ve been missing something. Fan Art Friday. We loved seeing all the beautiful art your fans sent to you, and it all disappeared after the publishing of The Manual of Aeronautics. Please, please bring back our beloved Fan Art Friday.
Sincerely,
Middy Joe and All Your Admiring Fans
Middy Joe @126
I would ‘like’ that if this was facebook 😛 but I AGREE WITH YOU!! We’re lucky to get even get a post from Scott let alone FAF…
Middy Joe: I agree!!!
I miss FAF and the posts there used to be every week and everything.
Scott! Where are you?
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