Interview with I AM NUMBER FOUR’s Callan McAuliffe
Interview with Callan McAuliffe
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH FLIPPED’S CALLAN MCAULIFFE
Here at Ones2Watch4, we’re always on the lookout for fresh, talented new faces, and 15-year-old Callan McAuliffe is no exception.
I hear you’re currently working on a film called I Am Number Four. (Callan co-stars in the film alongside fellow One2Watch4 Alex Pettyfer).
I am. In Pittsburgh.
How is that going? Can you tell us a little bit more about the film and the character you play in it?
Well, I can’t divulge too much information, but it’s going fantastic. I play a character called Sam, and it’s a classic, alien sci-fi modern day film. I think people will really enjoy it. It’s loads of fun. It’s definitely a stretch from Flipped as well. It’s good to get a bit of contrast in [my] career, so I’m not typecast.
In the future, is there any sort of specific role that you’d like to pursue?
I would love to have a film with Johnny Depp. He’s my role model. If there’s anyone I look up to, it’s Johnny Depp. Just the diversity of his roles is fantastic.
Bohemian Rhapsody In Sign Language While Driving
Jack White Goes Off
Dead Weather front man Jack White blows up at ‘hip motherf-ers’ at concert
Bedder/Getty
Jack White of Dead Weather unleashes fury at his audience Wednesday night.
– Too cool to let your freak flag fly? Then stay out of Jack White‘s audience. The Dead Weather front man unleashed some breathtakingly funny abuse on the star-studded but tight-assed crowd at Don Hill‘s Wednesday night when they didn’t respond to the hot licks he and the band were laying down.
“F- you, you hip motherf-ers!” White screamed at the audience, which included Liv Tyler, rock royalty Alexandra Richards, Shaun White and Mary-Kate Olsen. “Why don’t you rock the f- out?! Maybe I should go grab those free drinks and shove them down your throats, you hip motherf-ers!”
After the outburst, which one concertgoer tells us elicited an eye roll from Olsen, the red-hot White stopped the show midset to insult and throw out a guy in the front row who’d been taking photos.
By the end of the concert, White had calmed down enough to offer an apology. “I’m sorry I blew up at you guys earlier,” he told the audience. “Thanks for coming out.”
I AM NUMBER FOUR – In Stores Today
The Legend Ray Bradbury Speaks of God, Love and Science Fiction
Sci-fi legend Ray Bradbury on God, ‘monsters and angels’
By John Blake, CNN
August 2, 2010 12:33 p.m. EDT
Ray Bradbury turns 90 this month, but his house, which is filled with stuffed animals and toys, looks like a playhouse.
(CNN) — Ray Bradbury lives in a rambling Los Angeles home full of stuffed dinosaurs, a tin robot pushing an ice cream cart, and a life-sized Bullwinkle the Moose doll lounging in a cushioned chair.
The 89-year-old science fiction author watches Fox News Channel by day, Turner Classic Movies by night. He spends the rest of his time summoning “the monsters and angels” of his imagination for his enchanting tales.
Bradbury’s imagination has yielded classic books such as “Fahrenheit 451,” “The Martian Chronicles” and 600 short stories that predicted everything from the emergence of ATMs to live broadcasts of fugitive car chases.
Bradbury, who turns 90 this month, says he will sometimes open one of his books late at night and cry out thanks to God.
“I sit there and cry because I haven’t done any of this,” he told Sam Weller, his biographer and friend. “It’s a God-given thing, and I’m so grateful, so, so grateful. The best description of my career as a writer is, ‘At play in the fields of the Lord.’ ”
Bradbury’s stories are filled with references to God and faith, but he’s rarely talked at length about his religious beliefs, until now.
‘Joy is the grace we say to God’
He describes himself as a “delicatessen religionist.” He’s inspired by Eastern and Western religions.
The center of his faith, though, is love. Everything — the reason he decided to write his first short story at 12; his 56-year marriage to his muse and late wife, Maggie; his friendships with everyone from Walt Disney to Alfred Hitchcock — is based on love.
Bradbury is in love with love.
Hefty I AM NUMBER FOUR Excerpt Available
EXCLUSIVE: A Hefty ‘I Am Number Four’ Excerpt Is Now Online
Posted 7/26/10 1:18 pm ET by Adam Rosenberg in News
I read “I Am Number Four” a few weeks ago and it was a delightful experience. There’s been a rush on to find the next “Harry Potter,” the next “Twilight,” the next big ongoing adult-and-child-friendly literary series, and here we have one of the strongest contenders I’ve seen. “Number Four” shifts away from the fantasy seen in “Potter” and “Twilight,” looking instead to another genre which is particularly well-suited to epic storytelling: science fiction. The tale is credited to author Pittacus Lore, an alien life form who, along with a small group of others, escaped the destruction of his homeworld by a malevolent race, the Mogadorians.
Like “Harry Potter,” “I Am Number Four” succeeds by slowly introducing you to its unique universe, learning about the lost planet of Lorien and its culture through the eyes of a young man who escaped the destruction. The first book (oh yeah, it’s a series) ends with some key questions answered, but many new ones raised. It hits stores on August 3, with an adaptation starring Alex Pettyfer arriving in theaters early next year.
The first nine chapters, roughly 20% of the book, have been dropped into a PDF for a quick and easy download at this link. Just right-click (or Ctrl-click on a Mac) and select Save Target As to capture the file.
More Class Action Idiots
Apple Faces Class Action Suit Because iPad Not Like Book
Apple is a facing a class action lawsuit in California from consumers who feels that Apple’s claim that “reading on the iPad is just like reading a book,” is false.
Follow this link to read the complaint in PDF form. It was filed last week claiming that because the iPad overheats after prolonged use and its poor visibility in sunlight prevent it from living up to Apple’s marketing promise.
From the complaint: “Indeed, according to the www.apple.com website, ‘[r]eading on iPad is just like reading a book.’ However, contrary to this promise, using the iPad is not ‘just like reading a book’ at all since books do not close when the reader is enjoying them in the sunlight or in other normal environmental environments. This promise, like other portions of APPLE’s marketing material for the iPad, is false.”
Via Consumerist.
[ copied in full from MediaBistro – sorry, but we love you ]
The Girls Of NUMBER FOUR
‘I Am Number Four’ EXCLUSIVE: Director Details Alex Pettyfer And Dianna Agron’s Roles
Posted 7/29/10 10:26 am ET by Terri Schwartz in Crush Exclusive!, Hot Stuff, Movie News,Movies, Page Turners
With “Beastly” bumped back to March 18, 2011, the release date jumble leaves its stars in an interesting predicament. Now “Beastly” will be coming out a week before Vanessa Hudgens‘ other starring vehicle, “Sucker Punch,” and Alex Pettyfer will have been first known for “I Am Number Four,” which he signed on to after “Beastly” but which is expected to be released February 2011.
“I’d be lying to you if I didn’t tell you I was more excited that we were coming out first,” director D.J. Caruso admitted to MTV in an exclusive interview. “The thing I like about Alex is that, first of all, he’s this really dynamic, interesting, good-looking kid. But the most important element for me is that there’s this real vulnerability. It’s rare; you can see that, though there’s a confidence there, there’s a little bit of a pain that we can [relate to].
Alex will be starring opposite another high school musical star: Dianna Agron (pictured, left) of “Glee,” who D.J. said is bringing a whole new persona to her character, Sarah. He said that, “totally against what she does on ‘Glee,’ [Dianna] is playing this sweet all-American girl who’s a photographer in a small Midwestern town.”
And then there’s the film’s other leading lady, Teresa Palmer (“The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”), who plays fellow alien Number Six (not to be confused with that other hot Number Six from “Battlestar Galactica,” mind you). D.J. described her character as “this hot, sexy chick on her Ducati [motorcycle] who can fight with swords and kill f–kin’ aliens.”
“I Am Number Four” has often been cited as the next “Twilight” or “Harry Potter“-sized phenomenon, and D.J. seemed to think that, because of the content of the stories (they have signed on for six installments of the film series) the comparison is apt. In his opinion, there seems to be plenty for everyone from the film.
SWANS speaks
Michael Gira On Swans’ My Father Will Guide Me Up A Rope To The Sky
The Quietus , July 30th, 2010 07:39
Michael Gira has reactivated his No Wave/industrial/apocalyptic folk project SWANS for the first time in 13-years, so who better to ask than him for a track-by-track review…
No Words/No Thoughts
Listen to ‘No Words/No Thoughts’ here
The Quietus says: What appears at first to be field recordings of church bells (but is actually percussion) and squealing, workshop band saws slicing through timber set the tone for what is a serious but beautiful album. A statement of labour and love.
Michael Gira says: “I think the intro to this song should have been longer. I showed cowardice here. it should have lasted 10 minutes at least, instead of the 3 1/2 minutes it is now.
Ideally this song would sound like a steady gale force wind of hydrochloric acid. The guitars should wipe your mind clean. the words state one thing, and also the opposite. sometimes all points of view seem equally true simultaneously. I wanted my voice to sound like the weightless vocals of certain very early Pink Floyd songs here, but it’s hopeless with a voice as cantankerous as mine
.
So now we’re off on a new journey, by reigniting swans I’ve unlocked the trunk where I’d trapped my demon brother. Now that he’s out again I am wrestling with him and am determined this time to not only kill him, but all his friends and family as well. I’ve enlisted my comrades Norman Westberg, Christoph Hahn, Phil Puleo, Thor Harris and Chris Pravdica as the primary soldiers in this quest.
I AM NUMBER FOUR – Open Casting Call in Islamorada, Florida Keys
Hollywood coming soon to Upper Keys: Producers holding casting call Aug. 7 in Islamorada
By David Goodhue, The Reporter, Tavernier, Fla.
July 30–Think you ought to be in pictures? If you’re at least 18 years old, a Florida resident, and can pass for a high school senior, Saturday, Aug. 7 might bring your big break.
A Miami Beach casting company is looking for extras to be in a science fiction-action movie whose executive producers are Steven Spielberg and Michael Bay. Crews will be filming scenes for “I Am Number Four” in the Florida Keys from Aug. 13-19.
An open casting call for the film is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 7 at the Hampton Inn, mile marker 80 oceanside, in the Outback Steak House’s meeting room, from noon to 3 p.m.
Ellen Jacoby of Ellen Jacoby Casting International said interested actors should bring proof of residency and age, and a recent photograph with their name, phone number, height and weight written on the back.
Jacoby is a veteran casting agent in South Florida whose movie credits include “True Lies,” “There’s Something About Mary,” “The Truman Show” and “The Bird Cage,” and television shows “CSI: Miami” and “Burn Notice.”
The stars of “I Am Number Four are Alex Pettyfer, Timothy Olyphant, Dianna Agron and Kevin Durand. It is being directed by D.J. Caruso, who helmed recent big-budget films like “Disturbia,” “Taking Lives” and “Eagle Eye.”
Babies For The Fabulous Beekman Boys
Babies, Recovery and No TV on The Fabulous Beekman Boys
by James Frey, New York 
on 07.29.10
Image credit: Planet Green
Babies babies babies. Looks like this episode of The Fabulous Beekman Boys is all about babies. I love babies. Doesn’t everybody love babies? How can you not love a baby? Even a goat baby. Looks like this is going to be fun. As usual, I will rank the events depicted on the show using a scale of goats. Five goats is good. One goat is bad. At the end, the number of goats will indicate whether I am more or less likely to follow the Beekman Boys’ lead and leave New York City.
It’s winter at the farm. I hate winter everywhere but in Southern California. Upstate New York is not Southern California. One goat.
Farmer John is going away for hip replacement surgery. Fuck that. If being a farmer and living in the country means your hips get destroyed, I don’t want to have anything to do with it. One goat.
Farmer John leaves instructions for Brent and Josh before he leaves for the hospital. The goats are all pregnant and might have the babies while he’s gone and it’s cold and he doesn’t want them to freeze. Brent asks about scarves for the goats. I laugh a little bit. Three goats.
Barcode Number Four
Comic Con: I Am Number Four Viral Video
Posted on Monday, July 26th, 2010 by Russ Fischer
While I was sitting around waiting to get into the panel for The Goon on Friday, I noticed a little card with a printed QR barcode on one side and a shape that looked vaguely like the UbiSoft logo on the other. Then I remembered that I’d installed a barcode scanner on my phone, and found that scanning the code pointed me to a URL containing a little behind the scenes fluff video for DJ Caruso’s I Am Number Four, which is currently in production.
Alien Master Michael Bay
Michael Bay signs onto yet another alien movie: He should have gone all space-y years ago.
Image Credit: Michael Kovac/WireImage.comMichael Bay loves aliens.
He’s currently directing his third film with those robots from Cybertron who somehow turn into American makes and models, he’s producing the extraterrestrial refugee adaptation I Am Number Four, and now, according to The Hollywood Reporter, he’s set to shepherd yet another it-came-from-outer-space flick. Described as Cloverfield meets Paranormal Activity — which is code for shaky meets blurry — the script for the as-of-yet untitled project was written by first-timer Bobby Glickert.
Say what you want about Michael Bay, but he knows a fundamental truth: Aliens, like bacon, can help make everything better.
I AM NUMBER FOUR Comic-Con Video
Justice For Ferdinand
Spain’s Catalonia on verge of banning bullfighting
Spanish matador Julio Aparicio performs a muleta on a Nunez del Cuvillo bull, on May 20, 2010 in Nimes, during the Nimes Feria Bullfighting Festival (Feria de la Pentecote), the day before he was gored in the throat and left in critical condition.
Photograph by: Pascal Guyot, AFP/Getty Images
MADRID – Bullfighting in Spain could suffer its biggest setback to date on Wednesday when the local parliament in Catalonia votes on whether to ban the practice in the separatist-minded northeastern region.
The assembly is scheduled to vote on the issue on Wednesday morning after animal rights activists campaigning under the platform “Prou!” or “Enough!” in the Catalan language, collected 180,000 signatures in Catalonia on a petition calling for the motion to be debated and voted on by the assembly.
The most recent indications are that a majority of the 135 lawmakers in the regional assembly are in favour of the motion to tighten Catalonia’s animal protection law to remove an exception for bullfights from a ban on the killing or mistreating animals in shows.
Win an I AM NUMBER FOUR Prize Pack from JustJaredJR
Win ‘I Am Number Four’ Prize Pack!
Just one more week until “I Am Number Four” hits the shelves everywhere and JJJ can’t wait — especially after sneaking a peek at the first chapter!
The novel, by Pittacus Lore,is the thrilling launch of a series about an exceptional group of teens as they struggle to outrun their past, discover their future—and live a normal life on Earth.
Beastly’s Alex Pettyfer is actually working on a film adaption of the book right now!
“I Am Number Four” releases on Tuesday, August 3rd!
WHAT WILL YOU WIN? One (1) official “I AM NUMBER FOUR” hoodie, t-shirt, and a copy of the book autographed by author Pittacus Lore.
HOW TO ENTER:
- – FOLLOW: Follow JustJaredJR on Twitter
– TWEET: Tweet the contest to your friends. Remember to do this or you won’t be able to win!
– COMMENT: Leave a comment here with a valid email address (will not be published), your Twitter name and the link of your tweet. Comment as many times as you want to increase your chances of winning!ONE winner will be chosen at random at the end of the contest. This contest ends Monday, August 2nd @ 11:59PM EST. USA Only. Good luck!
China’s Angie Dickinson Executes Thirsty Kidnapper (LESSON TO BE LEARNED: When Taking Hostages, Don’t Forgot Your CamelBak)
James Frey Reading @ The Amagansett Summer Reading Club – August 14
Saturday, August 14
Summer Reading Club With Best Selling Author James Frey
Join our four-session Adult Summer Reading Club with four best selling authors. Spend an invigorating hour discussing Bright Shiny Morning, the best seller by James Frey, author of “A Million Little Pieces.” Contact the library to join the Club and come by to pick up your gift bag and four paperbacks, yours to keep!
When:11:00 am |
Where:Amagansett Library |
Contact Information:Francine Lane |
Website: |
GALILEO GALILEI: The First Philosopher To Say, “You know what – Fuck Philosophy. Philosophy is stupid.”
FEARNET.COM EXCLUSIVE: Screenwriter Marti Noxon Comments on Number Four Script
Exclusive: Marti Noxon on ‘I Am Number Four’
July 21 – 1:00 PM PDT , by Joseph McCabe
Screenwriter Marti Noxon is appearing at Comic-Con on Friday’s “Girls Gone Wild” panel, where the Buffy and Angel veteran is likely to have some things to say about her next film (after the upcoming Fright Night remake) — the teen sci-fi adventure I Am Number Four, produced by Steven Spielberg. But you don’t have to wait that long for info on the film. Find out what Noxon just told me about I Am Number Four after the jump.
“It’s a big genre action-adventure,” says Noxon, “with the spirit of Spider-Man. It’s not an R-rated movie. It’s a family movie particularly aimed at teens. It’s really based on a series of books that are starting to come out. It’s a more classic kind of [story about] an unassuming guy who discovers he has extraordinary powers and it’s got a pretty strong love story element too, which was really fun to write for me. [Laughs] So it has a little bit of the Buffy-Angel relationship, it has that kind of feel. It’s being directed by D.J. Caruso, who did Disturbia. It’s big and visual and spooky and super hot.”
Hang The Soulless Bitch Until Dead (And Mis-knot The Noose So She Expires Slowly And With Great Torment)
911 call: Mom in strangling case wanted ‘normal kids’
Jul. 21, 2010 04:29 PM – Associated Press
IRVING, Texas – A Dallas-area mother told a 911 operator she fatally strangled her two young children because they were autistic and she wanted “normal kids.”
Thirty-year-old Saiqa Akhter is jailed on a capital murder charge in the stranglings Monday of 2-year-old daughter Faryaal Akhter and 5-year-old son Zain Akhter at the family’s Irving apartment.
Police on Wednesday released a recording of the mother’s 911 call.
In it, she tells an operator that she first tried to get the children to drink bathroom cleaner before using a wire on their necks.
Asked why, Akhter says, “They’re both not normal, not normal. They’re autistic. Both are autistic.” Pressed further, she said, “I don’t want my children to be like that. … I want normal kids.”
Clevver.TV on Number Four
Rejoice! Rejoice! SWANS Return
The Internet Ruins Everything It Touches – Even Pleasuring Yourself
I-Dosing: How teenagers are getting ‘digitally high’ from music they download from internet
By DANIEL BATES
Last updated at 5:57 PM on 20th July 2010
They put on their headphones, drape a hood over their head and drift off into the world of ‘digital highs’.
Videos posted on YouTube show a young girl freaking out and leaping up in fear, a teenager shaking violently and a young boy in extreme distress.
This is the world of ‘i-Dosing’, the new craze sweeping the internet in which teenagers used so-called ‘digital drugs’ to change their brains in the same way as real-life narcotics.
Reaction: A teenage boy looks in a state of distress as he listens to an ‘I-Dose’
They believe the repetitive drone-like music will give them a ‘high’ that takes them out of reality, only legally available and downloadable on the Internet.
The craze has so far been popular among teenagers in the U.S. but given how easily available the videos are, it is just a matter of time before it catches on in Britain.
Those who come up with the ‘doses’ claim different tracks mimic different sensations you can feel by taking drugs such as Ecstasy or smoking cannabis.
The reactions have been partially sceptical but some songs have become wildly popular, receiving nearly half a million hits on YouTube.
Under one called ‘Shroom’, Berecz wrote: ‘just listened to this… at the beginning I began to see some blinking light (while eyes closed), then the pitch went up and I began to feel that Im sinking into my chair…as the pitch went down I began to feel confident, and very relaxed, and I dont want to stand up from my chair and I dont want to say any words…’
Not everyone is taking i-Dosing seriously – some YouTube videos show young adults ‘i-Dosing’ on Neil Diamond and mocking the whole phenomenon.
“And the most chilling detail: Neither corpse had a heart.”
Number 4 August 3rd
Number IV Seen Purchasing Parking Meters and Ordinance Codification in Vandergrift, PA
from The Pittsburgh Tribune Review
Movie money spurs Vandergrift spending ideas
By Rossilynne Skena and Dale Mann, VALLEY NEWS DISPATCH
The borough received $15,000 for opening its streets in June to crews filming “I am Number IV,” an action-packed thriller.
Of the money received from DreamWorks, $5,400 has be allocated to parking meters. There are about 250 parking meters on the borough streets, and those meters need constant updates, council president Brian Carricato said.
The average parking meter costs about $110. Fifty new meters will be purchased and will go into circulation where meters are broken or missing.
Council will vote at its August meeting about how to spend the remaining $9,600. Carricato would like to see the full sum of the money remaining go toward the recreation committee. DreamWorks wants to see the money applied to something such as recreation, something the town can look back on in 10 years as an accomplishment, Carricato said.
Christine Wilson, a council member who serves as chairwoman of the budget committee, proposed another plan. She too would like to see the $5,400 go toward meters, and then allocate $6,500 to codify the borough’s ordinances, which haven’t been updated since 1998. The remaining $3,100 would go to recreation.
Interview With An Alien
An out-there interview with Pittacus Lore, the alien author of I AM NUMBER FOUR
You sometimes get the sense that celebrities come from a planet different from our own, but I’ve never actually interviewed an alien. At least, that is, until now. The intergalactic intermediaries at HarperCollins managed to get the elusive author of I Am Number Four, an extraterrestrial Elder from Lorien named Pittacus Lore, on the phone. The upcoming YA novel follows a teenage alien, one of the last of his kind after his planet was destroyed, now on the run from the warlike race of Mogadarians intent on killing him and invading Earth. We spoke with Lore about the war currently being waged right under our noses. To protect his identity (he’s hiding away from the Mogadarians, you see) he spoke with a voice changer, but all these words are his own. Whether you accept his story like a Mulder or doubt it like a Scully is up to you.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: This is your first book, or at least your first book on Earth. What kind of inspirations did you have, either YA-wise or sci-fi-wise?
PITTACUS LORE: I wrote the book to tell the story of the Loric race and their fight here on Earth, their fight for their own survival and their fight for the Earth’s survival. In researching the book, I read some young adult fiction and I read some science fiction, but we wanted to tell our own story in our own way.
Were you afraid that you might be jeopardizing your presence by writing this?
Nobody knows who we are, nobody knows what we look like. We can’t be found, we look no different than you, we talk no different than you, we walk no different than you. I’m not jeopardizing anything. If I’m doing anything, it’s letting the inhabitants of Earth know that they are in danger, that there is a war going on amongst them.
Are you hoping then for your book to bring about some action from people?
Earthlings will play no part in this war. You cannot affect the outcome in any way whatsoever. It will be won or lost by us.
I’m assuming since you’re using the present tense that the war continues.
Yes, the war is ongoing. We are writing the books a year or two behind the actual events.
Gotcha. So you’re currently working on the sequel, which covers events that happened last year?
We are writing another book right now, yes, called The Power of Six.
Is Number Four in that one?
Number Four is in it too. It’s the next battle in the war, the first two have been fought. The third is being fought right now.
Your book is based on actual events, but are there any other sci-fi books that are real?
I can’t speak to the reality of other sci-fi books. I know that we think that all books are real. A story is a story, it doesn’t matter what it’s called or what it’s sold as. A story is a story, and there is no way to tell what is real and what is not. Philip K. Dick’s books could be real. We hear stories of alien abduction, we don’t know if they are real or not. I could only say what I know and what I’ve seen, and that’s in the stories I tell.
Was literature different on your planet? Did you have to adapt your writing style for an Earth audience?
A story is the same in any language, in any culture. We did not use books the way you use them on Earth. We used things similar to your digital readers, but, yes, we told stories. That’s something very universal. In all races, in all beings from all planets, stories play an important role in their lives.
You mentioned that your books were more like e-readers. Does that mean the Kindle is a step forward for humankind?
I wouldn’t say our books were e-readers, specifically. More technologically advanced, yes.
So with yours, it’s not just the ability to store a lot of books, but it’s a tactile experience, too?
Do you really want this interview to be about what books were like on a planet that no longer exists?
Actually, I kinda do. It’s a little fascinating. You’re the first alien I’ve interviewed.
Okay. They were electronic, or what you would call electronic. You could also turn pages. It also included interactive elements to them.
They’re already making a movie adaptation of your book. Are you involved with that?
I am not involved in the movie. I am currently fighting the war. I have much greater things to worry about.
What are your feelings about the movie?
The more people who hear our story or see our story, the better. I am very pleased that the people who are making this movie are doing it. Mr. Spielberg, Mr. Bay and Mr. Caruso are all exceedingly talented storytellers, exceedingly talented filmmakers, so they should be able to get the story out to a wider audience.
And Spielberg does have a lot of experience with extraterrestrial stories.
Telling extraterrestrial stories, not experiencing them.
Duly noted. Do you hope that your book will have the same mass appeal as something like Harry Potter or Twilight?
I think anyone who writes a book hopes that it will have the appeal of Harry Potter or Twilight. We hope that people read the book, enjoy the book and are excited by the book. We hope they feel something when they read the book, and tell people they know to read it too. Yes, we hope for success.
If Number Four got into an three-way fight with Harry Potter or Edward, who do you think would emerge victorious?
Mr. Cullen or Mr. Potter would not have much of a chance.
The book has plenty of sci-fi, but it’s also is a good high-school novel. Did you want to write a book that had that human level to it, even if the main character’s not human?
There are things that are similar in beings across the universe. We all feel love, we all feel fear, we all feel anger, we all feel hope. Number Four happened to be in high school when the events took place, so that’s the setting for the book. And all Loric aren’t that far from humans. We have powers, but we want the same things. We want love, we want stability, we want peace.
How do you keep in contact with these people so you can tell their stories?
I’m not at liberty to discuss that with you.
You mention in the book that the Loric helped the human race in the past, aiding the construction of the Pyramids and stuff like that. And Thomas Jefferson and Albert Einstein were half-Loric, is that correct?
Yes.
So how much of a role did you guys play in human history?
We’ve followed the events of this planet for tens of thousands of years. Frankly, your civilization would not exist if not for us. We taught you how to use language, we taught you how to build civilizations and how to organize them, we taught you elementary farming, astronomy, numerology, architecture. We gave you the basic ideas of your philosophies. You owe most of what you know to Loric influence.
Well, on behalf of my species, I’d like to thank you.
We love human beings and we love Earth. That’s one of the reasons we’re here.
Do you hope one day once the war is over to come out and live openly?
When the war is over, I will vanish into your society. You will never hear from me again and I will live as one of you, as normally as I possibly can. If you saw me walking down the street today, and you may have, my friend, because I may have done some research on who you are and where you work, but if you saw me walking down the street you would not be able to know that I am different from any other human.
I’m guessing that you won’t be doing many book signings.
No, I won’t. There are signed books available that HarperCollins sent to me and I signed and returned, but there will be no public appearances.
On your planet, did you guys read any Earth books?
We’ve always been aware of Earth, and what goes on here. So, yes, we have known about developments in art and literature on Earth.
Do you have any personal favorites?
I love the work of J.K. Rowling, I like the work of Stephenie Meyer. I also like Bret Easton Ellis and Norman Mailer. I love Henry Miller. Mickey Spillane is also a favorite of mine. And I like Entertainment Weekly and Vogue.
Do you have an EW subscription? Because I could get you a free one if you just give me your address.
You know I’m not going to give you my address.
Oh, man. I was so close!
No, you weren’t.
The Space-Age Wonder Salve
The Mark Of The Beast At The Beekman
Ghosts, Goths, and Galas at the Fabulous Beekman Boys Farm
The previews have been running all week. Previews that show the ghosts of Beekman. And it’s episode six of The Fabulous Beekman Boys. And three sixes strung together is the sign of the beast. I have been wondering if there is a connection. If the beast is lurking at the Beekman, maybe living inside a goat and waiting to reveal himself. Or if Pokie the Llama is the beast. Or maybe one of those dudes that runs the American Hotel in Sharon Springs. If one of them was, it would be incredible, reality TV history for sure. And even if the beast isn’t there, it looks like there’s some serious paranormal activity going at the farm. I like paranormal activity. Ghosts, ghosts, ghosts! The Beast! Potential history, maybe even the beginning of the Holy War that ends us all. I’ve been waiting all week. As usual, I’ll be using my goat scale to decide if what I see makes it more or less likely that I leave New York City for my own life in the country.
We get our first notion that Beekman is haunted! Go ghosts, go beast!!!! Five goats.
Josh and Brent talk about the year of sacrifice, which is the year in which Josh has agreed to stay in the city and work his day job at the ad agency while Brent gets the farm business up and running. Brent thinks he’s the one making the sacrifice. I actually disagree. I’d much rather be at the farm driving around on tractor than working at an ad agency. Brent seems to win the argument, but I’m on Team Josh. One goat.