Comments on: SOFTWARE in Hollywood

By: Rudy

Rudy — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 04:23:25 +0000

Bob, to email me, go to the “Email Rudy” page
http://www.cs.sjsu.edu/faculty/rucker/mailrudy.htm

By: Bob Mortensen

Bob Mortensen — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 02:16:10 +0000

This post made me really laugh. I am a film producer myself and used yo work for someone you mentioned in one of your posts. Yep….sounds like him. What’s you email address?

By: Robert

Robert — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 19:09:18 +0000

Rudy, great entry. I’ve dealt with Hollywood, too, as a storyboard artist and that experience, a little over 6 months, left me with a complete distaste for dealing with The Business in any way but consuming the final product. Still, the fact that your ideas were of interest long enough to warrant spending a good deal of money is a fun opportunity that few people get to experience. I’m really enjoying the posts and looking forward to the next.

By: Greg T.

Greg T. — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 17:35:14 +0000

Rudy,
So nice to catch up with you on the web. (Haven’t seen you for over 15 years, when Sylvia and you let Philip K. and rack down in sleeping bags on your living room floor when I was doing that magazine article on you.) I just discovered your blog this morning, through a piece Boing Boing did on our paintings on Lulu, et al. (Love the paintings.) Re: the funny piece on “Software” being in Hollywood. I have an expression — at my ad agency, and in dealing with people on my sideline art projects such as books, music and little films. It goes SMN-ROTC (pronounced smin-rotsey). It means “spell my name right on the checks.” Whenever anyone goes to put their paw prints on your creations, always take the money and avoid contact with the results, or never take the money and remain “pure.” It is a virtual impossibility that a good book (and the Ware series is classic) will ever be made into a decent film. And even if it were possible, Stanley Kubrick (as usual) got it right apropos of such “translations.” He said (to paraphrase) “a book is a book, and a film is a film; they have nothing in common and should never be compared.” That is true, and must be, since they are separate art forms. And Kubrick almost exclusively worked from source material; he said, in effect, “Why would I spend my time creating characters and plots for films when so many good ones have already been created in books?” Of course, then he proceeded to spend five years adapting the novel into a screenplay with any one of a number of writers (go figure). And, of course, Kubrick was a genius, and for the most part only made excellent films. Usually, when a film company goes to adapt a novel, the results are dreadful. But even when a good movie (of the same name, or a new name) is sprung from the raw material of a good book, I never weigh one against the other. I count myself lucky on those rare occasions when I am able to read a good book, and then see a good film, both of which share some similarity. Great to find you on the web. Cheers, Greg

By: Steve H

Steve H — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 16:38:10 +0000

Rudy, maybe you should head back to Japan and talk to the anime studios? SOFTWARE would work pretty well as an animation.

By: Kehrtraud

Kehrtraud — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 21:37:24 +0000

Did you ever visit this site?
http://www.braintec.info
I was very fond of it several years ago and it was just an hour fo googling to find it again.

greetings
Kehrtraud

By: Ellen

Ellen — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 02:01:06 +0000

I’m caught between wishing Rudy Rucker mega-success and being glad that a terrible Meduhvoy (sic) version of Software was never made.

By: Rudy

Rudy — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 00:23:32 +0000

Jay Hurst, I did say I was ARGUABLY the first to write about mind upload and a new wetware body, at least in a certain sense. I've discussed this in the comments before, see this thread.

By: ri gross

ri gross — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 15:39:08 +0000

Dr. Rucker,

Ditto to the post about acknowledging a writer and series I have admired for years. Also ditto to keep taking the money, but if possible, try to maintain some shadow of creative control. I would hate to see any of your exemplary work mutilated like that travesty of Zelazny’s classic Damnation Alley some years ago.

By: Justine

Justine — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 22:19:38 +0000

OT – I read White Light in high school (1989) and became a huge fan of yours. I read all the -ware books about every four or five years. It seems so odd that I can just come to your blog and post a comment of appreciation. I guess the future really is now!