DW influences top US director JJ Abrams

The place to post anything DW-related
Locked
Darren
Level5
Level5
Posts: 247
Joined: Tue 8 Dec, 2009 20:12:43
Location: Yorkshire, UK

DW influences top US director JJ Abrams

Post by Darren »

Hi Folks,

Any Star Trek or Star Wars fan will know JJ Abrams. He is an american director who has made the new Star Trek movies and is now making the new Star Wars movies. He has also done a couple of Tom Cruise Mission Impossible films. So he is at the top of Hollywood Royalty.

He was born in New York in 1966 and raised in Los Angeles.

Last year he released a novel titled "S".

How surprising is it that in an interview in the Los Angeles Times he mentions only one author as an influence - Dennis Wheatley.

He hit upon the idea of “S.â€￾ after discovering a novel that had been left behind by another traveler, and he drew inspiration from the murder mysteries of British author Dennis Wheatley, who included dossiers of evidence in his books. “There was one I remember called ‘Who Killed Robert Prentice?’â€￾ Abrams said. “It had a torn-up photograph in these little wax paper envelopes. As a child, I remember seeing those. That always stayed with me, that idea of getting a book, a packet, that was not just like any other book.â€￾

For full interview see: http://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy ... z2xIRZzMF3

It's curious that in an interview to promote his book in a top US newspaper he would mention a relatively obscure (in the US anyway) British author. You would think that very few of the LA readers will have heard of DW.
Regards,

Darren.
ken68
Level5
Level5
Posts: 164
Joined: Sun 29 Oct, 2006 17:03:42
Location: GLASGOW

Post by ken68 »

that is quite odd. i recently re-read toby jugg and had intended to do a review of sorts but i got side tracked with something else. anyway, one of the items i looked into for the review was the school toby went to. in the book it is called weylands.
now i can't find a weyland ANYWHERE except as the evil corp in the alien films. as far as i can see it isn't a surname or a place name. were the two writers of alien also DW fans?

ken
Darren
Level5
Level5
Posts: 247
Joined: Tue 8 Dec, 2009 20:12:43
Location: Yorkshire, UK

Post by Darren »

That's a coincidence. I've been looking at a similar theme recently. The school that is Weylands in THOTJ is actually Dartington Hall in Devon - read Chapter 36 in Phil Baker's biography and he discusses Dartington Hall School, and how DW claimed that pupils were encouraged to attend Satanic gatherings in a nearby ruined church.

The school was very liberal and had it's share of scandal. It is clearly described in THOTJ as Weylands School. Originally it was going to be a Gregory Sallust story but ended up being used as small background story in THOTJ.

The school is now closed (mid 1980s I believe) and is now a hotel with a medieval courtyard: http://www.dartingtonhall.com/

The ruined church is still in the grounds - only the tower remains: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7084/7165 ... 382d_h.jpg

This picture shows you where it is in relation to the school/hotel: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3327/365 ... d4e01c.jpg

I was thinking of doing a feature on the school/hotel and it's connection to THOTJ at this year's convention.
Regards,

Darren.
ken68
Level5
Level5
Posts: 164
Joined: Sun 29 Oct, 2006 17:03:42
Location: GLASGOW

Post by ken68 »

excellent darren i for one will be very interested in that. can i tick off a spot in this years convention programme?

ken
Darren
Level5
Level5
Posts: 247
Joined: Tue 8 Dec, 2009 20:12:43
Location: Yorkshire, UK

Post by Darren »

Only if there's one available, Ken - I don't like to presume. :smt028
Regards,

Darren.
ken68
Level5
Level5
Posts: 164
Joined: Sun 29 Oct, 2006 17:03:42
Location: GLASGOW

Post by ken68 »

first victim, sorry volunteer for this years convention. one spot down 4 more to go people.
i will be emailing everyone over the course of this week with the start of this weeks plans so any more volunteers please get in touch.

ken
Locked

Return to “General Topics”