[SIZE="3"]see the 12/5 entry here:[/SIZE] http://repairmanjack.com/aboutfpw.htm#mylife

[SIZE="3"]Festa published a collection of RJ stories plus some others. Trouble is, I've forgotten which ones I sold him. Can anyone translate the titles?[/SIZE]

lf Meistererzählungen des Amerikaners F. Paul Wilson. Davon sechs um den Helden Handyman Jack, den ›Mann für alle Fälle‹, der seit Jahren mit jedem neuen Abenteuer die Bestsellerlisten stürmt.

Alle Handyman-Jack-Storys:
Zwischenspiel im Drugstore
Ein ganz gewöhnlicher Tag
Der letzte Rakosh
Der lange Weg nach Haus
Familiennotdienst
In der Mangel
Storys die mit Jack und/oder dem Adversary-Zyklus verbunden sind:
Untermieter
Gesichter
Dat-Tay-Vao
Krabbler
Mitgefühl
Nachwort des Übersetzers


Eine Festa-Originalausgabe
Aus dem Amerikanischen von Michael Plogmann
Hardcover, Schutzumschlag, Leseband, 352 Seiten
ISBN 978-3-86552-079-1

Now this was a fun show. It's like the A-team and Burn Notice had a baby. Essentially it's about a group of thieves who help out people wronged by those the law has difficulty bringing to justice. Effectively you have an entire team of Repairman Jacks, each covering one specialty. Just a fun, fun show.

This film was suggested by NetFlix based on my previous viewing habits.

It is a German thriller about a small town police officer haunted by the death of his sons girlfriend and the apprehension of the alleged killer.

The film knows it is trying to be a Silence of the Lambs with an over the top eccentric killer behind bars trading barbs with the part time police officer.

The dialogue is harsh and brutal and the alleged killer is over the top. But somewhere under the hyperbole is a wicked little story which twists and turns and we see the hero degrade into something sinister leading the viewer to believe that true evil is contagious and can taint the most steadfast hero.

It's a bad movie with a few good surprises and a tense climax. Worth the look because it is available through the instant play option on Netflix.

[SIZE="3"]go here[/SIZE]: http://repairmanjack.com/newsblog.htm#rjmovie

Unlikely to generate even a fraction of the posts that the "...Cast" thread has done, but here goes. Obviously we've been putting a lot of brain power into creating lists of our ideal actors, but it occurred to me that a lot of people who haven't read the books will be approaching this movie from another side of things- namely, the technical side. They might be attracted if there are big names attached to the project, but if they watch the trailers, a lot more interest might be sparked by how the special effects turn out.

The Fanart page is a case in point: It seems nobody has found the perfect recipe for what a rakosh looks like. This is interesting because many of the designs have obviously similar elements, but the problem seems to be in preventing them from getting stuck between the Mutant Ninja Turtle/Gozilla extremes of the spectrum. And not only does the design have to look good, it has to look good IN MOTION, not to mention being integrated with the human characters onscreen.

There's really only one studio that immediately comes to my mind, and that's the New Zealand-based special effects team WETA Digital. They did the effects for X-Men: The Last Stand, King Kong, I Robot and the Lord of the Rings trilogy. But the one factor that makes me think they could pull off a truly amazing Rakosh is a 2006 monster movie from Korea, THE HOST. And, actually, aspects of the plot might sound kinda familiar: A horrible monster kidnaps a little girl and hides her away in the sewers, and her family risk life, limb and the government to get her back.

I've included the Youtube video of the first monster attack. The quality isn't great, but if you like foreign cult horror/comedy (or just awesome films in general), I'd rent it anyway. Blockbusters has been known to carry it. To top it off, the monster attack is in full daylight, so I'm sure a rooftop scene at midnight would be cake for them. If they were to do half a good a job on the RJ movie as they did on THE HOST, I'd be a happy tech geek.

So. Feel free to discuss the special effects nature of the RJ movie, or any other films that have a certain look you'd like to see in the film. Also, definitely try and get your hands on THE HOST for a prime example of great creature design.

WETA DIGITAL
http://www.wetafx.co.nz/features/

Clip of the monster attack in THE HOST (the action starts at around the 2 minute mark, kidnapping at the 7 minute mark)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zcyc5nFjwDc

[SIZE="3"]Word from the publisher that JACK: SECRET HISTORIES has been selected for VOYA’s Top Shelf Fiction for Middle School Readers list. “This list is of books that adults and youth agreed were the very best of the best.” The list will appear in the February issue. VOYA is a trade magazine for librarians. This is a very nice surprise. [/SIZE]

Feel free to comment.

First time poster, long time Jack follower. Has anybody purchased a copy of Nightworld through Borderland Press? I saw that FPW updated the book, but has any of the story been slightly changed at all? I read the story a few years back and would purchase the book right now if the story has been tweaked in a few spots. If there was no minor/major changes, I could wait till it is mass produced in a few years (hopefully about ten years because FPW changed his mind and will somehow add a few more Jack stories (Pleasssse)).

BEVERLY GARLAND (IT CONQURED THE WORLD, MY THREE SONS) and NINA FOCH (RETURN OF THE VAMPIRE with Bela Lugosi, CRY OF THE WEREWOLF, THE 10 COMMANDMENTS, Tv's Outer Limits Episode "THE BORDERLAND") both died Dec. 5, the same day as Forry Ackerman. Both ladies were very talented and will be missed. Roy Frumkes, Films In Review, also contacted me with news that BETTY PAGE is in the hospital from a heart attack-get well Betty!!