Reading roundup and Hugo ballot

Dec 14, 2021 22:23

I meant to post about it before signups closed but missed that, but before I forget to post about it entirely:
Read more... )

a: naomi novik, gn, hugo homework, nonfiction, a: alan dundes, sandman, rivers of london, a: vera brosgol, a: neil gaiman, reading

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perpetual December 17 2021, 17:49:31 UTC
MacAvoy as Dream grew on me too. Abel was so annoying, but I'm not sure it's possible to portray a stutter in an audible medium without it being annoying, and he wouldn't have seemed right without it, either.

Any thoughts on the casting for the Netflix series?

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hamsterwoman December 18 2021, 18:16:56 UTC
but I'm not sure it's possible to portray a stutter in an audible medium without it being annoying, and he wouldn't have seemed right without it, either

That was my initial thought about him too, but someone (rachelmanija, maybe?) mentioned that he tells a story without stuttering in Act II and his voice is still really annoying. So I guess this was an intentional choice, maybe? Leaning into the inevitability of stuttering being annoying in an audio medium?

Any thoughts on the casting for the Netflix series?

This was actually a good reminder to check out what else they've shared in the time since I watched the teaser!

Casting thoughts... I am extremely on board with Tywin Charles Dance as the Burgess casting, and am looking forward to seeing Thewlis as Doctor Dee (I feel like he has the right combination of, like, disarmingly harmless air and creepy undercurrent even in roles that don't require it, heh). I'm intrigued but a little skeptical about Gwendolyn Christie as Lucifer; the gender-bent approach is neat, but nothing I've seen her in ( ... )

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perpetual December 18 2021, 22:46:52 UTC
Since Gilbert is supposed to be G.K. Chesterton, I think it's going to be cool that he pings as someone kind of familiar. If the glasses and mustache are thick enough it might diminish his Fry-ness, too.

Mason Alexander Park was cast in Sandman and Cowboy Bebop at right around the same time, and I wasn't thrilled by their performance in Bebop. That might have been since they were nothing at all like the character from the anime they played, but I'm also a little in doubt at their ability to pull off heart-stoppingly gorgeous. We'll see.

Yeah, I just rewatched The Good Place, and Simone is great! I think she'll be a good Death.

Oh, and I really like the idea of Patton Oswalt as Matthew.

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hamsterwoman December 19 2021, 18:57:45 UTC
That's a good point re: Chesterton! (For me personally, while I read and liked Chesterton before encountering Sandman -- I'm a fan of the Father Brown stories, which I read in childhood, which was my big mystery phase -- I didn't have any idea of what Chesterton looked like until after I'd met Gilbert via Sandman, so for my purposes it's not that Gilbert looks like Chesterton, it's that Chesterton looks kind of like Gilbert. But the general point stands! :)

But yeah, I hope the mustache and glasses diminish the Fry-ness somewhat. I'm very bad at recognizing actors, but Fry is one of those I've found pretty unmistakable so far...

but I'm also a little in doubt at their ability to pull off heart-stoppingly gorgeous.Yeah, I don't know that they can pull off heart-stoppingly gorgeous either, but on the other hand, 1) I'm not sure any human actor could, so that's something I'm willing to suspend disbelief for if the vibe feels right, and 2) I didn't see how the ordinary-looking dude they'd cast as Dream was at all Morpheus-like, but in ( ... )

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perpetual December 20 2021, 04:37:00 UTC
I knew Sandman before Chesterton, but didn't learn about the connection until much much later. And Fry was somewhere in the middle. Maybe all three of them are already the same guy in my brain? Not sure.

About Dream's transformation, true! If they can cast someone other than Tom Hiddleston for him and make it work, they can do anything.

I spent years seeing Patton Oswalt pop up in things and thinking of him only as "oh, that guy from ___!" I can't remember his Community role, but he's usually a bossy middle-aged geek. His voice is pretty ordinary, but distinctive, with a little bit of a caw to it.

Are you sure Matthew was Andy Serkis in Audible? I feel like I remember it was Kevin Smith...maybe he played someone else.

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hamsterwoman December 20 2021, 15:59:00 UTC
I've only seen Matthew credited as Serkis, like here. I hadn't remembered Kevin Smith being in it at all, but looks like he's Merv.

I must have seen/heard Patton Oswalt in at least a dozen things without registering those voices as the same person (Remy in Ratatouille, really??), but having gone and listened to a clip on YouTube, yeah, I could hear him make a nice Matthew! -- I see what you mean about a little bit of a caw.

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perpetual December 20 2021, 23:45:07 UTC
OH YEAH! Merv! In that case yeah, Serkis was great as Matthew.

Haha Remy as Ratatouille is one I forgot about. He really is everywhere.

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hamsterwoman December 21 2021, 02:09:19 UTC
Oh, unrelated, except in that it involves rodents -- I wanted to tell you that the other day I realized that the little mousie necklace I got from your Etsy shop last year has probably been the necklace I've worn the most over the last year :) I was wearing it again yesterday for a family anniversary dinner (my warm clothes are all gray, somehow, and the mousie works great to dress them up), and it always draws looks and smiles and cheers me up to put it on :D

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perpetual December 21 2021, 03:52:39 UTC
Oh my gosh, that's awesome! Thanks so much for telling me about it!

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hamsterwoman December 21 2021, 07:32:34 UTC
:DD

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