CHUD.com Community › Forums › CREATURE CORNER › Creature Corner Main › Your questions for Clive Barker
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Your questions for Clive Barker

post #1 of 30
10/26/02 at 10:42am
Thread Starter 
Yep, just got word that I'll be interviewing the big man himself, Cenobite Daddy - Clive Barker.

It's for a magazine I'm working on, and the main thrust of the interview will be about Abarat, but I'll try and squeeze in as many peripheral questions as I can and share the outcome with Creature Corner.

Time is tight, so post tonight!
Reply
post #2 of 30
10/26/02 at 10:49am
How long before we see 1000 Ways to Torture Gunnar Hansen?

Seriously though, his series for the BBC, Clive Barker's A to Z of Horror was absolutely awesome, and still keeps me up late on UK Horizons. Any chance of seeing this on DVD?
Reply
post #3 of 30
10/26/02 at 11:26am
I was gonna say something smart about Wilderness.....but.....

If anything, ask him he thinks of Candyman as a romance movie rather than a horror movie

because I fina it that way....a true love story with a bit of blood thrown in
Reply
post #4 of 30
10/26/02 at 12:03pm
Thread Starter 
A to Z Of Horror is on UK Horizons? Arse! How many have I missed?
Reply
post #5 of 30
10/26/02 at 12:06pm
It's been running like... all year as far as I know. That and "Serial Killers".
Reply
post #6 of 30
10/26/02 at 12:22pm
I believe I'd read about his plans for a sequel to
Galilee. Is it still on track?

Since I love the Books of Blood, does he plan one day to do another collection of short stories?

Any plans for a new novel involving Harry D'amour?

Finally, when will he return to directing?
Reply
post #7 of 30
10/26/02 at 1:50pm
First time posting here....

What ever happened to the Weaveworld mini-series?
Reply
post #8 of 30
10/26/02 at 1:57pm
Will "American Horror" ever get made or is that pretty much dead post-DeLuca shit-canning it?

What caused the fall-apart on the Universal "Thief of Always" projects post-Ed Solomon?

What happened to the Poe/Barker project(s) at MGM?

Were you upset at not getting to design a Universal maze after Halloween Horror Nights shut down last year?

Will there be an "Undying" sequel and in what stage are your plans for another EA game?

What happened with the "Galilee" TV series?

What's Russell Mulcahy's commitment (signed?) to the "Weaveworld" miniseries?

What "Books of Blood" short stories are currently being developed as features as hinted at by "Saint Sinner" producer Joe Daley while addressing this year's Fango Weekend of Horrors in Pasadena?

After "Clockstoppers" under-performed, what's going on with "Ecto-Kid" at Paramount/Nick?

What happened with the proposed "History of the Devil" movie?

What's your opinion of Bob Weinstein?

What's the status of "Tortured Souls" at Universal?

Did you read the article on Bumble Ward in "The New Yorker?" What's your opinion? Do you ever feel that your name may be "over-exposed" at times?
Reply
post #9 of 30
10/26/02 at 2:56pm
Thread Starter 
I'm definitely asking about "Thief of Always" - I really want to know what happened with that.
Reply
post #10 of 30
10/26/02 at 3:43pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
hiro!:
ask him why his last few books sucked so much. and why he's still regarded as being a horror writer when he clearly focuses on only the mildly disturbing. that should be a new genre. mildly disturbing. founded by clilve barker.
you read it here first.
I would, if only I were as witty as you. Hurry! The bus for the Dickhead Convention is leaving without you!
Reply
post #11 of 30
10/26/02 at 4:40pm
When will the Night Breed special edition dvd see the light of day?
Reply
post #12 of 30
10/26/02 at 5:04pm
Quote:
hiro!:
ask him why his last few books sucked so much. and why he's still regarded as being a horror writer when he clearly focuses on only the mildly disturbing. that should be a new genre. mildly disturbing. founded by clilve barker.
you read it here first.
You're a moron.
Reply
post #13 of 30
10/26/02 at 8:00pm
Actually Clive's last few books HAVE been a little, shall we say "underwhelming". And ever since his coming out they have gotten "gayer" and "gayer"...Now BEFORE you call me a moron for simply pointing out the truth, I say that in the same light as saying "Hey Ellen Degeneres has come out and now her show is about lesbianism and its issues"

Well I'm a horror fan. Not a gay erotica fan. Sorry.
Reply
post #14 of 30
10/26/02 at 8:04pm
At least you put it intelligently and eloquently.
Reply
post #15 of 30
10/26/02 at 8:11pm
Go back to the earliest of Barker's works and you'll find the homoeroticism as an element in his fiction. Let's not pretend like it's something new to his work...
Reply
post #16 of 30
10/27/02 at 2:01am
They're have been rumors (that I've read mostly on these boards) of sequels to Nightbreed and Lord of Illusions. Are there really any plans for either?

How much did Clive really have to do with the Saint Sinner movie?
Reply
post #17 of 30
10/27/02 at 2:14am
Will there ever be a sequel to "The Great and Secret Show"? I read somewhere (a LONG time ago) that it was originally planned as a trilogy, but we've, so far, only the first two.
Reply
post #18 of 30
10/27/02 at 2:55am
Quote:
shootitinthehead:
Actually Clive's last few books HAVE been a little, shall we say "underwhelming". And ever since his coming out they have gotten "gayer" and "gayer"...Now BEFORE you call me a moron for simply pointing out the truth, I say that in the same light as saying "Hey Ellen Degeneres has come out and now her show is about lesbianism and its issues"

Well I'm a horror fan. Not a gay erotica fan. Sorry.
Um, Coldheart Canyon wasn't really gay erotica. In fact, it was flat-out-knock-you-on-your-ass Horror with a capital H.

Ask him if there are any plans to do a Coldheart Canyon movie/miniseries, or a similiar project about Old Hollywood--a fascinating subject.
Reply
post #19 of 30
10/27/02 at 4:42am
ooh ooh me too!

Ehm......

"Any plans for another art book?"

" Any possibility of exhibiting art in Chicago?"

And if you could, tell him the influence of Odilon Redon in his Abarat artwork was very well received.
Reply
post #20 of 30
10/27/02 at 10:28am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
shootitinthehead:
Actually Clive's last few books HAVE been a little, shall we say "underwhelming". And ever since his coming out they have gotten "gayer" and "gayer"...Now BEFORE you call me a moron for simply pointing out the truth, I say that in the same light as saying "Hey Ellen Degeneres has come out and now her show is about lesbianism and its issues"

Well I'm a horror fan. Not a gay erotica fan. Sorry.
This is a serious question, not a dig, but how do you feel about horror novels that have lots of heterosexual sex scenes?

It's just that I've heard a few people say this about Clive Barker, yet I've never heard people complain about the excessive sexual content of, say, a James Herbert novel.
Reply
post #21 of 30
10/27/02 at 4:02pm
Quote:
Tale as old as Blofeld:
Go back to the earliest of Barker's works and you'll find the homoeroticism as an element in his fiction. Let's not pretend like it's something new to his work...
As an element I'm totally fine with it. Shit, I listen to experimental music, and when Clive did the HELLRAISER film he hung out with COIL (who did the the original unreleased soundtrack...GOOD STUFF MAN!) and watched tons of gay S&M vid. I've known Clive was gay since the Weaveworld days (some friends own a hallowed genre bookstore he would sign at)and have been VERY aware of the homoerotic ELEMENT in his work. But as a total basis, I just can't relate to it. It's just a little TOO fey for me man.
Reply
post #22 of 30
10/27/02 at 4:03pm
Quote:
RathBandu: Gone Rogue:
Quote:
shootitinthehead:
Actually Clive's last few books HAVE been a little, shall we say "underwhelming". And ever since his coming out they have gotten "gayer" and "gayer"...Now BEFORE you call me a moron for simply pointing out the truth, I say that in the same light as saying "Hey Ellen Degeneres has come out and now her show is about lesbianism and its issues"

Well I'm a horror fan. Not a gay erotica fan. Sorry.
Um, Coldheart Canyon wasn't really gay erotica. In fact, it was flat-out-knock-you-on-your-ass Horror with a capital H.

Ask him if there are any plans to do a Coldheart Canyon movie/miniseries, or a similiar project about Old Hollywood--a fascinating subject.
Okay Im gonna get that then. AWESOME!
Reply
post #23 of 30
10/27/02 at 4:06pm
TRIPLE POST HERE! hehehehehe...

All the above said CLIVE IS STILL A GOD! And his writing in whatever genre he does stands head and shoulders above most others. Don't get me wrong, I thank god for any talent as great as his.
Reply
post #24 of 30
10/27/02 at 6:50pm
But I don't think Barker is trying for scary anymore. He seems to have moved away from horror into some fleshy/fucky/fantasy kind of thing. I don't read his stuff anymore but there's no arguing against his prodigious talent. The only thing he needs to work on is his directing.
Reply
post #25 of 30
10/28/02 at 4:19am
He doesn't want to be known as a "horror" writer. I've read interviews where he was upset that all his books were stockpiled in the horror section. He said he prefered being known as an imaginative writer or something close to that.
Truely Clive is a fantasy writer. But that just brings to mind so many cheesy Lord of the Rings, Dungeons and Dragons type books. I don't like to associate Clive in that category. I think it's best if he were just left in the fiction section alongside J.G Ballard, Bradbury, Burroughs, Harlan Ellsion and the gang.

It's unfortunate that Stephe King's prophesy of Clive as the future of horror has eternally pigeon holed him in that category.
Reply
post #26 of 30
10/28/02 at 4:56am
Well, sexuality in general has ALWAYS played a large role in his books, hetero or otherwise. From reaching new planes of existence during moments of sex (Great & Secret), to sensory overload enough to make you masturbate to the scent of rotting strawberries.... the femalae cenobite, to Rawhead Rez (an obvious phallic symbol of male aggression, dominated by the proto female statue goddess). Especially things like Emmaculata raping a man to create his own spawn to kill him.

It is there... always has been, and always will be.

But I recall reading one interview with him right about the time Lord of Illusions was getting a film treatment, and he stated he wanted his new focus to be Erotic Thrillers. I think most of his later work woudl make fine Skinimax shows, shown after midnight, with Shannon Tweed and Udo Kier.

Not bad, just different.

But yes, I miss the scary too. Weaveworld is by far my favorite of his works, and it really isn't horror so to speak.

I am just amazed with all his religious symbolism, and dimensional theory basis of his stories, that he is an Atheist who does not truly believe the theories of alternate dimensions as fact.
Reply
post #27 of 30
10/28/02 at 5:07am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
hiro!:
nobody walks on water. not everything written by barker is sacred. pointing it out doesn't make me a "dickhead" or a "moron", but blind loyalty over something like this is a waste of time. acknowlege true horror if you are a horror fan. don't just cling to the past.
Firstly, nobody is saying the guy is perfect. You've missed the point. This was a thread asking for serious questions I can ask Clive in an interview. Not a "what do you think of Clive Barker" thread. Rather than contribute usefully, you used it as a chance to demonstrate your half-assed sarcasm. Did you seriously expect me to ask him why his recent books "sucked"? My guess is "no". Or were you just playing to the gallery - dazzling us with your shocking against-the-grain opinion? Your post came across as the worst kind of smug trolling, and was phrased in an assholish way. "You read it here first"? Wow, thanks for the exclusive. You saw a thread asking for questions for a guy you think is overrated, but rather than leaving it be, you chose to chime in with an irritating and pointless snipe. This annoys people. That's why you got a cold reaction, not because of your daring and radical opinion.

Secondly, Clive Barker is not a horror author. He has never claimed to be a horror author. He has been pigeon-holed as a "horror" guy because of Hellraiser, but even his first books are dark fantasy rather than blood and guts. So slamming the guy for "not being scary" is redundant. Most of his novels have traces of what we would call "horror", but he's moved beyond the confines of one genre now and is - gasp! - creating unique and fascinating new work across genres. It may not always work (I thought Galilee was a big letdown) but at least with a talent like Barker at the helm, the journey is always interesting. Don't like it? Don't read it. If he didn't set out to write a horror story, it's not really his problem if you don't think it's scary. Don't project your inability to look past the obvious onto the author.

Thirdly, what is "true horror" exactly? You know, just so we can all spot it in the future and save ourselves from this sort of confusion. Is it, by any chance, anything you like?
Reply
post #28 of 30
10/28/02 at 5:13am
After The Great And Secret Show, the next book in the series is Everville which oddly enough takes place about near where I live (about 15 to 20 miles). I have heard word that we are to be expecting the third book in the Arts series in the near future. About damn time.
Reply
post #29 of 30
10/28/02 at 12:21pm
I just met Clive Barker yesterday at the Abarat and Saint Sinner soundtrack sighning. Heres a pict of me with Clive and the Saint Sinner soundtrack composer.

<a href="http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=1295627&uid=603243" target="_blank">http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=1295627&uid=603243</a>

Reply
post #30 of 30
10/28/02 at 12:33pm
So when's your mother going to come clean about the little twin called 'Clive' that you once had...
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Creature Corner Main
CHUD.com Community › Forums › CREATURE CORNER › Creature Corner Main › Your questions for Clive Barker