Welcome to the madhouse, Dreadylocks.

I wouldn't normally recommend Stranger as somebody's first Heinlein, mostly because it discouraged my Heinlein reading for a couple of years after I first read it when I was fourteen. It was a bit adult for a naive Texas girl with a squeamish streak when it came to cannibalism. When I re-read it at 30, I loved it, and it's one of my favorites now, although "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress" really is my favorite. I'm glad Stranger worked to introduce you to Heinlein.

The web site sounds like a very interesting project. If executed properly, IMHO it could be a wonderful thing. I hope you do it.

Thanks for the info, I've bookmarked that


The short answer is technically nothing. Copyright is copyright. The amount of hassle just depends on how open the rights-holders are to licensing. Luckily there's absolutely no money in short films, so there's a chance it wouldn't cost too much to option.


I just finished reading The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag which would be a fantastic neo-retro-noir short. The ending is a bit expository for the medium, but otherwise it would be a very translatable story, I think.


I guess I'm lucky I was around 20 when I first read it. But I know what you mean. I find myself wanting to recommend it to my friends because it's quite possibly my favorite book of all time. But then I think, "Are they ever going to speak to me again? I hope they don't mind free love and cannibalism." At least there's no incest in that one...

Haven't read TMIAHM, yet.



Yes, that is the trick, isn't it?

Welcome Dreadylocks! Great to have someone new and interesting on board. Though everyone here is, um, interesting.

LL reloaded: "All people are interesting. Some are more interesting than others."

I like your thinking here. I wonder what it would take to get the rights? If they would do them as a percentage of the net...

Dark City had a distinct Hoag feel to it.

I've always thought "Gulf" would make a great film--it's got secret societies, secret agents, a little ultraviolence, a shower scene, a little homoerotic sexual tension, plenty of heterosexual tension and an explosive finish. I don't know how short it could be and hang together though.

That would be fun. That is, by the way, why I'm still a 1950s scifi film fan. I even have a copy of "Project Moonbase."

Right, I never liked any of those attempts to set Shakespeare in contemporary times, for instance.

I totally agree on Gulf, I've had the same thought, although I'm more concerned about how to depict telepathic dialog without it being like Dune where the actors freeze a la Police Story while you hear a voiceover.

Percentage of the net? What's 10 percent of nothing? lol

It's funny you mention Dark City, I googled it thinking it was a Heinlein story and, as it turns out, the director behind that film is adapting Hoag. Go figure.



Between the wiki summary and your description, that sounds like it's got potential. I'll have to get to the library soon. Thanks



How much of the dialog is telepathic? It could be tricky but it would also be fun to try and find a creative solution.


On a side note, I feel like I'm totally derailing this welcome thread. Maybe we should move this discussion to a new location?

How about Double Star?