I have some other stories of note to share with you today, starting with the sad news that actor Edward Woodward, 79, passed away yesterday due to complications from pneumonia. Woodward is well-known to many Pagan film lovers as “Christian copper” Sgt. Howie from the original cult-classic 1973 film “The Wicker Man” (and better-known to most Americans as the lead in the 1980s vigilante series “The Equalizer”).

Edward Woodward in “The Wicker Man”

At news of his passing, “Wicker Man” director Robin Hardy said that Woodward was “one of the greatest actors of his generation”, while co-star Sir Christopher Lee called him “a good friend and a splendid actor”. Matt Holmes at “Obsessed With Film” says that Woodward (as Sgt. Howie) committed the most memorable “gut-wrenching” on-screen death ever, while Pagan film reviewer Peg Aloi offers a touching farewell.

“Woodward is remembered by many of his colleagues as a kind, warm man who told wonderful stories, as well as being a consummate actor. His distinguished career will long be remembered. In particular, his role as Sergeant Howie in The Wicker Man will be remembered for its complexity, subtlety and power. Howie is a repressive, seemingly cold-mannered police officer who eventually reveals stunning emotional depth and passion. Woodward’s portrayal unfolds with delicious tension and suspense, as the film builds to its shocking ending.”

Here’s to you Mr. Woodward, thank you for your work, may you find peace across the veil.

Turning from the sad news of this passing, to the optimistic idea of deeper understanding and communication between faiths, we have an interesting editorial from the national Catholic weekly America. There, Catholic priest and Harvard professor Francis X. Clooney, S.J., who has argued in the past against “bland secularism” at Catholic colleges, favoring instead a “religiously diverse” campus, talks about his experiences teaching the class “Hindu Goddesses and the Blessed Virgin Mary”.

“The mix of the course is thus quite extraordinary: some wonderful Hindu and Christian texts read by a great group of students, as we discuss a wide range of issues about scripture, our images of God and humanity, and what to make of the varied religious experiences of the human race. Harvard is not the place wherein to reach single, definite conclusions about truth, but I think that this learning across religious boundaries does open us to truth, to Truth. By studying the traditions of the goddesses and Mary together, we understand both more clearly; those of us who are Catholic at Harvard find ourselves brought closer to devotion to Mary, who holds her own in every discussion. The goddesses too fare well, though each of us has to make up her or his own mind on how to appropriate these goddess traditions.”

Perhaps there’s room in this world for Mary and the goddesses? That seems to be at least partially the gist, he even recounts how a group of students sing hymns to both Mary and the goddesses before each class, and how both the Catholics and the goddess-worshipers have deepened their understanding and practice. To read more about Clooney’s work, you should read his essay “Interreligious Dialogue: Goddess in the Classroom”, and check out his book, “Divine Mother, Blessed Mother: Hindu Goddesses and the Virgin Mary”.

In a final “War on Christmas” note, it seems the American Family Assn. is issuing its yearly call to boycott The Gap for not saying “Christmas” even though the clothing chain’s silly wince-inducing holiday ad name-checks several yule-tide holidays, including “Christmas”, “Hanukka”, and “Solstice”.

“It’s unlikely the new Gap ads will placate the psalm-singers in Tupelo. After all, in the spirit of inclusiveness, Christmas is mentioned in the same breath as Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and solstice. The winter solstice, as everyone knows, is a pagan celebration, so — viewed through a peculiarly warped lens — the Gap ad puts Christians on the same level as a bunch of blue-paintedheathens dancing around a Yule log drinking mead out of a stag horn.”

The LA Times is dead-on the money, as the AFA has issued a boycott update saying the Christmas-invoking ad is “completely dismissive and disrespectful to those who celebrate the meaning and spirit of Christmas.” Yes, whatever happened to all those tasteful clothing-chain holiday ads that didn’t cheapen the holy Winter months by trying to sell you loads of stuff.

That’s all I have for now, have a great day!

“Next, he introduced a 10-minute (rough cut, the sound was incomplete) clip of The Wicker Tree (2010), which follows The Wicker Man in “style” and slightly in story. The clip was not a 10-minute chunk but rather snippets of various scenes in the film. Beth (Brittania Nicol) is a born-again Christian music star with a haughty Britney Spears past and a cowboy boyfriend, Steve (Henry Garrett). Both are missionaries sent by their reverend to bring the “Lord’s love” to Scotland. During their trip, Beth’s beau takes a dip in some sacred springs with a voluptuous libertine only to find himself in another scene cornered by the strange townsfolk singing and out for blood.”

Sounds like fun! Lets hope it holds a candle to the original movie, and doesn’t fall in the horribleness of the ill-advised 2006 remake. They also seem to all-but-confirm that Sir Christopher Lee will be making a cameo as Lord Summerisle, linking the two films together into the same shared universe. Needless to say I await more news of the film, including its release date.

Turning from fictional Pagans looking for a sacrifice to a famous pagan trying to escape Christian mobs, we look at the status of the film “Agora”, which centers on the life (and death) of Neoplatonist pagan philosopher Hypatia. The film, while winning critical accolades, has experienced trouble in finding an American distributor, and was encountering protests in places like Spain due to its “anti-Christian” tone. Well, it seems that the film has been a smash-hit in Europe, and it’s looking like Sony may put in a bid for American distribution.

“Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group is considering a bid for U.S. distribution rights to Alejandro Amenabar’s ancient historical epic “Agora,” starring Rachel Weisz. “Agora’s” boffo performance at the Spanish B.O. in recent weeks has sparked renewed interest in the film, which is being shopped domestically by John Sloss’ Cinetic Media and overseas by Focus Features Intl. … Bowing in Spain on Oct. 9, “Agora” scored the highest opening of the year, and to date has cumed $25 million dollars. It’s topped the box office there over the past four weekends, and even bested the debut of Michael Jackson topliner “This Is It,” from Sony, during the Oct. 30-Nov. 1 frame. Pre-AFM, other territories Focus Intl. had sold include France, Germany, Scandinavia and Greece. Rights have been sold for Taiwan and Thailand as well.”

Director Alejandro Amenabar is apparently also willing to cut 20 minutes from the film in order to make it run a tidy two hours, further tempting the bean-counters at Sony (and Fox, who are also expressing interest). Could we be lucky enough to see a winter release here in America? Or possibly early Spring? We’ll keep our eyes open.

Finally, the long-awaited (well, by some of us) remake of “Clash of the Titans” has released a trailer!

I know it, like the original, completely mangles Greek myth, but I have to admit that I had a little geek-tingle from the younger Jason who watched the original like a million times on cable when I was a kid. I also kind of hope they keep the symphonic metal soundtrack they utilize in the trailer, I mean, it’s not historical anyway, so let’s go all out! “Clash of the Titans” is due out in March.

“It is now all the rage in the Age of Al Gore and Obama, but can you remember when everyone in America was not “Going Green”? Visually stunning, vastly entertaining and awe-inspiring, Earth Days looks back to the dawn and development of the modern environmental movement—from its post-war rustlings in the 1950s and the 1962 publication of Rachel Carson’s incendiary bestseller Silent Spring, to the first wildly successful 1970 Earth Day celebration and the subsequent firestorm of political action.”

Aside from the natural interest many Pagans have in environmental conservation and activism, the movement that produced the 1970 Earth Day celebration also had a fundamental impact on Wicca and modern Paganism in America.

“The spirit of Earth Day 1970 did not just happen; its roots could include the gradual stirring of environmental consciousness that accelerated in the 1960s, but that stirring itself had deeper roots in an American consciousness of a special relationship with the land, even if that relationship was often abusive. Still, if there was a year when Wicca (in the broad sense) became “nature religion,” as opposed to the “mystery religion” or “metaphorical fertility religion” labels that it had brought from England, that year was 1970.” – Chas Clifton, Her Hidden Children: The Rise of Wicca and Paganism in America

“Earth Days” is scheduled to start hitting theatres on August 14th (today!), so be sure to check it out when it hits your neck of the woods (if it doesn’t hit your neck of the woods, don’t despair, it’ll air on PBS in April). Having seen some of Robert Stone’s other documentaries, most notably “Guerrilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst” and “Oswald’s Ghost”, it is clear he has a keen perspective of the cultural threads weaving in and out of America in the 1960s. For some early reviews check out this Salon.com critic’s pick, and three perspectives from The Daily Green.

We now turn to a film that takes an entirely different perspective on “caring for the Earth”, the long-awaited Robin Hardy-directed companion to the 1973 cult-classic movie “The Wicker Man”. That film “Cowboys For Christ” “The Wicker Tree” is currently shooting in Scotland, and Shock Till You Drop has an exclusive set report from Susan Granger.

After coaxing British Lion chairman and CEO Peter Snell out of retirement to become his producer, Hardy and Snell joined forces with Peter Watson-Wood and his partner, Alastair Gourlay, to bring The Wicker Tree to the screen for a tight $3 million budget. Last year, Hardy shot some exteriors in Texas and had preliminary talks with Christopher Lee and Joan Collins. Then Lee developed back problems when he tripped over a cable on a movie set in Mexico, leaving him unable to tackle the physically demanding role of Lachlan, and Joan Collins made other plans for this summer. So Hardy chose Scottish actor Graham McTavish (Rambo) who says, “I feel in some ways, a great responsibility to Christopher Lee, to Robin and to the legacy of The Wicker Man. As someone who was inspired by that film, it’s tremendously exciting and challenging to fill the shoes of Christopher Lee -- and I only hope I can do it. For an actor, Lachlan is a role you seize with both hands.”

For those greatly disappointed by Sir Christopher Lee getting hurt and not being able to play the leading role of Lachlan fear not! According to the report he’ll still be appearing in a “pivotal” and “instantly recognizable” role in the film. Could this mean a direct connection to “The Wicker Man”? Could Lee be reprising the role of Lord Summerisle in a cameo? The thought of waiting till 2010 to find out seems torturous. I recommend reading the whole set report for some Robin Hardy quotes bagging on the horrid Nicolas Cage “Wicker Man” re-make (apparantly Cage is clueless as to why it failed), and some short interviews with some of the other stars of “The Wicker Tree”. Be sure to also check out the gallery of production stills.

ADDENDUM: Oh! How could I forget that Hayao Miyazaki’s new film “Ponyo on the Cliff By the Sea” is out in theaters now!

With Cate Blanchett as a sea-goddess (in the English dub) how can you go wrong?

“ShockTillYouDrop have been informed that Robin Hardy’s long awaited Cowboys For Christ is finally in production. Some shooting has already taken place in the US and the filmmakers are reportedly in the midst of the Scottish shoot right now. Hardy’s 1973 directorial debut The Wicker Man is truly one of the most jubilantly beloved films in the pantheon of British genre pictures. I still see it doing abundant business as late night screenings, and pretty much everybody I speak to holds it close and dear, including those of us all too aware of its shortcomings. For a good few years now, Hardy has been touting Cowboys as a kind of follow up, a ’spiritual successor’ to feature a number of the same ingredients as Wicker Man: a clash between pagans and Christians, a remote rural location, Christopher Lee as a mysterious aristocrat.”

That there will be a continuity of director and lead actor (Hardy and Lee) from the original film is certainly promising, as is the prospect of a another folk-centric soundtrack. This time headed by Scottish musician Keith Easdale of the band Calasaig. If this production finds success, or at least an appreciative cult audience, we might get the full “Wicker Man Trilogy” that Hardy mentioned back in 2007 (the proposed third film “Twilight of the Gods” would be set in Iceland and deal with Norse pagan themes). Then again, considering the 36-year wait between “The Wicker Man” and “Cowboys For Christ”, Hardy might not make it to a third installment, he’s no spring chicken you know.

In any case, I’ll be queuing up to see the film once it sees the light of day, and who knows? Perhaps the subcultural love for the original film, a love that has spawned a musical in England, and a rock opera in California, might just erase the bad taste of the misguided 2006 remake and spur a big sequel-demanding payday for “Cowboys For Christ”.

Sir Christopher Lee

“Golf legend Nick Faldo and veteran horror actor Christopher Lee were both made knights in Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday honours list released Saturday … Lee, 87, has spent his career terrifying cinema-goers. As well as appearing in classic horror films such as 1958’s “Dracula” and 1959’s “The Mummy“, Sir Christopher also played memorable baddie Scaramanga in the 1974 James Bond classic “The Man With The Golden Gun“. In recent years he starred as Saruman in “The Lord Of The Rings” trilogy and Count Dooku in the “Star Wars” prequels.”

He not only won the hearts of many Pagans (including mine) for his role in “The Wicker Man”, he is also, in the words of Wired Magazine’s “Underwire” blog, “King of All Nerd Franchises”.

“Lee can lay claim to the unofficial additional title of King of All Nerd Franchises. In addition to his several battles with Peter Cushing in Hammer Films’ Dracula movies, he was a Bond Villain (The Man with the Golden Gun), Fu Manchu in a bunch of movies, a Lord of the Rings baddie (Saruman), the eerie villain in The Wicker Man (the original) and Count Dooku in the Star Wars series. Along the way, he appeared on The Avengers, Space: 1999, multiple Tim Burton movies and more video games than you’ve had hot dinners.”

Sir Christopher, who is now 87 years old, is still working. He is set to appear in Tim Burton’s adaptation of “Alice In Wonderland” as The Jabberwock, and is finally participating (if current accounts are correct) in the filming of Robin Hardy’s long-delayed sort-of sequel/re-imagining of “The Wicker Man” entitled “Cowboys For Christ”.

In the woods there grew a tree…

“Previews, opening and tour all coming into shape…. Previews at the Brunton Theatre in Musselburgh: 4th and 5th August. Previews at the Pleasance Two in Edinburgh: 7th, 8th and 9th August – 11pm – 12.30am Run at the Pleasance Two in Edinburgh: 10th – 31st August (apart from the 18th) – 11pm – 12.30am Then Perth Rep, Eden Court in Inverness and the Glasgow Citizens Theatre in September and October….”

If you want to see the previews, you have to buy a “share” of the play, but tickets for the Edinburgh performances are on sale now. I can only hope, that if this adaptation is successful, it will end up in America someday. In the meantime, I urge my UK readers to catch the show, and tell me how it was.

Modern Paganism continues to grow in India, DNA India files a report from Mumbai about the “bewitching world of Wicca”.

“Twentysix-year-old Sangeeta Krishnan is a part time editor of a scientific firm by profession but a wiccan by choice. She is as adept at using the computer as she is at using the crystal ball, wand, spells and magical charms for her wicca workshops. “I have been into this as long as I can remember. I used to have a lot of mystical experiences in my school days,” says Krishnan, who has been practicing wicca for the last 10 years.”

The fascinating cross-pollination between modern Paganism and Hinduism continues. One wonders what the American and European Indo-Pagans and the Indian Wiccans will be like a couple generations down the line. Will they intersect? Or will they each evolve into something entirely different?

World-famous Hammer Horror actress Ingrid Pitt reminices about “The Wicker Man” while in Scotland being interviewed by the BBC for a documentary concerning films shot in Scotland (which “The Wicker Man” was).

“The filming for the BBC extravaganza was done in the Ellengowan Hotel in Creetown where Britt Ekland didn’t do her naked dance routine. The actual interview was in the bar where the Barman’s Daughter was sung. And standing in the corner was Ian Cutler, sawing away on his fiddle, just the way he did it 36 years ago. 36 years ago! Makes your head spin. Pauline Law, the director insisted we had something to eat before getting down to it and I was seated next to Alan Cumming, the interviewer. Not sure that was the best thing. By the time I had chewed my way through a plate of beef I had told him my life story and hadn’t held anything back for the interview.”

Since I don’t live in the UK, I’ll most likely have to wait for a DVD release of “Filming in Scotland”. Should be worth it just for the on-location Wicker Man interviews.

I suppose I should be flattered that no matter how busy Beliefnet blogger Rod “Crunchy Con” Dreher becomes, he always has enough time to point and laugh at modern Pagans. It really brings home how much his recent conversion to Orthodox Christianity has matured him. This time he unleashes his snark on a lesbian Pagan sepratist who wrote a letter to The New Yorker to complain about a recent feature they published about Lesbian sepratist communities.

“How come Crunchy Con never gets letters like this one to the New Yorker, from a reader who didn’t like lesbian writer Ariel Levy’s recent piece on the history of radical lesbian separatism? … The joke just kind of writes itself, doesn’t it? Still, if she’s got her own little Benedict Option going, good for her. I bet it’s as humor-free as Pyongyang, tho’…”

Ah, what an incisive wit! Reminds of me of the good old days when he’d make snide comments about how many “hit-points” those Pagans with funny names had. Good times, good times. Watch out though, those conservatives who don’t think he’s conservative enough are pretty sure he’s secretly a Pagan (its those organic groceries and acceptance that global warming is real). If he’s not careful, people might think he’s overcompensating with the anti-Pagan barbs in order to hide something.

Were Julius Caesar and Pliny the Elder actually right about the Druids when they claimed they participated in mass ritual slaughter and cannibalism? That’s the hook of a recent National Geographic News story, but when you actually read the article they aren’t so sure.

“Druids may have killed the victims—who show evidence of skull-splitting blows—in a single event. It may have been the Roman invasion itself that escalated the Druids’ ritualized slaughter, researchers say. Mark Horton, an archaeologist at the University of Bristol, thinks the pile of bodies suggests savage resistance to the Romans, either on the battlefield or through deadly ritual. “Maybe the whole thing is a gigantic sacrifice … an appeasement to the gods in order that they will get ultimate victory against the Romans,” Horton said. The Alveston cave bones hint at something even more sinister—cannibalism. A human thighbone in the cave had been broken open in exactly the same method people use to get at the nutritious bone marrow of nonhuman animals. But if the bone is proof of Celtic cannibalism, the practice was probably extremely rare, Horton said. It may be evidence of increasing hunger and desperation as Roman invaders closed in, he added.”

So it there might have possibly been cannibalism based on one bone being split, and there was some sort of mass-sacrifice, but they aren’t really sure about the circumstances. They could have been willing victims trying to magically stop the Romans, executed enemies, or something else entirely. There’s still no real proof concerning how pervasive or regular human sacrifice was among the Druids, and there certainly is no proof they engaged in cannibalism regularly. Its a shame that National Geographic would veer into senstionalism like this.

In a final note, the second issue of Thorn Magazine is now out.

“Thorn Issue 2 is now available. This issue, in observance of Barack Obama’s historic election, we’re delving into the racial makeup of our Pagan traditions– who we are, which cultures we look to in borrowing (or appropriating?) our traditions and inspirations, and how we can preserve the vitality of our ethnic paths in an increasingly multi-cultural world. Including interviews with: T. Thorn Coyle, Isaac Bonewits, and S.J. “Sooj” Tucker.”

It also features a column from yours truly, a smack-down of the Lebor Feasa Runda from Phillip A. Bernhardt-House, and a review of “Talking About the Elephant” by Christine Hoff Kraemer. One of the smartest Pagan publications out there, and I’m not just saying that because I write for them.

That’s all I have for now, have a great day!

A lesson to politicians and public figures, if you’re going to hire a Voodoo priestess to curse an opponent, make sure you don’t bounce the checks paying for said services.

“[Cobb Commissioner Annette] Kesting wrote $3,000 in bad checks, allegedly for the services of a “high priestess of voodoo” to prepare an untimely demise for commissioner-elect Woody Thompson. Kesting wanted the priestess, identified by authorities as George Ann Mills of Blythewood, S.C., to cause Thompson to “catch cancer” or “have a car accident” according to a police report obtained by WSB-TV.”

Apparently Kesting was unhinged enough to not realize that leaving a paper-trail and an unhappy (and unpaid) priestess would come back to haunt her. Police are now investigating the matter.

Time Magazine reviews a new book about witch-hunts by John Demos entitled “The Enemy Within: 2,000 Years of Witch-Hunting in the Western World”. According to reviewer Gilbert Cruz, the book explores the inherent sexism and insular nature of witch-hunting.

“While the goal for all is separation from a despised ‘other,’ witch-hunting alone finds the other within its own ranks. The Jew, the black, and the ethnic opposite exist, in some fundamental sense, ‘on the outside’…The witch, by contrast, is discovered within the host community.”

According to Demos, the last “real” witch-hunts in the West were the 1982 Bakersfield “Satanic Ritual Abuse” convictions. A sad example of how the “Satanic Panics” led to innocent men and women spending years in prison.

While I’m on the subject of book reviews, Christian blogger and academic John Morehead reads and reviews the odious anti-Pagan smear-job of Linda Harvey’s “Not My Child: Contemporary Paganism and New Spirituality” so you don’t have to.

“Just like other parts of society we evangelicals in our subculture create our own monsters. One of our leading monsters at present seems to be Paganism. Islam and homosexuality are other creatures in our laboratory. I wonder why we create them. That we do can hardly be denied when we consider the plethora of books we write on the topic and the sensationalist tone that often accompanies them. One of the tricky things about monsters is that they often come back to haunt their creators. Sometimes they ask us some thorny questions too … what does evangelical monstrous creation and resultant fear of stereotypical Paganism tell us about ourselves? I’m afraid if we reflect on this monster we may not like the answers.”

John, who edited the groundbreaking “Beyond the Burning Times”, is quickly becoming my go-to filter for books about Paganism written by Christians. You should also check out his review of “Generation Hex: Understanding the Subtle Dangers of Wicca” (an anti-Pagan book I explored here previously).

Remember my post a week ago about the rock-opera treatment of “The Wicker Man” currently playing in San Francisco? Well, fellow Pagan blogger Mertseger recently attended the production and has posted a review.

“Essentially, this stage production is The Wicker Man (1973) minus the music of Paul Giovanni plus the music of Jim Fourniadis … All in all, the show is well worth the price, and I recommend Bay Area Pagans checking it out. If you like the 1973 film, then this show is a lively and small variation on the same material. Be sure to bring a beer in a brown paper bag (or you will feel horribly out of fashion) and enjoy the romp.”

I recommend reading the entirety of this well-written review. If only more Pagan-centric arts criticism could be so erudite.

In a final note, both Bartholomew’s Notes on Religion and Modemac’s Bulldada Newsblog take note of a story in which an academic thesis on racist Odinist/Satanist Kerry Bolton was pulled from the library of a New Zealand college after he complained.

“Waikato University has abruptly pulled a student’s thesis from its library after complaints from the subject of the research – a right-wing extremist. The thesis, exploring satanic and neo-Nazi themes, had already been marked and published, earning its author top marks … The newspaper said it established that no legal threat had been received against either Mr Van Leeuwen or the University of Waikato. Rather, the thesis was the subject of a mere complaint from Kerry Bolton. Professor Bing told Nexus the thesis was a first-class piece of work, and was externally moderated by other universities before being published.”

So an extremist writes in a complaint about a thesis regarding him, and despite rigorous vetting of said thesis for accuracy (by multiple institutions), it’s pulled? Has the University of Waikato no spine? If every thesis that the subjects of research didn’t entirely approve of got pulled, modern academia would very likely grind to a standstill. As for Roel van Leeuwen (himself a member of several occult and esoteric Orders and Societies), the author of the thesis, he stands by his work.

That is all I have for now, have a great day!
]]> http://wildhunt.org/blog/2008/10/pagan-news-of-note_07.html/feed 1 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2008/09/wicker-man-rock-opera.html http://wildhunt.org/blog/2008/09/wicker-man-rock-opera.html#comments Tue, 30 Sep 2008 17:34:00 +0000 Jason http://wildhunt.org/blog/2008/09/wicker-man-the-rock-opera.html After the dreadful abomination that was the 2006 remake of “The Wicker Man” are we really ready for another treatment of this pagan musical cult-classic? Foul Play SF and The Dark Room certainly hope so as they unleash “The Wicker Man: A Rock Opera About the Ultimate Sacrifice”.

Photo by Geof Teague.

In addition to changing the genre from folk to rock, the site refers to a new “original music score” from Jim Fourniadis with back-up from “Rock / Metal / Comedy” group Live Evil. Does this mean they are scrapping the old songs from the classic soundtrack? Will this new version be mocking camp or loving homage? The synopsis doesn’t provide many clues.

“April showers bring the sanctimonious Sergeant Howie a mysterious letter concerning a missing girl from Summerisle, the tiny pagan island commune renowned for its bountiful produce and unabashed holy day rituals. His investigation of the restless natives proves as fruitless as last year’s crops, though; and the bizarre inhabitants only serve to add fuel to the flames of his righteous indignation. Driven to save the girl’s immortal soul from this den of idolaters, he discovers the truth behind the girl’s disappearance—that come May Day, the villagers intend to sacrifice her to their gods of the field to ensure a successful harvest. Howie must infiltrate their festivities, find the girl and escape—but will his plan put him out of the frying pan and into the fire?”

Whether tribute or take-down, I suppose that fans of the original film and soundtrack will have to risk it and go find out for themselves. The play runs from October 2nd to the 25th. If you live in or around the San Francisco area, or are planning to visit in October, you can purchase tickets online now.

Thanks to Qibitum for passing this along to me.
]]> http://wildhunt.org/blog/2008/09/wicker-man-rock-opera.html/feed 0 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2008/09/wild-hunts-pop-culture-round-up.html http://wildhunt.org/blog/2008/09/wild-hunts-pop-culture-round-up.html#comments Sun, 21 Sep 2008 15:05:00 +0000 Jason http://wildhunt.org/blog/2008/09/the-wild-hunts-pop-culture-round-up.html A brief look at happenings in the world of film, television, comics, and novels.

Well, the first episode of the BBC’s new series “Merlin” premiered yesterday, what did the critics think? I think it’s safe to say that Mark Pickavance at Den of Geek hated it.

“…it’s all over the place. One minute it’s legend, then slapstick, then panto, then drama, horror and then mystery – they missed out the science fiction and western genres, but we’ve another 12 episodes of this for that to be rectified.”

Meanwhile, TV Scoop was far more kind.

“…for those of us who were holding our breath and hoping against hope that Auntie’s latest Saturday night blockbuster series wouldn’t be another turkey like Robin Hood, or, worse, another Bonekickers, that bated breath was released in a rousing cheer of appreciation. This time, they’ve really pulled it off.”

It seems the more you’re expecting historical realism or accuracy, the more you’re going to be disappointed. Something to keep in mind when it debuts this Winter in America.

Speaking of Brits who practice magic, the Los Angeles Times interviews Alan Moore, author of “League of Extraordinary Gentlemen”, “Promethea”, “V For Vendetta”, and “From Hell” about his upcoming projects and his opinion about the currently-in-litigation film adaptation of his critically acclaimed work “Watchmen”.

“Moore has no intention of seeing the film and, in fact, he hints that he has put a magical curse on the entire endeavor. “Will the film even be coming out? There are these legal problems now, which I find wonderfully ironic. Perhaps it’s been cursed from afar, from England. And I can tell you that I will also be spitting venom all over it for months to come.” Moore said all that with more mischievous glee than true malice…”

In addition to cursing Hollywood (a regular pastime for Moore) he also plugs a recent documentary made about him entitled “The Mindscape of Alan Moore”, and his upcoming book of magical instruction and history entitled “The Moon & Serpent Bumper Book Of Magic”.

While I’m on the subject of Hollywood ruining good stories, Neil Labute thinks his atrocious and wrong-headed remake of the cult-classic “The Wicker Man” is misunderstood.

“The director thought he was taking his personal battle-of-the-sexes theme to its logical extreme by presenting “the uber male nightmare of ‘Here’s an island of women, and this is what happens when they rule the world.’” But many folks couldn’t get past Nicolas Cage in a bear suit. “I’d been very used to polarizing people, and there would be as many benefactors as detractors, but people sort of got together on that one and said, ‘You know what? I think we’re all in agreement. We just don’t care for this,’” LaBute reflected matter-of-factly.”

He thinks the film, like the original, was simply marketed wrong. With that I can only agree, Labute’s remake should have been marketed as a comedy. In a separate interview, Labute actually disses the original Wicker Man, proving he just didn’t “get it”.

“I love this movie, love the ending, but it’s not that well made. The songs are goofy. I can do something else with this.”

Well, he certainly did “something else” with it.

In a final, not-really-pop-culture note, go check out the saga of an angry Wiccan taking down a scam money-for-spells online site. This one has it all, multiple identities, drama, intrigue, and pro-anorexia ties!

“FastSpells.com is a scam website that claims they will cast Magick on your behalf for various sums of money. They claim to be able to find you love, give you an abortion, cure your cancer, grant you immortality, and change you sex organs. No, I’m not kidding about any of those.”

Make sure you read the comments, here. It looks like his expose has resulted in the offending sites being taken down by the scam-artists.

That is all I have for now, have a great day!
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