Supporting Characters Who Deserve a Spin-Off

 

Image Credit: Sony Pictures

Since sequels, prequels, remakes, and spin-offs continue to be cash cows for Hollywood and authors alike, I thought I’d write about some spin-offs for side characters I want to see more of. No, this isn’t just another excuse to mention my still-unsold Renfield short story. What actually made me think of writing this post is the upcoming The Adventures of Cliff Booth movie due to arrive on Netflix this summer. One can argue that Cliff was more of a co-lead in Quentin Tarantino’s film and novel Once Upon a Time in Hollywood but given that Brad Pitt was not only nominated, but won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for the role I’m comfortable sticking with the idea he was a supporting character for the purpose of this post. I’m eagerly awaiting the chance to revisit Cliff and what he’s up to in the ‘70s since we last saw him killing off members of the Charlie Manson gang in 1969. What other supporting characters would entice me to buy a ticket and sip an overpriced Sprite at the local theater?

I’ve mentioned this on social media a few times over the years, but I’ll say it again for the record, I’d love to see an Arya Stark Game of Thrones spin-off. With so many family dynamics and rivalries, GOT is ripe for expansion. HBO MAX has already given us the House of the Dragon and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms prequels. Why not more Maisie Williams and her portrayal of the feisty assassin who is easily the most interesting member of the Stark family? What happened to her after she left on a ship to the west? I want to see more of her Faceless Man skills against difficult and exotic foes.

Another one I called for on Twitter back in the day is a Paloma/Nomi spin-off from the James Bond film No Time to Die. Daniel Craig’s Bond may be dead, but Ana de Armas and Lashana Lynch kicked ass in their limited screentime. A spy story that featured them after 007’s demise would be a great way to expand that universe while we wait for the inevitable reboot of the series.

You might laugh at this one and I admit the idea had more merit 25 years ago than it does today, but I always wanted to see more of the Fruit Brute munching heroin dealer Lance from Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction. Eric Stoltz was so good in the small role that I’d happily sign up to see him in another crime adventure where his sales skills and little black medical book are put to the test. Given actress Rosanna Arquette’s recent criticism of Tarantino, I doubt her return as Lance’s wife Jody is in the cards, but who’s to say Lance hasn’t moved on to a new love along with new customers?

Finally, I doubt we’ll ever see this thanks to the well-deserved cancellation of author Neil Gaiman, but the brief appearance of occult detective Johanna Constantine in the Netflix adaptation of The Sandman promised more. Jenna Coleman’s performance would be a welcome lead for a new show if the streamer could somehow separate new material from the original writer.

What about you? Have a favorite supporting character you want to see take the spotlight? Comment below!

The Usage of Public Domain

 

Image Credit: Columbia Pictures

For anyone unfamiliar with the legalities of public domain, essentially after a certain number of years either since an artistic work was created or since the author/artist’s death, the copyright on that intellectual property expires. Once expired, others can use it for themselves without payment to or permission from the original artist. This might mean remakes, sequels, spin-offs, new printings, or any other product based on the IP. Sometimes these new works are wonderful reinterpretations or expansions of the original work. Sometimes they’re just shameless money grabs.

I took a shot at public domain several years ago myself. I wrote a short story spin-off of Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula that reimagines the gothic adventures of his side character Renfield. I find this lost and deranged soul to be a fascinating character and wondered what his life might have been like if his end in the novel wasn’t truly his end. This short story is one of several that sits unsold on my hard drive and I hadn’t thought much about it lately until last night.

The topic of public domain popped into my head again after I finished watching Season 1 of the Amazon Prime series, Young Sherlock. Author Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous detective has garnered a massive fandom since he was first introduced in the 1887 short story “A Study in Scarlet.” Over his lifetime, Doyle wrote four novels and 56 short stories about Holmes and there have been countless adaptations since. Because I enjoyed director Guy Ritchie’s take on Holmes in the 2009 film Sherlock Holmes and its 2011 sequel Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows, I decided to watch the Prime series since Ritchie is listed as a co-creator. It doesn’t disappoint. Young Sherlock does what I wish all users of public domain would do. It expands the world of the detective to show us more of his origins and family and it does so in a well-written and respectful way. We get to meet his parents, Silas and Cordelia, along with his long-lost sister Beatrice. None of these characters exist in the works of Doyle, but they’re introduced in a way that makes them feel organic and important to his backstory. We’re also shown the origins of his nemesis James Moriarty and given a glimpse into why the two are so tightly linked all of their adult lives. Young Sherlock is public domain used in an artistic and entertaining way.

There are other recent examples of public domain usage done right. Since the turn of the century, we’ve seen director Guillermo del Toro take on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein last year in a film for Netflix. The Showtime series Penny Dreadful depicted Frankenstein, Dorian Gray, Dr. Jekyll, and more in overlapping stories that took place during the Victorian age. Author Silvia Moreno-Garcia wrote the novel The Daughter of Doctor Moreau in 2022 that remains on my To Read pile.

However there are many more uses of public domain that are either entertaining but probably not something the original author would appreciate (the films The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003), Alice in Wonderland (2010), Wicked (2024), Wuthering Heights (2026)) or just plain terrible money grabs (Van Helsing (2004), Holmes & Watson (2018), Renfield (2023), Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood & Honey (2023), Mickey’s Mouse Trap (2024)).

This year artistic works created in 1930 enter the public domain in the US and I’m sure a few of them will wind up being recreated in some fashion in the near future. Disney’s dog Pluto, cartoon Betty Boop, author Dashiell Hammet’s The Maltese Falcon, teenage detective Nancy Drew, and Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple are among the new options. Hopefully the adopters of this newly available IP will follow the lead of artists like Ritchie and del Toro. Art that is still remembered and enjoyed nearly 100 years after its creation isn’t just recyclable material to make a buck. It’s part of our history and deserves our respect. 

All I Want for Christmas

 

Photo Credit: Matt Handle

Reflecting on the fact that the only contribution I made to this blog over the past year was an award eligibility post last week made me feel like a bit of a cad so here you go, one more post for 2024. Despite the fact that this year included more than the usual amount of terrible shit around the world, it did present some quality stuff worth recognizing and wishing for more in 2025. This post is about those good things – the stories, films, and shows I enjoyed and/or added to my wish list this holiday season.  

 

I read a baker’s dozen of books this year. Many of you probably read more than that, but with a rewarding, full-time career in software, a wife, three kids, a cat, and all the scribblings I jot down with whatever writing instrument is close at hand, 13 is all I managed. Of those, three stand out as exceptional though all were published before the year began. Caliban’s War is Book 2 in James S.A. Corey’s Expanse series. It’s just as good as the first and even better than the television series it spawned. Book 3 is at the top of my list this year and I highly recommend this series to any science fiction fans that haven’t discovered it yet. The Nighthouse Keeper is Book 2 in author Lora Senf’s Blight Harbor trilogy. While it might be geared toward middle-grade readers, this decidedly older-than-early-teen reader enjoyed it just as much as her debut The Clackity and you can bet her follow-up The Loneliest Place is on my list for 2025. Finally, after almost 20 years I got around to reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by the late Stieg Larsson. No wonder it became such as worldwide sensation. Great book.

I tend to be a pretty harsh critic of films and television shows. I’ve rated almost 2000 of them on IMDb and have given just six a perfect 10 of 10 and 23 a score of 9 of 10. Nothing released this year reached those lofty scores in my book, but I did rate three things an 8. Dune: Part Two is the type of movie that demands a cinema experience. I saw it in IMAX and it blew me away. I can nitpick about the script in places, but the cinematography is amazing. My Christmas List definitely includes director Denis Villeneuve’s planned follow-up Dune: Messiah. I also loved The Wild Robot. The book it’s based on is geared toward young readers, but the movie will pull at the heartstrings of every parent who sees it. I hope more animation studios strive to produce this level of storytelling in 2025. The Apple TV+ series Slow Horses released Season 4 this year and it was every bit as good as Seasons 1-3. For my money, it’s the best thing on the small screen right now. Two more seasons are planned and I can’t wait.

Other stuff slated for the end of this year and 2025 that you’ll find on my list include director Robert Eggers’ remake of Nosferatu, the upcoming final installment of the Tom Cruise film series Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, author Lora Senf’s upcoming young adult novel The Losting Fountain, and Thomas Ha’s first collection of short stories, Uncertain Sons and Other Stories.

All told, I’ve got plenty to be thankful for and more than enough to be excited about. I hope the gifts found under and the loved ones found sitting ‘round your tree this season bring you peace and happiness. I look forward to sharing more words and work with you in 2025!

Here Come the Cereal Serials

 

Image Credit: Sporcle

With theaters still closed due to Corona, there is no doubt that premium cable and streamers like Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime, and HBO are the current kings of content and while they do make original movies, their bread and butter are series. The Mandalorian, Bridgerton, Cobra Kai, Castlevania, The Witcher, Westworld, and Jack Ryan are just a few of the examples of shows that are currently demanding eyeballs all around the country, reaping those big subscription dollars. Everyone knows Hollywood likes nothing better than exploiting recognizable titles, characters, and storylines. Why risk a multi-million dollar budget on something original that may or not appeal to an audience when you can just produce a spin-off from a popular film (The Mandalorian, Cobra Kai, and Westworld), adapt a video game (Castlevania), or adapt a book series (Bridgerton, The Witcher, and Jack Ryan)? With that in mind, I give you the next promised land – breakfast cereal characters!

Sure, go ahead and laugh but keep in mind the Transformers toy line has churned out six feature films and god knows how many cartoon series and Johnny Depp became one of the biggest stars in the world thanks to a series of pirate movies based on a theme park ride. Are the following ideas really that far-fetched?

 

Trix

Maybe it’s just a sign of the times when cereal mascots were popular, but it doesn’t take long to notice all the best ones were decidedly male so we’re going to gender swap this one. Suzy Rabbit, known as “Tricks” around the casinos, isn’t just one of the best gamblers on the 60s Las Vegas Strip. After getting busted reaching for that brass ring, she’s now a secret agent, working undercover with the FBI to bring down the crime bosses who have taken control of the town. Evan Rachel Wood stars in this live action drama that’s violent and sexy enough that it’s definitely not for kids.

Lucky Charms

Aidan Gillen killed it as Littlefinger in Game of Thrones and again as Aberama Gold in Peaky Blinders. Now he stars as Lucky, an Irish treasure hunter who travels the wilds of his homeland at the turn of the first millennium in search of his fortune while trying to avoid marauding Vikings in this exciting live-action spin-off from General Mills’ delicious toasted oats and multi-colored marshmallow cereal.

Froot Loops

Like the main character in my novel-in-progress, Sam Toucan is a private-eye. Sam is older and wiser than my protagonist though. He always follows his nose and it never steers him wrong. Beloved Hollywood icon Jeff Goldblum hasn’t played a detective this fun since 1980’s Tenspeed and Brown Shoe but he’s back on television and better than ever in this comedic crime drama.

Cap’n Crunch

If you didn’t get enough of Russell Crowe sailing the high seas in the 2003 film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World you’ll be thrilled to know Quaker Oats has cast him as the animated Cap’n Crunch along with the whole crew as they battle for the safety of Crunch Island against the Sogmaster and of course the captain’s arch-nemesis, the dastardly Jean LaFoote as voiced by Sasha Baron Cohen.

Honey Smacks

Kevin Hart stars in this live action comedy as Frank Diggem, a streetwise inner city high school teacher who will do anything he has to in order to protect his students from the dangers of life in one of the roughest neighborhoods in New York City while also trying to raise his own precocious young daughter Honey all while negotiating a sometimes less-than-friendly relationship with his ex-wife and her new husband.

Monster Cereals

Universal’s attempt at a Dark Universe may have failed miserably with the ill-advised 2017 remake of The Mummy, but that’s no reason a similar concept couldn’t work via an animated series. This time Count Chocula, Boo Berry, Franken Berry, Fruit Brute, and Yummy Mummy star in interconnected episodes of gothic horror ala Showtime’s Penny Dreadful.

Golden Crisp

Post Cereal’s lone entrant into this new era of entertainment features the voice of Will Smith as the always loveable Sugar Bear. This animated series will tell of the ongoing efforts of this mild-mannered hero as he fights to protect neighborhood kids from the eccentric and often dangerous plans of Granny Goodwitch, a local crank voiced by Jane Lynch.

Frosted Flakes

After Dominic Toretto finally drives off into the sunset of the Fast & Furious film series, Vin Diesel will star as Tony, a troubled former pro football star for the fictional Cincinnati Tigers, who now owns a gym in his hometown of Los Angeles. There the kerchief-wearing muscle man mentors up-and-coming athletes and tries to avoid reverting into old habits from his playing days.

Cocoa Puffs

Comedy veteran Chris Kattan is back and better than ever as Sonny the Cuckoo Bird. Watch the animated hijinx of Sonny and his pals as they practice their tricks at the skatepark then get into all sorts of trouble delivering groceries via their Uber Eats-like business.

Rice Krispies

And finally the Jonas Brothers star in this animated series about the brothers Snap, Crackle, and Pop who travel the world as a groovy boy band but solve mysteries everywhere they go. You won’t catch them eating any Scooby snacks, but they do enjoy a nice bowl of rice cereal in milk before every gig.

Hollywood Needs Books

Photo Credit: HBO

If you follow my Twitter feed, you know I’m a huge Game of Thrones fan. For my money, it’s one of the 10 best TV shows ever made.* That said, the past two seasons, as fun as they are, illustrate a common problem with the very best long running dramas television has to offer. Shows of this type are almost always improved when they’re based on source material. TV provides a visual medium that modern audiences demand, but books remain the best way to tell detailed stories.

GoT is based on the A Song of Ice and Fire series by author George R.R. Martin. Martin has written five of a planned seven books. Two seasons ago, the show surpassed his novels and had to strike out on its own, finishing Martin’s story with nothing more than his notes. The lack of Martin’s guiding prose is obvious. Episodes are more action packed but character development has suffered and plots are much less intricate or logical.

Screen Rant recently published an excellent article that details some of these gaps. This phenomenon isn’t unique. Another of my favorite shows, Dexter provides an equally obvious example. The crime series ran from 2006 to 2013 on Showtime and is based on a book by Jeff Lindsay. The first two seasons are excellent and completely hooked me but as the seasons wore on and moved further away from the source material, they got more and more far-fetched. By the final season, I basically watched out of spite. I hated what they’d done to the main characters and just wanted to know how they would end it. For the record, the ending was lousy.

Source material forms the basis of many other great TV shows. American Gods and Black Sails from Starz, and Walking Dead from AMC are a few more examples. Movies are no exception either. Blade Runner, The Godfather, Fight Club, L.A. Confidential, and The Shawshank Redemption are just a few of many great movies based on novels or short stories.

So what does all of this mean to long-suffering authors like me (and some of you) that are just trying to find an audience? It means even if there are less readers out there than we’d like, TV and film have tremendous reach and often look to prose for inspiration. Hollywood needs books so keep on writing. 

* Hmm, I smell a new blog topic!