The link below will take you to a lengthy (approximately three hours) interview with the brilliant writer (and Ray Bradbury friend) Richard Matheson, posted by the Archive of American Television. The interview is broken into seven segments, and the topics discussed in each segment are listed below the viewing area, which allows the viewer to pick and choose. Mr. Matheson discusses a wide variety of topics, including his work for THE TWILIGHT ZONE and film. And in the sixth segment, Mr. Matheson discusses his script for the television production of Ray Bradbury's THE MARTIAN CHRONICLES, and the difficulties of adapting Ray's poetic prose to the screen.
As mentioned on this forum in the past, the outstanding writer Richard Matheson was a good friend of Ray Bradbury. They were both part of "The Group", California-based writers who bonded in the 1950's and helped each other with their work. And Richard Matheson's story collection DUEL (still in print, by the way) was dedicated to Ray. The link below will take you to an interview with Mr. Matheson in which he discusses both his story "Duel", and the film starring Dennis Weaver made from his screenplay by director Stephen Spielberg. That film remains arguably the finest (and scariest!) made-for-television movie of all time:
Writer Stanley Wiater hosted an excellent TV series over the course of a few years that featured interviews with writers, actors and filmmakers who were involved in fantasy and horror. It was called DARK DREAMERS. For an excellent interview with Ray Bradbury's friend Richard Matheson, which appeared on the DARK DREAMERS series, click on the link below. During the interview, Mr. Matheson briefly discusses Ray (including a letter he wrote to Ray after reading FAHRENHEIT 451).
