Probably the British version of the American "boink."

All I can think of is "Star Trek": "Bonk-bonk on the head!"

Wow. I forgot all about that episode. I haven't seen many of them since they were first aired, so I've forgotten some. This happens to us "grups" you know.

Definition of bonk ( in the British, and probably Australian, sense of the word):

http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=bonk

quote:

Originally posted by philnic:
I am also keen to see the chapter on George Clayton Johnson.

I am too, philnic. Met George at Forry's 89th Birthday Bash last November, and again at ComicCon in July - just a heck of a nice guy. He's also agreed to be interviewed for the 4E doc, so I should be seeing him soon for that. He adores 4E and RB.

GCJ is a class act!

quote:

Originally posted by Doug Spaulding:

quote:

Originally posted by philnic:
I am also keen to see the chapter on George Clayton Johnson.

I am too, philnic. Met George at Forry's 89th Birthday Bash last November, and again at ComicCon in July - just a heck of a nice guy. He's also agreed to be interviewed for the 4E doc, so I should be seeing him soon for that. He adores 4E and RB.

GCJ is a class act!

Phil, am interviewing GCJ next Monday for my doc. If you know of any questions which relate to the Ackerman/Johnson connection, just let me know, and I'll ask him. Am compiling the questions now and am open for suggestions if anyone has any.

I can't think of any quetions for Johnson that relate to Ackerman, but I would be interested to know more about GCJ's relationship with Bradbury:

When did they first meet, and how?
Did he ever discuss his Twilight Zone episode "Nothing in the Dark" with Ray (it's either a homage or a rip-off; I like to think the former)?
How did he get involved in the animated film of Icarus Montgolfier Wright?

I appreciate these are off-topic for your interview, but if you were able to sneak them in when the camera's not rolling...

quote:

Originally posted by philnic:...I would be interested to know more about GCJ's relationship with Bradbury: When did they first meet, and how? Did he ever discuss his Twilight Zone episode "Nothing in the Dark" with Ray (it's either a homage or a rip-off; I like to think the former)?
How did he get involved in the animated film of Icarus Montgolfier Wright? I appreciate these are off-topic for your interview, but if you were able to sneak them in when the camera's not rolling...

I'll try to sneak those in. I don't know if I want to ask him about the potential "rip-off", although it's something I have wondered for quite a while myself.

Here's a link that tells the story of the formative days of TZ and the SoCal writers involved.

http://www.rodserling.com/csorcerers.htm

It has some nice photos of William F. Nolan, Forrest J. Ackerman, and Ray Bradbury, and also some of Charles Beaumont, Richard Matheson, and a couple of George Clayton Johnson which show his evolution from square-jawed, dark-haired, spectacle-wearing youth to his long-haired seventies days after his evolution into a hippie. Good article.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Doug Spaulding,

No, probably not best to use the term "rip-off"!. I think that episode is one of the best, and given that GCJ is a Bradbury fan I'm sure it was either unconscious influence or homage.

The big mystery (much discussed on these boards) is why Bradbury got so upset with Rod Serling (whose scripts occasionally bear a passing resemblance to Bradbury stories), yet remained friends with GCJ (who wrote something remarkably similar to a Bradbury story).

As it happens, I have great admiration for all three writers; I'm just curious as to the relationships between them.

Yes, I've heard two wildly varying versions of Ray's reaction to "Nothing in the Dark" and wonder which, if either, is true--I tend to suspect both.

I don't know RB's reaction to that particular story, however, they seemed to get on very well at Forry's 89th Birthday Bash last November, and GCJ professes great admiration and respect for RB.

Here's a comment Ray made to GCJ once:

"I told you the other night I'd re-read "All of Us Are Dying" and how much I enjoyed it...When I came to the end of the story and read the last lines, I got goose flesh on my neck. What greater tribute can I offer you? Thanks for the neck bumps."

So it sounds like he still likes him.

Absolutely. "Nothing in the Dark" was much more like Bradbury than anything Serling wrote (which I find much more Bradbury influences mixed with other influences, or tributes, if not entirely original) and Bradbury either never had the negative reaction to Johnson that he did to Serling or he got over it.

quote:

Originally posted by philnic:
No, probably not best to use the term "rip-off"!. I think that episode is one of the best, and given that GCJ is a Bradbury fan I'm sure it was either unconscious influence or homage.

The big mystery (much discussed on these boards) is why Bradbury got so upset with Rod Serling (whose scripts occasionally bear a passing resemblance to Bradbury stories), yet remained friends with GCJ (who wrote something remarkably similar to a Bradbury story).

As it happens, I have great admiration for all three writers; I'm just curious as to the relationships between them.

Well Phil and all, I got an earful on the subject this morning from George himself!

We picked him up at his house in Pacoima about 11am and drove to a local eatery which he has been patronizing for several decades, and set up the equipment out on the patio and started the interview. George is nothing if not a great talker: one question yielded 25 minutes worth of response! Yet he is also a very eloquent and intelligent speechmaker.

Well, the interview over, we adjourned inside to the bar to have a libation or two and visit for awhile. I got all kinds of great inside stories on "TZ", "Ocean's 11", Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, "Logan's Run", etc. And then I edged him toward the Bradbury thing - which has quite a tie-in to Rod and the Zone.

1. He basically said that he was not aware at the time that he was "stealing" RB's story - it was "Death and the Maiden" that he unconsciencely plagiarized. He said that it was commonly understood by most horror/sci-fi/fantasy writers of the time that the genre was liken to a square block, and that Bradbury had cut so many swipes in so many directions on that block that many writers of this period nearly duplicated his ideas - some maybe intentional, most certainly not. Furthermore, RB has apparantely never had a problem with George over this. Which brings us to...

2. It is true that Bradbury had a falling out with Rod in the early sixties and never got over it. George tells it thus: Rod came to LA as a NY TV writer, and never really felt a part of the SoCal writers circle, although he certainly used them to fill in the blanks as he could not write every episode of his new show himself. Even before the show debuted, Rod sought out Ray (whose writing he loved), and basically planned the show with him, and George suspects, at least in Ray's mind, around him - it was to be much more a Ray Bradbury Theater, George feels Ray thought.

Rod took this back to the executives in charge of the show who told Rod that it would never work, that Ray's writing in general could not be adapted in such a way as to serve the needs of the program. To make a very long story slightly less long, Rod only wound up using one Bradbury work during the entire series (and many other people's work which could be called, shall we say, "Bradburian"?) Well, Ray basically felt ripped off and blamed Rod.

3. "Icarus Montgolfier Wright". RB published this in a magazine initially, and GCJ had read it and loved it. He was just starting out as a screenwriter, and, at a writer's gathering of some sort (I disremember which), George was at the bar ordering a drink, when up comes Bradbury right beside him and orders a beer. Well, George turns and introduces himself (he had some credits by now), told him that he loved the story, and asked him if he would allow him to write a screen treatment for the work. He said that Ray was very accommodating, and said sure, go do it, but just work on a little at night and do it over time, as he didn't want George to ignore his regular workload. Well, George had the completed first draft in the mail to RB two days later. Ray sent him back the draft with a few changes, and it was filmed as a seventeen minute short, and nominated for an Oscar.

I asked George if it was available, and he said it was not, but some time ago, he obtained a copy of the film and had it transferred to VHS. During the digital revolution, he eventually had that transferred to DVD, and lo and behold, he pulled a DVD copy out of his jacket pocket and showed it to me. Well, you can imagine that I wasted little time in assuring George that I would love to see it. He said he had a couple extra copies and it would be no problem, with one stipulation, though - he would like to be there when I see it to see my reaction! Well, yes George, I can probably arrange to come by sometime and watch it with you.

A productive day, all told.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Doug Spaulding,

Very well done, Doug Spaulding. It must have been an eventful, exciting, and productive day.
This documentary is going to be really something.

Do you believe that something like you have in mind upon completion, could be sold to one of the TV Networks as a Special, or is that fact that Forest may not be as well known as some others be a factor in there not being interest?

Thanks for the great info, Doug!

Ah, Doug, splendid answers! If you were able to elicit this kind of information when the tape wasn't running, I fully expect the recorded interviews in your docu to be well worth watching!

If, by some weird circumstance, you were able to come into possession of a copy of Icarus Montgolfier Wright and, in some fashion, I were able to tease a copy of that copy...please let me know...

To bring this thread back to the UNauthorised biography of Ray Bradbury, I have now received my copy of said book. So far, I have only skimmed it, but I have noticed that it contains a chapter on George Clayton Johnson; indeed, the very same anecdote about how Icarus came into being as a movie. However, the author ends the chapter with a little note to say that Johnson fell out with Bradbury after "Nothing in the Dark". (This note is problematic for two reasons: first, it contradicts what Doug Spaulding has found out for us; second, it assumes that "Nothing in the Dark" FOLLOWED Icarus Monfgolfier Wright, whereas I believe it preceded it.)

The unauthorised biography has other things in it that trouble me. There is poor attention to details, with people's names being spelled wrongly and inconsistently (something I believe is due to its 'vanity publishing' origins, which I mentioned earlier in this thread).

There is also repetition of the claims that Bradbury has written nothing of merit since the 1950s - this is implied or directly stated in interviews with GCJ and Harlan Ellison. Now clearly this is a matter of opinion, but in both cases the author is using interviews FROM THE 1980s as his source. Which means Ray's great 'comeback' Death is a Lonely Business is ignored, along with its sequels; so is Green Shadow, White Whale... short stories such as 'The Toynbee Convector'...

The book also has the most appalling bibliography I've seen in a long time. Apparently, The Martian Chronicles was a film by Francois Truffaut.

There ARE some things of merit in the book, and even some of the dated material is interesting, but Beley's book comes nowhere near Sam Weller's for accuracy or thoroughness.