Celebrating the 'Year Of #Pompeii'

This opening paragraph in Forbes recently caught our eye:

New excavations have been ongoing at Pompeii for a few years, largely related to conservation work and other attempts to protect the UNESCO world heritage site from both looters and the environment, but 2018 has produced dozens of visually striking artifacts and skeletons that suggest 2018 was the 'Year of Pompeii.'

The ancient town is best remembered for being destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD - some 19-hundred years ago. Some of the archaeological interests that surfaced this year include:

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Litany of Saint Fidgeta (rev.)

 As you prepare (or wait) for the film, keep Saint Fidgeta on your mind:

• From the wandering wonder we suffer while waiting in long lines ... sweet Fidgeta, deliver us.
• From the pandering previews that preoccupy our time ... sweet Fidgeta, deliver us.
• From the "Let's Go Out to the Lobby"-like earworm playing incessantly in your head ... sweet Fidgeta, deliver us.
• From the feeling during the film we will see our noses and it will make us cross-eyed ... sweet Fidgeta, deliver us.

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Film reviews: The House with a Clock in it Walls

Inside One Of Hollywood's Most Famous Wurlitzer Pipe Organs

LAist writer Tim Greiving writes about the Wurlitzer Pipe Organ that shaped The Sound of Music and The House with a Clock in its Walls:

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The House with a Clock in its Walls: Film Reaction and Review Videos

There have been countless reaction and review videos for films for years, and now we can add The House with a Clock in its Walls to that list.  Below is our ever-growling list of reaction and review videos from the past few months. We'll update it as we find more.

Drop us a line to have your video added below.

Here's the obligatory #HouseWithAClock hashtag to show we're playing along, too.

'House' Has Potential for a Universal Franchise #HouseWithAClock

Comic Book Resources (CBR) reports that with the weekend success of "The House with a Clock in its Walls" that Universal Pictures may have stumbled onto its own low-key answer to some sort of franchise.  After all, they point out, there are a dozen novels in the series - from both Bellairs and Brad Strickland:

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Film reviews: The House with a Clock in it Walls

'House' Wins Box Office with $26.9M

Congratulations are in order for director Eli Roth, writer Eric Kripk, and the entire cast and crew as USA Today reports "The House with a Clock in its Walls" won the weekend box office:

The Gothic family fantasy film exceeded expectations to debut with an estimated $26.9 million in ticket sales at the weekend box office, while audiences showed considerably less interest in Michael Moore's documentary, "Fahrenheit 11/9."  "House" was easily the biggest draw on a quiet weekend at movie theaters, where the other three new wide releases all disappointed or outright flopped.

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Film reviews: The House with a Clock in it Walls

Fatherly: ‘House’ Seems Like It Wants a Sequel (#FigureInTheShadows)

Alicia Kort at Fatherly writes that the new adaptation of "House" seems like it wants to setup a potential sequel:

For a second, the new creepy children’s movie starring Jack Black and Cate Blanchett looked like it might be kicking off a kid’s horror franchise, but as Lewis Barnavelt’s Magic 8-Ball would say “Don’t count on it.”

So, for now, there isn’t any big post-credits scene or ending to tease a sequel — the next book in this series is called The Figure in the Shadows — but don’t expect a new movie with that title to come out anytime soon. Which is too bad, really, these books are great, and the new film is worth your time, too. A sequel could still happen, of course, it just depends on how everyone likes this movie.

NY Post: Roth Goes from Gore to Gorey

Johnny Oleksinsk writes in the New York Post (Sept. 20) about Eli Roth's Edward Gorey-influenced scenes and characters in his adaptation of The House with a Clock in its Walls:

The director of frightful flicks such as “Hostel” and “Death Wish” has his first family film, “The House With a Clock in Its Walls,” out Friday. The movie is based on the 1973 novel by John Bellairs with drawings by famed illustrator Edward Gorey. Interpreting that late artist’s work for the screen was a childhood dream come true for Roth, a superfan. “Edward Gorey is my favorite,” Roth tells The Post. “I have Gorey art all over my house. I’ve found original prints, original drawings of his. I knew instantly the Gothic style.”

Marshall Celebrates Premiere of #HouseWithAClock

WWMT-TV shares some scenes of the Marshall debut of "House" on Friday night:

Marshall Rolls Out the Red Carpet for #HouseWithAClock

Kalea Hall writes in the Battle Creek Enquirer (Sept. 21) about the festivities taking place at the 146-year-old Cronin Mansion in Marshall:

How 'House' Led To All Things 'Supernatural' #HouseWithAClock

Entertainment Weekly discusses how 10-year-old Eric Kripke discovered The House With a Clock in Its Walls as a child and how it led to other Supernatural things:

Variety: 'House' Ticks at Box Office Friday

Variety reports that "The House With a Clock in Its Walls” is ticking to a U.S. opening of $20 million-plus, early estimates showed on Friday:

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Publishers Weekly Celebrates "House"

Matia Burnett at Publishers Weekly provides some background on John Bellairs and the forthcoming movie:

Before there was “The Boy Who Lived,” there was Lewis Barnavelt, a 10-year-old orphan who brushed shoulders with wizards, witches, sorcerers, ghosts, and his share of occultists. With the film adaptation of John Bellairs’s 1973 novel, The House with a Clock in Its Walls, releasing on September 21, a new generation of readers will have the opportunity to discover Bellairs’s storytelling. The film stars Owen Vaccaro (Daddy’s Home), Jack Black (Goosebumps) and Cate Blanchett (Ocean's 8), and is directed by Eli Roth (Cabin Fever), marking the horror director’s first “family-friendly” film.

In 2011, Bradley J. Fischer and James Vanderbilt of Mythology Entertainment approached screenwriter Eric Kripke (creator of "Supernatural") for the film project. As a child of the 1980s, Kripke was very familiar with Bellairs. Kripke recently told Entertainment Weekly that “when I was 10, I fell in love with this book.” In fact, the only fan letter Kripke ever wrote as a child was to Bellairs.

Thanks, Matia!

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B&N: Opening the Doorway for a Generation of Dark Fantasy Readers

Here's a rare post this week not about the upcoming film adaption of The House with -- you know the rest.  Jeff Somers praises John Bellairs at the Barnes and Noble Sci-Fi and Fantasy blog, noting the novels:

...recognize that kids can handle being scared, and don’t need to be coddled. They capture the spirit of youth without condescending to it, and have continued to do so even as the middle grade and young adult markets have matured—for many in a later generation of readers, Bellairs’ books filled the Potter-sized hole in their hearts after that series ended.

Somers goes on to give his take on a Bellairs top ten ... with the book the adaptation is based on leading the way at number one. What books make up your ten favorite John Bellairs books?

Film News: FemaleFirst Fan Finds

FemaleFirst is giving away a merchandise bundle to fans in the UK to celebrate "The House With A Clock In Its Walls".  The bundle includes a mystic ball, an alarm clock, a projection torch, a t-shirt and a Spellbook style notebook. The contest closes Sept. 24.

Film News: Public Invited to Free “House” Magical Escape Experience

Off the news wire for those in California this and next weekend:

Before Amblin Entertainment's spine-tingling, magical adventure opens in theaters, journey inside The House with a Clock in Its Walls as it comes to life before your eyes. Experience magic and puzzles as you explore movie props and special effects before you ultimately escape. The experience is safe for kids, but will include a few light scares from the house itself.

Where

• The Americana at Brand, Store #837
• Near the corner of S. Brand Blvd. and Americana Way
• Glendale, CA, 91210

When

• Weekends of Sept. 14 -16, and 21 - 23, 2018
• Hours: 11:00 AM – 7:00 PM

Film News: Eli Roth, Horologist

Director Eli Roth has a "weird clock obsession" - which made him the ideal candidate to direct the horror film, "The House With A Clock In Its Walls."

Film News: Eli Roth has 'House' sequel 'ready'

Are fans ready for more Lewis Barnavelt? Eli Roth has a story "ready" for a  The House with a Clock in its Walls sequel, according to Celebretainment:

Film News: Roth, Black and the "Black Satanic Goat"

Celebretainment reports 'House' director Eli Roth let loose a "black satanic goat" to trash Jack Black's trailer during the filing filming of The House with a Clock in Its Walls:

Film News: 'House' Leads Studio Television Ad Spending

If you've been seeing a lot of Lewis Barnavelt recently there's a reason.  Variety reports  that Universal Pictures claims the top spot in television spending with The House With a Clock in Its Walls:

#HousewithaclockReadalong Happening This Month

Author and blogger and Richard Denney is celebrating John Bellairs again this month.  Richard and friends are reading - what else? - The House with a Clock in its Walls to celebrate the upcoming film in just a mere 15 days.  That's around 1,296,000 ticks to go! Not that we're counting - or reusing that joke again.  Share your thoughts with Richard and friends...happy reading, all.

Film News: Jack Black on childhood, magic and Cate Blanchett

Michael Idato of The Sydney Morning Herald interviews actor Jack Black about his childhood, his love of science fiction, and more:

Film News: Black Tackling ‘Scary Side of Kids’ Cinema’

In an interview with Film News UK, Jack Black discusses his role of Jonathan Barnavelt:

The Tenacious D frontman is prepared for inevitable comparisons to J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter franchise due to the film’s notes of “wizardry and witchcraft”. The House with a Clock in Its Walls is also based on a book of the same name, the first in an 11-part (sic) series, however, Jack admitted he was unfamiliar with the 1973 novel by John Bellairs until he won the role.

“I didn’t know the books. But I quickly read this book when I got the part,” he shared. “I was a big fan of (the book’s illustrator) Edward Gorey’s, so it was cool to see a collaboration between him and another writer. And yeah, I really dug it. And I really dug what the screenwriter did in the adaptation (sic).”

Film News: Jackson’s 'Thriller 3D’ to Play on IMAX Screens with ‘House'

The Associated Press reports that Michael Jackson’s estate and the IMAX company are partnering to digitally remaster Michael Jackson’s Thriller 3D for a special theatrical presentation ahead of director Eli Roth’s The House with a Clock in Its Walls.

Film News: The New Shocking Is Doing a PG Movie

At an editing bay on the Universal Studios lot recently, director Eli Roth screened scenes from The House With a Clock in Its Walls for Chris Lea of Vulture and the two chatted about why Roth wanted to do a kids’ film now:

The Day Caroline Vandriel met John Bellairs

We sense columnist Caroline Vandriel may not be alone in some of these thoughts:

A few weeks ago, while online, I happened upon a movie trailer for “The House with a Clock in its Walls”. While I was intrigued by the casting (Jack Black and Cate Blanchette), I was thrown by the visual styling of it. The music track, title lettering, and overall tone was reminiscent of the Harry Potter films, and I assumed it was a knock off, which irked me. Knock offs are rarely as good as their original counterparts, and, to my way of thinking, it’s cheating. I decided to check out the book it was based on, fully anticipating being bored and annoyed. I was wrong.

Read more of her "creepy cool" comments in the Aug.7 edition of the Eckville Echo.

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Trailer reviews: The House with a Clock in it Walls

Interview: Derek Piotr

If you’re looking for something to complement your reading why not select some of the sounds of Derek Piotr. He's an experimental musician - really a producer and composer - and recently shared his thoughts on being a life-long fan of John Bellairs’s books.

Marshall to roll out red carpet for 'The House with a Clock in Its Walls'

Nick Buckley of the Battle Creek Enquirer reports on some of the ways that John Bellairs's hometown of Marshall will welcome in the film adaption of The House with a Clock in its Walls:

An Interview with #PriscillaBellairs

Back in May, Priscilla Bellairs sat down with Dr. Chris for an enlightening interview on the Radio of Horror . If you missed the original broadcast, here's the audio. Happy listening!

Film: Composer Builds Scoring Stage Just for Classic Wurlitzer Pipe Organ

Variety reports [June 6] how composer Nathan Barr is giving new life to a decades old Wurlitzer pipe organ and how  it's 21st-century debut for movie audiences comes this September in The House With a Clock in its Walls:

Memoriam: Richard Peck

Author Richard Peck has died at the age of 84. 

Don't Look and It Won't Hurt (1972) was his first of 40 novels for young readers.  His writing earned him the 1990 Margaret Edwards Award, the 1990 National Council of Teachers of English/ALAN Award for outstanding contributions to young adult literature, and the Mystery Writers of America Edgar Allan Poe Award.

His 1975 novel, The Ghost Belonged to Me, introduced readers to Blossom Culp who would go on to feature in four of Peck's novels.  Ghost was one of three stories included in Once Upon a Midnight Scary, the 1979 program hosted by Vincent Price that included, in addition to Peck's novel, adaptations of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and The House with a Clock in its Walls.

A Glimpse Inside 'The House with a Clock in its Walls'

A delightful article from the Gloucester Daily Times about Priscilla Bellairs and the upcoming film adaptation of The House with a Clock in its Walls:

In mid-November, Bellairs was invited to visit the film set in Atlanta, Georgia, where she received a warm welcome from the film crew and cast members, including Jack Black, who she recalls was dressed in "hideous makeup," and Blanchet.  There, Bellairs witnessed the filming of three different scenes, which she said took place on "deeply elaborate sets" with an outstanding attention to detail in keeping with the settings of John's imaginative novel.

Plus, for those in or around the Newburyport area:

Coming up on Tuesday, May 15, Priscilla Bellairs will host a program at the Emma Andrews Library in Newburyport, during which she will give an eyewitness account of how an idea in the mind of John Bellairs more than 40 years ago became a children's classic book — and now, a feature film by Universal Pictures.  During the program, she will discuss her unique perspective on the film, which is sure to come with some surprises for Bellairs fans; though many readers speculate the house in "The House with a Clock in its Walls" is based on a Victorian in John's hometown of Marshall, Michigan, and others argue that it is based on a Haverhill mansion, Priscilla Bellairs revealed that it wasn't entirely based on either, but on a composite of the two.

Radio Of Horror Highlights /bɛl ɛrz/

Our friends at the Radio of Horror have highlighted John Bellairs, both in text and video:

John’s books really help me get thru a lot of crap in my child hood and was the first book series I ever latched onto as a kid to really embrace. Stories of teenage kids teaming up with an old mentor to stop a doomsday weapon surrounded by Supernatural forces black magic and more really appealed to me. The cover jackets and front page had some of the best art by the late Edward Gorey I ever saw and loved it.

And our best guess, of the pronunciation, is /bɛl ɛrz si ʌ/.

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Film News: Things Are Quite Different Here #HouseWithAClock

The first trailer for The House with a Clock in its Walls was released today. It's our first chance to see Uncle Jonathan (Jack Black), Lewis (Owen Vaccaro), and Mrs. Zimmermann (Cate Blanchett) in action.  A mere 177 days until the September 21 debut.  The clock is ticking....

Film News: Photos From Inside "House"

USA Today features the first photos of The House with a Clock in Its Walls (in theaters Sept. 21), horror director Eli Roth's new family-friendly magical adventure that stars Jack Black as a small-town warlock and Cate Blanchett as the witch next door. (The debut trailer drops Tuesday morning.)

Quoth Bellairsia: #PedantAndTheShuffly #Shuffly

"WANNA PLAY?"

"Fun!"

The Shuffly - The Pedant and the Shuffly

Chastising The Pedant and the Shuffly

So, we mentioned a dozen days ago that we were celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of Bellairs's second book, The Pedant and the Shuffly. We also noted some of the Chicago influences on the book and hinted there was another Chicago story to tell. And here it is.

Quoth Bellairsia: #PedantAndTheShuffly #Announcement

"What is a shuffly? Who is snodrog? Find out at the autogrphing (Sic) afternoon at Staver's Bookshop and meet the Author and illustrator of the new book: 'The Pedant and the Shuffly' a fable inspired by 57th Street. Time: Saturday, February 24 - 2 to 5. Staver Booksellers, 1301 East 57th Street, Chicago."

Advertisement - The Chicago Maroon (Feb. 20, 1968)

Celebrating The Pedant and the Shuffly

This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of The Pedant and the Shuffly, the second book of John Bellairs and his second collaboration with illustrator Marilyn Fitschen. The short, 79-page illustrated fable details the encounter of the two titular characters: the pedantic wizard Snodrog, who submits logic traps to his fellow countrymen to transform their weak-minded bodies into linen napkins, and the fury, mop-topped creature known as the Shuffly, whose cheery and playful mindset constantly circumvents the Snodrog's best laid plans.

Quoth Bellairsia: #PedantAndTheShuffly #SirBertram

"We toss the dusty erasers of old questions into the air and try to bat them with solid answers."

Sir Bertram - The Pedant and the Shuffly

Remembering Ursula K. Le Guin

Forty years ago The Face in the Frost was first released in paperback through Ace Books, a well-known publisher of science fiction and fantasy titles. In a June, 1978, letter to his friend Gerald Kadish, Bellairs briefly mentions his book and then shares the good news:

"[Face] is coming out in November in paperback! I was sent the lurid jacket sample by a girl who works for Ace Paperbacks. The jacket has blurbs by Lin Carter and Ursula K. Le Guin, and I am tickled."

Le Guin died last week at her home in Oregon, leaving behind a celebrated body of work, including the Earthsea series, stories in the Hainish Cycle, and numerous standalone novels and short stories. Awards for her work include the National Book Award, the Newbery Medal, and multiple Hugo and Nebula awards.

(For the record, Le Guin says Face is “authentic fantasy by a writer who knows what wizardry is all about.")

Time Capsule: Jan. 27, 1938

We noted John's eightieth birthday earlier this month on Jan. 17.  Today’s the eightieth anniversary of his coming home from the hospital.  It’s not surprising to see he was born in Oaklawn Hospital, likely similar to the hospital Lewis visits at the end of The Figure in the Shadows (1975).

These Eighty Years: #HappyBirthday #JohnBellairs

Celebrating what would have been the 80th birthday of John Bellairs, born this 17th day of January in 1938, in Marshall, Michigan.  Birthday wishes courtesy of:

#JohnBellairs, author of my fave book #HouseWithAClockInItsWalls would have been 80 today. Happy Birthday, sir. It's an honor & a life goal adapting your book into a movie. (Everyone! Read the book! Then see the movie this fall!) @eliroth #JackBlack #CateBlanchett https://t.co/vLkon8kxwL

— Eric Kripke (@therealKripke) January 17, 2018

John Bellairs' birthday is Jan 17! In celebration, I just posted about Tim Powers and Bellairs. @Bellairsia: #HouseWithAClockInItsWalls #johnbellairs https://t.co/uVw34q3uW2

— Ned Hayes (@nedwriting) January 17, 2018

Some of This Year's Book-to-Movie Adaptations

Amy Durant writes in the Watertown (NY) Daily Times of the various books being adapted for the screen this year, of which she's counted 15.  Titles include Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle and The Haunting of Hill House (as Durnt points out, no "The Lottery"), and the classic A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle.  Oh, and one this site and its fans are keenly aware of:

Playing the Torturer, By Small and Small

 

The notion of memorializing a crime in miniature caught our eye this Sunday morning, if only because it reminded us of the dollhouse room in the Childermass Clock, itself a rather macabre monument to Childermass family secrets.

The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death are a series of intricately-designed dollhouse-style dioramas created by Frances Glessner Lee (1878–1962), a pioneer in forensic science.  Glessner Lee used her inheritance to establish a department of legal medicine at Harvard Medical School in 1936, and donated the first of the Nutshell Studies in 1946 for use in lectures on the subject of crime scene investigation. In 1966, the department was dissolved, and the dioramas went to the Maryland Medical Examiner’s Office in Baltimore, Maryland, where they are on permanent loan and still used for forensic seminars.  The 2012 documentary "Of Dolls and Murder" celebrates Glessner Lee and her creations, the latter of which were the focus of a story on CBS-TV's Sunday Morning.

Survey: Your Favorite Judith Brown Artwork in "Treasure"

Artist and illustrator Judith Gwyn Brown created 10 full page illustrations for The Treasure of Alpheus Winterborn and, in celebration of its 40th anniversary, we want to know which one is your favorite.

2018 Kicks Off with #JohnBellairsMonth, 'Pedant' Celebration

Happy 2018!

Right out of the gate, January is Richard Denney‏’s #JohnBellairsMonth in which he and other fans will read The House with a Clock in its Walls (he’s done this month-thing before, too, so he’s no novice).  If you want some discussion topics or need some past reviews we've got you covered.

It’s a good book to celebrate and a good month to celebrate, too, as the 17th would have been John’s 80th birthday.