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.

#HouseWithAClock Trailer Reviews (IV)

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/.