Footprints Included?

Grauman's on the block as value peaks: "Amid seismic shifts in local exhibition, Warner Bros. and Viacom are stepping up efforts to unload L.A.-area movie theaters piecemeal, including the iconic Grauman's Chinese in Hollywood. Such an exit would conclude an initially profitable but more recently tedious tenure of ownership for the studio companies."

He Should Have Stayed off the Lawn

Would-be thief gets a taste of small town justice - KXLY.com: News, Weather and Sports for Spokane, WA and Coeur d'Alene, ID |: "Some are calling it La Crosse justices after a man stole another [69-year-old] man's wallet and ended up getting tackled, hog-tied and left in the middle of Main Street for the police to find him."

Forced Vengeance

Get In the Ticket Line Now

3D film to be made of Michael Jackson's final days - Times Online: "Michael Jackson will appear in cinemas in 3D this autumn after Sony Pictures was given permission by a judge in Los Angeles to make a film from the footage of the singer rehearsing for his planned This Is It concert series at the O2 in London.

The $60 million movie, which is expected to be directed by Kenny Ortega, will be released in cinemas on October 30 in the United States."

15 Worst Movie Titles

15 Worst Movie Titles - Oddee.com: "Fifteen of the corniest, most ridiculous and downright bad titles of real movies."

Philip K. Dick Update

Terry Gilliam to adapt Philip K. Dick’s The World Jones Made - SFFMedia: "Terry Gilliam, renowned for his excellent science fiction/fantasy films such as Brazil and Twelve Monkeys, as well as being part of the Monty Python comedy team, is planning to adapt Philip K. Dick’s science fiction novel The World Jones Made for the big screen."

The Hugo Awards

The Hugo Awards

Thanks to Todd Mason for the link.

Hank, R. I. P.

Jungle Island's 'crocosaurus' dies at 47 - Miami-Dade - MiamiHerald.com: "He was 2,000 pounds of muscle and scaly flesh, believed to be the largest of his kind on this side of the planet. He dined on cold and raw chickens, their bones crackling as he crunched. He was an intimidating creature. So when he came to Miami, the dry-humored staff at Jungle Island marketed him by giving him a cute name.

Hank the Crocosaurus, among the most popular of the Watson Island tourist attraction's confection of unusual animals, was found motionless at the bottom of his pool Saturday. He was 47."

Joe Lansdale Interviews Hap & Leonard

Right here.

And while you're there, you should go ahead and read this short story by Neal Barrett, Jr.

Gator Update (Personal Watercraft Edition)

Alligator Holds Stranded Jet Skier At Bay - County By County News Story - WFTV Orlando: "A man whose personal watercraft's engine stalled was stranded on an Orange County lake while an alligator lurked nearby.

Rescue crews had to pull the man out of Lake Lawne near the San Jose Shores area of Orlando on Sunday evening.

The engine of the personal watercraft he was riding stalled and he was stuck in the middle of the lake for about an hour. He could see an alligator nearby and yelled for help."

Sunrise in Alvin

It's gonna be another hot day, folks.

West Side Story Was Never Like This

Gang attacks lad with 4ft python | The Sun |News: "A BOY was recovering yesterday after being held down by a gang of yobs and bitten by a terrifying new weapon - a SNAKE.

The 4ft-long green reptile sank its fangs into the 14-year-old's right arm, leaving two deep puncture marks.

The helpless lad had been pinned to the ground in a park by his tormentors, who also made racist comments. They then ran off, leaving him shaking with fear."

Gator Update (Training Camp Edition)

Reid says Eagles won't let distractions get in the way of their preparation for season - pressofAtlanticCity.com : Sports: "'If you think this is bad, I remember when I was with New Orleans and we trained in a swamp. Not only was it unbearably hot every day, there were mosquitoes the size of birds. We came out one day and there was an eight-foot alligator in the middle of the field. Some guy in suspenders, a cowboy hat and a pipe in his mouth showed up. He was back the next day wearing a brand new pair of alligator-skin boots.'"

Busted Flush Press: DAMN NEAR DEAD... the sequel!

Busted Flush Press: DAMN NEAR DEAD... the sequel!: "DAMN NEAR DEAD... the sequel!
In 2006, Busted Flush Press released its first original short story collection, Damn Near Dead (edited by Duane Swierczynski, introduction by James Crumley; 0-9767157-5-9; trade paperback original; $18). With 27 all-new 'geezer noir' tales by some of today's top writers -- including Laura Lippman, Stuart MacBride, Mark Billingham, John Harvey, Megan Abbott, Colin Cotterill, Ken Bruen, Reed Farrel Coleman, Jeff Abbott, and many more -- DND went on to earn five award nominations and one win (for Bill Crider's 'Cranked'... read 'Cranked' for free here).

And now... a sequel is in the works!

Alvin, Texas, crime writer Bill Crider (whose DND story was an Edgar nominee!) returns to 'geezer noir,' this time as Damn Near Dead 2's editor. The anthology will debut at NoirCon (Nov. 4-7, 2010; Philadelphia, PA) with several of the contributors in attendance.
And just who are the contributors?? Well, stay tuned... Trust me, this will be quite a line-up!!"

She Wore a Yellow Ribbon

"Human Foot" Update

"Foot" in NY recycling plant was bear paw: "It turns out that a decomposing 'foot' found among recyclables at a western New York landfill came from a bear, not a person."

I'll Just Have a Hamburger

Mice, anyone? Making a meal out of mice in Malawi - Yahoo! News: "LILONGWE, Malawi – Cooked, salted or dried, field mice strung on sticks are sold as a popular delicacy in Malawi markets and roadside stalls.

The mice are hunted in corn fields after the harvest when they have grown plump on a diet of grains, fruits, grass and the odd insect. The most widely eaten species is known locally as Kapuku, gray in color and with a shorter tail than the more common rat."

Photo at link.

Re-Imagining Robin Hood

Dark Knight/300 Producers Developing Futuristic Robin Hood Movie | /Film: "Ridley Scott isn’t the only man in Hollywood making a Robin Hood movie. Warner Bros is also developing a film based on the classic tale, but with a sci-fi twist. . . .

According to RiskyBiz, the story will “be set in a dystopian London and center on a band of thieves whose activities restore hope to the city’s embattled population.” The producers describe it as “a futuristic action adventure” that will be “both inspired by and pay homage to the legend of Robin Hood.”"

Hat tip to Jeff Segal.

Hard Case Crime Update

Friends,

I know, in my last e-mail I wrote that I planned to keep the identity of our second December title a secret until we got closer to its Christmas-season publication date (I think I said something like "I'll tell you when it gets a little colder outside"). Well, it's only August and still plenty hot here in New York City -- but it's hard to keep a secret in the age of the Internet, especially when sites like Amazon.com put books up for pre-order four months in advance...

Yes: You can now see our second December title on Amazon.com (though you have to hunt around a little, due to a bizarre error that has our book's cover attached for some reason to a horror novel by Gord Rollo). But since they let the cat out of the bag early, I figured we might as well come clean, too -- so you can find a full complement of information on the book (cover art, description, sample chapter) at our Web site: www.HardCaseCrime.com.

And what is the book...? It's the very hard-boiled story of a man murdered by a blast from a sawed-off shotgun to the face at point-blank range; of a criminal on the run from Chicago who comes to a dirty Pennsylvania coal-mining town and winds up locking horns with the corrupt Masonic lodge that runs the town; of a Pinkerton detective who sets out to clean up the town; and of the doom that pursues a man across an ocean and leaves him at the mercy of the world's most ruthless criminal mastermind. It's a story narrated by a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, whose partner in investigating the twisted plot is a drug addicted private investigator with a brain like a steel trap.

And wait till you see the cover -- Glen Orbik has really outdone himself here, with his portrait of a gorgeous, bosomy dame in a transparent negligee watching with horror as a man with a brand on his arm appears in her doorway.

And the author -- it's one of the best-selling authors in the world. His books have been made into movies, computer games, comic books; they've sold tens of millions of copies. He's not someone you'd think of as a Hard Case Crime author in a million years!

Now, I can hear you out there, saying, "Come on, Ardai -- if you're gonna spill, spill already. What's the name of the damn book?"

Well.

I think you're just going to have to visit our Web site and see for yourself.

Charles
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Charles Ardai
Editor, Hard Case Crime

Ice Station Zebra