Bye.
Section 2—Other Interviews
Tyson Blue
Posted: September 14, 2000
Lilja: First, let me take this opportunity to thank you for letting me read your book, Walking the Mile—The Making of “The Green Mile, ” and doing this interview. I really enjoyed the book. It’s well written and a great read!
Tyson Blue: Well, thank you. It’s great to hear that kind of reaction after two long years of writing and rewriting!
Lilja: Please tell me a bit about yourself. How did you end up writing this book?
Tyson Blue: I was asked to do it by Frank Darabont, who remembered reading my work in the old Castle Rock newsletter back when we were both much younger. His memory was jogged when I contacted him about visiting the set while they were on location, and he ended up asking me to cover the whole picture.
Lilja: Tell me a bit about this book. When will it be released and by what publisher?
Tyson Blue: I wish I knew! I thought this would be a no-brainer—the first making-of book about a King film. But a lot of these books have tanked, and publishers are leery. There has been some interest in doing a limited edition from Cemetery Dance Publications, and I’m toying with the notion of doing it electronically, but all that’s a ways off yet.
Lilja: It’s not the first time you wrote about King, right? Tell me a little about the other stuff you have written about King.
Tyson Blue: I have written two books about King and his work, The Unseen King , now sadly out of print, and Observations From the Terminator , which has managed to put two small presses out of business without quite being published. Dave Hinchberger has expressed some interest in that book, so it may yet see the light of day.
I’ve also written hundreds and hundreds of articles, essays, interviews and reviews about King and his work, which have appeared in newspapers and magazines around the world, including Twilight Zone, Midnight Graffiti, Cemetery Dance, Footsteps and others. Abroad, I’ve appeared in Canada in Fenetre Secrete sur Stephen King , in Italy in Cleaver , in Germany in Horror-News and the French magazines Steve’s Rag and Tenebres . I’ve contributed to all of Steve Spignesi’s King books, and have, as he points out, written more about King and his work than anyone else on the planet.
Lilja: Have you ever met King in person?
Tyson Blue: Yes, four times. It’s been an enjoyable experience. He’s hard to get to, but if you ever get the chance, I think you’ll find him very approachable and easy to talk with.
Lilja: Frank Darabont, who directed The Green Mile , has done two other movies based on King’s work, The Woman in the Room and The Shawshank Redemption . All three movies have been nominated for Oscars, but none of them have won any. Do you have any theory as to why that is? They seem to have been big hits with the public…
Tyson Blue: I think it’s been a combination of bad breaks. A lot of the Oscar voting is influenced by huge publicity campaigns involving tons of money, and lesser films have unfortunately had more push behind them. But if you look at the status of those films on the IMDb, it speaks pretty eloquently. I mean, is there ANYONE out there who thinks that a piece of crap like American Beauty is really better than The Green Mile ?
Lilja: In the book you talk about some documentary filming done by Constantine Nasr. What happened to all that? Was it cut down to the documentary that is on the DVD version of the movie or will there be a longer documentary about it?
Tyson Blue: Yes, and yes. Yes, the 130 hours of video that Constantine shot was pared down to the documentary on the DVD; also, yes, I understand that a longer version will be included on the VHS release when it appears priced to own later this year.
Lilja: Speaking of movies in movies, will Wild Bill Goes to Hollywood [read the review to know what this is] ever be shown to the public?
Section 2—Other Interviews
Tyson Blue
Posted: September 14, 2000
Lilja: First, let me take this opportunity to thank you for letting me read your book, Walking the Mile—The Making of “The Green Mile, ” and doing this interview. I really enjoyed the book. It’s well written and a great read!
Tyson Blue: Well, thank you. It’s great to hear that kind of reaction after two long years of writing and rewriting!
Lilja: Please tell me a bit about yourself. How did you end up writing this book?
Tyson Blue: I was asked to do it by Frank Darabont, who remembered reading my work in the old Castle Rock newsletter back when we were both much younger. His memory was jogged when I contacted him about visiting the set while they were on location, and he ended up asking me to cover the whole picture.
Lilja: Tell me a bit about this book. When will it be released and by what publisher?
Tyson Blue: I wish I knew! I thought this would be a no-brainer—the first making-of book about a King film. But a lot of these books have tanked, and publishers are leery. There has been some interest in doing a limited edition from Cemetery Dance Publications, and I’m toying with the notion of doing it electronically, but all that’s a ways off yet.
Lilja: It’s not the first time you wrote about King, right? Tell me a little about the other stuff you have written about King.
Tyson Blue: I have written two books about King and his work, The Unseen King , now sadly out of print, and Observations From the Terminator , which has managed to put two small presses out of business without quite being published. Dave Hinchberger has expressed some interest in that book, so it may yet see the light of day.
I’ve also written hundreds and hundreds of articles, essays, interviews and reviews about King and his work, which have appeared in newspapers and magazines around the world, including Twilight Zone, Midnight Graffiti, Cemetery Dance, Footsteps and others. Abroad, I’ve appeared in Canada in Fenetre Secrete sur Stephen King , in Italy in Cleaver , in Germany in Horror-News and the French magazines Steve’s Rag and Tenebres . I’ve contributed to all of Steve Spignesi’s King books, and have, as he points out, written more about King and his work than anyone else on the planet.
Lilja: Have you ever met King in person?
Tyson Blue: Yes, four times. It’s been an enjoyable experience. He’s hard to get to, but if you ever get the chance, I think you’ll find him very approachable and easy to talk with.
Lilja: Frank Darabont, who directed The Green Mile , has done two other movies based on King’s work, The Woman in the Room and The Shawshank Redemption . All three movies have been nominated for Oscars, but none of them have won any. Do you have any theory as to why that is? They seem to have been big hits with the public…
Tyson Blue: I think it’s been a combination of bad breaks. A lot of the Oscar voting is influenced by huge publicity campaigns involving tons of money, and lesser films have unfortunately had more push behind them. But if you look at the status of those films on the IMDb, it speaks pretty eloquently. I mean, is there ANYONE out there who thinks that a piece of crap like American Beauty is really better than The Green Mile ?
Lilja: In the book you talk about some documentary filming done by Constantine Nasr. What happened to all that? Was it cut down to the documentary that is on the DVD version of the movie or will there be a longer documentary about it?
Tyson Blue: Yes, and yes. Yes, the 130 hours of video that Constantine shot was pared down to the documentary on the DVD; also, yes, I understand that a longer version will be included on the VHS release when it appears priced to own later this year.
Lilja: Speaking of movies in movies, will Wild Bill Goes to Hollywood [read the review to know what this is] ever be shown to the public?
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