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News & ArtsTuesday, January 27, 2009
Books / Nerd Doc Savage Goes to the Movies
Posted by Paul Constant on Tue, Jan 27, 2009 at 5:53 PM
I'm such a Doc Savage nerd. I know most people have no idea what the hell I'm geeking out over, here, but these guys have made a bunch of fake Doc Savage covers, wherein Doc meets various movie monsters. It's almost enough to make me want to start writing fanfic.
(Via.)
2
Yah @1, but the inside would read more like a Phillip Jose Farmer novel.
And damn you, Constant! When I saw that header, I thought for just a second that some Hollywood studio had actually green-lighted the long-awaited-never-produced Doc movie we nerds have been waiting for since that execreble 1975 George Pal abomination.
(And action movie fans SHOULD know about Doc, considering he's the arch type for just about every action hero to come down the pike since they started making sound motion pictures.)
And damn you, Constant! When I saw that header, I thought for just a second that some Hollywood studio had actually green-lighted the long-awaited-never-produced Doc movie we nerds have been waiting for since that execreble 1975 George Pal abomination.
(And action movie fans SHOULD know about Doc, considering he's the arch type for just about every action hero to come down the pike since they started making sound motion pictures.)
3
There was a Doc Savage movie in 1975 (Doc Savage: Man of Bronze) starring Ron Ely (TV's Tarzan) and Paul Gleason (the vice-principal in The Breakfast Club).
I never read the books but I think my father read all of them, as well as the Executioner series and the Destroyer (Remo Williams).
I never read the books but I think my father read all of them, as well as the Executioner series and the Destroyer (Remo Williams).
4
hey cool, the creator died in '59 that means that given my rudimentary understanding of copyright law that Doc Savage should be public domain in 20 years
5
Man of Bronze!!!
I also figured that Hollywood was going to give it another go. The Ron Ely one was unsurprisingly disappointing....
I also figured that Hollywood was going to give it another go. The Ron Ely one was unsurprisingly disappointing....
7
Dan Savage vs. The Mormons
Dan Savage vs. The Bisexuals
Dan Savage vs. the AIDS Public Health Advocates
Dan Savage vs. The Catholic Church
Dan Savage vs. the Viaduct
Oh, these books would be so fucking awesome.
Dan Savage vs. The Bisexuals
Dan Savage vs. the AIDS Public Health Advocates
Dan Savage vs. The Catholic Church
Dan Savage vs. the Viaduct
Oh, these books would be so fucking awesome.
8
I'd love to see a real, non-awful Doc Savage movie. Maybe we can convince Brad Bird from Pixar to do one? That'd be awesome.
Also awesome is the idea of Doc Savage in the public domain.
Also awesome is the idea of Doc Savage in the public domain.
9
Not so sure about that, @4. Lester Dent, who wrote most of the Doc pulps for Street & Smith (under the house name Kenneth Robeson) never actually owned the publication rights; they were owned by the publisher. S&S renewed copyright on their catalog of publications in 1960, and when S&S merged with Conde Nast publications a year later, the rights were transferred. Bantam Books then licensed the material through CN and began publishing the now-famous paperback versions starting in 1964.
Dent did however, own subsidiary rights to the first three years worth of novels he wrote, and those rights transferred to his widow when he died in 1959. However, CN purchased those back from her in the early 1970's, so that Pal could make his awful, awful movie version.
Under the old law, the original Copyright was good for 28 years after publication, and could be renewed for an additional 28, after which the material would have come into the Public Domain, in this case starting around 1988. However, The Copyright Act of 1976 changed the rules, allowing works of "corporate authorship" to remain in the hands of publishers for 75 years after first printing. This was later extended by a subsequent law passed in 1998 (thanks, Sony Bono!) to 95 years.
So, if my reckoning on this is correct, the current Copyright holder of "Doc Savage" can legally keep him out of the Public Domain until at least 2028!
Dent did however, own subsidiary rights to the first three years worth of novels he wrote, and those rights transferred to his widow when he died in 1959. However, CN purchased those back from her in the early 1970's, so that Pal could make his awful, awful movie version.
Under the old law, the original Copyright was good for 28 years after publication, and could be renewed for an additional 28, after which the material would have come into the Public Domain, in this case starting around 1988. However, The Copyright Act of 1976 changed the rules, allowing works of "corporate authorship" to remain in the hands of publishers for 75 years after first printing. This was later extended by a subsequent law passed in 1998 (thanks, Sony Bono!) to 95 years.
So, if my reckoning on this is correct, the current Copyright holder of "Doc Savage" can legally keep him out of the Public Domain until at least 2028!
10
@8:
There's a rumor that Warner Bros. is looking at producing a Doc movie that might come out in 2011 or 2012, but I wouldn't hold my breath. We went through this back in 2000 when Ahnold was briefly attached to a film version (before his political ambitions dashed the public's chance to see him in such fare as "Conan II', "True Lies II", and a remake of Michael Crichton's "Westworld" among other "hot" properties), so this wouldn't be the first time Doc fans have had their hopes quashed by the inscrutable workings of Hollywood.
There's a rumor that Warner Bros. is looking at producing a Doc movie that might come out in 2011 or 2012, but I wouldn't hold my breath. We went through this back in 2000 when Ahnold was briefly attached to a film version (before his political ambitions dashed the public's chance to see him in such fare as "Conan II', "True Lies II", and a remake of Michael Crichton's "Westworld" among other "hot" properties), so this wouldn't be the first time Doc fans have had their hopes quashed by the inscrutable workings of Hollywood.
11
Those fake covers? Excellent! I'm sorry, that's an inappropriate question, asking me if I have the approximately 100 of the Bantam paperbacks on the lower shelf of my bookcase hidden from casual view by a strategically placed piece of furniture. The nerve of some reporters, asking about people's private lives just to satisfy the public's prurient interest. No, I never had sex with that woman and of course I waited to have sex with himtill he was 18 - by at least 20 days . . . .
12
A remake of "Westworld?" Thank you California for electing the Terminator so we could avoid such a travesty.
14
Uh, COMTE, you do know that the Governator already made Conan II ("Conan The Destroyer") in the 80's, right? Plus a Conan cameo in the truly wretched "Red Sonya"?
15
@14: I forgot about "Conan The Destroyer". This one was going to be called "Conan - Crown of Iron" or something along those lines, with John Milius directing & doing the screenplay.
Ugh, "Red Sonja", don't remind me. And isn't Douglas Aarniokoski supposed to be doing a remake of that?
Sometimes I wonder how all this useless information gets stuck in my head...
Ugh, "Red Sonja", don't remind me. And isn't Douglas Aarniokoski supposed to be doing a remake of that?
Sometimes I wonder how all this useless information gets stuck in my head...
16
Any guess how much time pre-teen Doc Savage fans spent trying to get the individual muscles in their arms and legs to fight against each other to build superhuman strength?
Me? Uh, no. I wouldn't have any idea about that at all...
Me? Uh, no. I wouldn't have any idea about that at all...
17
Never heard of Doc Savage, but can't help but notice the artist's preoccupation with the man's nipples. What's the story?
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