Phil Nichols - Bradburymedia

Friday, September 23, 2022

New Podcast Episode - Zen in the Art of Writing

Time for another new episode of my audio podcast, Bradbury 100.

This time I explore Ray's essay collection Zen in the Art of Writing. This gathers together his thoughts on the writing process - including his belief in allowing the unconscious mind to play the leading part in generating stories - with his recollections of writing his most famous works.

I'm joined via Zoom by Kim and Renee, whose wonderful Words to Write By podcast is putting all those how-to-write books to the test. They recently went chapter by chapter through Zen in the Art of Writing, and found much to admire in Ray's advice to writers.

I hit a couple of snags with the audio when putting this episode together, so I apologise for some variation in the sound quality.

Have you ever tried following Ray Bradbury's writing advice? If so, how did it go? Post a comment below to let me know!

Bradbury 100 · Bradbury 100 - episode 34 - Ray Bradbury's Advice to Writers

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Please subscribe to the Bradbury 100 podcast - it's totally free on all platforms. Where to find it:

Main platforms:

Apple Podcasts - Google Podcasts - Soundcloud - Spotify

Other platforms:

Audible - Bullhorn - Castbox - Deezer - Listen Notes - Player FM - Podbean - Podcast Addict - Podcast Index - Podchaser - Podfriend - Podlink - Podtail - Stitcher - TuneIn

Thursday, September 22, 2022

Here We Go Again: The Halloween Tree Film Announced

So there has been an announcement of a new Hollywood production of Ray Bradbury's The Halloween Tree.

My response:

1. I'll believe it when I see it.

2. Most announced Hollywood projects in development simply do not happen.***

3. At least this screenwriter is someone with a decent reputation.

4. Whether good or bad, the original book and Emmy-winning Hanna Barbera production (1993)will continue to exist.

5. If it turns out to be good, it boosts Ray's popularity and visibility.

6. If it turns out bad, it will be soon forgotten, but the book will still sell.

7. Don't hold your breath.

***We're still waiting for the previously announced Martian Chronicles, and The Illustrated Man, and Something Wicked This Way Comes...

Monday, September 12, 2022

New Bradbury 100 podcast episode: "The Exiles"

Here's another new episode of my Bradbury 100 podcast. It's a short episode, focusing on a single short story - although, as you will discover, it's really two or three different stories...

"The Exiles" started life as "The Mad Wizards of Mars", and you can easily find two or three different versions of the story. All of them are basically the same, but the characters - most of them based on real-life authors - are different between one version and the next.

To find out what the heck I'm talking about, listen to the pod!

Bradbury 100 · Bradbury 100 - episode 33 - The Exiles

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Please subscribe to the Bradbury 100 podcast - it's totally free on all platforms. Where to find it:

Main platforms:

Apple Podcasts - Google Podcasts - Soundcloud - Spotify

Other platforms:

Monday, August 29, 2022

Dandelion Wine - live talk now available in audio and video

You are now spoiled for choice:

If you'd like to ctch up with my live episode of Bradbury 100, which streamed on Facebook Live on Ray's 102nd birthday, you can find an audio-only version on the podcast feed, and an audiovisual version on Youtube.

For convenience, both are provided below. You're welcome!

Youtube: click here.

Bradbury 100 · Bradbury 100 - episode 32 - Dandelion Wine live talk

Monday, August 15, 2022

Return of the BRADBURY 100 Podcast!

My Bradbury 100 podcast started two years ago, as a way of celebrating the centenary of Ray Bradbury's birth.

Now, two years on, it's back - with a livestreamed episode on Facebook on Ray's birthday (22 August 2022), and with some "conventional" audio episodes on the regular podcast feed.

The livestreamed episode will be on Facebook (click here to be taken to the Facebook event).

The "conventional" episodes of the podcast will show up in your normal podcast app, and to launch this new season, I've made a short episode which trails these coming events. Please take a listen below (or in your podcast app).

Bradbury 100 · Bradbury 100 - episode 31 - August 2022 update

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Please subscribe to the Bradbury 100 podcast - it's totally free on all platforms. Where to find it:

Main platforms:

Apple Podcasts - Google Podcasts - Soundcloud - Spotify

Other platforms:

Thursday, April 21, 2022

Staying up to date with Bradbury 101 videos

The original idea for my Youtube series Bradbury 101 was to provide an introduction to Ray Bradbury, but over time I have also gone down some of the more obscure rabbit-holes of his work. It's been a while since I made any new episodes, but I hope to get back to making more in the coming months.

Meanwhile, if you'd like to catch up with what you may have missed, here's the story so far...

Episode 1 - Introduction to the series and to the works of Ray Bradbury

Episode 2 - Ray Bradbury's 'Lost' Book: Dark Carnival

Episode 3 - Confessions of a Bradbury Collector

Episode 4 - Stuck in Science Fiction: The Illustrated Man

Episode 5 - Ray Bradbury Makes the Mainstream: The Golden Apples of the Sun

Episode 6 - This is not a Novel: Fahrenheit 451

Episode 7 - The Unstoppable Re-Writer: The October Country

Bonus Episode - My discovery of the original cut of Something Wicked This Way Comes

Bonus Live Episode - A live episode of Bradbury 100 to celebrate Ray's 101st birthday

Bonus Live Talk- My illustrated talk on The Martian Chronicles at seventy

Bonus Live Talk - My illustrated talk on The Illustrated Man at seventy

The best way to never miss an episode is to subscribe for free on YouTube!

Tuesday, April 12, 2022

Phil talks about The Martian Chronicles - Continuum Drag podcast

I recently joined the team of the Continuum Drag podcast to discuss the 1980 TV miniseries of The Martian Chronicles. It was a lot of fun, especially since the regulars were watching the series with fresh eyes (whereas I was bringing baggage from having watched the series when it first went out).

Ray Bradbury himself said that this miniseries, starring Rock Hudson, was "boring". He got in trouble with NBC and Charles Fries Productions for this, but he wasn't wrong. Fries' lawyers, however, pointed out that Bradbury's contract forbade him from badmouthing the production...

Here's the podcast, where we're discussing episode 2 of the miniseries:

https://continuumdrag.podbean.com/e/189-the-martian-chronicles-part-2/

Tuesday, March 29, 2022

Glimpses of Ray in Mythic Quest

There's a terrific episode of Apple TV's Mythic Quest set in the 1970s, where we see behind the scenes of a pulp magazine publisher. And who should be there, but one Ray Bradbury!

The episode, titled "Backstory!", is somehing of an origin story for recurring character C.W.Longbottom, normally played by F. Murray Abraham, but here played by Josh Brener. We learn that Longbottom was a talentless writer who only achieved any form of success because of his morally dubious use of a manuscript that has been improved by Isaac Asimov.

Asimov is a character in the drama, albeit with just a few lines. But Asimov's story function is decisive. He is played here, complete with hallmark mutton chops, by Chet Grissom.

But what of Bradbury? He appears fleetingly, as part of a meeting going on. The meeting participants? Asimov, Bradbury, and Ursula Le Guin!

Asimov, Le Guin and Bradbury confer

Ursula and Ray

Another view. I wonder what they were discussing...

"Backstory!" is a great episode, and works even if you are not familiar with Mythic Quest as a series, and even if you don't know the series regulars. It's really just a standalone story of three wannabe SF writers, each at a different stage of their writing journey. Their chief obstacle is a kind of John W. Campbell figure, played by Craig Mazin, who also wrote the episode. Mazin is best known as the Emmy Award-winning writer of Chernobyl.

"Ray" is on screen for just a fraction of a second, and while it seems unlikely that he would be in the offices of a New York pulp magazine at this stage of his career, his presence with Le Guin and Asimov gives the episode an odd air of authenticity.

Thursday, March 24, 2022

Movies on Mars

Here's a little curiosity that I've mentioned before, but now with added evidence:

In the 1980 TV miniseries of The Martian Chronicles, there is a brief scene of people coming out of (what I assume to be) a cinema. Either side of the door is a rather amateurish poster with the title The Silver Locusts. The artwork on the poster is taken from... the UK paperback of The Silver Locusts, which was the original UK title for... The Martian Chronicles.

How meta is that? People in MC going to watch a film about themselves!

I noticed this in 1980, when the show was first aired on British TV. But this was before VCRs, and the appearance of the artwork was so fleeting as to be unprovable. The commercial DVD release allowed the image to be paused, but it was rather muddy.

But thanks to Bluray, we can now get a closer look. So here is the proof:


Silver Locusts posters as the crowd emerges from the cinema.

UK paperback, 1970s. Artwork by Peter Goodfellow.


When the miniseries was released, UK publisher Granada decided to cash in by re-issuing The Silver Locusts as The Martian Chronicles.

In the same sequence, there are some other posters on display, but I haven't been able to figure out what they are. They're probably completely fictional, but who knows? What are we looking at here? mtext? Invasion?

Wednesday, March 23, 2022

Phil guests on WORDS TO WRITE BY podcast

Words To Write By is a podcast for those interested in the craft of writing. Co-hosts Kim and Renee have set themselves the challenge of reading "how to..." books, the ones that claim to reveal the rules you have to follow, or the secrets that only a true writing guru can reveal.

Having progressed through John Gardner's The Art of Fiction (1982), the team are now ready to take heed of the advice of Ray Bradbury, as they tackle Ray's inspirational essay collection on writing, Zen in the Art of Writing.

In their latest podcast episode, they give their final thoughts on Gardner before introducing Zen - and they very kindly asked me to help with the introduction. Click the link below to find more, and to hear me opine on Ray's advice to writers.

https://wordstowritebypodcast.com/podcast/goodbye-gardner-hello-bradbury/