OT: R.A. Lafferty estate's problems explained

Gerry Quinn · 04 Aug 2013, 22:42 · from 2013-August.txt.gz

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From: gerry at bindweed.com (Gerry Quinn)
Date: Sun, 4 Aug 2013 23:42:37 +0100
Subject: (urth) OT: R.A. Lafferty estate's problems explained
In-Reply-To: <CAMwO0gz093OYodv5JC6GfkmcSWjQR16=e5O-Y7ET9+ixmU29dA at mail.gmail.com>
References: <CAMwO0gz093OYodv5JC6GfkmcSWjQR16=e5O-Y7ET9+ixmU29dA at mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <CFDB4173EF1B41358718F1A5D4695A66@Rover>

A little late to the party here... but it just occurred to me that if _The Six Fingers of Time_ can get an option due to the freezing time idea, then surely Cordwainer Smith?s estate should be making money off Sharknado.  I mean, whales that fly around in the air attacking people are right there in _On the Storm Planet_! 

I?m not even sure if I am joking any more ;-)

- Gerry Quinn

 Gwern Branwen wrote:

> See, in 1994, Nicholson Baker wrote a novel called _The Fermata_. 
> A film company bought the option, and hired Robert Zemeckis and 
> Neil Gaiman to produce a screenplay. As is often the case, the 
> studio also took out options on any intellectual property whose 
> central conceit was near that of Baker?s book?which was a 
> protagonist with the ability to stop time and manipulate the 
> people around him as he wished. Whether it was Gaiman?who 
> certainly would?ve recognized the surface similarities to ?Six 
> Fingers of Time??or someone else who advised taking out the 
> option, the result was a large amount of money being paid to 
> the Lafferty estate to ensure that a movie would *not* made 
> of that story, lest it encroach on _The Fermata_. 
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