Hannibal in the Media

[Captanne]

Double post.  

Edited September 4, 2015 by Captanne

[MisterGlass]

The "Blade Runner" voiceover does emphasize the film noir, and there are some good lines from it.

 

I had never heard of "The Gap."  One I like that appears to be out of print now is "Ship of Fools" by Richard Paul Russo.

 

I feel like Gaiman's tone is more consistent.  When he does 'cute' things they are still in the story, and not so much as to take a person out of it.  You don't have to be in on it to get what is going on.  With Prattchet's, there were some things I genuinely didn't find funny that dragged on, sometimes for a whole book.  Still, I like "Mort," and his "Good Omens" collaboration with Gaiman.

 

Bradbury wrote a lot of short stories and set up a lot of novels composed of short stories around similar themes.  Many of them are set in the 20s, and these tend to be more nostalgic.  A lot of them have a dark, desparing, 50s/60s cold war atmosphere.  Here is Leonard Nimoy reading "The Veldt," a story from "The Illustrated Man," which is in a way a holodeck-gone-wrong story as envisioned in the early 50s.  "Fahrenheit 451" is probably the most accessible work now.

[Captanne]

Ray Bradbury and Isaac Asimov molded me as a child.  I am a product of their over-abundant imaginations.  

[GreyBunny]

Ray Bradbury and Isaac Asimov molded me as a child.  I am a product of their over-abundant imaginations.  

Bradbury and Edgar Allan Poe.  They were and still are my favorite authors.

[kechara]

And Henry James. I think it was Henry, not William. Turn of the Screw.

[Captanne]

Group Question:  Not playing the nerd, but I'm wondering if we ought to move this recommendation discussion to the general chat thread?  I felt weird in the media thread writing about The Gap, series of books no one has ever read or heard of.  LOL

 

BTW -- If anyone is curious and starts that series with the very short (and, therefore appealing) first novel The Gap into Conflict:  The Real Story, (as you should because it's the first), don't be turned off.  It's violent as shit and what you think is going on is really seedy and awful and there is no clear hero.

 

Just return to the title of the book - The Real Story.  That's ironic because the real, real story takes another 2000 pages to explain.  

 

So, keep at it and continue to the second one, The Gap into Vision: Forbidden Knowledge.

 

Just sayin'.  In case.  Anyone.  Ever.  Reads.  It. 

Edited September 5, 2015 by Captanne

[Bruinsfan]

As for Hannibal-based reading, what are people's opinions of Hannibal Rising? A return to form for Harris, or more in the vein of Hannibal WTFery?

[MisterGlass]

 

Group Question:  Not playing the nerd, but I'm wondering if we ought to move this recommendation discussion to the general chat thread?  I felt weird in the media thread writing about The Gap, series of books no one has ever read or heard of.  LOL

Probably the right approach.

[Crossbow]

As for Hannibal-based reading, what are people's opinions of Hannibal Rising? A return to form for Harris, or more in the vein of Hannibal WTFery?

 

WTFery. It's not as bad as I had heard it was, but, lawd, it wasn't good.

Group Question:  Not playing the nerd, but I'm wondering if we ought to move this recommendation discussion to the general chat thread?  I felt weird in the media thread writing about The Gap, series of books no one has ever read or heard of.  LOL

 

Go for it. How about, "Food for thought"?

[Crossbow]

And now back to the subject of Hannibal in the Media:

 

1)

http://www.christiantoday.com/article/hannibal.s4.renewal.ep.bryan.fuller.awaits.how.the.fates.decide/64198.htm

 

Nevertheless, the executive producerr continues to mention a film retelling rather than a new season if Hannibal was to come back. In the DIgital Spy interview, he said that he has to learn first whether or not producer Martha De Laurentiis is successful in bringing in a budget for the silver screen jump of "Hannibal."

 

"I'm waiting for instructions from above," he said.

 

Before NBC cancelled the series, Fuller had concrete plans for "Hannibal" season 4. He said that he had "a whole vegan agenda," at least for Alana and the female characters. He revealed that he wanted to see them "accomplishing great things, and undoing all of the horrors of the Verger family and name."

 

2)

http://www.digitalspy.com/tv/s225/hannibal/interviews/a667077/hannibal-bryan-fuller-talks-season-4-sexual-fluidity-and-how-will-became-clarice-starling.html#~pnO7iVccMYrpXr

 

- You've mentioned some footage where Mads and Hugh went a little further with their final embrace than what we saw in the episode - "lips lingering over lips"?
 

- Yeah, it was funny because I saw them just after they filmed it, and they both came running up to me kind of excited about what they had done. And Mads in particular was really enthusiastic about the level of intimacy that was conveyed on screen!

 

3)

And a kiss from Mads!

 

http://youtu.be/jfKDCfzISeA

Edited September 9, 2015 by Crossbow

[MisterGlass]

 

Before NBC cancelled the series, Fuller had concrete plans for "Hannibal" season 4. He said that he had "a whole vegan agenda," at least for Alana and the female characters. He revealed that he wanted to see them "accomplishing great things, and undoing all of the horrors of the Verger family and name."

 

I'd love for Alana to have a chance to claw her way back toward the moral high ground. 

[Bruinsfan]

I... don't really think that's possible after how she set up Chilton. And while the guard she killed and Mason Verger were hardly undeserved murders, they were still murders rather than self-defense killings.

[Crossbow]

I'd love to see Alana start acting like a freaking psychiatrist for once.

[MisterGlass]

I don't think she could actually reach the moral high ground, but a level of redemption might happen.  I'd hope the same fro Jack.  Of course Hannibal would appear to drag everyone back down if they let him.

[paramitch]

This piece from EW on Hannibal's costume design (Everything Hannibal Wore on Hannibal) was just terrific: 

 

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/08/29/everything-hannibal-wore-hannibal

 

Darren Franich, the writer, is obviously a fan, and the commentary is just hilarious. Here are just a few choice morsels:

 

“I’m here for you,” says Hannibal’s face. “I am Shiva the God of Death” says that tie matched with that jacket.

 

A closer look at that tie grants us an opportunity to Rorschach some deeper meaning therein. What do you see when you look at that necktie? Personally, I see a drop of meteorite sperm cried from the 15th eyeball of Cthulhu.

 

Stare into that tie long enough, and it becomes the “Night on Bald Mountain” scene from Fantasia.

 

…he reveals his full power with a casual unbuttoning. GAZE UPON YOUR PAISLEY DOOM, FREDERICK CHILTON.

 

Evidence that Hannibal is a good influence on those around him: Alana begins to wear dresses made out of the bad dreams of Hannibal’s ties.

Could it be because your best pal is suddenly wearing a black vest over a henley?

 

F’real, though, this is every conversation between Will and Hannibal toward the end of season 1:
WILL: Garrett Jacob Hobbs and Abigail and Chesapeake Ripper and Alana Branches are death antlers I'm having stag dreams I like to fish and there are so many serial killers bro bees mushrooms angels and I live in a town called Wolf Trap WOLF TRAP and Will is all up in...
HANNIBAL: I'm taking you shopping.

 

It’s a look that says: I just purchased the golf course from Caddyshack and now I’m only going to use it for Eyes Wide Shut orgies.

 

Will’s long con to ensnare Hannibal is expressed, via clothing, with his inability to truly divest himself of his gray-brown prairie grandmother look.

 

For a man of the world living under an assumed identity, it’s best to adopt radical new fashion rules. No vest. No tie. No plaid. Black pocket square on light brown suit. It’s a look that says: “I am third in line for the throne of a country you haven’t heard of.”

 

Reunited and it feels so good. Clearly, Will has not learned his lesson about what happens whenever Hannibal isn’t wearing a tie.

 

Caught by law enforcement? A low point, to be sure. But only because Hannibal looked all around Wolf Trap and couldn’t find a single solitary checked plaid vest.

 

[GreyBunny]

In episode 74 of Welcome to Night Vale, the main character, Cecil Palmer, revealed that he writes Hannibal fan poetry for his tumblr page.

Edited September 16, 2015 by GreyBunny

[Crossbow]

https://www.yahoo.com/tv/hannibal-most-gif-able-foodporn-129283110990.html

 

NBC’s Hannibal was nominated in two categories in our inaugural Yahooies, reader-voted awards honoring the best of the 2014-’15 season, and won both of them handily. With 53 percent of the vote, the finale cliff dive earned the title Most GIF-able Moment, and with 72 percent, its delectable table offerings took home Best #FoodPorn.

 

And another one:

 

http://www.readingeagle.com/life/article/hannibal-was-brilliant-for-tackling-mental-health-issues

 

I think some people are going to disagree with that. I for one think it did a pretty terrible job of exploring real mental health issues. It did a great job of exploring fictional ones.

Edited September 18, 2015 by Crossbow

[Bruinsfan]

Yeah, last time I checked Cotard Delusion didn't make you look like Linda Blair in The Exorcist, slough off skin like a moulting lizard, and murder your best friend.

[Crossbow]

Since our two main characters are psychologically impossible to begin with, I'm okay with them doing pretend illnesses. Hannibal suggested Cotard's, but they never really confirmed that she had it. They definitely never explained the skin thing.

 

See also: The implicaton that narcissim and sociopathy are part of the Autism spectrum of disorders. WHAT.

 

See also: Will supposedly being on the spectrum but also having too much empathy, when one of the defining characteristics of ASD is having trouble reading and understanding other people.

Edited September 18, 2015 by Crossbow

[Bruinsfan]

Hannibal suggested Cotard's, but they never really confirmed that she had it. They definitely never explained the skin thing.

Not just the skin thing, whatever she had gave her a beetling brow, made her eyebrows disappear, turned her hair from blonde to black, and turned her eyes yellow. She was also somehow able to track Will from the crime scene to his neurologist's without anyone but Hannibal spotting her despite not having a car or the ability to recognize people's faces and looking like she should be spitting pea soup at elderly priests. I'm surprised that they didn't have her levitating over the victim's bed instead of hiding under it.

Edited September 18, 2015 by Bruinsfan

[MisterGlass]

I thought the idea behind her disheveled appearance was that as a result of her mental illness she had forgone basic self-care and grooming for quite a while.  Her hair was dark because it was dirty and she was covered in grime, and the skin condition was a result of an untreated wound.  The next episode, in the hospital, was her cleaned and cared for.

 

On the front page Previously.tv is doing a CSI wrap-up article with a poll for "favorite tertiary cop shop/spy shop character," and Price and Zeller are an option.  They're listed as Jimmy and Brian though, which doesn't have the same ring.

[justcris]

I'm sure someone has posted this before, but you can now find every single Hannibal script here:

http://livingdeadguy.com/shows/hannibal/#more-scripts

 

Fascinating read.

[Crossbow]

I thought the idea behind her disheveled appearance was that as a result of her mental illness she had forgone basic self-care and grooming for quite a while.  Her hair was dark because it was dirty and she was covered in grime, and the skin condition was a result of an untreated wound.  The next episode, in the hospital, was her cleaned and cared for.

 

LOL at "Disheveled."

Lack of self care really only explains the hair color. Somehow her actual face shape was changed by the disease and then went back to normal when she was cleaned up. The actress said she was wearing three pounds of prosthetics.

 

As for tracking Will, I had assumed she'd stowed away in his car somehow. And he didn't smell her. Somehow.

[lulee]

No Hannibal at the Emmys last night but I did spot Hugh Dancy next to Claire Danes when her name was read for her nomination. He cleans up well.

[paramitch]

I love Dancy for getting why we like the show.  Fuller struck gold with him in finding an actor who just got his vision.  Same with Mads (despite language barriers!).  Dancy doesn't shy away from the "relationship" aspect of the show.  And he didn't need to be a hero, exactly (although he does argue Will has a moment of redemption by shoving Hannibal over the edge).  "Suicide is the enemy," Hannibal said moments before.  But I love that Dancy seems to get why we like the show. Sometimes actors don't seem to get it or they don't want to get typecast or they resist how fans enjoy the show.  I so look forward to his next project now I know how smart he is.  Thank you Fuller for rescuing from Rom-Com hell.  I love a good rom-com but he wasn't getting good ones. 

I agree -- I love the ways the actors discussed their roles and relationships on this show and they both just seemed every bit as creative and open-minded as Fuller and his team.

 

Also Hugh is an adorable little troll, who in interviews would say things like how the finale will make a "big splash" and how it can be seen as a "jumpin off point" for a new season. He is hilarious.

 

Some more interviews:

http://www.vulture.com/2015/08/bryan-fuller-hannibal-finale-campy-sensual.html?mid=googlenews

http://tvline.com/2015/08/29/hannibal-series-finale-will-lecter-cliff-bryan-fuller-interview-season-4/

http://variety.com/2015/tv/news/hannibal-finale-season-4-movie-revival-ending-spoilers-1201581424/

http://www.hitfix.com/whats-alan-watching/hannibal-creator-i-wanted-to-be-sure-we-had-an-ending-for-the-story/1

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/hannibal-series-finale-spoilers-bryan-817966

I caught Hugh's naughty little inferences too, and they made me laugh out loud when viewing them after the finale. Really really smart and funny.

 

I loved all the Vulture pieces, but my favorite (aside from Matt's gorgeous retrospective on what made it great) was Greg Cwik's finale recap, which was pretty rhapsodic and gorgeous: http://www.vulture.com/2015/08/hannibal-recap-season-3-episode-13.html.

 

This is a fantastic article by someone who appears to be a true fan.  Such a fun read.

I shared that again a week later! Apologies for missing your original post. Still one of the funniest things I've ever seen on the show ("GAZE UPON YOUR PAISLEY DOOM, CHILTON!"!). My favorite moment was this one:

 

 

 

New York Magazine continues to expand on their Hannibal coverage with an analysis of the show's storytelling:

 

Hannibal Redefined How We Tell Stories on Television

 

It's not really a casual skim and I knocked back a cup of coffee to absorb some of the finer points. I was amused when the author later tweeted out a snap of his episode notes.  It's nice to know someone else still gathers their thoughts with pen scribbles.

 

I adored that piece by Seitz, who has always championed the show so strongly. I so appreciated that he didn't just give his take on the finale, but gave the show a final and much-deserved bow.

 

While I enjoyed that deep article from New York Magazine, I question one of the author's gushing moments -- he calls the flashbacks to Dolarhyde's burning of his own house shown after his own murder has taken place (by Will and Hannibal in what I call " the bullfight scene") as "daring".

 

I have just read an article in which the editor of the scene reported that he had to use those bits (of flashback) because they were out of time and footage of Armitage's face.  They didn't have time to film the fight scene in such a way as to get a good image of him and the actor had already scarpered off to his next gig so they couldn't get any more.  The editor used the old footage from the house burning (with Reba in the house) in order to place Armitage's face into the battle.

 

So, the editor wasn't being "daring" as much as being "desperate" and using what he had to hand.

 

LOL

 

I don't agree that because the cuts were a creative post-production solution that ended up being necessary because of footage issues that they are any less brilliant. If anything, I think they were more so.

 

I do think they were daring, and typically brilliant among the show's many choices. I actually find the final flashback (as Dolarhyde dies) back to his final moments when he is 'figuratively' killing the Dragon and burning the vestiges of his former life weirdly moving and poignant. I also loved the multiple echoes from the blood lines to the flames back to Will's "This is my design" moment when viewing Dolarhyde's handiwork.

 

Dolarhyde is just so tragic, and most of all because we saw that he really could have had a chance at love and normalcy if he hadn't been so irretrievably twisted, abused and broken. I thought Richard Armitage was superb.

 

That superpower deserted him when the script for the Clash of the Titans remake arrived. I saw part of it on cable over the weekend and you could see "What the hell am I doing in this movie?" look on Mads' face in every scene. I assume either they lured him in with Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes while neglecting to mention all his scenes would be with a block of wood, or a big mortgage payment was due.

Okay, this is slightly embarrassing: I caught the "Clash" remake with family, and it was empty and silly candybar fun, right? Then all of a sudden my eye was caught by this gorgeous big tall guy with stubble who was sort of poetic and graceful, and then I was like, "OH MY GOD IT'S THAT BAD GUY FROM CASINO ROYALE! BUT NOW HE'S HOT!"

So... yeah... I'll always be grateful to the horrific Clash remake because, man oh man, it was my first experience of how freaking hot Mads really is. For some idiotic reason, I had somehow missed that fact before then.

 

Did you read Larry Niven's Ringworld?  Amazing.

 

And, then there is the magnificence of Dune.

I'm so with you. I love the Dune series, although for me it reaches its apex at God Emperor of Dune and never really comes anywhere close again after that -- I recently finished the entire series (I stopped where Frank stopped, not continuing with his son's contributions). For me, the first four are just so brilliant. (I'm also gonna check out Niven -- I've never read him!)

 

Also, for others seeking offbeat and dreamlike fiction, I might recommend some of the works of Danish writer Peter Hoeg. He had a big hit with Smilla's Sense of Snow, which is a gorgeous take on the suspense blockbuster, but my favorite work by him is actually the haunting Borderliners, which is a fictional tale that manages to be dreamlike and devastating, skips back and forth in time, and addresses everything from Special Relativity to Darwinism. It's just so beautiful (Hoeg was even a dancer (like Mads) before he became a fiction author!). I was so moved at one point I actually had to put the book down -- I love those moments.

 

Also, if you're seeking an author who kind of mindf*cks you in a clever and kind of quietly lovely way (even in regards to love relationships), Megan Whalen Turner's Queen's Thief series is wonderful. You never quite know what's really happening until the final pages of each book and it's wonderful and feels very real.

 

Meanwhile, as far as potential HoYay, there's a kind of lovely and undefined love between two men in Stephen King's The Long Walk (and it's unusual and subtle for him), and of course less obliquely in Anne Rice's very Gothic Vampire Chronicles (I adore the first four but am not a fan of any of the books that follow after Body Thief, unfortunately).

[Captanne]

Oh, I quite agree about Peter Hoeg.  Wonderful!

[halopub]

The DVD will be released December 8th. Fuller tweeted that there will be 12 hours of extras, including the much requested outtake from the cliff scene.

[Crossbow]

Available for pre-order on Blue Ray and DVD: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015WLJUYS

[halopub]

Two different digitial versions of Love Crime were released yesterday. If you're interested in checking them out, I suggest doing a search without the second 'Sioux' in Siouxsie Sioux's name. There's some inconsistency in how she's listed on the tracks.

[Epeolatrix]

To make it easy, the single is "Love Crime (Amuse-Bouche Version)" by Siouxsie and the album track is "Love Crime from the Wrath of the Lamb (feat. Siouxsie Sioux)" by Brian Reitzell.

[halopub]

New York Magazine's Matt Zoller Seitz has named Hannibal his top show of the year. I'm not sure whether to agree that Digestivo should be on the best episode list.

 

Rollingstone has them at 14, admitting that they too watched through their fingers. Variety put them on an unnumbered top twenty list.

 

Meanwhile, The Guardian put the show at a low 27 on its top TV list. It's ahead of John Oliver, which they put at a jaw droppingly 37. So I guess I'm not going to agree with their TV critics on much.

[Maire]

Has anyone else gotten the DVD? Yes I did go directly to the extras looking for the cliff scene and it's not there. I am hampered by the fact that I have to watch it on my son's PlayStation that I can barely use!!

[halopub]

There wasn't much to the 'near' kiss, but the producers show both the aired and alternate cliff take in the lengthy behind-the-scenes feature.

 

• Last dvd > Special Features > Getting the Old Scent Again: Reimagining the Red Dragon > The Wrath of the Lamb > about 28:14 in

 

Scott Thompson's commentary cracked me up.

 

I haven't watched all the behind-the-scenes chapters, but The Wrath of the Lamb portion had some great stuff about logistical issues and how they cobbled together a great finale.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Hannibal was nominated for two 2016 Critics' Choice Awards!

BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

Hugh Dancy – Hannibal

BEST GUEST ACTOR/ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES

Richard Armitage – Hannibal

Edited December 15, 2015 by ElectricBoogaloo

[queenanne]

http://www.enstarz.com/articles/127234/20151214/hannibal-tv-show-season-4-has-a-time-line-bryan-fuller-teases-return-video.htm

 

Apologies if the above has been covered in the above links and I missed it... it gives a schedule, or "schedule" (bolding mine).

 

Hannibal's departure from NBC and it's subsequent failure to find a new outlet left fans down and out as season 3 came to a close. Now, several months later, series creator Bryan Fuller has announced his intentions for a fourth season.

 

"We are discussing what it would look like...We will try again in a little over a year-and-a-half," Fuller said on Sunday, according to The Dinner Party Show podcast. "I know exactly what we would do with the story. We would make another run at Silence of the Lambs."

[Anela]

http://www.enstarz.com/articles/127234/20151214/hannibal-tv-show-season-4-has-a-time-line-bryan-fuller-teases-return-video.htm

 

Apologies if the above has been covered in the above links and I missed it... it gives a schedule, or "schedule" (bolding mine).

Yes! I hope they do. 

[TVJunkie93]

[FormerMod-a1]

That's hilarious!  I love it

[MisterGlass]

I'm now much sadder that David Bowie did not get to play Robert Lector.

[halopub]

De Laurentiis wrote an Op-Ed last week, arguing that piracy hurt the show. I would be curious to find out how many of the two million she cited were folks that pirated out of impatience, then watched the show through more legitimate means in their home regions. There's a reason the BBC began same day global broadcasts of its most illegally streamed shows.

 

Also, the prop auction is on and I am bemused by all the clear plastic suits up for grabs.

[halopub]

Mads talks about how he'd be up for more Hannibal down the line.

[mledawn]

Thanks to the X-Files in the Media thread, I was alerted to this list of 50 Best TV Duos of All Time from Rolling Stone magazine. Hannibal and Will are #19 (Mulder and Scully are #1)

[patty1h]

All three seasons are now available on Amazon Prime (free viewing for Amazon members).  I'm gonna do a rewatch of TWOTL on a 46 inch TV to enjoy every nuance.

Edited July 12, 2016 by patty1h

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Emmy nomination:

Outstanding Special Visual Effects In A Supporting Role

Other nominees in this category: Better Call Saul, 11.22.63, Sherlock: The Abominable Bride, and The Walking Dead

[kechara]

I am still hoping....the actors say they'd be up for more

[Ms Lark]

Janice Poon's book Feeding Hannibal is out and it's a beauty (I already have a copy). Toronto Life has a review with photos: TV’s most charming cannibal now has his own cookbook

[halopub]

The Playlist: Bryan Fuller Teases ‘Hannibal’ Miniseries Based On ‘Silence On The Lambs’

The rights to the source material will be acquirable in August.

[halopub]

TV Guide, 5/26: Hannibal Season 4 May Be Back on the Table

Bryan Fuller is still speaking with Mads, Hugh and producer Martha De Laurentiis about story ideas.

I haven't listened to it yet, but here's a link to the podcast mentioned by TV Guide.

[greenbean]

I'm not sure how I feel about a possible S4, I'm still upset about S3.

[festivus]

I don't know how I feel about season 4 but for a different reason. I thought the ending to season three was perfect and I was quite satisfied with the way the show ended. I'm sure if it ever does happen though, it will be great, I have faith in Bryan Fuller. I'm not sure I want to see Silence of the Lambs though, the movie and Jodie Foster were perfect for me and I don't really need to see her on the show Hannibal.