Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2009 November 17

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November 17

HP Lovecraft

has their ever been a premium collection of the stories widely considered to be Lovecraft's best? Library Seraph (talk) 01:00, 17 November 2009 (UTC)

Peter Straub edited H.P. Lovecraft: Tales http://www.loa.org/volume.jsp?RequestID=223 (Library of America, 2005). Pepso2 (talk) 07:33, 17 November 2009 (UTC)

Since H. P. Lovecraft's professionally published fiction largely appeared in Pulp magazines outside the conventional literary mainstream, opinions on what of it is definable as "best" may differ. His professionally-published oeuvre was relatively small, as he spent much of his time on uncommercial poetry, non-fiction newspaper columns, ghost-writing, amateur press activities and a voluminous private correspondence, and his (generally short) fiction has appeared in many differently permutated volumes, often confusingly given the same titles. The definitive editions are generally considered to be those edited by S. T. Joshi and first published by Arkham House (created for that purpose): the three volumes published by Penguin Classics and the differently titled and arranged volumes published by HarperCollins are probably the best options, being most readily available. They're listed very near the end of our article H. P. Lovecraft bibliography, which you may find useful. The volume Lovecraft: a Biography by L. Sprague de Camp may also be of interest. 87.81.230.195 (talk) 07:51, 17 November 2009 (UTC)

I know I'm a bit late with this, but Arkham House put out a well-made hard cover series of his works some years back. Probably not what you're talking about, but it had everythnig fictional he wrote contained in them. Peter Greenwell (talk) 04:53, 19 November 2009 (UTC)

Fictional Characters

Would characters like Bree Van de Kamp, John Locke, Eric Matthews, and Tim Taylor be considered Disney characters? Thank you for your time.

Americanfreedom (talk) 04:19, 17 November 2009 (UTC)

First, define a "Disney character". In my definition, it is a character from a Disney movie, television show, or book. None of those characters are from a Disney movie, television show, or book. So, they are not Disney characters. If you decide to make up your definition of Disney character that describes the characters you listed, then you are simply rationalizing the definition to meet your needs. It is a rather simplistic form of argument and has no basis in reality. -- kainaw™ 04:33, 17 November 2009 (UTC)

Well, they are from shows on ABC, which is owned by Disney. It's still a stretch though; the part of Disney that makes what we would consider "Disney characters" is entirely separate from the part that makes prime time TV shows. Adam Bishop (talk) 05:35, 17 November 2009 (UTC)

The phrase "Disney Characters", of course, does not have a set-in-stone, dictionary definition. It's usage depends entirely on context. In certain situations, it certainly could be meant to imply every character owned by the Disney Corporation. But if someone said the phrase "Disney character" without any context at all, I'd assume they meant characters from Disney branded products. Possibly just children's films, or possibly just cartoons. Even so, I'd be uncertain as to whether whoever said it was including characters like "Peter Pan", "Alice", or "Snow White". Characters that are clearly not invented or owned by Disney, but have been used in one of their movies.

To sum up : If I needed to know this, I'd ask whoever was using the term "disney character" to clarify. There's just no solid meaning of the phrase. APL (talk) 06:51, 17 November 2009 (UTC)

Even so, Disney's particular rendition of those characters have become identified with Disney, especially the Snow White character. Most casual observers would consider them to be Disney characters. I doub the OP's example would be considered so. But visiting a Disney website would probably provide fair evidence for what Disney itself considers its characters to be. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 12:59, 17 November 2009 (UTC)

Further, being a Disney character does not exclude it from being another character. Winnie the Pooh is a Disney character. He is also an A.A. Milne character. -- kainaw™ 16:55, 17 November 2009 (UTC)

Well, even Galactus is now a Disney character... JIP | Talk 21:39, 17 November 2009 (UTC)

Technically, are the Muppets also now "Disney characters"? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 04:37, 19 November 2009 (UTC)

Need for speed hot pursuit 2 (Ps2) voices

Who does the cop voices and the dispatcher voices for the game?Accdude92 (talk to me!) (sign) 14:28, 17 November 2009 (UTC)

One of these people. Not sure if there's any way to find out which. Vimescarrot (talk) 15:55, 17 November 2009 (UTC)

What is the name of this type of classical music?

What is the name of this type of classical music??
March of Heroes - The Enemy Must Fall
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2Wo1c0IW2s 187.89.158.225 (talk) 18:24, 17 November 2009 (UTC)

Amazon.com appears to recognise the following classical genres:

Ballads, Canons, Concertos, Etudes, Fantasies, Fugues, Improvisation, Inventions, 'Lullabies & Berceuse', Oratorio, Preludes, 'Requiems, Elegies & Tombeau', Rondos, Scherzo, 'Serenades & Divertimentos', 'Short Forms', Sonatas, Suites, Symphonies, 'Theatrical, Incidental & Program Music', Toccatas, and Variations

However, I would call this Modern classical, just because it is recently composed - if the uploder's comments are to be believed, it was composed in 2006/2007 and is inspired by the Soviet Union. Although too repetitive for my liking, it does sound to me to be inspired by the heroic themes in some music of the Soviet Union. You might also like to check out this site. Astronaut (talk) 08:54, 20 November 2009 (UTC)

Dethklok-unknown character

In the 3rd season premiere of the show Metalocalypse, entitled "RenovationKlok," there is a brief flashback at the beginning where each band member is shown in their younger forms. however, Toki Wartooth is missing, and replaced with someone who looks much older. ive looked in every Dethklok-related page (characters, episodes, etc.) to find out who he is, but with no luck. anyone know who that guy is? 71.223.229.17 (talk) 19:56, 17 November 2009 (UTC)

Was it Toki's father? Its been a bit since I have seen the episode. I'll dig it up on adultswim.com when I get some time, but I seem to remember that Toki has some serious "daddy issues" and suffered abuse at the hands of his father. It plays a key role in some episodes of Metalocalypse, I'm just no good with titles of episodes... --Jayron32 20:06, 17 November 2009 (UTC)

Scratch that. Just watched it again. I was thinking of a different episode. It must be some unnamed band member who Toki replaced. Remember, the band pretty much treats Toki like shit anyways; he's often treated as a lesser member of the band, which would make since if he wasn't an original member. --Jayron32 20:10, 17 November 2009 (UTC)

The wikipedia article on Dethklok states "He is the youngest member of Dethklok, Dethklok being his first band. He looks up to Skwisgaar, to the point that his admirer hates him. This idea is pointed out in a season three episode in which Toki was in a Dethklok tribute band, ironically posing as Skwisgaar. According to the season 3 premiere there was another rhythm guitarist before him." So, that guitarist is (as yet) unnamed, and Toki's backstory is fleshed out in season 3 to confirm that he was not an original member, but brought in after playing in a Dethklok tribute band (c.f. Tim "Ripper" Owens)... --Jayron32 20:14, 17 November 2009 (UTC)

well it would make sense that Toki would be a replacement. i guess i'll just have to watch the rest of the episodes like any other regular 'jackoff' 71.223.229.17 (talk) 20:25, 17 November 2009 (UTC)

What is this comic?

I read some superhero comic in the early 1990s. I think it was by Marvel Comics, but I'm not sure. The idea was that there was this man, except he was really some sort of mythological/legendary creature disguised as a man. What I remember happened in the comic was that whenever this man gave someone else food to eat, once they ate it, they instantly disappeared (and AFAIK, reappeared in some "fairy land" somewhere). A woman was reluctant to eat any of the food, so he fed her by force. This is all I remember of the comic. What comic is this? JIP | Talk 21:37, 17 November 2009 (UTC)

Is it this ? .Auberon...hotclaws 00:11, 18 November 2009 (UTC)

When Walter Simonson took over Marvel's The Mighty Thor comic, his second story arc featured the new character of Malekith the Accursed, a dark elf, who was trying to track down the Casket of Ancient Winters (which held the coldness of all previous winters within it). For Simonson's take on the elf/faerie kind, he chose to make them highly reactive to human food. I don't know if there's a mythological precedent for that, but I'm guessing he was just playing off the very old legends about what happens to normal people when they eat food from the land of the undead/faerie/etc. However, since he was very well read on all kinds of myths, it may very well have been an existing trope. Anyway, the guy carrying the Casket (Eric Willis) destroys two faeries impersonating humans by forcing them to eat human food. The first is his secretary, whom he overpowers and ties to a chair, forcing her to eat a McDonald's hamburger. As soon as the food touches her lips, she crumbles to dust. After he's arrested for apparently killing her, the police officer interrogating him reveals herself to also be in league with Malekith and tries to convince him that he should eat the food of the faerie (some cookies she's made) and spare himself the torture to come. Instead, he finds a french fry that had dropped in his pocket and pushes it into her mouth, causing her to crumble to dust as well. Any of this sounding familiar? I believe the issues were Thor 344 and 345. The arc is part of Thor Visionaries: Walt Simonson volume 1, which I think is still in general release (and well worth the money, if I may say so; his run on Thor is still the high water mark nearly a quarter century later). Matt Deres (talk) 20:47, 18 November 2009 (UTC)

Yes, this does indeed sound familiar, especially the bit about hamburgers and French fries, because I distinctly remember that's what he fed her. I had just originally thought all the people he fed were normal humans, not faeries in disguise. The thing I never fully realised was whether the people died after eating the food or just got transported somewhere. JIP | Talk 18:16, 19 November 2009 (UTC)

First actor or actress to have a color movie released posthumously

Who was the first actor or actress to have a color movie posthumously released? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.180.241.235 (talk) 23:14, 17 November 2009 (UTC)

Was there something wrong with your previous question? Vimescarrot (talk) 23:48, 17 November 2009 (UTC)

Yes, I was told I would have to refine that previous question, according to the user known as JackofOz. So, I posted a new one. 67.180.241.235 (talk) 23:57, 17 November 2009 (UTC)

In such cases, please do not remove the original question. In particular, it's not OK to edit other users' contributions, and certainly not to remove them. All you needed to do was restate your question at the end of the same thread, so that all could see the history of the discussion. -- 202.142.129.66 (talk) 01:28, 18 November 2009 (UTC)

The original question [1] was, "What was the first posthumous film to be released in color?" which is definitely confusing. The reworded version, "Who was the first actor or actress to have a color movie posthumously released?" is somewhat less confusing. Better wording could be, "Who was the first actor in a color film who died before the film was released?" ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 02:46, 18 November 2009 (UTC)

Below are the original responses, which would seem to contain some useful information for any version of the question: ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 02:48, 18 November 2009 (UTC)

From the information I can gather, I'll have to say the answer is James Dean's posthumous film, "Rebel Without a Cause".Icemerang (talk) 08:46, 17 November 2009 (UTC)

Sidney Howard, who scripted Gone with the Wind, was crushed to death by a tractor four months before the release of the film. Pepso2 (talk) 16:36, 17 November 2009 (UTC)

He was also the first posthumous Oscar winner. You may need to refine your question a little, 67.180. What do you mean by "posthumous film"? Is any film where anyone who was involved in its creation in any way whatsoever but died before its release, considered a "posthumous film"? -- JackofOz (talk) 19:43, 17 November 2009 (UTC)

Sidney Howard wasn't an actor, of course - but even if you say "actor" you've got some problems. Dean was probably the first starring actor to die before a film release, but given the number of extras of films like "Gone With The Wind", it's likely that someone in a bit part keeled over before the film's release. if we limit it to credited actors, we may find someone pre-Dean, though. Grutness...wha? 23:07, 18 November 2009 (UTC)

To Be or Not to Be (1942) starred Carole Lombard, who was killed in January 1942, some months before the film's release. Her unexpected death in a plane crash caused the makers to edit out some of her dialogue referencing things that can happen on planes. It's a black-and-white film, but I presume it was colorised at some stage. Does that count? -- 202.142.129.66 (talk) 01:55, 19 November 2009 (UTC) (JackofOz)

Given the nature of the question, I don't think colorizing counts. Although that 1942 would beat Ed Wood's Plan 9 From Outer Space by well over 10 years. Yes, there is indeed a colorized version of Plan 9, and it's a definite improvement. Lugosi died during that film's production, "and it shows". ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 04:36, 19 November 2009 (UTC)

Short of painstakingly going through the cast lists on all the articles in Category:Films shot in Technicolor, I can't think of any easy way to do this. I thought I'd found one with Albert Gran, who appeared in colour films in the late 20s, but his posthumous release was in b&w. Grutness...wha? 06:13, 19 November 2009 (UTC)

Duel in the Sun was undergoing international release when Walter Huston died in 1950. Pepso2 (talk) 07:52, 19 November 2009 (UTC)