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GregF

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Blog Entries posted by GregF

  1. GregF

    Quick Things

    By GregF,

    -- Saw the first animatics for the 2009 movie, with voice actors -- nice. Hard to judge what the animation will be like from it, but it's obvious that the director is very skilled and the acting is good. Not sure if the voices are final cast or not.
     
    -- Working on the screen treatment for the 2010 movie now, along with the first 2009 comic book and the first 2009 chapter book.
     
    -- If ~Bio~ is out there, you sent me a PM with a question, but it says you have chosen not to be contacted by board Messenger, so I cannot send you a reply.
     
     
    Greg
     
  2. GregF

    Relax ...

    By GregF,

    In the last week or so, I have all of a sudden gotten bombarded with people wanting to know colors for various elements, and others wanting to add new elements to the story. Relax, please -- I am not looking to open the floodgates and add a ton of new tribes/elements to the story. As for colors, I understand you need them for MOCing, but your best bet might be to do those things as polls so we get an idea of what the site as a whole thinks of various suggestions. I am not a set designer or a MOCer, so not the best person to determine what color looks nice with what.
  3. GregF

    Ros 10

    By GregF,

    Reign of Shadows #10 is almost done -- sorry for the delay, but I think you will find it was worth the wait. In addition to the resolution of the whole fight in the chamber and the first appearance of Artakha, we get the return of the Toa Mahri and the startling answer to one of the most frequently asked questions of the last year or so!
  5. GregF

    Serials

    By GregF,

    Just finished writing DM 7, in which you will meet the other members of Lesovikk's resistance group, travel to the Throne of Stone, and get prepared for the slam-bang finish in parts 8 and 9.
     
    Next up is FOF 8, as the team has to go forward but can't go back ... and in MC 8, more on the mystery of the Lohrak and the raid on Artakha.
     
    Now back to opening up contest entries ...
     
    Greg
  6. GregF

    Set News

    By GregF,

    A few pieces of news today --
     
    1) I finally got a look at a pic of Mazeka today -- looks from the photo like he's an Onu-Matoran.
     
    2) The Jan. 2009 sets are in our showroom now. Gotta say, very impressive. The new mask pieces are particularly cool shapes and the weaponry is slick too. On the whole, they manage to stay recognizably BIONICLE while still looking nicely different from past sets. I think the new pieces will probably be good for those who like to MOC, too. I will tell you up front, having only seen pics up to now, the pics do not do the sets justice. They are much more striking in person.
     
    I am definitely inspired to do a Club building contest once those come out, to see what fans will build out of them.
     
    3) 2010 story conference next week, so we can clear the decks and I can get moving on the screen treatment for 2010 movie.
     
    4) I am going to be signing up for something on the Scholastic site where teachers and librarians can find authors to come speak at their schools/libraries. Not sure it will produce anything, but at least it will put me out there for folks who might want to do a BIONICLE event as they did in Coventry. So maybe there will be more school/library appearances in the Northeast in future, we'll see.
     
    Greg
  7. GregF
    -- I have been getting this Q a lot, so let me answer it here -- no, the shapeshifters mentioned in Empire of the Skrall are not Makuta, proto-Makuta, Krahka, or anything else from 2001-2008. Remember that Mata Nui created the Makuta, who then created the Rahi, so neither ever existed on Bara Magna.
     
    -- Looks like I will be appearing at New York Comic-Con in Manhattan on Saturday, February 7th, in the afternoon at the Papercutz booth. More details as I get them.
     
    -- I am working on a six-part story for AMEET, the people who did the Makuta Guide for Poland last year, which will run through the six activity books they are doing for 2009 BIONICLE. It's called "The Crossing" and deals with a dangerous trek through the Black Spike Mountains and over the Dark Falls made by Gresh, Strakk and two Agori.
     
    -- The Tales From the Crypt comic with my story, "Murder M.A.I.D.," comes out this coming Wednesday.
     
    Greg
  8. GregF

    Sizzle And Steak

    By GregF,

    I was looking through a topic on 2001-2003 vs. later years, and Lewathetoa made an excellent point about the appeal of the early years being the spectacle of advanced beings on a primitive island, and how much of that was lost in 2004 when we got to Metru Nui. I felt it worth reprinting my response to him here, as it is a very interesting topic from a literary point of view:
     
    "What made 2001 work was the incongruity of advanced technological beings living on a tropical island with no tech at all, because that made no sense. The problem for us was, at some point you had to make it make sense, and once you did, you had to go high tech and the incongruity was lost. What you are saying completely makes sense -- I simply don't see a way around it beyond simply never explaining anything. And I wonder how many years BZP would have tolerated that before they started to think we didn't know how the Toa and Matoran got there.
     
    I have probably brought this up before, but it comes back to Stephen King's 12-foot cockroach theory. King says you can write an entire story about something scratching at a door, and terrify your reader as they imagine what it might be. Once you open the door and reveal it's a 12-foot cockroach, everybody screams ... and then ten seconds later, they're saying, "Well, at least it's not a 20-foot cockroach." Once you open the door, you inevitably lose the audience's sense of wonder. But you HAVE to do it or the story is a cheat. Even films where they purposely leave ambiguity -- was it a ghost or was the woman just crazy? -- leave a lot of unsatisfied viewers because people expect the story to explain itself. This is why King's endings are uniformly lousy, because he knows it really doesn't matter what's behind the door, it will never be as scary as what the reader imagined. To put it another way, there's sizzle and there's steak -- the sizzle will hook the reader (see 2001), but at some point, you have to produce the steak (2004 and onward) or you have no story ... you just have a story hook."
     
     
  9. GregF
    Thought this was an interesting to my earlier blog entry regarding the inevitable revelation of plot secrets and what it does to the sense of "mystery and wonder" -- it's from a NY Times review of a new TV show:
     
    "... “The Prisoner,” shown on CBS from 1968 to 1969, is one of the most legendary television thrillers, partly because it wrapped after one 17-episode season. Most recently “Lost” on ABC kept core fans going for an improbable six seasons, but it also shed most of its intrigue long before it ended. ...The “Twin Peaks” axiom applies here as well: a show can ride only so far by suggesting, however cleverly, that things are not as they seem. Soon the creators must start revealing what really is going on."
  11. GregF

    Some Updates

    By GregF,

    A few pieces of news:
     
    -- Just completed a new 10-page Hydraxon comic story that will run in BIONICLE Graphic Novel #6, from Papercutz.
    -- It looks likely that GN #8 will be an all new comic story, set on Bara Magna, as opposed to just collected comics ... more on that as it develops.
    -- AMEET, the people who made the excellent Makuta's Guide to the Universe, are going to be doing a similar book on Bara Magna, which I will be writing between now and early summer.
     
    Greg
  12. GregF

    Sorry To Repeat Myself ...

    By GregF,

    ... But if you do something nice for someone, like send me one of their theories because they are too new a member to be able to PM, please make sure you can be contacted by the PM system or I can't respond to it. If your ability to receive PMs is shut off, there's not much point in sending me questions.
  14. GregF

    Suggestions

    By GregF,

    Some of you may have read that BZP member Nuhrii the Metruan made some suggestions regarding the name of the Mangai/Mangaia which I really liked and told him could be official.
     
    Ever since, I am getting buried in PMs from other people trying to find other uses for existing names or "explain" other storyline things, in hopes of getting to say they came up with something official too.
     
    I appreciate the enthusiasm, but I really don't have the time for this. Having to go through these suggestion PMs is taking time away from answering questions, not to mention working on 2009 story bible and 2010 story summary. Everything in BIONICLE does not need an extensive explanation and every term does not need to be used multiple times -- and even if they did, I have no room to work any of it into story at this late date.
     
    So while I praise you for your imagination, I need you guys to cool it. I'm not soliciting suggestions for this stuff right now and I don't really have time to evaluate them fairly.
     
    Greg
  15. GregF

    Summer Sets

    By GregF,

    Just my traditional January posting --
     
    Please do not PM me questions re: the summer sets, as I am not allowed to talk about them. I know some of you have jumped ahead and gone looking for images purporting to be of those sets -- I cannot comment on them, including whether they are faked or leaked. I would be going against LEGO's rules and BZP's as well, neither of which I am going to do.
     
    We have six months before the summer sets hit shelves. Patience, grasshopper.
     
    Greg
  16. GregF

    Thanks

    By GregF,

    As we start another new year of BIONICLE, I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you to BZPers for their support of the line, their creativity, and their friendship over the last several years. You are a truly special bunch of fans and you should know that.
     
    I have met people on this board that I consider friends; others that I don't know as well, but who strike me as intellectually very sharp and fascinating conversationalists; and a few I wouldn't even want to be in an elevator with But I doubt very many other writers get the opportunity I have to talk with readers like this. It is truly an honor and a privilege to know all of you.
     
    Greg
  18. GregF

    The Lapsed User

    By GregF,

    Recently, there was a very interesting discussion on BZP about people who no longer buy sets (what we in the biz call "lapsed users") and how much influence they can or can't have on product.
     
    There are, based on what I have seen, three main types of lapsed user. We will call them Joe, Bill, and Tom. All three have stopped buying BIONICLE sets, and all are in their teens, for the purposes of this example:
     
    Joe still thinks BIONICLE is interesting, but stopped buying sets in 2004 because he dislikes clone sets and the organic Inika masks, something he has made very clear in his posts.
     
    Bill still likes BIONICLE too, but stopped buying sets because he likes gear functions in the figures, brown stone figures, and clone sets.
     
    Tom is still interested in story, but his life has changed -- he has to save for college, he just got a car, and he has more demands on his money and his time than he had a few years ago when he was buying sets regularly.
     
    Now, of those three, who does BIONICLE have the best chance of getting back as a customer? Not Tom -- his priorities have changed, his needs and wants have changed, and he has had to make a choice between what his life demands now and buying sets. It's highly unlikely that we are going to be able to reactivate him as a customer.
     
    Bill is more likely, but much more problematic. We could get Bill back if we changed sets to suit his tastes. The problem is, his tastes run counter to everything our sales and market research tell us. Everything we know says that if we do a brown clone set with gears, it won't sell. Given that, we aren't going to do one, so it's likely Bill will not come back.
     
    Joe, on the other hand, is a different story. Like Bill, he would be willing to buy BIONICLE again if it suited his tastes. But the things he dislikes -- clone sets and organic masks -- are the same things the majority of the audience dislikes, based on sales and market research. Changing those things and so making the sets more to his liking is easier, because they are changes we need to make anyway for the market as a whole. There's no guarantee we will get him back, because he has found other things to spend his money on ... and the difficulty makes it less likely we will set out with a goal of reactivating him ... but there is at least a chance if he is still paying attention to the sets that he might buy again.
     
    So, you see, it's not just about "you buy or don't buy sets" -- it really comes down to WHY you're not buying, and what the chances are we will get you back. There are some Joes and Bills on BZP, and a lot of Toms, and Joe and Bill are the ones as a business you are more likely to talk about when you discuss reactivating lapsed users. Tom may well still have strong opinions on sets, but as a customer, he is most likely gone for the foreseeable future regardless of what we do.
     
    Greg
  19. GregF
    Decided to flip the order of the serials, so just finished part 3 of PTB (yes, you actually don't have to wait six weeks for the next chapter -- I know you're shocked ) In this episode:
     
    * We meet the "Who Am I?" winner
    * We answer the age-old question, "What happens when Nynrah Ghosts have too much time on their hands?"
    * We go inside the red star for the first time, and while we don't come out knowing just what the heck is going on there yet, it sure SOUNDS disturbing
    * We get the return of some folks that neither you nor I EVER thought we would see EVER again (and special thanks to Biosector01.com for refreshing my memory about them) (and no, it's not the Makuta, relax )
     
    And in chapter 4: More red star, somebody hits the right switch and regrets it ... or is the wrong switch?, and there are some people who get very frustrated by long lines ... murderously frustrated, in fact. Oh, and what does all this have to do with the murders of Karzahni and Tren Krom? And will Kopaka and Pohatu get the chance to find out?
     
  20. GregF

    This And That ...

    By GregF,

    Nothing too earth-shaking, just bits of news --
     
    -- Probably the one of most import to you guys will be something I did yesterday -- the first ever official map of the BIONICLE universe. I sketched it out for a Polish BIONICLE guidebook set to come out this fall, and it will now be redrawn by some people who can actually draw So if there are Eastern European BIONICLE fans on here, expect to see some scans of it later this year.
     
    -- Busy month just past, getting that book done for some very wonderful publishing folks over there, and a busy one coming up -- a library event, my birthday, Comic-Con, and closing on a new house. Then the big move, but hopefully by September things will calm down ... just in time for me to head to Denmark for a 2010 BIONICLE story meeting.
     
    -- Spoke to Scholastic last week -- they are hopeful that the movie in 2009 will boost book sales. Meanwhile, sales are going okay in Germany and France and very well in Russia, as I understand it. Certainly the '03 movie did a lot for 2004 book sales -- I think BA #1 is still the best-selling book in the series.
     
    Greg
  21. GregF

    Thoughts On Dark Mirror

    By GregF,

    I mut say, Dark Mirror has provoked some of the most interesting discussions and PMs I have seen in my time on here. It has been really interesting to see the reaction to the story, with Tuyet's Toa being branded as "evil" and "corrupt." And yet ... let's consider:
     
    "Toa Tuyet announced today that the Brotherhood of Makuta poses a potential threat and should be eliminated before they threaten the peace of the universe."
    OR
    "The leader of a major nation announced today that the country of Gazistan poses a potential threat to the peace of the Middle East, and preemptive strikes have been ordered against their military facilities."
     
    "Matoran are being monitored, and anyone who speaks out in support of the Makuta or the Dark Hunters, or against Toa Tuyet, will be arrested and imprisoned."
    OR
    "In the interests of national security, security cameras are being mounted in many public places, and telephone calls and email are being monitored for suspicious language."
     
    "The Toa have learned the whereabouts of the dangerous Dark Hunters, a gang of criminals, and are moving in to smash their operations."
    OR
    "The police have learned the whereabouts of the dangerous Daniels mob, a gang of criminals, and are moving in to smash their operations."
     
    Would we brand the governments or police in the real world examples "evil and corrupt?" Or would we say they were trying to keep peace? I think the answer is different for everyone ... but it is important to remember just what Tuyet did. She took the basic core belief of the Toa -- that the Matoran must be protected -- and simply spun it that the best way to protect them was to smash potential enemies before they acted. The Makoki stone engravings prove the Toa had suspicions about the Makuta from early on, and the DH had a long history of immoral acts -- so how hard would it be to persuade Toa that they should be crushed? And can you argue that, despite all the negatives about Tuyet's society, Mata Nui is still awake there, and hundreds of Toa and thousands of Matoran who died in our universe, didn't die there?
     
    I am not saying she was right, by any means -- but I think it important to understand the world of Dark Mirror. It is a world really governed by the fear of external enemies, the same as many societies in our world are. Instead of finding strength in fellowship, in prophecy, in the three virtues, these Toa and Matoran let fear and hatred drive their actions. The result was shattered Makuta and DH, but also Toa who then became repressive and dictatorial, all in the interests of protecting their people.
     
    So the scary thing to me about DM is not Tuyet, or what happened to Brutaka or Toa Naho ... the scary part is that these Toa are not that far removed from the ones we know. The only real difference here is one of philosophy -- the Toa in DM act without provocation, the Toa in our universe normally wait for provocation and then react. The Toa in our universe wish to set an example and be looked at with respect, and so they don't stoop to the lethal level of their enemies; the Toa in DM believe that the best way to protect the Matoran from a foe is to kill that foe and don't care if they are looked at with fear. There are probably some Toa on Tuyet's side who aren't 100% comfortable with what they have become, but they look around and see a universe with no BOM and no real threat from the DH or anyone else, and so they do nothing.
     
    Lesovikk is really the one who sees the slippery slope -- who understands that today it's Makuta who have to be wiped out, and tomorrow it's Turaga who object to new laws, and the day after it's Matoran who aren't working hard enough. Fear of enemies, real or imagined, can be used to justify any action, and often have been. Any of us can look back in our history and see instances where otherwise good people sat by and did nothing in the face of repression or even murder, because they believed the victims constituted some kind of threat.
     
    So lots to think about in this story, at least for me ...
     
    Greg
  22. GregF

    Two Pieces Of News

    By GregF,

    Two fun things that happened this week --
     
    1) AMEET sent me author's copies of the English-language version of the Makuta Guide to the Universe. Hardcover and printed on glossy paper, this blows away every BIONICLE book ever done in terms of the quality of the publication. They did a spectacular job and I am very proud to have my name on this.
     
    2) I got to see about three minutes of finished animation for the 2009 movie yesterday. It was a big action sequence. With all due respect to the folks who made the first three movies, this makes MOL, LOMN, and WOS look they were done by kids with fingerpaint. The animation is crisp, detailed, fluid, the action is fast-paced and exciting (actual explosions and everything ), and everyone at LEGO who has seen it is really excited. And this wasn't even the BIG action from the end of the picture, this was simply an early sequence from the first third of the movie.
     
    Greg
  23. GregF

    Unfortunate News

    By GregF,

    Yesterday, I got some sad news -- Fiona Simpson, my editor at Scholastic, has decided to move on from her position there. This is a great loss to the world of BIONICLE and I thought it would be a good time to talk a little bit about her.
     
    I first met Fiona in summer 2003. She had recently taken over as editor for the BIONICLE line. Prior to that, the books had been done by Cathy Hapka, a very talented freelancer -- and although I wished I could write them, there didn't seem to be much I could do about it. I met with Fiona to brief her on 2004 story, and during the conversation, she said they had one extra book for '03 they needed done and could I do it? It was to be a short story anthology, and it would be due in a matter of weeks ... but the implication was if I did a good job, I would get to do another book. Of course, I said yes, and that book ended up being Tales of the Masks, the first of the more than 20 I have written since then.
     
    Over the last five years, Fiona has been my editor, my friend, and an unsung hero in the BIONICLE universe -- a Toa in her own right. When book sales dropped and it would have been easy to just cancel the series, Fiona fought for it. When it would have been easy to drop the novels and just do the young readers, Fiona managed to keep at least a couple on the schedule for fans like you. Most of all, she showed the rare quality in an editor of trust for her writer -- she let me take the storyline where I wanted it to go and had faith I knew what I was doing. The result was some of the best books in the series, like Time Trap.
     
    Since I don't know the future of the book series beyond 2009, I am not sure how much longer we would have worked together, and I am sure Scholastic will put someone professional and solid into the role. But there will not be a day that I work on these books that I do not miss Fiona -- if not for her, I would never have gotten the opportunity to do them -- and if not for her, I would have missed out on a wonderful friendship.
     
    I am happy to say that we do plan to stay in touch, and I wish her all the best, as I hope all of you do too. A lot of the stories and characters you guys have enjoyed and talked about over the years happened because of her faith and her belief in me and in this line. She is a rare editor and an even rarer human being, and her absence will be sorely felt.
     
    Greg
  24. GregF

    Update

    By GregF,

    Just some news and notes:
     
    -- Got a chance to see the villain sets for 2008 up close -- man, they're nice, particularly the January ones. Definitely buying those -- very BIONICLE, but very creepy.
     
    -- Look for more substantial Matoran sets in 2008 than we have done before, and for them to play a more significant role in story.
     
    -- Book sales have evidently stabilized. While they are still well below where we were in 2004, the cutback schedule means stores are selling through the new books before they get the next new one, which means few to no returns (always a good thing). No word yet on a schedule for 2009.
     
    -- I have a phone conference today to discuss the shooting outline for the BIONICLE movie, which I have to say is just great. (I did the story, but am not doing the script itself, but the person who is doing it is so far doing a very good job.) Wish I could share more about it, but as you can imagine, it is still very hush-hush.
     
    -- Also had another meeting this week in New York which I hopefully can share with you soon regarding the comics and some changes and exciting new things planned in that area.
     
    -- January BrickMaster is currently scheduled to have a four-page feature on the history of the Brotherhood of Makuta (or it will when I finish writing it! )
     
    -- Big meeting going on in Denmark this week to discuss 2008 and marketing plans for it. Then in October, they start focus group testing 2009 sets in New York.
     
    Greg
  25. GregF

    Update

    By GregF,

    Some comic, book, movie updates today:
     
    1) The first full-length chapter book in 2009 should hit stores around June.
     
    2) There will be at least three Level 3 readers next year.
     
    3) Plans are for five comics next year, same size as this year. We will start with a new issue #1, which is already written.
     
    4) Story will flow like this -- January comic, March comic, then the first chapter book, which will lead into the July comic. So the chapter book will not duplicate story from the comics or vice versa.
     
    5) On a disappointing note, November 2008 will be Leigh Gallagher's last issue. Leigh has a lot of projects going on and felt that he did not have the spare time to devote to BIONICLE, so he has bowed out. We have already named a replacement, with an eye toward maintaining a similar style to Leigh's, and I will share his name as soon as DC gives me clearance to do so.
     
    6) First draft of the 2010 screen treatment is out in Billund with the story team for approval. I have a conference call on Monday with the movie folk to discuss it. Almost certainly a second draft will be needed, but we'll see how harsh the rest of the team is about it
     
    Greg
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