Although it is one of your earliest works, The Man Who Used the Universe seems
vastly ahead of its time with its somewhat dystopic view of the
universe, and the dubious moral nature of its protagonist it seems very much
like an example of the cyberpunk genre. Was that intentional?
ADF: Very much so,
and very atypical compared to what I
usually write. MWUU actually came
about because I was sitting around
speculating one day on what would happen if Jesus came back, was raised
in difficult circumstances, and ended up thoroughly pissed at what he saw. That notion combined with the idea that
massive corporations sometimes end up doing good things out of pure
self-interest. The protagonist in MWUU,
Kees vaan Loo-Macklin, does all these wonderful things including making peace
between humanity and aliens, not because he’s in any way altruistic but because
ensuring peace in his corner of the galaxy is the best way to ensure his
continued personal survival.
Is there a chance of seeing that made into a future film?
ADF: Predicting social and technological developments for the
next hundred years is easier than predicting what Hollywood will decide to make
into a film.
The novel very much seems like a sci-version of Ayn Raynds Atlas Shrugged. Had you read that book
before you wrote your novel? Is that your own take on the objectivism? Is that
your own view of capitalistic political thought? What was the ultimate
philosophy of your novel?
ADF: Never gotten around to reading Rand. Too many books, not enough time, bad
eyesight. As to a view of capitalistic
thought, it’s hardly unique. Just look
for the TV and internet ads where oil companies talk about how deeply
interested they are in clean energy, or what drug companies are doing in the
third world. Such adverts and the
efforts they promote are entirely hypocritical, of course…but that doesn’t mean
that the efforts to which they are alluding are bad. When capitalism does well by the general
population and ecology, it’s usually out of unadulterated self-interest. What matters to me are the results, not the
motivation. If, say, Walter Burns-Lytton, III uses family money to buy and protect a marsh in Connecticutt in
the hopes it will gain him votes for Senator, what matters is not his cynical
motivation but the fact that the marsh gains protection.
You have written many books for the Star Wars universe. In
your books, you have usually expanded quite a bit from the material in the
films, often filling in gaps that the movies possess. Is this something you
work out with Lucas, or is this something you come up with yourself, based on
your own imagination?
ADF: I wouldn’t call three books many, but…. When I work in anyone else’s universe, I
enter as a fan. And as a fan, one of the
greatest pleasures is being able to toss in things I would have liked to have
seen in the original books or films.
While I can’t contradict canon, I can try to add to it. Generally these inventions are my own: it’s a
large part of what I have been hired to do.
Are you going to be included in the team of writers for the
upcoming Star Wars television show?
ADF: Haven’t been asked.
You were there for the very beginning of the cyberpunk
genre, next to Gibson, Sterling and Effinger. Where do you think it has gone?
Is there a real future for post-cyberpunk genre? How post can you get (what
with Zenith Angle and Pattern Recognition) before its just
Tom Clancy?
ADF: Good
question. With the average American kid
sending over 100 text messages per day, the Web replacing traditional media,
and people walking around talking to themselves on their earpiece phones, it’s
becoming more and more difficult to separate the tropes of cyberpunk from
actuality. One difference is that the
societal grittiness depicted in a lot of early cyberpunk can’t really eventuate
because delving deeply into computers and such requires a mindset and character
that’s at odds with any kind of street ethos.
Hackers want social acceptance, too, even if only among their own
kind. If you want anger and
rebelliousness, look to rap and hip-hop, not cyberpunk.
How did you get involved with MyOuterSpace.com? What do you find
to be so interesting about the enterprise (pun intended)? Is this your own way
of contributing your spirit to the future of sci-fi and the online population?
ADF: I was asked to participate. I regret I don’t have as much time as would
like, but I intend to try and involve myself as much as I can. As an ex-teacher, I’ve always enjoyed the
opportunity to spark creativity in others. Bill Shatner and I have had very intermittent contact over
the years. The energy he continues to
exude when most of his contemporaries have elected to sit back and rest on
their laurels astonishes me. I wonder
what drives him.
Your name is certainly up there with greats like Heinlein,
Aasimov, Ben Bova and Arthur C. Clark. How do you think that your contribution
to the sci fi field of writing is different than their works? How is it
similar?
ADF: You flatter me unmercifully. If I had to single out a difference, I’d have to say that rather than following a set
aesthetic arc, I tend to flare off in as many different directions as
possible. I’m always interested in
trying something different. So I
ricochet from fantasy to science-fiction to contemporary fiction, mystery, travel
writing, and so on. My father and I were
constantly at odds. Exasperated when I
wouldn’t do something he wanted done unless I got a reason for it, he would
say, “Do you have to know everything?” When I would reply, in all honesty and
innocence, “Yes”, he thought I was being a smart-ass. That need, that desire to know everything, is
what stimulates me to shoot off in multiple directions and write in a
multiplicity of genres. As to similarities, I couldn’t say if any of my work is
similar to any of the giants you’ve mentioned.
With the exception that along with Heinlein and Asimov I’ve also enjoyed
developing and filling in a fairly elaborate future history.
Do you think that Cameron’s latest film, Avatar, attracted more interest in sci
fi writing? Do you think Cameron’s contributions to film has enriched the sci
fi field?
ADF: I would hope that it would attract a great deal of
additional interest to science-fiction writing.
As he himself admits, reading SF is what led to his wanting to translate
it into film. Certainly his best work is
in the genre and has added much to the cinematic lexicon in the field. He’s a great director who I don’t think gets
enough credit for the work he does with his actors because everyone is so
focused on the action and sfx. I have
the feeling every time he sits down to do an SF film that he’s torn between a
desire to make a statement and the overpowering need to produce something that
will be a commercial hit. It’s a mental
malestrom that afflicts anyone who seeks success in Hollywood. When George was making Star Wars, I asked him what he wanted
to do if the film turned out to be a hit.
He said, “I’d like to make small experimental films.” He still says that, but Brobdignagian success
is a personal devil that’s difficult to shake.
To a certain extent I believe Cameron suffers the same affliction. So does Ridley Scott. Or maybe I’m way off-base. Maybe they’re all happy and content with how
their lives and work has turned out. I
would hope so.
Now I have to ask you a question that could get you in hot
water. Which do you prefer, Star Wars or Star Trek? Or are you one of those
zany "Babylon 5" people, like I am?
ADF: I prefer Forbidden Planet, 2001, and Dark City.
As our own world’s technology evolves with so much
increasing regularity, how does this push the envelope in science fiction writing?
How does it force your own work to adapt with the times,has it so often in the past?
ADF: You just try to keep as much ahead of the technological
curve as you can. To give just one
example, a reader recently chided me for something in Icerigger, my third
novel. In that book, a group of
mis-matched travelers is marooned on the icy world of Tran-ky-ky with little
hope of making it back alive to the single human outpost on the planet. The reader wondered why they didn’t use GPS,
or why a satellite didn’t pick up their crashed transport, or why they simply
didn’t use an obviously advanced phone to call in their predicament. The answer, of course, is that none of those
things existed when the book was written (1972). When the books are (hopefully) reissued, I
intend to go back and revise the science and tech to at least bring them up to
present-day standards.
It’s easier to write a book set five thousand years in the
future than one that’s set only fifty years ahead.
Why are you often chosen to write book versions of movies?
You have a reputation in that field, and it always seems like you are the guy
to call when Aliens or Star Wars needs to be made into a novel. Do you find
that writing novelizations is easier than writing your own novels?
ADF: Certainly it’s easier.
The plot and main characters are already there. Where novelizations are concerned, I consider
myself to be the contractor to the original writer’s architect. I’m the guy who puts in the wiring, the
plumbing, the windows, and paints the place.
But the design is already done. As to why I’m frequently asked to work on such projects, I
reckon it’s because I do a good job.
Additionally, I never miss a deadline (I usually finish early) and more
importantly, I have no ego issues. It’s
not my work to radically alter. Using
the contractor analogy again, if someone wants their house painted puce and
chartreuse, that’s how I paint it. I may
suggest earth tones with yellow trim, but the final decision never rests with
me. Studios appreciate that. They have enough egos to deal with.
Can you give us a sneak peak at a current book that you are
working on? When can your fans expect another great novel?
ADF: The Human Blend, the first book of The Tipping Point
trilogy, is a December release from Del Rey.
We are very close to agreeing on a contract for Oshanurth, a fantasy
trilogy set entirely underwater. I am
peripherally involved with Future Fighters, a film to be produced in Hong Kong
that would represent the first U.S. – Japanese – Chinese SF co-production…with,
apparently, an ex-North Korean as director.
And there is another project about which I cannot speak, but which is large.
This is a tough one…if a fan could only read one of your
books, just one, which would you suggest is the best example of an Alan Dean
Foster novel? (Of course, there are many to choose from, but this is just a
question.)
ADF: Artists are usually the wrong people to ask to evaluate
their own work. But Drowning World would
be a good candidate. And for fantasy, certainly Spellsinger.
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