A Note on Count Olaf and Other Fictive Scumbags

One thing I like to see in villains is rottenness. It's OK for them to have traumatic back-stories as long as their wickedness is not excused by them. One of the best examples, I think, is Lord Voldemort from Harry Potter. He was indeed bullied as a kid, but that's no reason to be a complete monster, i.e. attempting to kill an infant. Cowardice helps, as do dishonesty and vile temperaments. Redwall's Cluny the Scourge is really cool but I don't remember him being especially horrible. Stated in a post from January is my view of being unethical instead of simply opposing the antagonist. Slagar from the same series was pretty horrid, though, but he was not allied to Cluny (the latter tried to have the former executed).

Earlier this evening I finished listening to a short (but shiver-sending) book known as The Bad Beginning, the first of Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events, of which there are thirteen installments - of course. On the one hand I felt the explanations to what the "big words" meant were not entirely necessary, but that was mostly made up for by the absolute bastard of a villain: Count Olaf. He was so evil that I actually felt my blood boiling whenever I heard his voice or name. At the same time, my spine went cold when he spoke; I think the fact that Tim Curry narrated the book helped this greatly. He was a manipulative, heartless, violent creep who intended to kill three young orphans in order to inherit their parents' vast fortune. Not something most folks would smile upon! He threatened to kill a toddler by having her dropped out of a tower window by an ally, and struck a boy across the face hard enough to bruise. The thing that made it all work, I think, is that while he had a plausible motive, there was no sympathy whatsoever for the man. This might sound dark of me, but I sincerely hope he dies in the end!

Screenwriter and novelist Alexandra Sokoloff has a post somewhere on her magnificent blog which instructs aspiring writers to name their ten favorite villains from books, movies, and the like. In no particular order, here are mine, based on evilness as well as coolness:

1. Voldemort from Harry Potter
2. Dracula
3. Emperor Palpatine / Darth Sidious (Star Wars original trilogy)
4. Randall Flagg (The Stand, The Dark Tower series, and The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King - among possible others)
5. Grendel from Beowulf
6. Gollum from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy
7. The Joker from The Dark Knight
8. Count Olaf
9. The Beldam from Coraline
10. Iago from Othello

These will probably change, but they are what came to mind. Stephen King, being a writer of horror, has many great villains, such as Percy Wetmore in The Green Mile and Annie Wilkes in Misery as well as Kurt Barlow ('Salem's Lot) and The Dark Tower's Crimson King and the demon-infested corpses in Pet Sematary, but I don't think that'd be fair to let Steve have all the slots. The nameless monster created by Dr. Frankenstein did a few truly awful things but I felt sympathy for it. Mary Shelley did this so beautifully that that is still my all-time favorite novel.

Currently my mind - and hopefully soon my pen! - is at work on what is hopefully a completely horrible villain. It's hard work, the creation of characters. Wish me luck!

PS. - Unseen villains, namely the Blair Witch, can be incredibly frightening if properly pulled off.

On Cluny the Scourge

"Cluny was a god of war! Cluny was coming nearer!" - from Redwall, end of Chapter 2

For those of you who do not know, Cluny is the villain from the original novel Redwall by Brian Jacques. He's one of my favorite baddies, a rat with a poison barb attached to his tail. His voice in the audio book was amazing. He was freaking intimidating, if you're a mouse or something.

Yet he didn't seem especially evil. He did things I wouldn't do, sure. He tried to conquer Redwall Abbey. But...I don't know, he meant business. He may have been in opposition to the woodland creatures of Redwall, but I don't recall him doing anything unspeakable. He always kept his word and was an honorable, non-backstabbing warrior. He told his rats to execute the fox Sela (who I didn't think was that bad either) and her son Chickenhound (who was actually quite a nasty, evil villain in Mattimeo [he survived the execution attempt, but Sela did not]). The rats jabbed both foxes several times with spears and left them in a ditch. Ouch! Other than that, and maybe the bit about threatening the cook, Friar Hugo, with death, I thought he was a reasonable rat and an honest foe.

This is just my viewpoint. What do you think?

I'm in!

On Monday I auditioned for Applause!'s musical School House Rock - and I got it! This was my second time auditioning, my first being one I did not make it into (The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood). I suppose in this case the second time's the charm? I do not yet know who I am playing, but this was a great victory to me. It's just a matter of persistence, as with publishing. But once you're in, it's great because you can honestly say that you are. I look forward to the actual performing and all that precedes and proceeds it. And I'll meet new people.

Here are my dream roles:

• Sweeney Todd or Judge Turpin
• Sherlock Holmes or Moriarty
• Dr. Victor Frankenstein or the Monster
• Count Dracula or Abraham Van Helsing
• Atticus Finch or Bob Ewell
• Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde
• The Mad Hatter or the Cheshire Cat
• Grendel
• Willy Wonka
• Gandalf the Grey (The Hobbit)
• The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
• Quasimodo
• Any sort of Nazi/SS officer
• Mercutio Montague
• President Coriolanus Snow
• Emperor Palpatine
• The Other Father (Coraline)
• Iago (Othello)
• Norman Bates
• Macbeth. I said the word!
• The modern major-general
• Ben Mears or Mark Petrie, perhaps even Barlow or Straker, or Father Callahan (all so great)
• Hades
• ...And anything else I can get. Those are my top, though.

I've already played brave, brave Sir Robin - that was fun, although it was five and a half years ago. I do realize I have some double choices; such is not only a backup thing, but also because I have two favorite types of characters: creepy/scary villains and roguish rapscallions. I can be evil, but I can also be like my real self: a scoundrel. Some, such as Mr. Todd, are both. Others are also in there.

I actually did not sing for a long time due to a music teacher I had in elementary school - I am partly to blame of course, for letting her get to me, but I became very embarrassed to speak in musical notes for many years. Now I am making up for my years of sloth by catching up to things.

Also, in the matter of getting in, I think I must at long last polish something up to send off to a magazine. I'll probably be rejected, but persistence is key, no? Probably just a poem, as I still need to sort out my stories.

French I taught me that "adieu" is very final, as in funerals, so I'll just say

Au revoir! Bonjournee!

-Lewis