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The Lightsabre
Interview Donald F Glut
Welcome to Lightsabre. Our latest guest is the author of the three
and a half million selling adaptation of The Empire Strikes Back, as well as
episodes of Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends, X-Men, Transformers, G.I.
Joe, the Vampirella comic and the novels Frankenstein Lives Again, Dinosaur
Valley Girls and Brother Blood. Please
give a huge welcome to none other than Donald F Glut. Q – Donald, welcome to
Lightsabre. A – Thanks
for inviting me. Q – Tell us something of
your career. Where did you begin as a
writer and what led you to where you are today? A – My earliest professional writing credits were articles I’d written for
a monster-movie magazine called MODERN MONSTERS. That was way back in the Jurassic
period of 1966. Before long I was editing that magazine. Before that I’d
written articles for various fanzines, etc., including SHAZAM!, a fanzine I published and edited with my friend Dick
Andersen. A long string of writing credits followed those early articles. In
the succeeding years I wrote more of them, a number or non-fiction books
about subjects that interested me (vampires, dinosaurs, nostalgia, etc.),
novels, short stories, comic-book scripts, scripts for TV cartoon shows,
motion picture scripts and even songs. But what I’ve always wanted to do –
since I was nine years old and started making amateur movies in my home town
of Chicago – was to direct movies. In 1995 I got the opportunity to direct my
first professional movie, DINOSAUR VALLEY GIRLS, and I took it. Q – What is it like to be a
part of the Star Wars phenomenon? A- It was
kind of cool when the Star Wars phenomenon was at its hottest, but also a bit
of a downer. A lot of people rolled out the red carpet to me, so to speak,
because Star Wars was considered by some to be something really important.
People would try to impress me – kiss up -- by telling me how many times
they’d seen STAR WARS or THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. They still do! But not
being a fan of the franchise, I really didn’t and still don’t care how many
times they saw those films. Remember, too, that I had nothing to do with the
actual movies. My only involvement with Star Wars was writing the novellisation
of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK, some of the comic-book stories published by
Marvel Comics, and almost writing some of the newspaper comic strips
for artist Russ Manning and also a Wookie “character novel.” The latter
actually got to the plotting stage (over pizza with co-author Gerry Conway),
but never went further than that. Q – The Empire novellisation
sat atop the bestsellers list for two months and sold north of three million
copies, but despite this yours is a name we hear little of in modern Star
Wars fandom. Why is that? A – Maybe
fandom has moved on. Remember that EMPIRE (movie and book) is about a quarter
of a century old. Or you might put the blame in part on the Lucas “empire.”
Neither Lucas nor the company ever did anything to promote my name or me. I
was never able to get any work from them following the publication of the
novel, and for years they even misspelled my name on the royalty checks. When
I phoned them in an attempt to get the writing gig for the RETURN OF THE JEDI
novel the person I talked to didn’t even know who I was. Note also that in
Lucas’ foreword to one of the later EMPIRE editions he never even once
mentioned my name (even though we were “old friends” dating back to our USC
days). When, a few years ago, I wrote to Lucas trying to get work – at a time
when I was pretty desperate for money – I essentially got the proverbial
“bum’s rush.” But I’d better stop here on this topic. I’m starting (once
again) to sound like “sour grapes.”
Q – Your other works
encompass a huge range of characters, from G.I. Joe to Vampirella, Batman to
He-Man. Tell us a little about the
broad scope of your writing? A – Well,
not much to explain, except that I’ve always loved horror, science fiction
and fantasy, etc. Luckily most of the writing jobs I’ve managed to get have
been in those areas. Also, once you get a reputation in certain areas,
publishers, animation studios and so forth often come to you and offer work
in those genres. As they say, one thing leads to another. When it comes to
books, either fiction or not, I tend to pick topics that I’m particularly interested
in, even though readers may not share those interests with the same passion. Q – You were involved with
Mattel when designing some of the characters for Masters of the
Universe. Which characters did you
have a hand in? A – I didn’t really design any
characters for MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE. I was given Polaroid photos of some
of characters and also their names. My job was to create origins and
backgrounds for them, then use the characters in original stories that I
wrote. Those were the little booklets that came out with the first wave of
toys. However, I did create the character of Teela.
I put her into one of those booklet stories to give He-Man (stupid name; I
still hate it!) someone to play off of. Originally they didn’t want to use a
female, afraid it would “turn off” little boys. But then, realizing they
could use the same mold to make additional character figures that maybe girls
would buy, they went with it. The name Teela, by
the way, came from the “Gunga Ram” stories I’d seen
as a kid on the old SMILIN’ ED’S GANG and ANDY’S GANG TV shows. It was the
name of Gunga’s (an Indian “elephant boy”)
elephant. Oddly, Joe Mazzuka (aka Nino Marcel), the
actor who played Gunga, went on to be one of the
producers of the MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE TV cartoon show, which was produced
by Filmation. Even stranger, I’d worked freelance
at Filmation writing scripts for SHAZAM!, TARZAN and YOUNG SENTINELS and may have passed Mazzuka in the halls and not known recognized him.
Unfortunately, he died just months before I found this out and I wonder if he
ever thought about the possible significance of my Teela
name. I named Castle Grayskull after then wife
whose maiden name was Gray, because in the Polaroid photo of the castle it
looked gray and not green. By the time the toys came out, I was going through
a messy divorce; so seeing that castle in stores was a constant reminder of
that. Q – Novels and movies are
two very different things, and with Empire cutting it so fine in making it to
the screen by May 19th 1980 you must have had the book finished
before Kershner finished his film. A - I ran into Irv Kershner at a USC event a couple years ago and told
him that, as far as I was concerned, there are two versions of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. When he gave me a
puzzled expression, I replied that there was the movie version that he
directed...but there was also the version I saw in my head as I was writing
the novel, which was completed before I saw the movie. When I saw the movie
for the first time and the first scene came down, I remember sinking down
into my seat and saying, with much concern, "Its different!" The
version in my mind was paced differently, the sets and characters
"looked" different, and (I didn't tell him this) I thought Billy
Dee Williams and Harrison Ford gave better performances. That's probably the
same experience for anyone reading a "novellisation" before seeing
the actual movie. Every reader has his or her own "other" version
of the movie in their imaginations. Hmmmm That may be a topic to ponder and
discuss someday. Which also brings up the question of why people read
novellisations: If you read the book first, it can spoil the surprises in the
movie. And if you read it after seeing the movie, you already know what's
going to happen in the book. Q - You’ve
written many various novels, comics, and scripts and directed 41 amateur
movies, but to a worldwide audience you are probably best known for the
Empire Strikes Back adaptation.
Looking back a quarter of a century, how do you feel about the experience
now? A – It was probably one of the
best career moves I ever made. The novel is still in print and, being part of
such a huge and well-known franchise, it’s opened – and continues to open –
many doors. People can relate to it. If I tell a publisher or producer that
my credits include comic books like TRAGG AND THE SKY GODS or books like THE
GREAT TELEVISION HEROES, it usually makes little or no impression. Most
likely, they’ve never heard of those characters or titles. But if I mention
things I’ve worked on that have become more or less “household words” (e.g.,
TARZAN, VAMPIRELLA, TRANSFORMERS, CAPTAIN AMERICA, DINOTOPIA, or whatever),
they can relate and it makes the impression I need to help me get the gig. Q – The amateur films you
made in the 1960’s, including Spy Smasher vs The Purple Monster were
eventually shown on television. Was
that an accolade you expected, or was your wide library of films always
destined for a wide audience? A – No, the
intent for the most part was just to show those amateur movies to friends and
family, usually in my own home. I think only SPY SMASHER VS. THE PURPLE
MONSTER was shown on TV, although ROCKETMAN FLIES AGAIN turned up at a
drive-in theatre, and CAPTAIN AMERICA BATTLES THE RED SKULL and BATMAN AND ROBIN
were shown, with those other two movies, at colleges, in film festivals, and
so forth. In the late 1960s those four titles – then referred to as
“underground movies” – became available through the rental catalog of the
Chicago Center Cinema Co-op. So, distribution of those titles was expected
and desired. ROCKETMAN FLIES AGAIN was also made available for sale during
the late 1970s or early ‘80s, in both 16mm and 8mm, through a California
company called Glenn Photo Supply. Now all 41 films are available on the
I WAS A TEENAGE MOVIE MAKER DVD from my company Frontline Entertainment (see
http://www.FrontlineFilms.com).
Q – Was there ever any
opportunity to write further Star Wars adventures, and if given the chance
today would you be interested? A – Sure, I’d
be interested, but only because of the money. But as I said, I’ve never been
able to get any work – not even on that TV cartoon show about the
droids, at a time when EMPIRE was still new. And believe me, I’ve tried! Q – Tell us something of your other interests outside of your
writing. A – That’s an
interview in itself! I’m interested in so many things, including stage magic,
old-fashioned amusement parks, motorcycles, model railroads, “Holy relics,”
and more. My greatest interest is probably in paleontology, specifically in
dinosaurs. I’ve made a second career out of working with dinosaurs. I’ve
written many books about dinosaurs, some of them fairly technical, and do
volunteer work one day a week at the Dinosaur Institute of the Natural History
Museum of Los Angeles County. Q – I was fascinated to see that you worked as a musician, singer and songwriter
in The Penny Arkade,
a rock band produced by former Monkee Michael
Nesmith. That must have been an
amazing time of your career? A – One of the
two or three greatest periods of my life. Can you imagine being part of the
rock music/hippie scene in Hollywood, California during the late 1960s?!
Going to a nightclub where the two “house bands” were the Doors and the
Buffalo Springfield, hanging out at Michael’s house or in the recording
studio with famous rock personalities, etc. It was a great time to be young
and in Los Angeles. Q – You also made a large amount of cameo roles in various
movies. How do these come about, and
why do you enjoy doing them? A – I really
don’t enjoy appearing in movies. For one thing, I get bored hanging around a
set for hours with nothing to do, while I’d rather be directing the movie in
which I’m doing the cameo. But when my director friends call me up and need
someone to fill a space in a scene, I usually do it. As far as my own movies
are concerned, I always do a “hand” cameo – close-up of a hand doing
something or other. I think that was inspired by hearing that Italian
director Dario Argento used his own hands for
close-up inserts of killers wearing gloves. It started for me when, in
DINOSAUR VALLEY GIRLS, the Allosaurus was
supposed to yank the “bikini top” off one of the cavegirls
and the actress insisted that the set be closed. I put on the rubber dinosaur
arm and hand and started my own tradition. Q - What lies ahead for you
in the future? A – Hopefully, to write and
direct more movies made through Frontline Entertainment. I have scripts
already written to take us through a couple years. Ideally I’d like to do
nothing but make movies, although raising money to shoot them is always a
major problem. All I need to start shooting the next one is the financing.
(Any of you out there ever think of investing in a low-budget movie?)
Probably I’ll also turn out more books about dinosaurs. Q – A quick question about
our site, Lightsabre. Any comments? A – It looks quite
good, if you’re a Star Wars fan. Q - It's been a great
interview, and thanks for being our guest on Lightsabre. Just one final question. Spider-Man, Chomper
and Chewbacca are at the controls of a spacecraft hurtling towards
Earth. The shields are out and the
hull is beginning to break up. There’s
only one ejector seat and parachute.
Which one makes it to safety and how? A – Nobody. Chomper eats Spider-Man and Chewbacca before anyone can eject and parachute…and Chomper, being a dinosaur, doesn’t possess hands capable of working the controls. Sorry to end on such a sad note. (Or is that merely a cliffhanger ending with a solution yet to be revealed? |
