Ask Gordon
Is there something in the wide world of Gordon Korman fiction that has always had you wondering? Well this is your chance to find an answer. We're pleased to announce a new feature on the Gordon Korman Web Site ... Ask Gordon. Simply fill out the form to ask your question, and check back every few weeks. Depending on the number of questions we receive and how interesting they are, Gordon will provide a few answers every couple of weeks to every month or so. In the meantime, we have two questions to get things started.
06/17/08
Q: (From Mihail in Florida, 2008): Are you going to make movies of some of your books?
A: We sell film rights all the time, but the decision about whether or not a movie or TV show gets made is up to the producer. I'm no expert on the movie business, but I think companies put dozens of projects into development, knowing that only one or two will ever see production. So it's always kind of a long shot.
Right now, there are exciting projects in the works based on SWINDLE, SCHOOLED, BORN TO ROCK, EVEREST, NO MORE DEAD DOGS, ISLAND and (an oldie but goodie) NO COINS, PLEASE. I'm keeping my fingers crossed
Q: (From Clive, Toronto, Canada, 2008): Are there any plans for more Bruno and Boots adventures? I've been a proud fan since the late 80s/early 90s.
A: I would love to return to Bruno and Boots/Macdonald Hall. And I do believe it will happen someday. But there are quite a few issues that need to be worked out.
When would a new Macdonald Hall book be set? In 1978, when THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING was published? At that time, there was no such thing as the Internet, first class postage was twelve cents, and a personal computer was something only George Wexford-Smyth III could afford. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it would have to be a deliberate decision to write a period piece – something none of the other Macdonald Hall books were.
Or, I could write the new novel as if it's happening today, and update the rest of the series to match. (Scholastic Canada has already done this with their editions.)
Another possibility would be to say that time has passed, and a new crop of kids has come the school. Kind of like “Macdonald Hall – The Next Generation.” Bruno could be a young teacher now. Mr. Sturgeon is chairman of the board. And, Miss Scrimmage, at age ninety-nine, hasn't retired yet, and is still terrorizing Highway 48 with her shotgun.
I'm not saying that any of these is necessarily going to happen – just that going back to Macdonald Hall and picking up these series where it left off is trickier than it looks. Remember, I was fourteen when THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING was published. Assuming Bruno was the same age, he'd be pushing forty-five today. Then again, Mickey Mouse is almost a hundred, so nothing is impossible.
Q: (From Corey in Canada, 2008): What book did you really like writing?
A: It's very hard for me to choose favorites. I'm lucky to be one of those fortunate souls who has a great time doing his job. Since the ISLAND series, I've grown to love the adventure genre, and, of course, comedy has always been my first love.
Still, if I had to pick my most rewarding writing experience, I'd have to go with the novels about the Falconers. Maybe it's because I'm an only child, so having a brother or sister is alien to me, but there was something about ON THE RUN and KIDNAPPED that really transported me. There are nine books between the two series, yet I never – not even for a moment – felt burned out on those two characters. Their adventures were my adventures, and I was right there with them every step of the way.
05/14/08
Q: (From Mark?, 2002ish): What is Boots O'Neal's middle name? We've been told the P stands for "Pushed around for the last time," but what is it, really?
A: In the first draft of THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING, Boots actually revealed that his middle name was Paul. But that was cut in editing.
Q: (From Joe in Michigan, 2007): We know Willie and Mildred and lots of other first names from the various Bruno and Boots books, but we've never heard a first name for Miss Scrimmage. What is Miss Scrimage's first name?
A: Reviewing the seven MACDONALD HALL books, I guess I never gave Miss Scrimmage a first name. My bad. I have a vague memory of her being Cornelia or Carmelia, but now I think that may have come from an old dramatic production of my first book that toured around eastern Canada a very long time ago.