jj abrams vs chuck palahniuk

[patsopinion]

who ya got

youve got two blank boxes
and all you know is one was from the mind of abrams and one from the mind of palahnick(the guy who wrote fight club)(the sp of his name might throw some people)

who you going with?

[JPMNICK]

not even close, chuck palahniuk all day everyday

[patsopinion]

not even close, chuck palahniuk all day everyday

did you see zodiac?

[underdog]

So basically, we're trying to decide between Cloverfield and Fight Club?

Really? This is a discussion?

[realmenhatelife]

chuck p is a terrible fucking author and complete twat. I will never, ever side with someone who brags about not owning a tv. give me abrams.

[Furtherman]

did you see zodiac?

Yes. Directed by David Fincher.

[JPMNICK]

chuck p is a terrible fucking author and complete twat. I will never, ever side with someone who brags about not owning a tv. give me abrams.

even if he is a twat, his books are great. Even taking out Fight Club, I put Invisible Monster and Choke up against almost anything

[cougarjake13]

chuck

[JPMNICK]

JJ wrote Armageddon

[underdog]

JJ wrote Armageddon

So Cloverfield and Armageddon?

I ask again, this is a discussion?

[Bob Impact]

Seriously, have you ever read Haunted? This isn't even close to a debate.

[JPMNICK]

Seriously, have you ever read Haunted? This isn't even close to a debate.

that is my next one to read, i will be reading it this week on my way to Detroit

[Doctor Manhattan]

Not even close.

I am a HUGE fan of Lost and I'm happy that JJ Abrams was part of getting that off the ground, but from everything I have read or heard about Lost, Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse are the real creative force behind the show. With JJ and Damon setting the outline of the show up at the beginning.

Everything else that JJ has done has not impressed me in the way that Chuck Palahniuk has, and if Lost was something JJ was more directly in control of, I might have to think about it

[HBox]

This is an easier choice than Cake or Death.

[TheMojoPin]

Neither?

I don't dislike either, but both seem like pretty one-trick ponies.

Is this comparison based on anything? It seems pretty random and not really based on anything.

[underdog]

Who is voting for JJ?

Why is no one answering my questions?

How many questions could I possibly ask in one thread?

[Bob Impact]

Neither?

I don't dislike either, but both seem like pretty one-trick ponies.

Is this comparison based on anything? It seems pretty random and not really based on anything.

How is Palahniuk a one trick pony?

[underdog]

How is Palahniuk a one trick pony?

I was trying to figure out a Paul Simon or broken ankle joke, but I failed.

So let's pretend that I did and it was hilarious.

[realmenhatelife]

even if he is a twat, his books are great. Even taking out Fight Club, I put Invisible Monster and Choke up against almost anything


I'll break the news to William Faulkner.

Invisible Monsters is the best thing he wrote, then he just kept rewriting that story arc and character template over and over and over, i gave up after lullaby. To me chuck is at the forefront of having no idea what you mean, but knowing exactly how you want to be seen meaning it.

[TheMojoPin]

How is Palahniuk a one trick pony?

What realmehatelife said.

Palahniuk has a very evocative style, but his work have all been minor variaitons of the same voice. Yes, most authors ultimately "sound" very similar from work to work, but everything I've read of his comes across as incredibly alike. I don't dislike him, but I'm not terriby impressed with him as anything unique...and I think the quality of his books have been slipping consistently. I read an advance copy of Snuff a couple weeks ago and I had to struggle to get through it. it REALLY reeked of him trying to way to hard to be "edgy" and jaded and dark.

[Freakshow]

I'll take Palahniuk--big guy, big reach. Skinny guys fight 'till they're burger.

[Doctor Manhattan]

Is this comparison based on anything? It seems pretty random and not really based on anything.

It does seem random, so I based it on just the writing they have done.

[nate1000]

I've seen Fight Club, read Choke.

Seen Lost, haven't seen Cloverfield yet. Based upon this limited exposure, I prefer Chuck.

In the interest of full disclosure, I was a huge Lost fan until I missed an episode early last season and fell off the wagon.

[Chigworthy]

Chuck's nonfiction deserves some recogntion.

[Sheeplovr]

It does seem random, so I based it on just the writing they have done.

thats still two dffent cups of liquid


to judge it you would have to read jj abrams screenplays and not count things he did with a writing staff

first 2 seasons of alias i love so much but its not all him even if he's the captian of the ship it's not like J. Michael Straczynski who wrote alot of bayblon 5 episodes himself but you can't hold spider-man one more day agaisnt fight club

[Doctor Manhattan]

thats still two dffent cups of liquid

I agree, but I'm doing the best I can with this crazy poll.

[DeltaPin]

Chuck

[Bob Impact]

What realmehatelife said.

Palahniuk has a very evocative style, but his work have all been minor variaitons of the same voice. Yes, most authors ultimately "sound" very similar from work to work, but everything I've read of his comes across as incredibly alike. I don't dislike him, but I'm not terriby impressed with him as anything unique...and I think the quality of his books have been slipping consistently. I read an advance copy of Snuff a couple weeks ago and I had to struggle to get through it. it REALLY reeked of him trying to way to hard to be "edgy" and jaded and dark.

He's a minimalist writer... how much different would you like his books to sound from each other? Should fight club be minimalist and then Choke is a flowery epic in iambic pentameter?

[TheMojoPin]

He's a minimalist writer... how much different would you like his books to sound from each other? Should fight club be minimalist and then Choke is a flowery epic in iambic pentameter?

I'm not talking about the technical aspects of his writing. I mean that to me, the tone of the books and voices of his main characters are all rigidly similar (often being nearly identical) from book to book.

He's the Bret Easton Ellis of a new generation. Or Douglas Coupland, except with more sex and violence.

I'll be very curious to see what you think of Snuff.

[cogsdoc]

I just find Chuck to be more consistent. At his best, I really like Abrams work, but I feel like he spreads himself a little too far. Im yet to read anything by Chuck that isn't lots of fun to read in a wonderfully creepy way.

[KnoxHarrington]

I'm not talking about the technical aspects of his writing. I mean that to me, the tone of the books and voices of his main characters are all rigidly similar (often being nearly identical) from book to book.

He's the Bret Easton Ellis of a new generation. Or Douglas Coupland, except with more sex and violence.

I'll be very curious to see what you think of Snuff.

But that can be said about a lot of writers. They all have their themes and their obsessions, the topics they go back to again and again. There's a certain similarity to much of Vonnegut's writing if you really look at it, for example. Or Faulkner -- oh look, it's another book about a Southern family in decline.

I do think he was starting to rely a bit too much on literary pyrotechnics and style over substance, but "Rant" did restore a bit of my faith in him.

[TheMojoPin]

But that can be said about a lot of writers. They all have their themes and their obsessions, the topics they go back to again and again. There's a certain similarity to much of Vonnegut's writing if you really look at it, for example. Or Faulkner -- oh look, it's another book about a Southern family in decline.

I never said that that can't be applied to a ton of other fiction writers. That's one of the main reasons why I read mostly non-fiction...I can't "lose" myself in most fiction titles because too many of the characters end up sounding the same. I definitely prefer fiction that's told through the perspective of a narrator-esque character, so we're seeing and hearing everything from his or her viewpoint. Granted, Chuck uses that device quite often, which is why I've enjoyed a couple of his books, but by and large I don't think he's anything special. He's created too narrow a tone for his books, and it's like he's trying to outdo himself at being "edgy and dark" with each book. We get it, dude. We all read those same gim 'n' gritty comics in the 80's and 90's, too. Even nihilism gets tedious ater a while.

I know I'm a broken record on it at this point, but I'll be stunned if people like Snuff. He completely bottoms out with this one.

[K.C.]

If it wasn't for JJ, I probably wouldn't be up to Lost Season 4.

'nuff said.

[TheMojoPin]

If it wasn't for Brian K. Vaughan, I probably wouldn't be up to Lost Season 4.

'nuff said.

Fixed.

[underdog]

If it wasn't for JJ, I probably wouldn't be up to Lost Season 4.

'nuff said.

If it wasn't for JJ, I probably wouldn't have been subjected to Cloverfield and I could have those two hours of my life back.

'nuff said.

[K.C.]

Fixed.

Brian K. didn't join up until Season 3 and has only written a handful of episodes (although they're quite good).

J.J. helped write the pilot and directed both pilot episodes (as far as pilots go, one of the better ones ever). And having him attached as a producer is what got the show the publicity it need to survive.

[K.C.]

If it wasn't for JJ, I probably wouldn't have been subjected to Cloverfield and I could have those two hours of my life back.

'nuff said.

I was smart enough not to subject myself to that.

Although I do want to check out Vantage Point somewhere down the line.

[Slumbag]

Chuck P. all the way. The only thing about him that ever bugged me, is he doesn't write good parts for women, and the books always seem a little forced. Like, Invisible Monsters and Diary, the main characters were chicks. They were both weak drug addicts. But Haunted and Survivor put Chuck WAY over the mark.

[TheMojoPin]

Brian K. didn't join up until Season 3 and has only written a handful of episodes (although they're quite good).

BKV saved the show.

[JPMNICK]

BKV saved the show.

i agree 100%

[Doctor Manhattan]

Brian K. Vaughan rocks. I love what he has done both on Lost and on his own. Damon and Carlton were smart to bring him into the writing room. That said, he did not save the show. I know he is a friend of the Ron and Fez show but get a hold of yourselves.

Setting an end date saved the show. That stopped the need for "filler episodes." Without knowing when the story will end Lost would have become The X-Files

[underdog]

Although I do want to check out Vantage Point somewhere down the line.

You like hurting yourself, don't you?

[TheMojoPin]

get a hold of yourselves

Fine, but you can't look.

Pervert.

[K.C.]

i agree 100%

Disagree 100%.

While BKV was a nice addition, the show did not need saving. The beginning of Season 2 wasn't great, but the end was fantastic and the beginning of Season 3 was excellent. All that predates BKV's first episode.

[TheMojoPin]

Flukes. BKV's consistent awesomeness righted the ship for good, and provided a shining example for the rest of the writers to follow and be inspired by. ALL PRAISE BE UNTO BKV.

[GreatAmericanZero]

i dont even understand why you would compare the two? Maybe a Palahniuk/Bret Easton Ellis thing would make sense, but when JJ Abrams writes a novel or Palahniuk writes a script/produces a tv show then they could compare

[Doctor Manhattan]

Fine, but you can't look.

Darn

[Bob Impact]

Darn

I looked. It's impressive.