Hollywood Djinn

wikia.com

Uncharted 3 started me thinking about Hollywood and the way djinn are portrayed in film. I've seen them ghostly, fiery, and without a specific corporeal shape most often. Must be tough to act when your character is a cloud though. Only Robin Williams does well with the blue puffy look.

Then Clash of the Titans, v2010, came up with some story of djinn who gave up their bodies for what looks like charcoal briquettes. Glowing blues eyes complete the cheesy effect. But this is Clash of the Titans - so cheesy is what it's all about. ;)

Actually, as characters, they are pretty decent. They help Perseus out and are instrumental in defeating Medusa. Most other movies give the djinn a nasty reputation for death and destruction. Maybe spelling it "djinn" versus "genie" has something to do with the creepy coefficient?


Then there's Wishmaster,1997. This guy just looks like Satan in a red cloak. What's up with the horns and claws? I suppose being evil entitles a djinn to whatever he wants, but... I'm not buying the look, even if it makes me wonder if my djinn need an image consulation. If I was an evil mastermind, I'd want to look pretty darn ordinary and let people think I was just like them, until I trapped them between a rock and a hard place. What do you think? What other djinn have you seen in the movies?

Magical Creature Must-Haves

Cover via AmazonI know I hit the jackpot when the eleven-year old boy of the house strokes the cover of a book and asks "Oooo...is this for me?"

Yeah. My Borders find of the weekend: The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures by John and Caitlin Matthews. (On the sale rack for $9.99!)

It's in a perilous place right now. As in, I want to read it and the boy has confiscated it while I wasn't looking. It's OK. While he was at grandma's I quickly read the main passsages I needed. And he has to go to school tomorrow. hehe.

But really, many times I've found myself surfing the net, looking for a creature that does such and such, and wishing I had the Monster Book of Monsters to give me a clue. This is that book!

Unfortunately, there aren't that many creatures from Turkey or the Middle East in the volume. I think part of that problem is that the source material is either a) passed down in rote or b) has never been translated. Still, several entries point me in a promising direction and if I find more info, language isn't going to be a barrier.

BTW, it seems there's been an alignment of the planets in regard to writer's guides this week. I read a great post on The Writer's Guide to Psychology over at Sarah Fine's, and I was researching a semi-precious gem on Holly Ruggiero's Writer's Guide to Crystal and Gemstones. Check them out!