Neil Gaiman's "The Price"

By The Fans, For The Fans

I've had to keep a close eye on both wife and wallet, since this project recently appeared on Neil Gaiman's website. Although fans can contribute as little as $10, apparently if you contribute $1,000 to Christopher Salmon's Kickstarter project, to turn Neil's brilliant short story The Price into a CG, 2½D, fully scored and author-narrated movie, then one of the goodies you'll bag for that contribution is a genuine Associate Producer credit on the finished work:


Barely managing to span pages 51 to 57 of Neil's Smoke and Mirrors collection, The Price tells the touching and engrossing story of an enigmatic Black Cat, arriving on the porch one summer. Over the days and weeks his fortunes seem to wax and wane, as do those of his adopted family. Then one night, another visitor arrives at the gate...

This is shaping up to be a seriously high quality adaptation, paced lento and considered, as the source requires - and indeed deserves. With the boost of support on the author's blog (Neil has even more readers than me, you know) the project appears now to have every chance of reaching its funding target. I really hope it does. Christopher Salmon appears very talented, original and creative, as well as profoundly committed to his dream. And the work done so far is achingly beautiful, particularly the detail on both the cat, and the author.



Neil's reading is available as a free audio download, links to which are available, both legally and otherwise, from various places. But since one of those places is the "Exclusive Material" section of Smoke and Mirrors, I won't be linking to it here. Update: Neil has now made his narration freely available here (15½ minutes).

Funding updates:

Nov 10: Wow, one third funded and still three weeks to go. Looks even more as if this project will succeed. Oh, and happy 50th today, Neil!
Nov 12: Two fifths funded. Wow again. Yes, I do love me some properly reduced fractions.
Nov 18: Hmm, nine twentieths. Wonder why BoingBoing hasn't given this one a boost yet?
Nov 22: One half. Eight days left.
Nov 23: Fourteen twenty-fifths. Seven days. Oh, and happy 52nd today, me!
Nov 24: Three fifths. Six days
Nov 26: Thirteen twentieths. Four days
Nov 27: Eight elevenths. Three days left. Can't look. Yet must.
Nov 28: Three quarters. 2½ days.
Nov 29: Four fifths. 42hrs. Five sixths. 38 hrs. Seventeen twentieths. 34 hrs.
Nov 30: Nineteen twentieths. 24 hrs. Twenty four twenty fifths. 23 hrs. Thirty five thirty sixths. 21 hrs. One whole. 17 hrs to spare.

Via: GeekDad (Wired).