Tim Powers

Tim Powers
Biographical information
Born	February 29, 1952
Nationality	American
Career
Occupation	Writer

"Yeah, I think it would be a mistake for a movie to closely resemble a book in most cases. They're such different forms and work by such different mathematics. And of course I always remember that famous line of James Cain's when someone said to him, 'What do you think of what Hollywood has done to your novels?' And he pointed to the bookshelf and said... 'They haven't done anything to them. Look - there they are.' That would be my attitude."

―Tim Powers

Timothy Thomas "Tim" Powers (born February 29, 1952) is an American science fiction and fantasy author. He wrote critically acclaimed novels, including The Anubus Gates (1983), Last Call (1992), Expiration Date (1996), Earthquake Weather (1997), Declare (2000), and Three Days to Never (2006). Powers has won the World Fantasy Award twice for his critically acclaimed novels Last Call and Declare. His 1987 novel On Stranger Tides served as inspiration for the Monkey Island series.

Following the release of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Disney approached Tim Powers in optioning On Stranger Tides. This decision was made after Pirates screenwriters Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio found the book and mentioned it to producer Jerry Bruckheimer during the filming of back-to-back sequels Dead Man's Chest and At World's End. Elliott and Rossio had already thought of Blackbeard and the Fountain of Youth as key story elements, but Powers' novel was considered a huge inspiration for characters, theme, settings, basic storyline, and title for the fourth film, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

Biography

Early life and career

Tim Powers was born in Buffalo, New York, but grew up in California, where his Roman Catholic family moved in 1959. He studied English Literature at Cal State Fullerton, and earned his B.A. in 1976. It was there that he first met James Blaylock and K. W. Jeter, both of whom remained close friends and occasional collaborators; the trio have half-seriously referred to themselves as "steampunks" in contrast to the prevailing cyberpunk genre of the 1980s. Powers and Blaylock invented the poet William Ashbless while they were at Cal State Fullerton. In 1980, Tim Powers was married to Serena Batsford.

Another friend Powers first met during this period was noted science fiction writer Philip K. Dick; the character named "David" in Dick's novel VALIS is based on Powers. When Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? was retitled Blade Runner to tie-in with the movie based on the novel, Dick dedicated it to Tim and Serena Powers.

Tim Powers's first major novel was The Drawing of the Dark (1979), but the novel that earned him wide praise was The Anubis Gates (1983), which won the Philip K. Dick Award, and has since been published in many other languages. His other written work include Dinner at Deviant's Palace (1985), Last Call (1992), Expiration Date (1996), Earthquake Weather (1997), Declare (2000), and Three Days to Never (2006). Powers has won the World Fantasy Award twice for his critically acclaimed novels Last Call and Declare.

Several of Powers' novels depict "secret histories". He uses actual, documented historical events featuring famous people, but shows another view of them in which occult or supernatural factors heavily influence the motivations and actions of the characters. Typically, Powers strictly adheres to established historical facts. He reads extensively on a given subject, and the plot develops as he notes inconsistencies, gaps and curious data. Regarding his 2001 novel Declare, Powers stated, "I made it an ironclad rule that I could not change or disregard any of the recorded facts, nor rearrange any days of the calendar – and then I tried to figure out what momentous but unrecorded fact could explain them all."

Pirates of the Caribbean

"I was very pleased in 2006 when my agent told me that Disney had approached us wanting to option my book for a fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie. And then for three years I kind of just watched Google News hoping that it would happen."

―Tim Powers

Growing up as an Orange County citizen, Tim Powers and his wife visited Disneyland a lot as kids, with Powers specifically remembering when the Pirates of the Caribbean ride was brand new. Powers believed he had the ride in mind when writing 'On Stranger Tides' in addition to having a number of other things in mind as well.

On September 11, 2009, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, the fourth film in the franchise, was announced at the D23 Expo. After the title was announced, those familiar with Tim Powers' novel of the same name, suspected there was a connection. On October 2009, Powers was able to confirm that in between the release of the first and second "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies, Disney optioned his book. "I was very pleased in 2006 when my agent told me that Disney had approached us wanting to option my book for a fourth Pirates of the Caribbean movie," Powers says. "And then for three years I kind of just watched Google News hoping that it would happen." Despite being confirmed that the film would be based upon the novel, Powers wasn't sure how close the film's plot would relate to it.

Serena, Tim Powers, and Johnny Depp.

"I've watched all the movies several times, of course, and I think the clear thing they would use is the trip to the Fountain of Youth," Powers said. "My main character doesn't overlap with Jack Sparrow at all [in personality or circumstance]; they're totally different characters. I suppose they might overlap the Geoffrey Rush character Barbossa and Blackbeard. The only thing I feel certain they will hold on to is the Fountain of Youth since they telegraphed that at the end of the last movie."

On August 13, 2010, Tim Powers mentioned that he and his wife Serena were going to visit the set of the Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Tim and Serena drove up to Universal Studios in Los Angeles, where parts of Whitecap Bay filming took place, and they got to meet actors Johnny Depp, Penélope Cruz, Ian McShane, as well as director Rob Marshall screenwriter Terry Rossio. Powers also gave Johnny Depp a copy of his book, and both Tim and Serena had the chance to take a picture with Depp in costume.

In later interviews, Powers said that the movie would not have a lot to do with his book, since it was the fourth installment of a fairly complicated series, with characters and plot elements already established. Among the few things used from the book, he only noted that the film had Blackbeard, the Fountain of Youth, and the title. However, Powers had stated he didn't mind that, saying "I've never thought that a movie has much obligation to resemble a book it might've been based on." He always thought of To Have And Have Not—both the Hemingway book and the Bogart movie—in which the only things in common was the name of the protagonist. Powers had stated his belief that it's "hopeless and naive" for writers to make the eventual movie similar to the original book, saying both are such different forms and work by such different mathematics. Whenever asked about this, Tim Powers brought up a famous line by James Cain when someone asked him, "What do you think of what Hollywood has done to your novels?" And he pointed to the bookshelf and said... "They haven't done anything to them. Look - there they are." Powers said that would be his attitude.

On May 7, 2011, Tim Powers and his wife attended the film's premiere at Disneyland, where they saw Johnny Depp, Keith Richards, and Jodie Foster, among others. After watching Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Powers said "It looked good to me." Over time, Powers had said they did a good job of making a movie, but doesn't think they at all adapted his book to a movie.

Gallery

Serena, Tim Powers, and Johnny Depp.

Tim Powers with Terry Rossio.

Tim Powers with Rob Marshall.

Trivia

• Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides featured a mermaid character named Syrena, portrayed by Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey. It wasn't until Tim Powers visited the set that the film crew learned that his wife's name is "Serena".

External links

• Official website – includes a very long interview
• Tim Powers on Wikipedia
• Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides - Tim Powers - YouTube
• Tim Powers at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• Bibliographical list of book reviews published in Locus magazine
• Tim Powers at the Internet Movie Database
• Tim Powers - Facebook
• Stranger Tides - A Tim Powers site - Archived
• Tim Powers: On Stranger Tides - Archived