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shay d.

@lilyslabo.bsky.social

40 followers 76 following 140 posts

i draw pictures and watch movies and read books. she/they 🏳️‍🌈 | my partner everywhere @alissadmc.bsky.social our richard stark’s parker site: toughbusiness.neocities.org

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shay d. @lilyslabo.bsky.social · Jul 3

Check out our interview with Sean Phillips on our website!!! As always, none of this would be possible without my lovely partner everywhere. I’m so proud of everything we’ve accomplished on here!!

alissa m. @alissadmc.bsky.social · Jul 3

We've got a new interview with Eisner-winning artist @seanphillips.bsky.social over on our website, discussing all things Richard Stark's Parker & sharing an exclusive look at the Grofield story from the second collection of Darwyn Cooke's Parker comics! toughbusiness.neocities.org/seanphillips...

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shay d. @lilyslabo.bsky.social · 12h

scholars!! 😄 you’re too kind, thanks so much for reading and for your help making this happen, Priscilla!

Reposted by shay d.

priscilla page @priscillapage.bsky.social · 12h

a terrific interview with Shane Black about Play Dirty from preeminent Richard Stark/Donald Westlake/Parker scholars @alissadmc.bsky.social & @lilyslabo.bsky.social

shay d. @lilyslabo.bsky.social · 13h

We have another exciting and exclusive interview up on Tough Business— this time with acclaimed director Shane Black! @alissadmc.bsky.social and I sat down to chat with him about Play Dirty and his thoughts on Westlake’s work.

Check it out here: toughbusiness.neocities.org/shaneblackin...

"We don't compromise Parker's code" - An Exclusive Interview with Shane Black

A week after the highly-anticipated release of Play Dirty, Tough Business had the pleasure of sitting down for a chat on all things Parker with acclaimed director Shane Black. Best known for neo-noir hits like Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and The Nice Guys, Shane spoke about his new film, his thoughts on Parker and Grofield's dynamic, and a glimpse behind-the-scenes of this latest Richard Stark adaptation.

TB: You've talked about discovering Parker at a young age, but what drew you to the books? Do they still hold the same appeal years later?

SB: That's a good question. Thave encountered Parker at various points in my life, and also not just him but the Dortmunder books as well - and the standalones. Westlake tended to be a writer of comic caper novels. My first introduction was The Hot Rock, and then I moved on to Parker. Like I said, I went through the years with him, and the novels don't lose anything at all. They have this sort of readability about them, and the fact that they're each sort of little gems; they're not huge novels, even Butcher's Moon slides past.

The prose holds up, the attitude holds up. These evolved over the years - the first one was written when there were rotary telephones and the last was written when there were handheld Samsungs - so along the way, he managed to proceed with this character without compromising even an iota of the punch and the style and the grace of the books. I refer to Westlake as the mystery writers' mystery writer. It seems to me that if you would ask any of the ones in the business who sold more books than him, they'd say, “yeah, well, he's still the guy that takes you to school, he's still the guy that I go back to when I want the real stuff."

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shay d. @lilyslabo.bsky.social · 13h

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shay d. @lilyslabo.bsky.social · 1d

We just posted our review of Shane Black’s Play Dirty on our site! Co-written by @alissadmc.bsky.social, we discuss what worked for us as Parker fans and make a few comparisons to the novels.

Check it out here: toughbusiness.neocities.org/playdirtyrev...

Review titled Play Dirty: A Love Letter to the Richard Stark
Novels

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shay d. @lilyslabo.bsky.social · 2d

writing.

shay d. @lilyslabo.bsky.social · 3d

who was out here googling “grofield barn theater”

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shay d. @lilyslabo.bsky.social · 6d

the P doesn’t actually stand for parker it’s for pookie

shay d. @lilyslabo.bsky.social · 6d

we'll get around to writing a play dirty review eventually but in the meantime im still thinking about lakeith's amazingly girlish grofield scream before getting hit by a truck. that's not really a spoiler he's ok

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shay d. @lilyslabo.bsky.social · 7d

play dirty was all we dreamed of and more by the way. our beautiful grofield…

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shay d. @lilyslabo.bsky.social · 13d

by the way, you can see an array of wonderful international parker covers on our website here: toughbusiness.neocities.org/reviews

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shay d. @lilyslabo.bsky.social · 13d

the artist for the italian il giallo mondadori covers, carlo jacono, also adheres to the blonde grofield belief system like i do, despite him technically canonically having dark hair and green eyes

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shay d. @lilyslabo.bsky.social · 13d

sometimes it appears that parker is on a grofield cover and vice versa. that’s fine!

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shay d. @lilyslabo.bsky.social · 13d

showing some appreciation for various international parker covers by picking out some with depictions i feel look the most like him. titles in alt

The Man with the Getaway Face Swedish cover

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shay d. @lilyslabo.bsky.social · 14d

got our zines in the mail today, written by my love @alissadmc.bsky.social

and you can read it here! archive.org/details/fort...

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Reposted by shay d.

Alexandra Heller-Nicholas @horrornonna.com · 15d

These photos of Claudia Cardinale feeding cats spaghetti should honestly replace the Italian flag

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shay d. @lilyslabo.bsky.social · 15d

as one half of tough business and as someone who generally really likes lee marvin, this is the kind of performance we should’ve had happening in point blank but unfortunately he was nearly unconscious the entire time

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shay d. @lilyslabo.bsky.social · 15d

we just watched prime cut (1972) for the first time and why was this the all-time greatest lee marvin performance.. and film

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Reposted by shay d.

shay d. @lilyslabo.bsky.social · Dec 28

“Parker looked at the finger. The first knuckle was bent slightly, so that the finger seemed to be calm, at ease, resting. But at the other end were small clots of dark blood, and lighter smears of blood on the cotton gauze.”

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shay d. @lilyslabo.bsky.social · 17d

EXACTLY.

shay d. @lilyslabo.bsky.social · 17d

this bit from the handle makes me smile wonderfully every time

Excerpt from The Handle by Richard Stark that reads:

"Once around the park, driver," Grofield said. "I believe I'll take a nap." His smile got glassy and he passed out, his head falling over on Parker's shoulder.

Parker said, for England's benefit, "That's a good idea. Sleep the whole trip, why don't you?"

The first part of the trip, cross-country, was rough, and it was just as well Grofield had passed out at the beginning of it.

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shay d. @lilyslabo.bsky.social · 19d

extremely solid last four

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Reposted by shay d.

alissa m. @alissadmc.bsky.social · 22d

Our new Parker & Grofield zine is now out! With delicious art by the master storyteller @lilyslabo.bsky.social we expand on the rich subtext of Richard Stark's The Handle through the lens of '50s-60s romance pulps. archive.org/details/fort...