*** Now talking in #clivebarker
-NickO- Welcome to the bizarre world of Clive Barker. The Web of Lost Souls, (http://www.barkerverse.com) is proud to present Clive Barker, renowned author, artist and producer, to world of IRC.
Clive: Hi, everybody. Let's talk.
DaVinci: Hey Clive!
Fxmaster: Hey clive
baphomet: Hello Clive?
mycroft: hello clive
Tesla: er grins
bikk: ok
Rune: Howdie:)
HananX: salud!!
AliBryon: Hiya Clive

CLIVE: I'm ready for the first question.

NICKO: OK all
NICKO: Welcome all to #clivebarker
CLIVE: Nick, are you going to be fielding questions for me?
NICKO: Web of Lost Souls is proud to annonce tonight Clive Barker has joined us online to chat...
NICKO: Simply send a ? to FXmaster or NickO to get in the queu for questions.
NICKO: Welcome Clive

CLIVE: Thanks, NIck. Ready when you are.

Fxmaster: Could you tell us about Vipex
CLIVE: Vipex is a screenplay which I am considering putting into production sometime in '96. More news on Vipex as it comes along.

baphomet: For you paintings, where do you get the inspiration?
CLIVE: My paintings are essentially unconscious explorations . . . I dream with my eyes open. And, paint to put the images I see in my mind's eye on the canvas.

Kathie: How many people do you employ to assist you in your projects so you could keep working at your optimal level?
CLIVE: Kathie: I work with a number of people in different areas. I have a gallery in New York looking after my artwork; I have two colleagues who work with me at Seraphim Productions (my production company) working to develop material for the movies; I have a number of writers with whom I work to create screenplays; I have a typist who translates my handwritten drafts and makes them presentable for my publishers . . . In other words, my creative life would be impossible without the complicity of a number of other people.

Wolverine: Clive in your last IRC sesesion, you said you got the idea of pinhead from a dream, how often do you get your idea's for books from dreams?
CLIVE: Wolverine: It seldom happens that an entire idea springs from a dream, but perhaps twice a week I will note something down that I've dredged up in sleep that I hope may be useful in a book or a film or a painting in the future.

Rune: Many of your books deal with metaphysics, what are your views on these?
CLIVE: Rune: As you may know, the term "metaphysic" means a theory of being. It can cover an extraordinary range of possibilities. Impossible, therefore, to speak of "a view" on metaphysics. I could talk under that term about God, the devil, death the meaning of the universe, the origin of stars, storytelling, etc, etc, etc. In other words, the work I make in every medium is in a sense my views on metaphysics.

Tesla: Hey Clive, I just wanted to say I love your character, especially the female ones. Tes and Jude have got to be the two strongest, coolest women around. Who is your favorite character of yours?
CLIVE: Tesla: I love writing about women, and I'd have to say that my favorite female charater is probably the one with whom you share a name, i.e., Tesla Bombeck. As far as male characters are concerned, I'm very fond of Will Rabjohns, who is the hero of my new novel, Sacrament.

KateLaity: Steve Bisette told me he and Michael Zulli did a version of RawheadRex -- will it see the light of day?
CLIVE: KateLaity: I don't know what happened to Mr. Bisette and Mr. Zulli's RawheadRex. They probably know better than I . . .

Ladscum: Clive, With your schedule obviously busy, how do you find time for yourself? What about your basic needs? When do you find time for SEX? Are you body pierced?
CLIVE: Ladscum: Great questions! There is no more fundamental need in me than the need to make stories and images, therefore, when I make art either at my desk or in the studio I am, perhaps selfishly, satisfying that deep need. In other words, I'm in the very pleasant position of turning my art into my life and vice versa. Sex? What a wonderful experience that is! I know you'd love to know about my Saturday nights, but I aint telling! I was pierced - I won't tell you where - but now the only holes I have in my flesh are those that God gave me and my ears!

bladegirl: Clive, where did you get the inspiration for Hapexamendios?
CLIVE: Bladegirl: Hapexamendios is the great patriarchial God gone hopelessly wrong. He is in a sense a sickening corruption of Yahweh, a destroyer of goddesses - indeed, a destroyer of any divinity other than himself - a homophobe - a racist - basically, an all-around son of a bitch. The name Hapexamendios has three roots. Dios is obviously God; Amen speaks for itself; and Hapax means an event that only happens once. Just thought you'd like to know.

SidViciou: It is amazing to see how far the Hellraiser popularity has gone (even rude Pinheads walking the streets of Santa Monica). Have the latest movies followed true to your original ideas behind the Hellbound Heart?
CLIVE: SidVicious: No, Sid - may I call you Sid? The subsequent HellRaiser movies have disappeared into their own strange mythology which has precious little to do with the first movie or the book upon which it was based. But, I'm at ease with that idea. Pinhead and his attendants have taken themselves off into the collective consciousness of the culture to wreak their own particular havoc. What can I do? I just have to let them go! Kids!

Phisher: clive: how proactive are you in the net? do you consider uorself a net junkie?
CLIVE: Phisher: No, I'm not a net junkie. My only real addictions are art, sex and dogs.

mycroft: You stated in an essay that you are simply retelling old tales such as Marlowe's Dr. Faustus what other tales are you retelling?
CLIVE: Mycroft: You've probably heard it said that there are only seven stories to tell - that essentially we are revisiting the same narrative structures over and over again - so it comes as no surprise, I'm sure, that I go back to folklore, mythology, fairytales and the Bible for the tales I am retelling.

FXMASTER: What did you think of the outcome of Lord of Illusions
CLIVE: FxMaster: I'm much happier with the director's cut of Lord of Illusions which will be appearing in your local video store on the 16th of January than I was with the theatrical cut, in which the studio obliged me to remove 12 minutes of material (plus another 30 seconds or so removed by the MPAA) in order to have the movie released. Very frustrating. But I'm delighted to say that eight out of every ten video copies going to stores this week for release on the 16th are copies of the director's cut. This is the first time a movie has been released in the director's cut on such a wide level and I urge you to take a look at the movie in that form. A long answer, I realize, but it is important to me that my version of Lord of Illusions be the one that you guys slip into your video machine. You can't miss the flash on the cover that announces the copy as a director's cut. If it is less than two hours long, then you DO NOT have the director's cut and should go to a store that will supply it. Blockbuster will be carrying the director's cut. Finally, for those of you who have access to a lazer machine the Lord of Illusions two-disc lazer will be coming out at the beginning of February with a making of film attached and a two-hour commentary by yours truly running on the audio track (if you want to listen!) plus a whole bunch of other goodies. Hope you enjoy it.

HansR: Hello Clive...What was your earliest introduction to the metaphysical?
CLIVE: HansR: Hi, Hans! I suppose I would trace my earliest metaphysical ruminations to childhood thoughts about the stars. When I was very young, long before I had contemplated writing, I was passionately interested in astronomy. What child does not look up at the night sky and wonder: Who made this?

Nightfall: Have you ever had any problems with procrastination, and if so, how did you overcome them?
CLIVE: Nightfall: The joke answer? I'm going to put off answering you. No, I'm kidding. I tend not to procrastinate; life's too short. I prefer to get on with things and risk screwing up than sit around wondering if I should act.

SMITH: I recently toured Bev Hills and saw your estate. Rumours are that all the construction was you building a dungeon in your home? Is this true? How do your Bev Hills neighbors feel about living next to an operating dungeon?
CLIVE: Smith: I know who is asking this question. And, I know where you live. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Phisher: Clive, what kind of music do you find yourself drawn too? Is it more of the classical type, or more of a Brash, dark kind?
CLIVE: Phisher: I listen to a wide range of music. Recently? Wagner. Sondheim. The Cranberries. Sinatra. John Barry's score to the Scarlet Letter. Great score. Pitty about the movie.
Phisher: Nine Inch Nails? :)
CLIVE: Phiser: Of course, Nine Inch Nails. And those videos!

pee: Will the LD edition be letterboxed? and do you prefer one format over another ?
CLIVE: Pee: The lazer will indeed be letterbox. I would like to make a Cinemascope movie next. I like the epic quality it has.

Wolverine: Clive, are you planning on releasing anything more on the movie Nightbreed, like a Directors cut, Making of.. etc.?
CLIVE: Wolverine: There will be a lazer disc of Night Breed some time later this year. I am hoping to reconstruct many of the missing portions of the picture and make it a fully realized director's cut. I'll make sure information on this project appears on the Web of Lost Souls so that you guys can be kept up to date.

DaVinci: Clive: What artists (other than Goya) do you like? Any specific works hanging up at your house for daily inspiration?
CLIVE: DaVinci: Blake, Fuseli, John Martin (a great apocalyptic painter), Fuchs, Giger, Max Ernst, how's that?
CLIVE: DaVinci: I have some reproductions pinned up in my studio to inspire me (or shame me) while I paint. Many of the names I just listed.
DaVinci: Great. Thanks, Clive.

bikk: clive what readings would you recommend to a beginner interested in mysticism
CLIVE: Bikk: Some names: Obviously, we start with the grand old man, Joseph Campbell. He provides us with a wonderfully comprehensive overview of the interaction between pragmatic man and mystical man. Then you might want to try something outrageous like the works of Terrence McKenna. Try the Archaic Revival. It will blow your mind. And, then how about some mystical poets? Rilke, John Donne, Yeats, Blake (oh, God, not him again. I hear you sigh), or Rumi perhaps. Is anybody out there familiar with him? Amazing.

dalyzard: clive: what did you think of the Coil soundtrack which wasn't used for hellraiser?
CLIVE: dalyzard: I was a huge fan of the Coil music for Hellraiser and only wished things had worked out so we could have used them. Maybe some time in the future.

Phisher: clive: any cd-rom plans at all?
CLIVE: Phisher: Yes. Currently, the Dreamer's Guild is producing Ectosphere for Virgin Games. It's a big interactive experience that should be out sometime next year.

spare: how much of an influence is lovecraft
CLIVE: Spare: Lovecraft's work doesn't influence me over much. I find his style too constipated. I do enjoy the ambition of his work, however. The sense that he wants to paint a vast and complex picture of the interaction between humanity and the alien Other.

KateLaity: After seeing The Forbidden I wondered why you never took up dancing...
CLIVE: KateLaity: Thank you. I danced in my youth. And, in the nude!

TaLiSMaN: Any plans for another Candyman movie, Clive?
CLIVE: TaLiSMaN: No further Candyman movies planned.

FXMASTER: Clive what do you recomend for 15 year olds who want ot follow in your direction
CLIVE: FxMaster: If I were a 15 year old right now and wanted to make work that was imaginative and rich, I would say: I must educate myself. I must see every fantastic painting, become familiar with all the great fantastic authors and poets, I must prepare my own personal mythology in the light of what others have done. NOT slavishly following others but expressing the deepest personal passions that move in me. Remember, making art is hard work. People reject you, criticize you, mock you - particularly if you make imaginative work. They tell you it's escapist, they tell you it's too wierd; they try constantly to undercut your imaginative power. In those circumstances, you have to be very strong and the thing which makes an artist strong is the certainty that he or she speaks the truth that's in their hearts. Nothing else matters.

Yemoto: Hi, I am a Belgian french writer. My work is based upon Art and Its inverse. Could you describe the inverse of Art ? Do you read french ? Can I hope my book being in your hands ? Can you, by that way, give a third party address to send it?
CLIVE: Yemoto: No, regretably I do not read french. We will, however, be giving an address at the end of this conversation for people to write to me if they would so desire. EVERYONE, five more minutes, and I'll have to be off. I'm on the final pages of Sacrament.

Wolverine: Clive, do you ever get around to reading the clive barker Newsgroup? and seeing different people's opinions etc.?
CLIVE: Wolverine: No, I don't have time to read the Newsgroup's exchanges though I hear at times they can be . . . How shall I put this? . . . a little . . . controversial?

Zarozinia: Thank you for raising dark fantasy to the level of literature. My question: Any plans to pen a novel that combines your worlds (sewing Weaveworld into the Imajica?)
CLIVE: Zarozinia: Wonderful question. You know I think that there is a place where the worlds of Imajica and Weaveworld and the Art books are already interwoven, and that's in the heads and imaginations of the readers. I think that's, perhaps, the best place for the roads between these worlds to be laid. Everybody, after all, has a different way of connecting the parts of their imagination, one with the other.

WOLS2: To All: Last few questions and then we shall have to leave it for tonight.... There will be an announcement on how you can get your hands on an original piece of artwork by Clive, to raise money for charity so stick around!

DonnaD: Clive: Is a follow up movie to Lord of Illusions a certainty or a possibility?
CLIVE: DonnaD: A follow up movie to Lord of Illusions is at present a possiblity rather than a certainty. I'm hopeful though.

Barnabas: Mr. Barker you seen very well read, I was wondering how you did in school and what the english teachers thought of your writing back then?
CLIVE: Barnabas: The great English teacher of my youth, a man called Norman Russell, was hugely influential upon me. He was the one who made me understand that the imaginative process was sacred and that learning was a necessary part of enriching the imagination. In other words, you learn to be wise and you are wise so that your art can be wise.

WOLS2: Thats all the time we have tonight. I must say a big 'Thank you' to Clive for coming along tonight.

CLIVE: For everybody's information, here is the address to which mail should be sent for my attention: Clive Barker, P.O. Box 691885, Los Angeles, CA 90069, Assistant: David Dodds. Please, everyone, don't send books to be signed. They so often get damaged or stolen in transit which is heartbreaking. By all means, send book plates which I can sign and mail back to you. Or better still, if you live in the United States, come to one of the Sacrament book signings, which will be happening right across the country in early July. The list of where and when will appear here on The Web of Lost Souls. Once again, thank you, everybody, and thank you particularly to Nick Owen who has turned the Webb of Lost Souls into one of the most successful Web sites in existence. Thank you and sweet dreams.

WOLS2: The Latest: WoLS is proud to announce the first Art Auction Benefit 'Online' to raise money for charity. On the site you can bid for an original piece of artwork by Clive. The higest bid at the end of Jan 31st will own the artwork. All monies go to the CHARITY of Clive's choosing# Again, thank you to Clive and everyone for making this such fun Dont forget WoLS


bikk: thanks Clive!!
Phisher: thanks
Repti|e: thanks Clive
Zarozinia: Thank you, Clive.
TheRicker: Thanks!
Tesla: smikle
jaid: thanks clive!
Fxmaster: CLIVE RULES
Zarozinia: We love you!
Tesla: I love you Clove
Phisher: thanks clive, look forward to the next book
Tesla: er Clove
Tesla: grin
Finigan: Thanks Clive
Kehoutek: nice talking to you
Rune: Thanks, I really enjoyed that:)
Boo: Bye..Clive
Tesla: CLive
WarRat: You're the greatest
KateLaity: What a rush! This is great!
Wolverine: THanks CLive, keep up with the Nightbreed/Cabal Stuff ;)
baphomet: Is this the end know?
TyrRecs: Thanks, we love you!
Tesla learns to spell.
the_gimp: see, or hear from you soon!
Kehoutek: even if we didn't all get to talk
spare: thanks
Sage: Thank you Clive for your time
Portass: thanks Clive
Macaroon: Thanks Clive
bikk: Clive listen to The Virgin Prunes!!!
dalyzard: thank you wols for mediating this and thanks to Clive for participating....
Odin: thanks clive
dominic1: thank you clive
DonnaD: Thanks Clive.
baphomet: bi bi, clive
Muninn: many thanks (all the way from Iceland :)
Zarozinia: XXXXOOOOOO
JaysuN: more short stories!!!!

Tesla: can we write letters to that address?
CLIVE: Tesla: Yes, of course, I'll answer letters. It sometimes takes me some while to do: