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Illl. BFSI BOOKS, COMICS & EVENTS
3!: Danny Wallace Finally coming right out of the shadows of his former flatmate and comedy writing partner Dave Gorman, Danny boy offers up Yes Man. a tale of truly positive thinking, no matter what. See preview, right. Ebury Press.
* llle "lunch We’re only on number 23 of the Hal/boy series now. but MM is still keeping it strong. This one features an evil spirit from the past possessing our hero. See review, page 34. Dark Horse.
* Frank Miller I: Davld Mmuccholll Forget the film for a minute, as we get the real Batman deal in a story that paints a masterful portrait of a city in decay and a man about to take on his destiny with open arms. Or wings. See review. page 34. DC.
* Iain M Banks Sticking on his sci-ti hat (or ‘sky-fi'. as one less than eminent BBC newslady once called it while interviewing him) M brings us readings from the conundrum that is The Algebraist. That's him pictured above. The Pleasance Cabaret Bar, Edinburgh, Thu 7 Jul; Borders Books, Glasgow, Thu 14 Jul.
* Harry Potter It’s here. He’s back. Batten down the Hogwarts hatches. Various venues, Fri 15 & Sat 16 Jul.
* Julla Donaldson The lady behind the epic Gruffalo adventures takes our minds off the Bowling celebrations. Book early for it's sure to be a squash and a squeeze. That’s just a little reference to her work right there. Borders Books, Glasgow, Sat 76 Jul.
32 THE LIST 7—21 Jul 2005
>l<
‘l NOTICE WHEN YOU
PHONED UP YOU DIDN'T SAY -
“HELLO KING DANNY'"
Afiimative action
Just saying no isn’t an option for comedy guru and author DANNY WALLACE any more. Jay Richardson talks to a man whose positivity is taking him places.
ay yes more. That‘s the simple but profound
message of Danny Wallace. It‘s also the
enigmatic advice offered to him by a bearded stranger on a bus who may have been Jesus but almost certainly wasn‘t. While most of us would have dismissed the encounter as the occasional peril of public transport. Wallace seized on it as the motivation to turn his life around. Dumped by his girlfriend. he'd started using ever more elaborate excuses to stay in his flat and avoid socialising. Now inspired. he began automatically saying yes to everything. be it penis enhancement ads or drop- everything dashes to Stonehenge. Barcelona and Singapore.
In the months that followed. he won £25000. met alien Obsessives and a hypnotic dog and repeatedly poked a Buddhist. Then he lost £25000. became a minister and a TV presenter before abusing the fan worship of Busted and finding love. Now. he has recalled it all in Yes Man and is looking forward to a Hollywood adaptation with Jack Black slated to play himself. ‘l’m well aware that they‘ll probably reset it in America and call me Chuck.‘ the 28-year-old laughs. ‘l‘m going over in a month and will be trying to make
l Jack say yes to everything. just to experiment with
him. I‘ll tell him it‘s like De Niro and method acting.‘ A former flatmate of the Googlewhacking Dave Gorman. Wallace wrote the book on what his ex— girlfriend derides as ‘stupid boy projects’. In addition to co-scripting and plotting the globetrotting escapades and shows of Gorman. Ross Noble. Dom Joly and Tony Hawks. the Dundee-born writer and
comedy producer is the leader of a cult that performs random good deeds across the planet every Friday. The origins of this movement are described in a previous book. Join Me. also in big screen development and still attracting joinees worldwide.
Leaving his ‘Karma Army’ and personal success at saying yes aside. he warns that the Yes Manifesto is not simply about being spineless and spirited simultaneously. There are hazards attached. ‘I think you can get addicted to saying yes but it's a much more optimistic way to live your life than The Dice Man.‘ he maintains. ‘I just want people to think about all the tiny opportunities that fly at them throughout the day. It‘s about allowing yourself to believe in the positive and getting rid of all the scepticism for a second and seeing what happens. And yes. it didn‘t always work out as I thought it would. But on the other hand. I had a great night in Amsterdam.‘
He describes the essential yessence of the experience as ‘self-help for lazy people‘. yet is already industriously immersed in his next project. a BBC show entitled. somewhat grandly. How In Start Your Own Country. ‘I notice when you phoned up you didn‘t say "hello King Danny". but we'll scoot over that. It's about exploring what a country has to do to exist. finding a territory. setting up government. establishing laws and cementing international relations. But doing it. basically. in my flat. All I‘m saying is we might be calling it the G9 summit next year.‘
YesManispublishedbyEburyPresson‘mu7Jul.