Richard Matheson - Archive Interview Part 1 of 7

[JOHNSTOCKTONREIGNS]

ha scritto grandissime storie e pure tra i figli si vede da alcuni loro scritti tracce di genio

[whomitaw]

This man is a Legend

[cliffjburns]

One of my biggest heroes and literary influences. He and Charles Beaumont set the standard for the genre...and no one has ever surpassed them.

[warmecanic]

he´s a legend, just like his short stories and novels.

[hatmap]

Richard Matheson and the late Robert Bloch are America's two greatest horror short-story writers. Both are even better (and more imaginative) than Edgar Allan Poe.

[CarlClaus7777]

I love Matheson but Poe was more profound. Poe wrote about universal themes on human nature--madness, the state of human existence in the universe. Also may have invented the detective story. Matheson is a fantastic writer and I Am Legend is a grand genre achievement, but his greatness is in developing unique and fundamental plot situations with ironic conclusions(last man on earth, crazy man seeing creature on plane), Poe explored the human condition in iconic symbolic ways.

[MasterxGracey]

It's a shame that a video I have about a sheep making a funny noise has more views than an intimate sitdown with the greatest horror fiction writer to ever draw breath.

[MrPSGifford]

One of the greatest moments of my life was gettinmg to meet and chat to him.

[asmodeo1984]

@MrPSGifford

really?

where and when?

[highway234]

7:07 i'm reminded of the tolstoy blingee: every happy family is happy in the same way. every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.

that's the way i feel about good vs. bad movies, and it sounds like mattheson feels the same way.

[mkl62]

2-20-2010. Happy Birthday, Richard. You are one of the all-time greatest writers in entertainment history. I especially remember Duel. That was a classic. And a great start to Steven Spielberg's career. Many happy returns today.

[KingofStarfox]

One of my favourite writers.

[mercop14]

This is a great interview. Matheson is excellent as a wrtiter and he seems like a very interesting guy, although all writers are I suppose. He is truly an insperation.

[cKRONIC]

ONE OF THE GREATEST!!

[straker2]

Fascinating man! So nice to finally see and hear this amazing writer! Very glad to find this video here, a great upload. His scripts for Incredible Shrinking Man, Duel, The Night Stalker and his Twilight Zone scripts are all favourite classics and I love I am Legend and the movies based on it.

Ade

[MysteriousMailman]

Some time ago I watched 'I Am Legend' (the 2007 one) and I loved the movie. I'm a fan of fantasy and if it's mixed with a bit of horror - I'm definitely going for it. Though I rarely read books. But I bought Matheson's I Am Legend and I loved it. What else should I read by him?

[verydoozy]

i also loved the I AM LEGEND book too. I have read a few of his other novels but I didnt care for them very much. The other stuff of his that I like is his short stories, some of my favorites were PREY, PERSON TO PERSON, BURIED TALENTS, and THE NEAR DEPARTED.

[AndrewCWillis]

The near departed was awesome :p Soon as i get home.

[daddysevenpointfiver]

his short stories are collected in three big volumes and he wrote a lot of novels

[thanatos719]

A fave writer, since 1959,when I saw LAWMAN episodes, "Yawkey" and "Thirty Minutes"--changed my life (don't ask). Loved BEARDLESS WARRIORS, which I found incredibly moving, esp.for a war novel (based on his war experiences, I found out later). Brilliant man, great emotional empathy and sensitivity in his writing. I'm so grateful for the interview!!-thanks, TV Legends!

[flyingleatherneck]

One of the all-time great American writers for book and screen and this video has 3,000 views, whereby a cat springing out of of a tree and wrapping itself around a baby's face will have 2 million views. (Sigh.)

Thanks for filming and posting this interview.

[Kimonster5]

Richard Matheson has the best books of all hoorror books!

[HumanoidFromTheSea]

One of the greatest horror and fantasy writers of the 20th Century. Belongs in an elite circle consisting of:

Robert Aickman (The Wine-Dark Sea, Painted Devils, several collections in all)

Charles Beaumont (The Howling Man collection)

Robert Bloch (Psycho, short stories)

Shirley Jackson (The Haunting of Hill House, We Have Always Lived in A Castle, The Lottery)

Fritz Leiber (The Conjure Wife, Our Lady of Darkness)

William F Nolan (Nightworld, Dark Universe, Nightshadows collections)

[Biochips1]

Can anyone give me a video link where Matheson talks about "What Dreams May Come"? I can't find any interviews with him about this novel.

[horrormoviefan1000]

i like the vincent price movie adaptation of "i am legend" best of all three, it's the closest to the books story. i have 2 of the 3 movies- i am legend "will smith", the last man on earth "one that has all the main characters of the book, and closest to the story, Vincent price". the one i don't have is "the omega man, Charlton Heston

[jewelcaseface]

He is truly the greatest horror fiction writer ever born...read all of his stuff and you'll understand...hell with that, read even one of his works and you'll understand

[Teflon65]

This man really added to Rod Serling's vision. Paperbacks of "The Last Man on Earth" (a.k.a. "I am Legend") appear in the first Twilight Zone, "Where is Everybody?", before Matheson's own works were shown.

[cynthiacher]

This man is one of the greatest horror writers ever, if not THE best. Really, his body of work is incredible. Anyone who likes horror fiction should seek out the works of Richard Matheson.

[RWLSara]

@cynthiacher I'll have to second you on that. Matheson, to me, is the ULTIMATE MASTER AND KING OF HORROR AND SUSPENCE. I think Stephen King would have to ride shotgun compared to this gentlemen.

[TranscendentBiscuit]

@cynthiacher

Couldn't agree more. King, Koontz, and many other horror writers were inspired by him. The only writer that could rival or surpass him was H.P Lovecraft. Matheson gave us the idea of horror in mundane settings, wherein Lovecraft gave us the idea of cosmic horror, things so big and horrible they can't be seen without risking your sanity.

[ProRanting]

@TranscendentBiscuit Please refrain from mentioning Koontz in a video with Matheson. Koontz is just...just awful and that is the words of Stephan King.

[leecity1927]

legend, hell house and what dreams may come . long for the day someone in hollywood does a good job with one of his books . have to laugh at the people who think what dreams may come movie is good.

[SallyBones38]

I love his stories! He's my favorite author ever. What Dreams May Come is my favorite book.

[SeaStriker]

can anyone tell me the difference of the 1999 and 1954 version of I am legend

[daddydean753]

The story in both the books is the same the only difference is that later releases of the novel included several of his short stories

[Sangiath]

Bradbury ain't got shit on him.

[ramberghini]

This guy is one hell of a writer. "I am legend", and "Nightmare at 20,000 feet" were great stories.

-gunny55

[seleucidproject]

One of the best writers alive!

[starfleet2scoutship]

I want to meet him so bad.

[xXxequisxXx]

Wow...I knew this guy wrote I am Legend, but had no idea he wrote stuff for the Twilight Zone, et al. Pretty cool. :O

[Alfrunk]

Sad that Will Smith was in that movie. It could have been good.

[gypsyjam]

I just finished reading Hell House.

[LakeFossilPress]

What kicks ass about this state now is Matheson calls Illinois his home. Welcome to Illinois, Rich. Thanx for inspiring an entire small press genre of horror writers, and especially a generation who grew up with your work on television.

[LakeFossilPress]

Richard Matheson is the reason why there is a Tabloid Purposes. Generation X hasn't got that defining writer yet but Richard Matheson is the man and welcome to Illinois. I am sure he's going to get a lot of ideas for years to come but this is the richest man in the business for good reason.

[ray1bradbury]

Next to Ray Bradbury this guy has got to be the best science-fiction/fantasy writer of his generation - or any generation.

Thanks very much!! :-)

[Turtlegoyim]

Cool!! Thanks for posting.