Updates and recommendations
Thoughts and insight into what I'm up to
From here on out, I’ll kick off some of these Substack posts with a few thoughts—just a glimpse into what’s on my mind or what’s brewing in the studio. No navel-gazing, I promise. These are just updates on works in progress and ideas percolating on the drawing board.
Lately, I’ve been winding down my presence on other platforms, letting folks know I’m moving on. In the future, my focus will be here on Substack and over on Bluesky. I’ll keep my Twitter/X, Instagram, and Facebook accounts parked to prevent name-squatting, but I can’t, in good conscience, keep feeding those machines with content. The real currency there is attention, and I’m investing mine elsewhere.
On the creative front, I’m considering a long-form nonfiction project as my next significant endeavor. The theme is set, and I’m toying with the idea of releasing it as a paper zine, with a PDF/EPub companion. I’ll keep you posted as it comes together. If you know an artist who can channel Ralph Steadman’s wild style (think Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas), let me know—I’d love to pay homage to that iconic HST cover. Not a copy/ripoff but a tasteful nod. NO AI!
A few of you have asked about the rumored Ong’s Hat movie. Here’s the latest: A few years ago, two talented directors sent me a script I liked, and it made the rounds in Hollywood. There was interest and plenty of talk (as is tradition), but nothing materialized. With the current climate, it’s stuck in development limbo. Maybe someday, but probably not—and honestly, that might be for the best. Nothing against the two young men who hustled to make this happen, but in the end, we would be dealing with studios, and for avant-garde weirdos like me, that is a recipe for mediocrity, and I can’t do it.
As for the BBC podcast folks who once made noise about a movie, that was never genuine; their real aim was to get their hands on my personal story and the Ong’s Hat narrative. No loss there, since I wouldn’t want to collaborate on a movie with them for a host of artistic and ethical reasons. Thankfully, in the 30 years I’ve been evolving the OH project, I have only been grifted twice. Once in 2001 or so, as I mentioned in COMPLEAT, and this unfortunate incident. All in all, not bad odds. I mean, I guess it’s a back-handed compliment that people will spend several years gaining my trust to hijack my work. But overall, as Zizek says, I would prefer not to.
A few months back, I sat down with a Canadian documentary crew to discuss a certain internet mythology. Whether that project ever sees the light of day is anyone’s guess. My confidence in its sincerity isn’t high, especially after the director asked me to “speak as if I believed it was real” (which I don’t and had expressed as much). It was a polite but telling standoff—another reminder of the “entertainment industry” and its priorities. They have the final cut, so they’ll shape it however they want, regardless of my input.
On a brighter note, I recently connected with a director working on a documentary about Andrija Puharich, in collaboration with Puharich’s son. I previewed an early cut and enjoyed it. We tossed around the idea of an Ong’s Hat documentary with my old friend Nick Herbert, but nothing’s set in stone. While the director seems genuine, I’m not rushing to hand over the reins to someone else’s vision. I will move very cautiously. No shade on him, just general caution on my part these days.
After wrapping up This Is Not A Game with Marc and his team (who were refreshing to work with), and publishing COMPLEAT with Sequoyah, I’ve had time to reflect. Here’s where I’ve landed: I’m done trying to develop a movie within the traditional system. If you didn’t already know, that world is rife with serial liars, thieves, and toxic narcissists. I can’t imagine trying to realize an artistic vision while constantly having to look over my shoulder because my “partners” were plotting to stab me in the back. I now understand why filmmakers like Coppola are wary of engaging with the system. Years ago, I had the good fortune to work with the late Sam Bottoms, who confirmed my suspicion that part of Coppola’s approach to making Apocalypse Now was to retreat into the jungle and create his vision without interference or “notes” from so-called “producers”—a title that feels increasingly ironic. Sam was a truly genuine person. We stayed in touch after working together and, by coincidence, ended up living in the same town—Santa Barbara—until his passing. He was the real deal, and I miss him.
So, I’m going independent. I’ll develop my own feature-length movie, retaining full creative control. That’s the only way it’ll get made to my standards—and the only way it won’t be hijacked and diluted into mediocrity. I’m working on a treatment and script that weaves elements of Ong’s Hat: COMPLEAT and The Liminal Cycle into a new, third thing. I intend to create something that doesn’t fit the content factory molds, so I will necessarily have to create it outside that system. I don't want to release a movie. I want to make a movie that escapes. I’ll share more once the writing is done and funding is in place.
Along those lines, check this out.
My note as a postscript: The writer's and, to a larger extent, the artist's dilemma. This is why I designed COMPLEAT the way I did. I want people who are willing to engage and commit to a story, and not people who are just seeking sensationalism and bite-sized pieces. Soak it in, sit with it.
That’s the latest from my corner. Hope you’re all well—more soon.
New paper published
A bibliographic archeology of game-like conspiracy narratives: examining the Ong’s Hat Incunabula catalog
James A. Hodges (School of Information, San Jose State University, San Jose, California, USA)
Journal of Documentation
ISSN: 0022-0418
Article publication date: 21 April 2025
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to reframe contemporary research on conspiracy narratives by examining a formative document in online conspiracy culture using bibliographic archeology and focusing on its use of intertextuality.
LINK: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/jd-07-2024-0185/full/html
The Gamecaller
This group has inspired plenty of strange rumors, and while their project was far from perfect (as most human endeavors are), I encourage you to read this book and form your own opinion. You might discover valuable insights from their experiment—ideas that could potentially evolve into an intriguing fusion of lifestyle and infinite game design. – JM
The "Gamecaller"- a unique name for a unique occupation given by a unique character himself. M.D. Pettie was the gamecaller, "calling games" for a group of dropout professionals who roamed the world playing a series of consciousness-expanding games... Zen master... cult leader.. a CIA operative... con man... saint... [and] storyteller. He never claimed to be anything more than a student and a bemused observer of human folly... This is the personal story of some of the games that he invented, told by one of his players.
This digital copy (epub, mobi, and PDF) was created and distributed by Joseph Matheny (https://josephmatheny.com) with permission from Tobe Terrell (RIP).
Free digital copies of the book
EPUB: https://archive.org/download/TheGamecaller/The%20Gamecaller%20-%20Tobe%20Terrell.epub
MOBI: https://archive.org/download/TheGamecaller/The%20Gamecaller%20-%20Tobe%20Terrell.mobi
ARCHIVE.ORG PAGE: https://archive.org/details/TheGamecaller
Print copy (not free): https://www.amazon.com/Gamecaller-Mr-Tobe-Terrell/dp/1974059308
Found me a new and interesting book- thank you for keeping some of us spoiled for content 🥰
There probably cannot be another Ralph Steadman, however…. May have an idea or three. We talking ink work- flow and throw?
Or a synesthesia multi channel/ TBC or TBD!
Triggered something in mind- shall relate more when things take more form. Something about the reference catches my long held notions.
This may be unpopular, though a book about the life and times of a very wild child was supposed to be named “Hunter S. Thompson was a sissy” as that wild child would have left Hunter under the table begging for mercy or death on a drug binge with this kiddo at 13.
It ain’t big or clever- though someone said “hate others only as much as you hate yourself” well Hunter, for me at least, is the perfect benchmark and mirror for fears and self loathing, life and times, probable exit. The comparisons continue… can’t stand that SOB sometimes yet have to hand it to the bastard, he did some alright with Gonzo.
After all, maybe you can only truly hate someone ya kinda have a lot of love for.
Only those about whom you had high expectations are capable of letting you down. He doesn’t make my standards on a lot and neither do I and that’s fine, Ralph however- ahhh what a dude.
Hunter is the perfect level of successful screw up in my book- both figuratively and literally speaking.