Filmmaker Andy Sidaris – whose work I first encountered back in the days when Joe Bob Briggs had a show on The Movie Channel – made movies that have been boiled down to descriptions like “bullets, bombs, and babes” and “girls, guns, and g-strings,” and now the folks at Encyclopocalypse Publications have set out to give not just one or two Sidaris movies the novelization treatment; they intend to publish novels based on “the whole damn catalog”! They’re starting out with two novelizations that are set to be released on July 29th, with author Brad Carter taking on the task of turning Sidaris’s 1985 film Malibu Express and his 1987 film Hard Ticket to Hawaii into novels.
Encyclopocalypse Publications notes that this Sidaris novelization endeavor is being carried out in collaboration with the filmmaker’s widow Arlene Sidaris, and “it’s all about keeping Andy’s legacy alive in the loudest, sleaziest, most joyful way possible.” They add that Carter “doesn’t treat this like a gimmick. He breaks the films down beat by beat, then rebuilds them into the version burned into your brain at 2 a.m. on a warped VHS — meaner, louder, and somehow even stranger. These aren’t shot-for-shot transcriptions. He expands the world, drags the subtext to the surface, invents where the frame leaves space, and never loses the tone. No irony. No winks. Just pure pulp devotion, written with guts and zero apology. … This isn’t parody. We’re taking this seriously — in the best possible way. The books are wild, yeah, but they’re made with a lot of love for what these films were doing: blowing up genre tropes, putting beautiful people in ridiculous situations, and never apologizing for the spectacle.”
Written, directed, and produced by Andy Sidaris, Malibu Express has the following synopsis: When a young, good looking Texas millionaire, who thinks he’s a crack private eye, is hired to investigate an illicit computer company that’s selling secrets to the Russians, he finds himself entangled in a circuit of murder, intrigue, and beautiful women. Darby Hinton and the incredibly shapely Sybil Danning star in this tongue-in-cheek, action-adventure murder mystery that has it all – suspense, action, surprising twists and gorgeous curves provided by a cast of beauties that includes four fabulous Playboy Playmates. Add that to a half-dozen other lovelies, and a ton of fast cars, and just imagine the ride you’re in for on the Malibu Express.
Written and directed by Andy Sidaris and produced by Arlene Sidaris, Hard Ticket to Hawaii has this for a synopsis: Starring four Playboy centerfold beauties and Ron Moss, Hard Ticket to Hawaii is an action-adventure movie in the great tradition of James Bond. Set among the stunning islands of Hawaii, Donna Speir and Hope Marie Carlton are two undercover federal agents running an inter-island cargo service. Discovering a cache of diamonds, the gorgeous pair soon run into major trouble unleashing an international drug dealer’s henchmen on them. Rowdy (Ronn Moss) and Jade (World Martial Arts and Kick Boxing Champion Harold Diamond) come to their rescue in a series of explosions, car chases, karate fights, and love scenes that will blow you away!
Encyclopocalypse Publications will be publishing the Malibu Express and Hard Ticket to Hawaii novelizations in trade paperback, mass market paperback, and eBook formats. The books are available for pre-order on their website, HERE and HERE. Will you be picking up copies of these books? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
