When I Was Reading, Peter Cushing Came to Mind...

Regan McMahon, SF Chronicle book reporter, chats up Daniel Handler on the eve of the release of A Series of Unfortunate Events, one of two movies I can't wait to see (the other being The Life Aquatic). I'll be curious to see how Jim Carrey does as Count Olaf, but Handler seems pretty happy:

"He was a good choice. I was hard pressed to think of a living actor. Whenever they would ask me I'd say, 'James Mason.' And they'd say, 'James Mason is dead. ' And I'd say, 'That's a very good point.' Jim Carrey not only isn't dead, but on the scale of the movie that they were working on, it was clear it was going to be a movie star who was going to be Count Olaf, and out of that short list he's really the only one who can be hilarious and scary at the same time. Even in his lightest comedies he's sort of a scary guy; he's unhinged. He appears to be unhinged in real life as well. I mean, he uses his own natural unhingedness to play unhinged characters.''

Maud also calls attention to Handler's answering of questions from Independent readers in the voice of Lemony Snicket, which is rather amusing in spots, as when he warns "there are countless people in Hollywood evil enough to play Count Olaf."