The actor and pop singer Laurence Fox achieved peak Laurence Fox this month after explaining racism to a black female academic, photographing carrots sarcastically, doubting the existence of some Sikhs, fraternising with the Cumming-trumpets of the Today programme, and warning women under 35 of all races that he would withhold the bounty of his coveted white penis from their hungry vaginas unless they held their disagreeable tongues, even if they got on their knees and begged.
Fox has been described, often unfairly, as many things in the past two weeks: a brave freedom fighter, a musician, a privileged white male, an actor, a denier of Sikhs, and a teller of uncomfortable truths to a world where “the light has been turned down on the age of reason”, though admittedly by Fox himself. But Fox may be about to be best known to millions in his new role as the Earthman warrior-poet Fox Gardener, the Minstrel of Gor.
In 2012, I wrote a piece for the Quietus, reappraising the sword and sorcery pulps of the 30s, such as RE Howard’s enduring Conan the Barbarian, CL Moore’s forgotten feminist Jirel the Swordswoman, and PG Wodehouse’s prophetic Jolyon the Beastslayer, about a wealthy London lawyer who is transported to feudal Japan, where he must wear a kimono and club oriental mammals to death with his 20th-century sport bat.
Consequently, I am now lazy producers’ go-to writer for doomed cinematic reboots of fictional barbarians, their rights available via drunken neglect or legal intimidation. “Is your client familiar with John Norman’s Minstrel of Gor?”, my baffled agent was asked.
During a three-day brainstorming session with the producers in a Soho hotel room earlier this week, I explained that Norman’s 35-volume series of Gor novels debuted in 1966 with Tarnsman of Gor, and follows the adventures of displaced British professor Tarl Cabot, on the distant planet of Gor. The streets of its capital, Ars, are arranged around a foul-smelling tree trunk with oracular properties, The Telling Pole, and fruits and vegetables are satirised.
Gor differs from the world of Edgar Rice Burroughs’s 1912 A Princess of Mars, which inspired it, as all Gor’s women are pliant sex slaves who accept their role as the silent Play-Doh™® of men. Author John Norman, a philosophy professor who wrung the soiled underwear of his fiction though a Nietzschean knicker-mangle, lost his contract with DAW Books at the turn of the century, perhaps at the hands of the one foe even Tarl Cabot could not defeat – the so-called “politically correct brigade”.
Earlier attempts to film Norman’s politically in-correct fantasies failed. 1987’s Gor featured Playmate of the Month Rebecca Ferratti in a shrew-skin bikini, and Oliver Reed as Sarm, an evil epicure so jaded the endless cavorting of the slave girls of Gor could not tear him from his mead goblet, Reed perhaps remembering better times when he made an elephant walk to Innsbruck.
The unpublished Minstrel of Gor should have been the series’ 10th instalment, falling between 1975’s Castrati of Gor and 1976’s Charcutiers of Gor, but was withdrawn due to the rage of Canadian progressive rock band Rush. Lyricist Neil Peart accused Norman of plagiarising their similarly Ayn Rand-inspired 2112 album, in graffiti sprayed on to the writer’s pet capybara, Friedrich, written in fictional Gorean runes, painstakingly invented by vocalist Geddy Lee out of his own head.
In Minstrel of Gor, Fox Gardener, a former hippy songwriter who has become disillusioned with the insipid “Canyon Grove” scene and its innate liberal hypocrisy, finds himself transported to Gor. Here his anti-trade union power ballads become tools in the culture war between the desert-dwelling Goreans and the snowflake-worshipping Observers of the High Ground, who tolerate women’s voices.
My potential employers had originally wanted to adapt 1977’s Slave Girl of Gor, in which an attractive ’70s campus feminist poet, Judy Thornbush, wakes up chained to a rock on Gor and begins the brutal process of learning her place, at the hands of unfeeling barbarians for whom Shulamith Firestone’s seminal The Dialectic of Sex : The Case for Feminist Revolution isn’t really a thing. But the rights for Minstrel of Gor were available at half the price and all the books are basically the same anyway.
All through our three-day session, the producers checked and rechecked their Facebook updates and Twitter feeds, trying to game the zeitgeist, and the haunting omnipresence of Laurence Fox filled the room like a cloud of yellow steam rising from a hot urinal trough. But with a man’s laughing face.
Fox’s media saturation proved the politically correct concerns that had forced Norman to tinkle his later Gor novels into the toilet of e-publishing were undeniably in retreat. The time had come to find an actor to embody Norman’s once-unmarketable philosophy of compassion-free power and the privilege of birthright.
Norman himself had imagined Minstrel of Gor’s titular hero as the hard rocker Ted Nugent, and had compared Gardener to him in the novel (“Gardener came out of the rectangular door. He looked quite like Ted Nugent from music.” Minstrel of Gor, page 56). But Nugent was now 71 and the sentiments of his best song, Jailbait, while chiming with the Gorean worldview, spooked investors. Who was our Minstrel of Gor? Newsfeeds fizzed and Twitter twatted. The answer was staring us in the face.
Furious online snowflakes predicted Fox’s Sikh-denying ejaculations would end his acting career. But Minstrel of Gor might yet make Fox, who may yet agree to star, an unlikely action hero of the calibre of Rick Hill, Eric Allan Kramer, or Manis from Every Which Way But Loose. My employers drank wine over dinner, and spoke of Paweł Pawlikowski’s Cold War and the Macedonian beekeeping drama Honeyland. But they saw dollars floating on the turning tide. We are, as someone once said, beyond good and evil.
Someoneyoudon'tknow, Chortle.com
Someoneyoudon'tknow, Chortle.com
Tin Frog, Twitter
Tin Frog, Twitter
Alex Quarmby, Edfringe.com
Alex Quarmby, Edfringe.com
Joe, Independent.co.uk
Joe, Independent.co.uk
Mpf1947, Youtube
Mpf1947, Youtube
Stokeylitfest, Twitter
Stokeylitfest, Twitter
Mrdavisn01, Twitter
Mrdavisn01, Twitter
Keilloh, Twitter
Keilloh, Twitter
Lents, redandwhitekop.com
Lents, redandwhitekop.com
Esme Folley, Actress, cellist, Twitter
Esme Folley, Actress, cellist, Twitter
Al Murray, Comedian
Al Murray, Comedian
Clampdown59, Twitter.
Clampdown59, Twitter.
Cyberbloke, Twitter
Cyberbloke, Twitter
Lucinda Locketts, Twitter
Lucinda Locketts, Twitter
Bosco239, youtube
Bosco239, youtube
Gwaites, Digitalspy
Gwaites, Digitalspy
Kozzy06, Youtube
Kozzy06, Youtube
Peter Ould, Twitter
Peter Ould, Twitter
A D Ward, Twitter
A D Ward, Twitter
Anonymous, don'tstartmeoff.com
Anonymous, don'tstartmeoff.com
Z-factor, Twitter.
Z-factor, Twitter.
Visualiser1, Twitter
Visualiser1, Twitter
Borathigh5, Youtube
Borathigh5, Youtube
Wharto15, Twitter
Wharto15, Twitter
Guest, Dontstartmeoff.com
Guest, Dontstartmeoff.com
Sam Rooney, Youtube
Sam Rooney, Youtube
Fowkes81, Twitter
Fowkes81, Twitter
12dgdgdgdgdgdg, Youtube
12dgdgdgdgdgdg, Youtube
Pirate Crocodile, Twitter
Pirate Crocodile, Twitter
Slothy Matt, Twitter
Slothy Matt, Twitter
General Lurko 36, Guardian.co.uk
General Lurko 36, Guardian.co.uk
Patrick Kavanagh, Guardian.co.uk
Patrick Kavanagh, Guardian.co.uk
Chez, Chortle.com
Chez, Chortle.com
Tweeterkiryakou, Twitter
Tweeterkiryakou, Twitter
Bobby Bhoy, Twitter
Bobby Bhoy, Twitter
Meninblack, Twitter
Meninblack, Twitter
Spanner, dontstartmeoff.com
Spanner, dontstartmeoff.com
Lenny Darksphere, Twitter
Lenny Darksphere, Twitter
Pudabaya, Twitter
Pudabaya, Twitter
Joskins, Leeds Music Forum
Joskins, Leeds Music Forum
Hiewy, Youtube
Hiewy, Youtube
Anonymous, The Northfield Patriot
Anonymous, The Northfield Patriot
Meanstreetelite, Peoplesrepublicofcork
Meanstreetelite, Peoplesrepublicofcork
Karen Laidlaw, Edfringe. com.
Karen Laidlaw, Edfringe. com.
Idrie, Youtube
Idrie, Youtube
Len Firewood, Twitter
Len Firewood, Twitter
Neolab, Guardian.co.uk
Neolab, Guardian.co.uk
Tokyofist, Youtube
Tokyofist, Youtube
Leach Juice, Twitter
Leach Juice, Twitter
DVDhth's grandparents, Twitter
DVDhth's grandparents, Twitter
Gabrielle, Chortle.com
Gabrielle, Chortle.com
Pudabaya, beexcellenttoeachother.com
Pudabaya, beexcellenttoeachother.com
Yukio Mishima, dontstartmeoff.com
Yukio Mishima, dontstartmeoff.com
Johnny Kitkat, dontstartmeoff.com
Johnny Kitkat, dontstartmeoff.com
Henry Howard Fun, Twitter
Henry Howard Fun, Twitter
Contrapuntal, Twitter
Contrapuntal, Twitter
Zombie Hamster, Twitter
Zombie Hamster, Twitter
Genghis McKahn, Guardian.co.uk
Genghis McKahn, Guardian.co.uk
Fairy Pingu, Twitter
Fairy Pingu, Twitter
Richard Herring, Comedian
Richard Herring, Comedian
Rubyshoes, Twitter
Rubyshoes, Twitter
Emilyistrendy, Youtube
Emilyistrendy, Youtube
Robert Gavin, Twitter
Robert Gavin, Twitter
Guest1001, Youtube
Guest1001, Youtube
Stuart, Chortle
Stuart, Chortle
Iain, eatenbymissionaries
Iain, eatenbymissionaries
Carla, St Albans, Dailymail.co.uk
Carla, St Albans, Dailymail.co.uk
Dominic Cavendish, Daily Telegraph
Dominic Cavendish, Daily Telegraph
Dave Wilson, Chortle.com
Dave Wilson, Chortle.com
Foxfoxton, Youtube
Foxfoxton, Youtube
Cojones2, Guardian.co.uk
Cojones2, Guardian.co.uk
Peter Fears, Twitter
Peter Fears, Twitter
Jackmumf, Twitter
Jackmumf, Twitter
NevW47479, UKTV.co.uk
NevW47479, UKTV.co.uk
Lee Mack, Mack The Life, 2012
Lee Mack, Mack The Life, 2012
Aiden Hearn, Twitter
Aiden Hearn, Twitter
Aaron, comedy.co.uk
Aaron, comedy.co.uk
Dick Socrates, Twitter
Dick Socrates, Twitter
Neva2busy, dontstartmeoff.com
Neva2busy, dontstartmeoff.com
Anon, dontstartmeoff.com
Anon, dontstartmeoff.com
Anon, BBC Complaints Log
Anon, BBC Complaints Log
Carcrazychica, Youtube
Carcrazychica, Youtube
Coxy, Dontstartmeoff.com
Coxy, Dontstartmeoff.com
Mearecate, Youtube
Mearecate, Youtube
James Dellingpole, Daily Telegraph
James Dellingpole, Daily Telegraph
Brendon, Vauxhallownersnetwork.co.uk
Brendon, Vauxhallownersnetwork.co.uk
Horatio Melvin, Twitter
Horatio Melvin, Twitter
Dahoum, Guardian.co.uk
Dahoum, Guardian.co.uk
World Without End, Twitter
World Without End, Twitter
Peter Ould, Youtube
Peter Ould, Youtube
Mini-x2, readytogo.net
Mini-x2, readytogo.net
Alwyn, Digiguide.tv
Alwyn, Digiguide.tv
BBC iPlayer edition of discussion of Stewart Lee on A Good Read
BBC iPlayer edition of discussion of Stewart Lee on A Good Read
Shane, Beverley, Dailymail.co.uk
Shane, Beverley, Dailymail.co.uk
Deepbass, Guardian.co.uk
Deepbass, Guardian.co.uk
Rowing Rob, Guardian.co.uk
Rowing Rob, Guardian.co.uk
Frankie Boyle, Comedian
Frankie Boyle, Comedian
Tweeter Kyriakou, Twitter
Tweeter Kyriakou, Twitter
Lancethrustworthy, Youtube
Lancethrustworthy, Youtube
Dominic Cavendish, Telegraph
Dominic Cavendish, Telegraph
Nicetime, Guardian.co.uk
Nicetime, Guardian.co.uk
Sidsings000, Youtube
Sidsings000, Youtube
Jamespearse, Twitter
Jamespearse, Twitter
Secretdeveloper, Youtube
Secretdeveloper, Youtube
Shit Crit, Twitter
Shit Crit, Twitter
Sweeping Curves, Twitter
Sweeping Curves, Twitter
Whoiscuriousgeorge, Youtube
Whoiscuriousgeorge, Youtube
Danazawa, Youtube
Danazawa, Youtube
Liam Travitt, Twitter
Liam Travitt, Twitter
Ishamayura Byrd, Twitter
Ishamayura Byrd, Twitter
Brighton Argus
Brighton Argus
Syhr, breakbeat.co.uk
Syhr, breakbeat.co.uk
Gmanthedemon, bbc.co.uk
Gmanthedemon, bbc.co.uk
Pnethor, pne-online.com
Pnethor, pne-online.com
Microcuts 22, Twitter
Microcuts 22, Twitter
Maninabananasuit, Guardian.co.uk
Maninabananasuit, Guardian.co.uk
98rosjon, Twitter
98rosjon, Twitter
GRTak, finalgear.com
GRTak, finalgear.com
John Robins, Comedian
John Robins, Comedian
Funday’schild, youtube.
Funday’schild, youtube.
Anon, westhamonline.com
Anon, westhamonline.com
Joycey, readytogo.net
Joycey, readytogo.net
FBC, finalgear.com
FBC, finalgear.com
Tres Ryan, Twitter
Tres Ryan, Twitter
Etienne, Chortle.com
Etienne, Chortle.com
Rudeness, Youtube
Rudeness, Youtube
Cabluigi, Guardian.co.uk
Cabluigi, Guardian.co.uk
Birmingham Sunday Mercury
Birmingham Sunday Mercury
Anamatronix, Youtube
Anamatronix, Youtube