George R. R. Martin Teamed Up With A Daredevil Actor For A Sci-Fi Movie We Can't Wait To Watch

One can read Howard Waldrop's short story "Night of the Cooters" in the pages of Clarkesworld Magazine right now, if one wishes. The 30+ year old story is a whimsical sci-fi Western that combines the setting of "Gunsmoke" with the plot of H.G. Wells' "The War of the Worlds" in a small town in Pachuco County, Texas. Sheriff Burt Lindley is called out to a field to investigate a mysterious, saloon-sized metal cylinder that has seemingly landed from space. Of course, as those of us who have read "The War of the Worlds" know, this is a Martian tripod, and it springs to life and begins walking around, vaporizing humans with its vicious alien death rays. It's a cute genre mashup and worth a read. 

Back in 2022, as was announced by Variety, "Night of the Cooters" had been adapted into an "animated" short. The venerable Vincent D'Onofrio directed the short and starred as Sheriff Lindley. It also featured Hopper Penn, Martin Sensmeier, Cristin McCleary, Harrison Page, and Luce Rains. It was written by Joe R. Lansdale, who wrote episodes of "Batman: The Animated Series," and who wrote the short story that Don Coscarelli's film "Bubba Ho-Tep" was based on. Most startlingly, the short was co-produced by "Game of Thrones" author George R.R. Martin. According to the Variety article, Martin and Waldrop have been friends for over 60 years. 

The short made its debut at the Los Angeles Shorts International Film Festival, but it had never technically been given a proper release anywhere else. It seems that releasing such a film on Netflix, or just online somewhere, would be a boon to everyone who wants to see it. 

Even if you just learned about it, you want to see "Night of the Cooters," right? 

One can watch the trailer online, anyway, and take a nice gander at the film's "animation" style. It was shot in live-action, but the live-action footage was given heavy visual processing to make it look like rotoscoped animation. This style allowed the CGI alien ships to look a little more natural when interacting with the live-action environs. It was a smart approach.

George R.R. Martin boosted the short, and his friend, in the Variety article, saying that:

"It was a thrill to be able to work with Vincent D'Onofrio, the team at Trioscope and the rest of our amazing cast and crew and an honor to bring one of Howard Waldrop's wild and wonderful stories to the screen. [...] There is only one Waldrop!"

D'Onofrio also mentioned that, in the true spirit of an old-fashioned B-Western, the film only took five days to shoot. He was proud of the project. Sadly for the public, it has remained relegated to the festival circuit. It seems to be widely loved if it's winning awards, but the world at large has yet to lay eyes on it. 

In a fun interview with the Telegraph Herald, Martin talked about how he first met Howard Waldrop back in the day, and it was through a mutual interest in comic books. Martin would mail coins to Waldrop to buy comic books from him, and the two sparked up a correspondence. They wrote letters for nine years before they ever met in person. Martin was very impressed with Waldrop's authorial work, and spent a short while talking him up, and felt that it was high time that Howard's stories be seen on the big screen. 

"Night of the Cooters" was the first film, George R.R. Martin said, in an intended series of Howard Waldrop adaptations. According to a 2024 report in the Hollywood Reporter, he had stepped in to produce an animated feature film based on Waldrop's "A Dozen Tough Jobs," a story that transposed the Twelve Tasks of Hercules to 1920s Mississippi. Joe R. Lansdale will be writing that one, too. 

That announcement came a year-and-a-half after Waldrop's death in January of 2024. In a separate Hollywood Reporter interview, Martin said that he misses his old friend and that he wanted to pay him homage by bringing his works to the big screen. So far, he's managed to bring three of his friends' works to the big screen as shorts. 

"Night of the Cooters" was the first attempt, and Waldrop was lucky enough to be able to see that film get made. Martin also served as a producer on the Waldrop-inspired 2024 live-action short film "The Ugly Chickens," which starred Felicia Day and was directed by Mark Raso. It's about a scientist who goes out looking for any surviving dodo birds. Also released in 2024 was "Mary Margaret Road Grader," which was directed by Stephen Paul Judd, who wrote five episodes of the Marvel series "Echo," which also starred Vincent D'Onofrio. Martin was a credited producer on all these films. 

According to the Hollywood Reporter article, Martin didn't just produce the three shorts but paid for them out of his own pocket. This is generally considered taboo in Hollywood; never use your own money. Martin, however, wanted to do a childhood friend a favor and broke that rule with glee.