Q: Does S.E. Hinton have a fan mail address? If I write her will she answer me?
What about the other actors from the film?
A: Visit her official website information page and you will find her email there. However she is no longer answering fan mail due to the overwhelming volume she recieves. She does enjoy reading them though and cares greatly about all of her fans, young and old, so don't hesitate to write.
http://www.sehinton.com is the address.
As for the other actors, you will find their fan mail addresses, if available, on the 'Fan Mail Addresses' area of this website. You will also find tips on writing a better letter to these individuals within this forum. Please visit the http://s7.invisionfree.com/TheOutsidersSEHinton/index.php?showtopic=462 thread and read in its entirety.
Q: I wrote S.E. Hinton asking for help with my homework / essay / project on "The Outsiders" (or another of her works) and have not received a response. Will she answer me or does she ever help students with their classwork?
A: S.E. Hinton does answer some fan mail; however no, she does not help with school work in any way. In a recent quote from her official Twitter she states, "I get a lot of letters wanting help with homework. I never help with home work, either about books, or myself. Mr Dickens didn't help me."
She does get large volumes of fan emails / snail mail and cannot respond to all of them for obvious reasons. If you'd like some tips on writing a great fan letter please go to the 'Fan Mail Address' area of the website. There is a guide written out there.
Q: Are there any written biography's in print on S.E. Hinton?
A: Yes, there were too
One by Jay Daly in the mid / late 80's and one by Antoine Wilson in 2003
Both are available via Amazon.com and are linked on the 'Where to Buy' area of the website.
You probably won't have much luck finding them in your local library or bookstores; but might be worth a shot.
Q: Was there a television series in the early 1990's? How long did it last? Why was it cancelled? Will it ever be out on DVD?
It was cancelled due to lagging ratings after the pilot episode, which was the highest rated pilot for FOX network at its time.
As for DVD possiblity, tthere is nothing at this time. If it becomes a reality, it will be announced on this Website.
Q: I noticed that "That Was Then, This is Now" also has Ponyboy and Curly Shepherd in it. Is it a sequal to "The Outsiders"?
A: No, it is not.
S.E. Hinton crossed over several characters within her works. You will find as you her many books that the same names pop up. None of them are a 'sequal' to the others; however it does seem like it at first.
For instance:
In "Tex", you will find reference to Tex's biological father matches that of 'Mark' from "That Was Then, This is Now".
Mark was also the hitchiker in "Tex" who carjacks the boys. He is also Tex's half-brother (which Tex does not know). You really have to closely and between the lines to pick this up.
Cathy Carlson pops up in Tex as a Teacher. She was featured in "That Was Then, This is Now".
In "T.W.T.T.N" the references made at the beginning of the book regarding gangs and such are of the deaths of Bob, Johnny, and Dallas in "The Outsiders".
Q: When was the extended version of the DVD released? Why did they change the music score so much? Is the original version still available?
A:
"The Outsiders: The Complete Novel" was released in September 2005
The original version (1983) is still available, although limited. You can definately find it in used video / book stores and perhaps online via Amazon.com or other retailers. Unfortunately you do have to have both the 1983 and 2005 cuts to see both versions as they were not combined on the new DVD (not one of the alternate versions options.)
The score was changed to a much more 'rock-n-roll' of the era as Francis Ford Coppola had always wanted a more 'Elvis' feel to the soundtrack. However, as is commonly known, his father composed much of the orginal score. With the re-release he simply decided to change that aspect of the film. Some love it, some hate it. It's all a matter of personal opinion.
Q: One of the most asked questions is, "Was Sodapop's girlfriend, Sandy, pregnant?". If so, why did she leave? What was the big deal?
A: The answer is yes, she was pregnant. However, NOT by Soda. His caring loving nature made him want to marry her anyway and he was devestated when she left.
Why did she leave? Of course this is a matter of interpetation, but her parents sent her to live with an out of state relative due to her pregnancy, which was obviously 'out-of-wedlock' and was not socially acceptable at the time. Social attitudes have much changed over the last 40 years; thus making it easier on unwed mothers to not only have (publically) but keep their babies. It has not always been so, as is illustrated in this book (although between the lines).
Up until the mid 70's or so, if an young woman came up pregnant and unmarried, they typically were sent 'away' to have the baby. In this case she was sent to Florida to live with a relative. Many times they were sent to Unwed Mother's Homes until they delivered; leaving their baby behind and up for adoption.
We hope that answers the many questions out there regarding this part of the book. This topic has been covered several times and at great length upon the forum here. You may the most complete thread at http://s7.invisionfree.com/TheOutsidersSEHinton/index.php?showtopic=117. Please do this if you have questions regarding this issue within the book. Karen and I have both explained it, including historical references to social attitudes at the time, within this thread.
Q: Would she ever consider writing a sequal to the book?
A: No, never. Hinton's words on that are "If I tried to write it now, when I'm a much better writer, I'd ruin it," she says. "They think I'm being mean when I say, 'No, I won't write a sequel.' But I need to change that to, 'No, I can't write a sequel.' "
Q: How did this website become the Official one for "The Outsiders" since S.E. Hinton has her own Official Website?
A: This website was started in 2000 and was granted 'Official' status by S.E. Hinton in July 2004. She much appreciates the work that has gone into the site, the information shared within it, and the time the webmasters here are able to take with the fans answering questions, ect to the best of our knowledge. If we don't have an answer, we simply ask her to get one. I guess we've become sortof the 'go-to' folks!
The webmasters solely financially support the website and of course donations to help in the upkeep are always welcome.
Q: Why does this site focus so much on the book and not more on the movie like other fan sites?
A: As the Official Outsiders Website, it is designed to focus on the book for without it, there would be no story and no movie. The storyline wasn't intended to be about 'hot guys' and 'cool cars'. It was about social inequality and discriminations. The book is on required and recoomended reading lists all over the United States as well as one of the most challenged books due to it's subject matter. We're here to help those students with their reading / educational experience and also have some fun while we're at it.
Q: Will the website ever have 'fan fiction' on it?
A: Sorry, due to the amount of bandwidth that the site already requires we are unable to accomodate the stories.
However, FanFiction.net has some wonderful stories over there and there's room for plenty more. Just so you know, yes, S.E. Hinton has been to FF.net and has read some of them, enjoying it very much.
