Sequel To Casablanca Causes Outrage…

Ever wonder what Rick did after Ilsa and Victor got on that 'plane? Well, wonder no more. Continuing the distinctly retro theme to today's news, a sequel novel to Casablanca has caused alarm and outrage amongst the film's fans. The book, As Time Goes By, arrived in bookstores in the US yesterday (Wednesday), with an initial print run of 1.1 million copies. Aljean Harmetz, author of a book on the making of the movie, told the Los Angeles Times "This material has resisted sequels for almost 60 years" but the book's author, Michael Walsh, defended his actions: "The first question I'm always asked is 'How dare you?' ... The easy answer is that they asked me." Warner retains copyright in the characters, and will presumably turn the book into a movie at some stage. Ironically, Walsh isn't a big fan of the original movie.