Favorite Book into Film, Not Yet Done?
POSTED BY: Indigo
UPDATED: Tuesday, September 4, 2007 17:39
VIEWED: 57073
PAGE 17 of 19
Quote:
Originally posted by babywiththepower:
As for Tenel Ka, you'd need someone who is powerful, both in body and mind, beautiful and believable in all the transitions Tenel Ka makes throughout the series. This is by far, in my opinion, the hardest character to cast. Had the movie been made back in 1988, I'd say Joanne Whalley (Sorsha from the movie Willow) would have been perfect. But as this is not the case, I'd have to say I'd like to see Lucasfilm take their normal stance and cast an unknown and bring a new actress with all those qualities into the lime light.
How would Summer look with red hair?
Her face might be too expressive though. Tenel Ka's best humour is completely deadpan.
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We applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction from either patient.
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Quote:
Originally posted by babywiththepower:
Also, I assume you've seen Neverwhere. I couldn't have been happier with the casting. I wish the cinematography was a little richer, but the grittyness definately added something.
the thing with neverwhere was it was filmed on a certain type of stock, with the creator intending to do something in post prod. to make it look glossier. I can't remember what, but the article (and old issue of SFX) mentioned a series where it was done that looked great, and won all sorts of admiration for its style.
Had this been done it would have looked similar to many of the other shows we have now = possibly Firefly i think, glossy and interestingly lit, but in a warm dark way.
But like you say, the grittyness added something - who wants a nice glossy show about the tube? Just wouldn't fit.
Plus - they're most of the way through making a movie of Stardust - i was kind of excited (probably my least favorite of his books) until i read that Sienna Miller was in it.
Blah.
Isn't sanity really a one trick pony, anyway? I mean all you get is one trick, rational thinking! But when you're good and crazy...ooh hoo hoo hoo... the skys the limit!
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another one:
A Star Trek fan novel called How Much For Just The Planet? by a guy named John M Ford.
Classic Trek, the original cast ( 'course you'd have to replace Scotty and Bones...) The crew and the Klingons compete over a planet that has lots of dilithium ore, inhabited by a bunch of comedians and stage actors who want to be left alone. Lots of slapstick and physical comedy, people dangling off the sides of buildings, a giant cream-pie fight at the end, lots of harmless action and adventure.
Funny stuff...
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Let's see....favourite book(s) into film that has NOT been done yet, eh? Hmm...I would go with the following:
1) "In Death" series by J.D. Robb - I am truly surprised no studio or network has tried touching these books yet. They're entertaining, but not deep or insanely complex. Lots of action, with romance and mystery thrown in. Could honestly argue that Joss could work magic with these, in that we got mucho strong female characters, lots of twisted romance, crazy-detailed backstory for the setting (2059 NYC) and lots of material for working on Big Ideas about social behaviour.
2) Neal Stephenson's "Baroque Cycle" of books would be really cool as a mini-series or a long series of movies. Cuz their freaking jam-packed with goodness and characters and history and science. Edutainment at its finest;). Maybe get someone like Guillermo del Toro to work them.
3) Patrick Robinson's "Admiral Morgan" series - I know that's not what the books are really referred to as, but because of their changing themes, the character of Arnold Morgan is the only major constant. That and I think they would great movies. Can't really think of a director for these, since I think the really talented directors for military films are deceased.
4) Arthur C. Clarke's "Childhood's End - it's been tossed out, but damn it! This needs to be filmed! Probably would have to change bits to modernize it (US vs. Soviet interstellar vehicle race? Uh...tad too 60s for now).
5) "Starship Troopers" by Robert A. Heinlein - while I enjoyed the movie, I can't really support it as a book-to-film adaptation of any success. Verhoven went to wonky with a number of the themes Heinlein used in the book. While it's biased, I think Heinlein and this book in particular really suit Joss' sensabilities when he is willing to work with ideas developed by others. Lots of themes for Our Fearful Leader to experiment with.
6) W.E.B. Grifin's "The Corps" series - brilliant novels looking at a specific group of Marines during the lead-up to WWII, the war itself and the Korean War. Very much like Mament's "The Unit," in that we get lots of action, but with tons of kitchen sink and character moments to balance things out. Mamet himself I think could wonders for this, if only doing the adapting work. Eastwood could direct possibly.
7) Stephen Coonts' "Jake Grafton" series - the first story got made into a film but I don't think it was the best piece of cinematography ever. That and they changed the ending to be more "dramatic." Still, first couple of books deal with Vietnam, so there could be parallels drawn to Iraq if someone wanted to go all Altman-like.
8) Joe Buff's "Challenger" series (personal name for books) - action film with science-fiction undertone (2011 setting during Third World War with limited nuclear exchanges), lots of character exploration and thriller aspects. Plus, it's a big non-preachy warning against nuclear warfare
9) Joshua Neuman's "The Big Book of Jewish Conspiracies" - if you think "Borat" was hiliarious in its lambasting of anti-Semetic behaviour, then this would beat the living tar out of that film! Some tweaking to make the stories form a linked narrative, but the sheer brillance of Neuman's comedic pokes at famous anti-Semitc conspiracies is undescribably amusing.
10) Michael A. Stackpole's "X-Wing" series - yeah, it's Star Wars-related...but it's a lot less directly linked to the core storyline of the Sexology That Lucas Built. Some cameos by the OT big guns, but it's mostly Wedge and the Rogues (Luke and Wedge's squadron during "The Empire Strikes Back") flying, dying and crying. That and we explore the after-effects of ROTJ on both the galaxy at large and the people living on the affected planets.
Literature has shown us some of humanity's greatest achievements; history, some of our greatest failures -- Alun Lewis
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I don't know if this has been mentioned yet, but one book that I read a while back made me think "There is no way that this book could be faithfully adapted." That book was UP THE LINE by Robert Silverberg. I only heard about it on the DVD commentary track for BACK TO THE FUTURE PART II, when I think Neil Canton mentions it as one of the influences on the trilogy.
Basically, this book is the time travel story to end all time travel stories. It's about a guy who decides to become a tour guide for a travel company that sends people to different eras in human history. And of course, someone fucks something up in the past, and while it doesn't change the future irrevocably, it sets off this big chase through time and becomes a real mind fuck. And the story ends with the main character banished to the dawn of man and his employers not killing him, but making sure that he never existed in the first place.
And this book will never be made into a movie for two big reasons. 1) The majority of the book takes place in different periods of the Byzantine Era, thus making the budget ginormous since it's not one historical peroid but several. And 2) The book deals specifically with enough paradoxes and doubles and triples to make BACK TO THE FUTURE 2 look like DEJA VU, which is probably the most simplistic time travel movie I've seen yet.
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"We have five million Cybermen. How many are you?"
"Four"
You would destroy the Cybermen with four Daleks?"
"We would destroy the Cybermen with ONE Dalek. You are superior in only one respect."
"What is that?"
"You are better at dying."
Trash talk between a Cyberman and a Dalek. It doesn't get any better than that.
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Quote:
Originally posted by reginaroadie:
"There is no way that this book could be faithfully adapted." That book was UP THE LINE by Robert Silverberg.
I read it about a millenium ago while I was a teenager. While I agree with everything you've said aboui it, it is also so porno that it's practically a sci-fi stroke book.
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Oh, this is a really fun idea!
Two of my top picks would be "Ender's Game" and "The Dark Materials" already discussed. I would hate to see Dark Materials "meddled with" too much, tho.
Some other choices that I didn't see are:
"Alamut" and "Dagger Cross" by Judith Tarr - 2 book set - fantasy/historical fiction set in times of the crusades in Jerusalum. Magical and believable - she does a great job of blending reality.
Almost anything by Morgan Llywelyn - Two of my favorites historical fiction - "Here Be Dragons" and sequels set in Wales during time of English Conquest; "Brian Boru" story of the last of Irish Kings come to mind.
Starhawks "Fifth Sacred Thing" futuristic also magical, ecological collapse, authoritarian state, good vs. evil.
"Well, they have guns."
Siri
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I would love to see one or any of Tamora Pierce's series made into movies. Especially the Song of the Lioness series. I enjoyed all of her books, and I really think that they would make very shiny movies as well.
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Love keeps her in the air when she outta fall down, tells you she's hurting before she keels. Makes her a home.
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Jean M Auels Shelter's of Stone is a really unique book about a girl who is raised with prehistoric humans. This book based on historical facts.
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Another one I failed to mention (mainly because I can't remember their titles) is a fantasy retellng of the American Civil War, with elves, magic, the works. The two warring countries even had the same flags as the Union and Confederate armies. I'll have to get the titles of these pooks and post them here.
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