JohnL, the one that was filmed recently was “Apt Pupil” (movie had the same title), subtitled “Summer of Corruption”. And I don’t see why “The Breathing Method” couldn’t be filmed; maybe by a woman for a change.
I guess I’m just better off living with my inner tensions.
—Snoopy
So who still has high hopes for the movie version of Lord of the Rings?
“You have no choice but to be impressed.”
Tony Rothman and George Sudarshan
Doubt and Certainty
I just checked IMDb to see how LOTR was coming along. Liv Tyler is cast as Arwen Undomiel.
I rest my case.
If they’re really going to do a Hitchhiker’s Guide movie, it should be Pixar, not live action. And they should not make the same mistake as in the live action version that’s already out there: Ford Prefect is not supposed to be a fruity Oxbridge type. He is a scuzzy traveling journalist, like Hunter Thompson. And Trillian is not, repeat not, a bimbo.
:::leans back and flexes knuckles:::
I guess I’m just better off living with my inner tensions.
—Snoopy
Pluto: I feel your pain. LOTR is simply way way way too long to turn into a two-hour movie. And that is, IMO, the main problem in this matter. Even Gone With the Wind, which is extremely long, leaves out half of the book.
Whoever mentioned The Lawnmower Man above, I remember watching that movie in horror (and not because it was scary) and repeating “The story is only about four pages long! What IS this?” over and over.
~Harborina
“Don’t Do It.”
Rilchiam writes:
The movie may already have been cast… but perhaps Chris Elliot as Ford? He’s got the deadpan loopiness for the part. I think Gillian Anderson would make a great Trillian. But, please God, don’t cast anyone BUT Simon Jones for Arthur Dent. He was perfectly cast the first time…
A cubicle is just a padded cell without a door.
I respect your casting ideas, Greg, but remember that HG is British in origin. I recommend Rupert Everett for the voice of Zaphod. I maintain that it will only work in Pixar. So many of the technological gags work in prose, but in live action, they look ridiculous. This is satire, not Saturday morning kid fare.
I guess I’m just better off living with my inner tensions.
—Snoopy
Oh, Kyla and Pluto? You do realize that Fellowship, Two Towers and Return of the King are all going to be separate films? (Though principal photography for all three is going on more or less simultaneously; i.e. they’re filming all the scenes from all the books at each location before they move on.) That’s not the answer to everything, but it’s better than Rankin-Bass or Ralph Bakshi or whoever threw up on some animation cells in the late 70s and called it LOTR.
I guess I’m just better off living with my inner tensions.
—Snoopy
I knew that. And it may help, although I’m afraid it may have more to do with marketing than anything else. We’ll see.
Rilch – While I’ve got you on the line – didn’t you say Mr. Rilch is part of the crew for X-Files? Does he know Mike Fauntleroy? He’s an assistant cameraman. He lives next door to my in-laws (when he’s not in L.A.) in Idaho, north of Couer d’Alene.
Yes, Pluto, I think Mr. Rilch mentioned that name. But it is my sad duty to inform you that Mr. Rilch is no longer part of the X-Files crew. They had to cut one person, and the last hired is the first fired. Well, not really fired; he’s still in Fox’s good books. But he’ll no longer be a source for X-Files info. Dang. If they’d kept him another week, I was going to be “atmosphere” in an upcoming episode. Oh well.
I guess I’m just better off living with my inner tensions.
—Snoopy
I should add that I’m not as cold-blooded about this as I may sound. The attitude among the crew was quite nasty; I can admit that now. Mr. Rilch used to come home and punch the wall. His dismissal is really more of a blessing.
I guess I’m just better off living with my inner tensions.
—Snoopy
I absolutely could not make myself read HoD in high school English class. Merely looking at a paragraph without even looking at individual words caused me to yawn, and the sentences themselves did not appear to be written in properly formed English.
Which is why I have been forever thankful that our teacher gave us the option of writing a report about Apocalypse Now instead!
I’m worried too about “Hitchhiker’s Guide,” but I trust Douglas Adams is getting far more cooperation than he did in the old TV series. Check out the book “Don’t Panic” by Neil Gaiman for inside info on the TV show and many other things. Required reading for insane HHG fans.
Anybody here read “High Fidelity” by Nick Hornby? I was surprised to find out the other day it’s been turned into a movie. Looks pretty good from the trailers, but who knows? John Cusack looks pretty good in the lead, but he’s not who I probably would have pictured.
I’ll stop rambling now. <grin>
Liv Tyler as Arwen?? What is the world coming to?
I rode Omni in Springfield, IL
Pluto, I just asked Mr. Rilch about Mike Fauntleroy. He said, quote, Mike is a great guy, very good at what he does, and his son is cool too. I don’t want to give my last name on the net, but Mike will remember Mr. Rilch as the second-unit electric, from last September until a few days ago, who usually wore Pittsburgh-related T-shirts. Mr. Rilch says Nice knowin’ ya, and good luck.
I guess I’m just better off living with my inner tensions.
—Snoopy
Mando-
I missed out on B5, trying to catch repeats but need to watch it in order. Maybe it is or will be out on video soon.
You should try Rising Stars, an ongoing but finite comic series by J. Michael Straczynski, who wrote B5. It is on issue 5, not to late for you to jump on board. Read about it here:
http://www.topcow.com/
http://risingstarsr.tripod.com/
http://risingstars.8m.com/
Does anybody recall if Asimov’s “FOUNDATION” series was ever brought to film? I loved this from my earliest days of SF reading-it would be great if we could have a decent film version of this classic!
**Rilchiam[\b] –
Thanks for the info. I’ll pass Mr. Rilch’s good words along. Sorry if I opened up a painful subject but it sounds like it was a mixed blessing.
It would be cool to be an extra, though, wouldn’t it?
“You have no choice but to be impressed.”
Tony Rothman and George Sudarshan
Doubt and Certainty
Two cases in which—in my own opinion—the movie was BETTER than the book.
• Topper. The 1937 movie was delicious; the Thorne Smith book it was based on was rather tiresome.
• The Heiress. I actually like the Olivia De Havilland film better than the Henry James novel it was based on.
Movies that are way better than the books:
2001 (much more mysterious and beautiful than the book)
The Shining (an exciting book, but Kubrick made it truly horrifying)
Once Upon a Time in America
People who read the books first tend to be dissapointed in the movie, even though the movie may be much better. I undestand, they expected one thing and got another. That doesn’t mean the movie is worse, however…
About “A Brief History of Time”… the documentary was definately an Errol Morris masterpiece. It’s completely different than the book, of course. But it definately captures what the life and work of Steven Hawking, and engages the imagination. You gotta love that Philip Glass score too. It’s very appropriate.
Contact. And it’s going to show a few more times on TNT this week. There were a few necessary modifications to the story (in the novel, several people went on the trip), but it stayed true to Carl Sagan’s vision.
I came close to tears when Jodie Foster tried to convey the wonder and beauty of what she was seeing. I’d gladly go on such a trip, wouldn’t you?
When all else fails, ask Cecil.