# I wish they would make a movie of... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 13, 2009, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-they-would-make-a-movie-of/506345 "2009-08-13T22:04:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2009, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-they-would-make-a-movie-of/506345/81 "2009-08-16T09:04:58Z")
For those who want a version of _The Stainless Steel Rat_, I’ve heard Harry Harrison talk about this for over twenty years. It’s been optioned many times, and nobody has yet made the movie. That’s just fine with Harrison, since he gets the option money and doesn’t have to see a bad version of his novel. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2009, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-they-would-make-a-movie-of/506345/82 "2009-08-16T09:07:08Z")
I’d like to see a movie where Johnny Depp plays an over-the-hill actor who is inexplicably handed role after role in the biggest movies, despite the fact that all he can do is play himself. ---
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2009, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-they-would-make-a-movie-of/506345/83 "2009-08-16T09:43:22Z")
> [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > I’d like to see a movie where Johnny Depp plays an over-the-hill actor who is inexplicably handed role after role in the biggest movies, despite the fact that all he can do is play himself. It may seem inexplicable to you, but the box office his films garner provides all the explanation that the studio suits require. ---
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2009, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-they-would-make-a-movie-of/506345/84 "2009-08-16T09:45:21Z")
And again, why no Ringworld project? Pierson’s Puppeteers, Kzinti, the Ringworld itself, could all be done properly now with CGI. Plenty of action, plenty of spectacle, sexy Teela, what’s not to like? ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2009, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-they-would-make-a-movie-of/506345/85 "2009-08-16T11:51:30Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > Weren’t there rumors of a Miles Vorkosigan adaptation? There was a script written … Herself read sections of it aloud at a con once about 10-15 years ago. About the most interesting thing I can remember about it was the barrayarran soldiery trying to build fires in the passages of a ship to cook food upon … apparently to illustrate how barbaric they were…:smack: Lois has subsequently stated she will never option off a movie again. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2009, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-they-would-make-a-movie-of/506345/86 "2009-08-16T12:14:56Z")
_The Man In The High Castle_ Philip K. Dick That would be worth filming ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2009, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-they-would-make-a-movie-of/506345/87 "2009-08-16T12:54:14Z")
> [@chowder](#): > > _The Man In The High Castle_ > > Philip K. Dick > > That would be worth filming I was going to say that. Barring that, I think **Brave New World** by Huxley could be a sweeping epic of a movie, if done properly. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2009, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-they-would-make-a-movie-of/506345/88 "2009-08-16T15:30:02Z")
> [@Stan\_Shmenge](#): > > And again, why no Ringworld project? Pierson’s Puppeteers, Kzinti, the Ringworld itself, could all be done properly now with CGI. Plenty of action, plenty of spectacle, sexy Teela, what’s not to like? How about **Footfall**? ---
**Author:** ![in\_hiding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c5a1d2/32.png) [@in\_hiding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/in_hiding)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2009, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-they-would-make-a-movie-of/506345/89 "2009-08-16T15:54:11Z")
> [@Shawn1767](#): > > [The Forge of God](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Forge_of_God) God yes. And Anvil of Stars. With todays effects that could become great. Or, more likely, a botched CG-fest. But done right… ---
**Author:** ![Shawn1767](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Shawn1767](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shawn1767)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2009, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-they-would-make-a-movie-of/506345/90 "2009-08-16T16:26:26Z")
in hiding, for some reason the trailers for 2012 give me a “Forge of God” vibe. ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2009, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-they-would-make-a-movie-of/506345/91 "2009-08-16T17:36:16Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > I was going to say that. Barring that, I think **Brave New World** by Huxley could be a sweeping epic of a movie, if done properly. But if not done properly we’d end up with something like _Logans Run_ ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2009, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-they-would-make-a-movie-of/506345/92 "2009-08-16T18:50:08Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > I was going to say that. Barring that, I think **Brave New World** by Huxley could be a sweeping epic of a movie, if done properly. I’d rather see David Lynch try his hand at _Ape and Essence_. No wait – David Lynch can just do the Baboon Chanteuse sequences - Peter Jackson will do the actual narrative. That’ll work! Jack Black as Poole. (I just lost you, didn’t I?) ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2009, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-they-would-make-a-movie-of/506345/93 "2009-08-16T20:54:14Z")
I’d like to see a film version of Gene Wolfe’s Book of the New Sun. It’d actually require a series of films, I guess. Some simplification of the plot would be a necessity, as would losing Wolfe’s trademark unreliable narrator. Urth is a gorgeous and fantastic place. I think a straightforward narrative of Severian’s path from apprentice Torturer to Autarch would work very well on screen. An animated or entirely cgi version might well be the best way to go. Arnold Vosloo as the voice of Severian. Dustin Hoffman as the old Autarch. Judy Dench as Thecla. Ian McShane as Vodalus. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2009, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-they-would-make-a-movie-of/506345/94 "2009-08-16T22:47:19Z")
**Geek Love** - there was talk years ago of Tim Burton being interested, but I haven’t heard any more about that. I’d like to see Guillermo del Toro take it on, but he’s booked up for the next few years. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2009, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-they-would-make-a-movie-of/506345/95 "2009-08-16T23:36:16Z")
Harlan Ellison’s script for Asimov’s _I, Robot_. Larry Niven’s Gil Hamilton stories. Heinlein’s _The Rolling Stones_. Andre Norton’s _Steel Magic_. Gardner Fox’s Kyrick stories. (Yes, I know, they are bad ripoffs of Robert E. Howard, but they would be fun!) _Flash Gordon_ and _Buck Rogers_. Each one should be done as a serial, with twelve feature-length chapters. Skip the theaters and send them straight to video. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2009, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-they-would-make-a-movie-of/506345/96 "2009-08-17T01:05:15Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > Harlan Ellison’s script for Asimov’s _I, Robot_… Oooo, oooo, yes! I read the screenplay a few years back. It really was very, very good - captured the tone and content of the stories but wouldn’t be overlong. For that matter, Asimov’s _Foundation_ trilogy could be done as three movies, a la LOTR, and if not “Hollywoodized” could be really cool. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2009, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-they-would-make-a-movie-of/506345/97 "2009-08-17T01:16:49Z")
I’ve always wanted to see a miniseries (actually a triology of miniseries) of S.M. Stirling’s Nantucket triology. Ditto for Kim Stanley’s Mars trilogy. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2009, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-they-would-make-a-movie-of/506345/98 "2009-08-17T01:43:59Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > The book Starship Troopers - which I don’t think the makers of the movie ever read. Also Heinleins “Glory Road”. Glory road would be a great action/fantasy film if written well. But there aren’t enough explosions. Tunnel in the Sky would be great updated to have college kids as part of graduation/thesis. Elements of Lost and Survivor are all there. But still, no explosions. Both would end up given to Michael Bay and, BOOM!, FLASH!, MONSTERS!. Movie sucks. ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2009, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-they-would-make-a-movie-of/506345/99 "2009-08-17T02:06:40Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > I’d heard years ago that Tom Cruise bought the rights to Erik Larson’s _ **The Devil in the White City** _, but then nothing happened. It’s a fascinating non-fiction book about a serial killer stalking the 1893 World’s Fair in Chicago, and would probably make one hell of a good movie. My only problem with this is that the story is so huge it would be hard to make the book into a movie as it stands - there are two separate and complete plots going on that a movie would almost necessarily have to focus on the H.H. Holmes plot. I would prefer a good 5 hour or so HBO miniseries. Regardless, I’m still excited that it’s in development. As of earlier this year, rumor was that David Fincher is set to direct it. Since he’s probably my favorite director, I’m pretty psyched about that, too. One of the things I’m most looking forward to, though, is just the fair recreated through CGI and sets. I have the old pictures and images in my head, but I can’t wait to see it represented as a real, current place. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2009, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-they-would-make-a-movie-of/506345/100 "2009-08-17T04:54:15Z")
_A Confederacy Of Dunces_ would make a great movie. Too bad John Candy is dead; he would have been a perfect Ignatius. And the chick who played George’s mom on “Seinfeld” would be perfect as the mother. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-they-would-make-a-movie-of/506345.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-wish-they-would-make-a-movie-of/506345.md?page=6)