# Possible The Stars My Destination movie coming **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 2, 2015, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-the-stars-my-destination-movie-coming/714024 "2015-03-02T16:47:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-the-stars-my-destination-movie-coming/714024/1 "2015-03-02T16:47:41Z")
[This all sounds very tentative](http://io9.com/paramount-to-turn-scifi-classic-the-stars-my-destinatio-1688894282), but am cautiously optimistic that it’s at least on some producer’s radar. Although what it will look like on the other end of Hollywood… So, casting choices, anyone? ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-the-stars-my-destination-movie-coming/714024/2 "2015-03-02T17:06:50Z")
Man, Universal Studios optioned this nearly [a decade ago](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/news/1646516/classic_sci-fi_story_goes_universal/). I wonder how many tries there have been at scripts? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-the-stars-my-destination-movie-coming/714024/3 "2015-03-02T19:39:09Z")
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: There is no way to make a good movie out of this book. There are, unfortunately, a great many ways to make a terrible movie out of it. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-the-stars-my-destination-movie-coming/714024/4 "2015-03-02T21:02:53Z")
And I’ll say again that it could make the greatest sf movie of all time - despite there being so many ways for it to go wrong. The recent “Predestination” was encouraging in that respect. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-the-stars-my-destination-movie-coming/714024/5 "2015-03-02T21:18:28Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: There is no way to make a good movie out of this book. There are, unfortunately, a great many ways to make a terrible movie out of it. I agree that it can easily go bad. But I’ve wanted to se this filmed for some time. It has a killer opening. as I’ve observed before, I can’t help wondering if the folks who made **Event Horizon** were thinking about The Stars My Destination, or originally started out wanting to film it. They had that Burning Man thing in it that recalls the climax of Bester’s book. And THAT, unfortunately, is one of the ways they could royally screw up this book -to-film. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-the-stars-my-destination-movie-coming/714024/6 "2015-03-02T22:08:14Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I agree that it can easily go bad. But I’ve wanted to se this filmed for some time. It has a killer opening. And a killer trailer. Open with the questions. Frame the content around Foyle’s four answers. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-the-stars-my-destination-movie-coming/714024/7 "2015-03-02T22:37:43Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: There is no way to make a good movie out of this book. There are, unfortunately, a great many ways to make a terrible movie out of it. This is Sad But True. Now, a mini-series on SHO or HBO- yeah! Same with the Moon is a Harsh Mistress. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2015, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-the-stars-my-destination-movie-coming/714024/8 "2015-03-02T23:58:53Z")
Has there ever been a great movie made from a classic, great, book? The closest I can think of was the original “Day the Earth Stood Still.” There have been some really good movies made from obscure stories, and mediocre or bad movies made from great stories. The Demolished Man might work out better - I can find an announcement of a movie, but no real movie of it. On my list to reread now. It’s been a while. Like 45 years. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-the-stars-my-destination-movie-coming/714024/9 "2015-03-03T00:06:22Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Has there ever been a great movie made from a classic, great, book? The closest I can think of was the original “Day the Earth Stood Still.” There have been some really good movies made from obscure stories, and mediocre or bad movies made from great stories. . Jackons Lord of the Rings. Howls Moving Castle To Kill a Mockingbird Princess Bride. Maltese Falcon. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2015, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-the-stars-my-destination-movie-coming/714024/10 "2015-03-03T01:24:06Z")
No Country for Old Men Sophie’s Choice Mystic River ---
**Author:** ![Launce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/258eb7/32.png) [@Launce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Launce)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2015, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-the-stars-my-destination-movie-coming/714024/11 "2015-04-29T13:48:24Z")
The \*Count of Monte Christo \*will always have great movie potential, in whatever guise. It’s a pretty classic tale. I think TSMD could make a great movie, although I’d prefer a mini-series, so they can flesh out the world and build some suspense. It’s odd – I was just thinking that I’ve never seen a TV/movie about a standard SF scenario – the populated solar system. Says here “Syfy” is making a series based on _Leviathan Wakes_. And a series based on another stock SF trope: the generation ship. The millennium is at hand. ---
**Author:** ![Launce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/258eb7/32.png) [@Launce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Launce)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2015, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-the-stars-my-destination-movie-coming/714024/12 "2015-04-29T13:55:52Z")
And as far as casting goes, Bruce Willis _is_ Foyle. I can see him with the stigmata now. In fact, he already played the role, in _12 Monkeys_. But too old, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2015, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-the-stars-my-destination-movie-coming/714024/13 "2015-04-29T13:59:50Z")
Nah. Christian Bale. We’re in the Bale decade. No slightly offbeat film with a hardass, strange character can be made without it being played by Christian Bale. Willis was _last_ decade. And too nicey-nice around the edges. Foyle is, as Harry Harrison put it in a memorable passage, “Just as a spider is a perfect spider and a vampire bat a perfect vampire bad, [he] was a perfect freewheeling bastard.” ETA: No, I have not confused authors there. I know _The Stars My Destination_ was written by Steve Jobs. ---
**Author:** ![Launce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/258eb7/32.png) [@Launce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Launce)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2015, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-the-stars-my-destination-movie-coming/714024/14 "2015-04-29T14:03:41Z")
I’d go with Christian Bale. Only thing is, he’d actually get his face tattooed. ---
**Author:** ![Launce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/258eb7/32.png) [@Launce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Launce)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2015, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-the-stars-my-destination-movie-coming/714024/15 "2015-04-29T14:17:46Z")
Speaking of which (tattooed faces), damn you, Heath Ledger! Where are you when we need you? No soft edges there. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2015, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-the-stars-my-destination-movie-coming/714024/16 "2015-04-29T17:22:11Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Has there ever been a great movie made from a classic, great, book? The closest I can think of was the original “Day the Earth Stood Still.” . A very odd thing to write. _The Day the Earth Stood Still_ isn’t based on a book. It’s adapted, very freely, from Harry Bates’ short story _Farewell to the Master_. It’s not particularly faithful to it, which is all to the good. The story is a short bit with a “twist” ending. The movie is superior in every way. Restricting ourselves to science fiction, there have been quite a few great films inspired by short stories: **2001; a Space Odyssey** (based on Arthur C. Clarke’s _The Sentinel_, although he later wrote a novel) **The Thing** – both versions (not the recent one of that name, though), both based on John W. Campbell’s _Who Goes There?_. The 1982 Carpenter version, with a Bill Lancaster script is much more faithful, but the Howard Hawks/Christian Nyby version is definitely classic For longer works, there’s \*\*A Clockwork Orange Dr. Strangelove\*\* 9based on Peter George’s _Red Alert_, although he later rewrote it as a book closer to the film \*\*The Andromeda Strain The Terminal Man\*\* – probably not “classics”, but better than Crichton’s later stuff **this Island Earth** – this has “classic” status as a film, although (despite my Dopername), it’s a pretty awful film, all things considered. The book isn’t all that great. either, and it peters out before the end, but the opening portion, based on the Raymond F. Jones short story _The Alien Machine_, is great. The version of it in the movie (Cal Meacham builds an Interociter!) is but a pale shadow of the story. **Cloud Atlas** – I’m still blown away by this film, even after reading the book. Of course, I could easily make a list of short stories mucked up or bloated out of shape when turned into film ( **Nightfall** – TWICE!, **Mimic** , **The Space Frame** ), and a long list of SF books REALLY badly filmed (most Jules Verne and H. G. wells adaptations, **I, Robot** , **Starship Troopers** , **The Puppet Masters** …) ---
**Author:** ![Launce](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/258eb7/32.png) [@Launce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Launce)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2015, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-the-stars-my-destination-movie-coming/714024/17 "2015-04-29T18:17:09Z")
Sticking to SF, two greats … Frankenstein Blade Runner And perhaps … The Invisible Man 1984 War of the Worlds? 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Things to Come (well, _I_ like it!) ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2015, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-the-stars-my-destination-movie-coming/714024/18 "2015-04-29T18:25:49Z")
When I first read “The Stars My Destination” back in the 70s, for no good reason I always pictured Gully Foyle as looking like Charles Bronson. Bronson, at the time, was doing movies like [Rider on the Rain](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064791/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_43) where he played some pretty disagreeable protagonists. Bronson is, alas, dead and gone. Who plays such roles now? There’s your Gully Foyle. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2015, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-the-stars-my-destination-movie-coming/714024/19 "2015-04-29T19:27:58Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > When I first read “The Stars My Destination” back in the 70s, for no good reason I always pictured Gully Foyle as looking like Charles Bronson. Close, but too bulky and round-faced. I would have to think of a known person, but I saw Foyle as huge, square-faced, rough and seamed, curled dark hair. Kim Coates has approximately the right look but is too small. Maybe the actor who plays The Hound. ETA: No, nevermind. Of course. :smack: Tom Cruise! (There would be a smiley here but for all the movies fupped uck by casting him against type and good sense.) ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2015, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-the-stars-my-destination-movie-coming/714024/20 "2015-04-29T19:41:27Z")
One of my fave books from my youth. Even a low quality flick will still be good enough to get me to see it. Then, I’ll come here and complain. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/possible-the-stars-my-destination-movie-coming/714024.md?page=2)