# Susan Cooper finally comes to the screen. "The Seeker: The Dark is Rising" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 24, 2007, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/susan-cooper-finally-comes-to-the-screen-the-seeker-the-dark-is-rising/420290 "2007-09-24T12:20:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/susan-cooper-finally-comes-to-the-screen-the-seeker-the-dark-is-rising/420290/1 "2007-09-24T12:20:43Z")
I saw the preview and did a little dance. I loved this series as a kid and was always surprised that they weren’t snatched up for a movie, or at least a 5 part series. Here’s the [Apple Preview](http://www.apple.com/trailers/independent/theseekerthedarkisrising/large.html) and [here’s the website.](http://www.seekthesigns.com/) I’m taking the afternoon off for this movie. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/susan-cooper-finally-comes-to-the-screen-the-seeker-the-dark-is-rising/420290/2 "2007-09-24T13:43:19Z")
I’m not. We had a thread on this before and I believe near-universal disgust was predicted. I loved those books too much as a kid to see them screwed up. ---
**Author:** ![Lissla\_Lissar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lissla\_Lissar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissla_Lissar)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/susan-cooper-finally-comes-to-the-screen-the-seeker-the-dark-is-rising/420290/3 "2007-09-24T14:28:19Z")
[Here’s the other thread.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=428491&highlight=Dark+Rising) I did a lot of sad and angry wailing in it. I think the movie looks completely wrong. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/susan-cooper-finally-comes-to-the-screen-the-seeker-the-dark-is-rising/420290/4 "2007-09-24T14:40:09Z")
I’m so torn. That looks like a pretty good movie. But…it’s just not _The Dark Is Rising_ that I read. Like I said in another thread, _The Dark Is Rising_ would make a terrible movie if one was faithful to the book - it’s all quiet and frozen and waiting, waiting, waiting. I totally get that they had to give Will things to actually DO and SAY in order to make a movie out of it. But it just isn’t the story/atmosphere/experience that I loved so much. I think, much like _First Knight_, I might be able to enjoy it as a mindless fantasy romp if I simply think of it as a movie about something else that happens to share character names with another, totally different, story that I love. The thing that’s bugging me the most is that the Will in my head was dark, quietly witty and just slightly geeky - he’s the coolest of the D&D playing kids in high school, the one who might be able to be in the cool crowd, but he’s got more interesting things to do with his time. This Will looks and talks like a jock or the smart-ass class clown. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/susan-cooper-finally-comes-to-the-screen-the-seeker-the-dark-is-rising/420290/5 "2007-09-24T15:08:01Z")
I finally saw the ad on TV last night- no hint that it was THE DARK IS RISING, just that the title was THE SEEKER. All the prior articles I read called it THE SEEKER: THE DARK IS RISING. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/susan-cooper-finally-comes-to-the-screen-the-seeker-the-dark-is-rising/420290/6 "2007-09-24T16:31:53Z")
[QUOTE=FriarTed] I finally saw the ad on TV last night- no hint that it was THE DARK IS RISING, just that the title was THE SEEKER. All the prior articles I read called it THE SEEKER: THE DARK IS RISING. [/QUOTE] Well, I guess it’s difficult to do a potential movie series when one of the books has the same title as the whole series - perhaps that’s the reason for the title. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/susan-cooper-finally-comes-to-the-screen-the-seeker-the-dark-is-rising/420290/7 "2007-09-24T16:35:02Z")
I think I mentioned this is a previous thread. I guess I am lucky. Since I am 40 now and there have been hundreds of books in between when I read it and now, I can watch the movie without any fanboy anger. I know I liked it at the time but I can like or dislike the film on it’s own merits. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/susan-cooper-finally-comes-to-the-screen-the-seeker-the-dark-is-rising/420290/8 "2007-09-24T20:37:26Z")
I might see the movie if I’m assured it’s very different from the book. I hated the book. ---
**Author:** ![burundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@burundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burundi)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/susan-cooper-finally-comes-to-the-screen-the-seeker-the-dark-is-rising/420290/9 "2007-09-24T21:00:31Z")
Will Stanton does not wear hair gel. He is not an American. You couldn’t pay me to see this. I swear, if I ever become fabulously wealthy, I’m going to buy up the rights to beloved classics and then _never, ever_ make them into movies. ---
**Author:** ![MacSpon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@MacSpon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacSpon)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/susan-cooper-finally-comes-to-the-screen-the-seeker-the-dark-is-rising/420290/10 "2007-09-24T21:15:00Z")
[QUOTE=burundi] Will Stanton does not wear hair gel. He is not an American. You couldn’t pay me to see this. [/QUOTE] You could pay _me_ to see it. But you’d have to pay me a fair bit. I’d happily see a movie of Susan Cooper’s book. But this is oh so obviously not going to be it. ---
**Author:** ![Jodi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7feea3/32.png) [@Jodi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jodi)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/susan-cooper-finally-comes-to-the-screen-the-seeker-the-dark-is-rising/420290/11 "2007-09-24T21:32:05Z")
[QUOTE=jsgoddess] I might see the movie if I’m assured it’s very different from the book. I hated the book. [/QUOTE] I didn’t really like the books either, yet I’m completely prepared to be offended by the ridiculous license taken by the movie. But for me it’s more a matter of being irritated when any movie perverts a book, than it is anger that this particular book has been the victim. The worst offender IMO is still Demi Moore’s abomination of _The Scarlet Letter_, but this one looks pretty awful too. ---
**Author:** ![SkeptiJess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@SkeptiJess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkeptiJess)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/susan-cooper-finally-comes-to-the-screen-the-seeker-the-dark-is-rising/420290/12 "2007-09-24T22:50:06Z")
Well… I saw the trailer this summer (they played it before _Order of the Phoenix_) and I thought it looked really good. But I haven’t read the books. Somehow I missed them during my fantasy period (childhood until around 25 or 26), and when I tried to start them they just didn’t ‘take’. I don’t think I got more than a chapter or three into the first one. Still, I think I’ll be outraged with you all, anyway, out of booklover’s solidarity. I can just imagine how irritated I’d have been if they’d ‘updated’ and Americanized Narnia, like they were rumored to be planning to do. Not to mention my everlasting fury over the abortion that was the Little House TV series. So, fuck 'em, I’ll boycott this movie with you all. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/susan-cooper-finally-comes-to-the-screen-the-seeker-the-dark-is-rising/420290/13 "2007-09-24T23:35:01Z")
I’m rereading the books now. I think that Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth) could do it justice, but I don’t know who else could. It needs to be mythological, not modern fantasy; the magic needs to be downplayed; the mood needs to be oozing off the screen; and for the love of God it should not star an American. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/susan-cooper-finally-comes-to-the-screen-the-seeker-the-dark-is-rising/420290/14 "2007-09-24T23:38:30Z")
[QUOTE=Jess] Well… I saw the trailer this summer (they played it before _Order of the Phoenix_) and I thought it looked really good. But I haven’t read the books. Somehow I missed them during my fantasy period (childhood until around 25 or 26), and when I tried to start them they just didn’t ‘take’. I don’t think I got more than a chapter or three into the first one. Still, I think I’ll be outraged with you all, anyway, out of booklover’s solidarity. I can just imagine how irritated I’d have been if they’d ‘updated’ and Americanized Narnia, like they were rumored to be planning to do. Not to mention my everlasting fury over the abortion that was the Little House TV series. So, fuck 'em, I’ll boycott this movie with you all. [/QUOTE] The actual “first one”, _Over Sea, Under Stone_, doesn’t share much in tone with the rest of the books. Before you decide they just don’t “take”, try reading the second one, _The Dark is Rising_. Be prepared to hate, hate, hate, hate the ending of the last book, though. But the middle ones (and even the last one up until, say, three quarters through) are amazing. I believe _The Grey King_ is a Newberry winner (at least a Newberry Honor, I’m sure) and one of the most worthy winners ever. And I’z a liberrian. (Not a children’s librarian - not even a book librarian! but still, I got some credentials.) ---
**Author:** ![SkeptiJess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@SkeptiJess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkeptiJess)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/susan-cooper-finally-comes-to-the-screen-the-seeker-the-dark-is-rising/420290/15 "2007-09-24T23:43:55Z")
Yes, _Over Sea, Under Stone_, is the one I started. I’m usually uber-careful about starting a series at the beginning. I got all the books from the library, and took 'em all back after starting and abandoning that first one. Maybe I’ll give them another shot, starting with _The Dark is Rising_ this time. My husband will be travelling so much the next few months, I’m always looking for something to read. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/susan-cooper-finally-comes-to-the-screen-the-seeker-the-dark-is-rising/420290/16 "2007-09-24T23:45:45Z")
[QUOTE=Jess] But I haven’t read the books. Somehow I missed them during my fantasy period (childhood until around 25 or 26), and when I tried to start them they just didn’t ‘take’. I don’t think I got more than a chapter or three into the first one. [/QUOTE] I read them late, too, and thought that the character of Will was the character in all of fiction most in need of a good kick in the pants. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2007, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/susan-cooper-finally-comes-to-the-screen-the-seeker-the-dark-is-rising/420290/17 "2007-09-24T23:54:58Z")
[QUOTE=Left Hand of Dorkness] I’m rereading the books now. I think that Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth) could do it justice, but I don’t know who else could. It needs to be mythological, not modern fantasy; the magic needs to be downplayed; the mood needs to be oozing off the screen; and for the love of God it should not star an American. Daniel [/QUOTE] Ooooh, I agree. He’d be good. Too bad you’re not running Hollywood, I like the way you think.