I’ll debate that – it depends on the story. It’s true that they didn’t properly appreciate how much microprocessors and computers would invade our lives, but the physics and chemistry involved is still the same. As I’ve mentioned before, you could do Heinlein’s “Gentlemen, be Seated” with hardly a change. I’d like to see Puppet Masters done right for once. Despite being early 1950s, that wouldn’t need a big change, either. Or Double Star, or. heck, why go on?
You know, it’s a long time since we’ve seen a good near-future hard-SF within-the-Solar-System space travel movie. How about a film of one of Alan Steele’s novels? Say, Orbital Decay, Clarke County Space, or Lunar Descent. No ETs or BEMs, but plenty of quirky characters and good old human-to-human conflict. Labor-management conflict, in particular – and we haven’t seen any SF screen treatment of that since that one episode of Babylon 5.
In the same vein, Ben Bova’s Red Planet – a very realistic story about the first expedition to Mars – might be a good film.
There’s also Kim Stanley Robinson’s Mars trilogy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_trilogy), but, I dunno, there might be too much politics and philosophy in it, and Robinson is not that good at weaving a tight, what’s-gonna-happen-next narrative.
But, you couldn’t make full-length feature out of “Gentlemen, Be Seated.”
The plot of Double Star depends on the existence of intelligent life on Mars. And you couldn’t move it out of our Solar System without changing the story entirely.
Brain Glutton, you’re being picky. I brought up Gentlemen as an example, and as for
why not?
Easily fixed. Just have a race of aliens colonize Mars. Or have an embassy there or something. Minor problem, really. 
What did you think of the recent Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy?
Some comments about Ender’s Game:
I would love to see it made into a movie. But I firmly believe it would have to be entirely computer generated. First of all, you wouldn’t just need one phenomenal child actor, you’d need a whole cast of them. That’s major child labor/wages/tutoring issues right there, not to mention how many truly qualified child actors there are that can fit the bill. Second of all, the challenge of the effects in the school (going from gravity to zero-G by passing through a door, or the weapons that freeze the suits, for example) would be very expensive since these effects have to be a major part of the movie. Third of all, we’re talking some serious violence done to children in that story. If they made the kids older (like they did in Children of Dune) it would take away from the impact of the story. Not to mention the aging and weight gain of Graf, and the aging of Ender, and the asteroid that Ender went to to train with whatshisname the great general. And so on. So please pray for a computer-generated version that remains true to the books rather than a watered down, radically altered, hollywood-ized version.
I second Ringworld. How about The Caves of Steel? And for mini-series, I’d like to see The Mote in God’s Eye.
Well, they tried…
According to the IMDB, there was a 1964 tv movie of The Caves of Steel. Has anyone seen this?
I once read a Boy’s Life cartoon adaptation of Between Planets, with the melieu shifted from interplanetary to interstellar, and fictional extra-Solar planets substituted for Mars and Venus. It just didn’t satisfy. The story was too different.
“Recent”? There was a BBC TV miniseries adaptation of Hitchhiker’s Guide in 1981 – http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081874/. Since then, the story has never been adapted for the big or small screen. Never, do you hear me?! [sob] NEVER!
The Retief stories by Keith Laumer - Look here, Mr. Oh-Doomy-Gloom,” Ambassador Straphanger cut in. “I’ve been thinking it over, and I’ve decided that my staff and I will just nip back over to our ship for the night—”
“His Arrokanze will pe eggpecting you at the fête in the Bapal Kardens in one hour’s time,” the Hoogan bored on. “His Arrokanze tislikes intenzely to be kept waitink.”
Retief is in the Intergalactic Diplomatic Service, and always straightens out the ambassadors and potentates that leave’s them in the traps they set for him.
The Med Ship stories by Murray Leinster
The Interstellar Patrol stories by Christopher Anvil
The Hub Universe stories by James H. Schmitz
The Tank Lords stories by David Drake - Do you remember Hammer’s Slammer’?
Different Folks…
The recent War of the Worlds adaptation explicitly didn’t make them Martians. Robert Sheckley’s short story “The Humors”, set on Earth, Mars, and Venus got turned into a novel by him set on three worlds outside our solar system. It’s done all the time.
Oh, so many good ones listed already.
Niven’s “Flashcrowd” is a fascinating look at how society is changed by the introduction of transporter booths. Specifically, when a big news event gets people’s attention and suddenly a significant percentage of the US population teleports to the location to “see for themselves”. Basically rubbernecking gone real, real bad. I think this could be a good independent movie, since it is has almost no special effects needs. Plus the total lack of “sci fi action”.
The Berserker stories by Fred Saberhagen
Some of Abraham Merritt’s stories. Heaven knows screen writer’s have stolen enough of his material without giving him any credit. This guy literaly had a cult spring up on his work’s of fiction.
I would love to see the Fu-Manchu books by Sax Rhomer all make it to screen, but done in a style like it’s written. Do it like the movie release of “The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen” Absolutely nothing like the Peter Sellers material.
I beleive all the Dr. Nikoli books by Guy Boothby would make a series of great movies done in the same style I gave previously for the Fu-Mancu stories. Dr. Nikoli is a mystic and scientist with power over death.
What “recent War of the Worlds adaptation”?
(See post #72.)
They could make a couple seasons of hour-long TV episodes using all of Asimov’s positronic robot stories. Once the series catches on (assuming it does), you’d be able to spend the money on multi-part versions of The Caves of Steel, The Naked Sun, The Robots of Dawn and maybe even Robots and Empire.
Then you do a spin-off with non-Asimov (but strictly Asimov-inspired) R. Daneel Olivaw episodes (as he’s setting up the Galactic Empire from behind the scenes). Elijah Baley and R. Giskard Reventlov would show up all the time in flashbacks. 
Heck, I’d love to see a TV show run with the concept behind robot troubleshooters Powell and Donovan. He only did 4 stories with them (I think), but they were great fun, and modern writers should be able to do a lot with the idea.
But the way that Dick does it is so much better than any of those. That said, I’d like to see Valis made into a movie. The best thing about it is you could set it in modern times and not lose anything, if anything it may be even more poignent.
How about Ben Bova’s Mars? That would be a pretty cool movie.
-XT