# Who's psyched for the Stardust movie? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 8, 2007, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-psyched-for-the-stardust-movie/414910 "2007-08-08T20:02:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2007, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-psyched-for-the-stardust-movie/414910/1 "2007-08-08T20:02:53Z")
[Website with trailer](http://www.stardustmovie.com/site.htm). Neal Conan’s [interview with Neil Gaiman](http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=12594675) here. It sounds like he’s happy with it. I just read the book last week. Charming story, with just enough darkness to give it an edge. I’m psyched. You psyched? ETA It opens this Friday, August 10. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2007, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-psyched-for-the-stardust-movie/414910/2 "2007-08-08T20:28:10Z")
Ooh, it’s a Neil Gaiman movie? I was stoked enough just seeing the commercials without knowing that. _MirrorMask_ was crazy but wonderful. ---
**Author:** ![Kythereia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e8c25b/32.png) [@Kythereia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kythereia)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2007, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-psyched-for-the-stardust-movie/414910/3 "2007-08-08T20:29:27Z")
I work at a movie theatre where it’s showing, and I am _so there_. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![SparrowHawk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac8455/32.png) [@SparrowHawk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SparrowHawk)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2007, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-psyched-for-the-stardust-movie/414910/4 "2007-08-08T20:57:43Z")
I am. I just re-read the book on the strength of the trailer. They seem to make a bigger deal out of the “sky pirates” (who only take up about eight pages in the book) and for some reason (spoilered just in case, though it’s on the website) they start with four princes of Stormhold alive instead of just three. These are observations, not complaints, especially since it involves swashbuckling and Rupert Everett. I’m perfectly happy to love the movie for itself. I’m just interested to see what they do differently and why. It looks like it’s going to catch the feel of the story very well. ---
**Author:** ![maggenpye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@maggenpye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maggenpye)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2007, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-psyched-for-the-stardust-movie/414910/5 "2007-08-08T23:00:52Z")
I’m, looking forward to the movie AND getting spoilered here before it gets to the local theatres. Loved the book, loved MirrorMask by Gaiman. Checked IMDb and loved the casting. Psyched? Yep. Still waiting for Good Omens. ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2007, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-psyched-for-the-stardust-movie/414910/6 "2007-08-08T23:08:45Z")
[QUOTE=maggenpye] Still waiting for Good Omens. [/QUOTE] Were I rich, I’d finance the making of that film myself. I am, however, quite psyched for this film. Perhaps I ought to go back and re-read it myself. I have memory that the reading went fairly quickly, and since I have false-started on “Quicksilver” three times now, I clearly need a distraction anyway. 🙂 ETA: Yes, I know “Quicksilver” is by Neal Stephenson, not Neil Gaiman – I didn’t mean to imply any connection between the two books other than my desire to read both. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-psyched-for-the-stardust-movie/414910/7 "2007-08-09T01:57:06Z")
I was looking forward to it, but I saw a trailer the other day that had quotes from ‘reviewers’, and let me tell you, they must have gone right to the end of the movie critic food chain to find people to say nice things about it. The quotes were like, “ASTOUNDING!” - Mike Berry, Dubuque weekly. “EXTRAVAGENT!” - Jill Smith, Podunk Review Newsletter. Always a bad sign. Maybe it will be a good movie and they had a reason for using quotes from nobodies, but I’m not holding my breath. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-psyched-for-the-stardust-movie/414910/8 "2007-08-09T02:52:54Z")
Ahhh, but what does Rex Reed think? Is he still alive? Anyways, I went to IMDB looking for reviews. A link took me to a site that had just two mainstream “scores” – from Hollywood Reporter and Variety – an 85 and an 80, respectively. Assuming that’s out of 100, not too bad, especially for a light fantasy. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-psyched-for-the-stardust-movie/414910/9 "2007-08-09T03:14:24Z")
[QUOTE=SparrowHawk] These are observations, not complaints, especially since it involves swashbuckling and Rupert Everett. [/QUOTE] I’m always fond of watching a swash get buckled. Yarr! I am VERY excited. I cheered when I saw the poster. People looked at me strangely. ---
**Author:** ![Hung\_Mung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@Hung\_Mung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hung_Mung)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-psyched-for-the-stardust-movie/414910/10 "2007-08-09T03:48:23Z")
The cast is mindblowing. I really can’t wait at all. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-psyched-for-the-stardust-movie/414910/11 "2007-08-09T05:16:07Z")
I’m not a big fantasy fan, yet somehow I usually like Neil Gaiman’s work. (Loved American Gods, like Sandman more often than not, but could never get through Good Omens.) My girl and I will probably check it out this weekend. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-psyched-for-the-stardust-movie/414910/12 "2007-08-09T11:32:10Z")
I wasn’t, but then I saw a trailer and now I’m thinking I may see it. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-psyched-for-the-stardust-movie/414910/13 "2007-08-09T13:41:21Z")
Loved the book – like **Lou** , I enjoy (okay, love) Gaiman though I typically dislike fantasy literature – but am not impressed with the trailers. I’ll see it in the theatre if the discount cinema picks it up but I’ll wait for the DVD otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![cbawlmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cbawlmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbawlmer)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-psyched-for-the-stardust-movie/414910/14 "2007-08-09T15:28:37Z")
I saw it in late June at a special early screening. There was a thread going back then where I talked about it a little bit, but I didn’t care for the movie at all. I’d give it a C-, because it looked really nice and had some good performances in supporting roles. The sky pirates are the best part of the film by far. I was so desperate for something not-boring to happen by the time they showed up that their awesomeness may have been slightly exagerrated by comparison. Michelle Pfeiffer is good too, but the lead characters are so dull and irritating I wished she would just smite them and go have jolly adventures in a different movie. Imagine what _The Princess Bride_ would be like if Wesley and Buttercup totally sucked. Even surrounded by delightful secondary characters and lovely locations, it wouldn’t hold together very well. That’s how I felt about _Stardust_. Disappointing, because I like Gaiman and was looking forward to this movie. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-psyched-for-the-stardust-movie/414910/15 "2007-08-09T17:26:21Z")
This snuck up on me. Though I’ve read and enjoyed the book, I hadn’t heard about the movie until I read an [article](http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/05/movies/05mcgr.html) about it in the paper today. [QUOTE=Aesiron] like **Lou** , I enjoy (okay, love) Gaiman though I typically dislike fantasy literature [/QUOTE] A big part of that article talks about how the book (& movie) represent an earlier sort of fantasy, and how it should supposedly appeal to people who don’t like fantasy: > [@](#): > > [Gaiman’s] aim was to evoke the manner of early-20th-century writers like Lord Dunsany and Hope Mirrlees, who wrote fantasy stories of a sort that was sometimes called “faerie.” > … > “Stardust,” in other words, was intended to be pre-Tolkien, a fantasy novel that didn’t read like one, and the movie’s creative team — the director, Matthew Vaughn, and the screenwriter, Jane Goldman — have attempted much the same thing: a fantasy film that can be watched not just by the “Lord of the Rings” crowd, or even by Mr. Gaiman’s worshipful following, but also by people who wouldn’t be caught dead at a fantasy film. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-psyched-for-the-stardust-movie/414910/16 "2007-08-09T17:37:59Z")
As someone who’d never heard of the book or film 'til I saw the trailer, I’ve got to say it looks rather generic to us regular folk. I fear it may go the way of [Sunshine](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunshine_%282007_film%29) (as in, away. Quickly.) I could be wrong, of course. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-psyched-for-the-stardust-movie/414910/17 "2007-08-09T17:38:27Z")
I’ve never heard of it or Gaiman, but it’s scoring a [53 at Metacritic](http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/stardust), so it’s something I’m likely to never get around to until it starts showing 3 times/weekend on TNT. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-psyched-for-the-stardust-movie/414910/18 "2007-08-09T18:04:39Z")
Was this one that was a graphic novel before it was a novel? Just 'cause I like to get the history down. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-psyched-for-the-stardust-movie/414910/19 "2007-08-09T19:09:44Z")
[QUOTE=Yllaria] Was this one that was a graphic novel before it was a novel? [/QUOTE] [This Wiki article](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stardust_%28novel%29) says it was, in a couple of different forms. ---
**Author:** ![dotchan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@dotchan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dotchan)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2007, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-psyched-for-the-stardust-movie/414910/20 "2007-08-09T20:53:53Z")
Maybe I’m too cynical, but as someone who hasn’t read Gaiman’s book looking at the trailers all I could think was: “Wow, that girl is such a Mary Sue it’s not even funny.” Here’s hoping I get proved wrong, but I might wait until it comes out for rental to watch. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whos-psyched-for-the-stardust-movie/414910.md?page=2)