There is a strange historical epilogue to this story. In 1979, a $50
million film version of Lord of Light was announced. The plan to make a movie collapsed due to various legal issues, but the CIA acquired some set designs and parts of the script, and used them to set up a cover for a team sent to Tehran—ostensibly scouting shooting locations, but really to help rescue six members of the US embassy staff who had narrowly missed being held prisoner during the Iranian hostage crisis because they had been out of the building at the time. These half-dozen people were in hiding in the Canadian embassy, and the Lord of Light pretext contributed to the CIA bring them safely out of the country.
There is a British sort-of mystery series with tinges of the supernatural, where the lead actors are two old men, one a snappy dresser with his feet on the ground, the other wears whatever is available, smells of tobacco, carries little bags of sweets in his pockets, and has many friends in the occult world. They work in what is called the Peculiar Crimes Unit, and throughout the series are many sly digs at the current state of British life and bureaucracy. The series is by Christopher Fowler and the two characters are Bryant and May.
I think a movie of this pair and the work they do would be perfect for Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart. McKellen could play the rumpled but deep and intuitive one, while Stewart could play the more conventional snappy dresser. Or they could make it even more interesting by playing against type and switching roles. Either way, I’d surely pay to see that, and if I had any connections in show biz I’d be pitching the idea all over the place. It would have to be a British production, though, because US producers wouldn’t come anywhere near getting the point or the appeal of these guys.
The Dresden Files needs a decent, fairly faithful adaptation. There are so many scenes I’d love to see on the big-screen. Magic, swords, guns, monsters, epic vampire army fights, shape-changing fights and a certain scene in Dead Beat I try not to spoil. Combine that with an interesting protagonist, likable side-characters and sometimes charismatic, sometimes monstrous villains and these are movies I want to see.
A Game of Thrones sort of series, with a decent budget and each season relating one or two books would also be welcome.
The first few books at least, I would love to see adapted. I think that cultural moment has passed, unfortunately. Also, it would probably wind up as a low-budget Canadian TV series, like “Blood Ties”.
It’s not through lack of trying. The rights are almost continually under option, and the books sell well in the UK and America. But they don’t appear in translation anywhere, which reduces their desirability as a television series for international sales, and I suspect there’s another problem; they contain a comedic element that makes them specifically English.
In that Christopher Fowler article you link to, it says, “TV cops are never funny.” Really? What about Barney Miller? That’s a comedy program that’s set in a police station. I think there are also some more recent examples of this.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine being a recent obvious example.
In the UK (and off the top of my head) there was also The Detectives and The Thin Blue Line, both in the '90s. Arguably Code 404 as well. Cops can be funny depending on the quality of the writing and one’s sense of humour.
Reno 911! comes to mind. Funny thing is, like Scrubs for the medical community, I’ve been told by cops then and now that the most realistic shows about their profession were Barney Miller, and for the newer guys, Reno 911!
Real life can be surprisingly bizarre a lot of the time.
Yes to this. In fact, in the genre of Urban Fantasy, Elemental Assassin series, The Iron Druid series, October Daye series, Alex Verus series, Black City Saint series, The Adept series, and I could keep going.
I’m also surprised that there has been no DND series. I don’t think the dark elf would play well now. There is still plenty of material to use. What I don’t know is if original creators would get too much and that’s why they don’t? I can’t see why a series couldn’t last as long as Hercules or Xena did. I keep hearing about a movie or series so maybe it’s in development heck.
Along the same lines, I’m surprised we haven’t had another attempt at Kindred or something like that.
I do know Wheel of Time is due next year on Amazon.
I’m picking more modern books because the further back a series is, imo, the more they have to change it for a modern audience, and then fans don’t like it.
(Yes to what happened with Anita Blake. Further yes to Blood Ties. I liked those books but the TV show felt dated even then.)
Misty Lackey has added Holmes and the Watsons into her Elemental Masters series (four books thus far, plus an earlier book with the main characters) – those would be interesting as a mini-series. Two girls, Holmes, Robin Goodfellow, a parrot and a raven, the spirit world…
And of course, I think of more. Libriomancer would be fun but probably not possible due to other IPs.
Connor Grey series. My wife wants the Mindspace series
I wouldn’t mind a Neuromancer / Shadowrun / Cyberpunk style show. There are books on these but except for Gibson’s, the ones I’m thinking of are from RPGs.
Why hasn’t anybody made Silverberg’s Majipoor Cycle into a HBO/GoT spectacular is beyond me. 25 short stories/novellettes/novelas/novels gives your a plethora of material, enough to last for decades.