Books to Movies
Shawn Wilson
pursuant to that, I need someone to lend me $1 for a ticket...)
With this money I plan on becoming THE premier SF movie producer,
making movies based on books, of course.
So, what books should I make? Figure a budget of no more than $50
million per each (with later ones to be made from the proceede of the
early , of course) Spectical is not ruled out, it will just need to
be CGI spectacle. (no, I don't know how to spell that word..)
It can't have already have been made, and it needs to be suitable for
a movie. No matter how much you liked the book, Starship Troopers
takes place almost entirely in the heroes head and is a bad choice.
My thoughts-
The Curse of Chalion.
Protector.
Tales of Known Space (a few of the short stories at least)
The Menace From Earth
The Door Into Summer
Have Spacesuit, Will Travel
(hell, just tons of Heinlein's juveniles...)
Foundation
Caves of Steel
World of Ptavvs.
Forever War
The Forge of God (being done apparently as 2012...)
A Fire Upon the Deep
The Peace War
Marooned in Realtime
The Doomsday Book
...To Say Nothing of the Dog
The Mote in God's Eye
Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen
1632, et al (TV series more than movies)
Others?
art...@yahoo.com
The Space Merchants
Rogue Moon
Starfish
Lucifer's Hammer (alas, there have been too many dumb meteor
movies...)
Zod Wallop
Buddy Alive and Well on Ganymede
Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)
> I am planning on winning Powerball next time it tops $200 million (and
> pursuant to that, I need someone to lend me $1 for a ticket...)
>
> With this money I plan on becoming THE premier SF movie producer,
> making movies based on books, of course.
>
> So, what books should I make? Figure a budget of no more than $50
> million per each (with later ones to be made from the proceede of the
> early , of course) Spectical is not ruled out, it will just need to
> be CGI spectacle. (no, I don't know how to spell that word..)
>
Any of my books. I may of course be biased. Though I could film any of
the stories in "Digital Knight" for MUCH less than that -- say $10-$15
million tops. I'd only need more if I was hiring "Known Talent", I think.
--
Sea Wasp
/^\
;;;
Live Journal: http://seawasp.livejournal.com
Kurt Busiek
<sea...@sgeinc.invalid.com> said:
I can think of lots of books -- including some on Shawn's list -- that
I'd like to see made into movies.
It's the prospect of Shawn producing them that I'd hesitate at.
kdb
--
Visit http://www.busiek.com -- for all your Busiek needs!
Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)
> On 2009-11-17 16:00:52 -0800, "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)"
> <sea...@sgeinc.invalid.com> said:
>
>> Shawn Wilson wrote:
>>> I am planning on winning Powerball next time it tops $200 million (and
>>> pursuant to that, I need someone to lend me $1 for a ticket...)
>>>
>>> With this money I plan on becoming THE premier SF movie producer,
>>> making movies based on books, of course.
>>>
>>> So, what books should I make? Figure a budget of no more than $50
>>> million per each (with later ones to be made from the proceede of the
>>> early , of course) Spectical is not ruled out, it will just need to
>>> be CGI spectacle. (no, I don't know how to spell that word..)
>>
>> Any of my books. I may of course be biased. Though I could film
>> any of the stories in "Digital Knight" for MUCH less than that -- say
>> $10-$15 million tops. I'd only need more if I was hiring "Known
>> Talent", I think.
>
> I can think of lots of books -- including some on Shawn's list -- that
> I'd like to see made into movies.
There's some by this guy, I can't remember his name, but the words
Astro City come to mind...
>
> It's the prospect of Shawn producing them that I'd hesitate at.
Oh, that's all a matter of the contract. If he doesn't pay me much for
the rights, I get creative control. If he wants to do with it as he
will, a few million per book and I don't care if he turns it into slash
pr0n.
Kurt Busiek
<sea...@sgeinc.invalid.com> said:
> Kurt Busiek wrote:
>> On 2009-11-17 16:00:52 -0800, "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)"
>> <sea...@sgeinc.invalid.com> said:
>>
>>> Shawn Wilson wrote:
>>>> I am planning on winning Powerball next time it tops $200 million (and
>>>> pursuant to that, I need someone to lend me $1 for a ticket...)
>>>>
>>>> With this money I plan on becoming THE premier SF movie producer,
>>>> making movies based on books, of course.
>>>>
>>>> So, what books should I make? Figure a budget of no more than $50
>>>> million per each (with later ones to be made from the proceede of the
>>>> early , of course) Spectical is not ruled out, it will just need to
>>>> be CGI spectacle. (no, I don't know how to spell that word..)
>>>
>>> Any of my books. I may of course be biased. Though I could film any
>>> of the stories in "Digital Knight" for MUCH less than that -- say
>>> $10-$15 million tops. I'd only need more if I was hiring "Known
>>> Talent", I think.
>>
>> I can think of lots of books -- including some on Shawn's list -- that
>> I'd like to see made into movies.
>
> There's some by this guy, I can't remember his name, but the words
> Astro City come to mind...
There has been muchmuch discussion of an Astro City movie, some of it
at very high levels. Not much more than that, yet, but discussions
keep happening.
Given a choice, of my own work I think I'd make an Arrowsmith movie.
First, at least.
Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)
20th? Or were they Epic? :)
> Not much more than that, yet, but discussions keep
> happening.
>
> Given a choice, of my own work I think I'd make an Arrowsmith movie.
> First, at least.
Ahh, if all of us were given such choices! Most of us won't even have
the option of having someone take the option, so to speak. :)
Kurt Busiek
<sea...@sgeinc.invalid.com> said:
It was R.F. Simpson, of Monumental Pictures! Makers of THE DANCING
CAVALIER and THE ROUAL RASCAL!
>> Not much more than that, yet, but discussions keep happening.
>>
>> Given a choice, of my own work I think I'd make an Arrowsmith movie.
>> First, at least.
>
> Ahh, if all of us were given such choices! Most of us won't even have
> the option of having someone take the option, so to speak. :)
I've had the chance to turn some down, at least, but I don't get the
choose which get the offers. And the one project that I've sold the
film rights to never got made, but the money was nice. Of course,
that's the one where someone else wanted to pay more more for the
rights, a few years later, and all I could do was point them to the
current rightsholders...
Mike Ash
<81e78e88-16a8-4115...@g10g2000pri.googlegroups.com>,
Shawn Wilson <ikono...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I am planning on winning Powerball next time it tops $200 million (and
> pursuant to that, I need someone to lend me $1 for a ticket...)
>
> With this money I plan on becoming THE premier SF movie producer,
> making movies based on books, of course.
>
> So, what books should I make? Figure a budget of no more than $50
> million per each (with later ones to be made from the proceede of the
> early , of course) Spectical is not ruled out, it will just need to
> be CGI spectacle. (no, I don't know how to spell that word..)
>
> It can't have already have been made, and it needs to be suitable for
> a movie. No matter how much you liked the book, Starship Troopers
> takes place almost entirely in the heroes head and is a bad choice.
>
>
> My thoughts-
Trying very, VERY hard not to notice who posted this... (and how did you
get past my killfile anyway?)
I don't think any of your examples would work too well. In general,
they're too long and involved. A movie works out to, what, 100 written
pages, maybe? So you need a book that's either that short, or which can
be trimmed to that length, while still remaining good, in addition to
the other qualities. I don't think these work, at least not the ones
that I actually know.
My nomination: _All My Sins Remembered_, Haldeman. It has action, it has
adventure, it has cool spy technology, sex, intrigue, evil villains,
inscrutable aliens, you name it. It's also completely episodic, so if it
turns out to be too long for one movie, you can just make four.
--
Mike Ash
Radio Free Earth
Broadcasting from our climate-controlled studios deep inside the Moon
Mike Schilling
>
> Given a choice, of my own work I think I'd make an Arrowsmith movie.
> First, at least.
It's been done. Ronald Coleman and Helen Hayes.
Kurt Busiek
<mscotts...@hotmail.com> said:
I can just see them as Fletcher and Grace. They'd be --
They'd --
No. Can't see it after all.
Richard Bennett as Rocky the Lotharingian Hill Troll, now...
kdb
--
Visit http://www.busiek.com — for all your Busiek needs!
Jack Bohn
Shockrockets got some nibbles, didn't it?
Astro City raises the interesting question of how many character
rights you'd license for one movie.
Do you think "superhero universe"-type stories would work better
presented more often that a few years apart in a series of
movies? At any rate, it might prevent shoving too many
supervillains into one movie.
--
-Jack
David DeLaney
> Shawn Wilson <ikono...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> I am planning on winning Powerball next time it tops $200 million (and
>> pursuant to that, I need someone to lend me $1 for a ticket...)
>>
>> With this money I plan on becoming THE premier SF movie producer,
>> making movies based on books, of course.
>
>get past my killfile anyway?)
I was unable to get past the willing suspension of economic disbelief that
pinpointed the author just from the above. That being said, good thread topic.
Let's see the Miles Vorkosigan series/franchise! And Last and First Men.
Dave
--
\/David DeLaney posting from d...@vic.com "It's not the pot that grows the flower
It's not the clock that slows the hour The definition's plain for anyone to see
Love is all it takes to make a family" - R&P. VISUALIZE HAPPYNET VRbeable<BLINK>
http://www.vic.com/~dbd/ - net.legends FAQ & Magic / I WUV you in all CAPS! --K.
Kurt Busiek
> Kurt Busiek wrote:
>
>> On 2009-11-17 18:33:30 -0800, "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)"
>> <sea...@sgeinc.invalid.com> said:
>>
>>> Kurt Busiek wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Given a choice, of my own work I think I'd make an Arrowsmith movie.
>>>> First, at least.
>>>
>>> Ahh, if all of us were given such choices! Most of us won't even have
>>> the option of having someone take the option, so to speak. :)
>>
>> I've had the chance to turn some down, at least, but I don't get the
>> choose which get the offers. And the one project that I've sold the
>> film rights to never got made, but the money was nice. Of course,
>> that's the one where someone else wanted to pay more more for the
>> rights, a few years later, and all I could do was point them to the
>> current rightsholders...
>
> Shockrockets got some nibbles, didn't it?
That's the one that sold.
> Astro City raises the interesting question of how many character
> rights you'd license for one movie.
>
> Do you think "superhero universe"-type stories would work better
> presented more often that a few years apart in a series of
> movies? At any rate, it might prevent shoving too many
> supervillains into one movie.
Beats me. I've got my ideas on how to make it all work, of course, but
whether those ideas will ever turn into anything remains to be seen.
Walter Bushell
<81e78e88-16a8-4115...@g10g2000pri.googlegroups.com>,
Shawn Wilson <ikono...@gmail.com> wrote:
No Miles stories?????
Falling Free?
--
A computer without Microsoft is like a chocolate cake without mustard.
rochrist
> I am planning on winning Powerball next time it tops $200 million (and
> pursuant to that, I need someone to lend me $1 for a ticket...)
>
> With this money I plan on becoming THE premier SF movie producer,
> making movies based on books, of course.
>
> So, what books should I make? Figure a budget of no more than $50
> million per each (with later ones to be made from the proceede of the
> early , of course) Spectical is not ruled out, it will just need to
> be CGI spectacle. (no, I don't know how to spell that word..)
>
> It can't have already have been made, and it needs to be suitable for
> a movie. No matter how much you liked the book, Starship Troopers
> takes place almost entirely in the heroes head and is a bad choice.
>
>
> My thoughts-
>
> The Curse of Chalion.
Could be good, but if you're considering this, why are you leaving out
Miles?
>
> Protector.
>
> Tales of Known Space (a few of the short stories at least)
Why not go all the way and do Ringworld?
>
> The Menace From Earth
>
> The Door Into Summer
>
> Have Spacesuit, Will Travel
>
> (hell, just tons of Heinlein's juveniles...)
I'd say yes but I've been permanently scarred by Starship Troopers.
>
> Foundation
Eh. Don't think it would translate to cinema that well.
Kurt Busiek
> In article
> <81e78e88-16a8-4115...@g10g2000pri.googlegroups.com>,
> Shawn Wilson <ikono...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> I am planning on winning Powerball next time it tops $200 million (and
>> pursuant to that, I need someone to lend me $1 for a ticket...)
>>
>> With this money I plan on becoming THE premier SF movie producer,
>> making movies based on books, of course.
>>
>> So, what books should I make? Figure a budget of no more than $50
>> million per each (with later ones to be made from the proceede of the
>> early , of course) Spectical is not ruled out, it will just need to
>> be CGI spectacle. (no, I don't know how to spell that word..)
>>
>> It can't have already have been made, and it needs to be suitable for
>> a movie. No matter how much you liked the book, Starship Troopers
>> takes place almost entirely in the heroes head and is a bad choice.
>>
>>
>> My thoughts-
>
> Trying very, VERY hard not to notice who posted this... (and how did you
> get past my killfile anyway?)
>
> I don't think any of your examples would work too well. In general,
> they're too long and involved. A movie works out to, what, 100 written
> pages, maybe? So you need a book that's either that short, or which can
> be trimmed to that length, while still remaining good, in addition to
> the other qualities. I don't think these work, at least not the ones
> that I actually know.
At least one of his suggestions -- "The Menace from Earth" -- is a
short story, and would actually probably have to be beefed up a little
to make a satisfying movie. But I'd love to see it.
I think LORD KALVAN OF OTHERWHEN could probably be trimmed to
movie-length well, too. I'd rather see it as a mini-series in all its
glory (and an ongoing series after that), but if one was trying to make
it a movie, I think it could be done well.
Shawn Wilson
> > I am planning on winning Powerball next time it tops $200 million (and
> > pursuant to that, I need someone to lend me $1 for a ticket...)
> > The Curse of Chalion.
>
> Could be good, but if you're considering this, why are you leaving out
> Miles?
Because none of the Miles books leap out at me as something I want to
see in a movie. I can't even link story to book for most.
> > Protector.
>
> > Tales of Known Space (a few of the short stories at least)
>
> Why not go all the way and do Ringworld?
Because it lacks ooomph.
> > The Menace From Earth
>
> > The Door Into Summer
>
> > Have Spacesuit, Will Travel
>
> > (hell, just tons of Heinlein's juveniles...)
>
> I'd say yes but I've been permanently scarred by Starship Troopers.
You have to keep in mind the diference between good book and good
movie. Movies are entirely visual. Books like ST that take place
mostly in the hero's head are poor choices.
> > Foundation
>
> Eh. Don't think it would translate to cinema that well.
It can be done. Talky certainly.
Shawn Wilson
> > There's some by this guy, I can't remember his name, but the words
> > Astro City come to mind...
>
> There has been muchmuch discussion of an Astro City movie, some of it
> at very high levels. Not much more than that, yet, but discussions
> keep happening.
Don't take this the wrong way, but an Astro City movie? Why? Many of
then stories are terrific, but they are either too short for a movie
(I absolutely loved the Leo the Lion and Junkman stories, but
stretched into a two hour movie?), or are long enough but not so
interesting that I would want to see them in movie form (I liked
Tarnished Angel, but a movie?)
Most of it is really just pastiches of Marvel/DC tropes, and the movie
going public just wouldn't care.
Shawn Wilson
> > My thoughts-
>
> Trying very, VERY hard not to notice who posted this... (and how did you
> get past my killfile anyway?)
Feel fee to take your attitude, shove it up your ass and rotate it.
> I don't think any of your examples would work too well. In general,
> they're too long and involved. A movie works out to, what, 100 written
> pages, maybe?
Specifically about 100 pages of *dialogue*. Curse of Chalion is long,
but it isn't all dialogue.
> My nomination: _All My Sins Remembered_, Haldeman. It has action, it has
> adventure, it has cool spy technology, sex, intrigue, evil villains,
> inscrutable aliens, you name it. It's also completely episodic, so if it
> turns out to be too long for one movie, you can just make four.
Shudder. No. (not that I have read AMSR, so it isn't a specific
criticism) Series movies are a serious problem. If people don't like
the first, they won't see any of the others either. And AMSR isn't
going to put asses in seats on its own merits. Nor will it have the
merit of starring Will Smith, we won't have the budget for him.
>
> --
> Mike Ash
> Radio Free Earth
> Broadcasting from our climate-controlled studios deep inside the Moon- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
Shawn Wilson
> At least one of his suggestions -- "The Menace from Earth" -- is a
> short story, and would actually probably have to be beefed up a little
> to make a satisfying movie. But I'd love to see it.
I can see the opening credits, ship leaving earth, full of 50s SF
invasion movie visuals and musical cues...
Kurt Busiek
> On Nov 17, 5:52 pm, Kurt Busiek <k...@busiek.com> wrote:
>
>>> There's some by this guy, I can't remember his name, but the words
>>> Astro City come to mind...
>>
>> There has been muchmuch discussion of an Astro City movie, some of it
>> at very high levels. Not much more than that, yet, but discussions
>> keep happening.
>
> Don't take this the wrong way, but an Astro City movie? Why? Many of
> then stories are terrific, but they are either too short for a movie
> (I absolutely loved the Leo the Lion and Junkman stories, but
> stretched into a two hour movie?), or are long enough but not so
> interesting that I would want to see them in movie form (I liked
> Tarnished Angel, but a movie?)
If it happens, it won't be a straight adaptation of one of the stories
in the comics.
And no offense, but the fact that you might not want to see something
in movie form probably won't stop anyone. It doesn't stop them from
making movies I'm not interested in, either -- but if they think
there's an audience out there that'll go even if it doesn't include
you, that may be enough.
As to why...
> Most of it is really just pastiches of Marvel/DC tropes, and the movie
> going public just wouldn't care.
...apparently, not everyone agrees. One could say that THE INCREDIBLES
gets closer to Marvel tropes than anything in ASTRO CITY, but people
flocked to that because it was a brilliantly-done movie with a story
that connected with people.
If ASTRO CITY happens as a movie, it'll be because someone who has the
ability to make one thinks they can make a good movie that'll connect
with people. So far, the stories that have come up for discussion have
sounded to me like something that could work for a very large audience
and feel very much like ASTRO CITY. But then, I'm biased, not just as
the creator of the series, but as the primary guy who's been coming up
with the movie-shaped stories we've been discussing.
So far, I've turned down what offers have come in (aside from agreeing
to work with a producer who knows the lay of the land better than I
do), because I'm not interested in making a deal just to make a deal; I
have to have some belief that they'll do it right.* If it never
happens, I'm fine with that; I turned down all queries for about the
first eight years of the book, and think its "proper" form is comics.
But who knows? It still keepscoming up.
kdb
*or, I suppose, someone could offer so much money that I wouldn't care,
but it would have to be an awful lot of money.
Mike Ash
<4852d6fb-b962-4f2d...@a37g2000prf.googlegroups.com>,
Shawn Wilson <ikono...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Nov 17, 9:47�pm, Mike Ash <m...@mikeash.com> wrote:
>
>
> > > My thoughts-
> >
> > Trying very, VERY hard not to notice who posted this... (and how did you
> > get past my killfile anyway?)
>
> Feel fee to take your attitude, shove it up your ass and rotate it.
So much for the idea of giving you a second chance!
> > My nomination: _All My Sins Remembered_, Haldeman. It has action, it has
> > adventure, it has cool spy technology, sex, intrigue, evil villains,
> > inscrutable aliens, you name it. It's also completely episodic, so if it
> > turns out to be too long for one movie, you can just make four.
>
> Shudder. No. (not that I have read AMSR, so it isn't a specific
> criticism) Series movies are a serious problem. If people don't like
> the first, they won't see any of the others either. And AMSR isn't
> going to put asses in seats on its own merits. Nor will it have the
> merit of starring Will Smith, we won't have the budget for him.
I love how you haven't actually read the book, but somehow know that it
won't attract people on its own merits. It's great to see that you are
no more knowledgeable or reasonable about this than about the other
subjects which I've seen you spout off about.
Shawn Wilson
> > Shudder. No. (not that I have read AMSR, so it isn't a specific
> > criticism) Series movies are a serious problem. If people don't like
> > the first, they won't see any of the others either. And AMSR isn't
> > going to put asses in seats on its own merits. Nor will it have the
> > merit of starring Will Smith, we won't have the budget for him.
>
> I love how you haven't actually read the book, but somehow know that it
> won't attract people on its own merits. It's great to see that you are
> no more knowledgeable or reasonable about this than about the other
> subjects which I've seen you spout off about.
It hasn't even attracted ME, and I am an SF fan.
Bill Snyder
>It hasn't even attracted ME, and I am a retard.
Fixed your post for you.
--
Bill Snyder [This space unintentionally left blank]
Shawn Wilson
> If it happens, it won't be a straight adaptation of one of the stories
> in the comics.
So what do you have? An ordinary superhero movie? Why? There are
thousands of stories out there. What does Astro City have to offer
the movie going public that regular Marvel and DC stories don't? And
Marvel and DC have a guaranteed audience in their fan base.
> And no offense, but the fact that you might not want to see something
> in movie form probably won't stop anyone.
If Astro City qua Astro City won't start ME, who will it start?
Batman and Superman movies have failed at the box office. Samaritan
or the Confessor won't put asses in seats.
> > Most of it is really just pastiches of Marvel/DC tropes, and the movie
> > going public just wouldn't care.
>
> ...apparently, not everyone agrees. One could say that THE INCREDIBLES
> gets closer to Marvel tropes than anything in ASTRO CITY, but people
> flocked to that because it was a brilliantly-done movie with a story
> that connected with people.
So you're going to hook up with Pixar and make an Incredibles riff?
Incredibles worked as a story. Astro City isn't a story, it's a
setting. You have some really excellently damn fine stories in that
setting (oh, more... the one with the Carney, the one with the little
girl who wants to learn about hopscotch (I love that one)), but none
that scream "movie". They are little stories in a big world, and they
work for that. But I don't think it would work as a movie.
> If ASTRO CITY happens as a movie, it'll be because someone who has the
> ability to make one thinks they can make a good movie that'll connect
> with people.
If you aren't writing the story, it's just a setting. The setting
isn't that interesting. Tell me the story.
> So far, I've turned down what offers have come in (aside from agreeing
> to work with a producer who knows the lay of the land better than I
> do), because I'm not interested in making a deal just to make a deal; I
> have to have some belief that they'll do it right.* If it never
> happens, I'm fine with that; I turned down all queries for about the
> first eight years of the book, and think its "proper" form is comics.
> But who knows? It still keepscoming up.
Don't denigrate money, but don't let them turn your ideas into crap
either.
Shawn Wilson
> > > Trying very, VERY hard not to notice who posted this... (and how did you
> > > get past my killfile anyway?)
>
> > Feel fee to take your attitude, shove it up your ass and rotate it.
>
> So much for the idea of giving you a second chance!
Read, don't read, reply or not. It doesn't matter to me. If I don't
see a response from you I won't miss it. You throw gratuitous digs
and I'll throw them back. Don't like it, don't start it.
> > Shudder. No. (not that I have read AMSR, so it isn't a specific
> > criticism) Series movies are a serious problem. If people don't like
> > the first, they won't see any of the others either. And AMSR isn't
> > going to put asses in seats on its own merits. Nor will it have the
> > merit of starring Will Smith, we won't have the budget for him.
>
> I love how you haven't actually read the book, but somehow know that it
> won't attract people on its own merits.
It hasn't attracted me and I'm an SF fan...
Taki Kogoma
allegedly proclaimed to rec.arts.sf.written:
> Trying very, VERY hard not to notice who posted this... (and how did you
> get past my killfile anyway?)
He's posting from giggle now.
Gym "Adjust your killfiles as you feel appropriate." Quirk
--
Capt. Gym Z. Quirk (Known to some as Taki Kogoma) quirk @ swcp.com
Just an article detector on the Information Supercollider.
Kurt Busiek
> On Nov 18, 1:04 pm, Kurt Busiek <k...@busiek.com> wrote:
>
>> If it happens, it won't be a straight adaptation of one of the stories
>> in the comics.
>
> So what do you have? An ordinary superhero movie?
No.
There have been producers who've wanted to take one or two of the Astro
City heroes and make a straightforward adventure about them, but that's
not what Astro City's about. So those guys I say no to right off.
Astro City's about what it's like to live in a superhero world, in the
midst of events like that. The adventures are context for the people
stories, not the main focus.
>> And no offense, but the fact that you might not want to see something
>> in movie form probably won't stop anyone.
>
> If Astro City qua Astro City won't start ME, who will it start?
I didn't go see the second or third X-Men movies, The Dark Knight or
300, and haven't bought any of the DC DTV animated movies, but I don't
reason from "If that won't start ME, who will it start?" Clearly, some
of them started a lot of people.
> So you're going to hook up with Pixar and make an Incredibles riff?
No.
> Incredibles worked as a story. Astro City isn't a story, it's a
> setting. You have some really excellently damn fine stories in that
> setting (oh, more... the one with the Carney, the one with the little
> girl who wants to learn about hopscotch (I love that one)), but none
> that scream "movie". They are little stories in a big world, and they
> work for that. But I don't think it would work as a movie.
That's cool. Even if you had $200 million, I wouldn't sell it to you,
so the fact that you don't think it would work as a movie doesn't
concern me. Glad you've liked a lot of the stories in the comic,
though.
> If you aren't writing the story, it's just a setting. The setting
> isn't that interesting. Tell me the story.
If it becomes a movie, you'll get to see it or not as you choose, but I
see no reason to "tell you the story" here on Usenet because you don't
think it can work. I don't need to convince you in order to make a
movie, after all. I need to convince other people -- and they, in
turn, need to convince me.
The stories we've talked about have been stories that would satisfy me
as ASTRO CITY stories, but I'm not going to announce them ahead of
time. But they're the kind of story I run in the series, in part
because they came largely from me, and I built stories like I do for
the series.
kdb
Mike Ash
Taki Kogoma <qu...@swcp.com> wrote:
> On 2009-11-18, Mike Ash <mi...@mikeash.com>
> allegedly proclaimed to rec.arts.sf.written:
> > Trying very, VERY hard not to notice who posted this... (and how did you
> > get past my killfile anyway?)
>
> He's posting from giggle now.
Oh right. Used to be Yahoo?
This time I put the username (ikonosomething) into the killfile alone,
so it should catch it if he does this again.
erilar
d...@gatekeeper.vic.com (David DeLaney) wrote:
> Let's see the Miles Vorkosigan series/franchise!
Ever since someone suggested, in some thread or other, the younger,
healthier Michael J. Fox as Miles, I have been totally unable to
visualize anyone else for the role.
--
Erilar, biblioholic medievalist
Jack Bohn
>On Nov 18, 1:04�pm, Kurt Busiek <k...@busiek.com> wrote:
>
>> If it happens, it won't be a straight adaptation of one of the stories
>> in the comics.
>
>If Astro City qua Astro City won't start ME, who will it start?
The group that didn't know From Hell was based on a graphic
novel.
With Mystery Men, The Incredibles, Ben 10, and Teen Titans, we
see success depends not on anticipation from what a source
material has delivered before, but on what is brought in the show
itself.
(I would actually imagine the words "Astro" and "City" might not
appear in the title of an actual movie. But that -and whether
the title of the movie gets splashed across the covers of that
year's Astro City comics- is Kurt's concern, and probably among
the least of them.)
That brings up a thought: Was _Psycho_ a best-seller for Robert
Bloch before the Hitchcock movie? Although Arthur C. Clarke was
a household name (for space coverage) wouldn't there have been
more call among sf fans for adapting _Childhood's End_ than
expanding "The Sentinel"? I may have to go through my books in
storage rather than rely on the tip of my tongue for suggestions.
--
-Jack
Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)
> Among the things Shawn Wilson wrote:
>
>> On Nov 18, 1:04 pm, Kurt Busiek <k...@busiek.com> wrote:
>>
>>> If it happens, it won't be a straight adaptation of one of the stories
>>> in the comics.
>> If Astro City qua Astro City won't start ME, who will it start?
>
> The group that didn't know From Hell was based on a graphic
> novel.
>
> With Mystery Men, The Incredibles, Ben 10, and Teen Titans, we
> see success depends not on anticipation from what a source
> material has delivered before, but on what is brought in the show
> itself.
And with Teen Titans, we see some audiences turned away from the show
because they knew the original. I wish they'd done the "New Teen Titans"
that I read rather than mangling it.
--
Sea Wasp
/^\
;;;
Live Journal: http://seawasp.livejournal.com
Jon Schild
> I am planning on winning Powerball next time it tops $200 million (and
> pursuant to that, I need someone to lend me $1 for a ticket...)
>
> making movies based on books, of course.
>
> So, what books should I make? Figure a budget of no more than $50
> million per each (with later ones to be made from the proceede of the
> early , of course) Spectical is not ruled out, it will just need to
> be CGI spectacle. (no, I don't know how to spell that word..)
>
> It can't have already have been made, and it needs to be suitable for
> a movie. No matter how much you liked the book, Starship Troopers
> takes place almost entirely in the heroes head and is a bad choice.
>
>
> My thoughts-
>
>
> Protector.
>
> Tales of Known Space (a few of the short stories at least)
>
>
> The Door Into Summer
>
> Have Spacesuit, Will Travel
>
> (hell, just tons of Heinlein's juveniles...)
>
>
> Caves of Steel
>
> World of Ptavvs.
>
> Forever War
>
> The Forge of God (being done apparently as 2012...)
>
> A Fire Upon the Deep
>
> The Peace War
>
> Marooned in Realtime
>
> The Doomsday Book
>
> ...To Say Nothing of the Dog
>
> The Mote in God's Eye
>
> Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen
>
> 1632, et al (TV series more than movies)
>
>
>
> Others?
Some of these are way too long for a movie. You need to think of
stories, not books. So one I would really like to see, John Varley's
Titan/Wizard/Demon series, is way too long and would never work. As for
what would work, most of his Eight Worlds stories would be good.
Kurt Busiek
> That brings up a thought: Was _Psycho_ a best-seller for Robert
> Bloch before the Hitchcock movie? Although Arthur C. Clarke was
> a household name (for space coverage) wouldn't there have been
> more call among sf fans for adapting _Childhood's End_ than
> expanding "The Sentinel"? I may have to go through my books in
> storage rather than rely on the tip of my tongue for suggestions.
Your underlying point -- that movies succeed or fail based on other
factors than whether the source material was famous -- is pretty well
borne out. Comics fans seem to bring up the "But who's going to go to
that except people who've heard of it and already like it?" idea, but
were that the case, DAREDEVIL would have done better than ROAD TO
PERDITION or THE CROW.
Except for those movies based on TV shows, just about any movie will
attract an audience that warfs the audience for the source material, so
movie producers don't worry about the source's audience (except to
consider, to varying degrees, whether that source audience will inveigh
against the film if it's too different and if that will be a problem),
they focus on whether the movie will be a good one that works as a
movie and attract viewers based on that.
kdb
Jack Bohn
>Jack Bohn wrote:
>> With Mystery Men, The Incredibles, Ben 10, and Teen Titans, we
>> see success depends not on anticipation from what a source
>> material has delivered before, but on what is brought in the show
>> itself.
>
> And with Teen Titans, we see some audiences turned away from the show
>because they knew the original. I wish they'd done the "New Teen Titans"
>that I read rather than mangling it.
Has DC ever NOT had a mangled adaptation of its comics? :)
I'm guessing they weren't aiming for an audience as extreme as my
nieces, but I have to tell you a story from years back when they
were obsessed with it and their Mom was buying them the season
sets.
The older one was explaining the characters to me, and when she
got to Robin, I said, "Oh, yeah, I know Robin." and she said,
"Yeah, Dad said something about batman, and he showed me one [I'm
guessing an episode of the animated series], but it's not as
good."
(On a recent visit the younger one had gotten a weird cardboard
origami Superman bobblehead with some fast food meal. The weird
thing is that it was built in "perspective;" not only was the
head large, but the hand held forward in his flight pose was
larger than the hand tucked back, and the body, legs, and feet,
and the cape were of dwindling size. But the important thing was
that it was a bobblehead, because my niece picked him up and told
me to "Ask him a yes or no question." Well, I started peppering
him with "Are you faster than a speeding bullet? Are you
stronger than a locomotive?" when she interrupted me with, "Ask
him something I'd know." Sometimes I feel like I'm traveling
from an alternate dimension.)
--
-Jack
Ken from Chicago
"Kurt Busiek" <ku...@busiek.com> wrote in message
news:hdvgfu$kma$1...@solani.org...
> On 2009-11-17 16:47:38 -0800, "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)"
>>> On 2009-11-17 16:00:52 -0800, "Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)"
>>>
>>>> Shawn Wilson wrote:
>>>>> I am planning on winning Powerball next time it tops $200 million (and
>>>>> pursuant to that, I need someone to lend me $1 for a ticket...)
>>>>>
>>>>> With this money I plan on becoming THE premier SF movie producer,
>>>>> making movies based on books, of course.
>>>>>
>>>>> So, what books should I make? Figure a budget of no more than $50
>>>>> million per each (with later ones to be made from the proceede of the
>>>>> early , of course) Spectical is not ruled out, it will just need to
>>>>> be CGI spectacle. (no, I don't know how to spell that word..)
>>>>
>>>> of the stories in "Digital Knight" for MUCH less than that -- say
>>>> $10-$15 million tops. I'd only need more if I was hiring "Known
>>>> Talent", I think.
>>>
>>> I can think of lots of books -- including some on Shawn's list -- that
>>> I'd like to see made into movies.
>>
>> There's some by this guy, I can't remember his name, but the words Astro
>> City come to mind...
>
> There has been muchmuch discussion of an Astro City movie, some of it at
> very high levels. Not much more than that, yet, but discussions keep
> happening.
>
> First, at least.
>
Traditional fantasy is an easier sell to the mainstream.
But why would you prefer ARROWSMITH be adapted--first?
-- Ken from Chicago
Kurt Busiek
<kwicker1...@comcast.net> said:
> Traditional fantasy is an easier sell to the mainstream.
>
> But why would you prefer ARROWSMITH be adapted--first?
It feels more naturally movie-shaped, to me, and the visuals are ones
I'd just love to see on the big screen.
Ken from Chicago
Ironically the Confessor storyline would fit in well now--but it would mean
spoiling the main surprise. Then again, a superhero priest and altar boy ...
that would make for an interesting trailer.
-- Ken from Chicago
Chuk Goodin
<sea...@sgeinc.invalid.com> wrote:
>>>> If it happens, it won't be a straight adaptation of one of the stories
>>>> in the comics.
>>> If Astro City qua Astro City won't start ME, who will it start?
>>
>> The group that didn't know From Hell was based on a graphic
>> novel.
>>
>> With Mystery Men, The Incredibles, Ben 10, and Teen Titans, we
>> see success depends not on anticipation from what a source
>> material has delivered before, but on what is brought in the show
>> itself.
>
> And with Teen Titans, we see some audiences turned away from the show
>because they knew the original. I wish they'd done the "New Teen Titans"
>that I read rather than mangling it.
I grew to like the series, but the actual comics converted into cartoons
would have been way better.
--
chuk
Sea Wasp (Ryk E. Spoor)
I was especially annoyed by the changes to Koriand'r, and not just the
shift in, er, construction. The original was a warrior princess, and her
cluelessness faded quickly; she wasn't some kind of space 90210 with
zappies. And poor Beast Boy -- he was always the second-ran of the
Titans but this version just made him a JOKE.
Chris
> Shawn Wilson wrote:
> > I am planning on winning Powerball next time it tops $200 million (and
> > pursuant to that, I need someone to lend me $1 for a ticket...)
>
> > With this money I plan on becoming THE premier SF movie producer,
> > making movies based on books, of course.
>
> > So, what books should I make? Figure a budget of no more than $50
> > million per each (with later ones to be made from the proceede of the
> > early , of course) Spectical is not ruled out, it will just need to
> > be CGI spectacle. (no, I don't know how to spell that word..)
>
> > a movie. No matter how much you liked the book, Starship Troopers
> > takes place almost entirely in the heroes head and is a bad choice.
>
> > My thoughts-
>
> > The Curse of Chalion.
>
> Miles?
Try _Barrayar_. It could easily be shortened to film length.
> > Protector.
>
> > Tales of Known Space (a few of the short stories at least)
>
> Why not go all the way and do Ringworld?
Too long, too complex. Would not be commercially viable. But,
ummm...what was that story where the human was caught on the planet
with the stage plants? The rocket plants that he used to blow up the
bad guys? That might be decent if you tossed in some more cast.
And the story about first contact with the Trinocs could also be good,
if you want to sacrifice Louis Wu's desire for solitude.
>
>
>
> > The Menace From Earth
>
> > The Door Into Summer
>
> > Have Spacesuit, Will Travel
>
> > (hell, just tons of Heinlein's juveniles...)
Farmer in the Sky. And of course, who has not wished for a good film
version of Moon is a Harsh Mistress?
Chris
>
> I'd say yes but I've been permanently scarred by Starship Troopers.
>
>
>
> > Foundation
>
> Eh. Don't think it would translate to cinema that well.
>
>
>
Chuk Goodin
>>> And with Teen Titans, we see some audiences turned away from the show
>>> because they knew the original. I wish they'd done the "New Teen Titans"
>>> that I read rather than mangling it.
>>
>> I grew to like the series, but the actual comics converted into cartoons
>> would have been way better.
>>
>>
>
> I was especially annoyed by the changes to Koriand'r, and not just the
>shift in, er, construction. The original was a warrior princess, and her
>cluelessness faded quickly; she wasn't some kind of space 90210 with
>zappies. And poor Beast Boy -- he was always the second-ran of the
>Titans but this version just made him a JOKE.
I kind of missed Kid Flash, too. They did do several of the comic book
storylines in modified form, Wolfman even did at least some writing for
them.
--
chuk
Al
sitting out there!
Avoid normal situations.
[..]
> I am planning on winning Powerball next time it tops $200 million (and
> pursuant to that, I need someone to lend me $1 for a ticket...)
> With this money I plan on becoming THE premier SF movie producer,
> making movies based on books, of course.
> So, what books should I make? Figure a budget of no more than $50
> million per each (with later ones to be made from the proceede of the
> early , of course) Spectical is not ruled out, it will just need to
> be CGI spectacle. (no, I don't know how to spell that word..)
> It can't have already have been made, and it needs to be suitable for
> a movie. No matter how much you liked the book, Starship Troopers
> takes place almost entirely in the heroes head and is a bad choice.
"The Life and Times of the Stainless Steel Rat". A cable miniseries based on
the first five Rat books, which were before Harrison started running out of
ideas.
Almost any starlet can play Angelina, since those chicks all look pretty
artificial. G. W. Bailey as one of the grey men.
--
alt.flame Special Forces
"Of all the treasures a State can possess, the human lives of its citizens are
for us the most precious." -- Joseph Stalin
William December Starr
Al <aajac...@gmail.com> said:
> Alfred Bester's THE STARS MY DESTINATION (done right!)
> is still sitting out there!
But can it be done right? I see a couple of problems: (1) putting
all the synesthesia stuff on the screen, especially without looking
like you were inspired by watching the then-mindblowing (at least if
you were in the right altered state of consciousness) but now boring
part of "2001" too many times, (2) putting the whole "Gee, it's
really dark in here isn't it?" imprisonment-and-escape sequence on
the screen, and (3) (a much lesser problem) dealing with what most
audience members today will (should?) see as nonsense about the
character who was so heavily irradiated that he could only spend a
short time with any other person lest he kill them, but who himself
kept living rather than going "Ack" and dying messily in a matter of
hours.
-- wds
Brenda Clough
The other thing about STARS is that it is long -- what would you cut, to
get it to fit into a reasonable screen time? A work of less density
might do better; I suggest FOUNTAINS OF PARADISE.
Brenda
Michael Stemper
>> > making movies based on books, of course.
>> > Tales of Known Space (a few of the short stories at least)
>>
>> Why not go all the way and do Ringworld?
>
>Too long, too complex. Would not be commercially viable. But,
>ummm...what was that story where the human was caught on the planet
>with the stage plants? The rocket plants that he used to blow up the
>bad guys?
"A Relic of the Empire".
--
Michael F. Stemper
#include <Standard_Disclaimer>
The FAQ for rec.arts.sf.written is at:
http://www.geocities.com/evelynleeper/sf-written
Please read it before posting.
Chris
wrote:
> In article <75d2a6bf-3650-468b-86c7-8f1898d7e...@a21g2000yqc.googlegroups.com>, Chris <chris.linthomp...@gmail.com> writes:
>
> >On Nov 18, 12:13=A0pm, rochrist <rochr...@charter.net> wrote:
> >> Shawn Wilson wrote:
> >> > making movies based on books, of course.
> >> > Tales of Known Space (a few of the short stories at least)
>
> >> Why not go all the way and do Ringworld?
>
> >Too long, too complex. Would not be commercially viable. But,
> >ummm...what was that story where the human was caught on the planet
> >with the stage plants? The rocket plants that he used to blow up the
> >bad guys?
>
> "A Relic of the Empire".
Thanks. That's it.
Chris
Klaatu
"Shawn Wilson" <ikono...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:81e78e88-16a8-4115...@g10g2000pri.googlegroups.com...
>I am planning on winning Powerball next time it tops $200 million (and
> pursuant to that, I need someone to lend me $1 for a ticket...)
>
> With this money I plan on becoming THE premier SF movie producer,
>
> million per each (with later ones to be made from the proceede of the
> early , of course) Spectical is not ruled out, it will just need to
> be CGI spectacle. (no, I don't know how to spell that word..)
>
> It can't have already have been made, and it needs to be suitable for
> a movie. No matter how much you liked the book, Starship Troopers
> takes place almost entirely in the heroes head and is a bad choice.
>
>
>
> The Curse of Chalion.
>
>
> Tales of Known Space (a few of the short stories at least)
>
>
> The Door Into Summer
>
> Have Spacesuit, Will Travel
>
> (hell, just tons of Heinlein's juveniles...)
>
>
> Caves of Steel
>
> World of Ptavvs.
>
> Forever War
>
> The Forge of God (being done apparently as 2012...)
>
> A Fire Upon the Deep
>
> The Peace War
>
> Marooned in Realtime
>
> The Doomsday Book
>
> ...To Say Nothing of the Dog
>
> The Mote in God's Eye
>
> Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen
>
> 1632, et al (TV series more than movies)
>
>
>
> Others?
The Wailing Asteroid by Murray Leinster. Its available for download free in
pdf form. Do a google.
Greg Goss
>news:81e78e88-16a8-4115...@g10g2000pri.googlegroups.com...
>>I am planning on winning Powerball next time it tops $200 million (and
>> pursuant to that, I need someone to lend me $1 for a ticket...)
>>
>> With this money I plan on becoming THE premier SF movie producer,
>> making movies based on books, of course.
>>
>> So, what books should I make? Figure a budget of no more than $50
>> million per each (with later ones to be made from the proceede of the
>> early , of course) Spectical is not ruled out, it will just need to
>> be CGI spectacle. (no, I don't know how to spell that word..)
>>
>> It can't have already have been made, and it needs to be suitable for
>> a movie. No matter how much you liked the book, Starship Troopers
>> takes place almost entirely in the heroes head and is a bad choice.
>>
>>
>> My thoughts-
>>
>> The Curse of Chalion.
>> Protector.
I don't think you can make this one make sense to the general public.
>> Tales of Known Space (a few of the short stories at least)
Yes!
>> The Menace From Earth,>> The Door Into Summer >> Have Spacesuit, Will Travel
>>
>> (hell, just tons of Heinlein's juveniles...)
Yes. I don't see tDiS as a juvie (if that was what you were saying).
Of the juvies, I like "Farmer in the Sky" and "Citizen of the Galaxy".
Would the latter make a movie trilogy?
>> Foundation
Dated. Trantor may have been the original, but you have to make your
Coruscant fit the one that people already know. And the grand sweep
of slow history may be impossible to do as a movie.
>> Caves of Steel
I'd like it.
>> World of Ptavvs.
Would take some re-working. Igniting Pluto doesn't make any sense. I
don't know if slamming a relativistic ship into a Neptunian moon can
generate Pluto's orbit, and don't know whether either of these are
necessary to the action.
>> Forever War
>>
>> The Forge of God (being done apparently as 2012...)
>>
>> A Fire Upon the Deep
Could this be made comprehensible on a movie's scale? You have the
two story lines -- the planet-bound story and the high-tech story.
I'm not sure that the two could be merged as a movie, nor that the
high-tech side could be made meaningful in a two-hour space.
>> The Peace War
>>
>> Marooned in Realtime
>>
>> The Doomsday Book
>>
>> ...To Say Nothing of the Dog
>>
>> The Mote in God's Eye
>>
>> Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen
>>
>> 1632, et al (TV series more than movies)
>>
>>
>>
>> Others?
--
Tomorrow is today already.
Greg Goss, 1989-01-27
Michael Stemper
>>"Shawn Wilson" <ikono...@gmail.com> wrote in message news:81e78e88-16a8-4115...@g10g2000pri.googlegroups.com...
>>> With this money I plan on becoming THE premier SF movie producer,
>>> making movies based on books, of course.
>>> Foundation
>Dated. Trantor may have been the original, but you have to make your
>Coruscant fit the one that people already know.
Only if you insist on renaming Trantor to Coruscant. People seem to
be able to understand that space ships look different in different
mileus. I'll bet that they can accept that globe-girdling cities can
have different appearances. Besides, Trantor in all its glory is only
seen from space once, for a few paragraphs at the beginning of "The
Psychohistorians". In fact, it's *not* seen there -- Dornick wants
to see it, but it's not possible.
> And the grand sweep
>of slow history may be impossible to do as a movie.
This is, I think, a much bigger problem.
>>> Caves of Steel
>I'd like it.
I think that this would probably work well as a movie.
>>> A Fire Upon the Deep
>Could this be made comprehensible on a movie's scale?
I seriously doubt it.
--
Michael F. Stemper
#include <Standard_Disclaimer>
Visualize whirled peas!
Shawn Wilson
> >> The Curse of Chalion.
>
> Don't know it.
Really, really, excellent fantasy from Lois McMaster Bujold, better
known for her Miles Vorkosigan books. No elves, etc. Five gods in
the world- Father, Mother, Son, Daughter (all gods of their obvious
traits), Bastard (demonic, but not necessarily evil, god of unwanted,
broken, and otherwise undesireable things, including orphans and
whatnot also the god of balance).
The Father gifted a human known later as the Golden General with a
metaphorical drop of his blood, apparently to unite the various
kingdoms (a generally good goal) via conquest (by means others may not
like...). The King of Chalion killed the GG via death magic. Others
had tried and failed. The GG was too big for any but the King to pull
it off. Death magic works via praying to the Bastard to send one of
his demons to take the target's soul. It will also *necessarily* take
the soul of the person working the magic... That spilled drop of the
Father's blood manifested as a curse on the house of Chalion, which
manifests as warping good traits into negative ones. It is slow and
subtle and insidious and nasty..
The hero has been set up by the Gods to clean up the curse, which will
require a man to lay down his life *three* times for the house of
Chalion. It has been tried before, but that man merely died in the
2nd attempt. After he does it once, circumstances related to death
magic make it impossible for the hero to do it again.
It is, as I said, fantastic. LMB is definitelty a master writer now.
It has two sequels so far- The Paladin of Souls and the Hallowed Hunt
(prequel really, at least set in an earlier time), which are good but
not as good. There is also the 'Sharing Knife' fantasy series, (set
in a different universe) which is also terrific (though 'smaller' and
more personal than the big events in TCC) and The Spirit Ring', which
is another oneshot from early in her career which is also very very
good.
> >> Protector.
>
> I don't think you can make this one make sense to the general public.
Less wierd than 2001. Similar concept. People will get it.
> >> Tales of Known Space (a few of the short stories at least)
>
> Yes!
Ah, but which stores? 'The Warriors' most definitely. Something has
to cover the MAn-Kzin wars and how pacifist humanity manage to arm up
to meet them.
> >> The Menace From Earth,>> The Door Into Summer >> Have Spacesuit, Will Travel
>
> >> (hell, just tons of Heinlein's juveniles...)
>
> Yes. I don't see tDiS as a juvie (if that was what you were saying).
No, it isn't. But most of his juveniles would be suitable. (I
thought about Double Star (also not a juvie) but people would just
take it as an SF version of 'Dave'.
> Of the juvies, I like "Farmer in the Sky" and "Citizen of the Galaxy".
> Would the latter make a movie trilogy?
It could, but I think it would be better as an episodic oneshot. Not
enough happens in the various parts to make movies out of them. A
miniseries would work.
> >> Foundation
>
> Dated. Trantor may have been the original, but you have to make your
> Coruscant fit the one that people already know. And the grand sweep
> of slow history may be impossible to do as a movie.
Not only can it be done, I have heard rumors that it IS being done.
...
Yep. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0804484/
> >> World of Ptavvs.
>
> Would take some re-working. Igniting Pluto doesn't make any sense. I
> don't know if slamming a relativistic ship into a Neptunian moon can
> generate Pluto's orbit, and don't know whether either of these are
> necessary to the action.
Realistic science? In a movie???
> >> A Fire Upon the Deep
>
> Could this be made comprehensible on a movie's scale? You have the
> two story lines -- the planet-bound story and the high-tech story.
> I'm not sure that the two could be merged as a movie, nor that the
> high-tech side could be made meaningful in a two-hour space.
No problem.
Mike Schilling
>
> It is, as I said, fantastic. LMB is definitelty a master writer now.
> It has two sequels so far- The Paladin of Souls and the Hallowed Hunt
> (prequel really, at least set in an earlier time),
Was it? THH was set in a different country then the others (the equivlaent
of Germany rather than Spain), but why do you think an earlier time as well?
Gutless Umbrella Carrying Sissy
news:hfrrh9$gi3$1...@news.eternal-september.org:
Was it actually the same world?
--
Terry Austin
"Terry Austin: like the polio vaccine, only with more asshole."
-- David Bilek
Jesus forgives sinners, not criminals.
Mike Schilling
> "Mike Schilling" <mscotts...@hotmail.com> wrote in
> news:hfrrh9$gi3$1...@news.eternal-september.org:
>
>> Shawn Wilson wrote:
>>>
>>> It is, as I said, fantastic. LMB is definitelty a master
>>> writer now. It has two sequels so far- The Paladin of Souls and
>>> the Hallowed Hunt (prequel really, at least set in an earlier
>>> time),
>>
>> Was it? THH was set in a different country then the others (the
>> equivlaent of Germany rather than Spain), but why do you think
>> an earlier time as well?
>>
> Was it actually the same world?
Same five gods, and somewhere on the web (I can't find it now), I recall a
map that showed the settings of all three books being on a mirror-reversed
Europe.
Shawn Wilson
wrote:
I read something somewhere that gave me that impression. 200 years
earlier than the others. Isn't it?
Shawn Wilson
<tausti...@gmail.com> wrote:
> "Mike Schilling" <mscottschill...@hotmail.com> wrote innews:hfrrh9$gi3$1...@news.eternal-september.org:
>
> > Shawn Wilson wrote:
>
> >> It is, as I said, fantastic. LMB is definitelty a master
> >> writer now. It has two sequels so far- The Paladin of Souls and
> >> the Hallowed Hunt (prequel really, at least set in an earlier
> >> time),
>
> > Was it? THH was set in a different country then the others (the
> > equivlaent of Germany rather than Spain), but why do you think
> > an earlier time as well?
>
> Was it actually the same world?
It is definitely the same world, same gods and everything. It's just
set in another country. It doesn't share any characters with the
others (except the gods of course).
The Paladin of Souls has cameos by the main characters of The Curse of
Chalion, and its main focus is a minor character from that book.
Mike Schilling
I did some looking around, and it seems to be about 300 years before. The
chief clue is that the events which refer to Charlemagne are described at
one point as being 400 years in the past, which places it at about 1180 A.D,
while the first two are at roughly 1470 (Ferdinand and Isabella were married
in 1469).
Shawn Wilson
Because I feel liike wallowing some more...
Cool things from The Curse of Chalion
(some spoilers)
(btw, I read it as chuh LEE un, but the audiobook says CHA lee-in.
Anyone know which is right?)
After Caz has worked the death magic (and utterly bizzarely
*survived*) he can now see auras around people. It turns out those
auras mark saints of the various gods, given some special ability.
Talking with the groom (another saint) he learns that while others
shine, "...but you, you blaze like a burning city. You are painful to
behold..." Caz is a saint of TWO gods- the Bastard, for the death
magic; and the Daughter, which keeps the death demon encysted within
him rather than letting it take his soul. When he dies again the
demon will finish its job by taking his soul. To break the curse a
man must lay down his life three times for the house of Chalion. He
has done it once (the death magic) but it will be impossible for him
to survive the 2nd to do it a third time.
Another bit-
Caz has hoped to marry the princess out of the Curse (actually the
*queen* at this point, the king has died but they don't know) , but
has discovered that he has merely brought her new husband (a prince in
his own right) into it (Caz can see the curse as an aura).
The villain attacks their stronghold and Caz hopelessly defends the
door to the church, hoping he can hold on long enough for the couple
to get away before he is killed. He is eventually defeated (after a
minute or two) and the villain personally delivers the killing stroke
(the death magic Caz worked was against the villain's brother). Caz
has given his life *again* for the House of Chalion. But two is not
three and to break the curse requires him to lay down his life three
times for the House of Chalion...
... and the life he laid down before the story even started, to
protect the slave boy he didn't know was really a prince but who has
now married into, *and*become*part*of* the House of Chalion, comes
into play...
Having retroactively laid down his life three times for the House of
Chalion, the Curse breaks and the death demon takes the *villain's*
soul as his payment. Everyone lives happily ever after and Caz even
gets the girl (no, not the princess, a different girl...).
I love that ending...
Brenda Clough
Yes, it is extremely well done. However, I doubt a movie could do
justice to it -- they'd have to lose large lumps of the plot (I think
the queen's brother would be on the bubble).
Brenda
David Goldfarb
Shawn Wilson <ikono...@gmail.com> wrote:
>The Paladin of Souls has cameos by the main characters of The Curse of
>Chalion, and its main focus is a minor character from that book.
Not even cameos, quite: the main characters are mentioned, but
do not appear on stage.
--
David Goldfarb |"Sunset over Houma. The rains have stopped.
gold...@ocf.berkeley.edu | Clouds like plugs of bloodied cotton wool dab
gold...@csua.berkeley.edu | ineffectually at the slashed wrists of the sky."
| -- Alan Moore
Mike Schilling
> In article
> <11113338-7738-44fb...@u36g2000prn.googlegroups.com>,
> Shawn Wilson <ikono...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> The Paladin of Souls has cameos by the main characters of The Curse
>> of Chalion, and its main focus is a minor character from that book.
>
> Not even cameos, quite: the main characters are mentioned, but
> do not appear on stage.
And I'm not sure I'd call Ista "minor" is TCoC; "secondary", perhaps.
Walter Bushell
<11113338-7738-44fb...@u36g2000prn.googlegroups.com>,
Shawn Wilson <ikono...@gmail.com> wrote:
<possible spoiler>
In which the minor character in Chalion above mentioned, fulfills a
prophecy of the major character.
--
A computer without Microsoft is like a chocolate cake without mustard.
Walter Bushell
<bed19a23-f6ad-4a35...@d9g2000prh.googlegroups.com>,
Shawn Wilson <ikono...@gmail.com> wrote:
The Queen's chief lady in waiting.
>
> I love that ending...
More he gets the beatific vision, he gets to see the world through the
Daughter of Spring's eyes, for an eternal instant. But he goes through
Hell to get to the happy ending.
Walter Bushell
Brenda Clough <Brenda...@yahoo.com> wrote:
Movies seldom do justice to a good book. And books made from movies
seldom are very good. There is some truth to the notion that "The medium
is the massage."