Google Groups no longer supports new Usenet posts or subscriptions. Historical content remains viewable.
Dismiss

Stephen King's 'The Stand' Heading to the Big Screen

5 views
Skip to first unread message

He is the Resurrection and the Light: The Rapacious Mr. Hole

unread,
Jan 31, 2011, 10:49:16 PM1/31/11
to
Stephen King's grand opus The Stand is finally getting the big-screen
treatment.

Warner Bros. and CBS Films are teaming to adapt the novel, which in
many ways set the bar for a generation of post-apocalyptic stories and
influenced works ranging from TV's Lost to music group Anthrax.

Mosaic and Roy Lee are producing.

The companies will co-develop and co-produce the feature film, with
CBS having the option to participate in co-financing. Warners will
handle worldwide marketing and distribution.

The studios and producers will sit down with writers and directors in
the coming weeks in an attempt to find the right take on the material.
One thing to be determined is whether to attempt the adaptation in one
or multiple movies. King will be involved in some capacity.

CBS has held the rights for many years but recently realized the best
way to undertake the project was with a partner. Warners beat out Fox
and Sony in a tight bidding war for the gig, getting its hands on one
of the biggest-selling books of all time.

CBS, meanwhile, gets a chance to be involved in an ambitious big-
budget tentpole with little downside. The company just released its
fourth movie, The Mechanic, which performed better than expected this
weekend with an opening of $11.4 million.

The Stand is a story of good vs. evil after a virus wipes out most of
the American population. While it features dozens of characters (such
as the Trashcan Man and Mother Abigail) and overlapping story lines
running over many years, the struggle boils down to a group of
survivors fighting the Antichrist-like Randall Flagg.

The novel was originally published in 1978, but by the time it was
rereleased in 1990 with King adding and revising portions of the
story, it had achieved cult-like status.

George Romero and Warners separately tried in vain to launch a movie
adaptation in the 1980s, and a tone-downed version was produced as a
six-hour miniseries by ABC in 1994. In recent years, Marvel Comics has
been adapting the story to great acclaim.

King's stories made for popular Hollywood adaptations in the 1980s and
'90s, but that love seemed to lose steam in the past decade. But with
Universal mounting an ambitious take on The Dark Tower, and now The
Stand, King may be getting ready to return to the throne as the
novelist the town loves the most.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/blogs/heat-vision/stephen-kings-stand-heading-big-94805?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+thr/film+(The+Hollywood+Reporter+-+Movies)

Ian J. Ball

unread,
Feb 1, 2011, 1:02:10 AM2/1/11
to
On Jan 31, 7:49 pm, "He is the Resurrection and the Light: The

Rapacious Mr. Hole" <classic.mr.h...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Stephen King's grand opus The Stand is finally getting the big-screen
> treatment.
>
> Warner Bros. and CBS Films are teaming to adapt the novel, which in
> many ways set the bar for a generation of post-apocalyptic stories and
> influenced works ranging from TV's Lost to music group Anthrax.
>
> Mosaic and Roy Lee are producing.

Can this be cut down to 2, or even 3, hours?!

PeterM

unread,
Feb 1, 2011, 2:28:20 AM2/1/11
to
On Jan 31, 10:02 pm, "Ian J. Ball" <ijb...@mac.com> wrote:

> Can this be cut down to 2, or even 3, hours?!

Sure, if they want it to suck. Hell, the mini-series
was too short for my tastes. I really don't see
any way they can do it justice in one movie, and
unlike the Lord of the Rings I also don't see it
working as multiple movies. I'd love to be proven
wrong, of course.

Dimensional Traveler

unread,
Feb 1, 2011, 2:35:31 AM2/1/11
to

I suspect you'd be lucky to cut it down to 2 or 3 days.

--
"There's something that doesn't make sense. Let's go and poke it with a
stick."

rwgibson13

unread,
Feb 1, 2011, 5:32:44 AM2/1/11
to

This whole project smells of one studio exec reading a headline about
a rival studio exec making plans to do that "other" Stephen King thing
and desperately wanting to cash in.

RWG (to the point of absurdity)

Merrick Baldelli

unread,
Feb 1, 2011, 9:09:08 AM2/1/11
to
On Mon, 31 Jan 2011 19:49:16 -0800 (PST), "He is the Resurrection and
the Light: The Rapacious Mr. Hole" <classic...@gmail.com> wrote:

>Stephen King's grand opus The Stand is finally getting the big-screen
>treatment.

WTF?! Hasn't Hollywood learned by now that King's works are
/NOT/ meant for the silver screen? They have just way too much going
on in them to be condensed down to 2 - 3 hours. Even the mini-series
that have been done can only scratch the surface of what's going on in
many of King's earlier works.

*sighs* Hollywood just will never learn.

--
-=-=-/ )=*=-='=-.-'-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
_( (_ , '_ * . Merrick Baldelli
(((\ \> /_1 `
(\\\\ \_/ /
-=-\ /-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
\ _/ You can't spell 'disgust' without
/ / 'SGU' - Anim8rFSK

Merrick Baldelli

unread,
Feb 1, 2011, 9:09:08 AM2/1/11
to

The thing with Lord of the Rings is that there's way too much
back story being told and political chatter going on in the trilogy
that making each into a 3 hour movie is much easier to do with
Tolkein's works than King's works. King's [works] just have way too
much going on in them in the here and now. Not to mention all the
simultaneous things with multiple characters in "The Stand" that the
only justice that can happen would be a single season from beginning
to end.

swangdb

unread,
Feb 1, 2011, 11:12:13 AM2/1/11
to
On Feb 1, 1:28 am, PeterM <petermeilin...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Jan 31, 10:02 pm, "Ian J. Ball" <ijb...@mac.com> wrote:
>
> > Can this be cut down to 2, or even 3, hours?!
>
> Sure, if they want it to suck.

Funny. And I agree.

> Hell, the mini-series
> was too short for my tastes. I really don't see
> any way they can do it justice in one movie, and
> unlike the Lord of the Rings I also don't see it
> working as multiple movies. I'd love to be proven
> wrong, of course.

It could work in multiple movies with the right director. I have no
idea who that person is.

I'm still worried about casting...I can see Hollywood doing something
like...

Abigail - Beyonce
The Trashcan Man - Justin Bieber
Stu - David Caruso
Tom Cullen - Kevin James

Okay, okay, I'm kidding...how about Steve Buscemi for the Trashcan
Man...

solarr

unread,
Feb 1, 2011, 12:13:54 PM2/1/11
to
Hi Mr, Hole,

On Jan 31, 9:49 pm, "He is the Resurrection and the Light: The


Rapacious Mr. Hole" <classic.mr.h...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Stephen King's grand opus The Stand is finally getting the big-screen
> treatment.
>
> Warner Bros. and CBS Films are teaming to adapt the novel, which in
> many ways set the bar for a generation of post-apocalyptic stories and
> influenced works ranging from TV's Lost to music group Anthrax.
>
> Mosaic and Roy Lee are producing.
>
> The companies will co-develop and co-produce the feature film, with
> CBS having the option to participate in co-financing. Warners will
> handle worldwide marketing and distribution.
>
> The studios and producers will sit down with writers and directors in
> the coming weeks in an attempt to find the right take on the material.
> One thing to be determined is whether to attempt the adaptation in one
> or multiple movies.

I vote for multiple movies! But, then again, I like marathons (can't
wait to do the whole Harry Potters movies marathon!). ;-)

-/< /\ />-

Invid Fan

unread,
Feb 1, 2011, 2:17:49 PM2/1/11
to
In article
<51cf53e5-25e3-4d29...@d28g2000yqc.googlegroups.com>,
rwgibson13 <rwgib...@gmail.com> wrote:

Which is funny in that the "other" King project will intersect briefly
with The Stand at a certain point.

(in a perfect world this and other new adaptations of King books would
be done so they slot in nicely with what they're doing with The Dark
Tower)

--
Chris Mack "If we show any weakness, the monsters will get cocky!"
'Invid Fan' - 'Yokai Monsters Along With Ghosts'

Invid Fan

unread,
Feb 1, 2011, 2:17:52 PM2/1/11
to
In article <hf4gk61sfif3sbi2b...@4ax.com>, Merrick
Baldelli <mbal...@yahoo.com> wrote:

> On Mon, 31 Jan 2011 19:49:16 -0800 (PST), "He is the Resurrection and
> the Light: The Rapacious Mr. Hole" <classic...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> >Stephen King's grand opus The Stand is finally getting the big-screen
> >treatment.
>
> WTF?! Hasn't Hollywood learned by now that King's works are
> /NOT/ meant for the silver screen? They have just way too much going
> on in them to be condensed down to 2 - 3 hours. Even the mini-series
> that have been done can only scratch the surface of what's going on in
> many of King's earlier works.
>
> *sighs* Hollywood just will never learn.

They have, often, worked financially and that's what matters :)

nick

unread,
Feb 1, 2011, 5:39:51 PM2/1/11
to
On Feb 1, 9:09 am, Merrick Baldelli <mbalde...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> On Mon, 31 Jan 2011 19:49:16 -0800 (PST), "He is the Resurrection and
> the Light: The Rapacious Mr. Hole" <classic.mr.h...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> >Stephen King's grand opus The Stand is finally getting the big-screen
> >treatment.
>
>         WTF?!  Hasn't Hollywood learned by now that King's works are
> /NOT/ meant for the silver screen?  

But from Carrie and the Shining through to The Mist, there's been
plenty of good Stephen King adaptations. Too many to list, almost.
King and Hollywood, for the most part, have made for a pretty good
fit.

Joe Ramirez

unread,
Feb 1, 2011, 5:59:37 PM2/1/11
to

Even the TV version of "The Stand" was good. Certainly not perfect,
and probably not even great, but good.

Michael O'Connor

unread,
Feb 1, 2011, 6:04:37 PM2/1/11
to

> I'm still worried about casting...I can see Hollywood doing something
> like...
>
> Abigail - Beyonce
> The Trashcan Man - Justin Bieber
> Stu - David Caruso
> Tom Cullen - Kevin James

You forgot Will Farell as Larry

>
> Okay, okay, I'm kidding...how about Steve Buscemi for the Trashcan
> Man...

Billy Bob Thornton would also be great at Trash. Buscemi would be
great, though.

As far as Flagg, how about Woody Harrelson?

Brian Thorn

unread,
Feb 1, 2011, 6:47:07 PM2/1/11
to
On Mon, 31 Jan 2011 19:49:16 -0800 (PST), "He is the Resurrection and
the Light: The Rapacious Mr. Hole" <classic...@gmail.com> wrote:

>Stephen King's grand opus The Stand is finally getting the big-screen
>treatment.

I was worried when they announced "It" was going to be a movie a year
or so ago. Now "The Stand"? No way will either work on the big screen.

Brian

RichA

unread,
Feb 1, 2011, 6:57:44 PM2/1/11
to
Has a bigger yawn ever been committed to film or digital media? 1000
pages of sominex.

trotsky

unread,
Feb 1, 2011, 8:43:23 PM2/1/11
to


That's not quite accurate, if you ask me. I'd say the ratio is about
70/30, 70% of the adaptations completely sucking ass.

trotsky

unread,
Feb 1, 2011, 8:49:07 PM2/1/11
to
On 2/1/11 5:57 PM, RichA wrote:
> Has a bigger yawn ever been committed to film or digital media? 1000
> pages of sominex.


Did you read it, or just rub it on your crotch hoping for osmosis?

rwgibson13

unread,
Feb 1, 2011, 8:54:42 PM2/1/11
to

There are still parts of it that I would defend more strongly than any
film version of any King project not involving Frank Darabond.

RWG (and, on the whole, I can't think of a better film adaptation)

trotsky

unread,
Feb 1, 2011, 8:58:06 PM2/1/11
to


George Bush as Pennywise the clown?

RichA

unread,
Feb 1, 2011, 9:45:21 PM2/1/11
to

King books are a tough read. They start out strong, and then fall
horribly apart. I read it. It came out at a time when I still wasted
time reading sub-par fiction.

Thanatos

unread,
Feb 1, 2011, 11:39:19 PM2/1/11
to
In article
<653a8f7c-a7f4-4d83...@l22g2000pre.googlegroups.com>,
nick <nickmacp...@AOL.com> wrote:

> On Feb 1, 9:09�am, Merrick Baldelli <mbalde...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> > On Mon, 31 Jan 2011 19:49:16 -0800 (PST), "He is the Resurrection and
> > the Light: The Rapacious Mr. Hole" <classic.mr.h...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > >Stephen King's grand opus The Stand is finally getting the big-screen
> > >treatment.
> >
> > � � � � WTF?! �Hasn't Hollywood learned by now that King's works are
> > /NOT/ meant for the silver screen? �
>
> But from Carrie and the Shining through to The Mist, there's been
> plenty of good Stephen King adaptations.

Stand By Me

Shawshank Redemption

Misery

Thanatos

unread,
Feb 1, 2011, 11:40:01 PM2/1/11
to
In article <No6dnX8Sc7KzJ9XQ...@mchsi.com>,
trotsky <gms...@email.com> wrote:

Wrong book, idiot.

Joe Ramirez

unread,
Feb 2, 2011, 12:49:19 AM2/2/11
to
On Feb 1, 11:39 pm, Thanatos <atro...@mac.com> wrote:
> In article
> <653a8f7c-a7f4-4d83-93f4-0cb634001...@l22g2000pre.googlegroups.com>,

>
>  nick <nickmacpherso...@AOL.com> wrote:
> > On Feb 1, 9:09 am, Merrick Baldelli <mbalde...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> > > On Mon, 31 Jan 2011 19:49:16 -0800 (PST), "He is the Resurrection and
> > > the Light: The Rapacious Mr. Hole" <classic.mr.h...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > > >Stephen King's grand opus The Stand is finally getting the big-screen
> > > >treatment.
>
> > > WTF?! Hasn't Hollywood learned by now that King's works are
> > > /NOT/ meant for the silver screen?
>
> > But from Carrie and the Shining through to The Mist, there's been
> > plenty of good Stephen King adaptations.
>
> Stand By Me
>
> Shawshank Redemption
>
> Misery

The most universally applauded King adaptations have been the ones
*not* involving supernatural elements.

trotsky

unread,
Feb 2, 2011, 7:25:00 AM2/2/11
to


Oh, my bad. I must not be the Stephen King connoisseur that you are.
Do you collect cow dung too?

trotsky

unread,
Feb 2, 2011, 7:29:04 AM2/2/11
to


Wow, that sounded like an honest answer. And King definitely counts as
sub par to me too.

trotsky

unread,
Feb 2, 2011, 7:33:50 AM2/2/11
to


Except in my opinion the best adaption of a King work was the original
made for TV "Salem's Lot" starring David Soul.

Professor Bubba

unread,
Feb 2, 2011, 9:41:03 AM2/2/11
to
In article <YcudnfTKyuSz0tTQ...@mchsi.com>, trotsky
<gms...@email.com> wrote:


I think the most faithful adaptation of a King horror novel I've seen
was Firestarter. There was only a slight change to the ending. The
Dead Zone was pretty close, too.

Cujo was terrible. Why buy the rights to a book and then do *that* to
it?

moviePig

unread,
Feb 2, 2011, 10:09:48 AM2/2/11
to
On Feb 2, 9:41 am, Professor Bubba <bu...@nowhere.edu.invalid> wrote:
> In article <YcudnfTKyuSz0tTQnZ2dnUVZ_gedn...@mchsi.com>, trotsky

Alfred Hitchcock would've told you why.

Meanwhile, as long as we're unveiling personal anomalies, I liked
DREAMCATCHER more than THE SHINING...

--

- - - - - - - -
YOUR taste at work...
http://www.moviepig.com

Thanatos

unread,
Feb 2, 2011, 10:26:05 AM2/2/11
to
In article <YcudnfvKyuSA0NTQ...@mchsi.com>,
trotsky <gms...@email.com> wrote:

> On 2/1/11 10:40 PM, Thanatos wrote:
> > In article<No6dnX8Sc7KzJ9XQ...@mchsi.com>,
> > trotsky<gms...@email.com> wrote:
> >
> >> On 2/1/11 5:04 PM, Michael O'Connor wrote:
> >>>
> >>>> I'm still worried about casting...I can see Hollywood doing something
> >>>> like...
> >>>>
> >>>> Abigail - Beyonce
> >>>> The Trashcan Man - Justin Bieber
> >>>> Stu - David Caruso
> >>>> Tom Cullen - Kevin James
> >>>
> >>> You forgot Will Farell as Larry
> >>>
> >>>>
> >>>> Okay, okay, I'm kidding...how about Steve Buscemi for the Trashcan
> >>>> Man...
> >>>
> >>> Billy Bob Thornton would also be great at Trash. Buscemi would be
> >>> great, though.
> >>>
> >>> As far as Flagg, how about Woody Harrelson?
> >>
> >>
> >> George Bush as Pennywise the clown?
> >
> > Wrong book, idiot.
>
>
> Oh, my bad. I must not be the Stephen King connoisseur that you are.

No, you're just a moron.

swangdb

unread,
Feb 2, 2011, 11:05:35 AM2/2/11
to
On Feb 1, 5:04 pm, "Michael O'Connor" <mpoconn...@aol.com> wrote:

> > Okay, okay, I'm kidding...how about Steve Buscemi for the Trashcan
> > Man...
>
> Billy Bob Thornton would also be great at Trash.  Buscemi would be
> great, though.
>
> As far as Flagg, how about Woody Harrelson?

I like both your suggestions!

Merrick Baldelli

unread,
Feb 2, 2011, 11:13:56 AM2/2/11
to
On Tue, 1 Feb 2011 08:12:13 -0800 (PST), swangdb <swa...@auburn.edu>
wrote:

>I'm still worried about casting...I can see Hollywood doing something
>like...
>
>Abigail - Beyonce
>The Trashcan Man - Justin Bieber
>Stu - David Caruso
>Tom Cullen - Kevin James

Christ on a drunken rampage. The reality distortion this cast
of character creates by being put together in this way would truly
drive even the most sane completely batshit bonkers. Like R'lyeh
rising from it's watery grave.

>Okay, okay, I'm kidding...how about Steve Buscemi for the Trashcan
>Man...

I believe Buscemi has a bit more sense than that.

Joe Ramirez

unread,
Feb 2, 2011, 1:46:29 PM2/2/11
to

No need for "except" -- your point, about a personal preference, is
not inconsistent with my observation, which focused on the critical
consensus. "Stand By Me," "Misery," and "The Shawshank Redemption" all
received nominations for major Oscars.

Joe Ramirez

unread,
Feb 2, 2011, 1:48:58 PM2/2/11
to
On Feb 2, 9:41 am, Professor Bubba <bu...@nowhere.edu.invalid> wrote:
> In article <YcudnfTKyuSz0tTQnZ2dnUVZ_gedn...@mchsi.com>, trotsky
>
>
>
>
>

Without disputing that analysis, it's also true that a faithful
adaptation does not necessarily mean a good movie. Ideally, of course,
we'd want both.

RichA

unread,
Feb 2, 2011, 4:04:03 PM2/2/11
to
On Feb 2, 7:33 am, trotsky <gmsi...@email.com> wrote:

Because he was a wife-beater.

RichA

unread,
Feb 2, 2011, 4:08:42 PM2/2/11
to

Real books turned into movies.
If the world wasn't already awash in vampire books and movies, I'd say
make Fred Saberhagen's vampire novels into some movies. Or how about
Ringworld? Or Dreampark?

moviePig

unread,
Feb 2, 2011, 4:16:35 PM2/2/11
to

'Awash'? Let's see, there's LET THE RIGHT ONE IN (and its echo)...

nick

unread,
Feb 2, 2011, 5:56:41 PM2/2/11
to
What's your problem with The Shining. At the risk of cinematic
heresy, I think in 50 years time, 2001 and The Shining will be the
only Stanley Kubrick movies people still watch.

Dreamcatcher, wasn't that the King book that John Harkness said was
really fucked up because he reckoned it was written under the
influence of the drugs Stephen King was on post-accident?

trotsky

unread,
Feb 2, 2011, 7:12:44 PM2/2/11
to


There's that rapier wit we've come to know and vomit from. And are you
a Dennis Miller fan too?

rwgibson13

unread,
Feb 2, 2011, 8:22:44 PM2/2/11
to
> influence of the drugs Stephen King was on post-accident.

Dreamcatcher was a really strange case. I never read the book, but I
caught the movie poster a couple of months before it came out. The
credits included a scrpt by William "The Princess Bride" Goldman and
the film was directed by Lawrence "Body Heat" Kasdan. Seriously, I
think "drugs" is about as good as explanation as I can come up with
for why three men so talented could turn out something so wretched.
Even after reading the reviews (I think it's at something like 30% on
RT), I just had to see it (at a second-run theater) just to see how
the mighty had fallen.

RWG (I don't think Goldman nor Kasdan have done much of note since)


Invid Fan

unread,
Feb 2, 2011, 9:06:14 PM2/2/11
to
In article
<1667aeeb-e881-4ce6...@k22g2000yqh.googlegroups.com>,
nick <nickmacp...@AOL.com> wrote:

> What's your problem with The Shining. At the risk of cinematic
> heresy, I think in 50 years time, 2001 and The Shining will be the
> only Stanley Kubrick movies people still watch.
>

Its main flaw is there's really no difference between Jack Nicholson
pre- and post- ghosts :)

> Dreamcatcher, wasn't that the King book that John Harkness said was
> really fucked up because he reckoned it was written under the
> influence of the drugs Stephen King was on post-accident?

As opposed to the pre-accident one written on other drugs.

--
Chris Mack "If we show any weakness, the monsters will get cocky!"
'Invid Fan' - 'Yokai Monsters Along With Ghosts'

moviePig

unread,
Feb 2, 2011, 9:54:59 PM2/2/11
to

At the time, I thought nothing could be more promising than Kubrick
making his long-promised "truly scary" horror movie from the new King
book. But then, the book was a letdown, the movie wasn't scary (and
no f/x), and Nicholson was funny. Yeah, I know I'm out of touch on
both SHINING and DREAMCATCHER, but my ekg cannot tell a lie. (Fwiw, I
do know people who saw DREAMCATCHER who still get nervous taking a
shit...)

solarr

unread,
Feb 3, 2011, 12:49:28 PM2/3/11
to
Hi RichA,

On Feb 2, 3:08 pm, RichA <rander3...@gmail.com> wrote:

> Or how about
> Ringworld?

That would be great! I always thought "Rendezvous with Rama" would
make a good movie, too. ;-)

-/< /\ />-

Invid Fan

unread,
Feb 3, 2011, 7:18:23 PM2/3/11
to
In article
<dda7bdda-fdd7-4b7b...@a28g2000vbo.googlegroups.com>,
solarr <sol...@aol.com> wrote:

No it wouldn't, as iirc David Fincher and Morgan Freeman are finding
out :) There's no real action or characters, at least not enough to
hang a movie on. Great book, but you'd have to change it so much
there's no point in trying.

(You could maybe do it as a NOVA style documentary about the mission...)

moviePig

unread,
Feb 3, 2011, 11:50:09 PM2/3/11
to
On Feb 3, 7:18 pm, Invid Fan <in...@loclanet.com> wrote:
> In article
> <dda7bdda-fdd7-4b7b-933c-89f623503...@a28g2000vbo.googlegroups.com>,

>
> solarr <sol...@aol.com> wrote:
> > Hi RichA,
>
> > On Feb 2, 3:08 pm, RichA <rander3...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > > Or how about
> > > Ringworld?
>
> > That would be great!  I always thought "Rendezvous with Rama" would
> > make a good movie, too.  ;-)
>
> No it wouldn't, as iirc David Fincher and Morgan Freeman are finding
> out :) There's no real action or characters, at least not enough to
> hang a movie on. Great book, but you'd have to change it so much
> there's no point in trying.
>
> (You could maybe do it as a NOVA style documentary about the mission...)

A NOVA-style documentary. I can already see box-office lines
forming...

Ken Wesson

unread,
Feb 4, 2011, 12:49:47 AM2/4/11
to
On Wed, 02 Feb 2011 11:13:56 -0500, Merrick Baldelli wrote:

> On Tue, 1 Feb 2011 08:12:13 -0800 (PST), swangdb <swa...@auburn.edu>
> wrote:
>
>>I'm still worried about casting...I can see Hollywood doing something
>>like...
>>
>>Abigail - Beyonce
>>The Trashcan Man - Justin Bieber
>>Stu - David Caruso
>>Tom Cullen - Kevin James
>
> Christ on a drunken rampage. The reality distortion this cast
> of character creates by being put together in this way would truly drive
> even the most sane completely batshit bonkers. Like R'lyeh rising from
> it's watery grave.

Ia! Ia!

Of course, perhaps something like this has already happened. It would
explain all those Jersey Shore/Foo Idol/Survivor/RHoFoo/etc. watchers out
there. All of us sane people somehow managed to avoid witnessing it,
which is why we're a) sane and b) unaware of it having already happened.

>>Okay, okay, I'm kidding...how about Steve Buscemi for the Trashcan
>>Man...
>
> I believe Buscemi has a bit more sense than that.

Buscemi played a similarly loopy character in Armageddon (that'd be the
asteroid flick with bad science; the one with good science had Tea
Leoni). "He's got space dementia!"

Jerry Brown

unread,
Feb 4, 2011, 5:21:31 AM2/4/11
to
On Thu, 03 Feb 2011 19:18:23 -0500, Invid Fan <in...@loclanet.com>
wrote:

>In article
><dda7bdda-fdd7-4b7b...@a28g2000vbo.googlegroups.com>,
>solarr <sol...@aol.com> wrote:
>
>> Hi RichA,
>>
>> On Feb 2, 3:08�pm, RichA <rander3...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>> > Or how about
>> > Ringworld?
>>
>> That would be great! I always thought "Rendezvous with Rama" would
>> make a good movie, too. ;-)
>>
>No it wouldn't, as iirc David Fincher and Morgan Freeman are finding
>out :) There's no real action or characters, at least not enough to
>hang a movie on. Great book, but you'd have to change it so much
>there's no point in trying.

True; adding character conflicts and politics gets you the Gentry Lee
sequels. Ugh!

Has there ever been an SF movie which is just about exploring an
environment, any hazards being purely environmental? If so, has there
ever been a successful one?

Staying with Clarke, I recall that at one point 2001 wasn't going to
have the whole HAL subplot, and Bowman went off throught the stargate
leaving the rest of the crew alive on the Discovery (in one of the
various story versions in Lost Worlds of 2001). Might have still
worked, but we wouldn't then have "Stop, Dave".

>(You could maybe do it as a NOVA style documentary about the mission...)

Jerry Brown
--
A cat may look at a king
(but probably won't bother)

<http://www.jwbrown.co.uk>

trotsky

unread,
Feb 4, 2011, 8:00:30 AM2/4/11
to


Or foaming, as the case may be.

Merrick Baldelli

unread,
Feb 4, 2011, 12:28:23 PM2/4/11
to
On 4 Feb 2011 06:49:47 +0100, Ken Wesson <kwe...@gmail.com> wrote:

>On Wed, 02 Feb 2011 11:13:56 -0500, Merrick Baldelli wrote:
>
>> On Tue, 1 Feb 2011 08:12:13 -0800 (PST), swangdb <swa...@auburn.edu>
>> wrote:
>>
>>>I'm still worried about casting...I can see Hollywood doing something
>>>like...
>>>
>>>Abigail - Beyonce
>>>The Trashcan Man - Justin Bieber
>>>Stu - David Caruso
>>>Tom Cullen - Kevin James
>>
>> Christ on a drunken rampage. The reality distortion this cast
>> of character creates by being put together in this way would truly drive
>> even the most sane completely batshit bonkers. Like R'lyeh rising from
>> it's watery grave.
>
>Ia! Ia!
>
>Of course, perhaps something like this has already happened. It would
>explain all those Jersey Shore/Foo Idol/Survivor/RHoFoo/etc. watchers out
>there. All of us sane people somehow managed to avoid witnessing it,
>which is why we're a) sane and b) unaware of it having already happened.

I think we're all just batshit bonkers, regardless of whether
or not we've actually witnessed it. It's the television you see.. It
rots the brains. *smirks*

>>>Okay, okay, I'm kidding...how about Steve Buscemi for the Trashcan
>>>Man...
>>
>> I believe Buscemi has a bit more sense than that.
>
>Buscemi played a similarly loopy character in Armageddon (that'd be the
>asteroid flick with bad science; the one with good science had Tea
>Leoni). "He's got space dementia!"

That was a movie? I thought it was a 2-hour beer commercial.

trag

unread,
Feb 4, 2011, 4:10:09 PM2/4/11
to
On Feb 4, 4:21 am, Jerry Brown
<je...@jwbrown.co.uk.RemoveThisBitToReply> wrote:

> Has there ever been an SF movie which is just about exploring an
> environment, any hazards being purely environmental? If so, has there
> ever been a successful one?

You could make RAMA as a zombie movie. There have been at least a
couple of movies where person(s) must explore space vessel (for some
reason) which is full of zombie equivalents.

Of course, the wonder of RAMA would be a bit lost in the mayhem, but
it would stand a better chance at the box office.

Zombie-RAMA!

Professor Bubba

unread,
Feb 4, 2011, 4:26:36 PM2/4/11
to
In article
<8769fb75-293c-4a55...@k17g2000pre.googlegroups.com>,
trag <tr...@io.com> wrote:


William Castle died too soon.

Jerry Brown

unread,
Feb 4, 2011, 6:03:06 PM2/4/11
to
On Fri, 4 Feb 2011 13:10:09 -0800 (PST), trag <tr...@io.com> wrote:

>On Feb 4, 4:21 am, Jerry Brown
><je...@jwbrown.co.uk.RemoveThisBitToReply> wrote:
>
>> Has there ever been an SF movie which is just about exploring an
>> environment, any hazards being purely environmental? If so, has there
>> ever been a successful one?
>
>You could make RAMA as a zombie movie. There have been at least a
>couple of movies where person(s) must explore space vessel (for some
>reason) which is full of zombie equivalents.

Just watched one recently; Pandorum. Protagonist is a crewman on a
large sleeper ship, but suffering from acute memory loss and some sort
of space dementia for part of the film, so he learns what's going on
at the same time as the audience.

>Of course, the wonder of RAMA would be a bit lost in the mayhem, but
>it would stand a better chance at the box office.

Yes, after something like that it would almost be time to say "Come
back Gentry Lee, all is forgiven". Almost, but still not.

nick

unread,
Feb 4, 2011, 6:10:16 PM2/4/11
to
On Feb 4, 4:10 pm, trag <t...@io.com> wrote:
> On Feb 4, 4:21 am, Jerry Brown
>
> <je...@jwbrown.co.uk.RemoveThisBitToReply> wrote:
> > Has there ever been an SF movie which is just about exploring an
> > environment, any hazards being purely environmental? If so, has there
> > ever been a successful one?
>
> You could make RAMA as a zombie movie.  There have been at least a
> couple of movies where person(s) must explore space vessel (for some
> reason) which is full of zombie equivalents.
>
A long time ago I read a comic book story about a space vessel haunted
by an old school vampire with a cape and fangs and such. But since
this was the future and it was in deep space, the people on board had
no wood to make a cross or a stake with so the vampire was pretty much
invincible. I'm surprised that this simple concept has never been
used for a science fiction/horror movie. If it has I've never seen
it

moviePig

unread,
Feb 4, 2011, 6:18:10 PM2/4/11
to

It raises the question of whether the Enterprise's replicator could
synthesize oak... or holy water...

Michael Bowker

unread,
Feb 4, 2011, 6:55:25 PM2/4/11
to

I remember this, I think. There was an old guy with a wooden cane.
The vampire was trying to get rid of it. The last frame is the cane
floating in space and the ship in the distance.

What was this?

Anim8rFSK

unread,
Feb 4, 2011, 7:15:14 PM2/4/11
to
In article
<31de7ee5-0bf6-44c0...@v7g2000yqh.googlegroups.com>,
nick <nickmacp...@AOL.com> wrote:

There's a DRAAACULLLLLAA IN SPAAAACCEE movie. Dracula 3000 or
something? The 'spaceship' was a high school cafetorium. It was just
embarrassing.

--
"Please, I can't die, I've never kissed an Asian woman!"
Shego on "Shat My Dad Says"

nick

unread,
Feb 4, 2011, 8:10:59 PM2/4/11
to
> What was this?- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

This might be it but I really can't remember. The story was in one
of those magazine formatted black and white horror comics from the
70s, a knock-off competitor to Eerie and Creepy. The vampire had a
mustache and the central conflict was against two men on the
spaceship, and one of those might have been an old guy with a wooden
cane.

nick

unread,
Feb 4, 2011, 8:19:28 PM2/4/11
to
On Feb 4, 7:15 pm, Anim8rFSK <ANIM8R...@cox.net> wrote:
> In article
> <31de7ee5-0bf6-44c0-b726-0db1326e5...@v7g2000yqh.googlegroups.com>,

>
>
>
>
>
>  nick <nickmacpherso...@AOL.com> wrote:
> > On Feb 4, 4:10 pm, trag <t...@io.com> wrote:
> > > On Feb 4, 4:21 am, Jerry Brown
>
> > > <je...@jwbrown.co.uk.RemoveThisBitToReply> wrote:
> > > > Has there ever been an SF movie which is just about exploring an
> > > > environment, any hazards being purely environmental? If so, has there
> > > > ever been a successful one?
>
> > > You could make RAMA as a zombie movie. There have been at least a
> > > couple of movies where person(s) must explore space vessel (for some
> > > reason) which is full of zombie equivalents.
>
> > A long time ago I read a comic book story about a space vessel haunted
> > by an old school vampire with a cape and fangs and such.  But since
> > this was the future and it was in deep space, the people on board had
> > no wood to make a cross or a stake with so the vampire was pretty much
> > invincible.  I'm surprised that this simple concept has never been
> > used for a science fiction/horror movie.  If it has I've never seen
> > it
>
> There's a DRAAACULLLLLAA IN SPAAAACCEE movie.  Dracula 3000 or
> something?  The 'spaceship' was a high school cafetorium.  It was just
> embarrassing.
>
Similar plot but no lines this good:

"Did I ever tell you how many times I'd see you and want to ejaculate
all over your bazonkas... All the times I stayed up late, high as a
kite, in the non-gravitational atmosphere, while I stroked my
anaconda, and dreamed about your snow-white ass."

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0367677/


Ken Wesson

unread,
Feb 4, 2011, 10:08:08 PM2/4/11
to
On Fri, 04 Feb 2011 12:28:23 -0500, Merrick Baldelli wrote:

> On 4 Feb 2011 06:49:47 +0100, Ken Wesson <kwe...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>>On Wed, 02 Feb 2011 11:13:56 -0500, Merrick Baldelli wrote:
>>
>>> On Tue, 1 Feb 2011 08:12:13 -0800 (PST), swangdb <swa...@auburn.edu>
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>>I'm still worried about casting...I can see Hollywood doing something
>>>>like...
>>>>
>>>>Abigail - Beyonce
>>>>The Trashcan Man - Justin Bieber
>>>>Stu - David Caruso
>>>>Tom Cullen - Kevin James
>>>
>>> Christ on a drunken rampage. The reality distortion this cast
>>> of character creates by being put together in this way would truly
>>> drive even the most sane completely batshit bonkers. Like R'lyeh
>>> rising from it's watery grave.
>>
>>Ia! Ia!
>>
>>Of course, perhaps something like this has already happened. It would
>>explain all those Jersey Shore/Foo Idol/Survivor/RHoFoo/etc. watchers
>>out there. All of us sane people somehow managed to avoid witnessing it,
>>which is why we're a) sane and b) unaware of it having already happened.
>
> I think we're all just batshit bonkers, regardless of whether
> or not we've actually witnessed it.

Speak for yourself. :)

>>>>Okay, okay, I'm kidding...how about Steve Buscemi for the Trashcan
>>>>Man...
>>>
>>> I believe Buscemi has a bit more sense than that.
>>
>>Buscemi played a similarly loopy character in Armageddon (that'd be the
>>asteroid flick with bad science; the one with good science had Tea
>>Leoni). "He's got space dementia!"
>
> That was a movie? I thought it was a 2-hour beer commercial.

It was a commercial? I thought it was a 2-hour beer hangover.

Ken Wesson

unread,
Feb 4, 2011, 10:08:50 PM2/4/11
to

Holodeck. Disable the safeties. Conjure appropriate implements. For that
matter, conjure Buffy as well.

moviePig

unread,
Feb 4, 2011, 10:21:01 PM2/4/11
to

I wonder how close 1.9 is to the lowest rating by at least 2000
users...

nick

unread,
Feb 5, 2011, 8:13:55 AM2/5/11
to
1.9 is the default IMDb score for anything with Casper Van Dien, Erika
Eleniak and Coolio in the leads. Well, actually 1.5 but the presence
of Udo Kier bumps it up a bit.

trotsky

unread,
Feb 5, 2011, 8:24:55 AM2/5/11
to


That's an all star cast in my book. Throw in a megapython or gatoroid,
put it on Syfy, and add a lot of Pos-T-Vac commercials and that's about
as much fun as you can have at the movies.

Merrick Baldelli

unread,
Feb 5, 2011, 10:15:00 AM2/5/11
to
On Fri, 04 Feb 2011 17:15:14 -0700, Anim8rFSK <ANIM...@cox.net>
wrote:

I don't know what's worse about this thread... The fact that
we're discussing this as suggestions for spicing up "Rendezvous with
Rama". Or the fact that there's plenty of material out there to
demonstrate just how bad an idea it is to spice the story up in the
first place.

Orange Green

unread,
Feb 5, 2011, 1:33:03 PM2/5/11
to

HEY! Watch what you say about Armageddon. I liked that movie.

Snarky Dresser

unread,
Feb 5, 2011, 1:34:20 PM2/5/11
to
On 05/02/2011 8:13 AM, nick wrote:
> 1.9 is the default IMDb score for anything with Casper Van Dien, Erika
> Eleniak and Coolio in the leads. Well, actually 1.5 but the presence
> of Udo Kier bumps it up a bit.

That's funny. I always felt that Erika deserved an automatic 8. 9 if she
appears in a swimsuit, lingerie, or (bestill my beating heart!) nude.

rwgibson13

unread,
Feb 6, 2011, 1:32:15 PM2/6/11
to
On Feb 5, 12:33 pm, Orange Green <og_b1...@netmail.zoog.com.au> wrote:
> On 04/02/2011 10:08 PM, Ken Wesson wrote:
>
> > On Fri, 04 Feb 2011 12:28:23 -0500, Merrick Baldelli wrote:
> >> On 4 Feb 2011 06:49:47 +0100, Ken Wesson<kwes...@gmail.com>  wrote:
> >>> Buscemi played a similarly loopy character in Armageddon (that'd be the
> >>> asteroid flick with bad science; the one with good science had Tea
> >>> Leoni). "He's got space dementia!"
>
> >>        That was a movie?  I thought it was a 2-hour beer commercial.
>
> > It was a commercial? I thought it was a 2-hour beer hangover.
>
> HEY! Watch what you say about Armageddon. I liked that movie.

I think it will be forever known as part of an answer to a future
trivia question: In what movies did Bruce Willis' character actually
die?

RWG (kind like John Wayne so far as that goes)

Anim8rFSK

unread,
Feb 6, 2011, 3:09:27 PM2/6/11
to
In article
<b4fdddd4-4a2b-4c55...@x1g2000yqb.googlegroups.com>,
rwgibson13 <rwgib...@gmail.com> wrote:

And "what movie would have had a happier ending if Ben Afflack had died"
although I guess the proper answer to that is the quote from Terminator 2
"All of them, I think"

solarr

unread,
Feb 7, 2011, 3:11:38 PM2/7/11
to
Hi Jerry,

On Feb 4, 4:21 am, Jerry Brown
<je...@jwbrown.co.uk.RemoveThisBitToReply> wrote:

> >solarr <sol...@aol.com> wrote:
>
> >> Hi RichA,
>
> >> On Feb 2, 3:08 pm, RichA <rander3...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> >> > Or how about
> >> > Ringworld?
>
> >> That would be great!  I always thought "Rendezvous with Rama" would
> >> make a good movie, too.  ;-)
>
> >No it wouldn't, as iirc David Fincher and Morgan Freeman are finding
> >out :) There's no real action or characters, at least not enough to
> >hang a movie on. Great book, but you'd have to change it so much
> >there's no point in trying.
>
> True; adding character conflicts and politics gets you the Gentry Lee
> sequels. Ugh!
>
> Has there ever been an SF movie which is just about exploring an
> environment, any hazards being purely environmental? If so, has there
> ever been a successful one?

I don't know how succesful it was (it was nominated for two Oscars and
won one) but I would say that "Destination Moon" would fit that
description:

http://www.amazon.com/Destination-Moon-John-Archer/dp/6305761078/ref=sr_1_1?s=dvd&ie=UTF8&qid=1297108777&sr=1-1

Not a bad pedigree, either, with George Pal as Producer and Robert
Heinlein as technical advisor and co-writing the script. ;-)

I would also include "Apollo 13" as fitting the "just about exploring
an environment, any hazards being purely environmental" bill .

;-)

-/< /\ />-

Jerry Brown

unread,
Feb 7, 2011, 6:19:51 PM2/7/11
to
On Mon, 7 Feb 2011 12:11:38 -0800 (PST), solarr <sol...@aol.com>
wrote:

Good one. I initially thought of it then excluded it because of the
subplot with the religious fundamentalist trying to sabotage the
mission.

Now I realise that was from a completely different film (Conquest of
Space maybe).

>I would also include "Apollo 13" as fitting the "just about exploring
>an environment, any hazards being purely environmental" bill .

True, and they added bits for dramatic purpose, bringing it further
into the domain of fiction.

solarr

unread,
Feb 8, 2011, 1:47:45 PM2/8/11
to
Hi Jerry,

On Feb 7, 5:19 pm, Jerry Brown
<je...@jwbrown.co.uk.RemoveThisBitToReply> wrote:

> >http://www.amazon.com/Destination-Moon-John-Archer/dp/6305761078/ref=...


>
> >Not a bad pedigree, either, with George Pal as Producer and Robert
> >Heinlein as technical advisor and co-writing the script.  ;-)
>
> Good one. I initially thought of it then excluded it because of the
> subplot with the religious fundamentalist trying to sabotage the
> mission.
>
> Now I realise that was from a completely different film (Conquest of
> Space maybe).

Not sure about the "religious fundamentalist" part, but I think
"Conquest of Space" would also be a good example of the kind of movie
"Rendezvous with Rama" might be:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conquest_of_Space


> >I would also include "Apollo 13" as fitting the "just about exploring
> >an environment, any hazards being purely environmental" bill .
>
> True, and they added bits for dramatic purpose, bringing it further
> into the domain of fiction.

I almost added "Rocketship X-M",

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocketship_X-M

but left it off because of the sub-plot with the descendant of the
builders of an advanced civilization and her enemies.

If you are willing to expand the "just about exploring an environment"
limitation to allow "Rocketship X-M" to qualify, then I would quickly
add "Forbidden Planet" and especially "Alien".

I was supremely impressed with "Alien" as an "exploration" movie even
before the egg opened and shot out the creature that attached itself
to John Hurt's face. =:-O

0 new messages