Dragon riders

[Raven Dane]

I have been an Anne MacCaffery fan since a young girl. The Ship Who Sang was the first book that moved me to tears. So am I the only one to feel uncomfortable about all the hype over the film of Eragorn? Anne created a world where humans rode fire breathing dragons long before this book was written...even the name sounds too close too Aragorn. Originality obviously not important!
Does anyone know where the Pern books have ever been considered for films? Or has Eragorn taken the initiative away now?

[KoffeeKat]

Well, personally, I think there's always room for more dragons, no matter who's "world" the inhabit!
Anne's Pern has been considered for "the film world" a couple of times and at the moment is "optioned" by Copperheart Entertainment, the same guys that did "Gingersnaps" a few years ago.
You can find more info at copperheart.ca/ and annemccaffreyfans.org/forum/showthread.php?t=10730

[Raven Dane]

Oh I totally agree with you about never having too many dragons! I guess i love the Pern stories and want to see them with full CGI magnificence on the silver screen!

[KoffeeKat]

Originally Posted by Raven Dane

i love the Pern stories and want to see them with full CGI magnificence on the silver screen!

Agreed!
Who knows, maybe these guys will get their act together and we'll finally see Ruatha in all it's glory.
After the few "false starts" we've seen in recent years, it would be nice.

[Talysia]

I must admit, when I saw the trailers for Eragon, I instantly thought of Anne's Pern series. I'm glad, too, that a film is due to be made about the dragonriders of Pern, but I'm not sure which one they'd start with. Would it be Dragonflight or Dragonsdawn?

[KoffeeKat]

Originally Posted by Talysia

I'm glad, too, that a film is due to be made about the dragonriders of Pern

Well, at the moment they (Copperheart) have the option to the rights, that's a long way from the finished film in the theatres!
They don't have anything other than that, so even though they say it's "set for release in 2008", I'd not count your dragon's eggs just yet.

[Talysia]

Mind you, if Eragon is anything to judge by, the film industry is loving fantasy films at the moment (or sci-fi. I can never tell which the DRoP books were supposed to be) so a DRoP film would probably be appreciated. Well, it would be by me, at any rate! I hope it gets a release!

[pyan]

I sympathize with Raven, though. I mean, here's AMcC been writing for years, an extremely popular author with a well-thought-out, complete world, yet no film. Along comes this Paolini kid, writes an extremely derivative novel, full of characters and events pinched from just about every established writer he's ever read, and Bang! they're falling over themselves to make a film out of it. Hardly seems fair, does it?
Ah well. From the reviews I've seen of Eragon, (the film) they seem to have made a right hash of the book anyway, so maybe when Pern does eventually come to the silver screen, people will flock to see a decent dragon film. I do hope it's Dragonflight, though: the first scene at Ruatha Hold would make a great opening.

[Raven Dane]

If done well, it would make a truly breath taking film! And a whole series- Hollywood loves sequels!

[McHorde-Trooper]

Originally Posted by Talysia

I must admit, when I saw the trailers for Eragon, I instantly thought of Anne's Pern series. I'm glad, too, that a film is due to be made about the dragonriders of Pern, but I'm not sure which one they'd start with. Would it be Dragonflight or Dragonsdawn?

Unfortunately, if I were a movie studio I'd probably have to go with Dragonsdawn. It chronologically is the beginning of the story. It would also end with a huge special effects sequence and I'm sure they would ham up the romance. It would all fit in one movie and set things up for future movies.

BUT, I would rather have the first movie be Dragonflight. Discovering this whole strange world by being immersed in it. It would turn off some people, but it's really kind of cool. Kind of like how the Star Wars movie New Hope starts you out in the middle of this elaborate new world in the middle of the story.

I can picture some great cinematic scenes, but from the movie studio perspective there isn't a ton of action in Dragonflight and a lot would have to be cut and reworked to speed things up. Some of the wonder related to the past may get lost (even if it's the first movie).

Hmm . . Dragonflight might almost be better as a short TV series (kind of like the Sopranos or the new Dr. Who) something with only 13 or so episodes with high production value.

[manephelien]

The trouble with Dragonsdawn is that you only see the dragons at the end. Granted, you have the firelizards and thread, but it's not quite the same thing, is it?

[McHorde-Trooper]

Originally Posted by manephelien

The trouble with Dragonsdawn is that you only see the dragons at the end. Granted, you have the firelizards and thread, but it's not quite the same thing, is it?

That's true, though I'm sure they could rewrite it a bit.
I wonder how they'd handle the whole dragon reproductive thing . . ?
Would they ham it up for the sex or would they try to make it a more family orientated movie and maybe half way ignore it . . I'd hope for the family orientated approach. That whole aspect of it . . thought important to the plot
. . never really seemed great.

[manephelien]

Don't dumb it down. One reason why Ron Moore nixed the Pern series that was in the making a few years ago was the networks wanted to make the show too family friendly, and good for him. I don't understand why just because a show has dragons in it, it has to be suitable for children, I really don't. That's why I'd rather see it as a movie: make it NC-17 if you have to, but show the matings as they're written, dammit! That said, the greenrider matings, especially involving only male riders, are only hinted at even in the books (I don't think Anne is very comfortable writing gay sex), but at the very least, show riders crowding into the room together. The heterosexual matings should be shown, it doesn't have to be more graphical than Anne wrote it by any means, but don't cut it completely, or people who haven't read the books won't understand how all-encompassing the dragon-rider bond really is.

[Talysia]

Very good point. There are so many nuances that would probably be overlooked in a series like this - the dragon/rider bond being just one of them. Weyr morality would be another sticking point for tv executives thinking about making such a series "family friendly".

[McHorde-Trooper]

Who ever makes the movie could always ask Anne McCaffrey to make a new book. Not to pick on her too much, but she does seem to enjoy rewriting her own existing stories (granted it's usually done from a different perspective and probably doesn't contradict the previous stories).

Honestly, manephelien aside from the sex there doesn't seem to be a ton of stuff that makes the Pern stories racy at all. It's interesting that what you see as an essential aspect always felt tacked on too me.

Another thing that might be a little bit un-family is the violence. Yet, the violence in the book is probably less than a 10th of what mainstream TV and movies have. The movie couldn't be G ratted, but it would be an easy PG.