WHAT IF! Pick your book---pick your actors---discuss

[dustinzgirl]

What if you could pick any book/series that is currently not in film and pick your own actors, directors, ect...

For example:

Stephen King's Dark Tower:

Roland--Sam Elliot (with the mustache)
Jake---Jimmy Bennet (Poisidon, Hostage, Firewall)
Eddie--Jason Mewes
Susan--Nona Gaye (because she's pretty, but looks like she would mess someone up)
Mia---Anjelina Jolie
Randall Flagg---Christopher Walken

I think that would make one heck of a movie. Of course...the budget would be 10000000 gabillion dollars.....

So what book would you like to see in film and who do you want to act in it?


PS I almost forgot---Quentin Terrantino would TOTALLY have to be the director.

[Talysia]

I'd love to see Kij Johnson's Fudoki as a film. Casting big names might be difficult at first, though, given that half the cast at the beginning of the book are cats.

Failing that, I'd like to see either a big screen or series version of Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern books. I think that a film/series was being planned at one point, but I've no idea whether it's still going ahead or not.

[dustinzgirl]

Originally Posted by Talysia

I'd love to see Kij Johnson's Fudoki as a film. Casting big names might be difficult at first, though, given that half the cast at the beginning of the book are cats.

Failing that, I'd like to see either a big screen or series version of Anne McCaffrey's Dragonriders of Pern books. I think that a film/series was being planned at one point, but I've no idea whether it's still going ahead or not.

Well there is always that crazy panther guy.....

The Seattle Times: Catman

[BookStop]

Well, I'd like to see my husband's book as a film, but that probably won't mean much to y'all since not very many have yet to read it. (I have it casted already - duh)

Failing that, then I'd want to see The Time Travelers Wife done as a film. As far as casting - oooh - that's hard because of the age changes. Maybe Claire Danes as Clare and Luke Wilson as Henry.....

[Dr. Atomic]

I've been agonizing over this one for a few days, and have aborted three attempts at posting... but here it goes...

The Demolished Man
Based on the novel by Alfred Bester

Directed by
• Christopher Nolan

Screenplay Adaptation by
• Christopher Nolan and David Goyer

Starring:
• David Strathairn as Lincoln Powell (the psychic cop)
• Christian Bale as Ben Reich (the young and murderous industrialist)

Part of me shudders to even contemplate doing my favorite science fiction novel as a film, given how often Hollywood eviscerates everything it touches. However, I feel like the above crowd could do the story justice. Maybe...

[dustinzgirl]

Nolan's a good director, but kinda straight forward

Nolan's Batman Begins was probably one of the better in the batman flicks, but man it toook foreeever to get to the point.

And...

Christian Bale....nummmmmy......sometimes he is a bit dry, but then again I think that was just his Batman character...but he was hotter than anything in American psycho.....nummmy.....

Good choices.....now i should probably go read that book....

[j. d. worthington]

Hmmm. This has been happening a fair amount lately... make a post, and it goes off into the void.... However:

Frankly, I tend to avoid "names" with such things, as if they were starved dogs and I were covered with lamb's blood. So -- assuming they were given good writers, directors, and actors (and I put writers first for the simple reason that no matter how good the other two, if you've got a rotten script, the film will stink worse than a three-day-dead skunk) -- there are several books I'd like to see made into films. But naming "stars" for either directing or acting... I'm afraid I've no faith whatsoever there. The best films I've seen in a long time are made by people who aren't necessarily the best actors, and don't have much of a budget, but they care about what they're doing, and the stories they're telling, and it shows. I'll take no-names and low-budgets but care and craftsmanship over the alternative any day....

[Dr. Atomic]

Originally Posted by dustinzgirl

Nolan's a good director, but kinda straight forward
Nolan's Batman Begins was probably one of the better in the batman flicks, but man it toook foreeever to get to the point.

See Memento or Insomnia and you'll understand why I'd want Nolan to direct.

J.D. -- I agree with you about avoiding "names," but for the sake of the post, I figured I'd take a Hollywood producer's point of view -- "If this thing's gonna get made, it better have STARS in it!" It didn't seem like as much fun to just go with unknowns...

Instead, I tried to go with actors who have traditionally sublimated their own personalities in the pursuit of capturing those of their characters. And while Bale is high profile right now, he's done enough amazing work to convince me that he'd be able to embrace the role. And Strathairn, as successful as he was in Good Night and Good luck, isn't exactly the first person to pop into people's minds when they think of movie stars.

Though I'll admit to having gone with a fairly big-time director, because I think that experience goes a long way when it comes to capturing the subtleties of a story like The Demolished Man. It could so quickly devolve into a boring action flick, and I think many untried directors run that risk. The fact that Nolan imbued Batman with so much nuance convinced me that, were I in a position to back such a project, I'd want him to helm the film.

Though seeing as the odds of The Demolished Man being made into a movie are about 100,000,000 to one against, I'm not exactly sure why I'm bothering to justify -- or even explain -- my thought process.

[j. d. worthington]

Well.... All right... I wasn't in any way criticizing anyone for posting here; merely stating my own difficulty in doing so. As I was also dealing with several other things at once (seldom a good idea if I want to do anything well -- multi-tasking "R"n't Us, as it were) I may not have made that clear: I'd like to post some thoughts on movies I'd like to see made, but unfortunately naming names probably wouldn't work where I'm concerned, so I'm essentially asking: Should I post without meeting that criterion... or not? Just wanting to play by the rules on this one....

[dustinzgirl]

JD, lighten up! nobody is watching.......except the little green men in your TV.



Sure, post what books you would like to see as movies. You don't have to name characters/actors/directors, unless you feel like you want too.

You know, I did not like memento, but i cant remember why. Insomnia I hated because, like nolans other movies, it takes 100000000 years to get to the point. Plus, Im the kind a gal, when I watch a movie, I dont want to THINK about every detail in the movie...........so Nolan's not one of my top picks for director.

PS: Heck, I started the thread and I can't even stay on topic. I am a terrible moderator/poster/threader!

[Culhwch]

I can appreciate what Nolan did with Memento, though I didn't like it. Insomnia and Batman Begins I very much liked, and The Prestige is on my must see list. I've never read The Demolished Man, but if Nolan was helming and Bale and Strathairn were starring, I'd be there.

A book I'd like to see filmed... I might have to think on that.

[j. d. worthington]

Well, that being the case....

There are a ton:

City, by Clifford D. Simak, would make a wonderful, quiet, thoughtful sf film with great poignancy, if done well.

The Humanoids, by Jack Williamson, or even the novelette "With Folded Hands" ... very effective, and terrifying.

Several of Heinlein's juveniles would make quite good films, Red Planet and Between Planets being high on that list. Methuselah's Children could also be a very good film.

Brain Wave, by Poul Anderson

The Chrysalids, by John Wyndham

"All the Lies That are My Life," by Harlan Ellison (in fact, a great number of Ellison's stories would make good films, if done well -- for one thing, he has an extremely acute visual sense with his writing as well as an emotional immediacy that is perfect for the medium)

The Dragon Masters, by Jack Vance

The Female Man, by Joanna Russ -- though that one would be a difficult film to do, sections would make it a definitely "for mature audiences only" film ... it could be one hell of a film, and could be done -- look at a lot of the art and foreign films of the 1960s-1980s.

The Big Time, by Fritz Leiber -- not to mention several of the Fafhrd/Mouser tales, from "Ill Met in Lankhmar" to "Adept's Gambit" (even with the lengthy flashback sequence, this could be quite good)...

Again, difficult to do, but not impossible, with some imaginative filmmaking: John Brunner's Stand on Zanzibar or The Sheep Look Up. Not happy films, but they could be very, very good.

And, as we saw with Tarkovsky's Solaris, even such a story as Odd John, by Stapledon, could be done by a very talented writer/director team.

A truly faithful adaptation of The Time Machine, by H. G. Wells, would be a genuinely impressive achievement, as would "The Machine Stops", by E. M. Forster.

These are some that come to me right off the top of my head... but there so many others that it'd take an enormous list... But I would like to see us get away from the idea that sf must be some slam-bang action/thriller sort of thing... fine enough in its way, but it's all been done to death, and it's so bloody limited for a field that's supposed to be about ideas!

The Demolished Man... I don't know how some of the tp would translate to the screen... especially the Rebus game and Linc's inevitable thought association with Mary Noyes that causes her such pain... It'd take very careful handling.

The Stars My Destination, on the other hand, might stand a better chance, except (again) for the section where Gully is experiencing synaesthesia --that's going to be very difficult to get across well; certainly as well as it works on the printed page. But if someone can figure that out -- Oh, what a film that would make!

[Dr. Atomic]

Originally Posted by j. d. worthington

/cut/...I wasn't in any way criticizing anyone for posting here; merely stating my own difficulty in doing so .../cut/... I may not have made that clear: I'd like to post some thoughts on movies I'd like to see made, but unfortunately naming names probably wouldn't work where I'm concerned, so I'm essentially asking: Should I post without meeting that criterion... or not? Just wanting to play by the rules on this one....

No no -- I didn't think you were criticizing! Have no fear on that point. I was just using your post to delve into the thought process behind my own. I wasn't in any way offended or anything like that! I understood exactly where you were coming from.

I agree: Filming certain scenes in The Demolished Man would be pretty difficult -- maybe impossible. I'd only want it to happen if someone could solve those problems... anything less, and I'll stick with the book.

And Humanoids -- definitely. I don't think it'd be that tough to pull off well. Of course, that's never stopped Hollywood from screwing things up...

[j. d. worthington]

Originally Posted by Dr. Atomic

I agree: Filming certain scenes in The Demolished Man would be pretty difficult -- maybe impossible. I'd only want it to happen if someone could solve those problems... anything less, and I'll stick with the book.

And Humanoids -- definitely. I don't think it'd be that tough to pull off well. Of course, that's never stopped Hollywood from screwing things up...

LOL. Oh, how unfortunately true!... And, yes, I'd love to see them find some way to at least strongly suggest those elements in Demolished Man and Stars My Destination. If they could do that... just think what wonderful, exciting, and mind-stretching films those would be!

The fact of the matter is, though, that -- with rare exceptions -- the vision of what science fiction is or is capable of hasn't changed much since the 1920s in film. We're still using a lot of the same types of story as were used then, concentrating either on the action/adventure aspect, or the robot-gone-amok, or the (god help us!) "mad scientist" theme, etc., etc., etc. All of which were already getting old by the mid-30s in the magazines. So (as said, with a few very notable exceptions), Hollywood's version of sf is about 70+ years out of date (I'd say closer to 80, since most of this dates back at least to R.U.R., many themes earlier than that), as it's not only the type of story, but the entire mindset represented, is more than half-a-century behind written sf.

[K. Riehl]

Nine Princes in Amber/Guns of Avalon by Roger Zelazny

Corwin- Daniel Craig- Main character, has the physical presence to carry the movie.
Random- Tim Roth- Sneaky, Irreverent but still loyal
Benedict- Liam Neeson- Aloof, above the politics, great warrior
Gerard- John Rhys-Davies- Big, amiable, liked by all
Julian- Brian Blessed- Could deliver the line,"I enjoy slaughtering beasts, and think of my relatives constantly."
Caine- Paul Bettany- Slender, not very likable, possible betrayor
Bleys- Ralph Finnes- Dashing, charming, Corwins ally
Eric- Angus MacFadyen- Competent ruler, tries to stop Corwin but not kill him
Brand- Hugo Weaving- manipulator, back stabber, ally of chaos
Dworkin- Derek Jacobi- Ancient, mad, powerful, childlike in his power

Director- Stephen Sommers can keep the action going, The Mummy etc.