Movies

[Wiglaf]

What movies are out there (or upcoming) based upon his work? What ages are they geared toward? Are they any good?

I'm rather curious as I know a youngish fan of Coraline and Mirrormask.

[The Procrastinator]

I think a film of Good Omens is underway, though I could be wrong on this. Stardust is out though, entertaining and well done. Not exactly aimed at kids but suitable for kids of all ages I would say, except the tinies, who wouldn't understand it. I would imagine anyone who could grasp the more complex fairy tales would have no trouble with Stardust.

[GOLLUM]

BBC also did a production of Neverwhere. 6 part series I have that whilst Neil wasn't completely happy with still makes for reasonable viewing.

Stardust was worth seeing for sure.

He has also written or been involved in various film scripts including Beowulf.

[Duchessprozac]

Coraline whilst a children's movie is really more for the over 8s as it's got some scary stuff in it, not really any worse than Rohl Dahl's creations.

Mirrormask from what I remember is pretty much suitable for all ages.

Stardust is a great fantasy movie, there is some violence, with animals entrails being used for divination and the brothers offing each other.It's not too gruesome or gory but its definitly one where Parental Guidance is advised, though.

The Neverwhere show is based on Neil's more mature work and I woiuldn't say its suitable for the under 12s from what I remember due to te dark nature and more mature storyline which may confuse younger viewers.

Neil has also done scripts for things not based on his work. He wrote the translation for Princess Mononoke, which really needs to be seen by everyone as its a fantastic movie. He also scripted the recent CGI movie based on Beowulf, but that movie is really not suitable for children as it's filled with gore and baudy talk.

There is apparently a movie version of the Graveyard book in the works directed by Neil Jordan, and I've heard word that Mr Gaiman himself is looking to direct a movie version of Death:The High Cost of Living.

I hope that helps a little.

[Wiglaf]

Thanks for the help. I've seen Stardust around for $14.99; it just won't make its way to the $9.99 shelf. Maybe it would be worth the money anyway. Of course, I could rent it first.

[Window Bar]

Four years after its release...

Last night, I saw MirrorMask for the first time. Hats off to the entire crew. The art -- everything from landscapes to non-human creatures to architecture was as original as anything I've ever seen. The acting was superb. The psychological accuracy of the Stephanie Leonidas character was a bulls eye. (Note Stephanie may have been cloned from a bit of DNA from Juliette Binoche).

[Jayaprakash Satyamurthy]

It's a fantastic movie.

I disliked Beowulf considerably. I think it is the single worst project Gaiman has ever been involved in.

[GOLLUM]

I finding myself concurring with my learned colleague....again.

Beowulf is probably the worst thing I've seen that Neil has had an involvement in I'm sorry to say as most things he touches are Gold.

I have the Beowulf script book which includes Neil and Roger's (Avary) first and last draft of the script plus concept art, additional commentary etc. For that alone it's an interesting book to get. On the history...it took the 2 of them only 2 weeks to punch out the initial draft under a hot Mexican sun...so perhaps that tells you something right there.... 6 drafts on and ten years later they were finally able to get it transposed onto celluloid. Perhaps they should have left their script back in the Mexican cantina...

On the other hand, Mirromask is the finest film I've seen that Neil has been directly associated with, although I'm yet to see Coraline.

Cheers...

[ktabic]

Originally Posted by GOLLUM

I finding myself concurring with my learned colleague....again.On the other hand, Mirromask is the finest film I've seen that Neil has been directly associated with, although I'm yet to see Coraline.

Also yet to see Coraline, but must agree that Mirrormask is the finest film so far as well.

[Rackon]

Coraline is superb, highly recommended.

[Murtagh's_Muse]

A "Good Omens" movie is supposed to be upcoming in the future, but it's uncertain now when it will happen after the trouble Terry Gilliam had with his last movie (Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus). There has also been mention of a "Death" movie and some very brief mention of a possible "Neverwhere" movie. The only one that Gaiman says he will most certainly not be making a movie of is "Sandman," due to some really terrible attempts at scripts that have been submitted to him.

[ellethekitty]

I really didn' t enjoy the movie Stardust. I felt like the atmosphere was inconsistent.
I did like some of the performances.
As for Sandman, I heard that he was "glad" that some fo the scripts he had seen had not been made into movies, implying that the final decision was not up to him

[Eversummer]

I really enjoyed Coraline than Stardust. It was more fun and scary in one. I'm looking forward into Neverwhere.

btw, is there any updates with Good Omens?