Category Archives: Book adaptations

Game of Thrones Season 3 Trailer

Behold! The Game of Thrones Season 3 trailer is here. March 31st marks the return of George R.R. Martin’s series to HBO, bringing the wildly popular show back for its third season, which will cover the events of A Storm of Swords.

As for news on Martin’s sixth book, The Winds of Winter? Well, hopefully we’ll see it sometime this decade. Much like Patrick Rothfuss’ equally anticipated The Doors of Stone, there is no confirmed release date. Let’s just keep our fingers crossed that by the time the TV show has caught up to the books, the sixth book will be out and the seventh and final book will be underway. Surprisingly though, Martin has been pretty open about what we can expect from the book, including having a sample chapter up on his website and confirming some of the viewpoint chapters that will be featured.

Updates on The Doors of Stone, Snowpiercer, The Magician King and Star Wars

SnowpiercerStill-thumb-630xauto-36253Snowpiercer – Korean director Joon-ho Bong’s Snowpiercer finally had a photo released for it, which at least proves it actually exists. Despite being pegged for a 2013 release, this is the first real bit of media released for it. The featured photo (above) depicts actor Kang-ho Song and his slothlike companion navigating the masses of people crowded together on a train car. The plot of Snowpiercer (based on the French graphic novel Le Transperceneige) for those who are unfamiliar is:

“The film is set in a future where, after a failed experiment to stop global warming, an Ice Age kills off all life on the planet except for the inhabitants of the Snow Piercer, a train that travels around the globe and is powered by a sacred perpetual-motion engine. A class system evolves on the train but a revolution brews.”

With this release on the horizon, it’s a shame that The Last Stand, the English language debut for fellow Korean Jee-woon Kim (I Saw The Devil, A Tale of Two Sisters), started off so poorly at the box office after it fielded fairly good reviews (58% on rotten tomatoes) for an action movie. Chan-wook Park’s Stoker and Joon-ho Bong’s Snowpiercer are slated for 2013, so we will have to wait and see how the rest of the prominent Korean directors do with their English language debuts. Don’t forget to check out some of the cool concept art posted for Snowpiercer over at Hollywood news too. (hollywoodnews)

The Doors of Stone -Patrick Rothfuss did a recent AMA (basically an online Q & A) on reddit, where he answered questions on everything from his preference in storytelling to the function of his Worldbuilders charity. There was even a question or two fielded by Rothfuss’ stellar beard. No real details on The Doors of Stone release other than it has been written and is in a state of revision. It was also mentioned that the book will be equal to or shorter in length than The Wise Man’s Fear. So, we now know that it will not be an outrageously long bible of a book, despite a number of loose ends that need to be tied up before its conclusion. I still have a vague misguided hope that we could see the book in 2014, but realistically expect a 2015 release date (there were three years between the first and second book, so if this trend holds up, it would place The Doors of Stone in 2015). That is just boundless speculation though. We will just have to wait and see. (reddit)

The Magician King – I finally finished the second book of Lev Grossman’s trilogy and enjoyed it much more than its predecessor, The Magicians. I think Grossman really nailed the tone of his series in this entry. I was disappointed to hear that the books, which were being prepped by FOX for serialized treatment, no longer appear destined for adaptation at this moment. No official explanation on why FOX passed on the series, but Grossman himself speculates that it may have been Terra Nova’s failure on the network that was to blame. Truthfully, the mature subject matter of The Magicians would probably do better on HBO, so maybe it will find its way there with the continued success of adaptations like Game of Thrones and True Blood. (avclub)

Star Wars – Even though this isn’t book related, it was announced today that the new Star Wars movie will be directed by J.J. Abrams. I am 100% behind this. Can’t wait for Episode VII now. (ign)

Life of Pi

Suraj Sharma and tiger in Life of Pi.

Although Ang Lee’s Life of Pi adaptation has already been in theaters for well over a month, I am now just getting around to seeing it before it finishes up its initial theatrical run (being an Oscar contender, I’m sure it will have one of those ‘second life’ theatrical runs come Oscar time). Based on the book by Canadian author Yann Martel, it tells the story of Pi, a young Indian boy who is stranded on a lifeboat with a Tiger after his freighter is shipwrecked.

Having now seen the movie, I have to say that I greatly enjoyed it, especially as a theatrical experience. Is it better than the book? Well, while I liked the movie quite a bit, I think it would be unfair to say that it unseats the book. The novel is a very rich and thoughtful piece of prose on its own. But truthfully, I think this is one of the rare occasions where they almost achieve an equilibrium of quality, even if there are nitpicks to be filed against both.

The book, while slow at times and steeped in broad themes of theological and spiritual allegory, is a rich and emotionally satisfying read. The movie, which certainly doesn’t sanitize or ignore these themes, stands more as a visual wonder, worth seeing in theaters for the sheer spectacle (there are a handful of show stopping shots, including one particular shot of the shipwreck itself). The movie also brings some simplification to the more complex themes of the story, which itself can be good and bad, simultaneously making some of the concepts and parallels easier to follow and spot, but also watering them down to an extent in the process. These are minor qualms though and I urge people to check out both the book and movie. Author Yann Martel and director Ang Lee have done an excellent job creating fulfilling pieces of writing/film.

I wanted to also highlight a particularly nice piece written by Ben Kendrick of Screen Rant that tackles the end of the movie (and to an extent, the end of the book) rather effectively, a conclusion that has left many viewers pining for guidance on what exactly happened by the time the end credits roll. Kendrick provides a pretty thorough and digestible take on the events in Life of Pi, especially what you can take away from the ending and what nuances about it were left out of the film version. At the same time, he doesn’t try to force anything on you, which I still believe is much of the point of the book. It is a story that is meant to be interpreted on your own. Everyone will take different things away and imprint their own experiences, thoughts and struggles on it, and I believe that’s the beauty of a well written story. Either way, make sure to check out Kendrick’s thoughts at Screen Rant‘s site.

Hobbit Week!

I had an enthusiastic post ready for Hobbit weekend, but needless to say, yesterday was a pretty heavy day, especially in Connecticut and China. So, I’d just like to take a moment to acknowledge both those events before moving on. Pretty terrible stuff. Some people might be taking the weekend off as a result, but if you are still journeying out to theaters this weekend for some escapism to see the Hobbit, this post is everything Hobbit.

Although I have not had a chance to see the movie yet (I have tickets for Tuesday), the site has compiled some great Hobbit links including what you need to know before seeing the movie, some Colbert interviews with the Hobbit cast, some nice collector Hobbit merchandise and the documented journey of two men simplifying trying to walk into Mordor, much to Sean Bean’s dismay. There is also a nice flow chart over at io9 that helps you differentiate the many dwarves of the Hobbit based on their facial hair.

I greatly enjoyed Hobbit week on the Colbert report, mostly because Stephen Colbert would break character from his conservative counterpart just to gush about how big of a Tolkien nerd he is (he’s quite the Tolkien scholar in fact). So much so that he was even answering Tolkien questions for Peter Jackson, who after making four LOTR/Hobbit movies, should know his way around a Tolkien trivia night. In addition, the really expensive Smaug stein and the girl featured on flavorwire’s “Not All That Wander Are Lost” tattoo are pretty cool too.

Links

– What You Need To Know Before Seeing The Hobbit (flavorwire)

– Colbert Interviews Peter Jackson for Hobbit Week On The Colbert Report (hulu)

– The Hobbit Collector Steins (taverncraft)

– Entertainment Weekly’s Review of The Hobbit (ew)

– Guide To Identifying The Dwarves of The Hobbit By Their Beards (io9)

– The Green Dragon Is A Real Operating Pub In Hobbiton (mymiddleearth)

– The Box Office Numbers For The Hobbit’s Opening Day (ew)

– 20 Amazing JRR Tolkien Inspired Tattoos (flavorwire)

– Two Guys Attempt To Simply Walk Into Mordor (io9)

New ‘Hobbit’ Trailer

Today, another trailer for the first part of Peter Jackson’s ‘Hobbit’ trilogy was posted, giving us what I think is the most thorough and exhilarating look at the first film so far. Previous trailers and teasers have been introductory in a sense, but I feel like this trailer reminds us that the story is an adventure and there are thrills to be had with the pretty scenery and drinking songs. Also, we get a sneak peak into some of Bilbo and Gollum’s infamous high stakes riddle game, which is pretty cool. Can’t wait.

The Dark Tower Movie Is Dead

At least at Warner Brothers it is. According to recent reports, the studio has passed on a massive deal from Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment that would have seen Stephen King’s fantasy epic both in theaters and on television screens as part of a multi-part movie/mini series combo. With Dark Tower already an epic book series featuring ancillary comic book materials, this deal would have made Dark Tower available on every story telling medium short of video games and interpretative dance (at least one of these is apparently in the works though).

But do not fear for those of you who may think this is the death knell for seeing Dark Tower on the big screen. There are already rumors swirling that MRC (Media Rights Capital) may be stepping in to try to ink a deal for the property as reported by twitch film. We’re not sure if Ron Howard’s involvement with the project would carry over to MRC (more than likely it would), but we hope that it remains in good, non-Michael Bay hands if it does jump to MRC.

For now, all we can do is wait and see what happens with Dark Tower’s limbo status. While we wait, why not stoke the fires and decide who should play Roland? Javier Bardem and Russell Crowe have been rumored to play the role, but why not throw some more unorthodox names into the arena? How about Timothy Olyphant? Or Guy Pearce? Or Hugh Jackman? Or Nathan Fillion? Or James Franco? Or not James Franco? Or just use a bunch of stock footage of Clint Eastwood from Unforgiven and Gran Torino? What do people have their money on?

Odds on actors playing Roland:

Russell Crowe: 2-1

Javier Bardem: 4-1

Michael Fassbender: 7-1

Guy Pearce: 11-1

Viggo Mortensen: 15-1

Hugh Jackman: 20-1

Nathan Fillion: 40-1

Mads Mikkelsen:45-1

Composite Footage of Clint Eastwood: 50-1

A Cardboard Cutout of Lee Marvin: 75-1

James Franco: 200-1

The ‘Cloud Atlas’ Trailer

It may be the six minute run time, but I don’t know if I’ve ever seen so much jammed into a single trailer before as I have with the upcoming film adaption of David Mitchell’s novel Cloud Atlas. There’s so much going on in this preview that the consensus thoughts on the trailer seem to be that this will either be some sort of sprawling masterpiece or great big disaster. Admittedly, my first impression is that it sort of looks like a fever dream of Terry Gilliam fusing elements of Aronofsky’s The Fountain and Speilberg’s A.I. None of those parties are involved with the film though as this is actually the brainchild of the Wachowskis (The Matrix triolgy) and Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run).

Here is the synopsis as reported by io9 is:

A reluctant voyager crossing the Pacific in 1850; a disinherited composer blagging a precarious livelihood in between-the-wars Belgium; a high-minded journalist in Governor Reagan’s California; a vanity publisher fleeing his gangland creditors; a genetically modified “dinery server” on death-row; and Zachry, a young Pacific Islander witnessing the nightfall of science and civilisation — the narrators of Cloud Atlas hear each other’s echoes down the corridor of history, and their destinies are changed in ways great and small.

In his captivating third novel, David Mitchell erases the boundaries of language, genre and time to offer a meditation on humanity’s dangerous will to power, and where it may lead us.

Be sure to check out some stills of the film at comingsoon and the extended HD trailer at the apple site.

Book To Movie Updates: The Hobbit As A Trilogy, Snow Piercer Finishes Shooting And More

Today, we just have a couple quick updates on some of the literary adaptations that are underway or in the pre-planning stages. Many of these bits of information were revealed at last weekend’s Comic-con extravaganza in San Diego that included a lot of cool panels, updates and appearances (even though it’s not based on a book, I’m pretty excited for Guillermo Del Toro’s Pacific Rim). So, here are the new updates indulged at Comic-con and elsewhere in the last few weeks.

The Hobbit –  It was great to hear that after a not so great initial reaction to footage screened for critics a few months ago, The Hobbit bounced back at Comic-con with glowing reports from sources in attendance. I think the best bit of news to emerge was that Martin Freeman apparently nails the role of Bilbo in the scenes they showed, which is honestly such an important part of making this adaptation work. If Bilbo wasn’t right, then all the CG dragons and dwarf drinking songs in the world couldn’t compensate for that shortcoming. Also revealed at the con was Peter Jackson’s desire to turn The Hobbit into a trilogy. Tolkien’s classic as two movies makes sense, but adding a third might be a little bit of a stretch. We’ll see if that ends up happening or if Jackson will stick to his original two-part, back to back Christmas debuts plan.

Mockingjay – In other franchise lengthening news, it was also revealed that Mockingjay, the finale in the Hunger Games trilogy, will be cut into two movies, ala the two-part Harry Potter finale. Mockingjay certainly has a lot going on within its pages, but I don’t know if the pace of the book really lends itself to being a successful two-part movie. There just doesn’t quite seem to be a great halfway point in Mockingjay unless the filmmakers took it upon themselves to do some serious reshuffling in terms of the order of events. Some sources have already started speculating as to where a viable cutoff point would be.

Snow Piercer – Snow Piercer (aka Le Transperceneige) wrapped principle photography this week, allaying fears that the recent budget troubles might mean delays in the filming schedule. There really hasn’t been much in terms of set photos or promotional materials out for this one yet, but the completion of principle photography is really good news. Although the source material is pretty obscure, I know there are a number of people excited to see The Host helmer Joon-ho Bong’s English language debut. At a budget of $39.2 million dollars, it currently stands as the most expensive Korean production of all time.

Wool – The rights to Hugh Howey’s self published sci-fi hit Wool have been snapped up by Ridley and Tony Scott’s production company. If you’re unfamiliar with it, the internet has been in love with this book and many have already labeled it a sci-fi classic. That is certainly strong praise for a self published book that has experienced a meteoric rise from relative obscurity since it was published in January. No word on who will direct it, but chances are it will probably be one of the Scott brothers, with the more likely candidate being Ridley and his notable sci-fi background.