Category Archives: The Doors of Stone

Casting ‘The Name Of The Wind’ TV Adaptation

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With little to no news lately on the release of Patrick Rothfuss’ final ‘Kingkiller Chronicle’ book (although this week he did some funny commentary on goodreads reviews of the unreleased novel), I thought it would be fun to revisit some of the cast ideas for the upcoming TV adaptation. It was announced a few months ago that Rothfuss’ popular fantasy series would receive the television treatment a la Game of Thrones and a few sites including Buzzfeed posted their ideal cast list for the show.

A lot of Buzzfeed’s proposed cast for ‘The Name of the Wind’ are vastly different than what I imagined, but they still look like they would fit the characters well. Bill Nighy in anything as anything is always great, but I’m sure he would be especially great as the Chronicler. Eddie Redmayne (pictured above) feels like he could manage as Kvothe, but I’d be curious as to what era Kvothe he’d play. Chris O’Dowd as Manet and Idris Elba as Kilvin sound about right, but truthfully I’d endorse them even if they didn’t fit.

In Tor’s ideal cast list, they have Tom Hiddleston as Kvothe, which honestly seems to fit a little better in my mind than Eddie Redmayne. Hiddleston could really shine as Kvothe, especially when called upon to convey a great underlying sorrow to the character. And I’m sure we could find a role to shove Benedict Cumberbatch in while we’re at it. Either way, be sure to check out the full fantasy cast lists at Buzzfeed, Tor and even Rothfuss himself chiming in over at his blog.

io9’s Ten Absolutes For ‘The Doors of Stone’

KvotheSketch4hairfaceeyesmWith no confirmed release date for Patrick Rothfuss’ The Doors of Stone, the final novel in the Kingkiller Chronicle series, we are left to speculate other things about the book, such as what it will actually be about. When you think about what Rothfuss has to jam into this book to even relatively tie up all the loose ends he has sprawled on the floor of his literary universe, it seems quite daunting. Here is a sampling of the ten things that Rob Bricken of sci-fi/fantasy super site io9 believes Rothfuss will need to check off in his final book to achieve a satisfying conclusion (spoilers ahead).

1) He’s got to kill a king.

The books are called The Kingkiller Chronicles after all, and now that Kvothe has told two-thirds of this story — although he’s only up to his late teens — he hasn’t met a single king yet, let alone killed one. The popular rumor on the internet is that Kvothe’s archnemesis at the University, the noble brat Ambrose, will end up being king, although as it stands Ambrose is so far the way down the line of succession Kvothe can fight him pretty significantly and not get himself beheaded (not that Ambrose wouldn’t like to).

2) He has to figure out the mystery of the Amyr and the Chandrian.

In a story about a story about stories, there are tons of tales that remain half-told, but the one that has to reach some sort of conclusion is what is going on with the Chandrian, the mysterious, seemingly cursed, possibly immortal group of seven who serve as the Chronicles’ main antagonists — as well as the Amyr, the order of church knights that had fought them until they also seem to have inexplicably disappeared. While most people regard the Chandrian as legends, Kvothe has first-hand knowledge of them — so it stands to reason the Amyr exist, too. But what happened, and where did they go?

Be sure to check out the rest of the list at io9.

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)

Updates On The Hobbit, The Doors of Stone, Star Wars, Snow Piercer And More

Here are a few quick updates on upcoming books, book adaptations and sci-fi/fantasy films on the horizon.

The Hobbit – Advanced tickets for the Hobbit went on sale last Wednesday. If you’re looking to see it opening weekend, it might be in your best interest to pick up tickets now while there are still seats available. There will be a variety of formats to see the film in, including 2D, 3D and Imax 3D (in addition to the choice of seeing it either in 24 or 48 frame conversions). Also, make sure to check out this cool collection of behind the scenes photos from the set. (imgur)

The Doors of Stone – The last book in Patrick Rothfuss’ Kingkiller Chronicle is supposedly being revised as we speak. In a recent podcast, Rothfuss said that he is taking his time with the revisions so he can get things just right. He also stated definitively that the series is a trilogy, making this the last book of protagonist Kvothe’s adventures. Since that is the case, I think Rothfuss is more than justified in taking his time to close out the series properly. Here’s to hoping we see the book sometime in the next few years though. Best of luck to him on finishing his epic. (sfsignal)

Snow Piercer – Movie news website Twitch Film is reporting that the Weinstein company has picked up and will now distribute Boon Joon-ho’s Snow Piercer. The upcoming sci-fi adaptation is based off the French graphic novel Le Transperceneige and should be pegged for a likely summer 2013 release. Really happy to see this one get picked up for distribution. Now, perhaps a trailer? Production still? Anything? (twitchfilm)

Pacific Rim – After instituting a post comic-con ban on footage from his robots fight monsters epic Pacific Rim, director Guillermo Del Toro now promises a trailer in December and a 3D conversion of the film for theaters. Guillermo always delivers. (comicbookmovie)

Star Wars Episode VII – Things are moving quickly for the new Star Wars entry when it was announced that Oscar winning screenwriter Michael Arndt of Little Miss Sunshine and Toy Story 3 fame would be penning the script for Episode VII. Needless to say, this is good news. Did you see Toy Story 3? Good lord, animated movies about toys should not make you contemplate life and death in such a fashion. Well done, sir. I will gladly watch your take on Episode VII. (ew)