Other fantasy books I'd like to see as movies

Question

The King Of Elfland's Daughter (by Lord Dunsany) The Dragon and the George (by Gordon R Dickson) Pawn of Prophecy (by David Eddings) Dragonflight (by Anne McCaffrey) either the Hawkmoon or Elric series (by Michael Moorcock) Lord Foul's Bane (Stephen R Donaldson) Lud-In-The-Mist (by Hope Mirrlees)

Of course it's one thing saying you'd love to see these on screen, and another being written and produced well.

Has anyone heard any further news on the filming of 'Princess of Mars'?

Paul :-)Nz

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]Dragonflight (by Anne McCaffrey)[/nq]
This nearly became a Canadian TV mini-series, I believe. I've tried for years to interest the BBC in making an audio version but they've never gone for it. Every now and then I think about dusting off the proposal and trying again, but I don't think it would be well-received just at the present.

Bert http://www.bertcoules.co.uk

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]Dragonflight (by Anne McCaffrey)[/nq]
[nq:1]This nearly became a Canadian TV mini-series, I believe. I've tried for years to interest the BBC in making an ... off the proposal and trying again, but I don't think it would be well-received just at the present. Bert http://www.bertcoules.co.uk[/nq]
There's a pilot for a tv series floating about which didn't get taken up - apparently very similar to Xena. I met Anne McCaffrey back in the mid 70's when she was doing a book tour. I made the mistake of ******* her off by asking her what I thought was an innocent question - I asked her how a dragon project she was writing with singer, Jon Anderson (of Yes) was coming along. Those Irish eyes lit up and she snapped back at me that she was having problems trying to locate the wayward artist, and by the body language she wasn't too pleased with me bringing it up.

How hard (or easy, for that matter) is it to get the rights to these books, Bert? Do you just forward a proposal and if they like it they then go hunting for the option to produce it?

Paul :-)Nz

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]There's a pilot for a tv series floating about which didn't get taken up - apparently very similar to Xena.[/nq]
I didn't know that. It would be fascinating to see it. I wonder if this was the Canadian project I'd half-heard about?
[nq:1]I met Anne McCaffrey back in the mid 70's... Those Irish eyes lit up and she snapped back at me...[/nq]
Ah, the Dragon Lady strikes! Under happier circumstances, she's the nicest international best-selling author you could ever hope to meet.
[nq:2]How hard (or easy, for that matter) is it to get the rights[/nq]
[nq:1]to these books, Bert? Do you just forward a proposal and if they like it they then go hunting for the option to produce it?[/nq]
Yes, that's how it usually works with stuff I propose myself; I don't actually get involved at all. And if the BBC approach me about a project, they've usually made sure that the rights are available first. It's a hugely complex issue and I'm heartily glad that they deal with it, not me.

For non-BBC spec stuff, my agent makes the enquiries. Then if I want to take an option on a book or whatever, she negotiates the deal.

Bert http://www.bertcoules.co.uk

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]The King Of Elfland's Daughter (by Lord Dunsany) The Dragon and the George (by Gordon R Dickson) **** of Prophecy ... McCaffrey) either the Hawkmoon or Elric series (by Michael Moorcock) Lord Foul's Bane (Stephen R Donaldson) Lud-In-The-Mist (by Hope Mirrlees)[/nq]
I've only read "The Dragon and the George," "Dragonflight" and "Lord Foul's Bane" -- so I can't comment on the others.

I think "Dragonflight" might work if it was done right, but I read too many of these when I was younger. I finally got to one that was more or less "wish fulfillment" without effort and I just dropped the thing in mid-book and never went back to this series.

Of the three I know, "The Dragon and the George" would be my pick -- but it might seem too much like "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court" to be taken seriously.

I detested "Lord Foul's Bane." Not that the concept was necessarily bad, I just couldn't stand the whiny protagonist. You would have to pay me to watch a movie based on this book.

-- RonB "There's a story there...somewhere"

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]I detested "Lord Foul's Bane." Not that the concept was necessarily bad, I just couldn't stand the whiny protagonist. You would have to pay me to watch a movie based on this book.[/nq]
I liked it as a teenager. I have no idea what I'd think of it today.

-- Cheers, www.indiegamedesign.com Brandon Van Every Seattle, WA

20% of the world is real. 80% is gobbledygook we make up inside our own heads.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]There's a pilot for a tv series floating about which didn't get taken up - apparently very similar to Xena.[/nq]
[nq:1]I didn't know that. It would be fascinating to see it. I wonder if this was the Canadian project I'd half-heard about?[/nq]
I think it was another one. There's been several attempts as you would expect. I'd read about it in Starlog (I think) or one of those Science fiction magazines. I did a search on 'Pern' 'Dragonflight' 'WB' and came up with a number of choices. This one below is from a Pern FAQ site where they mention the series. It seems it may have only been pre-produced in part before they shelved the whole thing. the links take you to webpages with more info included..

http://kumo.swcp.com/~quirk/afp3.html

3f. What's this I hear about a Pern Movie/TV Show?

As some may have noticed, "Casting Pern" is a frequent discussion topic. While nearly all of the discussion is just wishful thinking (there's *no* way to get all the big name stars being bandied about together at the same time for some little-known Sci-Fi project), there is a television series based on The Dragonriders of Pern in some stage of preproduction.January 2001 update:

According to http://www.annemccaffre.. (link dead) the Warner Brothers television network (The WB -- Home to "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer" et al.) is considering picking up the Dragonriders series for the Fall 2001 season.

By way of clarification/amplification, in http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/art-main.html?2001-01/18/13.00.tv, Ron Moore (long-time Star Trek writer and co-producer for Roswell) explained that the WB show was an entirely new effort, having no connection to the Atlantis/ZyntoPics project, which apparntly had been abandoned in March 2000. He goes on to assure that while Ms. McCaffrey has no official position with the production team, "...(I)t's her series. She's the creator, and she'll definitely be involved."

Feb '01 Update: In http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/art-main.html?2001-02/07/12.00.tv, it is reported that the WB has ordered a one-hour pilot episode. More details are provided in http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/art-main.html?2001-02/16/14.00.tv where the signs are that the pilot will be a heavily reworked version of the original "Weyr Search" novella. Moore predicts shooting will start in late March/early April.

Apr '01 Update: In http://www.scifi.com/scifiwire/art-main.html?2001-04/05/13.00.tv, Ron Moore discusses the circumstances of the sudden shelving of the project on 2 April 2001. It seems that legal complications will keep Pern off the air for at least the rest of the year. All of this, of course, supersedes the noises about a Pern Movie (made-for-TV or theatrical release) rumors that have been circulating since 1994.

There was also a project for an animated movie in the late 70s/early 80s that fell through for various reasons. Apperantly one clip of trial footage was circulated at the time and has subsequently disappeared between...

--

Looks like rewrite **** killed it (see last link above). I wonder if it will be revived..
[nq:2]I met Anne McCaffrey back in the mid 70's... Those Irish eyes lit up and she snapped back at me...[/nq]
[nq:1]Ah, the Dragon Lady strikes! Under happier circumstances, she's the nicest international best-selling author you could ever hope to meet.[/nq]
I heard that from friends who meet up with her while she was here. Probably the best 'nicest international best-selling author I got to meet (and interview) was David Brin. He had just been to an Australian Con to pick up his prestigeous Hugo award and stopped over in New Zealand where the publishers asked if I would like to interview him (I was an SF fan writing for some local Science Fiction fanzines). I was given just 24 hours to prepare for a writer I had barely read. They sent me an advanced copy of The Postman (this was an earlier draft novel which he signed). I spent nearly all night reading and getting questions together (alas, no intenret then to source background info). Later on Brin would disown the movie and from memory wanted his name removed from the project.

The interview went great. The small talk showed I was a hard core SF fan so he relaxed and was very interesting to listen to. I know it sounds corny but he revealed he had his Hugo award with him and reverently held it out to me and asked if I would like to hold it. It was almost like being given excalibur. I knew (and obviously he did too what the history and prestige went behind this icon, and the honour of receiving one (although years later I wondered the same thing when Harry ****** Potter got one- call it snobbery if you like). But he was interesting. After the interview he asked if I would like to attend a lecture he was giving at the university which revealed more about him - he was involved with the Reagan's StarWars project..

Paul :-)Nz
[nq:2]to these books, Bert? Do you just forward a proposal and if they like it they then go hunting for the option to produce it?[/nq]
[nq:1]Yes, that's how it usually works with stuff I propose myself; I don't actually get involved at all. And if ... enquiries. Then if I want to take an option on a book or whatever, she negotiates the deal. Bert http://www.bertcoules.co.uk[/nq]

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]I think "Dragonflight" might work if it was done right, but I read too many of these when I was ... less "wish fulfillment" without effort and I just dropped the thing in mid-book and never went back to this series.[/nq]
I think both of the "first books" -- Dragonflight and Dragonsong (two interrelated series, about overlapping sets of characters) might make good films; they both feature strong central characters with interesting internal conflicts.

But I'm not sure about the rest of the books in the series (serei? serieses?) Dragonsinger may have been my favorite book of all of them, growing up, but it lacks the larger themes and grand scale of the earlier books -- it would run the risk of coming off as a period-piece high-school movie. "Mean Harper Girls" or something like that.

To do "Dragonsong" right, though, you'd have to be bold. Scary, dangerous things happen in that film -- a father letting his daughter remain maimed, a girl running away. One could easily imagine Hollywood being uncomfortable with the amount of danger in a movie which is, really, aimed at teen girls.

But I think it could be done well.

-Ron

Usenet · Answer

[nq:2]I detested "Lord Foul's Bane." Not that the concept was ... pay me to watch a movie based on this book.[/nq]
[nq:1]I liked it as a teenager. I have no idea what I'd think of it today. -- Cheers, www.indiegamedesign.com Brandon Van Every Seattle, WA[/nq]
It took me a long time to read through the first book too. I got to the rape scene and living in the same head as Thomas Covenant with his self loathing and pity just made me put it back down for a number of years.

I even got to have an exclusive interview with Donaldsson when he was here promoting the first book in the second series, White Gold Wielder. It was funny because it took some time to come up with some sort of theory on something I couldn't quite put my finger on when I met with him. This sounds a little weird but i got the impression he was a woman trapped in a man's body. I don't mean that in a gay way, just that he appeared to be tuned in thought-wise. He was **** to interview - very soft and monotone voice to the point of dull inflictions. I taped our conversation in a bar and I could hardly pick up his voice over all the activity happening around the place. TIP NO .1 - choose your location well when considering an interview. It was a transcriptio from **** - especially trying to get it all typed out on a typewriter.

Over the years I've come to terms with Thomas Covenant. He's an interestingly flawed character I think Donaldson draws from his feminine side to torment and crucify in the mind's eye. I see in the bookstores he's written a third series to tie it all up.

If you are looking for a good fantasy series then I would recommend getting your hands on FIRE OF HEAVEN series by Russell Kirkpatrick. He does good descriptives and his characters are well-enriched with flaws and virtues both. the first book is called ACROSS THE FACE OF THE WORLD. Aspects of Tolkien but some new experiences worth reading.

Paul :-)Nz

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]From the trenches *(Email Removed)* sent a runner with thisimportant missive...[/nq]
Q:I detested "Lord Foul's Bane." Not that the concept was necessarily bad, I Q:just couldn't stand the whiny protagonist. You would have to pay me to Q:watch a movie based on this book. Q: I'm glad that I'm not the only one who feels this way. -- The Peripatetic Samurai Robot!

Usenet · Answer

All I wanted to do with "Thomas Covenant" is kick him in the *** and force him to get over himself.

A third series?! Pinch me, I'm dreaming! :~)

I'll have to take a look at Russell Kirkpatrick's stuff. I kind of gave up on fantasy because there was so little of it that I liked.

-- RonB "There's a story there...somewhere"

Other fantasy books I'd like to see as movies

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