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Ali 
"Those aren't pillows."
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 Posted - 03/21/2007 : 08:54:54
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The Forge of God, Anvil of Stars, and the as-yet unpublished third book in the series were optioned by Warner Bros. Stephen Susco (he of The Grudge fame) was working on them.
They seem to be stuck in development hell now, though.
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ChocolateLady 
"500 Chocolate Delights"
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Posted - 03/21/2007 : 08:57:33
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quote:
Originally posted by MisterBadIdea
The Giving Tree was a book that disturbed me quite a bit as a kid. Many have seen it as a story about a codependent relationship between this very giving tree and this horribly selfish kid who takes and takes and gives nothing in return.
The story is supposed to be about how good it is to be generous,. But I agree - it stinks because the recipient of the tree's giving isn't really worthy of the tree's generosity, and even when the boy is supposedly finished taking from the tree, he's still using it - as a chair to rest on.
If you ask me, his "The Missing Piece" is much better, and would make a good animated short. The story is simple and certainly the lesson that being imperfect is okay, and actually might be better than being perfect, is a far better one than the lesson that "The Giving Tree" was supposed to be teaching.
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Sean
"Necrosphenisciform anthropophagist."
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Posted - 03/21/2007 : 10:48:42
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quote:
Originally posted by Ali
The Forge of God, Anvil of Stars, and the as-yet unpublished third book in the series were optioned by Warner Bros. Stephen Susco (he of The Grudge fame) was working on them.
They seem to be stuck in development hell now, though.
You're right, been going nowhere since 2003. No IMDb entry yet. Here's the author's blog on it. He seems happy enough with the screenplay so hopefully it hasn't been too butchered.  |
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duh 
"catpurrs"
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Posted - 03/21/2007 : 12:08:13
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quote:
Originally posted by wildhartlivie
In any event, I liked The Stand.
I did too.
A short story that could make a good M. Night Shyamaylan film would be 'Spacetime for Springers' by Fritz Leiber.
Another might be this really strange tale, The Lady Who Sailed The Soul.
I first read both of those when I was a teen and they have haunted me ever since. |
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Beanmimo 
"August review site"
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ChocolateLady
"500 Chocolate Delights"
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Posted - 03/21/2007 : 14:05:46
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quote:
Originally posted by Beanmimo
A Prayer for Owen Meany (Anyone who mentions Simon Birch gets a )
I'm afraid I have to disagree with you on this one. It is one of my favourite books, but I really don't think its suitable to be a movie. John Irving didn't want to make it into a movie, and when he was pushed, he agreed to let them base Simon Birch partially on his book. He wasn't happy with the result and I doubt that he'd ever be able to find the type of mix of screenwriters and actors to make this into the film it could (and should) be, so better off not trying, if you ask me.
By the way, the novel "Chocolat" wasn't as good as the film. Thing is, "Chocolat" was the first in a type of trilogy which included "Blackberry Wine" and "Five Quarters of an Orange", the last of which was really the best. That could be made into a good movie.
I also read a book called "The Historian" which is a sort of DaVinci Code meets Dracula - that could be made into a pretty cool movie.
Another really good book that might be a good idea for a movie is "A Short History of the Tractor in Ukrainian" (don't let the title fool you - it isn't about tractors and isn't in Ukrainian).
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Edited by - ChocolateLady on 03/21/2007 14:07:10 |
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Stalean
"Back...OMG"
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Posted - 03/21/2007 : 14:33:15
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quote:
Originally posted by wildhartlivie
quote:
Originally posted by StaLean
The Stand by Stephen King (done well this time with King's ending redone--the man can't seem to end a story well, except for his short stories)
I did think Molly Ringwald was weak as Frannie,
The casting of Molly Ringwald was probably my greatest disappointment! Don't get me wrong, I like Molly Ringwald, just not as Frannie.
quote:
Since King wrote the teleplay, I'm fairly sure he was satisfied with what was done with the book that took forever to film. I had always entertained the thought that it would be best done as a mini-series since the story was so complex. This was actually one of King's books that I thought had a decent ending, and probably still is my favorite of his books.
The Stand, as the book, is my favorite Stephen King novel. It seems every time King takes a hand in writing the screenplay, the results are less than ideal.
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I've said in fourum before that I think his short stories tend to make much better films than the longer novels, and the results have mostly proven true: Stand By Me, The Shawshank Redemption, even the original Children of the Corn. In any event, I liked The Stand.
I totally agree that his short stories make better films, but The Stand, as a mainstream television mini-series, did not satisfy its artistic potential. I would like to see cable's HBO redo The Stand or Peter Jackson directing this time. |
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duh
"catpurrs"
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Posted - 03/21/2007 : 16:25:03
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quote:
Originally posted by Beanmimo
A Prayer for Owen Meany (Anyone who mentions Simon Birch gets a)
I haven't read the classic, A Prayer for Owen Meany.
I do like 'Simon Birch' very much. I had high hopes for Ashley Judd's career after seeing the film, but it hasn't held up to my expectations.
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BaftaBaby 
"Always entranced by cinema."
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Posted - 03/21/2007 : 16:37:06
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quote:
Originally posted by ChocolateLady
[
Another really good book that might be a good idea for a movie is "A Short History of the Tractor in Ukrainian" (don't let the title fool you - it isn't about tractors and isn't in Ukrainian).
Oh, yes! Good call, CL! It was featured last year as a Book of the Week on BBC Radio 4, 15 minute daily chunks. Witty and with very dimensioned - if not entirely loveable -- characters. Who knows? It may already be in development.
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MisterBadIdea 
"PLZ GET MILK, KTHXBYE"
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Posted - 03/21/2007 : 16:37:17
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Even as a sixth grader I knew Simon Birch was worthless.
Here's a movie that needs to be made: American Gods by Neil Gaiman. I envision Paul Newman as Mr. Wednesday (I honestly would love to see him in a bad guy role) and maybe Mickey Rourke as Shadow. Or maybe Billy Bob Thornton. It's gotta be someone who can say the world without moving a muscle. |
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GHcool
"Forever a curious character."
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Posted - 03/21/2007 : 17:14:06
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Six Days of War by Michael B. Oren -- the comprehensive history of the 1967 Six Day War in the Middle East is as thrilling as any fiction novel on international politics. This might be better adapted into a tv miniseries though because it is 2 hours probably isn't enough to develop all the characters and factors leading up to the war.
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norman Juster -- this was already made as an animated film by Chuck Jones, but with modern special effects, this could be as better than Narnia.
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave by Frederick Douglass -- Douglass's autobiography is a thrilling, inspirational, and important work in American literature and history. For the Europeans here, Douglass is probably the most famous black slave in the of the American Civil War era. He somehow escaped slavery and became an abolitionist in the north where he was among the most elequent speakers and writers of the era. |
Edited by - GHcool on 03/21/2007 17:30:21 |
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Downtown
"Welcome back, Billy Buck"
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Posted - 03/21/2007 : 19:07:33
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quote:
Originally posted by GHcool
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norman Juster -- this was already made as an animated film by Chuck Jones, but with modern special effects, this could be as better than Narnia.
I completely agree. |
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demonic
"Cinemaniac"
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Posted - 03/22/2007 : 00:11:00
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quote:
Originally posted by Beanmimo
The Life of Pi (but i do not see how)
Get a brilliant film-maker to direct it....
Can't wait. |
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Sean
"Necrosphenisciform anthropophagist."
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Posted - 03/22/2007 : 01:00:51
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quote:
Originally posted by demonic
quote:
Originally posted by Beanmimo
The Life of Pi (but i do not see how)
Get a brilliant film-maker to direct it....
Can't wait.
Excellent choice of director.  |
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RockGolf
"1500+ reviews. 1 joke."
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Posted - 03/22/2007 : 02:41:29
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| Even given the abysmal record of Alan Moore graphic novels made into into movies ("League of Extraordinary Gentlemen", "From Hell", "Swamp Thing", "V for Vendetta"), I'm still optimistic that a really great screenplay could make "Watchmen" a major film. |
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Books that must be filmed
