Adaptations Rant

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Paddy-Wolfe's avatar
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Well, sort of.  Really it's more of a bunch of things I'd like to see brought to the big screen and concerns I'd have.

I'll start with the comic The Ballad of Halo Jones by Alan Moore and Ian Gibson...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ball…

Considering that Moore seems dissatisfied with every adaptation of his comics, why not add one more to that list?  Personally I doubt that he will ever be happy.  Ever.  But there's something particularly good about Halo Jones I feel would make a great film.  The characters are deeply interesting, the universe they inhabit is lush and cool as beans, and I really dig the writing. 

Frost and Fire The short story by Ray Bradbury...

On a world where people live in fear of extreme heat during the day and intense cold at night, where they spend most of their lives trapped in caves except for an hour at dawn and dusk, and where they are born live and die for exactly 8 days... holy crap it is one hell of a ride!  So far the only disappointing Bradbury adaptation is the TV miniseries of the Martian Chronicles.  Kind of dodgy there but it has its moments.  I'd be concerned if there was a revamp of Fahrenheit 451.  Hollywood would probably give it the Hunger Games it's been so keen on. 

Pogo by Walt Kelly...

Now might not be a good time for a Pogo flick.  Pogo never felt like it fit into any time period really.  But for me it would be a great delight.

One I'm concerned about is The BFG to be directed by Steven Spielberg.  There's already a 1989 version. www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1cn-D…   It's not bad at all.  So far Dreamworks has had a sort hit and miss with me.  Some of their stuff is fantastic; The Croods, the first How to Train Your Dragon, Monsters vs Aliens... but then you get stuff like Shark Tale, Turbo, and the string of utterly awful Shrek movies.  I'm sorry.  I... strongly dislike Shrek.  And worse Roald Dahl's whimsy often gets translated into slapstick (Cause that's totally the same thing!). 

I've already watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory get it in the rear from a normally good director.  The BFG is one of my favorite childhood books.  Don't let me down, Steve!!

In school I often wondered what The Giver would be like brought to the big screen.  The words "Boring", "Dull", and "Uninspired" came to mind.  Maybe it was just me but the pacing of that book was slow as molasses.  If you love this book, fine and all.  For me it was torture.  Then again anything force fed in school was torture.  It felt like the kind of book parents make their kids read hoping they might become politically savvy one day (All the while never bothering to read it themselves).  So you can imagine my groan when I heard it was being produced.  My initial thought was "Another Hunger Games".  And I wasn't too far off when I saw the trailer.  But I haven't actually seen the movie yet, so maybe just maybe it will be okay. 

Seriously, what's with all the faux political thrillers abounding??  Kids, take my advice.  If you want good dystopian writing pick up a copy of The Wanting Seed, or A Clockwork Orange (anything by Anthony Burgess will do), or 1984, or Slaughterhouse Five.  Your ultra-conservative parents will hate me for it. ;)

Anyhoo, other notable mentions that I'd like to see adapted to big screen... We have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson ... A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole ... The Dark Tower series by Stephen King ... Some day maybe...  Some day.

© 2014 - 2024 Paddy-Wolfe
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Shannonandklara's avatar
wow BFG was pretty cool, had never heard of it but sat through the whole thing. really a fun story but i think it lost something when it brought in the queen and the army. would've like to have seen a more fantasy plot at that point. but ver all really good. Sophie was cool. 

don't know why (money probably) they remade Charlie and the chocolate factory. the original was perfect. Gene Wilder was amazing. all the fancy special effects can't equal the magic of his performance.

can't remember the last bradbury adaption I saw. he's stuff is great but it doesn't really lend itself to film. possibly too cerebral.