Has the success of LotR cleared the way for stalled sci-fi film projects? Casting for the long-awaited Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy has already been noted here, and now there’s finally movement on an Ender’s Game movie: Director Wolfgang (Das Boot, Air Force One) Petersen is already signed, and apparently the writers of X2 have come aboard for a rewrite. Hmm…that’s good news. Now I wonder what’s up with Morgan Freeman’s take on Rendezvous with Rama? It seems the only fanboy project in the tank right now is Indiana Jones and the Wrath of Lucas.
Tag: Sci-Fi/Fantasy Books
Animals strike curious poses.
Max of Lots of Co. points the way to these pics (and review) of the His Dark Materials play. Hmm. I must say the daemons look a bit…strange. Of course the real trick is how they move.
Now what?
With the Lord of the Rings sadly, inevitably drawing to its conclusion, the Post delves into His Dark Materials. Hopefully, the powers-that-be will have the sense to get Brett Ratner the hell away from this project.
Inklings and Linklings.
Two recent items of interest from Salon: Steven Hart explores the Christian feuds and friendship of Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, while Michelle Goldberg examines the rise of the right’s worst nightmare, MoveOn.org.
White Bear Down.
Will Ridley Scott direct His Dark Materials? Monty Python‘s Terry Jones seems to think so. Hmmm, I dunno…I suppose a Scott Materials might be interesting, but it might also be Legend. Update: Debunked.
Hari and the Mule.
On the heels of the Rings trilogy, Isaac Asimov‘s Foundation gets the green light, with Jeff Vintar writing (with I, Robot, this will be his second Asimov project) and Shekhar Kapur (Elizabeth) directing. I’m down, although I’d think much of the first book will be particularly hard to translate into cinema.
Rusted Root.
Quicksilver, the first tome in Neal Stephenson‘s new trilogy, has just been released to decent reviews. I may just have to take a break from orals reading and procure a copy…fortunately, Stephenson’s Baroque Cycle seems to be set in Colonial America, so I might even be able to rationalize such a digression.
Flights of Imagination.
The Science Fiction Book Club picks the 50 most significant science fiction/fantasy books of the last 50 years, although after the top ten they’re listed alphabetically (Via Lots of Co.) I’d say I’ve read about half of these, and the choices seem pretty legit. No surprise who‘s at the top of the list, but otherwise it seems like the fantasy side got short shrift. I guess the Narnia books (and for that matter Animal Farm and 1984) are over 50-years-old. Speaking of which, I can’t say I’m a very big C.S. Lewis fan (particularly as compared to Tolkien), but nonetheless – the Narnia film site is now live.
Iorek v. Aslan.
His Dark Materials author Phillip Pullman rips into C.S. Lewis. (Via LinkMachineGo.) Pullman’s got a point, but to my mind his trilogy grew a lot more ponderous and a lot less fun once the whole Republic of Heaven angle became the central thrust of the story (somewhere in the first third of The Subtle Knife.)