Douglas Adams, Narnia, and Trailers 380
A few interesting movie tidbits: Joel Greengrass writes "Final post-production has been completed on the long awaited documentary, 'Life, the Universe, and Douglas Adams.' Narrated by Neil Gaiman, the film is a tribute documentary about the life, loves, and passions, of the greatest sci fi comedy writer ever, Douglas Adams. The film will be available for sale on August 4 at douglasadams.com."
Reader The_Shadows writes "Sci-fi Storm and Scfi.com's Scifi-wire are reporting that Walden Media exercised options for feature-length, big screen versions of the Chronicles of Narnia, by C. S. Lewis. They have also found an Emmy award winning writer (Ann Peacock) to adapt the most famous book, 'The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.'" And finally, there's an interesting piece about the process of turning a two-hour movie into a two-minute trailer.
Squeezing (Score:1, Interesting)
Narnia Movie (Score:3, Interesting)
Admittedly, I'm a little hesitant about how a filmmaker could bring CS Lewis' vision to the big screen, but I'll still fork over my $8.50 to see it.
If the Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe does well, maybe some conglomerate studio can hire Tim Burton to film CS Lewis' other great book: The Screwtape Letters.
Narnia (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Greatest Scifi Comedy Writer.... (Score:2, Interesting)
Blatant karma whoring (Score:2, Interesting)
Take the liquid contained in a 200 ml bottle of EverClear to remind you that your head will be clear forever if you drink too many Pan Galactic Gargle Blasters, and that your brain will clear of anything soon after you start drinking some, if not before.
Into it, slowly pour a 750 ml bottle of Bombay Sapphire to remind you of the marvelous beauty of the old Santraginean seas, or an equal amount of Jeremiah Weed in acknowledgement of what has happened to the Santraginean Seas and their lifeforms.
Now add 750 ml of Cold Wild Turkey, letting it run into the mixture as we run through life to remind us of all the lifeforms we meet and experience while hitchhiking through the galaxy.
Speedily stirring, add 375 ml of Herradua Tequila, mixing it in to commemorate the galactic hitchhikers who died of pleasure among the vapors and gasses in the marshes of Fallia.
Over the bowl of a silver spoon, let flow 1 liter of rum in memory of the waterfalls and their glorious rainbows encountered on your journeys through the galaxy of life.
Next, drop in the worm found in a bottle of Musquil, watching it dissolve into the mixture. If the bottom falls out and the worm survives, drink at your own risk.
Finally, sprinkle into the mixture some Gatorade to commemorate the lifeforms which have vanished and are becoming extinct, both sentient and non-sentient, especially those most in need of aid.
If this many Pan-Galactic Gargle Blasters are too many for the number of people you think you are, mix together the following amounts of ingredients as described above for a single serving.
1 oz. EverClear
4 oz. Bombay Sapphire or Jeremiah Weed
4 oz. Cold Wild Turkey
2 oz. Herredura Tequila
5 oz. Rum
1 worm from bottle of Mezcla
2 oz. Gatorade
This makes one approximately 18 ounce Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster. The reason this drink seems so large is that Zaphod Beeblebrox has two heads, so when he created it, it came out to 9 ounces per head, so both were happy.
Before drinking, eat one olive to create a sweetness in it which is not there.
Drink very, very extremely carefully at your own risk, and remember where your towel is (if you can).
Re:Greatest Scifi Comedy Writer.... (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:Narnia (Score:2, Interesting)
My Nephew said the whole family read after Dinner.
Then, he arrives this Summer and finds out that his Father's church has recently banned the book and now he and his Step-Borthers are forbidden from reading it, watching the movie, or discussing the story.
My 9 year-old Nephew's comment: "What's different between this Summer and last?"
Sad...
Chronicles of Narnia / Potter (Score:2, Interesting)
My real point of this post is I often comment that I think Harry Potter really isn't that different from the Narnia books. I think the success is just a product of modern marketing on something of quality. If C. S. Lewis was writing now, I think we would see the series become a wild success, just like Potter.
I am not really commenting on the quality of the movie, more the books. The movie was alright, and it did stay true to the story, but it was not a classic or anything. I think the C. S. Lewis books would be the same way if they were coming out now. Great books, enjoyed and loved by poeple around the world, but they would also become a piece of pop culture. 1000's of toys and games, movies, etc. of varying quality would come of them.
Problem with publishers Rant. (Score:5, Interesting)
The series should stay the way it was written, not re-ordered [narnia.com] by a focus group and committee. This is what leads to mediocre films, books, and music.
See also: Ren and Stimpy, The Simpsons, NSYNC & Britney (and their ilk), Dr. Pepper Red Fusion, New Coke, any Disney anything, Windows ME, ect.
I know repackaging "content" and the like is a fine way to make an extra buck when the bottom line needs a push and nobody wants to take a chance, but just leave it alone already!
Re:How to Make a Trailer: (Score:2, Interesting)
I remember seeing the trailers for Hot Shots (that *awful* Top Gun parody) and thinking it looked pretty funny. When my buddies and I went to see it in the theater, we discovered that ALL of the previews came from the openning credits. Assuming the rest of the movie must suck (or else they would pull scenes from it) we left. Snuck into a different movie.
Much later I rented the movie and was relieved that I left when I did in the theater.
Come to think of it, that was the only time a movie trailer has ever done anything for me. Usually (at least lately) they serve only as spoilers for movies. Now I flip the channel whenever a preview for a movie I want to see comes on TV and I try to show up for movies late to avoid the trailers.
More movies I'd like to see (done well) OT? (Score:5, Interesting)
The House with a Clock in Its Walls (The first book in the Lewis Barnavelt series) (1972) by John Bellairs
and Lloyd Alexander's Prydain Chronicles :( ,
The Castle of Llyr , Taran Wanderer ,
The High King .
The Book of Three, The Black Cauldron (got the Disney Treatment
Yeah, they're all 'adolescent' books, but all very good, and are worth finding. Besides, didn't everyone read 'The Hobbit' when they were 12?
Re:How to Make a Trailer: (Score:3, Interesting)
I don't mind misleading trailers nearly as much as the ones that give too much away. For example, Disney's "Iron Will", a great flick about a dogsled race. The trailer showed the goddamned end of the race! I realize it was based on a true story, but it was a story that maybe 2% of moviegoers knew, and that's being generous.
Then there are the trailers which both give away the ending, and mislead you about the kind of film it is. (spoiler warning) For example, a trailer for "Cast Away" showed Tom Hanks getting home and being alienated from the world he left behind. Not only was that giving away the ending (grrr!), but it also made it look like the last 2 or 3 reels were about a rescued castaway trying to adapt back to the world, a film that might have been interesting if done well... But, as you hopefully already know if you are reading this after the spoiler warning, that's not what the film was. The whole damn movie is about whether he will survive and be rescued or not, and the part after the rescue is a 10 minute epilogue at the end of a 2 and a half out movie.
Narnia movies (Score:5, Interesting)
As a kid I remember reading the Hobbit. It was the first book I ever read outside of school assignments.
The words were hypnotic and the story almost intoxicating to me. It unleashed a power, which ignited my imagination in ways I had never known before. I couldn't put it down. Once I finished The Hobbit, I wanted, or rather needed, more. Dark corners of my mind had suddenly been flooded with wonder and excitement and I could not allow them to dim.
After The Hobbit, I read The Lord of the Rings and then the Narnia series and many other books.
The hobby of reading everything in sight is still with me today; and is not limited to fiction or fantasy. I firmly believe that I learned much more from reading books growing up than I ever did in school.
Books offered me so much it is beyond my capacity to describe the benefits. Movies, while entertaining, are not able to offer the same and it is for this reason I am disappointed. I think many children will see the movie and miss out on the thaumaturgic properties of literature.
Re:Narnia (Score:4, Interesting)
Although there was religious inspiration, there was no religious dogma. The same goes for LoTR. Both Lewis and Tolkien collaborated at times and both were known Christians. And what about Madeleine L'Engle? An incredible author with incredible books, also influenced by Christianity. Also, Atheism is just as much a world view as [Insert Religion Here]. All books are influenced by the authors worldview. The problem comes when these worldviews are taught as "The Right View" in a public school system. I don't think any of the mentioned books are selling a worldview of any sort. It's one thing to study a religious text in class, and then preach it as being the Truth. It's another to read a fictional story that is mearly influenced by the authors worldview.