The winner in 2006 was Earthsea. The front runner in 2007 has long been His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass. But now a new candidate is coming up fast. The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising is the big-screen adaptation of part of Susan Cooper's Dark is Rising series. You can hear/read a really dismaying interview with Cooper at NPR. The script is by John Hodge who did the screenplay for Trainspotting. He is admirably honest about the changes that were required:
One of the things I didn't want it to be confused with was Harry Potter, because I just think the world doesn't need another English boy involved with fantasy adventures.I don't think even Christopher Eccleston as The Rider (a baddie) is going to be enough to get me to see this one.
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I don't think even Christopher Eccleston as The Rider (a baddie) is going to be enough to get me to see this one.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it will help much either. A real shame, on so many levels.
Did you hear the interview with Susan Cooper on All Things Considered? Very dignified. I feel badly for her.
Here's the link: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14783609
Thanks prChung, yes that NPR interview was the one I was trying to link to. Yes SC was much more dignified than anyone could reasonably expect.
ReplyDeleteWhile I understand that there has to be changes when a book is adapted for the screen, I am aghast at the sheer amount of changes they've made with this one. And the way they feel those changes were justified. Like they had no respect for the source material at all. I hope this doesn't do well at the box office because I would hate for producers to feel that there's no need to be true to a book because it's still going to make money. This is going to be the one that edges me into psychotic fan territory!
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