I'd rather have read that script than flown through Hitler's legs

[altariel]

Thanks to espresso_addict for this link. Le Guin on the disastrous Earthsea miniseries... Butbutbutbutbut! She once did a script of the first two books with Michael Powell... OMG!!!11!!!

In some blessed alternate universe, that film exists. Excuse me while I play bits of it in my head...

[Cue dreamcasting session]

Comments

[espresso-addict.livejournal.com]

I've yet to read a review from any fan who's actually managed to sit through the entire thing.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Fastest switch-over I've read yet is fifteen minutes. It sounds ghastly.

[espresso-addict.livejournal.com]

Someone quoted four minutes. Presumably at the point when O"jee"on slipped up and gave Ged the true name of Sparrowhawk.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Auwghneghgnnnngg!

Oh, it burns us.

[espresso-addict.livejournal.com]

I'm truly glad I couldn't watch it. I don't think Mr EA would have appreciated my smashing the television.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I imagine it's going to come round to the Sci-Fi channel here in the New Year. Unless it bombs so badly that they don't show it. I have to see at least the start, just to experience it for myself.

[espresso-addict.livejournal.com]

We're likely to be still Sky-free :(

[altariel.livejournal.com]

I can always tape it for you if you're really desperate to see it.

[espresso-addict.livejournal.com]

Laughing and pointing sticks can be a therapeutic pastime...

[communicator.livejournal.com]

I'm almost speechless at this news about the script. I would love to read it.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Isn't it just amazing? I assume it exists somewhere. And I thought Tom Stoppard's His Dark Materials was the great lost film of our time!

After a bit of Googling, it seems UKL and MP first met in 1980, and were collaborating on it pretty much up to his death. But he basically didn't work after Peeping Tom :-(

[aervir.livejournal.com]

Totally off.topic, but Tom Stoppard did a script for HDM? Although I am no particular Pullman fan, I would have loved to see that movie!

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Yes, Stoppard was going to do the script for the forthcoming film version of HDM. I don't know how far he got, but he's off now. This was in favour of the guy who directed American Pie, who was busy removing references to God in case they gave offence. However, it seems he may be off the film now, although that could just be as director.

[aervir.livejournal.com]

This was in favour of the guy who directed American Pie, who was busy removing references to God in case they gave offence.

Well, I do not agree with the novels' religion-is-the-source-of-all-evil message, but even I can see that removing the references to a tyrannous deity are completely beside the point, as HDM is basically a sequel to Paradise Lost where the position of Satan is justified. But hey, that's Hollywood. The same Hollywood where Patroclus suddenly became Achilles' cousin because a homosexual or bisexual warrior might be offensive, too...

And according to your link, Chris Weitz is still the screenwriter. *headdesk*

[genarti]

I saw the commercials for that, and said "You know, I can't imagine how that would be good."

Then I saw this, and I ran screaming the other way.

The only possible entertainment value in this travesty, from all I can see, is that my family would get from watching me gibber and flail. Which, I admit, might be considerable.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

What a shame they decided to jettison a brilliant story for what, by all accounts, is a cliched bit of rubbish.


watching me gibber and flail

:-D

[genarti]

Yeah. If it were a badly done miniseries of Generic Fantasy Quest, I wouldn't much care. I might even watch it for the amusement value.

But. Earthsea. I weep bitter tears at the blasphemy.

[teawith.livejournal.com]

Cheers for this review! I was debating watching it and now I have saved several hours of my valuable time for other more deserving tv :)

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Sounds like you may as well wait till it hits Sky. Actually, it sounds like you may as well wait till it hits Channel Five.

That's a gorgeous icon, btw.

[teawith.livejournal.com]

Thanks - although not mine. I barely know what Photoshop is... aisling12 did a whole load of them for all the characters from Lost. They're all gorgeous.

[lame-pegasus.livejournal.com]

I read the entire LeGuin-startement. That sounds awful. And I know (and love) the books for 25 years now, nearly as long as LOTR.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

It does sound really terrible, doesn't it? Various people have commented that the time would be better spent rereading the books, and I think they may be right.

[forodwaith.livejournal.com]

It's been most entertaining watching my American friends lose it over the sheer awfulness of the miniseries, while being spared the possibility of seeing it myself. :-)

[espresso-addict.livejournal.com]

I must admit, there's a certain joy to be gained from reading irate fannish comments -- at a suitable distance. Now if only I could persuade some people to start writing fanfiction instead...

[altariel.livejournal.com]

It is enormously tempting to sign up for the fic-athon, although the idea does fill me with terror.

[espresso-addict.livejournal.com]

Go for it! (says she unbiasedly) It's not impossible we'd find ourselves the only participants.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

All right, I'm in.

[glitterboy1.livejournal.com]

Hurrah!

[espresso-addict.livejournal.com]

Yay! I'm looking forward to this already.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Seems to be the best way of approaching the whole thing! Although I have no doubt that when it turns up over here, I'll subject myself to it.

[ithilwen.livejournal.com]

No. No you won't. You might manage 10 minutes or so of it, but beyond that point you'll be sporking your eyes out.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

Starting to think it would be a better idea just to reread the books. Or listen to the radio play. That was OK.

[kathyh]

I saw a 10 second clip of the trailer on my illegal Farscape mini-series DVD and those 10 seconds were enough! Poor Ursula K. Le Guin. And the fact that she and Michael Powell might have collaborated on it is just heart-breaking. I hope we're not in for a slew of bad fantasy adaptations as people jump on the LOTR bandwagon.

[altariel.livejournal.com]

If it does make it to the UK, I'm going to have to watch it from behind the sofa, I think.


the fact that she and Michael Powell might have collaborated on it is just heart-breaking

The idea of what that would have been like just boggles me. Getting close to being the perfect film. (All right, FotR runs pretty close too!)

[epsilon-delta.livejournal.com]

I am so behind the times. Have not read any of the books. :( Did see an interview Isabella Rossellini gave about the series with Jon Stewart, though, where she tried to explain her character's role in the mini-series as a female pope. Combined with the clip, it gave an overall very strange WTF sort of effect.

Hilarious sidenote: Jon Stewart looked visibly frightened after seeing the clip. Hee!

[altariel.livejournal.com]

her character's role in the mini-series as a female pope

That is so divorced from the books that I've only been able to work out which character it's meant to be by piecing together criticisms from viewers. Bizarre.

The books are fantastic. Highly recommended.

[ithilwen.livejournal.com]

It's too bad Le Guin has had to sit back and watch these people trash her book so badly. Why, oh why couldn't poor Ged have found his own Peter Jackson for this project? He certainly deserved one!

(Of course, Hollywood doesn't usually know what to do with stories that have an actual point to them, like the Earthsea trilogy does. So I suppose there was little reason to hope they'd get it right.)

[altariel.livejournal.com]

According to Le Guin, Philippa Boyens was originally involved in the miniseries project. That might have been interesting.