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Latest on Henry Selick's adaptation of Neil Gaiman's CORALINE!!! And notes about the Cinematic Possiblities of Gaiman!
Harry here... My favorite thing about the below email I received was that it led me to Gaiman's journal page, where you can read the ramblings of a self-declared non-genius talking about the world he finds himself in the midst of. You can read the frustrations, the incredulity of his day to day life. His email answerings, hopes, dreams.... all of that. Personally I am in eager anticipation of his words finding visions upon a screen. Gaiman may dislike being referred to as a genius, so I will call his writings visionary and inspiring. Getting lost in a volume of Gaiman lore is one of the certain joys we geeks have, can't wait to see folks like Selick, Gilliam, Zemeckis and others dive in... Should be interesting...
Hi,
Quick note... This is from Neil Gaiman's (Sandman) journal at
Neil Gaiman.Com
"Last night's e-mail brought Henry ("Nightmare Before Christmas") Selick's
second draft script for CORALINE. Henry's first draft of the script was
utterly faithful to the text of the book -- if anything, too faithful. This
version was both looser and truer to the spirit of the book -- he'd added a
character, made the beats in the first act slightly different, but the
changes were the all kind of changes that need to exist when translating a
book into a film, and the core characters -- Coraline, her parents, the Cat,
the Other Mother -- and the story are still just the same. Very creepy and a
great deal of fun. Apparently it was very well received by the studio.
It's weird -- there are so many movie projects out there based on stories or books of mine that I (a) lose track and (b) assume as a general rule for piece of mind that none of them will happen. But i think we're getting to the point where the probabilities are starting to suggest that something has to happen.
Really we need a tote board, with Coraline, Good Omens, Murder Mysteries, Stardust, Books of Magic, Neverwhere, Death, and (trailing way behind) Sandman on it, along with anything I?ve forgotten or intentionally not mentioned (like the Robert Zemeckis project, or the Dave McKean film), not to mention various of the odd projects I've collaborated on over the years, like Beowulf, or Interworld, which, just as I'm certain they're utterly dead, stir in their graves and yawn and blink and sit up and ask for coffee. I think Good Omens will probably come in first, but an outsider like Books of Magic or Murder Mysteries might come in and pip it at the post...."
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+ Expand All
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everyone in this talkback should say which gaiman book they'd like to see on screen. (Good Omens for me, please).
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Neverwhere made into a film first. I think Terry Gilliam would be a most excellent choice for director.
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Neverwhere was shite, probably because of the pantomime cast and circa 70's Doctor Who sets and SFX. Sandman is one of those scripts that seems doomed to endless (geddit) soopa-heero style rewrites, but Good Omens is looking hopeful. Only problem with Gaiman stuff is Thee Plague Ov Goths that always crawl out of their mausoleums...
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I'd like to see the Dream Hunters, with Yoshitaka Amano directing the animation, but as that would attract an audience of approximately three people, I suppose Good Omens would come a close second (Rowan Atkinson as Crowley - Go!).
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Good Omens. Oh, so very definately. Clive Owen as 'Crowley' for my money. See 'Croupier', then decide.
Here's to the world elsewhere. -
Yeah, your mama.... This time I'm NOT there. Selick RUINED it. Dork.
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Feb 04, 2002 9:29:39 AM CST
The Gaiman book I'd like to see turned into a movie...
by sod off baldric
would be any one of them, to be honest...with the caveat that it has to be done properly. By that, I mean it should stay as true to the original story as possible. Everything by Gaiman that I've ever read has been fantastic...Sandman, Death, Good Omens, Neverwhere, Smoke & Mirrors, Angels & Visitations, Superman/Green Lantern...all excellent. As soon as I finish re-reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy, I'm going to be starting on Gaiman's American Gods. Really looking forward to that one.
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Actually, I thought the BBC version of Neverwhere was above average. Remember, it was written as a miniseries screenplay, before it was turned into a book. So Gaiman knew he was working within the confines of what you call the "Doctor Who" level of special effects. It really played quite nicely. I don't think the performances of Door (Laura Fraser) and the guys who played Croup and Vandemar could be topped. The guy who played Richard was pretty mediocre, though. I'd be worked about a big budget flick taking away some of the intimacy of the claustrophobic London underground sets.
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because Pratchett made Gaiman's darkness a little more palatable, and Gaiman toned down Pratchett's occasional flights of over the top-ness. And Gilliam could have been made for it.
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would anybody else be interested to see how well gaiman himself would do behind the camera? i'd like to see him do a low-budget, indie film of one of the death books. couldn't be that bad. heck, if i can learn to be a director, why can't gaiman?
sheepy awaaay! -
That's my suggestion. It would look fantastic on screen. Though I have doubts about Sandman simply because the dialogue might be even more kooky than a David Lynch film and the special effects needed might overprice the film.
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The general public will have little or NO interest, and it
will not be possible to satify
the people who have loved the
stories. They are perfect as
they are, can't see that a movie
would even have a reason to exist. -
In a way, Gaiman's words have already made it to the big screen, since he did the English version of "Princess Mononoke". (Which was DAMN GOOD, you f'n original dub purist fascists- Ahem, 'scuse me, not bitter.)That said, I think 'Good Omens' is probably the best bet for screen treatment, although I hate to lose the effect of some of the Pratchett footnotes. "Death- The High Cost of Living" would be a close second, though my mind boggles trying to come up with an actress who could do Death justice. I've read "Neverwhere", though not seen the original BBC series, and I have to say I was a bit frustrated with how generally ineffectual the central protaganist was. It may have scanned better as a quirky BBC programme than it would as a Hollywood-style flick.
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Feb 04, 2002 11:18:43 PM CST
Perfect cast for GOOD OMENS: Jack Black as Crowley and Timothy S
by cash bailey
How about some more GOOD OMENS news, Harry? DEATH: THE HIGH COST OF LIVING is sure to be utter crap. That character belongs in a small, quirky six-part series on HBO, not some fucking studio hack-job with cars blowing up and shit like that. SANDMAN is beyond help, and has been for years.
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I've always thought it would be cool to see some studio do a full-on animated epic for grown-ups that incorporated The Endless and either adapted one of the comic stories or maybe Gaiman could write something new. But think of something as technically stunning as Final Fantasy but with character design that's more abstract and surreal. They could skip Preludes and Nocturnes and go right to Seasons in the Mist. For the uninitiated, that's the story where Lucifer decides he's finished running hell, so he sets all of his tortured souls free and closes up shop, handing the key to hell over to the dreamking, who must decide who the property should be passed on to. All of the gods from every religion and mythology come to the Dreaming and stay in his castle, trying to convince him that it should go to them. Anyway, that's the premise. A great story and if they ever decide to make a Sandman movie, I'm all for it being animated.
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fair enough if you liked Neverwhere, I know lots of people who did. I though it was overdone and had none of the subtext and charm of "Sandman" etc, and too many cast members were busy milking the giant cow. Compare it to really good BBC spooky drama like "Ultraviolet", and I think you might at least see where I'm coming from. Croup and Vandemar were good, though. *** Count Lacrosse: Funny you should mention Final Fantasy, I'm sure most fans of the series were surprised to see gracefully ethereal fantasy designs given a bog-standard sci-fi makeover for FF:TSW. F'rinstance, compare Sephiroth or Ultimecia with General Hein. A Sandman animated movie could redress that, but it's sadly unlikely. Anyway, High Cost of Living would be great as an independent film directed by Jim Jarmusch.
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The Place to start for a proper segue to Gaiman film projects would be one of his short stories. I don't know which one. But that way we can take something that isn't necessarily as "sacred" to us, like Sandman or the like, and see what they can do with it.
And once we get to Sandman, why go for the big stories first? If you're going to make a franchise, save the better ones for later, that way they always get better. Start out with Preludes & Nocturnes but revise most of the super-hero stuff, the only part I have (tiny) problems with and the main reason I don't recommend it first to non-comic-book reading friends. Or maybe the serial-killer convention story. Work up to the big ones--Seasons wouldn't work until we (movie-going public) knows who Sandman is.
On a side note, I was talking to an old acquaintance that I hadn't seen since high school and she was reminiscing about my How Would You Feel About Life... shirt that I used to wear. She managed to name 6 of the 7 Endless... which was very interesting to me, since only 2 of them were on the shirt. Moral: More people know about Sandman that the average comic book reader thinks... -
Ang Lee.
Maybe Julie Taymor.
Or-- and I think this is the best idea-- a series on HBO with a different director per story arc. -
... Clive Owen could appear in each installment.
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If "Sandman" were ever to be filmed (I don`t think it should)But if it were... It would have to be a Tim Burton movie, and with the music of Danny Elfman;
It would be perfect!
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