Cool News
SANDMAN awakens!!!
Just thought you should know that at Neil Gaiman's signing in New
York this evening, he was doing a question and answer session and the
inevitable Sandman movie question came up. Neil told the story for the
hundredth time, but when he mentioned all that Jon Peters horribleness
(quoting that dreaded opening line, and giving a hilarious synopsis of
the rest) he announced that a summary of the Jon Peters script could be
found at aint-it-cool-news.com. I thought that was pretty cool, so I'd
let you know.
He also ran through the progress of all his current movie
projects, including (hopefully i'll remember all this right) Sandman
(currently dead, thank god), Neverwhere (he's working with jim henson
productions, and he's talking to a big-name director that he's very
happy with, but he couldn't reveal who just yet. also, apparently while
in New York he was going to try to convince the film-makers to set the
movie in London rather than the big apple, which would definitely be a
smart move), Good Omens (working with the producers of "wilde," can't
remember the names - he also said he had a director who he thought to be
"perfect for the story," but he can't give names until the deal has been
signed), and Death: The High Cost of Living (he said things were looking
good for the death movie, he's looking into some subsidiary of warner
bros. - who unfortunately own sandman, death, etc. - to put out the film
in a hopefully good way). That's about it, movie-wise. Later...
xott
p.s. - this may be old news, but roger avary posted his side of the
sandman script story at
http://www.avary.com/rogeravary/journal/10-25-98.html including the full
text of his draft of the script, which is actually not bad.
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I was at the Gaiman signing in PA the day before and "The Neil" basically repeated in NY what he told us. He said that he's currently on his third script for the Neverwhere movie and that the studio execs, after reading his second script, want him to incorporate more of the book into the movie (always a good sign). When asked about the Sandman movie, Neil said that the Ted Elliot and Terry Rossio script and the Roger Avery version (which was a rewrite of the Elliot and Rossio's) were both quite good, as far as adaptations go, and he was very pleased. The newer Jon Peters-ized script immediately changed Neil's demeanor from a happy one to an almost embarrassed one. He said not only was it a horrible adaptation, but it was quite possibly the worst movie script he's EVER read. Ouch. Also, to read Elliot and Rossio's version of Sandman, go to www.wordplayer.com.
P.S. Neil called me "bloody mad" for driving to PA from Boston to see him. But he also appreciated my fanaticism. -
For anyone out there who actually feels that a Sandman movie is necessary, go pick up "Preludes and Nocturnes", sit in a nicely lit theater, and read it. If you want to see the "movie" again, well guess what?! It's already available on video!! Just go and read the thing again in front of a blank TV screen. There are two main reasons a Sandman movie wouldn't work: a) it's just too big a story that all connects together. It'd be like making a movie about the bible from beginning to end; not just excerpts. You can't cut down the Sandman story without ruining it. and b) A big studio just wouldn't get it, but a smaller studio just couldn't afford it. Big Hollywood execs would be baffled by a comic book movie without movie tie-ins or hit soundtracks or fast-paced action, but a smaller studio interested in the literate, complex story that is Sandman wouldn't be able to plop down the HUGE capital it would take to create the realm of the dreaming. Also, a smaller independent studio would probably also realize that it works better as is and shouldn't be touched. Sandman isn't like Batman who has a billion stories open to interpretation. He has one enormous life story...and it's already been told.
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Just as a side note, people should keep in mind that Terry Pratchett was a co-author on Good Omens, and his contributions are impossible to miss. I just hope that he is involved as well with the process of turning that particular apocalyptic epic into an actual movie. Does anybody know?
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WE NEED SOME WING COMMANDER NEWS. NEWS ABOUT WING COMMANDER, THINGS HAVING TO DO WITH WING COMMANDER. DATA, INFORMATION, NEWS, UPDATES, SPOILERS, PICS, TRAILERS, REVIEWS, WE NEED ALL OF THESE THINGS AND MORE ABOUT THE UPCOMMING MOVIE WING COMMANDER!!!!!
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WE NEED SOME WING COMMANDER NEWS. NEWS ABOUT WING COMMANDER, THINGS HAVING TO DO WITH WING COMMANDER. DATA, INFORMATION, NEWS, UPDATES, SPOILERS, PICS, TRAILERS, REVIEWS, WE NEED ALL OF THESE THINGS AND MORE ABOUT THE UPCOMMING MOVIE WING COMMANDER!!!!!
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WE NEED SOME WING COMMANDER NEWS. NEWS ABOUT WING COMMANDER, THINGS HAVING TO DO WITH WING COMMANDER. DATA, INFORMATION, NEWS, UPDATES, SPOILERS, PICS, TRAILERS, REVIEWS, WE NEED ALL OF THESE THINGS AND MORE ABOUT THE UPCOMMING MOVIE WING COMMANDER!!!!!
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ok all ready quit posting the wing commander shit buddy. harry is in rotterdam. he aint gonna post nothin till he gets back. if you wanna bitch with the big boys come over to the forums where they'd love to filet your ass.
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How you ask? Make it an animated movie! Dreamworks is "dabbling" in this now (although not as far as I would like), trying to get away from the tried-and-true Disney strategy of music, more music and even more toys.
I'd lean strongly with anime style animation. Make it as long as you would like, it's done all the time. A ten hour movie is alright with me! Release it only on DVD (by the time it came out you could fit it on only 2 or 3 disks) and sell it for 50$ or so (btw, I'm not an early adopter so I'm not spoiled or anything, it's just cheaper not having to make those bulky VCR tapes).
You wouldn't have to worry about special effects, only need to worry about good voice actors. But if they went with this suggestion I would like to ask them to PLEASE please make it for an adult audience. I want it rated R like it should be. And it would make a profit, look at Heavy Metal, *they* didn't worry about the kids at all, it's a [cult] classic now. -
Anybody interested in what could have been should jet on over to www.wordplayer.com to read Terry Rossio's and Ted Elliot's screenplay for THE SANDMAN. As a fan of the comic, I can say that their work was a real surprise - a solid story, true to the source material, yet still a GOOD script. Part of the problem is most (okay, ALL) comic-to-movie adaptations stink because they try to please everyone, and only succeed in offending everyone. SANDMAN is different. Check it out (in fact, anyone interested in film-making, especially from a writing standpoint, should bookmark their site and read everything on it possible.
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I read the Rossio/Elliot script. It's an impressive adaptation in many ways, but i don't think it works as a story that would be meaningful to people who haven't already read "Sandman". It's based on the first 15-or so issues of the series and they've always been a bit of a mess with some absolutely brilliant bits thrown in. Rossio/Elliot manage to fit a LOT of the brilliant bits into their script, but (I'm going to use . .uhm. . a music-metaphor here) it reads more like a "Sandman Greatest Hits" than as a single coherent "album". And the parts of the dialogue not taken from the comic book is sometimes visibly poorer than the bits written by Gaiman. That could have been fixed by some re-writes, but the all-over-the-place story probably couldn't. Still, technically it's an impressive combination of a lot of great scenes. A good try, but "Sandman" is probably more or less unfilmable.
I'm not a huge fan of "Neverwhere", but it could probably be made into an okay fantasy movie.
Note to Ben Dobyns: Both Gaiman and Terry Pratchett were involved with the first Good Omens movie-script written several years ago (According to an old Gaiman interview), but their experiences with the producers made Pratchett decide NOT to go along. Gaiman gave it another try, then he decided that everyone in Hollywood are either stupid or completely mad, and gave up. . .Now he seems to have decided to give it another try. . .Good luck to him. -
Hey -- for reference, Terry Pratchett wrote most of Good Omens, and as much as I love Neil (you've got to adore Smoke and Mirrors, Neverwhere, even Black Orchid) -- why is he being focussed on for Good Omens? Just because his name is first on the title (and in my "humble" opinion it certainly oughtn't) and thus it's filed in the G section instead of the P section, we all bow down before him? Pterry needs at least a mention in this article. It was a co-author job, not a solo-author job.
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I must agree with the fans and writers, that this script was pretty good. It wasn't great, but it stayed very true to the comic series. Only had a few problems when reading it, that made me go, "Oh no! Don't make him do that!" or "Don't have them say that!", or "Why the hell are they running?". The first half was slow, the middle was great, and just before the end was pretty good too. But I didn't like the ending. It didn't quite settle well with me, but who am I to judge. I couldn't write a haiku, much less a 100-page screenplay. Now despite the fact that I liked the script, I think with a few more re-writes it can be better. I don't think this draft will translate well to the big screen, nor do I think I will enjoy it. However, it's got potential. Now if only I can get my hands on Mr. Farmertan's script, I am desparately seeking a new comedy to read. :) "Foolish mortals!" hehe that always gets me...
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For another take from Neil Gaiman on the whole Hollywood mess with "Sandman," don't miss the story "The Goldfish Pool and Other Stories" in his latest short story collection, "Smoke and Mirrors." Part of it is this very creepy, atmospheric, nostalgic story about old Hollywood, centered around the protagonist's stay at the Beverly Hills Hotel. But it's interspersed with some hilarious and wicked scenes as he tries (and tries, and tries) to sell his best-selling novel as a screenplay treatment, to a never-ending series of clueless, glamorous studio drones. Do check it out! The book is worth it for "Snow, Glass, Apple" alone. THERE's a story you wish they would make into a movie -- it'd attract tons of kids for all the wrong reasons, then WARP them for life. Hee hee!
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