Nordling here.
I love William Gibson's novel. I haven't read it in about ten years, though, and I'd be curious to know if global events and new technologies have changed its perspective. It may be one I pick up again and re-read to see. But I've always thought it would make an amazing film.
It was announced last year that Vincenzo Natali (CUBE, SPLICE) would be directing the film adaptation, and apparently a press release from Seven Arts Pictures was released yesterday that pre-production has begun on the film:
Seven Arts Pictures and GFM Films announced today that "Neuromancer," written and directed by Vincenzo Natali and adapted from the William Gibson best-selling novel, has secured sales from distributors in the first three days of Cannes. Territories licensed include: South Korea and Thailand, Taiwan, China, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and India, CIS, Poland, and the Middle East.
"Response to this cult cyberspace thriller has been tremendous and the film ticks a lot of boxes with distributors. The film will be a Canadian-European co-production with principal photography occurring in Canada, Istanbul, Tokyo, and London. Work on the visual effects has already begun, with an anticipated start date in the first quarter of 2012," said Kate Hoffman, Chief Operating Officer of Seven Arts. GFM also reported advanced discussions in Germany, the UK, France, and the USA..
The real trick of NEUROMANCER as a film is that whoever does the visual design is going to have to compete with millions of readers' visions of Gibson's amazing, well-constructed world. It's not like LORD OF THE RINGS, where Tolkien's descriptions were so detailed. Gibson's work very much leaves the imagery to the mind of the reader. I'm happy to see that this film is starting to coalesce.
Nordling, out.
PS: Slashfilm has a terrific Q&A with Natali about his plans for NEUROMANCER. You should head on over there and check it out.
