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Sounds alright
by Bruce Thomas Wayne
Apr 3rd, 2008
10:22:57 AM
i guess
Electricity-Spewing Trees?
by BetaRayBill07
Apr 3rd, 2008
10:23:48 AM
Someone's taken too many rides on the Pineapple Express, me thinks.
Please just the first two books
by gruntybear
Apr 3rd, 2008
10:23:52 AM
Skip the second two. Please, please, please.
godamnit will I ever be first!? Whats a Nebula?
by donwillymo
Apr 3rd, 2008
10:24:12 AM
impaling people on metal trees= box office gold
by donwillymo
Apr 3rd, 2008
10:25:32 AM
Let's demand the Padme vs. Xenu diorama!!!
by BetaRayBill07
Apr 3rd, 2008
10:26:35 AM
Luke and Leia's mother kicks the shit out of Scientology!!!! Hell yeah!!
Lord of the MovieTrees : The Tree of Woe
by JackRabbitSlim
Apr 3rd, 2008
10:29:13 AM
The Tree of Woe (note the capitalization) would kick all other cinema trees ass - particularly that Ent with the burning head in LOTR.
Though that tree with the hanging knights in Excalibur was balls
by JackRabbitSlim
Apr 3rd, 2008
10:31:38 AM
Watching too many 80s genre movies
Those are called 'Tesla Trees'
by Prometeo
Apr 3rd, 2008
10:32:16 AM
And are a particulary gruesome "solution" for one character's dilemma. I think this books would better do a miniseries that a couple of movies... although the amazing visuals and warped out concepts may require movie-like budgets.
please!!!
by StovetopStuffin'
Apr 3rd, 2008
10:39:30 AM
Please be true! We keep getting jerked around with this. Remember when there were rumors with Scorsese and Leo DiCaprio being involved? God I want this to happen already!!!!
read the book...
by Sailor Rip
Apr 3rd, 2008
10:43:08 AM
...and this seems more suited for a sci-fi channel miniseries than a theatrical production.
now start the argument over...
by StovetopStuffin'
Apr 3rd, 2008
10:43:27 AM
whether the Shrike should be CG or man in suit. Even though it's pretty clear it'll need to be CG.
a ahole's thoughts...
by mr ahole ramirez
Apr 3rd, 2008
10:48:22 AM
...sounds very interestin...or at least very creative...prob turn out to be bad though...
Goddammit! Ladies...
by TroutMaskReplicant
Apr 3rd, 2008
10:49:32 AM
...Warner Brothers didn't swallow up New Line, it was just a fiendish scheme for New Line to parasitise WB's body and greenlight more adaptations of strange and complicated works using underqualified directors (Akira anyone?)...Seriously though, I don't know how they can make this very complicated story work in one film. Like seriously, John Keats? JOHN KEATS! It looks like we might end up with another Dune or Golden Compass...
by the by...
by Gatsbys West Egg Omlet
Apr 3rd, 2008
10:53:11 AM
a shrike is a bird that impales its prey on thorns or barbs, and comes back to it up to six weeks later. its sometimes referred to as "the butcher bird" due to this seemingly brutal practice.

not only am i a comic / buffy / sci fi dork, but a huge natural science nerd.

Over-compression
by mooli_mooli
Apr 3rd, 2008
10:59:14 AM
From the sounds of things, they're going to turn the first two books into a single film, and simplify the multiple-character plotlines. I mean - come on. That's just stupid. That's like turning Lord of the Rings into one film, and only following Frodo and Sam. You could do it - but you'd be a complete fuckstick.
Can this be done?
by ForkTongue
Apr 3rd, 2008
11:03:35 AM
I am very skeptical on if this can do the novels justice at all. I have a hard time imagining them bringing each novel seperately to the screen let alone combining the first two.

StovetopStuffin' - The prodcuer that owns the rights still produces most of Scorcese's films so he could still be in the loop on this.

Great books
by Elkatak
Apr 3rd, 2008
11:14:13 AM
But HYPERION and THE FALL OF HYPERION together have like 1800 pages! With at least five different storyline spanning more than 200 years of intergalactic history on at least 25 different worlds... makes total sense to put this all into a 90 minutes movie!
Cool
by kafka07
Apr 3rd, 2008
11:16:25 AM
always wanted to see Hyperion on the big screen. Scorsese supposedly was interested at one point.
The Tree Amigos
by Read and Shut Up
Apr 3rd, 2008
11:19:44 AM
Metal trees? Space fights? Time travel? Monster guardian? Break out the Oscars.
Tree of Woe takes on all comers
by kwisatzhaderach
Apr 3rd, 2008
11:24:50 AM
gruntybear
by illyGraham
Apr 3rd, 2008
11:38:02 AM
I actually loved the second two better than the first two. and I usually give projects the benefit of the doubt before hating, but even I'm having a hard time with this one. One movie? I don't know...those books aren't really Hollywood fare...
i'm with Elkatak
by illyGraham
Apr 3rd, 2008
11:39:07 AM
This influenced Battlestar Galactica, for sure.
by Conqueror Worm
Apr 3rd, 2008
11:52:36 AM
I just finished reading the first two books, the first 'Hyperion' is genius, and being a fan of the new Battlestar series - you can definitely see that Hyperion has strongly influenced the writers in some way.

I can't wait to see this put to screen, I hope they keep the literary feel, all the poems and yearning for old earth is part of the atmosphere.
It'd be better as a TV Series.
by Shan
Apr 3rd, 2008
11:54:31 AM
Never much chance of this happening but I always felt a 12-20 episode TV series with the start and the end of (at least some of) the episodes being the pilgrimmage and the rest covering each of the stories the pilgrims were telling (very much like the book structure with a bit more of the pilgrimmage covered between each story). I was thinking a minimum of 2 episodes per story.
PS
by Shan
Apr 3rd, 2008
11:56:27 AM
I mean it'd be better because they'd have enough time to cover much more of each story. Of course it'd also need a decent budget to make the effects look good. Might have been a good replacement for BSG for a year or two.
Wow
by TheHumanBeingAndFish
Apr 3rd, 2008
12:08:36 PM
I'm surprised. I love these books as well, but a story of that complexity, condensed into a single film? ... the TV series is a nice idea. Perhaps the pilgrims' back stories can be a miniseries, and the rest of the story a movie. Don't know if that would work... We'll wait and see. Judy Dench for CEO Gladstone!
The Shrike will own all your asses!
by Spamster
Apr 3rd, 2008
12:42:35 PM
Holy shit, this could be the very best movie monster ever, he's made of razor wire, can freeze time and move independently of it, and he's omnipresent. The shrike kicks ass. I wonder if they'll delve into the whole cruciform parasite phenomenon within the films?
Because it worked so well with QUEEN OF THE DAMNED?!
by godoffireinhell
Apr 3rd, 2008
12:46:53 PM
Also a Warner Bros. release, also two fairly big books crammed into a single film.
The Shrike is awesome, but...
by MJohnson
Apr 3rd, 2008
01:01:04 PM
That's why I'm worried...I can easily see some moron in the movie biz saying "Think how bad-ass the Shrike would be! Let's do a movie!" There is NO WAY that both books can be condensed into a single movie and still capture the books. It's why the new Dune will suck, and it's why this project will suck, and it's why fans of complex intelligent SF are always doomed to bemoaning monumental movie suckage of their favorite stories. But will I pay good money to see the Shrike on the big screen? Hells yeah...
Fucking Awsome
by xevoid
Apr 3rd, 2008
01:02:22 PM
These books to me are like sci-fi's Lors of the Rings. I read all four books once every two years, and am reading them now. It is classic, old school space opera with a vast grand scale and some great ideas. I hope they dont fuck these up.
wowwwwwwwwwwww.
by paragraphs
Apr 3rd, 2008
01:03:02 PM
Hyperion is a fantastic novel. The sequels are mostly very quality as well. I'm torn between excitement and dread, because I really have NO idea how this is going to translate on the screen.
Let the Dream Casting begin...
by MJohnson
Apr 3rd, 2008
01:04:25 PM
That dude Sayid from "Lost" has to be Kassad...
They'll probably just remake Predator
by illyGraham
Apr 3rd, 2008
01:08:55 PM
using the Shrike.
The writer apparently also adapted...
by MJohnson
Apr 3rd, 2008
01:12:50 PM
David Brin's "Startide Rising"??? Where the hell is the buzz on that project? Another fantastic SF novel that Hollywood probably can't wait to fuck up...
Scorsese and DiCaprio?
by Leto III
Apr 3rd, 2008
01:31:15 PM
Weren't they attached to this project, like, five or six years back? If Alan Rickman were a decade or so younger, he'd have my vote to play foulmouthed poet Martin Silenus.
hyperion is an example of great SF
by paragraphs
Apr 3rd, 2008
01:39:47 PM
I'm a very varied reader, but i've come back to these books countless times. to me, they are an example of what the best science fiction is capable of.
how catholics are reborn...should make a Mindblowing film
by pipergates
Apr 3rd, 2008
02:01:46 PM
the books has got some amazing concepts...parts will be a bit like AAronofsky's space-flying tree...the space battles are awesome...the gates that leads to other worlds...and the re-born part will have the pope hating the it.
"Shrike, which impales people on metal trees"
by Killah_Mate
Apr 3rd, 2008
02:03:50 PM
Yeah, there's an insightful description which gives me hope that they know what the fuck they're doing.
Give it to Zack Snyder!!
by Anklavepak
Apr 3rd, 2008
02:34:57 PM
He can do it, I know he can!
Oh yeah...
by TroutMaskReplicant
Apr 3rd, 2008
02:47:07 PM
And what about all the Christian imagery and all the religious conjecture in the books? Is it more or less blasphemous than the His Dark Materials books?
Holy Crap!
by LeSange
Apr 3rd, 2008
02:57:49 PM
Hyperion is one of the greatest sci-fi books ever written, I can only hope they do a good job!
sweet zombie jeebus!
by Grendy
Apr 3rd, 2008
03:17:28 PM
I can't WAIT for this. Well, if it is going to suck, then yes, I can. I like these books a lot, and was just talking to some folks about them the other day. It's one of a series of things I am asking my bf to read so he'll get some of my references. These books are smart and well written and I would WAY rather see them done as an HBO maxi-series of 12 episodes or an ongoing series. There's 4 very full of story books just waiting to be done right. WARNERS.... please don't jack this up. You've dictated the HD/ Blu-Ray wars, you have my money already for The Dark Knight, please don't break my heart with this one. Thanks!
Its like Star Wars but with electricity-spewing trees
by Mysterious Yobo
Apr 3rd, 2008
03:20:36 PM
and terminators
oh damn, dream casting?
by Grendy
Apr 3rd, 2008
03:22:08 PM
Naveen Andrews - Kassad FOR SURE or else Oded Fehr
The Shrike = Epic Win
by showarma
Apr 3rd, 2008
04:06:08 PM
I loved both the Hyperion and Endymion books, and the Shrike it's the most awesome "alien" monster ever.Seriously, the Shrike can kick the predator's ass any day.You know it's true.
The Shrike is after all...
by TroutMaskReplicant
Apr 3rd, 2008
04:18:54 PM
...faster and deadlier than The Predator, The Terminator and Agent Smith...
trevor sands' scripts are badass
by drturing
Apr 3rd, 2008
04:35:52 PM
his david brin adaptation was fucking awesome. i didn't read brin's original novel so i'm not qualified perhaps but his script was incredible and most importantly it resepected the viewers intelligence. had some massive sci fi ideas playing out against really interesting character stuff and some of the most epic space battles i ever read on page. in fact, the space battles made me think "this will never get made" because of their scale - but this was in the early days of CG. Sands also wrote a version of the 6 million dollar man that was fucking awesome and a damn shame it never got made. It actually had some logical sci fi ideas in it, good characters, exactly the right tone not too serious and heavy handed real joy at the discovery of powers and abilities but some real darkness - like cameron at his best), and he made the premise actually make sense (it involved fighter pilots being unable to withstand modern flight maneuvers - which ill let you extrapolate and say that the bionic man did a lot more than pick up cars). Make no mistake, they were genre adaptations that loved the form but they were the least michael bay / steven sommers' things id read in hollywood at the time.
damn
by The Amazing G
Apr 3rd, 2008
04:46:39 PM
I recently heard some dude mention Hyperion on his list of books he wishes would be made into movies
Chills down my spine
by Kankennon
Apr 3rd, 2008
05:18:46 PM
The Hyperian Cantos is one of my favorite sci-fi sagas of all time. My heart practically skipped a beat when I read the headline. So, I'm either nervously excited or else I must be coming down with the flu.
Hell Yeah!
by AvonBarksdale
Apr 3rd, 2008
05:25:36 PM
The Hyperion series is one of the best sci fi series ever written. here's hoping they do it right.

by Gym
Apr 3rd, 2008
05:38:03 PM
I loved these books, but i still can't help thinking that they're somewhat obscure outside of sci fi circles, so i don't know if they'll be assigned a big enough budget to do them justice. Anyone whose read them will know the sheer scale and scope involved, the different terrains on the planet hyperion alone should take a sizable budget to portray properly. So i reckon you're looking at a lucasfilm style production in order to do it right. Anyway. I hope they put in Martin Silenus'farcaster house. That was great.
donwillymo+nebula
by Wyrdy the Gerbil
Apr 3rd, 2008
06:20:08 PM
the nebula award is voted on by the SF writers guild inlike the hugo which is voted on at the world science fiction convention
Sounds Great. But I am still waiting for FORGE OF GOD
by tritium
Apr 3rd, 2008
06:23:41 PM
and Anvil of Stars movies to be made. I thought Warner Bros. bought the option on these Greg Bear novels years ago...but they haven't done shit so far.
In a perfect world...
by AvonBarksdale
Apr 3rd, 2008
06:30:59 PM
This would be done as a huge budget mini series on HBO like Band of Brothers.
There is no way to combine the first two books into one movie
by mthrndr
Apr 3rd, 2008
06:46:43 PM
Dan Simmons couldn't even do it in the books. The second book picks right up where the first one left off - it's obvious he was forced to split the story out of necessity. There's no way that a merged movie could be successful in any way that would satisfy readers of the books or this site, myself included.
Noooooooooooooo!!!!!!!
by Maceox
Apr 3rd, 2008
06:47:20 PM
Please do not touch these books. 1 film. Are you fucking joking. This universe and story make epic seem like a puny word. The back stories the philosphy. How can they even begin to think this would make one movie. If you love the book enough to do an adaptation, you would realise immediately that you would probably need 3 3hour movies lile lotr just to do the first two books. The second two are probably more condensable (SP) (kidney stone anyone. But NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO1 That is all. I step off my box.
dream casting
by StovetopStuffin'
Apr 3rd, 2008
06:55:10 PM
Ryan Reynolds as Martin Silenus Saïd Taghmaoui as Kassad Michelle Rodriguez as Brawne Lamia Doug Jones as Het Masteen maybe Joaquin Phoenix as the Consul?
Colonel Kassad VS The Shrike...
by Anti-fanboy
Apr 3rd, 2008
07:13:19 PM
Man, I was rooting hard for Kassad: One genuine human badass versus an A.I. demi-god. Albeit, a very well armed human badass... insanely great stuff. Considering that each of the pilgrims' stories from the first book could make a self-contained movie, there's no way one film could properly condense both, unless they ditched the back stories, and only focused on the current events, which would be a real bummer.
Adapt Summer of Night instead
by SoylentMean
Apr 3rd, 2008
07:40:50 PM
Song of Kali, Carrion Comfort? I've never read Simmons' Sci-Fi, but his Horror novels kick ass.
Nooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!
by Hyperion Consul
Apr 3rd, 2008
08:29:49 PM
Ilium and Olympus are getting the same treatment too (although I heard with a mind toward two movies).
Dan Simmons Rocks HARD!
by Admiral Nelson
Apr 3rd, 2008
08:52:14 PM
If you've never read his books, do yourself a favor and grab them. Hyperion, The Fall of Hyperion, Endymion and The Rise of Endymion -- one giant story -- are among the best S/F novels ever written, period. And Anti-Fanboy is right: the battle between Kassad (who's wearing the equivalent of a Starship Troopers novel fighting suit, and is bristling with insane weaponry) vs. an advanced killer robot from the future... unbelievable. The Shrike is one of the most badass characters in S/F novel history. (And when you first encounter him, you say, "Holy shit, it's the Shrike!" -- but later, after "situations change" in the Endymion books, you say, "Thank God -- it's the Shrike!"
Lotsa Condensation Agreement
by RoseBuddy
Apr 3rd, 2008
09:49:51 PM
Yup, lots to compress. Another large, equally engaging Space Opera with more of a psychological/philosophical bent : The rights to Stephen R. Donaldson's Gap Series were bought last year with the film makers promising at least 3 movies, but haven't heard much since. FYI
110% against this
by Stevie Grant
Apr 3rd, 2008
09:54:18 PM
I'm a huge Dan Simmons fan. From the Cantos, to Ileum and Olympos, to the Hard as (whatever) series; there is no way they can do the series anywhere close to justice in movie format. Just can't happen.
Sure
by Stevie Grant
Apr 3rd, 2008
09:57:31 PM
the material will allow for a unbelievably cool trailer that will draw large crowds... but... shit. Who wants to settle for an "Hollywood," abridged version of TOTAL-FUCKING-AWESOMENESS.
Why not?
by Cobbio
Apr 3rd, 2008
11:57:37 PM
I've read all four books twice, and would absolutely love to see a well-made film of the first two novels. Seeing the Shrike breathing, fighting, and pushing every other "Hyperion" plotline into dramatic craziness would make my year.

I'm utterly certain the movie will fall FAR short of the books in scope and character, yet I'm still excited by what I might see.

this is only the start...
by palinode
Apr 4th, 2008
01:07:33 AM
of development hell.
Wow! a Hyperion movie? But how about Superman's sequels?
by DarthBakpao
Apr 4th, 2008
02:27:57 AM
I want a Superman's sequel
How will they do the Shrike...
by Uridium
Apr 4th, 2008
03:25:08 AM
after Transformers already ripped off the Hyperion books for its Megatron design!
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