Screenplay + major Hollywood production entity...

[Birdhead]

The LP can of any nationalality.... but in Hollywood, British (/Irish) actors are felt to make good villans.

*very dry* Yes, I'm aware. I had thought DD might be less susceptible to said bias since she lives in the UK, but perhaps not. (Really, I'm just being silly, but I do think Hollywood/North America's preoccupation with the Evil People From The UK gets a little bit wearying.)

Well, he says bloody in my copy, but then, it's the Corgi edition.

So not a guarantee!!! But it is good evidence. I'll check my edition when I get it back.

With respect to Nathan's post re: updating. When it comes to turning SYWTBAW into a movie there are really two options: play heavily on its original time period, nostalgia etc; or do as DD has done with Uptown Local and update it entirely to make the setting mostly irrelevant to the plot. With SYWTBAW I can see it going either way - in the afterword to the 20th Anniversary edition DD mentioned that partly when she wrote SYWTBAW she was trying to recall her own childhood and I think that nostalgia is really there. In the later books, though, it's much more of a distraction - and in the context of those books I think updating it was really more sensible. Plus, we get funny geek jokes every now and then, and those make us happy, right?

Of course, it's hard for me to comment since I read the new editions first (although the copies I now own of DW, HW and Abroad are all the old Corgis) so I don't have that emotional attachment. (Did I mention, I have nearly completed my collection? All I need is War, which I'm so asking for for my birthday...)

First, and most importantly, the percentage of humans who are wizards is changed from a fairly shocking one in four to a much more reasonable one in twenty <snip> I seem to also remember a value for this being given in at least one of the books.

Yes, there is, and funnily it's smaller again (IIRC) than either of those. It's in HW, which I have also leant away (in fact, my whole collection is away. Yes, I really miss it a lot.) but if I recall correctly, the numbers given are like this: number of potential wizards, one in three; number of practising wizards (presumably all wizards who have taken the Oath rather than wizards who are currently active, so including wizards who are on hiatus or whatever) one in ten of potentials. Which I think is one in thirty, am I right? (Er, I could be remembering those figures wrong, though. It could be one in ten and one in one hundred, or one in thirty, or... it's in HW, anyway, when Dairine's talking to Spot. I'm pretty sure. I've definitely quoted it on the boards before.)

Re: allusions and Fred: Or it could just be because it's funny. That scene has great comic timing, as does a lot of the book - and speaking of that, is why I personally am really excited by this: I think SYWTBAW would adapt really well as a movie, kind of the fundamental cinematographic qualities Nathan mentioned.

*does a little twirl* I'm off to see if I can find where I quoted those population stats.

ETA: Yatta! Found one, although not by me; Alia Elena here (which, by the way, is in a really great thread on the potentiasl use and misuse of the Speech.)

cf High Wizardry, where it's stated that 1 in 3 Earth types have the potential to be wizards, but only 1 in 100 of the potential wizards are actual, practicing wizards.

I got it slightly wrong, and that's a much smaller number: 1/300. Which seems more reasonable to me than one in twenty even, especially considering the average sizes of a wizardly gathering, and wow, we're so off-track, if anyone wants to continue this we should probably move it.

[Kathy Li]

<span class="ev_code_purple">Originally posted by Birdhead:
...(Really, I'm just being silly, but I do think Hollywood/North America's preoccupation with the Evil People From The UK gets a little bit wearying.) ...</span>

The prejudice is not that UK/Irish folks are villains, although I can see how you would come to that conclusion. The Hollywood prejudices is the Brits/Irish as actors are good enough to hold their own in any picture against any high-priced American star, but for far less money. [grin].

<span class="ev_code_purple">With respect to Nathan's post re: updating. When it comes to turning SYWTBAW into a movie there are really two options: play heavily on its original time period, nostalgia etc; or do as DD has done with Uptown Local and update it entirely to make the setting mostly irrelevant to the plot. ... </span>

Except, as Nathan has noted, that with an eBay reference in the text snippet that DD handed us, it's pretty obvious already that she's going the latter route. I did ask her in the chat if the World Trade Center towers were going to make an appearance, but with no answer, I'd assume that they don't, or she'll use the as-yet-unbuilt new WTC, or another historic NY skyscraper, such as the Chrysler Building or the Empire State gets used. Then again, she's DD. She's likely to surprise us all with what she comes up with.

[Birdhead]

The Hollywood prejudices is the Brits/Irish as actors are good enough to hold their own in any picture against any high-priced American star, but for far less money. [grin].

Yeah, you know, I'd buy that more if the UK actors occasionally dropped their accents - but they don't. No, no, I know Hollywood doesn't think the Brits are intrinsically evil, but one could easily make that mistake, you know? :P

Except, as Nathan has noted, that with an eBay reference in the text snippet that DD handed us, it's pretty obvious already that she's going the latter route.

Oh, yeah, I realise that - I had intended to come out in tentative support of her plan, but obviously I wasn't explicit enough. *lamebrain*

[mouse]

whoooo!! a movie! *so excited*
well, I can see several people as the characters, but theyve all been mentioned.*wonders who will be nita*
all though, my dreams of being nita will be crushed when they do make it.....ahh well, not all dreams can come true.but...so happy for the movie, I hope DD will be the screenplay writer.If she cant, she may have to swallow her pride, or we get no movieeeee

ahhhh!!!!!!!!! WHAT? NO MOVIEEEEE? nyuuuuuuu....
anywho,this will be awsomeeeee

[meteorite]

Originally posted by Birdhead:

Yeah, you know, I'd buy that more if the UK actors occasionally dropped their accents - but they don't.

Hate to throw cream pies, but you know Hugh Laurie is as British as they get, and that ain't a British accent he does on House. Ioan Gruffydd did a fair job of ditching his accent (okay, okay, do you want to split hairs? He's Welsh) when he played Mr. Fantastic in The Fantastic Four. Anyway, you can have Brits playing non-Brits, and they don't have to be villains, either.

[Rubywolf]

i don't think taht there should be a movie.
<UL TYPE=SQUARE>
<LI>Everytime a book movie comes out, they mess it up.
<LI>Why do books have to be turned into movies? Aren't the books good enough?[/list]
However, if a movie did come out, I would be the first to get a ticket!!!

[Kathy Li]

Meteorite: the question on the table probably is why can't a Brit be a good guy in a Yank movie without ditching the British accent?

OTOH, Mr. Gruffydd managed to be a good guy in TITANIC while retaining the Welsh accent. [grin]. Check out the bit where Kate Winslet get rescued and notice who's manning that particular lifeboat.

And adding to the counter-example list, I shall also mention a particular librarian in the television show of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Rubywolf: there has to be a movie to entice those people who don't read to go buy books.

[Birdhead]

Meteorite - yeah, Kathy hit it: House can be considered an exception, if you like (although I do think he's fundamentally a good guy) but Mr Fantastic just proves my point. Er, such as it is. My vendetta. Whereas you have Gaius Baltar, or... or... okay, look, I can't think of other examples but they're totally out there. :P Ethan and early Spike from Buffy (okay, fine, then you have to deal with Giles and Wesley, I suppose. Although early Wes is such an incompetent and that's completely associated with his bookishness, ie britness).

Actually, I suspect it's secret anti-classism; upper-class British accent = wealthy + symbolic of The Empire = evil. (Palpatine? Does Palpatine have a brit accent? I do not know.)

*scratches head* I'm going to go away and collate some examples. Plot. Plot.

there has to be a movie to entice those people who don't read to go buy books.

Heresy!

[meteorite]

Originally posted by Birdhead:

Actually, I suspect it's secret anti-classism; upper-class British accent = wealthy + symbolic of The Empire = evil. (Palpatine? Does Palpatine have a brit accent? I do not know.)

Aha! Thank you for jogging my noggin! Many of the good-guy actors in the Star Wars series were British: Sir Alec Guinness, Anthony Daniels, Ewan McGregor, et. al. Indiana Jones' trusted contact in Egypt, Sallah, was played by John Rhys-Davies. I have to scratch around some more, but there have to be other examples where being British in an American film didn't mean you were automatically playing a bad guy.

[Birdhead]

Sir Alec Guinness, Ewan McGregor

You so only get to use them as one example!

OK, my hypothesis is crumbling under the weight of your counterexamples, so I'll gracefull resign.

[Dragon Writer]

there's also the fact that when bird head said

fundamentally a good guy) but Mr Fantastic just proves my point. Er, such as it is. My vendetta. Whereas you have Gaius Baltar, or... or... okay, look, I can't think of other examples but they're totally out there. :P Ethan and early Spike from Buffy (okay, fine, then you have to deal with Giles and Wesley, I suppose. Although early Wes is such an incompetent and that's completely associated with his bookishness, ie britness).

as a bad thing about weasly and giles, she was actually pointint out good characters who were british at the same time. i don't even know why i'm getting into this, since i really don't have an oppinion one way or another at the moment, but still, there you have it.

[meteorite]

I'm fond of Ioan Gruffydd, ever since he played the lead in the A&E Hornblower series. He's got several American roles under his belt, both with and without accent.

There just aren't that many redheaded actors of sufficient caliber to play the Lone Power, British or not. You need the ability to project a certain amount of powerful menace and, yes, evil.

[Birdhead]

a bad thing about weasly and giles

No, no! I was saying it was a bad thing about Spike and Ethan, and then conceding Giles and Wes. :P

There just aren't that many redheaded actors of sufficient caliber to play the Lone Power, British or not.

Or actors of any hair colour, IMO. And they also have to be damn pretty.

[Rubywolf]

right now, there are no actors period who have the capability or skill to play the LP. It is that evil. Well, maybe one of the people on Saturday Night Live. Oh, and I could do it.

[Dragon Writer]

I don't suppose there IS many that could play the evil of the lp in full force, but evil doesn't necessarily have to SEEM evil...in fact, it's more likely to disguise itself, and even if it doesn't hide it completely...
the implication that there's always more evil underneath the surface that you're not seeing, is often more powerful then seeing it all at once.