Screenplay + major Hollywood production entity...

[Dragon Writer]

*can't wait for movie, and now that i'm fairly certain it's actually going to be done...*DANCES and tells everyone in the entire universe about it*

[Kathy Li]

Err... I wouldn't be too certain. Right now, they're only talking about getting an option on the books. That just means they're buying exclusive rights to eventually develop it. Lots of stuff gets optioned and then never gets made; I remember reading four years ago that Henson had optioned the rights to Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising. And after three years of negotiation the producer they'd lined up backed out, and it still hasn't gotten beyond talking--not even to the script stage. I'd also heard years ago that Spielberg had optioned Terry Pratchett's Bromeliad Trilogy...and not a peep.

I hold my breath in the same way on the announcements that HBO's optioned George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire, and Peter Jackson's option on the Naomi Novik Temeraire books.

After being optioned, then there's greenlighting (i.e., the accountants have priced it out and think it's ok and the producers have found financing to cover the costs), and then actual production. And even once it's in production, nothing's assured.

If you look at film credits, you'll see something called a "completion bond" company--which is the insurance they take out just in case for some weird reason the movie's never finished (actor/director dies of a heart attack and can't be replaced (cf. Apocalypse Now), an earthquake buries all the sets, etc.

It's a weird and rocky road for a book to reach filmhood.

[Slash]

........... You know not to burst your guys bubble but many Hollywood producers read books they like .... but they sill don't make them into movies ..... (Not ask how I know this)

[Peter Murray]

Originally posted by Nathan:
(I do have to wonder whether his nickname is some sort of an hommage or allusion to the famous astrophysicist Fred Hoyle, particularly as he worked on models for quasars, albeit not using white holes—perhaps something to ask DD if the WizCasts ever start up again.)

Or there's the DD chats for now:

Peter Murray: DD: Nathan suggested this as a Wizcast question, but... he asked if Fred was a reference to Dr Fred Hoyle, astronomer and sf writer.
Diane Duane: PM -- Oh. No. But it's a nice thought.

[Rubywolf]

Oh well. It was a great idea thugh Nathan.

WHY DO BOOKS HAVE TO BE TURNED INTO MOVIES? IT'S JUST A WAY TO MAKE MONEY! Aren't the books good enough as they are?

Although, it's bound to be good because DD involved!

[Kathy Li]

Well, not just a way to make money. Just a way to make GONZO money, and a very good way to turn readers onto books they may not have known. It only takes two hours to watch a movie. It often takes a lot longer to read a book.

Movies are expensive. So, it makes sense to use tried-and-true material, in the form of a best-selling novel, to base a movie on. A movie doesn't destroy a book--the book is still there on the shelves, waiting to be read with all their words intact. I know a lot of folks who wouldn't have read Lord of the Rings if it hadn't been for the movies. And I'm sure that part of the Harry Potter popularity was due to the flicks as well.

And if it weren't for the popularity of Harry Potter, then DD's publishers might never have been willing to begin publishing new YW novels after an eight year hiatus (Abroad: 1993; Dilemma: 2001). The timing is not just a coincidence.

[maxxrox]

Plus, if the movie does well, DD will get some of the GONZO money, and then she'll have time for other things besides work: like more chats, continued podcasts, etcetera.

[jwiz]

MOVIE!!!!!! I hope it comes out and all goes well. I am sure the movie will do well. THen again, I think it will. THe screenplay excerpt thingamagig was funny. THe movie will be hilarious(like the book) and with DD incvolved, it should be cool.

[berto_lova!99430]

that would be soo cool if she made a movie i actaully started to hope that she would!!!!!! and i seriously want to see wat they all look like especially Kit just kidding!!!!!

[edited to fix hitting the quote button by mistake instead of the edit button. --kli]

[Kathy Li]

Originally posted by kli6:
... I remember reading four years ago that Henson had optioned the rights to Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising. And after three years of negotiation the producer they'd lined up backed out, and it still hasn't gotten beyond talking--not even to the script stage. ...

Mea culpa. Apparently Henson's option lapsed, and it's in other hands, now. And judging by the casting and production details far worse hands than the Henson crew. (sigh). Oh, well, at least Cooper's been able to sell the option twice, and if it does well, the entire series might get made into movies.

What I've always found interesting is how if a book is adapted into a film, it seems to gain an added level of legitimacy, somehow. I suppose by the broader exposure.

But if a movie comes out, this board may change drastically. Right now, we're overwhelmingly a bunch of folks who read far too much. I can see that changing with a movie; just as we get an influx of newbies every time a book in the YW series is released.

[seabiscuit1009]

Originally posted by kli6:
But if a movie comes out, this board may change drastically. Right now, we're overwhelmingly a bunch of folks who read far too much. I can see that changing with a movie; just as we get an influx of newbies every time a book in the YW series is released.

Oh Snap-Kli's right! We'd get newbies who are all like "OMG KIT IS SUCH A H0TTIE!!!!1111!!!! I WANT TO MARRY HIM!!!!1111" Anyway...that's just what I thought of when I saw her comment on movie newbies. We should make a quiz with obscure stuff that's only in the books, not the movie, and have newbies have to answer it to join the forums; at least we'd get legit newbies then. Of course I'm evil-you had to ask? Sorry any movie newbies of the future (if there are indeed any in the future) I'm just crazy, it's ok.

On the topic of the movie...it's like, I'd want to see one very badly; I was the same way about Eragon. But I never ended up seeing Eragon, partly because I had no one to go with, and partly because I didn't want my idea of the book ruined. However, if DD is writing the screenplay...I'd go see it. I trust the author to get the parts that have to be in a movie right.

[maxxrox]

Now I'm torn. I really want DD's movie to succeed, but if it does, I'll miss knowing everyone on the boards. PM will have to get more Moderators to handle the huge inflow of newbies ignorant to our desire for proper grammar and spelling, and lack of leet, chatspeak, or any of the other travesties of the English language.

[Wizard Girl]

that's true. the boards might change, but still, seeing some of the stuff from the book in real life (like Fred and the LP's Manhattan) would be very cool. come on people, you can't tell me you haven't imagined in your head what it looks like.

[Wilf]

Originally posted by Birdhead:
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content"> 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.) </div>[quote]

DD lives in Ireland... different country. Would you like it people called you Australian?

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

"Drop"!?!? You mean put on an American accent, surely?