OK, I admit I've been a Tolkein fan since Junior High. But to me most other "Fantasy" series have been either disappointing or seemingly endless (i.e. The Wheel of Time). So I don't know if THIS is really a good thing or not. I think PJ hit it dead on with LOTR, but can that magic be duplicated on this project? Somehow I just don't see this having the force of LOTR nor the impact.
Posted by Aban Rune (Member # 226) on :
I've never read any of the books, but as fantasy movies go, I think PJ's LOTR trilogy will be hard to beat. The feel of those movies is so wonderful.
That said, as long as it's not trying to be LOTR, I can see another fantasy series being done very, very well. The overall dynamic of this story seems alot different, so I think it could work, depending on how it's done.
Posted by WizArtist II (Member # 1425) on :
Like the new site Aban.
Posted by Ritten (Member # 417) on :
As long as there isn't too much 'artistic' license used it could be very good.
Posted by Daniel Butler (Member # 1689) on :
I read one single Shannara book when I was in high school or junior high... The Elfstones of Shannara, I think. I was sick or something and having fever-induced hallucinations that the book was real and I was terrified they wouldn't make it to the .. fire-place with the...seed-thing in time. ...o.o...
Posted by Masao (Member # 232) on :
Arnie's Conan the Librarian spawned about 10 years of bad sword and sorcery movies. But LOTR hasn't seemed to have had that much of an effect. We should consider ourselves lucky.
Anyway, I can't imagine Shannara can be any worse than Eragon or Dungeon and Dragons.
Posted by Reverend (Member # 335) on :
You actually watched Eragon? That's a kid's film isn't it?
Anyway, I think the reason LoTR hasn't spawned a bunch of crap fantasy rip offs is because it wasn't done as a fantasy film. To me it seamed closer to the mytho/historical epics like Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, Troy and other assorted sandal wearing films.
So by that logic you could say it fueled the likes of Alexander and Troy, rather than the likes of Red Sonya and Dragonslayer.
Posted by HopefulNebula (Member # 1933) on :
Meh. Don't care. Long as The Golden Compass turns out well, I'm happy.
Posted by Kosh (Member # 167) on :
The first three Shanara books were pretty good, the rest were copies of the first three. It may be worth three movies.
Posted by Aban Rune (Member # 226) on :
You didn't like Red Sonja? Bridgette Nielson in a corset... what's not to like?
"Will you... teach me to fence... and to fight?"
Posted by Daniel Butler (Member # 1689) on :
You know, Dungeons and Dragons wasn't THAT bad. I mean ok, it sucked, but I kinda liked it...
Posted by Masao (Member # 232) on :
quote:Originally posted by Reverend: You actually watched Eragon?
Nope, didn't see it. It was in and out of theatres here in a week. I also read reviews saying it was utter crap. I misspent too much of my youth watching bad fantasy films. I blame Arnold.
quote:Originally posted by Reverend: Anyway, I think the reason LoTR hasn't spawned a bunch of crap fantasy rip offs is because it wasn't done as a fantasy film. To me it seamed closer to the mytho/historical epics like Gladiator, Kingdom of Heaven, Troy and other assorted sandal wearing films.
So by that logic you could say it fueled the likes of Alexander and Troy, rather than the likes of Red Sonya and Dragonslayer.
Yes, good point. I couldn't finish Alexander, and I thought Troy was silly. Didn't like Red Sonya or any of the movies after the sort of good Conan the Barbarian. I've always like Dragonslayer, however.
Posted by Ritten (Member # 417) on :
quote:Originally posted by Reverend: You actually watched Eragon? That's a kid's film isn't it?
Well, when one has kids you got to do what you got to do, spending time with them, even watching a movie mindlessly, is on the 'to do' list of life. It wasn't that bad, all things considered.
Posted by Reverend (Member # 335) on :
quote:Nope, didn't see it. It was in and out of theatres here in a week. I also read reviews saying it was utter crap. I misspent too much of my youth watching bad fantasy films. I blame Arnold.
The first fantasy type film I ever saw was Willow, which I maintain is greatly underrated. I never quite got the Conan films, I mean the first one was ok...except for a very effeminate looking James Earl Jones...but I could never stay with the second one. Seriously, what was the plot of that flick, I couldn't find it anywhere?
quote:Yes, good point. I couldn't finish Alexander, and I thought Troy was silly. Didn't like Red Sonya or any of the movies after the sort of good Conan the Barbarian. I've always like Dragonslayer, however.
It has it's moments, but seeing Peter MacNicol naked was not one of them.
I'm curious, has anyone seen the Director's Cut of Kingdom of Heaven? I know the theatrical cut wasn't a huge success but I was REALLY surprised how much of an improvement the Extended Cut made. Anything that make Orlando Bloom look like he might actually be a good actor is worth a look and it is a Ridley Scott film...
Posted by Masao (Member # 232) on :
Yeah, I saw it. It's quite an improvement over the theatrical version. it explains why Sybilla was missing in a lof of the theatrical cut.
i don't remember Peter MacNicol naked in Dragonslayer. (thank god)
Posted by Nim (Member # 205) on :
HopefulNebula: I'm looking forward to Golden Compass, but I'm a bit worried that Gaiman's "Stardust" will try to premiere ahead of "Compass" and steal their thunder. The story is amazingly similar but Gaiman wrote his book several years after Pullman's book.
Both seem to be set in an alternate timeline 1910's-ish colonial empire, both plots involve going to explore an atmospheric/stellar phenomenon, both main characters are ignorant-but-lovable kids, there's the one evil witch and then some jolly outlaws/tramps/vagabonds willing to help the main characters at no charge.
I like the lineup for "Compass" better; Daniel Craig, Nicole Kidman, Sam Elliott, Eva Green, Eric Bana, Kevin Bacon, John Hurt and Ian McShane.
Stardust has Robert DeNiro, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jason Flemyng, Rupert Everett, Peter O'Toole, Ricky Gervais, Ian McKellen's voice and Claire Danes' nose.
Now, one of the main reasons I like "His Dark Materials" is because it's more realistic than other fantasy titles like J.K Rowling's or Trudi Canavan's work; people, even kids, can die or get murdered out of hand in "His Dark Materials", and Lyra gets drunk and pukes at least once, which is streetcred out the wazoo in my book, coming from a fantasy-character underage girl.
Posted by Peregrinus (Member # 504) on :
Weighing in, I like Terry Brooks, but never got into his Shannara series. Last time I talked to him about this, he seemed happy with how they were treating it, so I'm not going to second-guess him. As with many things, "wait and see".