How to use this Page

Don't be makin' fun of Savage Steve! The man is solid, and he's responsible for John Cusack's career leads in One Crazy Summer and Better Off Dead. And who could forget How I Got Into College with filmed segments of SAT questions haunting the title character?

Man. My husband is like a "One Crazy Summer" fan factory. If he knew I was taking his beloved Steve to task in any way, shape, or form it would be my head.

Kick ass trailer! And Sam Elliot - man, I'd love to hear what he sounds like on helium!

alan

Not that I am immune to Mr. Butler's physique, but I think this is a promising and intriguing casting choice. Did you see him in "Dear Frankie"? His best movie yet, IMHO. He convinced me utterly that he was a repressed (well, he did play a Scot), but ultimately loving sailor. He played against a darling little boy, and the relationship was very convincing -- lots of male silences and parallel play, etc. And though 300 was a blood and pec fest for the most part, the best scene by far was the all too brief conversation -- before the sex -- between the king and queen -- Butler at his best -- vulnerable, trying to keep up appearances, loving, unsure. Anyway, I would love it if he took more of the "Dear Frankie" sorts of roles, which allow him to develop something beyond the quadriceps.

I really think that movie critics who refuse to read the source material (when a movie is based on a book) are doing themselves and their readers a disservice. I base this opinion on a "C" review of The Bridge to Terabithia that I read in Entertainment Weekly. (*Disclaimer: I haven't seen this movie.) The critic gave the movie a poor review because it didn't have enough of the fantasy/CGI moments in it!!!! Granted, Disney bogusly hyped that portion of the movie in the trailers, but if the critic had any knowledge of the book, he (or she) would have known that the fantasy stuff was just a small part of a really great story.

A mall? Will's dad is a physics professor? His brothers tease him and he's interested in girls?

This is still"when the dark come rising, six shall turn it back," isn't it?

I was SO excited about this movie but not anymore. I have loved the books for years and was thrilled when my oldest child was able to read them. :(

I happen to be a fan of The Little White Horse, but the description of it on the movie site is quite different from the book I know. Sort of the way the Terabithia trailer is quite different from the book we know. So there's hope.

Hey, Gabor Csupo is one of the minds behind The Rugrats. Forget Terabithia! Csupo is the Rugrat guy!

I'd like to see more good, original children's films that aren't based on books. However, I'm grateful when a movie-release brings the return of an out-of-print story (i.e. Nurse Matilda-- haven't seen the movie, though). I'm hoping that "The Moon Princess" brings a revival of Elizabeth Goudge books. I have no comment on The White Giraffe except-- puh-lease.

Point taken, but don't forget that many great movies have been made from bad books. Some books just want to be dramatized, or are waiting for the right director to add that "auteur"'s touch to the thing.

What really bothers me is the cover art for the new paperback edition, which I've put up on my blog, next to earlier covers. Why does Maria have no mouth??? And what is with those eyes????

you realize it's not so much the director deciding to make these movies--it is Walden Media, they of Chronicles of Narnia and Teribithia.

These projects have all been in the works for quite a while with them. In this case, the director is not the one who decide to adapt them and get into children's movies, the production company who owns the rights, who has had these in their queue for a few years now, is. They hire the director (one they've worked with, and are apparently pleased with), they commission the scripts, etc. etc. etc.

also, I think that the new cover art for The Little White Horse the UK editon, and not the one available in the US (which is here: http://www.amazon.com/Little-White-Horse-Elizabeth-Goudge/dp/0142300276/ref=pd_bbs_2/002-6925073-8468009?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1177536261&sr=1-2 )

Oh no no no, please no. Not Little White Horse!

Not having seen the trailers yet, my biggest fear is what's been left out--it's the longest book of the series, yet the shortest film! Still excited to see it, though.

Great post, fuse! It would be frustrating to be a competing author. I can't believe they are releasing another trailer. This is a different one? How many do we need. If I was releasing this movie, I wouldn't spend any time or effort on trailers. Everyone's already going to see this movie anyway, and if they aren't, no trailer will convince them otherwise.

Actually, I do like this trailer. The director has decided to get a little creative here and there, so the image of Voldemort standing on the train platform in a Brooks Brothers suit ("you're gonna like the way you look") raised my hopes significantly.

Wow, you're right. I am posting this today.

Yeah, I remember finding that "Five Children and It" trailer and carrying on about it on child_lit. There is also an even older lousy film of it knocking around out there (as I remember noticing it being available on TimeWarner cable's In Demand offerings one summer).

Probably the worst adaptation that I ever saw was Maniac Magee on Nickelodeon (believe or not) a few years ago. I love the following comment on the film's imbd page (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0246063/)

"This has got to be the worst book to movie interpretation I have ever seen. I need to wash my tv. And my eyes. Anyone who thinks this is a good movie has never read the book. Booooooo Nickelodeon, in the words of Ebert; I hate hate hated this movie. 1 out of 10."

The version of The Thief Lord is well worth missing - it has none of the magic of the book, Scipio is a ridiculous character - he looked just stupid with that mask, the city of Venice looks boring, it does not inspire you the way it should.

I felt that this was one of the worst adaptations I have seen of a book, I have to go way back to Fahrenheit 451 (1966) to think of a book which has been butchered so badly, and even that is now partly due to the fact it has aged so badly.

Oh, no, not him. The first two Potter movies are horrible: snapshots of a book rather than an actual movie plot. He won't do justice to The Lightening Thief.

Sigh. Thanks for the heads up, though.

Hmmm...Chris Columbus. Well, I hope he gets a great screenplay.

Fuse, I did nominate Rockstar Rick Riordan for "Hot Man" status a while ago, any further thoughts in that direction? He is not just YA! Here in Texas elementary schools are planning "Percy parties" for "The Titan's Curse' release.

I cannot wait to see this movie. Can't. Wait.

Thanks for the link - the bad news though is that the movie is not out until March 2008 :(

I totally agree that Holes is the best Newbery adapted film. I was so nervous they were going to botch it up. I still don't like it as much as the book but I liked the casting and the rain dance at the end. By the way, have you seen the Wrinkle in Time movie that came out recently? It's in my queue. . .

I remember the Sons of Liberty song.

I actually thought the movie Holes was better than the book. (Though I did like the book, too.) But I believe Sachar wrote the screenplay so I don't feel badly about liking the movie better.

I actually like The Secret of NIMH. It is completely divorced from the book in my mind, which is why I think I can like it. Because I love the book too. I'm all "We'll they both involve NIMH, and rodents, but that's pretty much all they have in common." It makes life much happier.

My hypothesis regarding the name change is that those folks who make flying discs seem to be rather litigious, and Don Bluth's people were probably afraid of getting sued even though it's spelled differently.

You could probably blame all the film's flaws on the fact that Don Bluth helmed it, now that I think about it.

I agree with you on Holes. Like zeelibrarian, I was afraid to see it, because I didn't see how a movie could possibly do justice to the book. But I think they did a great job.

I think I posted this in my last defense of The Secret of NIMH, but those pesky Frisbee people are indeed (as theorized above) the reason that Frisby became Brisby. So dislike the stone if you like (I can kind of give it a pass as a cinematic representation of a mother's love, silly as it may play), but the change of names was hardly capricious.

Oh, Dan. When are you going to have a bad movie night of The Secret of NIMH? Then we could debate its relative merits. I'll confess that it definitely had an impact on me as a kid with the house sinking and the mud creeping up and the kids trapped inside...

*shudder*

You will note that Wrinkle in Time is on my list. If you have a chance to cancel it from your queue I suggest you do so before (as my mother would put it) you find you have to go boil your eyeballs.

My only problem with the film "Holes" was the slimming-down of Stanley. The actor was terrific, but his character Stanley's girth at the start of the book matters.

Holes rocked. Any film that makes such good use of Eartha Kitt should be enshrined on a glittering pillar constructed of bronzed popcorn buckets. Enshrined, I say!

And Johnny Tremain was indeed a Disney film, although it did not star Tommy K. (according to imdb.com, that is). However, whenever I see this film (or book) on my library shelves, I cannot stop myself from quoting The Simpsons version of the Johnny Tremain booktalk:

"Deformed? Did you say 'deformed'?" They should call this book Johnny Deformed!"

I'm so with you on the dreadful adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time, and on wondering how my beloved Alfre Woodard was convinced to appear in it.

Could there be a worse Charles Wallace? Could Meg be less like Meg? Could the Man with Red Eyes be more ridiculous?

How about Newbery Honor books made into movies? Because of Winn-Dixie, anyone? And for future page to screen, I saw something on IMDB about The Tale of Despereaux. Jeremy Irons anyone?

Oh, yeah, we definitely need Bud to be a film! I heard Christopher Paul Curtis talk about 10 years ago, and he said a Watson's Go To Birmingham movie was in the works. Anyone know what happened there? I think both of those could be wonderful films.

I have to totally agree with lectitans when it comes to the Secret of NIMH movie--book and movie are two different entities in my mind and therefore I bear no ill will (and in fact some nostalgia) to the movie. I feel that way about a couple of childhood book-to-movie transfers--Bedknobs and Broomsticks and The Phantom Tollbooth will always have special sentimental value for me (if only because I drove my parents nuts by demanding that they rent these movies repeatedly).

On the other hand, I'm SO glad I haven't seen the Wrinkle in Time adaptation. Seriously...

"Portabello Road, Portabello Road / Street where the treasures of ages are sold / Anything and everything a chap can unload / is sold off the barrel in Portabello Road."

Misspelled and misquoted but still a fine song from a fine movie.

I'm just sad that he'll be a cartoon -- unless they give his character some huge sideburns, a la his Freaks and Geeks days. Le sigh.

The LeGuin adaptations have been particularly painful, since much of what she does in her work is completely lost if you try to streamline it into a more 'conventional' framework.

NB on Gedo Senki: I'm not sure if "not any good" is the most appropriate description. LeGuin's reaction to it (http://www.ursulakleguin.com/GedoSenkiResponse.html) was far less negative than her pain over the Sci-Fi version, and Studio Ghibli has an excellent record for amazing childrens' films. I can imagine her disappointment, however, when finding that Hayao Miyazaki was retiring, and that it would be his son directing.

The overall point that movie versions can drastically change author's visions, often for the worse, is obviously still true.

For me, it all comes down to race. Le Guin wrote multi-ethnic books with people of all different skin types. If you tell me that "Gedo Senki" takes this into account then I'm cool with it. Does it?

Oh, sure. I have not seen it, so I'm not the best person to ask. LeGuin seemed to think that the anime stylings tended to make everyone look white.

I'm not sure if I would boil down her innovations to being mainly about the multi-ethnic factor, either, not that I deny that it's one of the big ones.

No no. But I've this chip on my shoulder regarding people of different ethnicities in fantasy. Mainly, that there aren't any. Andre Norton is the only one who comes readily to mind (alongside "The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm," by Nancy Farmer). Seems odd.

OH MY GOD.

I'm stealing this link, like, right now.

Thanks for the link. I needed that. ~Julie

This post was the recipient of the coveted "Best Use of Tags" award.

Thank you, Dan. I was having a hard time remembering euphemisms. I don't think "bacon and eggs" is widely recognized, but I threw it in there. Then I remembered "twigs and berries" but couldn't bring myself to delete the bacon & eggs idea.