Tower Power

In this day and age (21st Century, no less) we think we have "seen it all."

But here's something unprecedented.

I especially like it because it has to do with novels.

When it comes to adapting a narrative book into the moving picture medium there's generally a choice between making a film or a TV mini-series.  Sure, there are variants such as making a book into two films, or producing a regular series out of it.  I've often expressed that I think Peter and Wendy would work best as a mini-series.  And truth be told, I think my What If It's a Trick Question? lends itself better to episodic television, just given the nature of the piece.

So what's this about unprecedented?

Stephen King's popular series The Dark Tower is being brought to the screen.  So?  How about...BOTH.  Yep, both the big silver screen and the "small screen" of TV (which is kind of a weird term nowadays given the size of many TVs).  After much debate and stops and starts on how best to handle King's epic as a "movie" they eventually came up with a solution.

It will first appear as a film, with theatrical release.  It will then come to television (with the same actors from the movie) and continue on for a while as a series/show.  It will next (contiguously) move back into another film (theater) and... you get the idea.  It will be three movies, with a television series (as part of the the continuing saga) as bridges between the flicks.

I can't say (who can?) how well it will work or turn out... but nevertheless, it is highly intriguing.  And at any rate, historic.
Ron Howard will be directing.

I will shamefully admit that I have not gotten around to reading The Dark Tower.  But I probably will now that it's going to be adapted so "never before seen"ly.  Besides, my fan Anon adores the series and (if I recall correctly) compared WIIaTQuestion? in terms of 'epicness' (to some degree).  I should probably read it, then, no?

In Good Company...

What do

Stephen King

Anne Frank

William Faulkner

and

Margaret Mitchell

have in common?
(Besides being an author.)

Their work has been rejected numerous times, of course…
often with nasty remarks.

This is simultaneously disheartening, encouraging, hilarious and sad. Take a gander at what’s been said of many classics and/or their writers.

Rejections of 30 Famous Writers

I already knew such "atrocities" occurred often, but it's good to remember during the process of submitting my work (as I am now.)

A Rose By Any Other?

I’ve been struck with one of those ideas which is either vaguely brilliant or alarmingly dreadful. The kind that both wants to be seen and also never come to light. At least I think so. Before I tell you what it is, please note that I do not intend to tackle any such project. I’m just as much on the fence about it as I suspect you will be.

Let me begin with a terse rant about the Hollywood remakes. Yes, they exist. And yes, they always have existed. Lately they seem to be dominant. Love them or hate them (generally I hate them) they are here to stay. Some have been good, most bad. But I’m not going to pontificate on those. Point being they do exist, for better or for worse. If you want to hear me rant more on this subject, you can find it here.

Sometimes, however, a good reason or outcome is included with the re-do of films. I’ll give you two examples. Oddly (or not so oddly), they both deal with horror movies. Not surprising, I suppose, taking into consideration that horror movies, especially, are getting remade. (Now that’s an entirely different subject of exploration: why are we bent on remaking horror?)

Clive Barker had been approached to remake Hellraiser. For those of you who do not know, the Hellraiser series, as it pertains to Barker, is more than initially appears. I’m not trying to convince you it’s good nor that you should like it. I’m just relating that a great deal of thought and inventive mythology went into its creation. (As well as the comics it spawned.) When approached, Barker declined. Told that the remake would be done with or without him, Barker responded (paraphrasing): “Okay then, I guess I could stand to revisit my work and see what I can come up with now…” I love that…an author “invited” to rework their own work.

Sam Raimi, before Spider-Man, had a big hit with the Evil Dead series. This series has its own inherent oddities of creation, but perhaps I’ll discuss those another time. When the prospect of an Evil Dead remake came up, Raimi gave his blessing! I love the reason why. He wants to be able to watch his story through the eyes of another director and creative team. Curious how else it might be done, he allowed it gracefully. Very cool. I have to say I had not been charmed to remaking Evil Dead. Until I read Raimi’s reaction.

Now I’d like to turn your attention to the comic book world. I’m the peripheral sort of comic book guy. I like them a lot and a know quite a bit about a great much of it. In other words, enough to get by. But one of the things that anyone can see is: character design evolves. It may be obvious that it would…but that doesn’t make it any less important. New artists draw the character differently. Or perhaps new elements are introduced. All in all, fresh styles and visions come about. There may be exact guidelines touching upon it, but it’s a new perception all the same.

It also applies to characters from other than the comics. It might seem that they are static at first thought, but even icons Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse have undergone changes throughout time and artists.

Another area that has benefited from re-imagining is video games. From "re-inventing" 2-D to 3-D to upgrades in character desgins and the like, there is no denying that the world of video gaming has had many guises under the same umbrella.

Let us not forget the stage. Re-staging is a common term and practice, one that is even desired.

The music industry is no stranger to the idea either. Songs are "covered" all the time. To both sweet and sour results. And it's not just the "mainstream" music. We are always delighted to hear a different orchestra's rendition and/or a noted conductor's take on classical pieces.

Wondering what my point is? What is this "big, crazy-enough-to-work but please don’t try it" idea? Remakes of Novels. An author who writes the same story of another author into his or her own style. All of the same story elements, characters (and names) would exist and the sequence would be the same…but written anew, with different language and words to tell the story. For instance, what if Stephen King “rewrote” Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland? Re-read Peter and Wendy written afresh by Richard Bach (Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Illusions).

I bet you can think of a great many “What Ifs?” along this vein. I’m trying not to…

(I’m sure someone will tell me that it’s already been done. If that is the case, then it’s mea culpa for not hearing about it. But it's just as well I not know.)