Some words about The Dark is Rising movie. (Oh, and um, hi.)
Hi. I swear I meant to do a real update and don't mean for my first post in a while to be only film-related.
But I'm having an unpretty film moment.
Unlocked, please link away.
Thank you sistermagpie for alerting me with her post with the info. Originally found by charlotteschaos and posted here. Here's the page ywith the original information, the audition casting notes for Walden Media's adaptation of The Dark Is Rising.
Before we go further.
1. Can anyone evaluate for me the reliability of the original site, myentertainmentworld.com? Are they reliable? Could the character notes be false or an early draft?
2. Films get revised so much in development so none of this may end up being the characters we'll get. However, given this is what they're starting with, it's easy to imagine how butchered the movie will be by the time it's gone through draft fifteen.
3. It could end up a wonderful film on its own terms, separate from the books. Just, for the record. However I won't be able to watch it.
4. I'm aware of examples where books were altered significantly for the films and it worked out beautifully. I try not to be a rabid purist. Atmosphere matters as much as plot points.
This? Is not one of those times. I'm being a purist. There are changes that are necessary for the transition from one format to another and then there are changes that alter the core of the characters until there's no point to a film adaption, you might as well only read the books, and save your $10.
Disclaimers out of the way, here's the audition character notes, which will only make your hair stand on end if you've, y'know, read the books:
(Romania) - Send photograph & resumes ASAP to: Details Are only Available By Subscription.. Title: THE DARK IS RISING, Feature Film. EXEC PROD, Ron Schmidt; PROD, Marc Platt; DIR, David L. Cunningham; SCR, John Hodge. Shoot Dates: February, 2007 (in Romania). STORY: The film is about Will Stanton, who discovers on his eleventh birthday that he is the last of the "Old Ones," a group of immortal warriors who have dedicated their lives to fighting the forces of the Dark and he must undertake a difficult journey to defeat the evil powers that threaten the land. Breakdown-- Will Stanton: 13. Will is an American who lives in England with his family. Will is bullied and/or ignored by his older brothers, and Will is gloomily convinced that he's doomed to be a bookish, gawky oddball at the bottom of the pecking order. However, he is actually an innately cool kid who has not yet grown into his coolness; Professor John Stanton: 45-55. Will's father. Professor Stanton is an American physicist and college professor and he's paid a price for it. He is emotionally cool, authoritative and very remote from his children; The Rider: 30-40 years old man with icy malevolence who is masquerading as a simple village doctor when in fact he is an agent of Evil; Mrs. Mary Stanton: 40-50. She is the American mother of the Stanton six children. She works hard at protecting her husband and her family. She similar to her husband is not emotionally available to her kids and is very distant; Gwen Stanton: Will's younger sister, Gwen is an American, neat, upright girl of about 8 or 9. Unlike her brothers, who treat Will with amiable contempt, Gwen looks up to Will, loves him and dotes on him; Max Stanton: 19 or 20, an edgy young man with piercings and tattoos. Will's older brother. Max is the American, bohemian of the family. He is always inclined to question his father's authority; James Stanton: 17. Will's older American brother. James is mature, muscular and good looking, the object of admiring eyes. Busily looking for a girlfriend, James barely interacts with Will - especially when Maggie Barnes becomes the object of his affection; Robin Stanton & Paul Stanton: 15, Male. A pair of grungy American adolescents, Robin and Paul are identical or fraternal twin brothers, and they're still at the "horseplay" stage of development. Always ready to tease Will about his bookish ways, always willing to reinforce his fears of being a gawky oddball, Robin and Paul tease and bully and sometimes blow off Will. (Posted: November 2, 2006)
It's still set in England (as in the book) but the family is American (in the book, region is a crucial part of the characterization). Will in the film will be 13 (in the book he's 11 and a lot seems to hinge on that particular age as a transitional year). Will's father is now a Professor (in the book he's a...farmer? Sorry, I need a re-read). Will is bullied by his older siblings, a geek (in the book Will's siblings are protective of each other and Will is not the least bit geeky). The Stanton parents are neglectful and distant (in the book they're warm and loving). Don't even get me started on what they've done to Will's siblings. Mary Stanton is the name of his sister in the book, but now that's the name of his mother, a very minor nit in relation to the rest but it's not helping, particularly since sister Mary plays a key role. Will's connection to his family is so crucial to his characterization, there's a lot of love in that family, so much that it both gives him strength to do what he does and is also his greatest vulnerability. That they decided to make him a bullied geek, overlooked and shunted aside, is a scary distortion of Cooper's point about large families with lots of siblings; Will is overlooked, but as "ordinary," not as a victim. He's just a nice boy from Buckinghamshire with a very old soul.
That they would make the characters American, or set the film in America, was my single greatest fear about this movie. But you know, characterization that bears no resemblance to the characters in the actual book, that's a pretty big elephant sitting in the corner.
Please someone tell me the original website is a fake, that this is a joke, that the outcry will be so great Walden Media will be forced to switch things back to something that at least RESEMBLES Susan Cooper's vision of the character of Will Stanton, and of his family.
Walden Media has from the start presented this as an adaptation of the classic fantasy by Susan Cooper. This is the same company who made a reasonably faithful, true-to-the-book adaptation of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. Susan Cooper's series is not a lesser work, that it needs to be tinkered with to make it a stronger story.
As far as I'm concerned, there is no film.
But I'm having an unpretty film moment.
Unlocked, please link away.
Thank you sistermagpie for alerting me with her post with the info. Originally found by charlotteschaos and posted here. Here's the page ywith the original information, the audition casting notes for Walden Media's adaptation of The Dark Is Rising.
Before we go further.
1. Can anyone evaluate for me the reliability of the original site, myentertainmentworld.com? Are they reliable? Could the character notes be false or an early draft?
2. Films get revised so much in development so none of this may end up being the characters we'll get. However, given this is what they're starting with, it's easy to imagine how butchered the movie will be by the time it's gone through draft fifteen.
3. It could end up a wonderful film on its own terms, separate from the books. Just, for the record. However I won't be able to watch it.
4. I'm aware of examples where books were altered significantly for the films and it worked out beautifully. I try not to be a rabid purist. Atmosphere matters as much as plot points.
This? Is not one of those times. I'm being a purist. There are changes that are necessary for the transition from one format to another and then there are changes that alter the core of the characters until there's no point to a film adaption, you might as well only read the books, and save your $10.
Disclaimers out of the way, here's the audition character notes, which will only make your hair stand on end if you've, y'know, read the books:
(Romania) - Send photograph & resumes ASAP to: Details Are only Available By Subscription.. Title: THE DARK IS RISING, Feature Film. EXEC PROD, Ron Schmidt; PROD, Marc Platt; DIR, David L. Cunningham; SCR, John Hodge. Shoot Dates: February, 2007 (in Romania). STORY: The film is about Will Stanton, who discovers on his eleventh birthday that he is the last of the "Old Ones," a group of immortal warriors who have dedicated their lives to fighting the forces of the Dark and he must undertake a difficult journey to defeat the evil powers that threaten the land. Breakdown-- Will Stanton: 13. Will is an American who lives in England with his family. Will is bullied and/or ignored by his older brothers, and Will is gloomily convinced that he's doomed to be a bookish, gawky oddball at the bottom of the pecking order. However, he is actually an innately cool kid who has not yet grown into his coolness; Professor John Stanton: 45-55. Will's father. Professor Stanton is an American physicist and college professor and he's paid a price for it. He is emotionally cool, authoritative and very remote from his children; The Rider: 30-40 years old man with icy malevolence who is masquerading as a simple village doctor when in fact he is an agent of Evil; Mrs. Mary Stanton: 40-50. She is the American mother of the Stanton six children. She works hard at protecting her husband and her family. She similar to her husband is not emotionally available to her kids and is very distant; Gwen Stanton: Will's younger sister, Gwen is an American, neat, upright girl of about 8 or 9. Unlike her brothers, who treat Will with amiable contempt, Gwen looks up to Will, loves him and dotes on him; Max Stanton: 19 or 20, an edgy young man with piercings and tattoos. Will's older brother. Max is the American, bohemian of the family. He is always inclined to question his father's authority; James Stanton: 17. Will's older American brother. James is mature, muscular and good looking, the object of admiring eyes. Busily looking for a girlfriend, James barely interacts with Will - especially when Maggie Barnes becomes the object of his affection; Robin Stanton & Paul Stanton: 15, Male. A pair of grungy American adolescents, Robin and Paul are identical or fraternal twin brothers, and they're still at the "horseplay" stage of development. Always ready to tease Will about his bookish ways, always willing to reinforce his fears of being a gawky oddball, Robin and Paul tease and bully and sometimes blow off Will. (Posted: November 2, 2006)
It's still set in England (as in the book) but the family is American (in the book, region is a crucial part of the characterization). Will in the film will be 13 (in the book he's 11 and a lot seems to hinge on that particular age as a transitional year). Will's father is now a Professor (in the book he's a...farmer? Sorry, I need a re-read). Will is bullied by his older siblings, a geek (in the book Will's siblings are protective of each other and Will is not the least bit geeky). The Stanton parents are neglectful and distant (in the book they're warm and loving). Don't even get me started on what they've done to Will's siblings. Mary Stanton is the name of his sister in the book, but now that's the name of his mother, a very minor nit in relation to the rest but it's not helping, particularly since sister Mary plays a key role. Will's connection to his family is so crucial to his characterization, there's a lot of love in that family, so much that it both gives him strength to do what he does and is also his greatest vulnerability. That they decided to make him a bullied geek, overlooked and shunted aside, is a scary distortion of Cooper's point about large families with lots of siblings; Will is overlooked, but as "ordinary," not as a victim. He's just a nice boy from Buckinghamshire with a very old soul.
That they would make the characters American, or set the film in America, was my single greatest fear about this movie. But you know, characterization that bears no resemblance to the characters in the actual book, that's a pretty big elephant sitting in the corner.
Please someone tell me the original website is a fake, that this is a joke, that the outcry will be so great Walden Media will be forced to switch things back to something that at least RESEMBLES Susan Cooper's vision of the character of Will Stanton, and of his family.
Walden Media has from the start presented this as an adaptation of the classic fantasy by Susan Cooper. This is the same company who made a reasonably faithful, true-to-the-book adaptation of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. Susan Cooper's series is not a lesser work, that it needs to be tinkered with to make it a stronger story.
As far as I'm concerned, there is no film.