January 11

[eldarwannabe]

…There's going to be a film adaptation of The Giver? With big name actors?

Thank god no one is ever going to adapt Understood Betsy. *clutches remnants of childhood literature*

I don't mind adaptations per say, really. I'm going to get around to seeing Ender's Game at some point and I'm sure my fingers will be crossed for an adaptation of

Comments

[kel_reiley]

I don't think people understand how much I will cry if this movie isn't perfect.

However, I actually don't think the movie should start out in black & white because the audience isn't supposed to know yet that their world isn't perfect. The town is supposed to be this ideal future, and black & white, I think, will undermine that right away. Too Pleasantville, the audience will know all is not well here. When Jonas discovers he can see colors, it's a huge surprise to the reader as well. IDK how they'll pull that off in a film, but it better be good.

[eldarwannabe]

I'm already bracing to be disappointed, actually. (I just might have ranted angrily about some of the casting choices to my poor roommate as I wrote this response.)

I do have mixed feelings about the B&W. On the one hand, we should enter the world thinking everything is normal, and black and white is too much a of a signal to modern audiences. On the other hand, this is my only chance to see Jonas discover red. It's the only thing that the book could never show us exactly, because it's a visual. (Well, that and singing. I really look forward to the singing.)

So I'm not sure how you could possibly translate the pure visual shock of seeing red for the first time without, you know, seeing red for the first time? And if it's not good, it's going to be so bad.

[kel_reiley]

So I'm not sure how you could possibly translate the pure visual shock of seeing red for the first time without, you know, seeing red for the first time? And if it's not good, it's going to be so bad.

Basically this. I'm not sold on some of the casting choices, either.

[90scartoonman]

It's been years since I've read the book, I'd be interested in seeing how they do Fiona's hair.

I kind of agree with you about some stories being told in their original medium, but it's always interesting to see what adaptations add or leave out. Having said that, I kinda don't like the fact that a movie seems to be the be all and end all, as though if becoming a movie ascends a story to a higher plateau.

[eldarwannabe]

I haven't read the book in a while either, but I pick it up every few years for a re-read.

I really enjoy some of the aspects of adaptations, really. But I agree with you that the elevation of movies is extremely annoying (especially considering that movies have a lot of limitations as a mainstream medium. (I'm looking at you, MPAA.)

I wouldn't mind so much if it was easy to separate movies from their source texts, even just sometimes. But it's really not. So even if this adaptation is terrible, it will forever change the perception of the book in mainstream audiences. That's a lot of power.

[90scartoonman]

And also because no matter what genre, period of writing, or even length of the book, a lot of adaptations do fit into the movie formula.

That is a lot of power, sometimes after seeing a movie, it's hard to see the actors not as those characters (for good or for bad).