MONKEY.
OMG. Neil Gaiman has been asked by Chinese producers to adapted the classic Chinese novel "Journey to the West" (aka "Monkey") into an English-language trilogy of films, possibly with Guillermo del Toro to direct!
"Journey to the West" (西游记) is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, and dates back to the late 16th century. From Wikipedia:
The novel is a fictionalised account of the legendary pilgrimage to India of the Buddhist monk Xuanzang. The monk travelled to the "Western Regions" during the Tang dynasty, to obtain sacred texts (sūtras). The Bodhisattva Guan Yin, on instruction from the Buddha, gives this task to the monk and his three protectors in the form of disciples - namely Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing - together with a dragon prince who acts as Xuanzang's steed, a white horse. These four characters have agreed to help Xuanzang as an atonement for past sins.
Journey to the West has a strong background in Chinese folk religion, Chinese mythology and value systems; the pantheon of Taoist immortals and Buddhist bodhisattvas is still reflective of some Chinese religious beliefs today. Enduringly popular, the tale is at once a adventure story, a spring of spiritual insight, and an extended allegory in which the group of pilgrims journeying toward India represents individuals journeying toward enlightenment.
As a young child in Shanghai, I knew adventures from the novel from picture books and television adaptations. The vast, episodic nature of the novel makes it a natural fit with television. Some of the Monkey King's escapades still remain incredibly vivid in my mind. It is a story as popular throughout China as Robin Hood or King Arthur in the English-speaking countries, with the same blending of history (Xuanzang was a real person) and mythology (gods, spirits, demons). It will be interesting to see how effects-laden the filmmakers decide to go; one of the main characters, after all, is a monkey, and another has the ears and snout of a pig. Will they go all out? Or will they try to make the fantasy elements more realistic?
In entrusting the first major English-language adaptation of this classic novel, beloved by tens of millions, to a British writer and a Mexican director, both best known for their work in fantasy, I think Zhang Jizhong (the producer) is doing something very daring and brave - but also necessary, if this story is to find its desired international audience.
Updated: Neil Gaiman has apparently signed on to the project and will script the trilogy of films. He and producer Zhang Jizhong have been consulting James Cameron (Avatar) with regards to the script. Gaiman also said this:
“We have to do what Peter Jackson did with Lord of The Rings. We have to make it filmic, non-episodic. This story is in the DNA of 1.5 billion people...
"[The novel's trickster hero, The Monkey King] is irrepressible. The moment that you try to censor Monkey, he’s not Monkey anymore.”
No cast has yet been named, but the films will feature both Western and Asian actors.
Only just found out that Gaiman has actually written (or is writing) a non-fiction book about Journey to the West - "Monkey and Me" - that recounts his person odyssey from China to India following the route taken by the travellers in the novel. The book is scheduled to be released in August 2012.
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