The Haunting: I kinda liked the remake even though it wasn't "good" exactly. Everyone said the old one was better, so I rented that and I didn't think it was very good either. Then everyone said the novel was better, so I read that, and IT wasn't very good. So I think that whole idea should have been scrapped from the beginning.
I love the novel. It's one of my favorite books, period. And I love the first movie, as well. I absolutely hated that the movie PCed up the storyline and made it all about teh childrenz instead of all about Eleanor's internal drama and the parallels between her and the nanny from long ago. I was also sad that a movie with Lilli Taylor and Catherine Zeta Jones was so horifically bad IMO. But then I read/saw them in this order: original movie - book - remade movie, and I saw the original movie in, I think, 1969 or 1970, when I was a pre-teen. It scared the dickens out of me, and I loved that. I think the originals have stood up very well. But to each his own. Have you read any of Ms. Jackson's other writing?
I read We Have Always Lived in the Castle, (love it) and I think she wrote The Lottery, right? And I have another of hers sitting on my "to read" shelf. My dad's a big fan of hers. I didn't dislike the novel of The Haunting, but I wasn't impressed with it either. Only I did really like her description of the house. I wanted to draw it.
I was going to rec We Have Always Lived in the Castle to you. I like it even more than The Haunting. Yes, she did write The Lottery, which I'm not crazy about. I get her point, but I thought she was a little too "Here My Point!!!" about it. The house itself is one of my favorite things about the novel and the first movie and I even liked the house in the second movie. I just didn't like the way the plot was rewritten. You should draw the house!
If I were going to remake a movie, I think it might be the 1960s (?) Modesty Blaise movie -- the books are *so* much fun, but the movie was utterly cheezy and completely missed the point. Of course, "remake" here means "do over from scratch, starting from the books themselves" *s*.
In general, making a book into a movie seems risky to me -- I like your plan of working from a piece of history. But -- if it were done well -- the recent spate of historical costume dramas makes me wonder what might be done with, say, Heyer's These Old Shades or The Masqueraders :)
Video games I don't know from. Myst?
Book-to-TV series -- until I saw Tanya Huff's Blood Tales I wouldn't have thought it could be done. Maybe Kim Harrison's Dead Witch Walking series? Or, of course, back to Modesty Blaise :)
As a rule, I prefer the book to the movie when the book was created first, and the movie to the book when the movie was created first. Ladyhawke is an exception -- a really well-done novelization of a good movie.
I had never heard of the Modesty Blaise books before. They do look fun! I'll have to give them a try. ITA about making books into movies being a risk. You're almost sure to make someone who loves the books mad. But movies based on Heyer's works would be good, I think.
I don't know either of those other two books series, either! Clearly I have been missing out! Thank you for the recs!
The Blood Tales stuff started with a book series and is now a tv series (slightly different, and only the pilot was based directly on the books, but still quite good). In the US it's been on Lifetime -- the first season ended a bit ago, and I'm hoping for a season 2.
I'm with you on The Haunting. I also saw the original, read the book, then saw the remake. The remake isn't the *worst* movie I've ever seen, but the first one was just so good. It relied more on perception, rather than special effects. I think that's what I mean to say. And the way it was filmed, and that amazing, awful house... one of my all-time favorites.
I read We Have Always Lived in the Castle, and I admit, it took about three readings for me to really *get* it. I still like The Haunting of Hill House better, but WHALitC is amazing in its own right.
I *saw* The Lottery in English class, right before we read it, but it's sort of like seeing The Usual Suspects or an M Night Shyamalan movie - - after the first time, it's sort of... eh. Shirley Jackson's short stories - - and I've not nearly read them all - - seem to have more of an effect of hitting you over the head with their message. I remember thinking that about After You, My Dear Alphonse(which we also read in school, though I liked it better than The Lottery).
IIRC, way back in the misty dawn of time, JKR said that she couldn't say too much about her religious beliefs would spoil the ending of the series. At another time, she said she was Christian.
So *someone*'s going to end up as a Christ figure. I'm about 50/50 on whether it's going to be Harry or Voldie.
Or maybe Snape. Which would make it 33⅓/33⅓/33⅓, I guess.
As for books-to-tv-series, I vote for the Wheel of Time. Really, it's the only way they could possibly even begin to do the series justice.
My idea is to create a CGI version of the entire damn series (I figure that at one page/minute of screentime, you can get about one book per 22-40-minute-episode season).
I've even toyed with turning the first book into a screenplay just for the heck of it.
I think it's Dumbledore but that's totally a SWAG. And I don't like it, I just think it's going to happen. It's way too Aslanish. Snape's another good possibility and I don't like that either, but I like both of those better than it being Harry.
Wheel of Time's another series I haven't read. I'll take that as a rec and add it to my list. I do like the idea of an all CGI movie series, and you write wonderfully so I think you should go for it!
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In general, making a book into a movie seems risky to me -- I like your plan of working from a piece of history. But -- if it were done well -- the recent spate of historical costume dramas makes me wonder what might be done with, say, Heyer's These Old Shades or The Masqueraders :)
Video games I don't know from. Myst?
Book-to-TV series -- until I saw Tanya Huff's Blood Tales I wouldn't have thought it could be done.
Maybe Kim Harrison's Dead Witch Walking series? Or, of course, back to Modesty Blaise :)
As a rule, I prefer the book to the movie when the book was created first, and the movie to the book when the movie was created first. Ladyhawke is an exception -- a really well-done novelization of a good movie.
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I don't know either of those other two books series, either! Clearly I have been missing out! Thank you for the recs!
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I read We Have Always Lived in the Castle, and I admit, it took about three readings for me to really *get* it. I still like The Haunting of Hill House better, but WHALitC is amazing in its own right.
I *saw* The Lottery in English class, right before we read it, but it's sort of like seeing The Usual Suspects or an M Night Shyamalan movie - - after the first time, it's sort of... eh. Shirley Jackson's short stories - - and I've not nearly read them all - - seem to have more of an effect of hitting you over the head with their message. I remember thinking that about After You, My Dear Alphonse(which we also read in school, though I liked it better than The Lottery).
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Yes, exactly! In fact, I think it is somewhat debatable as to how much of what goes on is really happening and how much is in Eleanor's head.
Now I want to read WHALITC again. I think I have it at home. Hmmmm.
ITA about The Lottery. There's some initial shock value, but after that.
hitting you over the head with their message.
Hee! That's kind of punny! [/massive spoiler for The Lottery]
I haven't read After You, My Dear Alphonse. Should I?
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LOL!
After You, My Dear Alphonse is a very short story with a somewhat heavyhanded(to me) message about racism. It's worth at least one read.
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So *someone*'s going to end up as a Christ figure. I'm about 50/50 on whether it's going to be Harry or Voldie.
Or maybe Snape. Which would make it 33⅓/33⅓/33⅓, I guess.
As for books-to-tv-series, I vote for the Wheel of Time. Really, it's the only way they could possibly even begin to do the series justice.
My idea is to create a CGI version of the entire damn series (I figure that at one page/minute of screentime, you can get about one book per 22-40-minute-episode season).
I've even toyed with turning the first book into a screenplay just for the heck of it.
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Wheel of Time's another series I haven't read. I'll take that as a rec and add it to my list. I do like the idea of an all CGI movie series, and you write wonderfully so I think you should go for it!
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