reiher@UCLA-CS.ARPA (05/11/84)
From: Peter Reiher <reiher@UCLA-CS.ARPA> I've always thought this a sort of fun way to waste time, so I guess I'll join in. "The Stars My Destination" always seemed to me to be a perfect source for a film, and Robert DeNiro a good choice for the male lead. I don't remember Margaret Avery, so I can't comment on her. Spielberg, though, really isn't the right director for this kind of film. Spielberg has some very strong points as a director. He is a master of action sequences, and does well with suspense. He has a talent for sentimentality, as well. He has not, however, shown any aptitude for morally complex characterizations or the darker sides of human emotions. Since this is the whole point of the book, a different director might be a better choice. The perfect director for this project, in my opinion, Werner Herzog. He is a German director who specializes in films about men with tremendous, usually insane obsessions. "Aguirre: The Wrath of God" concerns a Conquistador who is so determined to find a treasure city in the South American jungles that he winds up killing all of his men. We last see him floating down a river on a raft with only a bunch of monkeys for companions, madly certain that he will succeed. Another Herzog film, "Fitzcarraldo", is probably the most impressive film ever made about obsession. In this film, a man literally drags a steamship over a mountain in the middle of the Amazon, surrounded by hostile natives. Now that's obsession. A far more appropriate film for Spielberg would be "Little Fuzzy", from H. Beam Piper's novel. This is precisely the kind of material that Spielberg excells at, and takes as its source a fine novel, as well. I have no good ideas about casting it, though. Another good film for Speilberg would be Burrough's "A Princess of Mars". Non-stop action in a romantic setting. If Speilberg isn't available for it, George Miller should do well in his place. For those who forget, Miller directed "The Road Warrior" and the only worthwhile episode of "The Twilight Zone: The Motion Picture". (I wonder how many people are under the mistaken impression that Spielberg directed that last episode?) Kathleen Turner, who starred in "Body Heat" and "Romancing the Stone", would be fine as Dejah Thoris, but John Carter is hard to cast. No, Harrison Ford is not even remotely suitable. Errol Flynn or Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. in their prime are more what's required, and their sort is rare nowadays. Technology has finally caught up to the special effects requirements, but now there are no great swashbucklers to play the lead. Peter Reiher reiher@ucla-cs.arpa
dp@astrovax.UUCP (Deborah L. Padgett) (05/14/84)
I agree absolutely that "A Princess of Mars" should be made in the near
future. Personally, I think that Spielberg would be the best choice as director,
but his talents should be enhanced by the presence of Lucas in a creative
and organizational role (producer perhaps). The "Star Wars" trilogy has
already demonstrated Lucas' ability to create and accurately follow the
history of an entirely imaginary civilization without allowing these details
to swallow up the swashbuckling flavor of his stories. The "Star Wars"
movies have more in common with Burroughs' Barsoom stories than any other
work of fiction (in any medium) that I am familiar with. Lucas alone has
demonstrated the capacity to generate the atmosphere of adventure amidst
totally alien settings (albeit at the expense of depth of character) which
was Burroughs' specialty (no one ever accused Burroughs of overcharacterization,
either). In addition, someone like Lucas should be looking over Spielberg's
shoulder to make certain the movie maintains the breakneck pace of the Barsoom
books; try comparing the pace of "Raiders..." (joint Lucas/Spielberg effort)
with that of CE3K, E.T., or even "Jaws". I agree that John Carter would be
difficult to cast. He is the element I like the least about the Barsoomian
novels, since he is too close to the stuff of mythology to be at all
unpredictable; in this sense, some of the later books ("Chessmen of Mars")
would somewhat avoid the problem of a "Superman" on Barsoom by deflecting
attention from him to a less imposing figure. Whoever plays John Carter
must be impressive physically (in appearence and agility), but also
not take the character too seriously. I have often thought that Chris
Reeve might make a decent John Carter because of his well-played (at least
in the first film) role as Superman (an even more awful part to play),
but I believe that the setting and atmosphere of a Barsoomian adaptation
would be much more important to its success. For this reason, I would
also hope that John Williams, whose music captures the spirit of adventure
better than that of any other modern composer, would write the score (an
immensely important part of the atmosphere in this sort of film). In any
case, all of the preceding is simply my personal speculation; I hope that
American International Pictures (the people who brought us "At the Earth's
Core" from the Pellucidar series and "The Land that Time Forgot" from
the Caspak series : yuck [ed. comment]) does not still own the rights to
Barsoom as they did during the 1970's, or someday soon we may see Doug
McClure as John Carter... I welcome any discussion about the Barsoomian
series which anyone might like to start.spaf@gatech.UUCP (Gene Spafford) (05/17/84)
I remember reading a short story once where the main characters were
watching a "classic" movie from the 1980s. It was an Irwin Allen
production of "Gray Lensman" with Charlton Heston in the lead role.
I always thought that a pretty amusing idea....
--
Off the Wall of Gene Spafford
The Clouds Project, School of ICS, Georgia Tech, Atlanta GA 30332
CSNet: Spaf @ GATech ARPA: Spaf%GATech @ CSNet-Relay
uucp: ...!{akgua,allegra,ihnp4,masscomp,ut-ngp}!gatech!spaf
...!{rlgvax,sb1,uf-cgrl,unmvax,ut-sally}!gatech!spafwombat@uicsl.UUCP (05/19/84)
#R:sri-arpa:-61600:uicsl:10700106:000:136 uicsl!wombat May 19 12:53:00 1984 I'd like to see John Boorman turn around and do *The Mists of Avalon*. It'd make a great double feature with *Excalibur*. Wombat
reiher@UCLA-CS.ARPA (05/23/84)
From: Peter Reiher <reiher@UCLA-CS.ARPA> How about a film version of Moorcock's Elric novels? A little depressing, perhaps, in the long run, but more thoughtful than most fantasy. If Max von Sydow were twenty years younger, he would be perfect for the lead, but since he isn't, how about David Bowie, who is very good at giving an impression of a tall, thin, pale outsider. Ridley Scott would be a good choice to direct, as he has a superb visual sense tending towards the moody and dark. If he's not available, his brother Tony is an acceptable second choice. His first film, "The Hunger", deals with those who somewhat reluctantly are forced to live off of others, a theme which has some parallels in Moorcock's books. Peter Reiher