sheldrake

There follows another short rant on the subject of The Dark is Rising movie adaptation. Well, it's not really a rant, it's me quoting some stuff and then throwing my hands up in the air in disgust.



I think these quotes kind of tell their own story...

David Cunningham, director, on Will being American: "I know the English readers think that's a bit of a no-no. But I think we are doing the best we can to capture the spirit of the book while, at the same time, translating it for today's audience."

John Hodge, writer, on how TDIR is different than Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings: "This one is different in that we are in the here and now with a high school boy who is on his way home, on the bus. And it ends with the boy in the real world, and his family as well. So, I hope that is distinguishing. And he is American as well."

John Hodge again: "There are obvious reasons, [for Will being American] mostly commercial. But when I was reading the book, and had reservations about trying to adapt the screenplay, one of the things that I thought, was that he should be culturally alien to the setting. When one is an outsider, it feels more appropriate."

Mm, yes. Not-America thanks you for your consideration.

John Hodge, on adapting Cooper's book: "When you are adapting a novel, you obviously want to respect the writer. But at the same time, perhaps its different with something like Harry Potter where every child has read it, but looking at a book from quite a long time ago that not a lot of people have read...Your duty is to the film, and not the author."

David Cunningham, on Susan Cooper: "Susan? Yes, we have been in touch. We've been talking. She goes way back on the production of the film. I don't want to speak on her behalf, but I think she has mixed feelings about the movie. She's thrilled that it is being introduced to a new audience. But she would have liked it if we remained pure to the book. At the same time, we need to translate it. She has also adapted screenplays, so she understands the difference between books and screenplays. And she understands that there is violence done to the book to get to that point. She has been supporting us. It's got to be a tough position for her."

Susan Cooper, from this interview:

"You do have to do violence to a book to make it into a screenplay — the two mediums are so different," Cooper says. "But the alteration is so enormous in this case. It is just different."

Cooper is waiting for the movie, but with a certain sadness. She says she sent a letter requesting changes to the film's script, but she's not sure any alterations were made.

What a bunch of tossers.