*bangs head on table*

[coraa]

By way of karnythia:

Gaiman had offers to make a film out of his 2005 best seller Anansi Boys, about the sons of an African god discovering their magical background while living in the corrupt modern world, but moviemakers wanted to change the lead black characters to white or drop the magical elements altogether.

"I don't need the money," Gaiman says. "Not needing the money puts me in a magical place because I can say no. I like the idea of having good movies made or having no movies made."

Seriously, moviemakers. Could you fail a little bit less hard?

(Props to Gaiman for saying, "No, thank you, I don't need the money that much," and standing by his principles, though.)

Comments

[aquaeri]

I don't understand the point of adapting books if you're going to change them completely. Or do they just want the "Neil Gaiman's Anansi Boys" title and don't care what's actually shown on the screen, they figure they can sell enough tickets based on the title?

[coraa]

Yeah, I don't get it either. If you want to make a movie with white people and no magical elements, why on earth would you think of Anansi Boys? Even if you want to use a bestselling author, there are plenty of other bestselling authors to pick from who have already written books that fit those parameters. Even apart from the offensiveness of trying to whitewash the book, it just makes no sense to me.

[fayanora]

Agreed! I hate it when moviemakers make crappy movies from awesome books. I'm still pissed about how much "The Postman" movie sucked, because the book is awesome! And I have yet to find a movie version of "White Fang" that doesn't suck.

Oh, and I'm still pissed at Alfonso Cuarón for the travesty that is "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban." Especially after Chris Columbus aced the first two movies!

[paperclippy.livejournal.com]

I think there should be a rule that anyone making a film out of a book has to deeply involve the author, and that the author should have a veto stamp. Back when they decided to make that ridiculous adaptation of The Dark Is Rising, people asked how Susan Cooper could possibly have allowed it to happen. The answer? Her contract with her publisher said that the publisher could sell the movie rights to whoever they wanted, with or without her approval. The publisher sold the movie rights to some people. Twenty years later they decided to exercise those rights and make a movie. Nowhere did anything say that anyone needed to actually talk to the author or even follow the spirit of the book.

I sincerely hope that my current favorite authors aren't in similar deals, because while I'd love to see movies of their books, I'd hate it if these crazy filmmakers got their hands on them (and I would bet that all of the homosexual relationships and genderbending would be completely stripped out of my favorite stories).

[coraa.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I remember Lois McMaster Bujold being relieved when an option someone had bought on The Warrior's Apprentice ran out, because the treatments she'd seen were unbelievably awful.

And part of it, too, is that a lot of authors really aren't in a position to say, "No thank you, I don't need the money." If you're at risk of losing your house -- or have medical problems -- then it can be very hard to put your foot down.

I do wonder what series of events lead to the fiasco that was the Sci-Fi Channel's Earthsea miniseries.

[paperclippy.livejournal.com]

Sigh. Probably there are a lot of authors out there too who when they signed a contract with a publisher, the publisher included "BTW we can sell the movie rights and you have nothing to do with it" in there somewhere, and when they signed, they were desparate to be published, poor, and didn't believe their books would ever be made into movies so it didn't matter.

I haven't seen the Earthsea miniseries (or read the book actually), but I still haven't quite gotten over my outrage and disappointment at the Dark is Rising. One of my favorite childhood book series, which I read over and over and over and I still read every couple years, totally demolished and turned into a trashy joke. Where the actor playing one of the main roles said he "couldn't get through the book" because it was from the 70's and therefore "too dense." (Excuse me? I read this when I was 10. It is NOT too dense.)

I admit the preview for the upcoming Sherlock Holmes movie was pretty scandalous too. Since when is Sherlock Holmes an action hero?

[avani.livejournal.com]

+1 The Sherlock Holmes preview had me cringing.

[sithjawa.livejournal.com]

(sherlock holmes) I AM SO GLAD IT WASN'T JUST ME. I was wondering if I had totally misunderstood what the books were supposed to be about.

[maggiedacatt.livejournal.com]

Yes, Dark Is Rising ftl.

[artemis-lizzie.livejournal.com]

Oh, my god, yes, on Sherlock Holmes. That preview makes me SO ANGRY HULK SMASH ARRRRRGGGGGGHHH

[maggiedacatt.livejournal.com]

I have trouble imagining what, precisely, Anansi Boys would be ABOUT with white characters and/or non-magical plot.

[coraa.livejournal.com]

Me either. (And I suspect Gaiman felt the same way.) I mean, it's not like they had to license Gaiman to make a White Boys Doing Nonmagical Things movie, so I don't get it at all. Heck, if they want a White Boys Doing Nonmagical Things movie based on a bestselling book, there are a squillion to choose from.

But I don't pretend to understand the film industry.