Team Book Version

Comprehensive list of changes made to The Dark Is Rising for the new movie whose title they have even changed.

I guess if you actually hate a book you shouldn't take the job of doing the screenplay for it, asshat.

Ironically, I think the writing itself in these books is pretty laughable and hardly appropriate for children as old as its protagonists - the Quiz Bowl of Doom scene in the slashiest book is a favourite target for derision - but it's the over-simplified cheesy qualities and the unsuccessful combination with a more epic and mythic genre that's the problem. The story itself is the strength of these books, much like with Harry Potter or the Lord of the Rings (although the writing in both those is on a different level): an imaginative world that captures the reader and draws them right through the books and out the other side into an almost endless landscape of adventure and magic, filled with possibilities.

I guess this still makes me an outraged fan, but I'm usually somewhat easy-going about the changes made by movies if they're for the good of the movie, such as in LOTR, though I almost inevitably prefer the book canon. I was even okay with the last HP film - nice cinematography! Yay! But what the fuck? What we're looking at here is not for the good of the movie - it's destroying elements of the story almost at random for no good reason in a way that completely alters the concept, while also impairing the movie's ability to achieve the tone and scope and most enchanting effects of the books.

(My judgment is somewhat suspended, but FYI I'm still in about this place re the Hayden Christenson movie of Steven Gould's Jumper, which is one of my favourite sff books. Total Film's enthusiastic, but their last blurb about it includes unsettling drive-by mentions of changes that pissed me off - including a random invented character who shares his gift. What? Um, why? And also, why is Millie suddenly hot like Summer from the OC instead of a rather ordinary girl whom Davy just falls in love with? Okay, I knew I kind of had to expect that, but I'm disgruntled. I love her. Please, please, please let's not movie-ise Wild Side starring Denzel Washington and/or Bruce Willis next, okay?)

Anyway, it's called The Seeker, reportedly, now. cleolinda suggests a boycott in theatres which you should all consider. You can read about her reasons in her top post.

cry for help: TIM GUNNY GOODNESS?

People, I looked, but Tim Gunn's Guide To Style wasn't up on YouTube. I haven't quite got my torrenting capability up yet - then I'll go looking, but I've heard from the bounteous and terrible isilya that it's looking scarce on the usual torrent sites as well. What gives? When PR was so popular they were posting Project Catwalk right away? Where is my Tim Gunn?

Help me out, someone. Just ideas, if you don't have actual knowledge! Where can I get this show?

book meme that's been around

My reading history of Library Thing's users' 106 books most marked "Unread". So presumably this corresponds roughly to the selection, out of books most often recommended to other people, which least inspire people to want to read them once they have picked them up. It's an odd mixture of like, best sellers from the past ten years, Russian literature, Nobel Prize-winners, Neil Gaiman, and Jane Austen, for serious. Also some non-fiction. I wonder if it's really a good idea to peruse these lists for our friends? Not if you're the kind of person who makes character judgements based on people's unread or unfinished books.

Also, I'm pissed off that Finnegan's Wake wasn't there, because even more than Anna Karenina, that is the piece of literature I've ever encountered that I wish to spread ranting, raving, frothing hate for far and wide. Jesus. At least it's cleverer and more ironic than Anna Karenina, so the fact that it's 10 billion times as pretentions (no mean feat) is sort of ameliorated because it's like, not pretentious so much as ~*Pretentious!!*~LOL.

Anyway, bolded titles are read, italicised titles are unfinished, struck through titles are hated with the heat of a thousand suns. There should be a way to mark them with love too, though. Maybe I'll go through and add hearts! I think I will.

( the books )