Comments on: Will "The Seeker" Rise? http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/10/will-seeker-rise.html Sat, 21 Nov 2009 10:24:03 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: Anonymous http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/10/will-seeker-rise.html/comment-page-1#comment-1244 Anonymous Fri, 09 Nov 2007 15:44:00 +0000 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/10/will-the-seeker-rise.html#comment-1244 Jeez, you people are too emotional about it. I watched the movie and loved it. I made me to find and read the books. I liked some of the books, others not so much. The reality is that "Dark is Rising" is not as popular as "Narnia" or "Harry Potter" and the style is not really appropriate for adaptation. Still the good people from "Walden" made a nice, cosy movie with charming character and great vision. It is different from the book. So what? If people buy it and read it, like I did, no harm done! If not - well, they wouldn't have bought the books anyway. Check the DIR books Amazon rating and tell whether this would have been possible without the movie.<br/>And, as a movie, this is one of the best Christmas tales I have ever watched, on par with the opening Potter movies, LWW and Eragon.<br/>P.S. For truly changed book-to-movie, you have to know Russian and see "Wolfhound".<br/>Alexander Draganov, Bulgaria Jeez, you people are too emotional about it. I watched the movie and loved it. I made me to find and read the books. I liked some of the books, others not so much. The reality is that “Dark is Rising” is not as popular as “Narnia” or “Harry Potter” and the style is not really appropriate for adaptation. Still the good people from “Walden” made a nice, cosy movie with charming character and great vision. It is different from the book. So what? If people buy it and read it, like I did, no harm done! If not – well, they wouldn’t have bought the books anyway. Check the DIR books Amazon rating and tell whether this would have been possible without the movie.
And, as a movie, this is one of the best Christmas tales I have ever watched, on par with the opening Potter movies, LWW and Eragon.
P.S. For truly changed book-to-movie, you have to know Russian and see “Wolfhound”.
Alexander Draganov, Bulgaria

]]> By: Constance Parker http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/10/will-seeker-rise.html/comment-page-1#comment-1182 Constance Parker Thu, 04 Oct 2007 03:47:00 +0000 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/10/will-the-seeker-rise.html#comment-1182 Thanks so much for posting the link to the interview with Susan Cooper -- I'm heartbroken over the changes that are being made, but delighted to hear Adler interview Susan Cooper.<br/><br/>The movie is a travesty. Thanks so much for posting the link to the interview with Susan Cooper — I’m heartbroken over the changes that are being made, but delighted to hear Adler interview Susan Cooper.

The movie is a travesty.

]]> By: Anonymous http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/10/will-seeker-rise.html/comment-page-1#comment-1180 Anonymous Wed, 03 Oct 2007 00:37:00 +0000 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/10/will-the-seeker-rise.html#comment-1180 To join the chorus here, I too was appalled by the trailer. I actually went online to try to find out more about the movie, and it just got worse. I don't remember where I read it, but I saw something somewhere that EVERYTHING even hinting at something other than Christian, even solid mythological references, had been scraped from the movie. And judging from the trailer, it's become another, "awkward adolescent boy wants to impress girls/gets superpowers/saves the world" sort of which there are already far too many. I have the entire book series and have it memorized. I don't remember a thing about "superpowers" and similar rubbish. This book was the first book that really made me think about the bigger picture as a child, and it still does now. Even the title has been sanitized. It's a travesty, flat-out. Did the book's author intend this? Couldn't she do something about it? But maybe it's just as well the movie has been retitled. Now there's a chance people won't mistake the classic for this drivel as well as the possiblity for someone else to take it up later and do the amazing book justice. <br/><br/>Grey To join the chorus here, I too was appalled by the trailer. I actually went online to try to find out more about the movie, and it just got worse. I don’t remember where I read it, but I saw something somewhere that EVERYTHING even hinting at something other than Christian, even solid mythological references, had been scraped from the movie. And judging from the trailer, it’s become another, “awkward adolescent boy wants to impress girls/gets superpowers/saves the world” sort of which there are already far too many. I have the entire book series and have it memorized. I don’t remember a thing about “superpowers” and similar rubbish. This book was the first book that really made me think about the bigger picture as a child, and it still does now. Even the title has been sanitized. It’s a travesty, flat-out. Did the book’s author intend this? Couldn’t she do something about it? But maybe it’s just as well the movie has been retitled. Now there’s a chance people won’t mistake the classic for this drivel as well as the possiblity for someone else to take it up later and do the amazing book justice.

Grey

]]> By: orodemniades http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/10/will-seeker-rise.html/comment-page-1#comment-1179 orodemniades Tue, 02 Oct 2007 20:36:00 +0000 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/10/will-the-seeker-rise.html#comment-1179 My apologies if this double posts:<br/><br/>I saw the trailer the other day and thought to myself, is that TDIR? I have a feeling that it'll be completely different from the book, which is unfortunate.<br/><br/>And now I have to go find my copy, which I started reading again in January and have since put down somewhere... My apologies if this double posts:

I saw the trailer the other day and thought to myself, is that TDIR? I have a feeling that it’ll be completely different from the book, which is unfortunate.

And now I have to go find my copy, which I started reading again in January and have since put down somewhere…

]]> By: Dru http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/10/will-seeker-rise.html/comment-page-1#comment-1178 Dru Tue, 02 Oct 2007 19:07:00 +0000 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/10/will-the-seeker-rise.html#comment-1178 This is one of my favorite YA books, and I was appalled by the trailer. I'm afraid this movie is going to disappoint a lot of people. Too bad Susan Cooper can't take her name off of it in protest! This is one of my favorite YA books, and I was appalled by the trailer. I’m afraid this movie is going to disappoint a lot of people. Too bad Susan Cooper can’t take her name off of it in protest!

]]> By: Steve B, UK http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/10/will-seeker-rise.html/comment-page-1#comment-1177 Steve B, UK Tue, 02 Oct 2007 18:09:00 +0000 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/10/will-the-seeker-rise.html#comment-1177 The trailer for the movie actually made several of my friends *cry*. People are very, very attached to these books (on a level with the Earthsea series, which has also been well and truly slapped around in recent years) and feelings are running a bit high over this one. The trailer for the movie actually made several of my friends *cry*. People are very, very attached to these books (on a level with the Earthsea series, which has also been well and truly slapped around in recent years) and feelings are running a bit high over this one.

]]> By: datamuse http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/10/will-seeker-rise.html/comment-page-1#comment-1176 datamuse Tue, 02 Oct 2007 16:22:00 +0000 http://wildhunt.org/blog/2007/10/will-the-seeker-rise.html#comment-1176 I have to admit, I'm not at all a purist when it comes to movie adaptations. I just watched The Two Towers again last night and I still think it's a very good movie, for all that it substantially altered characters and plot elements from the original novel. Although it seems like The Dark Is Rising comes in for even more, and more substantial changes, that in and of itself doesn't bother me much. (Admittedly, this may be colored by the fact that I'd pay to listen to Ian McShane and Christopher Eccleston do dramatic readings from the phone book.)<br/><br/>What does concern me is that I'm seeing signs that the movie just plain sucks. Last-minute changes, including to the title (!), and no critic screenings often mean bad news. That's unfortunate, because while a good movie with large-scale changes might not encourage kids to read the book, a bad movie, however faithful an adaptation it may or may not be, definitely won't. I have to admit, I’m not at all a purist when it comes to movie adaptations. I just watched The Two Towers again last night and I still think it’s a very good movie, for all that it substantially altered characters and plot elements from the original novel. Although it seems like The Dark Is Rising comes in for even more, and more substantial changes, that in and of itself doesn’t bother me much. (Admittedly, this may be colored by the fact that I’d pay to listen to Ian McShane and Christopher Eccleston do dramatic readings from the phone book.)

What does concern me is that I’m seeing signs that the movie just plain sucks. Last-minute changes, including to the title (!), and no critic screenings often mean bad news. That’s unfortunate, because while a good movie with large-scale changes might not encourage kids to read the book, a bad movie, however faithful an adaptation it may or may not be, definitely won’t.

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