Everyone up to speed on The Golden Compass rhubarb? Claims are that the new film adaptation tends to soft-shoe some of the pretty clearly anti-fundamentalist religion elements in Philip Pullman's source novel. Here's Ryan Stewart's Cinematical item on Nicole Kidman going public with the "watering down" last August. Now, on MTV's movie blog, director Chris Weitz reaches for a time-tested defense: "Philip Pullman likes to quote James M. Cain on this issue. Once, when somebody asked him if he was worried what a movie adaptation would do to his book, he said, `What do you mean? The book is right over there, on the shelf.'"
Now, let me digress for a second. The only time I ever met Allen Ginsberg (wonderfully played by David Cross in I'm Not There, BTW), I wasted my thirty seconds in his presence listening to the same comment regarding Cronenberg's Naked Lunch. When a sage like Ginsberg says this bit about the unruined book you listen. But here's other claimants: In the blog Sergio Leone and the Infield Fly Rule, a correspondent is complaining about V for Vendetta, a film disowned by the source writer Alan Moore: "I keep meeting people who love this movie and my only solace in my bitterness after seeing what they did to Moore's brilliant work is a quote from the author himself:
"Interviewer: 'How do you feel about Hollywood ruining your work?'
Moore: 'What are you talking about, they didn't ruin my work, it is right up there on the shelf.'"
Here, a person worried about the then-upcoming film of Lord of the Rings cites Stephen King as the one who knows where his unruined books are, right on the shelf; here, it is Larry Niven calming the fears of those who feel his book Ringworld will be ruined as a film. Just for good measure, from the Portland, Oregon blog "Book Pusher," is a list of five good books that are waiting to be ruined, and the best way to ruin them. Can you wait for the The Farrelly Brother's wild comedy Me Talk Pretty Some Day with Adrien Brody as David Sedaris (does the hero have to be gay)?
My point is: let's don't hear this time-worn excuse anymore. Here's one from Evelyn Waugh instead: "Each book purchased for motion pictures has some individual quality, good or bad, that has made it remarkable. It is the work of a great array of highly paid and incompatible writers to distinguish this quality, separate it, and obliterate it."
Insert Caption: Indiana Jones DVDs_thumbnail.jpg)
Cinematical Seven: When an Animated Series Goes Live Action ... and Gets it Right_thumbnail.jpg)
Full 'G.I. Joe' Cast Photos!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-18-2007 @ 1:28PM
YouFaceTheTick said...
I always viewed the Dark Materials books as anti-religion - specifically catholicism. Not just fundy religion but religion in general. Shrug. Naturally the movie would have to remove that element as it was blatant and poorly executed in the books. Though nothing in the first two books can prepare you for the absolutely wretched last half of the third book.
Reply
11-18-2007 @ 2:33PM
Peter Hall said...
And what is wrong with His Dark Materials being anti-religion? Of course it was blatant. Animal Farm is blatant as well, big deal.
Good write-up of the perfect defense(s), Richard. I don't think adaptations ever ruin the source material, they just disappoint fans who pictured it all differently. Hell, I was disappointed this post didn't contain the news I thought the picture implied: The Golden Compass didn't pussyfoot around the religion angle.
Reply
11-18-2007 @ 8:18PM
YouFaceTheTick said...
Peter, Dark Materials just felt amateurish in how the author expressed his point of view - his overt agenda seemed like Ayn Rand. I have no problem with attacking religion but I'd expect an author to be a bit more intelligent about it. Atlas Shrugged is an amusing concept and so is Dark Materials...the writers just sucked.
Reply
11-19-2007 @ 12:52PM
John said...
I couldn't agree more with the sentiment "What do you mean? The book is right over there, on the shelf."
I can't understand why people get so upset when a movie adaptation of a book isn't a direct adaptation of the book, or when it doesn't capture their ingrained conception of the work. It's as if people want the cinematic equivalent of a book on tape, 'a book on film.'
A text isn't fixed-- to different readers, a text has different effects. So naturally there are going to be variations if you adapt a book into a movie. Also, I always find it interesting to compare the book to the movie and realize what differences they are between the the original and the adaptation. To be, that's more stimulating than just watching a straight, exact translation of a piece of literature, a la' the first two Harry Potter movies (snoozers.)
Essentially, many 'bookish' people can basically be 'literature fundamentalists' and think "my interpretation is the only one that matters and that's why the film adaptation is horrible." I just want to say to those people "did something crawl into your butt and die?"
J
For Lack of a Better Word
a 'culture' podcast
jdamer83.libsyn.com
Reply
11-19-2007 @ 12:54PM
John said...
I couldn't agree more with the sentiment "What do you mean? The book
is right over there, on the shelf."
I can't understand why people get so upset when a movie adaptation of
a book isn't a direct adaptation of the book, or when it doesn't
capture their ingrained conception of the work. It's as if people
want the cinematic equivalent of a book on tape, 'a book on film.'
A text isn't fixed-- to different readers, a text has different
effects. So naturally there are going to be variations if you adapt
a book into a movie. Also, I always find it interesting to compare
the book to the movie and realize what differences they are between
the the original and the adaptation. To be, that's more stimulating
than just watching a straight, exact translation of a piece of
literature, a la' the first two Harry Potter movies (snoozers.)
Essentially, many 'bookish' people can basically be 'literature
fundamentalists' and think "my interpretation is the only one that
matters and that's why the film adaptation is horrible." I just want
to say to those people "did something crawl into your butt and die?"
J
For Lack of a Better Word
a 'culture' podcast
jdamer83.libsyn.com
Reply
11-19-2007 @ 6:21PM
Niggly said...
Atlas Shrugged is an amusing concept and so is Dark Materials...the writers just sucked.
Right on Ayn Rand, wrong on Pullman.
Reply