Upcoming Movies

So I don't know how many people at Screened have read Tad Williams' Otherland series, but apparently Warner Brothers has just picked up the rights to make a series of movies from the books. On the one hand I'm hopeful that it'll actually get made and will be good. On the other, I'm really worried any attempt at making Otherland into a movie will just be disappointing. I'm not even worried about all the virtual reality bits; I'm worried about how freaking complicated that story is, and how many characters there are. I mean, how do you fit that much stuff into a movie and not have it seem hurried or rushed? Or worse, how horrible would it be if they decided to cut one of the side stories down? Anyway, I'm interested in any thoughts anyone else has on this thing.

Edit: Also, I hope I put this in the right forum

I love Otherland and constantly recommend it when people ask me to suggest a good modern book. I, too would be worried about any film treatment for a number of reasons. The first (and in light of Red Tails) is the main protagonist is an African woman. Somehow, I'm pretty sure Hollywood will "fix" that. Then there is the teen kid (if you're read it, you know who I mean). That's something that's not going to appeal to many but a niche audience. Then there is the massive scope of it all. Geez, it's 4 books each running about 1000 pages. I think with some editing you might be able to squeeze it into a trilogy, but if movie "1" dies, there's no follow-up. Perhaps, that's for the best. I'd feel better if I knew who was pushing this film franchise. In the hands of a strong and powerful director, I think it could be great, but how many of those are there these days. Scorsese's Hugo has made $55 million to date domestically, so just being made by a pro with a large budget and having critical praise isn't enough to fill seats. Are studios willing to take big risks still? The Green Lantern cost a lot but didn't make what Warner hoped, and I'm not getting a good vibe off Disney's forthcoming John Carter. Michael Bay or Jerry Bruckheimer could probably muscle up the cash and commitment, but do we want either of them handling this property? I have my concerns.

Well the first planned film is apparently being written by John Scott III, and produced by Dan Lin. I've never heard of John Scott, but Dan Lin was a producer on the Sherlock Holmes movies. So there's that. And I so do not want Bay or Bruckheimer to touch this thing with a 10 foot pole. All the great story would be tossed aside for oo-special-effects.

And mention of the teenager made we realize...how the heck would you show the differences between each character's appearance in virtual reality vs real life? Would they try to do what Avatar did and make CG characters while they're in VR? And I'll tell you what, if they change any of the nationalities or ethnicities of any of the main characters I'll be wicked pissed. Usually I'm not so worried about it, but for Otherland nationality plays such an important role in so many of the characters' personalities.

If it gets made it'd be years away, so it's a bit early to worry, I suppose. It just seems to fall into the same boat as Ender's Game for me....books that'll probably end up making really bad live-action movies.