* Apparently the next, possibly Danny Boyle-directed 28 Units of Time Later movie will not be called 28 Months Later. Once upon a time there was an idea for a prequel that took place before the bulk of the events in 28 Days Later—28 Hours Later, perhaps–and maybe that’s what’s going on here. (Via STYD.)
* My pal Rob Bricken, editor of Topless Robot, gets the interview treatment from Poe Ghostal.
* So it looks like They’re making “>an HBO series out of George R.R. Martin’s fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire, to be called Game of Thrones after the first novel in the series. My reaction maps to Rob’s in virtually every particular, including the whole “never read ’em” angle and the “fantasy give the HBO drama treatment could be pretty spectacular” vibe.
* Curt Purcell takes a swing at a pair of frequently voiced memes among horror fans: “it’s scarier because it could really happen” and “what you don’t see is scarier than what you do see.” I will say that I’ve found myself having more intense reactions to horror films in which the “monster” is a human, but I think that has more to do with me being frightened by human cruelty than with plausibility; perfectly plausible “nature gone wild” movies wouldn’t have the same effect.
* Finally, rest in noise, Mitch Mitchell.
Tags: A Song of Ice and Fire, fantasy, Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin
I used to read those Martin books sitting at the B&N waiting for someone to get off work. They were the hot shit at the time — maybe they still are. They’re lurid, sensational and relentlessly event driven in a way that quickly becomes exhausting and then absolutely ridiculous once the initial and very fleeting “hey, what a dour view of the world” admiration wears off. Very little in the way of straight-up fantasy. Should work well as this kind of show. A lot will depend on the casting and what the writers choose to mine from the material.
A Mark Millar-written episode of The Sopranos with swords, if that makes sense.
Gosh, that sounds unappealing.
Well, I didn’t like them.
Maybe the most interesting thing about them, Sean, is that he gets a lot of mileage out of something superheroes can’t anymore: the murder of characters in which the audience has some investment.
This is doubly interesting in fantasy, I think — and this is the kind of thing I say that used to make Dave Lasky yell at me — because frequently with fantasy I think the characters are looked upon not just as characters we like or admire but people we aspire to be, even *literally* ideal members of their race as is the case with Tolkien. So I think for many people it serves as a real punch in the heart, all those reversals and such.
The Missus is not a fantasy reader but she like The Lord of the Rings and she literally can’t watch the end of The Return of the King when Frodo has to leave because he’s too messed up to stay, that’s how much it affects her. So I see your point.
Matt Wiegle and I are working on a lot more Destructor strips and as that whole thing gets fleshed out I’m going to be interested to see how much all these kinds of discussions impact it.
My memory of those books is that Martin might have shown the four hobbits drinking in that tavern, sharing a knowing glance about the way of the world and the adventures they’d enjoyed, and then being slaughtered by a bunch of Wild Men that suddenly crashed into the place.
I don’t mean to say that’s the part of it I dislike, necessarily. Certainly Shakespeare does that kind of thing from time to time, and in modern entertainment, BSG has elements of that “life is brutish, nasty and short” as a corrective to excesses of the genre that lean the other way. I just wasn’t convinced or small-e enlightened by Martin’s use of it.
I guess that’s why I use Millar as a comparison. I’m often very sympathetic to the overall message Mark wants to communicate but I think he frequently does this by the thematic equivalent of running into a room naked, shouting his theme of choice at the top of his lungs, shitting into his hand and then throwing the poo at you.
I, on the other hand, love the Song of Ice and Fire. Admittedly I have a very small stake in it – I’m in the acknowledgements to the first volume, for taking part in GEnie discussion about what different kinds of disability do to your dreams. For me the series has the feel of classical history, like something by Herodotus or Shakespeare. The world is fascinating, with its multi-year seasons and layers of ancient secrets to uncover, and I find the characters’ changing situations gripping in a way not very different from what I get from (say) the book I’m now reading about Alexander the Great’s successors.
Second on recommending the Martin series, but then again I love lurid melodrama. Listened to it on audio and loved it. Put it off getting into it for years because my friends raved it up so much, and I’m not a fantasy guy. The thing you need to know is this – the Song of Fire and Ice, while there are battles and what-not, is a political story – it’s about intrigues and betrayals and schemes. It’s a loose retelling of the War of the Roses, only in a fantasy setting. And Bruce is right, the characters really are the big selling point here – very well developed, and often the character you were rooting for one moment turns out to be a complete rogue the next. If they cast this thing right, it could be really terrific. In other words, it’s a perfect fit for an HBO drama series.
Honestly, I say give the first book a shot (the audio book is really well performed if that’s a better investment of your time) – by the end you’ll have a firm grasp of whether or not it’s your cup of tea.
And, on a side note, if they stick to their plan of one book per season and don’t water it down, the close of the first season will have one of the greatest closing shots of a series in years. Gave me goosebumps and grossed my wife out to no end.
Oh, and to reply to Tom’s remarks – it is a little brutish at times, to be sure – and wildly excessive and cruel in other places – but I wouldn’t say that it’s quite at Millar’s level of bombastic gratuity. In fact, some of the more vicious moments are far more emotionally resonant than they have any real right to be. So, yeah, Sopranos with swords – not far off. But I myself wouldn’t link it to Millar’s style or approach, which always seems far more about the shiney bloody event itself rather than the consequences of the event to character and plot, which is where Martin seems to lean. That’s my two cents, brother.
Carnival of souls
* My pal Rachel Molino takes a look at Rafael Grampa’s Mesmo Delivery for Wizard. * Dig AdHouse honcho Chris Pitzer’s eBay auctions, man. Lotsa good, often OOP stuff for cheap. * Kevin Eastman says that David Fincher, Zack Snyder,…