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Movies based on books.... Fail - 9/4/2013 9:26:13 PM   
jlf1961


Posts: 14840
Joined: 6/10/2008
From: Somewhere Texas
Status: offline 		I am a sci fi purest, I read Heinlein's Starship troopers in the sixth grade, Isaac Asimov's I robot the same year. Since then I have probably read those two books a couple of dozen times.

Some years ago, a couple of hell spawned jack asses turned them into books.

One of the key components of Starship Troopers was the drops and the Powered Combat armor. The movies had a bunch of grunts in freaking flack jackets, 20th century tech.

Troopers rode down in shuttles, alright, the space born version of Air Cav.

Considering the CGI used in the movie as it was, why the hell didnt they just go ahead and do the freaking capsules and armor.

As for I robot, anyone who read the book can see the problems. The only things in common with Asimov's work was Susan Calvin and the three laws.

Should I ever find a way to hypnotize Bill Gates into giving me most of his fortune, I would make both movies the way they should have been. Avatar spent half a billion, Starship troopers deserves at least that much.

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RE: Movies based on books.... Fail - 9/5/2013 1:40:30 AM   
DonGiovani


Posts: 129
Joined: 8/28/2011
Status: offline 		Biggest sci-fi book to movie fails (IMO):

- The first Dune.

- Battlefield Earth.


Words cannot express the epic fail-ness.

(in reply to jlf1961)
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RE: Movies based on books.... Fail - 9/5/2013 5:45:19 AM   
jlf1961


Posts: 14840
Joined: 6/10/2008
From: Somewhere Texas
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: DonGiovani

Biggest sci-fi book to movie fails (IMO):

- The first Dune.

- Battlefield Earth.


Words cannot express the epic fail-ness.


I have to agree.

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Boy, it sure would be nice if we had some grenades, don't you think?

You cannot control who comes into your life, but you can control which airlock you throw them out of.

Paranoid Paramilitary Gun Loving Conspiracy Theorist AND EQUAL OPPORTUNI

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RE: Movies based on books.... Fail - 9/5/2013 7:59:49 AM   
Marc2b


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quote:

- The first Dune.


The people who made the first dune movie should be hung by their genitals and beaten with thistles and poison ivy.

I will never forgive them.

My nominations for worst book to movie transitions:

The cat in the hat. Way to take a beloved children's classic and turn it into shit.

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Every visual adaptation, be it a movie, miniseries or what have you, has sucked! Every single one.



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RE: Movies based on books.... Fail - 9/5/2013 8:09:00 AM   
BamaD


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Joined: 2/27/2005
Status: offline 		FR

The SciFy channel did a far better Dune than the theatrical version.
Starship troopers 20th century soldiers says most of it.
Haven't read Battlefield Earth but if the book wasn't a lot better than the movie there wouldn't have been a movie.
Avatar was just a remake of Dances With Wolves and A Man Called Horse

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RE: Movies based on books.... Fail - 9/5/2013 9:13:06 AM   
MasterCaneman


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Joined: 3/21/2013
Status: offline 		I can just imagine the horror when Hollywood can finally get its hands on Jerry Pournelle, although I'd love to see The Mercenary on the big screen. That story wouldn't suffer the way Starship Troopers did by using current technology in it.

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RE: Movies based on books.... Fail - 9/5/2013 12:19:45 PM   
Hillwilliam


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Status: offline 		The Stainless Steel Rat series would make good movies if done right.

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RE: Movies based on books.... Fail - 9/5/2013 12:38:06 PM   
Moonhead


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Status: offline 		Dunno if you read comics, Hill, but there's a really good collection of comic strip versions of three of the Stainless Steel Rat books (The Stainless Steel Rat, Saves The World and For President) that were published in 2000AD in the early '80s. The most striking thing is that the artist (the great Carlos Equezerra) drew slippery Jim to look like James Coburn.

For myself, I quite enjoyed Starship Troopers, but that's mostly because Vorhoeven was obviously taking the piss out of one of Heinlein's worst novels. I know I'm in the minority on that one, as a lot of people read Heinlein for sub Ayn Rand libertarian ranting, rather than plot or character.

Bama, believe it or not the novel Battlefield Earth is worse than the movie. Even by Hubbard's grim standards it's an indefensible bucket of shit.

There are a lot more bad films of SF stories than novels, imo: Minority Report, Total Recall and AI can all hold their heads up high in this regard. I'd suggest though, that the most godawful revamp of a good novel into a shit film was the most recent version of I Am Legend: I'd rather watch the Omega Man again than that sorry mess.

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RE: Movies based on books.... Fail - 9/5/2013 12:41:12 PM   
MercTech


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Joined: 7/4/2006
Status: offline 		I'm very surprised someone in Hollywood hasn't latched onto H. Beam Piper's "Little Fuzzy" yet. Heck, Piper died intestate so his book is public domain. And think of the after market for big eyed fuzzy plush toys.

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RE: Movies based on books.... Fail - 9/5/2013 12:48:51 PM   
Moonhead


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Joined: 9/21/2009
Status: offline 		Might the rights have devolved to his publisher if he died without a literary executor?
If we're talking books that we'd like to see filmed, I'm going to name the obvious names:
Tiger! Tiger! and The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester.

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RE: Movies based on books.... Fail - 9/5/2013 2:00:14 PM   
kiwisub12


Posts: 4742
Joined: 1/11/2006
Status: offline 		The only movie that I've ever seen that was better than the book was "The Hunt for Red October"
And that is because the character development in the book sucked - but the action was great. The movie actually made the people real, unlike the book.

I pretty much make it a point to not see movies based on books that I have enjoyed.

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RE: Movies based on books.... Fail - 9/5/2013 2:10:00 PM   
OsideGirl


Posts: 14441
Joined: 7/1/2005
From: United States
Status: offline 		I usually feel that movies don't do the books justice.

One of my favorite books: Bag of Bones by Stephen King. A&E did a mini series on it and they ruined it.

Janet Evanovich - One for the Money. The Stephanie Plum books are hysterical. The movie was so bad that I had free tickets and STILL wanted to walk out.

I thought "The Lightning Thief" was horrible, but it apparently did well enough that they'll slaughter the second book "Sea of Monsters".

The set of books I'd wish they'd make into movies: The Diamond Throne, The Ruby Knight and The Blue Rose. There's also a book by Stuart Woods "Chiefs".

< Message edited by OsideGirl -- 9/5/2013 2:12:32 PM >

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RE: Movies based on books.... Fail - 9/5/2013 2:52:36 PM   
jlf1961


Posts: 14840
Joined: 6/10/2008
From: Somewhere Texas
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: Moonhead

Dunno if you read comics, Hill, but there's a really good collection of comic strip versions of three of the Stainless Steel Rat books (The Stainless Steel Rat, Saves The World and For President) that were published in 2000AD in the early '80s. The most striking thing is that the artist (the great Carlos Equezerra) drew slippery Jim to look like James Coburn.

For myself, I quite enjoyed Starship Troopers, but that's mostly because Vorhoeven was obviously taking the piss out of one of Heinlein's worst novels. I know I'm in the minority on that one, as a lot of people read Heinlein for sub Ayn Rand libertarian ranting, rather than plot or character.

Bama, believe it or not the novel Battlefield Earth is worse than the movie. Even by Hubbard's grim standards it's an indefensible bucket of shit.

There are a lot more bad films of SF stories than novels, imo: Minority Report, Total Recall and AI can all hold their heads up high in this regard. I'd suggest though, that the most godawful revamp of a good novel into a shit film was the most recent version of I Am Legend: I'd rather watch the Omega Man again than that sorry mess.



Most of Heinlein's books dealt with some political theme, not as much as Starship Troopers, which I found enjoyable even with his political rantings. And in some ways, his Federation actually makes sense, although I disagree with it just being military. You have to be ex military to be in law enforcement. The only difference between citizens and everyone else was the right to vote and hold political office.

And I am not a libertarian.

_____________________________

Boy, it sure would be nice if we had some grenades, don't you think?

You cannot control who comes into your life, but you can control which airlock you throw them out of.

Paranoid Paramilitary Gun Loving Conspiracy Theorist AND EQUAL OPPORTUNI

(in reply to Moonhead)
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RE: Movies based on books.... Fail - 9/5/2013 4:09:52 PM   
Apocalypso


Posts: 1104
Joined: 4/20/2009
Status: offline 		League of Extraordinary Gentleman was not only appalling, but directly responsible for Alan Moore cutting off all involvement with movies of his work.

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RE: Movies based on books.... Fail - 9/5/2013 5:00:27 PM   
Moonhead


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Joined: 9/21/2009
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quote:

ORIGINAL: Apocalypso

League of Extraordinary Gentleman was not only appalling, but directly responsible for Alan Moore cutting off all involvement with movies of his work.

V For Vendetta wasn't blameless in that one. Last I heard he was blaming the Watchowskis for that one.

ks: haven't you seen The Godfather, The Dead Zone, The Shining or any Harry Potters?

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I like to think he was eaten by rats, in the dark, during a fog. It's what he would have wanted...
(Simon R Green on the late James Herbert)

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RE: Movies based on books.... Fail - 9/5/2013 5:03:50 PM   
Moonhead


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Joined: 9/21/2009
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quote:

ORIGINAL: jlf1961
Most of Heinlein's books dealt with some political theme, not as much as Starship Troopers, which I found enjoyable even with his political rantings.

This is why, for my money, he's a vastly better writer of short stories than he is a novellist. When he didn't have the leeway to pad out his narratives with histrionic rants from mouthpiece stand ins for the author, he could write a nifty little puzzle story around a conceit. He Built A Crooked House and By His Bootstraps both spring to mind as good examples.

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I like to think he was eaten by rats, in the dark, during a fog. It's what he would have wanted...
(Simon R Green on the late James Herbert)

(in reply to jlf1961)
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