Rama is... almost the opposite of Dune. There's not a lot of complexity or even all that much story (at least in the first book). I can imagine Villeneuve making a pretty good job of it. Big,...
Rama is... almost the opposite of Dune. There's not a lot of complexity or even all that much story (at least in the first book). I can imagine Villeneuve making a pretty good job of it. Big, impressive scenery is something he's always done well at.
It's a bit of a surprising choice but I'm interested to see where it goes. I think he'd do well to pull in some of the more character-driven aspects of the second book because quite a lot of of the first book is just extended descriptions of spacecraft engineering which is kind of interesting but also not.
Sure, I think it's interesting too. Especially when put into the historical context it was written in. But let's be honest, it really isn't for most people. Lots of Rama isn't a story in the...
Sure, I think it's interesting too. Especially when put into the historical context it was written in. But let's be honest, it really isn't for most people. Lots of Rama isn't a story in the normal sense, really, because stories are about people - it's just an extended list of the attributes of an object. None of that "nerd crap" is getting into a script that someone is investing hundreds of millions of dollars in and that means a significant amount of the book won't make it.
Yeah, I agree that they will probably try to make the movie into a story about people, which they'll have to make up themselves, since the original story wasn't about people. But... Disagreeing...
Yeah, I agree that they will probably try to make the movie into a story about people, which they'll have to make up themselves, since the original story wasn't about people.
But...
stories are about people
Disagreeing with this statement is a tiny pointless hill that I'll die on.
He'll do what he did with Dune: delay exposition and create mystery with things the book revealed early on. In other words, he'll make it into a psychological thriller. That's what Villeneuve does.
He'll do what he did with Dune: delay exposition and create mystery with things the book revealed early on. In other words, he'll make it into a psychological thriller. That's what Villeneuve does.
The problem with that is there's very little to exposit about in Rama. I don't think we know anything about anything much, even by the end of the book. Descriptions of engineering and architecture...
The problem with that is there's very little to exposit about in Rama. I don't think we know anything about anything much, even by the end of the book. Descriptions of engineering and architecture aside, it's not big on explanations or resolution, not even if you drag your way through the next three books by Gentry Lee (and they are tough going, he's not a great writer)
Also I'm not sure I'd agree that Villeneuve turned Dune into a psychological thriller. He just left out most of the story, that doesn't make it any more thrilling.
Rama is one of my favorite works of science fiction ever. I love when sci-fi is driven by setting, or by premise, or otherwise not by character development. To me, the exploration of Rama is a...
Rama is one of my favorite works of science fiction ever. I love when sci-fi is driven by setting, or by premise, or otherwise not by character development. To me, the exploration of Rama is a near-perfect flight of the imagination, with none of the baggage of relationship spats or characters making unrealistically poor decisions to get in the way. The sequels, unfortunately, strayed far from what made the first book great, although I still enjoyed them as I do most sci-fi. I highly doubt that a big-budget movie will ever be able to capture the nature of the first book, as cinema seems to consider character drama to be the absolute foundation of all story telling.
I know there has been at least one other occasion when they tried to get a movie going, but honestly, if this pans out, I probably won't watch it. I've learned that the more I care about a book, the more annoyed I will be when they make an inevitably terrible adaptation of it. The times that a movie adaptation has done a book sufficient justice can be counted on your hands, with the LoTR trilogy counting as three just by themselves.
I've gotten to the point that I wish they'd stop adapting books at all. It's always painfully obvious when they tailor scenes for a theater audience; a targeted cheap laugh for the teens, a sweeping shot to awe and generate those precious recommendations to friends for the holy box office, the obligatory sex scene, etc. etc. I could rant more, but I should stop.
Also I've been trying to find time to work on my somewhat Rama-inspired video game idea for years now, and I wouldn't want a new production to start harassing people for perfectly legal distant likenesses.
If this was being done by any other director (besides maybe Alex Garland), I would have had similar concerns. But Villeneuve hasn't missed yet, and has shown a willingness to capture sentiments...
If this was being done by any other director (besides maybe Alex Garland), I would have had similar concerns. But Villeneuve hasn't missed yet, and has shown a willingness to capture sentiments and themes that the rest of the industry wouldn't dare. His sci-fi book and short story adaptations so far have been (cough) stellar.
Rama is... almost the opposite of Dune. There's not a lot of complexity or even all that much story (at least in the first book). I can imagine Villeneuve making a pretty good job of it. Big, impressive scenery is something he's always done well at.
It's a bit of a surprising choice but I'm interested to see where it goes. I think he'd do well to pull in some of the more character-driven aspects of the second book because quite a lot of of the first book is just extended descriptions of spacecraft engineering which is kind of interesting but also not.
Oh it definitely is.
Sure, I think it's interesting too. Especially when put into the historical context it was written in. But let's be honest, it really isn't for most people. Lots of Rama isn't a story in the normal sense, really, because stories are about people - it's just an extended list of the attributes of an object. None of that "nerd crap" is getting into a script that someone is investing hundreds of millions of dollars in and that means a significant amount of the book won't make it.
Yeah, I agree that they will probably try to make the movie into a story about people, which they'll have to make up themselves, since the original story wasn't about people.
But...
Disagreeing with this statement is a tiny pointless hill that I'll die on.
Meanwhile I'll be on the next hill over, dying to say it's true. :)
He'll do what he did with Dune: delay exposition and create mystery with things the book revealed early on. In other words, he'll make it into a psychological thriller. That's what Villeneuve does.
The problem with that is there's very little to exposit about in Rama. I don't think we know anything about anything much, even by the end of the book. Descriptions of engineering and architecture aside, it's not big on explanations or resolution, not even if you drag your way through the next three books by Gentry Lee (and they are tough going, he's not a great writer)
Also I'm not sure I'd agree that Villeneuve turned Dune into a psychological thriller. He just left out most of the story, that doesn't make it any more thrilling.
Based on what you're saying, Rama is ideal for Villeneuve.
Rama is one of my favorite works of science fiction ever. I love when sci-fi is driven by setting, or by premise, or otherwise not by character development. To me, the exploration of Rama is a near-perfect flight of the imagination, with none of the baggage of relationship spats or characters making unrealistically poor decisions to get in the way. The sequels, unfortunately, strayed far from what made the first book great, although I still enjoyed them as I do most sci-fi. I highly doubt that a big-budget movie will ever be able to capture the nature of the first book, as cinema seems to consider character drama to be the absolute foundation of all story telling.
I know there has been at least one other occasion when they tried to get a movie going, but honestly, if this pans out, I probably won't watch it. I've learned that the more I care about a book, the more annoyed I will be when they make an inevitably terrible adaptation of it. The times that a movie adaptation has done a book sufficient justice can be counted on your hands, with the LoTR trilogy counting as three just by themselves.
I've gotten to the point that I wish they'd stop adapting books at all. It's always painfully obvious when they tailor scenes for a theater audience; a targeted cheap laugh for the teens, a sweeping shot to awe and generate those precious recommendations to friends for the holy box office, the obligatory sex scene, etc. etc. I could rant more, but I should stop.
Also I've been trying to find time to work on my somewhat Rama-inspired video game idea for years now, and I wouldn't want a new production to start harassing people for perfectly legal distant likenesses.
If this was being done by any other director (besides maybe Alex Garland), I would have had similar concerns. But Villeneuve hasn't missed yet, and has shown a willingness to capture sentiments and themes that the rest of the industry wouldn't dare. His sci-fi book and short story adaptations so far have been (cough) stellar.