What is Digg?131 Comments
- djsputnik, on 10/11/2007, -1/+55please, please, please don't ***** this up
- praisethelard, on 06/06/2008, -2/+40Dude...the director of Torque ( http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0329691/ ) and Britney Spear's "Toxic" is directing this.
I don't see it ending well :( - distrbnce, on 10/11/2007, -1/+23Gahhhh WHY ON WHY did the Chris Cunningham deal fall through...
Chris Cunningham + Clint Mansell soundtrack would be my dream for this movie. - NoOneButMe, on 10/11/2007, -3/+21Cant see it working out well :
I'll probably see it if/when it does come out though - VillaStraylight, on 10/11/2007, -1/+17Oh sweet swirling onion rings. If you couldn't tell by my username, I'm a big Gibson fan. One thing that worries me though is this: "producer Hoffman stated 'there'll be a sort of love interest as well'. What? No no no. Linda and Molly weren't exactly lovey-dovey with Case, so I have no idea what he's talking about.
- NuclearBlast, on 10/11/2007, -1/+17I suppose the opening scene is just going to be the color of television, tuned to a dead channel.
- booksoutloud, on 10/11/2007, -1/+14oh dear god, why?
what's next? snow crash?
any 'casual' movie-goer is just going to think that it's a matrix rip off, i see this getting bad reviews already.
*****. - moman, on 10/11/2007, -1/+13@noonebutme
"Cant see it working out well :
I'll probably see it if/when it does come out though"
I completely agree. The sprawl trilogy is my favorite series of books of all time. Unless they do a spectualar job of capturing the grittyness and 1337ness of Gibson's world this is gonna suck. Their also gonna have issues representing the Matrix accurately and similarily to how it was described in the books. Its been a while since I read them (just thinking about it makes me want to pick them up again) but if I remeber correctly the Matrix in Neuromancer/Count Zero/Mona List Overdrive was not so much of an actual visual virtual reality, kinda like our "real" reality or that presented in the matrix trilogy, but rather a way of representing and organizing data with a console-jockey accessible interface. Also, the best part of each book was how they were written, with various seemingly independent stories being told throughout the book, with everything coming together in the final chapters. Not only that, but Gibson wrote the trilogy well enough so that not only does this occur with the stories in each book, but the collective stories all come together magnificantly in the last. I cant see this being easy to pull off on the big screen, but in any case, I also will probably see it, with hope of it being awesome - Nordiskt, on 10/11/2007, -1/+12I'd rather see it animated...
- parax, on 10/11/2007, -1/+12Hollywood producers believe that they can improve any story, that every classic novelist and author really didn't know what they were doing with writing their story. They can't just tell a story as the author wrote it, it has to be "fixed". They truly believe that Gibson had always intended to have a romantic angle in the story, so they're just telling the story the way he would have if he hadn't been so short sighted as to not understand market segments and mass appeal.
I can't wait until they fix Romeo & Juliet. Shakespeare really screwed up by killing both main characters at the end, ruining the chances of a sequel. His true intention was for them to go on a National Lampoons-style road trip where they both get stoned, have a few laughs, and then Juliet gets pregnant, so they buckle down, get married, and live happily ever after. This leaves room for a sequel, Romeo & Juliet 2: The New Generation, where their kids engage in Home Alone type adventures.
/sarcasm - NoSuchAgency, on 10/11/2007, -1/+12I'm not going to digg you down, I'm going to rebut.
"Neuromancer" spawned not only the (sub)genre, but an entire style of writing. Sure, books like "The Shockwave Rider" paved the way for the world of standard cyberpunk - megacorporations, ubiquitous commercialism and branding, near-obsolescence of civil government, and environmental collapse, but very little of (for instance) Brunner's 70's-flavored concepts and settings were retained after Gibson got going.
But that we don't seem to disagree on. You claim the book is "overrated". Compared to what? Throw up some authors and titles, not just a general claim. The Sprawl trilogy are well-written books. Very well-written even when compared to "literature". The characters are believable as ordinary humans caught up in something horribly bigger than themselves. Even Molly isn't Superman, she gets her ass kicked a good number of times. Case is a loser on his way to suicide. Turner is a burnout who's lost his humanity. Mona is just a street kid whose concept of normality is utterly ***** up. But all with a whole lot else going on as well, none seem to be from central casting.
Gibson alludes to a larger history involving a catastrophic East-West war - but in his world the daily realities of survival (whether it be in the streets of BAMA or a Maas corporate arcology) preclude most people thinking much about the past. In their now, it's all about what's happening in the street, or the net, or between corporations, and how it affects them, because little people are caught in the giant gears more than ever... which brings us back to his characters' ultimate insignificance, even as they act as tools to radically change their world.
There's a lot more to say but my point is they're really good books, certainly as good as any other cyberpunk I've ever read, and vastly superior to most. - TheCash, on 10/11/2007, -1/+11You can do a lot with 70 mil if you aren't wasting it on big name stars and bs technology. Something like 40 million of the Spidey 3 budget went just towards developing the F/X tech used to make Sandman. Now call me nuts, but it didn't look any different to me then the sand F/X used on 'The Mummy' 7 years ago. 70 million provides a lot of legroom if the creative team knows their stuff, so don't go discounting the film based on it's budget. Besides, it wasn't that long ago that 70 million was A LOT of money for a movie... the original (and best) Matrix was made for around 65 mil. Then again, I actually saw 'Torque,' and if that's the best this director has in his bag of tricks, he should say 'thanks, but no thanks,' and go back to directing Brittney Spears videos. Too bad they couldn't get someone like Alex Proyas to direct. The first time I saw 'Dark City,' I imagined that must be what being high on 3 different kinds of drugs at once in the back alleys of Chiba City must feel like.
I wonder two things: which character is the narrative going to follow... Case, or Molly; and how are they going to represent cyberspace? Is it going to be like the Matrix construct (real with an unreal feeling) or more like Lawnmower Man... totally CGI 3D? The answers to both these questions, as well as who they get to play Case and Molly respectively, are going to decide how interested in this movie I get. Could be great, could be garbage, but it's never going to be better then the book.
On a side note, why did the author of the article think the guys comments regarding a 'love interest' was 'quite unnecessary?' While it's more fair to say what Case had with Linda Lee was closer to love, what he had with Molly was also romantic in it's own way, at least for Molly. Hard to say though, considering how that ended up. We'll see. - devindotcom, on 10/11/2007, -1/+11Snow Crash, at least, is capable of being made into a good movie since it's mostly action and wold building. Neuromancer has way too much stuff going on to make a coherent movie.
- anonym41414, on 10/11/2007, -1/+9Didn't I read someplace that the first line of "Neuromancer" was judged by some presumably qualified people to be among the best novel first lines in English literature?
Ah, in fact I did:
http://www.litline.org/ABR/100bestfirstlines.html - CognitiveD, on 10/11/2007, -1/+9yeah, 'cause the book is only about virtual reality.
- laterthanyou, on 10/11/2007, -1/+9Joesph Kahn is a total hack and a douche. My friend was freelancing on a music video that Kahn was directing for Rob Zombie. Basically my friend drove Kahn around and all Kahn did was say how great he was and how he was originally going to direct rush hour... Anyway at the meeting with Rob Zombie, Rob asked my firend if he had seen the new Psycho movie. He said no, to which Rob replied that it was a piece of *****. Kahn all pissed off and pulled my friend aside and said "don't talk to important people!" What a *****... Anyway kahns video was so good that rob zombie did it over again and MTV used that one.
In case you didn't know joesph kahn is an idiot. - Tenlow, on 10/11/2007, -2/+10I remember reading about this around 5 years ago. When I read about it then, Chris Cunningham was directing and Richard D. James was doing the soundtrack. There is no way that could have failed.
- TheAkolyte, on 10/11/2007, -3/+11You couldn't understand Neuromancer (Hint: It's not NECROmancer.) in the tenth grade? Do you go to school in West Virginia?
- CognitiveD, on 10/11/2007, -1/+8while I think that case have some feelings for Linda they are most likely representing something else.
And with molly, well they definitely got something going on, but it's seems more sexual than romantic in nature..
It really annoys me that Hollywood always needs to have a romantic subplot in every ***** movie.
one could always hope, but I have a feeling that I will be disappointed/upset when (or if, it's not like it's the first time that there have been plans for a neuromancer movie) I see it. - speezer, on 10/11/2007, -1/+8That budget is about the same as the budget for Grindhouse. I guess there won't be a lot of special FX. It can't be much worse than the Johnny Mnemonic movie.
- loveandrockets, on 10/11/2007, -1/+8Molly is one of the most fascinating female characters in all of scifi-dom. Her look, her attitude, her blades, her eyes/visor.
One of my favorite lines in Neuromancer was when Molly told the bad guy that she couldn't cry--that her tear ducts were routed through her mouth so when she cried, she spit.
And the antagonist says "Then my dear, you have learned an important lesson for someone so young."
I really don't want them to even attempt this movie. They need a Peter Jackson-type character to come to Hollywood with a vision--a vision for the whole trilogy. That's the only way it can be done, with genius, in the spirit of its author. - digg-dugg, on 10/11/2007, -1/+8***** off, Joseph Kahn? the guy that made Torque and britney spears videos? What ever happened to Chris Cunningham?!?
- mojoel, on 10/11/2007, -3/+10@ Ferndave
No it didn't. - HunterTV, on 10/11/2007, -1/+7Oh great, what's next, Michael Bay optioning Snow Crash?
For the love of Christ why can't we geeks get decent movies more than 1 actual decent flick/decade? - CognitiveD, on 10/11/2007, -1/+7No, they didn't use his screenplay at all..
- estvir, on 10/11/2007, -1/+7Yeah, as much as I love Neuromancer I just can't imagine it doing the book much justice. :/
I would love to see a movie made out of it, along with Snow Crash, Ender's Game (Wasn't there mention of this a few months ago ?), Brave New World, and a ton of other awesome sci-fi books but like with Neuromancer I just think they'd turn out horribly, some things just shouldn't come to the big screen (Unless, some how, they were done well) and most likely won't anyway. - mojoel, on 10/11/2007, -2/+8I've been waiting a long time for this. Hopefully this will actually make it past the script stage. Hopefully this will be as good as the novel.
For the few geeks not in the know: this is the original that the Matrix ripped off. Gibson first used the term 'cyberspace' and we're talking 1984. As he was writing it 'Blade Runner' got released and he was bummed because what he saw on the screen was what he was writing in 'Neuromancer.' - atcdev, on 10/11/2007, -1/+7Wow, 'Neuromancer', perhaps the best known of all cyberpunk novels will be directed by the guy who made 'Torque'.
Perhaps he'll do Cryptonomicon for an encore?
Excuse me if I don't get too excited. - zeebusboy, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6This book has been impossible to bring to the big screen. It really shouldn't be, because at heart it's a very fast-paced, slick thriller and is an easy port for Hollywood. But MAN is the technology going to be hard. Freeside? The Villa Straylight?
This film's production designer is in for a world of hurt. I want to see this film so much but I'd say there's a 95 percent chance they screw it up. Please fellas, just do it right and it'll be the greatest thing ever. - TheAkolyte, on 10/11/2007, -2/+7I dont see why. It's not like they're going to shove the movie in your face, and kill you if you don't watch.
- NoSuchAgency, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6Given its preoccupation with how human culture interacts with technology, cyberpunk is definitely a sub-genre of SF. No line to draw. It's nothing Hugo Gernsback would have approved of, of course, but then, what is now?
- AceTracer, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5It's a shame people are going to go into the movie and come out thinking it was a Matrix rip-off.
In fact, when I saw the first trailer for The Matrix, during the Super Bowl, I thought it -was- Neuromancer. - inactive, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6But people will see it, think that the book is the same garbage as what they've just paid money to see, and Gibson's name will be tarnished for ever after.
- jinchoung, on 10/11/2007, -2/+7biggest problem is BLADE RUNNER. i remember reading that when neuromancer was just about to come out in print, gibson went to see blade runner and his heart sank because it seemed to have second guessed him in cinematic form. so WHAT KIND OF VISION can someone create for neuromancer-the-movie that is not a re-hash of BR? also a problem because of how TREMENDOUSLY INFLUENTIAL BR has been in terms of production design. BR is a flawed and problematic movie imo - i love it nonetheless but it is - but it has had a TREMENDOUS CINEMATIC influence. everything from BRAZIL to BATMAN 1 to THE FIFTH ELEMENT to STAR WARS EP 3... BR's neon rimmed rain slick neo grit has been done to death. what can a cinematic neuromancer hope to bring to that? it is arguably FIRST but its cinematic incarnation can't help but be derivative and repetitious now. also, because of the influence of gibson's literary work and ridley scott, nippophilia has pretty much run its course too.
also, we've seen and have been seeing the influence of gibson for years now. so many fans of his have been working in the industry that his ideas are already cliches. HACKERS anyone? minority report? TRON? and the whole thing with code flashing across someone's glasses.
and oh dear... how oh how does one represent CYBERSPACE in a fresh way? we've seen it in johnny mnemonic, the matrix, the lawnmower man and lesser movies and reinterpreted in SHADOWRUN RPG.... and gibson's literary version was mind boggling and revolutionary in the days of the ATARI 2600... but how do you grab the audience with cyberspace when they've been immunized by WOW and xbox360?
actually, it's the same problem that BR creates but instead of dingey city streets, we have cliches of cyberspace already running around in our heads.
hmmm... just in writing this, i realize that visually, the movie will be about a contrast between these two worlds - aftermath real world and cyberspace. and we've already seen it done to death.
maybe the best thing would be simply to setup a double feature of blade runner and tron?
jin
p.s. do you dare to do it without syd mead? do you dare to do it WITH syd mead?! - euphoriadj, on 10/11/2007, -0/+5in about twenty years!
- writerboyVSgod, on 10/11/2007, -1/+6Maybe they should finish the Pattern Recognition movie they've been working on for 2+ years before moving ahead to ***** up my favorite novel of all times.
Chris Cunningham is the only man. Or maybe Chris can just art direct and head the special effects and someone like Christopher Nolan or even fvckin Aronofsky could direct.
And Gary Oldman must be Armitage. Oh and Benicio Del Toro as Peter Riviera... Case? Guy Pearce?
I've been on Bill's forums too long. - boltox, on 10/11/2007, -2/+6Gotta love TACKED on love interests. Thanks bigwigs, finger on the pulse as always. Douchebags.
- AnotherBrian, on 10/11/2007, -1/+5It gave me more of a Tron vibe. I think that's the way to do the cyberspace part. It's not _meant_ to be a replacement of reality like the matrix.
- phyle, on 10/11/2007, -1/+5--distrbnce-
--Gahhhh WHY ON WHY did the Chris Cunningham deal fall through...
--Chris Cunningham + Clint Mansell soundtrack would be my dream for this movie.
As a huge Chris Cunningham fan, I have to say that this was never ever going to happen. Ever. The music would've rocked and it would've looked pretty cool. Nueromancer is a very visual book, its all about atmosphere, but narrative is still pretty important. I cant really think of anything that CC has directed with any sort of narrative. And to give him something that big- a feature film, just seems a bit crazy.
Also CC is very artsy, and seems to procrastinate a lot, He took like 5 years to do that rubber johnny thing, it was less than 10 minutes long. From the interviews Ive read he appears to of just procrastinated about Nueromancer until they gave it to someone else.
It might sound like Im ripping on him but Im not, he is an awesome visual director. I just think before you give someone all the responsibilty of something like Neuromancer they should at least of directed a full length film before. - distrbnce, on 10/11/2007, -1/+5I agree with the matrix thing. How sad, and it's going to cause me to be a complete ass to undeserving people.
- inactive, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4This has been in and out of Development Hell for years. I wouldn't be surprised if it disappears again.
- CognitiveD, on 10/11/2007, -0/+4If you want to see some stuff he has written directly for the screen, check out the X-files episode Kill Switch (5x11) and First Person Shooter (7x13)
Kill Switch is the better one in my opinion..you sure can tell it's Gibson..and Kung Fu-scully kicks ass :) - Tairnyn, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3It will have to be dumbed down. The Matrix as it was described is an n-dimensional information space that can't even be represented in 3 dimensions. No amount of CGI could do it justice.
- Tiak, on 10/11/2007, -2/+5As it isn't humanly possible to make a space ninja look sufficiently cool, we can rest assured that it will be a disappointment.
- inactive, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3"If you dig me down it proves how little knowledge you have of sci-fi literature. Go for it."
Digging you down is an expression of my opinion that you have your head way up your ass.
Oh, and they'll ***** the movie up. They always do. - smek2, on 10/11/2007, -0/+3Finally? I fear for the worst! Another classic ***** up for the big screen. Seriously, Joseph Kahn?! Kahn has only directed one full length feature so far, the motorcycle film Torque. TORQUE!!! Wtf? And he is set to direct the movie version of the one cyberpunk classic?
- euphoriadj, on 10/11/2007, -1/+4Case did ***** Molly a couple of times...
And there was a story about Molly and Case in Mirrorshades ---- holographic rose or my lover's box something like that.
either way this movie will most likely be horrifical - warble, on 10/11/2007, -4/+7@mojoel: PK Dick was writing about this ***** long before Gibson. I submit that Gibson coined cyberspace, but to assume that when Blade runner came out was the first time he was introduced to PKD's stuff would be a little off-base. Without asking him I couldn't say, but PKD may of been an influence. Gibson was writing about him in 1982:
http://www.philipkdickfans.com/articles/william%20gibson.htm
@estvir: Ender's game would be fun in movie format I think. - Artifez, on 10/11/2007, -2/+5They are going to rape it into the ground.
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