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THS as a film with a modern setting

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THS as a film with a modern setting

Postby Stanley Anderson » June 28th, 2007, 4:36 pm

…on a night of rain Frodo smelled a sweet fragrance on the air and heard the sound of singing that came over the water. And then it seemed to him that as in his dream in the house of Bombadil, the grey rain-curtain turned all to silver glass and was rolled back, and he beheld white shores and beyond them a fair green country under a swift sunrise.
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Postby jo » June 28th, 2007, 4:59 pm

I admit that I would wince to see it moved to a modern setting .. I don't like it when things are taken out of the context in which the author put them at the best of times. And I don't see why it would HAVE to be done .. I think a lot of times directors seem to underestimate what the public is prepared to be interested in :(. I'd rather see no film than something which had been totally massacred :D

BTW Stan why aren't you at our EF debauch on the Lounge?!
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Postby Stanley Anderson » June 28th, 2007, 5:28 pm

…on a night of rain Frodo smelled a sweet fragrance on the air and heard the sound of singing that came over the water. And then it seemed to him that as in his dream in the house of Bombadil, the grey rain-curtain turned all to silver glass and was rolled back, and he beheld white shores and beyond them a fair green country under a swift sunrise.
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Postby jo » June 28th, 2007, 5:46 pm

*pours hot water over you*
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Postby Stanley Anderson » June 28th, 2007, 5:49 pm

…on a night of rain Frodo smelled a sweet fragrance on the air and heard the sound of singing that came over the water. And then it seemed to him that as in his dream in the house of Bombadil, the grey rain-curtain turned all to silver glass and was rolled back, and he beheld white shores and beyond them a fair green country under a swift sunrise.
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Postby jo » June 28th, 2007, 6:02 pm

House?!
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Postby Stanley Anderson » June 28th, 2007, 6:06 pm

…on a night of rain Frodo smelled a sweet fragrance on the air and heard the sound of singing that came over the water. And then it seemed to him that as in his dream in the house of Bombadil, the grey rain-curtain turned all to silver glass and was rolled back, and he beheld white shores and beyond them a fair green country under a swift sunrise.
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Postby stshores24 » June 28th, 2007, 6:40 pm

House...bleah. I wouldn't like THS in a modern setting. The Pragmatometer reminds me of something that should belong in the movie Brazil, and I for one would love to see what that would look like if Terry Gilliam did that scene.

Just that bit, mind you, and probably not the rest of the book. That would be strange.
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Postby KenWritez » July 5th, 2007, 6:24 pm

Coming in as antiphone, I would prefer THS to be in a modern setting.

("Burn him! Burrrrrrrrrrn!")

The 30s-40s are an era I have no experience of except via other movies and books, so it means nothing to me. However, the era I live in now, I'm intimately familiar with, its attitudes, references, etc.

As a writer, I could easily update the NICE aspects like Fairy Hardcastle, the pragmatometer, and even the Head to something more familiar to modern audiences.

(NB: I'm not saying THS *must* be updated, a film maker and writer competent enough could preserve the milieu just as they did in Chariots of Fire. I'm saying it's a way I would like to see.)

That said, there is a very pragmatic reason to set THS in modernity: Ensuring as wide an audience as possible, something *every* filmmaker must consider if he's to produce a film that will be seen and not just another video blog for himself and a few friends.

People who finance films want return on their investment, so the film maker's always under pressure to deliver as wide an audience as possible. At some point the film maker has to say, "This far and no further" and make the film he sees in his head, even if he does have to compromise some things.)

Also, please realize translation between page and screen requires certain levels of editing. A novelist can spend pages describing a character's inner life, his thoughts and emotions, memories and attitudes. A film maker can show only words and action. No lens yet invented will fit inside someone's head.

Also, there are issues with pacing and dramatic structure. What seemed a leisurely, interesting journey on paper can easily turn into tedium on film. When we read, we spend som much more mental energy converting words into ideas, into mental images. Watching a film does that for us already, so we're more aware of pace.

Contemporary screenplays usually follow a classic three act structure: Set Up (Act 1), Confrontation (Act 2), Resolution (Act 3). This structure goes all the way back to Aristotle and it's what we know in all its many forms, from commercials to blockbusters. Pick any movie you like, from Star Wars to LOTR to Steel Magnolias to The Matrix to True Grit: All with distinct three acts.

Sometimes, "butchering" is a necessary trimming. Lots of times it's done for cost reasons as well as story. There just isn't money (or time) in the budget for so-and-so scene. Yes, lots of times the trimming ends up trashing the film, which is inexcusable. I certainly don't defend gratuitous or poorly done trim jobs.

Translating from book to screen is a subject deeper and more complex than one might think.
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Postby moordarjeeling » July 6th, 2007, 3:00 am

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Postby KenWritez » July 10th, 2007, 6:22 am

"The truth is you're the weak. And I'm the tyranny of evil men. But I'm tryin', Ringo. I'm tryin' real hard to be a shepherd." --Quentin Tarantino, Pulp Fiction
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Postby Stanley Anderson » July 10th, 2007, 12:41 pm

…on a night of rain Frodo smelled a sweet fragrance on the air and heard the sound of singing that came over the water. And then it seemed to him that as in his dream in the house of Bombadil, the grey rain-curtain turned all to silver glass and was rolled back, and he beheld white shores and beyond them a fair green country under a swift sunrise.
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Postby moordarjeeling » July 11th, 2007, 2:56 am

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Postby KenWritez » July 11th, 2007, 4:09 am

"The truth is you're the weak. And I'm the tyranny of evil men. But I'm tryin', Ringo. I'm tryin' real hard to be a shepherd." --Quentin Tarantino, Pulp Fiction
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Postby Stanley Anderson » July 13th, 2007, 3:21 pm

…on a night of rain Frodo smelled a sweet fragrance on the air and heard the sound of singing that came over the water. And then it seemed to him that as in his dream in the house of Bombadil, the grey rain-curtain turned all to silver glass and was rolled back, and he beheld white shores and beyond them a fair green country under a swift sunrise.
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