Sci-fi books and comics that should be made into films.

SubJeff on 10/9/2012 at 12:07

Well we've just got a few current remakes, Spiderman, Recall and Dredd (which I'm going to see tonight, and my expectations are low), we're getting Robocop and Superman again soon, and it's all a bit... unimaginative.

We've briefly mentioned some of the things that should be done, like some of the classic Philip K Dick stuff, but what else is there that is more obscure but potentially (in the right hands) awesome?

Inspired by the Daily Mash I'm going to kick off with 2000 AD's Nemesis. We have the tech to do this right now and as long as good director is on board it could be great. I'm thinking Nolan (natch) or Cronenberg. Neither are adverse to a bit of sci-fi ad neither are mundane enough to pump out a Michael Bay-esk crock. You need someone with an odd side to do it properly I think; it was one of the more odd comic strips from my childhood. From 2000AD there is also Slaine and Strontium Dog that are ripe for film versions. And the SD I'm talking about is Johnny Alpha and his Scandinavian bud.

I'd love to see a film version of the Book of the New Sun, but this would have to be a 3 parter, minimum. I don't quite know how the unreliable narrator aspect would be filmed but this is such an epic and heartbreaking story I think it would be a winner. It's also extremely weird, but not in an uncomfortable way just in a "oh man, that was... what?" way.

I've not read Watchmen, though I have access to it, and I gather from the internets that the film adaptation was not reeaaally up to scratch. Which is a shame considering how well loved it is. This is one of the problems with this stuff - it's easy to mess up. Imagine if someone with good ideas had got hold of Transformers (I still lament the lack of a Cronenberg directed Transformers).

Thirith on 10/9/2012 at 12:21

I'm a big fan of Alan Moore in general and Watchmen in particular, yet I still think that the film version isn't bad. Most of the criticism is accurate, but it's still a fairly intelligent, respectful take on the novel. My own problems with it are 1) its interpretation of Adrian Veidt (not sure whether it's the actor's or the director's fault - probably a bit of both), 2) the glossy hyper-violence (to my mind the violence should be *real*, not shiny, and Dan and Laurie shouldn't fight like they're posing for the camera) and 3) how, as Snyder changed the ending, he also stripped it of its visceral horror. Beyond that, though, I think the film is well worth checking out - much more so than any other Alan Moore adaptation. (I know that some people like the V for Vendetta movie, but I'm not a fan.)

june gloom on 10/9/2012 at 12:22

I'd like to see Irredeemable/Incorruptible made into a movie.

Irredeemable is a 37-issue series about what happens when Superman (or rather a Superman analogue named the Plutonian) grows up in a broken home with a mentally ill mother. He tries so damn hard to be a hero, because he needs the adulation he never got growing up, but he has a personality flaw in that he doesn't really handle criticism very well and he spies on his colleagues. And then one day he loses his shit and becomes the world's biggest mass murderer, while all of his surviving colleagues frantically try and gather information about his past to figure out a way to stop him.

Incorruptible is a 30-issue spinoff about a major villain and archenemy of Plutonian, Max Damage, who was at ground zero when Plutonian finally snapped, and decided then and there to switch sides. He's not very good at being good, and needs the moral compasses of other people to help him decide on the right thing to do, but he earnestly believes in what he's doing.

Both comics ended in May of this year.

Volitions Advocate on 10/9/2012 at 14:01

A Remake of Disney's The Black Hole would be welcome. It's pretty superficial and there isn't a lot of depth to it, but it is still one of my all time favorite movies. Give it a modern day twist like BSG. Don't "Michael Bay's Transformers" the crap out of Maximillian and he could still be a terrifying character. The only really memorable actor from the movie that I can think of is Ernest Borgnine, and replacing him would be tough.. but I think Guy Pearce could probably do his character justice. No idea on who would be a good director for it though.

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzUJJKDa558)

In the Superman vein, I just read "Red Son". What would happen if Superman had been 12 hours late and landed on a collective farm in the Ukraine? The cold war turns from the Nuclear race to the Superhuman race. Nixon is assassinated instead of Kennedy, President and First Lady Lex and Lois Luthor, and Batman & the Green Lanterns become one of Superman's biggest enemies. And those aren't even the things you need spoiler tags for.

It'll never be made into a movie, but its was the most interesting Supes scenario I've ever read.

Thirith on 10/9/2012 at 14:10

Red Son also seems to be one of the only Mark Millar comics that lack all the things that make Millar so hateable to so many people.

june gloom on 10/9/2012 at 14:26

Oh, god, yeah, Millar is awful -- no life insurance company would ever cover any gay and/or black people in a Millar comic and his use of rape as a plot device would make Alan Moore wince.

Vivian on 10/9/2012 at 14:30

Ian M Banks, any of it, all of it.

faetal on 10/9/2012 at 15:35

HEY DETHTOLL - DON'T YOU THINK SNOW CRASH SHOULD BE A FILM, YEAH?

Seriously though - I'd enjoy seeing the following books as films:

Spares by Michael Marshall Smith (The Island doesn't count since it only really took an idea from Spares - didn't go near the plot)
Only Forward, also by MMS. Might be a tricky one, but I loved the book. Very vivid.

That's all I can think of for the moment. I'm sure there are more, but a lot of the sci-fi I read (Neal Asher, Charles Stross, Jeff Noon) is very sprawling and either technical or surreal and wouldn't translate well to the big screen.

SubJeff on 10/9/2012 at 15:37

I was given Consider Phelbas and I didn't see what the fuss was. It was so forgettable I can't remember anything about it. But then I believe there is an order to them and I started in the wrong place.

Irredeemable is an interesting idea. It could work as a stand-alone I suppose; linking it to Superman wouldn't go down well with joe public I don't think. And the mentally ill thing would have to left out because it'd been seen as critical of mental illness. I think there are enough dark films that are successes for it to be taken up though, but then it depends how bleak the ending is.

I can't remember anything about the Black Hole really. I suppose I should watch it again.

Renault on 10/9/2012 at 15:45

Just watched the Black Hole a few months back, it actually holds up decent over time. From what I remember, it was pretty adult for a "Disney" movie at the time (although there is some goofiness with some of the robots that's cringe worthy).

Btw, there should probably be a thread like this for games too.