They are taking one of the most elegant Time Travel stories, the birth mother of a whole genre of Time Travel Theory, and turning it into Jurassic Park Wannabe.
I haven't seen as big a rape of a classic since I heard about Jackie Chan playing Pasportu (can't spell that name) in Around The World in 80 Days.
Posted by zgator (Member # 3833) on :
I was just thinking about this story recently, but couldn't remember who wrote it.
It sounds like the movie is only very, very loosely based on the story.
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
So the guy changes the story because he is opposed to hunting, but when character returns to the present humans are hunted? Wouldn't it make more sense if he came back to the present and super intelligent lizards were taking genetic samples of the poor humans?
Posted by T. Analog Kid (Member # 381) on :
Matt Groenig seemed to have done this version better with Time and Punishment.
Posted by msquared (Member # 4484) on :
That does not follow the PC being displayed here.
msquared
Posted by Ryuko (Member # 5125) on :
>_< That stinks! Even if Ray Bradbury said it's OK, it doesn't sound like the aim of the original classic story...
Posted by T. Analog Kid (Member # 381) on :
(Edit to note that this was in response to M, not Ryu)
No, but it does follow the goofy, clouding-the-issue, lets-keep-going-back-and-stepping-on-more-bugs-till-we-fix-it addendum to what is, as was pointed out, a beautifully elegant plotline and one of my all-time favorite short stories.
The Simpsons, however, had the advantage of being a parody. I don't know what you call it when you take someone's work and twist it out of all recognition... not a tribute, surely?
The really odd thing, to me, is that Bradbury has apparently personally approved all these changes. It reminds of the "Free Hat" episode of South Park where the kids are trying to save great movies from revision by their own directors.
For those that missed it, it opens with a trailer for the new, digitally remastered "ET", where all the guns have been repaced with walkie-talkies... followed by a trailer for the new, digitally remastered "Saving Private Ryan", where all the guns have been replaced by walkie-talkies.
I haven't laughed that hard in a LONG time.
[ September 03, 2003, 04:46 PM: Message edited by: T. Analog Kid ]
Posted by Amka (Member # 690) on :
The recent things I've seen Bradbury write leads me to believe that he has lost touch with story telling. In fact, as much as I like a lot of Bradbury's stuff, the author himself kind of irritates me.
Posted by Ryuko (Member # 5125) on :
That episode of South Park was one of the few episodes I considered funny.
Posted by seriousfun (Member # 4732) on :
Remember that when RB wrote the story, big-game hunting and safaris were a romantic, manly thing to do (think Hemmingway), and generally not frowned on. They are pretty much illegal, now, for good reason. The nacent science of genetic engineering could easily be made much much scarier, with greater impact on more people and the future, than a single man with a big gun.
If RB is involved and approves, so be it, then. I have had the pleasure of being introduced twice to Mr. Bradbury in the last few years, and he has physical troubles, but seems to be all there mentally.
Posted by kwsni (Member # 1831) on :
Sci fi is the devil. And not either of these cool guys, either:
Ni!
Posted by Icarus (Member # 3162) on :
Well, on the one hand, this is the director responsible for Time Cop.
On the other hand, this movie will have Ben Kingsley.
On the third hand, Bradbury is getting pretty old . . .
Posted by littlemissattitude (Member # 4514) on :
Sounds like a nifty little premise for a film. BUT - if you are going to film a story, film the story, for Pete's sake. Don't make it unrecognizable.
As far as Ray Bradbury putting his okay on it - well, I'm skeptical, but if that is true, I guess I can't get too angry about it. It's his story, after all.
Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
I suspect the problem lies in taking a short story with one main kicker and turning it into a two hour movie. There is no way whatsoever to pad the story out to two hours and not make significant changes and additions to the original. That doesn't mean I think it should be done, necessarily...
There's also the problem that the kicker just isn't as much of a shock anymore, largely because of the popularity of this story and its imitators over the years. Now everyone "knows" the dangers of changing things in time travel so as soon as the hunter is warned not to, the audience immediately knows what's going to happen. Just showing a scene of the different world and finding the butterfly won't be enough.
This would be much better as a short, or as a Twilight Zone episode than as a feature film.
[ September 04, 2003, 08:18 AM: Message edited by: Chris Bridges ]
Posted by Jacare Sorridente (Member # 1906) on :
On the one hand, as Orson says, the movie does not negate the book. It will still be there in its original form for all to enjoy. On the other hand, why draw the relationship at all between the book and the movie if the relationship is barely there? On the gripping hand, I wonder how many of you are widely read enough to catch this oblique SF reference...
Posted by Chris Bridges (Member # 1138) on :
The Niven/Pournelle title? Didn't think it was that oblique...
Posted by Magson (Member # 2300) on :
quote:On the gripping hand. . .
You damn Motie! I'm going to quarantine you in your own system so you can bomb yourself back into the Stone Age -- again.
Posted by Sopwith (Member # 4640) on :
Sadly, the director (would you be proud of Timecop and 2010???) as an avid anti-hunter missed the chance to make a movie against hunting just by simply NOT changing the story at all. What a putz. But he wants to make this his story. Schmuck.
And yes, Jacarre, tis a nice reference to Mr. Niven and friends.
Posted by 2 (Member # 4107) on :
quote:Hyams (Timecop, 2010) said that the script, by Clement Enlatarne, takes off from Bradbury's story, about a big-game hunter who goes back in time to hunt a dinosaur and inadvertently changes the future. Hyams, who is no fan of hunting, has changed the character (played by Edward Burns) into a genetic researcher who is going back in time to take DNA readings in an effort to reconstitute wildlife that has vanished from the Earth in the future.
Hyams (Timecop, 2010) said that the script, by Clement Enlatarne, takes off from Adams's story, about a naive and innocent Englishman who is forced into a life of space travel when the Earth is destroyed for a hyperspace bypass. Hyams, who is no fan of space-travel, has changed the character into an Englishman who is forced into homlessness when his house is destroyed to make space for a new bypass.
Hyams (Timecop, 2010) said that the script, by Clement Enlatarne, takes off from Card's story, about a boy sent to an outer-space "Battle School" to learn to fight an alien race commonly referred to as "buggers." Hyams, who is no fan of buggering, has changed the character (played by Jake Lloyd) into a boy who is sent to the school to learn to fight bullies, as well as his older brother Peter (played by Vin Diesel).
And so on.
[ September 04, 2003, 12:16 PM: Message edited by: 2 ]
Posted by Dan_raven (Member # 3383) on :
That Ender remake is terrible, low, and revolting.
Here is my $10. Can I watch it now? Any nudity?
Posted by ssywak (Member # 807) on :
Re. the Simsons episode:
quote:"I'm the first non-Brazilian person to travel back in time!" -Homer
This isn't a reference to Pastwatch, is it?
--Steve (getting old, and losing his short, middle, and long-term memory)
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