Don't Sell 'Em Short

Chris · 12 Apr 2007, 21:10 · from 2007-April.txt.gz

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From: rasputin_ at hotmail.com (Chris)
Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2007 21:10:31 +0000
Subject: (urth) Don't Sell 'Em Short
In-Reply-To: <19ee41770704120809l478714a9g410d4f1d2728808 at mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <BAY129-F17EF6230CC6DE06BE398C6865E0 at phx.gbl>

The issue isn't their intelligence. It is simply a difficulty in adapting to 
the media.

For one thing, consider how often the written form of a typical Gene Wolfe 
story has an important part to play in its interpretation. Are we for 
example to take Severian's account as a strict and literal depiction of what 
happened? If not, how do we express that uncertainty on film? Perhaps there 
will be a way, but it won't be exactly the same as what's employed in the 
book, and may tend to convey a different sense than the original. Also, we 
have a psychological tendency to view what happens in a movie as a literal 
depiction even if devices are employed to remind us that's not the case; 
this gets in the way of a Wolfe story.

On a more commonplace level, there is the general problem of trying to 
compress a long story line into the space of 2 hours. I don't care how much 
of a genius a filmmaker is, that's always going to be a source of 
dissatisfaction when you adapt a book to film.

>In pondering the difficulties of filming a Wolfe novel,
>and there are many, I think it is a mistake for us to sell
>screenwriters and film directors short. Although films and
>plays are different from novels, they are still stories, at
>their heart, and a good storyteller can adapt a good
>story out of ANY source material, just like John the
>Baptist raising Sons of Abraham out of the stones.
>
>The best screenwriters and directors are just as capable
>and intelligent as Gene Wolfe. I have no doubt that, given
>a chance, any artful and crafty filmmaker could do Gene
>justice.
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