The 10 best Sci-fi films that were never made.

[Taxloss]

Got this on Metafilter. It's a good read.

http://www.pointlesswasteoftime.com/film/scifi.html

I've long thought that "Fade Out" and "The Forge of God" would make excellent films, but for their grim endings. But if you followed "The Forge of God" with its sequel "Anvil of Stars", then you'd have a sort of "Empire Strikes Back" - "Return of the Jedi" triumph/disaster pairing.

Dan Simmons' "Hyperion" series might also be good, but they might end up like "Dune". Iain M Banks' Culture novels would work ... especially "Consider Phlebas".

[YankeyMCC]

1. Fun topic

Actually "Forge of God" and "Anvil of Stars" would be interesting.

I'll always agitate for Asimov's Robot and Foundation novels. I think the Robot novels are the best candidates, although I recognize they would need some hollywood retooling, particularly "Caves of Steel" but I honestly (and I'm the first one to criticize hollywoodisms) think it could be done and still keep to the spirit and quality of the works. It would of course take the right directory and willing and capable producers. I think the effects would be well within reasonable budget too. Similarly for the Foundation stories. Again probably even more retooling but I think in the hands of someone like Peter Jackson it could be done. Not sure it would take Peter for the Robot novels but he'd probably be a good choice there too, but I sure there are others. I think the Foundation creates more challenges that would require someone on Peter's level.

Beyond that I'd like to see the "Enemy Papers" done again. I still like the version of "Enemy Mine" but it could be done so much better and you could do the entire trilogy if you did it right. And the FX would be quiet easy except for the Drax maybe, doable certainly but probably a lot of work and wear and tear on the actors.

Maybe a "Red/Green/Blue Mars" - although I'm not so sure really. I think much of it is to radical for general audiences (as much as I'd like the "general audience" to be exposed to these ideas) and de-radicalizing it would probably take to much away. And I'm not sure I'm ready to let someone else replace the images in my own mind of Mars in those books. Of course even a good series were made with only one or two of KSR's challenging ideas perhaps it would be worth it, there's certainly plenty of character fodder for hollywood to use.

And finally, you could take almost any Heinlein book and make a good movie out of it.

[Taxloss]

2. Mars is so vivid in the Red/Green/Blue books.

You feel like you're there. I can't see it working on the screen, and all that meaty technical, political and economic detail would be lost. Also, half of Red Mars takes place in a huge dust storm - not much opportunity for dizzying Martian landscapes ...

If they made three five-hour films it would do the books justice, but would be almost unwatchable.

Foundation would be good ... The set-up in one film, the struggle with Mule in another ...

Now I think of it, "Rendezvous with Rama" would make a fab film.

[phantom power]

4. The collapse of the space elevator would sure be great film!

[Orsino]

29. And, speaking of space elevators...

...Clarke's The Fountains of Paradise would be marvelous. I would love to see a film take on the parallel stories.

I re-reading his Earthlight, and enjoying it despite its dated nature (no female characters and a very conservative portrait of technology a hundred and fifty years from now). Oh, yeah, Clarke put plant life on the Moon, too--but that was 1955.

[YankeyMCC]

6. I was thinking of RAMA too but

Have to remove the incest and pedophila themes I think ;)

[phantom power]

8. Only the original Rama book exists. Those later 3 are dead to me.

[Taxloss]

11. I thought Rama II was alright.

The other two I could have done without. An alright "Rama III" would have been OK for me, the third craft entering Earth space in the light of what was known about the first two, but the first two should have been left to sail off into mystery. Keeping their destination hinted at but unknown was the key to their mystique. And a trilogy would have made sense - "Ramans do everything in threes". Sadly, ACC seems to like to do all his franchises in fours.

[phantom power]

12. The thing I liked about the original...

was that nobody ever really knew what the thing was for, or where it was going. Clearly, the sequels sort of polluted that mystique. I would agree that the eventual sequels started off pretty good, but they became increasingly "theistic," for lack of a better word. Clarke is a closet Christian. I'm positive of it. Either that or it's his ghost writer Gentry Lee.

"Searching for the boundary conditions that give rise to universal peace?"
WTF????

[Taxloss]

15. Yeah, there's a deep streak of theism in Clarke's stuff.

That's not a bad thing per se, most of it is still good. And it's not necessarily Christian. He's clearly very interested in Eastern faiths and traditions: his love for Sri Lanka, the recurrence of eastern faiths in his books, "Rama". Alsol, I'm thinking of Tibet-set "The Nine Billion Names of God" as an example - sceptics proved wrong. The monoliths in 2001/2010/2061/3001 smack of divine intervention, a benign higher power. "Cradle" (... with Gentry Lee) has that sort of feeling as well.

I think a Rama / Rama II / Rama III sequence would have been internally consistent and maintained the essential mystery that makes the original so wonderful; each time understanding advances only slightly, leaving the essential secrets intact and raising fresh questions. But that's another thread, "Best Sci-fi books neer written".

[Orsino]

30. While we're at it...

...we might as well make Childhood's End, too, as an antidote to the mindless jingoism of Independence Day.

[YankeyMCC]

33. That book made a definite impact on me

It frankly disturbed me, I was in High School when I read it, feeling as so many teenagers do that I'd pretty much figured out all the important matters in life and what I wanted out of life. (arrogant bastard I was :) )

I picked this up and I remember feeling very well disturbed is the only word I can think to use. "Was that a happy ending?" I fought to myself. "Would I have rather been the guy who took the trip to the alien world or one of the people caught up in the "ascendance"?"

It disturbed me in a very good way got me back on track of self-examination and a little humility.

A powerful message and I think it definitely could be done with today's movie technology, I even think there's likely to be producers and directors who might "get it" and do a reasonable job of translation. But I wonder how successful it would really be? How would US audiences take to such a potentially "disturbing" message (similar to my wondering about the feasibility of doing Red/Green/Blue Mars). US audiences are fine with, even sometimes embrace, "disturbing" messages when they're narrowly confined and/or dealing with only individuals. The message in Childhood's End goes a bit beyond that or maybe just deeper on an individual level than most.

Maybe it would and that would be great, I'm just wondering.

[Emperor_Norton_II]

26. R/G/B Mars & Hollywood

Supposedly, there's a Red Mars miniseries under development. The producer is part of Jim Cameron's stable, and IIRC he owns the film rights for RGB Mars.

[semillama]

3. That guy's other articles are also great reads

like the one on MMORPGs and the Gamer Manifesto.

[phantom power]

5. Forge/Anvil, or how about Darwin's Radio?

That would be a great biological thriller.

[NewHampshireDem]

7. Hello ... No "Neuromancer' trilogy?

I imagine it directed by Joel and Ethan Coen ... not 'Raising Arizona' or 'The Big Lebowski' but 'Blood Simple' or 'Fargo.'

Case is played by Clive Owen, and Molly by Famke Janssen. The show would be stolen, though, by Billy Bob Thorton as Armitage.

Or, perhaps, have Doug Liman of 'The Bourne Identity' direct and cast Matt Damon and Franke Potente :shrug:

[blindpig]

9. Considering the film industry's record of turning gold into dross

I pass.

Geez, Dune, LOTR, HitchHiker's Guide, I really can't take it anymore. Perhaps if they stick to short stories, Blade Runner comes to mind, then the mediums inherient short attention span might work.

Can you think of one SF/Fantasy novel that hasn't been abused by film treatment?

( I know I'm in the minority concerning LOTR. Tough. It wasn't terrible but it was damn disappointing.)

Now if the job could be done competently(it can't) I used to think Delaney's Nova would be cool, but nevermind.

On Edit: Yeah, HitchHiker's started as a BBC radio play, most excellent. It was also done for TV by the BBC, also excellent considering the budget, not unlike Dr Who. The recent film was grossly inferior to either of those offerings, much less the book.

[Taxloss]

10. You're mostly right about the record of book -> film adaptations, but ...

... there are some notable exceptions. "2001" springs to mind, but the book and the screenplay were developed in tandem, so it is disqualified on a technicality.

Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale" became a fairly good, if obscure, film.

John Wyndham's "Village of the Damned" was turned into the excellent "The Midwich Cuckoos".

HG Wells' "The Shape of Things to Come" and "The Time Machine" have both had decent films made of them.

I would also nominate "Jurassic Park" and "The Andromeda Strain" from Michael Crichton - both excellent books, and the film versions are good.

I thought Robert Zemeckis' "Contact" was a reasonable stab at Carl Sagan's book, but I appreciate that I'm in the minority there.

[blindpig]

13. Ok, we got some agreement. Some not.

Handmaid's Tale was pretty well done, the casting was genius.

I remember a B&W Village of the Damned, was that the only one? Good as I recall, but that was a long time ago. What about Triffids? Lacking in depth, I think.

About Wells, I don't think a satisfactory film could be made from Shapes though it was interesting in a jangled sort of way. Time Machine was OK for the 60's I guess but the most recent left me cold.

Jurassic Park was great eye candy but junk science with a cheezy plot. I'll have to admit that bringing those old museum dioramas to life was worth the price of admission for an old time dino freak like me.

[Taxloss]

17. I've got a lot of time for "Jurassic Park", the film.

The story arcs beautifully, internally consistent, never a dull moment. The effects are also carefully employed, like in "Close Encounters", so that while you get the all-out CGI bonanzas (like the T Rex chase), some of the best moments are done very subtly - the vibrations in the glass of water, the goat disappearing, the mist formed by a raptor's breath on a window, the falling ladle, and so on.

It's also quite funny, which helps a lot. Sure, it's junk science and pure box office, but boy is it done well. It will never be considered great art, but it's great entertainment and IMHO will have lasting appeal.

The B&W version of Village was the only one ever made; probably due for a remake now, after they did Stepford Wives.

[NewHampshireDem]

14. A Couple of other classics as well, though not sure all would agree

These two are on the periphery of sci-fi:

A Clockwork Orange--probably the only perfect film ever made.

The Last Man on Earth--the Vincent Price version of Richard Matheson's 'I am Legend,' which was also the basis for the much-inferior but still entertaining 'Omega Man,' with Chuck Heston.

BTW, I agree with you on 'Handmaid's' and 'Andromeda,' though 'Handmaid's' wasn't really all that difficult to adapt, IMHO.

[Taxloss]

16. You're right about the "I am Legend" adaptations.

Have you seen Romero's "Land of the Dead"? I can't help but feel that it references "The Omega Man", and much else besides.

"The Handmaid's Tale" film had to skip a lot of detail and background, which could have fatally weakened it, but the screenplay hangs together well.

"Andromeda" is a GREAT film. A really strong adaptation. Innovatively shot as well - the opening sequence is brilliant.

[NewHampshireDem]

18. Haven't seen any of the updated 'Dead' movies

I didn't really see a need for them :shrug: And especially after '28 Days Later,' I don't see much need to ever make another zombie movie again ... IMHO, '28' is the pinnacle of the genre.

[Taxloss]

19. I think the director's cut of the updated "Dawn" is great.

But then, I love zombie films. "Land" is also pretty good, some fantastic Romero touches of humour, and he wears his politics on his sleeve. (I wrote a tongue-in-cheek Marxist interpretation of "Land" for a fanzine. It wasn't very funny.)

I'm surprised that you think so highly of "28", although it's a great film.

For me the pinnacle of the genre is "Shaun of the Dead" ...

[NewHampshireDem]

20. 'Shaun' is terrific, but in its own special way

Why is it that the British get movies like 'Shaun' and sitcoms like 'Coupling' and 'The Office' and we get crap like 'Scary Movie' and sitcoms like 'Coupling' and 'The Office'? (Alright, the US version of 'The Office' is starting to hit its stride, but it is still a vastly inferior product.)

I'd like to see 'Shaun' director Edgar Wright take on Maxx Barry's 'Jennifer Government.'

[cdsilv]

21. Larry Niven's Known Space/Ringworld series....n/t

[Swede]

22. "The Stars my Destination" would make a great film.

Gully Foyle is my name
and Terra is my nation
outer space is my dwelling place,
and the stars my destination.

[Sabriel]

23. My wish list includes Jumper and Emergence

Two that I think would make great action movies.

[salvorhardin]

24. Asimov's Caves of Steel

Oh wait... they already did that. Sort of. Squished and mashed it into I, Robot. Too bad, I always thought that was so cinematic right from the beginning.

[YankeyMCC]

27. They need to try again

I'll admit I kinda enjoyed the "I, Robot" movie but only as a bit of fun and only by "disassociating it" so to speak in my mind with Asimov's work.

But a more faithful - and I'm not one to be a stickler that ever detail of the book be brought into a movie version I understand there needs to be modifications to make a quality film even of a quality book - version needs to be done.

Caves has great potential as a movie I think. There's already some good action scenes that a movie would require and plenty of room for expanding that stuff without ruining the story, the biggest adjustment might be the love story angle that holloywood movies usually require. How to set it up so that they could potentially have profitable sequels would be tricky for today's US audience. I mean if they play up a strong love story with Baley and wife in Caves how do they play up the love story with the Spacer woman in the next two stories. ;) Maybe if they just kill off Jessie at the beginning of "Naked Sun" ;)

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

25. Farmer's Riverworld...

I know, SciFi channel had a chance and butchered it. Give it to a real screenwriter and director with a budget.

I'd also like to see Stranger in a Strange Land.

Great ones? A Boy and his Dog, Slaughterhouse Five.

[Orsino]

28. Asimov's I, ROBOT

I'm not dissing the Will Smith movie, which I sort of enjoyed--it just had nothing to do with the book. I'm mourning the loss of the Harlan Ellison screenplay (which was published in a wonderful illustrated book).

[salvorhardin]

32. Like I said in my post above

They sort of mashed I, Robot and Caves of Steel into one movie. What was surprising to me was that it was actually pretty good. Still, I'd love to see each story stand on its' own. I've been meaning to acquire the Ellison screenplay.

Hmm... who would be best to play R. Daneel Olivaw?

[Orsino]

31. Since they've made STARSHIP TROOPERS...

...sort of, we need the antidote. The time may never be more right to film Haldeman's The Forever War.

[SheilaT]

34. The problem with science fiction movies

is that they're made by people who know how to make movies, but generally know absolutely nothing about science fiction. Other than the movies. They need to read more of the original stuff.

There are a lot of "classic" s-f novels that would be fantastic movies, if done right.

I would love to see Asimov's The End of Eternity as a film, especially as we easily have the special effects technology to make it believable.

A lot of Heinlein would film well, again if done right. Time for the Stars, Door Into Summer, Tunnel in the Sky are just a few that I'd love to see. Yes, we'd need to update them, but in the hands of the right person, the flavor of those books could be captured.

I personally think that Twelve Monkeys is the most purely science-fictional movie ever made.

edits to clean up italics

[ikri]

35. There's a few I wouldn't mind seeing

An actual, well made and well acted version of Frank Herbert's Dune. The mini-series of both Dune, then Dune Messiah + Children of Dune were pretty good, if you could just delete the scenes with the woeful actor who portrayed Gurney Halleck. The actors from the Lynch version combined with the story, and length, of the mini-series would be damned near perfect.

I could see a good film trilogy developing from Peter F. Hamilton's Night's Dawn trilogy.

Whilst I can't see a film version ever working, a TV adaptation like the treatment given to Battlestar Galactica recently could work very well for David Brin's Uplift series.

*edit* Damn! Forgot one. I know that a lot of people have a problem with some of his views, but I'd love to see Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game made into a film finally. Though I'd hope that if it is ever made they include a lot of detail from the Ender's Shadow series, since they're better stories than the first set.

[tlsmith1963]

36. Babylon 5:The Movie

It's not like J. Michael Straczynski didn't try, but we never got a B5 film on the big screen. And now that two of the main cast-members have passed away (Richard Biggs & Andreas Katsulas), it will probably never happen, ever.:cry:

Tammy

[bain_sidhe]

37. Stainless Steel Rat

By Harry Harrison.

Action, explosions, love story, humor, a lovable con man and his lovable psychotic wife -- it's got it all.

[CrownPrinceBandar]

38. My list......

(revised from a similar thread I started ages ago)

1. Hyperion & Fall of Hyperion - A space opera that would not only be absolute eye-candy, but a coherent story with good characters who fuzz the line between good/evil. Sadly, probably not salable. I doubt none but the geekiest amongst us would either pay the money to see or have the patience to sit through it. However, that hasn't stopped the rumors of the story going to screen - this time with DiCaprio having his hands in the mix.

2. God Emperor of Dune - Best Dune story after the original. The special effects guys could have a field day with this one.

3. Lucifer's Hammer - Its been long enough since the "Armageddon" suckfest and the "Deep Impact" mediocrity to do it right this time. The comet DOES hit Earth, it all goes to shit, and we see folks dealing with the aftermath. No, not uplifting but it represents the best chance to see a Niven/Pournelle story on the big screen. "The Mote in God's Eye" would be the better story, but it has many of the same public appeal problems as the first story on my list.

BTW, the rumor mill has it that some studios are mulling over the idea of cinema-izing "The Forge of God".
http://www.countingdown.com/movies/843483