Anyone read "The Dark Is Rising" series...

[AbbyR]

and if so, do you know why no one has snapped these up for a movie? I think they would be great, especially with the popularity of Harry Potter, Narnia and Lord of the Rings.

[Matilda]

1. I don't understand why the series isn't more popular.

I originally bought them to read to my daughter, and we both loved them.
Even my son, who's not much of a reader, has enjoyed them.

Susan Cooper's a very good writer, and she's really researched the
mythology as well, but many people have never heard of her. Very
puzzling.

[XemaSab]

2. Finished reading them a few weeks ago

There's some good stuff in there. I like how the plot winds in and out and finally comes together at the end.

[Lisa]

3. I read them when I was growing up ...

It was around the time the series was being written, and I would be waiting impatiently for the next one to come out. (This was before the Harry Potter phenomenon, so there was no fanfare in the news.)

I read a couple of the books over again during the holidays -- they've held up better than many of the other books I encountered, >20 years ago. I wonder if George Lucas has seen them too? In the last Star Wars movie, he mentioned that "only the Sith think in absolutes", and Merriman said something similar, to explain why the Dark would only use horses which were entirely black, or white.

[LWolf]

4. I've read them a couple of times.

It's ok with me if every good book doesn't become a movie. I'd like it if people had to curl up, get cozy, turn pages, and engage their brains with written language some of the time. It's good exercise for the brain. ;-)

[XemaSab]

5. I have no idea...

:shrug:

[jean]

6. The movie will be released 7 Oct 2007

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0484562/

The Dark Is Rising (film)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Is_Rising_%28film%29

[Matilda]

7. Oh dear! Did you read about the director of the film?

David Cunningham - he's mostly done documentaries, but was also the director of "Path to 9/11",
and is a former member of the right-wing fundy group, Youth With A Mission.

This doesn't fill me with confidence.

[jean]

8. no ... and ::cringe:: his touch on this wonderful story is NOT good news

[LWolf]

9. It HAS been snapped up for a movie,

or so I assume. I saw a preview for a "Dark is Rising" movie when I went to see OOTP a week ago. I was surprised; I haven't heard anything about it, and, frankly, the preview didn't bear any relation to what I remember about the series.

It's been 3-4 years since I read them, though. I'm planning to reread soon; I'll pick them up the next trip I make in to my classroom this summer. I left them in my classroom library.

[Matilda]

10. See the posts above regarding the director ...

If he's taken a Christian fundamentalist approach, he will get it totally
wrong.

I think I'll stick with the books.