I own a copy of the paperback you have pictured in my library.
I also wonder who has watched the previous movie of this book which was aired on TV years ago.I own a copy of that film too.
Since we now live in such a PC world I hate to be pessimistic but i must as I do strongly feel that this movie will in the end be another Hollywood rape job.
DiCaprio is tall? This must be some strange definition of the word "tall" I wasn't previously aware of. ( The interwebs say 5'11" - 6', not tiny, but at best avg. from here in Texas. )
@MonkeyT: According to Wikipedia, the average height for Euros/Anglos is around 5'9"-5'10". So, just above average.
(Except Canadians oddly! They're little shorties at around 5'8"! Either that or they are just more honest in their measurements.)
@MonkeyT: Exactly. When I picture DiCaprio I don't see him as tall at all. He isn't one of those overly brawny types which may help. I think that he will do the part justice.
As a child this was one of my favourite reads. I hope that hollywood finally gets it right.
Good Ford, I wonder how this will turn out. They’ll have to change or add quite a bit, as I seem to remember the book being mostly idea and dialogue based. Not exactly the action-packed, explosion-filled thriller that seems to be what most people are interested in.
I am wondering how they'll do the feelies though.
@RandomFrequentFlierDent: I imagine they will definitely leave out the helicopter feelie - too much racial tension will be brought up by that, even if it is faithful to the book. They will also alter the Savage Reservation (again, political correctness will rule the day), which is unfortunate, since it is the contrast between the two extremes that emphasizes the theme.
@RavenNemain: I'm guessing they will simply de-racialize it, but keep everything else just as extreme. They will still be "savage" and "primitive" people, but there is no need to make it pseudo-Pueblo. In fact, putting "political correctness" aside entirely, the idea of the reservation savage, in the way that Huxley portrayed it, only makes sense in the same way that writers generally understand the future in reference to the present. In other words, it's an imagery that might have had some resonance for an author who was an impressionable child when Geronimo was still a living legend, but it has no resonance or basis in "reality" (and those quotes are doing a lot of work) for a contemporary imagining of the future.
@92BuickLeSabre: While the specifics may lack the same relevance, the concept of two polar opposite societies, each eqeually extreme in its own way, and neither being the utopia thei believe themselves to be, is very important. I have no complaints if they de-racialize everything, so long as they keep the idea of these two extremes, otherwise much of the message is lost. It is the dichotomy of the two that help give so much meaning to the hint of a real utopias in Iceland and the other exile areas.
@RandomFrequentFlierDent: Yeah, I'm wondering how all the Shakespeare quotes are gonna work in there if they do make it into a bombastic action film.
One thing's for sure, Ford is gonna be really happy about this movie coming out. Free advertising! (Though they'll probably donate a few cars for the inevitable chase scenes.)
I can't be the only person in the world who thinks the society of BNW would actually be an *awesome* place to live....Bioneered to fit your lot in life, filled to the gills 24/7 with soma--I literally cannot see a bad side to this. Personal freedom and accountability and whatnot are all well and good, but I'll gladly trade them for a lifetime of state-engineered comfort.
@Pegritz: I’m guessing that you’re assuming you’d be an Alpha :)
My problem would be the intense censorship. The government has crazy control over what you can read/what kind of science you can study - that’s pretty much everything that is important to me. One week and I’d be leading a solo rebellion against The World State.
Seriously though, I think that bad side is that there is no bad side. Experiencing pain, turmoil, difficulties, conflict and overcoming them or learning from them is a key part of being human. It could be said that the people in Brave New World can’t really appreciate the wonderful society the live in because they have no concept of any other life. That’s why they got so excited by John’s display of violence at the end.
@Pegritz: Seeing as reading is a favorite passtime of mine, and another is conversation about issues, the World State isn't really for me. Also worried about the risk of being deprived of oxygen in-utero, having artificially stunted growth, and being programmed through subliminal messages and electric shocks rather than parents. Call me crazy, but I rather like my family.
Looks like I will be picking up a couple of books this weekend, sounds interesting.
I have faith that Ridley Scott can work it out right. I used to think that DiCaprio was awful, primarily because I was a pre-teen when Titanic came out and girls my age would swoon over him all day. But then I grew up and realized he's a pretty amazing actor. Gilbert Grape knows what I am talking about
@reddingofish: Why not? Maybe one of these days they will get it right, and it will be awesome.
Can't hurt to try.
Or to put it another way, it's not like it's keeping Scott from doing other projects, and it's not like I'm going to be missing out on some other DiCaprio project.
Worst case scenario? It sucks, and someone else tries again in another 20 years.
@92BuickLeSabre: I used to have faith that Ridley Scott could make good movies then I started watching Numb3rs on TV and was very discouraged in his and his brothers abilities.
@reddingofish: Ridley and Tony don't actually do any work on Numb3rs. It's just done by their company and they get a courtesy credit for using their reputations to sell it.
"The 1998 TV movie version of BNW is surprisingly great"
CJ, what the frak are you smoking? They took a huge dump all over the source material, the ending was completely different then the book, Bernard was totally skipped over, and John the Savage was a cowboy hat wearing hick-moron who gets pushed off a cliff by his adoring fans at the end. It was like someone at a copy of the book, then drank appletini's and lemon drops until they puked, and someone filmed the aftermath.
@cash907: In my defense, I read the book in high school. ANd loved it, but the details are a smidge blurry. I guess I'd say I liked the TV movie more than I expected to, but I'm sure you're right about it being a huge deviation from the source material. I just thought it was a fun ride for its own sake, focusing more on Marx as the main character and less on John the Savage.
08/07/09
I also wonder who has watched the previous movie of this book which was aired on TV years ago.I own a copy of that film too.
Since we now live in such a PC world I hate to be pessimistic but i must as I do strongly feel that this movie will in the end be another Hollywood rape job.
08/07/09
08/07/09
(Except Canadians oddly! They're little shorties at around 5'8"! Either that or they are just more honest in their measurements.)
08/07/09
As a child this was one of my favourite reads. I hope that hollywood finally gets it right.
08/07/09
08/07/09
I am wondering how they'll do the feelies though.
08/07/09
08/07/09
08/07/09
08/07/09
In fact, putting "political correctness" aside entirely, the idea of the reservation savage, in the way that Huxley portrayed it, only makes sense in the same way that writers generally understand the future in reference to the present. In other words, it's an imagery that might have had some resonance for an author who was an impressionable child when Geronimo was still a living legend, but it has no resonance or basis in "reality" (and those quotes are doing a lot of work) for a contemporary imagining of the future.
08/07/09
08/07/09
08/07/09
One thing's for sure, Ford is gonna be really happy about this movie coming out. Free advertising! (Though they'll probably donate a few cars for the inevitable chase scenes.)
08/07/09
08/07/09
My problem would be the intense censorship. The government has crazy control over what you can read/what kind of science you can study - that’s pretty much everything that is important to me. One week and I’d be leading a solo rebellion against The World State.
Seriously though, I think that bad side is that there is no bad side. Experiencing pain, turmoil, difficulties, conflict and overcoming them or learning from them is a key part of being human. It could be said that the people in Brave New World can’t really appreciate the wonderful society the live in because they have no concept of any other life. That’s why they got so excited by John’s display of violence at the end.
08/07/09
08/07/09
I have faith that Ridley Scott can work it out right. I used to think that DiCaprio was awful, primarily because I was a pre-teen when Titanic came out and girls my age would swoon over him all day. But then I grew up and realized he's a pretty amazing actor. Gilbert Grape knows what I am talking about
08/07/09
08/07/09
08/07/09
Can't hurt to try.
Or to put it another way, it's not like it's keeping Scott from doing other projects, and it's not like I'm going to be missing out on some other DiCaprio project.
Worst case scenario? It sucks, and someone else tries again in another 20 years.
08/07/09
08/07/09
08/07/09
12/16/08
CJ, what the frak are you smoking? They took a huge dump all over the source material, the ending was completely different then the book, Bernard was totally skipped over, and John the Savage was a cowboy hat wearing hick-moron who gets pushed off a cliff by his adoring fans at the end. It was like someone at a copy of the book, then drank appletini's and lemon drops until they puked, and someone filmed the aftermath.
12/16/08
12/16/08
12/16/08