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V for Vendetta Going to Hollywood
gludington writes "Alan Moore's "other" early masterpiece, V for Vendetta, is in early pre-production. Joel Silver and the Wachowski brothers will produce for Warner Brothers, and Natalie Portman will play Evey Hammond. The rest of the movie is as yet uncast (and unwritten), so release dates on the article and the imdb entry should be taken with a sizable grain of salt."
A little salt is just the thing to liven up a bowl of hot grits.
You know what?
The real challange is to see which sucks more, this or the movie version of Watchman.
- Crow T. Trollbot
So there will be Calvinist overtones divided into three parts, the first of which will be revolutionary and mind-blowing. The second will be an advancement, more action, have lots of confusing theology, and twins (albino). The third part of the movie will suck...but have the longest "die already!!!" scene ever.
Oh, and due to the whole pandering-to-the-audience thing they seem to be infamous for, there will be a scene with Portman and hot grits.
Joel Silver and the Wachowski brothers will produce for Warner Brothers
Don't you mean the Wachowski Siblings?
I need to read this quick so I'll know what to hate about the movie when it comes out!
Thinkin' Lincoln - a web comic of presidential proportions
Okay, Stupid. RTFA.
From said article: "Synopsis: A powerful story about loss of freedom and individuality, V for Vendetta takes place in a totalitarian England following a devastating war that changed the face of the planet. In a world without political freedom, personal freedom and precious little faith in anything comes a mysterious man in a white porcelain mask who fights political oppressors through terrorism and seemingly absurd acts. It's a gripping tale of the blurred lines between ideological good and evil."
and furthermore: "An adaptation of Alan Moore's graphic novel of the same name, the action-heavy script was written by the "Matrix" writers."
Alright, one liners for Larry/Linda:
If that's what the blue pill does to you, I'll take the red pill ANY day.
Even if he looks as good as that lady in the red dress, I still wouldn't want to arrange a meeting.
How does he know what chicken tastes like...oh, nevermind.
I can only show you the closet door, you must come out of it on your own.
If he's the guide, I really don't think I want to find out how far his rabbit hole goes.
The matrix used a lot of console-based stuff, but I bet if he had his way, there'd be a lot of click and Drag.
Hey isn't he signing up to do the next Transformers movie? Certainly more than meets the eye.
Agh, not another Moore documentary.
I'm going to take the opportunity to respond to one thing you said while ignoring most of the troll portion:
"grow up and realize that Sailor Moon and X-Men are not literature"
While I agree that most "comics" are not literature, there is a fine distinction between comics as entertainment and comics as art form. A good friend of mine presented his graphic arts thesis - a four foot high series of comic panels. I don't like the word comic because it naturally implies humor. So the term I've started to use is "graphic novels."
I don't consider serials or regular comic books to be graphic novels. But looking at something like the Pulitzer Prize winning Maus by Art Spiegelman, you see that it's not all funny or action-related. I read that when I was in seventh grade, just a year after it came out. I picked it up thinking it was a comic book... it's not.
I just read Blankets by Craig Thompson. I got sucked in and a few hours later it was all over. Most normal books don't have the emotional impact that his work does.
Graphic novels try to bridge the gap between literature and visual art. It's not often that they really succeed, but when they do it can be far more effective than a regular novel.
I really hope they don't fuck with the storyline and the politics of this classic. Alan Moore is one of my favorite political writers, and it'd be a shame if this is given the same treatment as "From Hell" was.
If you don't know, V for Vendetta was about an anarchist (in the classical theoretical sense, not the bs modern punk rock sense) revolutionary who uses "terrorist" tactics to save Britain from fascism. It's not something that I see Hollywood understanding, even though I think most people would understand why the tactics were used, and the politics behind them.
In the book, V straddles the line between anarchist and vanguard, taking actions into his own hands, but with the express purpose of encouraging the people to fight back. It's not about an anarcho-socialist utopia, it recognizes the compromises that an anarchist would have to make in dire circumstances.
And ultimately, it's really, really fucking cool. Please, hollywood, please don't fuck it up.
Natalie Portman is Evey is unexpected but perfect casting.
She actually played a similar role in her first movie, the brilliant Leon (aka The Professional). Both Evey in V and Mathilda in Leon are young girls forced to grow up before their time by the harsh world they live in, and who form an intimate relationship with a cold blooded but sympathetic killer.
a world in progress...
...You may remember me from such movies as "M is for Murderousness"...
The problem I see with this movie is that the original storyline may not seem particularly amusing for the current political and moral environment.
Right now the preview says: "a mysterious man in a white porcelain mask who fights political oppressors through terrorism and seemingly absurd acts", but this description doesn't fit the darker spirit of the original.
While the description does mention terrorism, V is much more complex than that, as described in several reviews and analysis, like this one. Thus I'm expecting that along the road, V will be transformed into some kind of "masked avenger" or Batman-like superhero, better suited for the post-9/11 era.
I don't expect the movie to portrait V blowing up government buildings, killing policemen and a priest, questioning Justice and promoting Anarchy, like in the original. So, what's the point of adapting it? If these Wachowski guys want some story about oppression, they'd be better off adapting Cinderella for that matter.
If it's changed in such a way, it will be ironic that a story that shows a world of totalitarianism and lack of freedom won't be translated verbatim into another medium because of issues with "political correctness".
- Otaku no naka no otaku, otaking da!!!