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Joe Cornish To Write and Direct Snow Crash Movie
SomePgmr tips this quote from Geek.com:
"Fans of the cyberpunk novel Snow Crash have reason to rejoice today, as it's been announced that the film adaptation of Neal Stephenson's classic has been revived once again, this time with an exciting writer and director at the helm in the form of Joe Cornish. Cornish is known for his recent sci-fi alien invasion flick Attack the Block, which was filmed and released in the UK by the same studio that put out Shaun of the Dead. Cornish's first film came to the U.S. in a limited release in 2011 and did well enough that Paramount took notice and pursued Cornish for the Snow Crash project."
this doesn't crash and burn
Is Stephenson going to write a new ending for the movie? As I recall the book didn't really have one in the first place.
Odds they make Y.T. a 15 year old girl? Zero.
I was hoping this would have been picked up by the Wachowski brothers. It would have been great to see what they could do with this.
If they don't cast The Rock as Raven I will be very disappointed. And still see it opening night.
Really? Going by recent Hollywood works, I'm amazed it isn't going to be directed by Michael Bay and star Keanu Reeves.
When someone says, "Any fool can see
But I didn't pick it on my voting ballot. I think I picked "Doomsday Book" instead. (Oh and also Babylon 5's "Coming of Shadows".) I was unimpressed by the novel, and thought it very depressing. Like film noire; another genre I've never enjoyed.
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Don't put Tom Cruise in it. We don't wish to see Snowcrash Impossible
What was wrong with Attack the Block? Good idea and well executed enough to be entertaining. Shaun of the Dead, now there's a naff film!
Everyone listens to Reason.
This could be very good. Joe Cornish appears in both Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz (OK, in Shaun it's as "uncredited zombie") and seems to have much the same interests and outlook on life as Simon Pegg and Nick Frost.
I can see The Deliverators run being done as a Bond style pre-credits sequence and being awesome...
Seeing as how screenplays for Snow Crash have been kicking around almost as long as the book itself, I'm amazed it finally got picked up. Still, I don't have high hopes. What made the book great for me were the odd turns of phrase, the staccato pacing, and the entirely correct number of giant penis avatars wandering around The Street.
How are they going to represent Vitaly Chernobyl's Nuclear Fuzz Grunge? Are we going to get the glorious Nipponese rap styling of Sushi-K?
How much in the future will this take place? Are they going to whitewash Hiro?
Obviously, these are all rhetorical and after what Disney did to John Carter of Mars... well.
Unfortunately, people now will be completely nonplussed when they see the app.
> I want to see some awesome skating scenes (featuring pooning an electric car going its top speed of 10 mph)
...but I thought SkiFree. "They're making a movie of some Flash game? Well, wouldn't be the first time I suppose..."
Re:Am I the ony one who didn't like Snow Crash? Yes
No you're not the only one. I read it when it was a Hugo nominee, but was unimpressed by the novel, and thought it very depressing. Like film noire (black film) which is another genre I've never enjoyed.
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No, it was crap. it felt like johnny mnemonic the movie.
Nuff said.
The Moore-Murphy Law: The number of things that will go wrong will double every 2 years.
As great as Attack the Block and Shaun of the Dead were, I'm not sure how that experience translates into directing Snow Crash. And, while direction is certainly important, I think for a movie like this all the important bits are tied up in the screenplay and the acting. I really hope this turns out to be amazing, but I have little expectation it will. Hopefully Mr. Stephenson is heavily involved with all aspects and can guide his baby safely.
Okay ... . Now you've peaked my curiosity.
Why, exactly, did you feel the need to explain to world+dog that film noire translated as black film? I'm hoping you know that some of the best films ever made, include Blade Runner, are in the film noire 'style'.
I just get this feeling that you think Shaft is film noire, and I've had enough headaches today.
It was a like an Ritalin-addicts pastiche of William Gibson.
Hah, there is no accounting for personal taste. That tagline would sell me any book that bore it.
STEPHEN!
The book definitely has no shortage of movie-worthy scenes, but it's gonna take a really good director to string it all together.
I randomly picked up snowcrash as a teenager, no idea who wrote it or anything. I just liked the computer-ness of the synopsis.
As I read it, I began to love it more and more, because of its basic ideas of the future of internet. Oddly enough, second life pretty much put his idea in place. To me this makes the book even more hilarous..and it makes me wonder what other possibilities that sci-fi writers think of might come to truth (3 organizations owning the world, ugly/limited internet access for the poor)
I also liked the idea of the church re-programming someone using tongues. lol
Personally, snow crash is on my list of lifetime favorites.
Love the novel. Excellent work, but can we ask a favor of mr Cornish?
Can you change his name?
Hiro Protagonist is just...............
That's "piqued".
I think he figured out proper grammar at some point.
The stories are awesome, but the writing didn't lend itself to much of anything.
It was a parody.
Maybe GP meant that this is the most curious they have ever been?
Or even better, a Tron Legacy alike where only the bits in cyberspace are in 3D. I realise that's not what Tron Legacy actually did, but it's what they should have done.
To each his own I guess. I loved Snow Crash, and Cryptonomicon might be my all-time favorite book. However, I gave up on the Baroque Cycle very early, as I found it too be too wordy and slow -- a tough slog.
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I took a class in Mandarin, and was sorely disappointed to learn that KFC is not actually called the "House of the Ancient and Inscrutable Colonel".
Well, apparently, you only have to fool the majority of people for a little while.
The beginning is trying way too hard, but it smooths out for the rest. I almost quit. It's not a great novel, but better than the beginning implies.
I tried to read it, but couldn't get past the first 100 pages. It was trying soooooo hard to be cool & edgy it turned me off.
Never thought about it before, but now that you mention it I think it's a bit tounge-in-cheek. Works out well with that in mind. Although I never cared much for Gibson ...
I read this shortly after reading Neuromancer, and it paled by comparison for me. Never understood the hype either and I had to force myself to finish it. It just felt kind fo goofy. Not to knock anyone who enjoyed it.
It's going to be tough. There's too much in that book to cram into a movie, and most of it contributes to the main plot. What to cut?
Probably most of the virtual reality. VR was more promising in 1992 than it is now. It's been way overdone in movies. Show Hiro in gloves and goggles gear in his storage space, and others briefly in similar gear when appropriate, but spend little screen time on VR.
Use Juanita Marquez, Hiro's ex-girlfriend and linguist/mythologist , as the designated explainer for the psycho-religious stuff. Somebody has to do that job.
If they're lucky, they might be able to get Chloe Grace Moretz ("Hit Girl") as Y.T. That's the toughest casting decision. Any of the usual big hunks can play Raven. A number of older actors could play Uncle Enzo. Ng is a CG character. No idea who should play Hiro.
Fuck you for spamming off-topic bullshit.
That's a few too many degrees of separation to really give it a good pedigree.
Not that this means it will be a bad film. There are plenty of great directors that we haven't yet heard of. Just feel that trying to tell us who he is is pointless.
You are both wrong.
Plus the needle? Definitely not, which is almost a shame since for such a bizarre scene that could have so easily gone wrong it ended up as one of the most oddly funny and entertaining ones of the book.
Don't let Lindelof get near your script and you might have a chance.
Joe Cornish was also one of the 2 screenwriters on Adventures of Tintin (meh). But better known in the UK as half of 'Adam & Joe' of TV long past and radio (but not recently). Podcasts here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/adamandjoe
I enjoy the podcasts, and would (selfishly) rather that he returned to radio than futz about in Hollywood. They probably pay better than the BBC, though.
I found the writing to be horribly flawed, but he threw such fun ideas at me so fast that I didn't care. From Rat Thing to Reason to pizza delivery to smart wheels to the whole Sumerian language thing, to name only a few.
The living have better things to do than to continue hating the dead.
Khal Drogo, only needs massively thicker neck.
Okay ... . Now you've peaked my curiosity.
Why, exactly, did you feel the need to explain to world+dog that film noire translated as black film? I'm hoping you know that some of the best films ever made, include Blade Runner, are in the film noire 'style'.
I just get this feeling that you think Shaft is film noire, and I've had enough headaches today.
Technically speaking, 'film noir' does mean 'black film' in French. Of course this only applies if you assume that it is a term that needs to be translated, it really doesn't.
Admit nothing. Deny Everything. Make Counter-accusations.
Hans Zimmer please.
Of all the Stephenson novels to be made into film, why Snow Crash?
Zodiac is perfect for cinema in terms of scope, relevance, and length. When I read it I thought, "this would lend itself to a screenplay."
Cryptonomicon. Just wow. It could be a cornerstone of 21st century cinema if it was done right.
And the Baroque Cycle. It would have to be a trilogy like LotR, but IMO it's far more easily adapted for the screen than Snow Crash. Or at least, it has more of a mainstream appeal. (Come on, the penultimate climax scene where Peter the Great, Isaac Newon, Baron Leibniz, and Daniel Waterhouse come together is epic.)
Finally. Diamond Age. If there was one C-Punk movie I could ask to be made into a film, by a devoted producer/director, it would be The Diamond Age: Or, A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer. Really, it's like the Ender's Game of cyberpunk.
The only reason it's Snow Crash is because that title sold more copies. Pure and simple. Name recognition = box office sales. Nothing else matters in Hollywood these days.
I can see the fnords!
tldr; Flop.
MC's preliminary review of the movie adaption of this iconic novel is: 2 1/2 Stallmans and an opening weekend of $382,000. Fail.
Give me a mainstream writer/director with a big budget any day. Not six degrees of separation between the director and success. Dragonlance all over again.
MC
/. finds me to be 20% Troll, 80% Funny
Or at least, it has more of a mainstream appeal. (Come on, the penultimate climax scene where Peter the Great, Isaac Newon, Baron Leibniz, and Daniel Waterhouse come together is epic.)
Rereading my post, these two sentences don't go together. I mean what I say in both, but the latter doesn't follow the former.
Mainstream Appeal = Eliza's beauty and intelligence and devotion... her courage and almost all of her scenes in Versailles... she's a great character for cinema. (Not sure if the scene with the sheep's intestine will make it past the ratings board but who knows.) Also, almost all of the chapters featuring Jack and Bob Shaftoe. Many of the Waterhouse chapters are not cut out for film, but then something's gonna have to be abbreviated for film.
Geek Appeal = All of the chapters featuring Newton and/or Leibniz. What geek wouldn't want to see a film dramatizing the rivalry between the two inventors of the calculus, especially with the kind of flourishes added by Stephenson?
I can see the fnords!
Hiro Protagonist - Hologram Tupac
Y.T. - Flo from Progressive Insurance
Raven - Peter Dinklage
Rife - Michael J. Fox
Juanita - Sarah Jessica Parker
...Neuromancer.
WWJD -- What Would Jimi Do?
(Smash amp, burn guitar, take home the groupies)
they could make a pretty good movie based on snow crash but so many of the ideas would just not translate to screen or just look plain retarded.
This is a joke. I am joking. Joke joke joke.
I can't see it fitting into less than a TV series. It probably wouldn't cost a huge amount to make since a lot of stuff for WWII movies is still around, and it wouldn't need "name" actors, just experienced ones.
>>>that film noire translated as black film?
For the same reason I translate "felo de se" to "act of suicide" when I am quoting Thomas Jefferson's comments about the Supreme Court. And no I didn't really like Blade Runner. I don't think life is such a sucky mess that the main character had to mope-around like one of the Twilight vampire. (Frankly I think the cop should have taken some prozac or something, because that's just not normal behavior.)
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Cryptonomicon would make an awesome movie.
As for turning cyberpunk into films, forget Snow Crash, go with the original (and still one of the best IMO) and make Neuromancer into a film. Now THAT'S a film I would pay to go and see. (I would love to see how the CGI guys interpret the Kuang virus and Tessier-Ashpool data cores). Plus, if its successful they can move on and make Count Zero and Mona Lisa Overdrive.
Why not Tiger Woods for Hiro? "Hiro" was the first thing I though back in the day when Tiger was just becoming known.
"You saved 1968." - Ms. Valerie Pringle to the crew of Apollo 8
His books are "story, as a string of awesome anecdotes." I mean, anyone who can go on for pages about how to eat Captain Crunch cereal......
"You saved 1968." - Ms. Valerie Pringle to the crew of Apollo 8
Also, Cryptonomicon suffered from "don't know how to end it, so it just stops in the last few pages" even more so than Snow Crash. He's getting better, but he still needs to learn how to write an ending. Anathem probably was his best effort at a decent ending. Reamde had that stupid cat.
"You saved 1968." - Ms. Valerie Pringle to the crew of Apollo 8
That's very odd, given that it is generally considered a parody of cyberpunk, and thus is supposed to be *funny*, not depressing.
...in my imagination, when I read the printed page. In no way do I need a film to be made. How about making a movie with an original story instead?
Well for one thing, Tiger isn't an actor. He also just seems like a nice guy (despite his indiscretions), not a swashbuckler-Mafia-pizza type.
Stephenson said he had Roland Gift from Fine Young Cannibals pictured when he wrote Hiro, but Roland is also not an actor (despite his acting career). He's also English, not American. And he's old now. But he can handle a sword - he proved that as Xavier on Highlander: The Series.
Fans will certainly be interested to see what happens, but "rejoice? Maybe it will turn out to be the next Blade Runner, but the most likely outcomes are 1) it stays in development hell or 2) is changed beyond recognition and dumbed down into a generic (3D!) action movie.
Snow Crash the movie, nice!
Zodiac the TV series or movie would be nice as well...
Just saying.
Okay ... . Now you've peaked my curiosity.
Why, exactly, did you feel the need to explain to world+dog that film noire translated as black film?
Well, at least he didn't confuse peak and pique.
It would have to be a 30-60 hour TV series to be close to the original, at least 12 hours even after massive cuts. It would have to have a lot of work done to make it filmable at all. The connections and deeper points of the book make Lost seem almost straightforward. It has a gazillion characters and dozens of locations. The jumping around between different storylines would be a bitch to make work on screen, too. The parts that appeal to one audience run a risk of losing the others rather than broadening the appeal. It practically requires Johnny Depp to play Jack Shaftoe, or at least someone who doesn't mind being accused of imitating him. The best choices for Eliza wouldn't be cheap either (Keira Knightly, Natalie Portman). There would be many difficult-to-cast roles, several of which would have to be cast multiple times at different ages.
I'd like to see it, but it would be a huge, expensive risky project.
"Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?" - Patrick Henry
I can't see it fitting into less than a TV series. It probably wouldn't cost a huge amount to make since a lot of stuff for WWII movies is still around, and it wouldn't need "name" actors, just experienced ones.
It would probably be very expensive - many of the cinematically interesting scenes involve a lot of water, which makes budgets skyrocket. (See James Cameron, The Abyss and Titanic).
Exactly. There is a lot of great stuff of Stephenson's, but they would be very wise to start with the book that got me and everyone I know into his work: Snow Crash. Its popular, its accessible, and its got several scenes with lots of visual flare.
Making this movie opens the gates for several of his other books to become movies, especially if they market a lot of it with Stephenson's name on it.
No, he's not. Poor character development, no shades of gray, and very forgetable. A lame novel that reminds me, with a few great exceptions, that sci-fi is a good place to for second rate writers to gain adulation and a living.
I took is as grand satire, merciless in ridiculing its targets, and I laughed most of the way through it.
His books are "story, as a string of awesome anecdotes." I mean, anyone who can go on for pages about how to eat Captain Crunch cereal......
Translation: He needs a fucking editor to hold his head underwater until he learns how to stitch a story together and wrap it up properly.
There were some great concepts in Snow Crash, but the execution and pacing was just horrid.
Wolde you bothe eate your cake, and have your cake?
It's already been written, why would it need a writer?
For the same reason I translate "felo de se" to "act of suicide" when I am quoting Thomas Jefferson's comments about the Supreme Court.
And that reason would be...? I've never heard of "felo de se" before, but I have heard of "film noire", which is a loan phrase from French. Is "felo de se" also a loan phrase from some other language? Do you also translate sushi, kamikaze, sashimi, schadenfreude, reich, bratwurst, and other loan words?
Again, genuinely curious.
I hope it happens, Snow Crash is one of my favourite books of all time.
The Diamond Age would also be an incredible film too; if the Syfy Channel miniseries doesn't materialise, or even if...
And to top off a(non-Gibson) cyber-punk trilogy/cycle, I'd vote for a film adaptation of Only Forward by Michael Marshall Smith.
(Minor Spoiler) There is one plot point from The System of the World which is critical to the narrative, but IMHO unfilmable. Specifically around the character of Sean Partry. I've been racking my brains and I can't see how you'd do it.
If you didn't know who Sean Partry really was all along, or at least suspect it, then you weren't reading very closely.
If you really wanted to film it to preserve the surprise, then you could have had the character pick up some art of disguise tips from-- oh, who was it? Enoch Root? Then you could have a classic scooby doo moment where Partry pulls of his mask and reveals himself to be....
I can see the fnords!
I'm thinking that scene where Raven forces himself on the teen Hiro whilst implanted sedative needles are injected into his unmentionables.
I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that is going to get cut...
Try to get past it - it picks up quite a bit and it's really a good read.