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HBO Developing Asimov's Foundation Series As TV Show

Posted by Soulskill on from the to-succeed,-planning-alone-is-insufficient dept.

wired_parrot writes: Jonathan Nolan, writer of Interstellar and The Dark Knight, and producer of the TV show "Person of Interest," is teaming up with HBO to bring to screen a new series based on Isaac Asimov's Foundation series of books. This would be the first adaptation of the Hugo-award-winning series of novels to the screen.

34 of 242 comments (clear)

  1. Yes! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Best. News. Ever.

    1. Re:Yes! by Jhon · · Score: 4, Funny

      Good thing it's Asimov and not George R R Martin...

      Hari Seldon would have been killed by a classmate before he ever developed psychohistory.

    2. Re:Yes! by Vlado · · Score: 4, Funny

      How will HBO put boobs in this? Will there be fembots in it? :-)

    3. Re:Yes! by GameMaster · · Score: 2

      ...and Martin would have been killed my old age before he ever finished the final novel.

      --

      Rules of Conduct:
      #1 - The DM is always right.
      #2 - If the DM is wrong, see rule #1
    4. Re:Yes! by Austerity+Empowers · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Foundation was not really prudish, but Asimov really didn't include (any that I recall) blatant sex scenes or sexual themes in his books, at least directly. It was always between the lines, as a means to advance the plot. Similarly the language was pretty clean most of the time. I'm not sure how this fits HBO's M.O. I mean they added MORE sex to Game of Thrones, and the books I think covered almost every variety and perversion attainable without giving characters internet access.

      Foundation to me was always more Star Trek style science fiction, geared towards dreamers and full of hope (even in spite of what psychohistory predicted, and why Foundation existed). In contrast, HBOs other series, though well done, tend to focus on our seedier side. HBO can make a good show, but I wonder if the end product will resemble the series it's based on. Sex won't ruin it, but done the way HBO does it, will certainly be distracting.

    5. Re:Yes! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      One of the reasons for the lack of sex in the Foundation stories is that most of them appeared in Astounding (now Analog) back when Kay Tarrant was John Campbell's assistant. She was well known for not letting any such stuff through in the stories.

      It wouldn't have bothered Asimov, although it'd likely be more masked in double-entendre and implication than anything graphic. After all, this is the guy who wrote "The Dirty Old Man's Guide to Sex" and co-wrote "Limericks: Too Gross".

    6. Re:Yes! by K.+S.+Kyosuke · · Score: 4, Funny

      Well, at least we got to learn that Minister Lizalor's breasts were as massive, firm, and overpoweringly impressive as the Minister herself. ;-)

      --
      Ezekiel 23:20
    7. Re:Yes! by Daniel_Staal · · Score: 3, Informative

      Depends on which books, and where in his career he was. He got fairly blatant around mid-career, although rarely actually explicit. When they say 'Foundation Series' it's open to interpretation on which books are likely meant - The original three were early in his career, and didn't really have much sex in them. The later two (mid-career) at the end have sex as a major plot driver/enabler, and the two prequels (end-career) feature it without making it a huge point. So it depends somewhat on where they start. I'm betting they'll start with the prequels - they have a strong central character, and can lead into the rest without much issue even after he dies. (And a fair amount of sex if they want it.)

      The other point I'd be worried about is violence - the Foundation Series is about the fall of an empire and the rise of a new one, but actual fighting doesn't occur often. There are several places where it looks like it's about to, but then the forces of history make it unnecessary. (Or the populace gets mind-controlled, in one case...) It'd be very tempting for a director of a drama series to ramp up the violence, but it would change a large part of the point of the stories.

      Oh, and in response to a couple levels up: They didn't use robots for sex in the stories. They didn't use robots for anything, in fact. There was a complete ban on higher-level AIs and on humanoid machines, to the level of taboo. (Although there were a few characters who where extremely humanoid robots in the prequels and sequels - and were basically the reason for the bans.)

      --
      'Sensible' is a curse word.
    8. Re:Yes! by Beck_Neard · · Score: 2

      Let's not get too excited. The Foundation setting is a mash-up of ancient Rome anbd 50's sci-fi. The closest thing in contemporary movie culture that captures the same 'feel' would be the original Star Wars trilogy (Lucas cited Asimov and Flash Gordon as a few of his inspirations). I'm not sure it matches with the modern Hollywood sci-fi formula.

      --
      A fool and his hard drive are soon parted.
    9. Re:Yes! by Burz · · Score: 2

      No that would be Gladia Solaria in The Naked Sun and Robots Of Dawn.

    10. Re:Yes! by bakes · · Score: 2

      I'm not sure it matches with the modern Hollywood sci-fi formula.

      Maybe this is exactly why people ARE excited.

      --
      Ho! Haha! Guard! Turn! Parry! Dodge! Spin! Ha! Thrust!
  2. While you're at it... by Dimwit · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Make a Rendezvous With Rama movie, would ya?

    --
    ...but it's being eaten...by some...Linux or something...
    1. Re:While you're at it... by Zedrick · · Score: 2

      And of course I managed to screw up the link:

      http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0134933/

    2. Re:While you're at it... by jonwil · · Score: 2

      William Gibson's Neuromancer should be made into a movie. Just as long as they get the "Cyberspace" stuff right (there are some "cyberspace" type scenes in Jonny Mnemonic that are exactly how it should be done.
      Cryptonomicon is another book deserving of a movie (and with all the current stuff going on, the modern-day parts of the book are scarily topical)

  3. I'm sure it will suck by gander666 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Since the book(s) have all the action in the background, and the big reveal in the post crisis recap, I am sure the movie will suck. The temptation to turn it into a special effects Michael Bay-like cinema enema will ruin the complex story line. But the CGI teams will win a shit-tonne of awards.

    --
    Suppose you were an idiot and suppose you were a member of Congress ... but I repeat myself. - Mark T
    1. Re:I'm sure it will suck by pavon · · Score: 3, Insightful

      This is an HBO series, not a movie. They are big on dramas, not CGI explodaramas. I have my reservations about how well this will translate, but if it sucks it won't be because they turned it into a Michael Bay action shit-fest.

    2. Re:I'm sure it will suck by alexander_686 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It's not the translation of action that I am concerned about. It can be done. Books and movies have different strengths, and "action" is not the strong suit of books. HBO has done a good job. Personally, I think of Jackson's Lord of the Rings / Hobbit movies, where Jackson either extended or invented from scratch action scenes.

      I am more concerned about scope. Each chapter in the Foundation saga is a vignette, a thin slice of time, separated by vast amounts of time. For each seasons they would almost have to fire the entire cast, strike all of the sets, etc. It would have the same problem as anthology shows like the Twilight Zone or Tales from the Crypt. There is a low correlation between a winning episode and a losing episode. Hit upon a great story line or a new great actor and you need to junk it for the next episode. The Twilight Zone was consistently good, but Tales from the Crypt was all over the place.

    3. Re:I'm sure it will suck by Enigma2175 · · Score: 2

      Political drama? HBO has shown they can do those too (and do them well) with West Wing :)

      Am I missing something? Didn't The West Wing air on NBC?

      --

      Enigma

  4. Re:There's gonna be high expecations from Asimov f by XxtraLarGe · · Score: 2

    If my wife hears about this, she's liable to want us to go out and get cable again.

    HBO is going to have a standalone service in the near future.

    --
    Taking guns away from the 99% gives the 1% 100% of the power.
  5. News for Nerds! by penguinoid · · Score: 2

    This is definitely news for nerds. I hope they don't butcher the story.

    --
    Don't waste your vote! Vote for whoever you want, unless you live in a swing state it won't matter anyways
  6. Woo-hoo! by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 4, Funny

    Now I don't have to read the books.

    --
    systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
  7. Just the trilogy, I hope by Tony+Isaac · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The original trilogy was awesome, but later books were not the same caliber. But knowing how the entertainment industry works, they'll milk it for all its worth.

    1. Re: Just the trilogy, I hope by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Make three movies. Then reboot a few years later with lots of lens flare. Then reboot the reboot without the lens flare but the Mule will be an actor who is all steroided out body builder. Then of course there will be a Wayan brothers' spoof called "Floundation Series" and the mule is a pot head flaming gay guy.

  8. It's HBO and... by Hussman32 · · Score: 2

    ...Jonathan Nolan that will make this good. HBO is careful about choosing show runners for these projects, and I think they'll treat it with the proper gravitas. Even the changes in the Leftovers were fine.

    Just when will they start? Asimov wrote the prequels later, and they were really tight stories about Hari Seldon and the formation of the Foundation. However, the Golan Trevize storyline was great too. The Mule was short, I don't think you could base a series on it.

    Maybe they'll cross-cut timelines from before The Sack to the ultimate end of the story.

    --
    "Who are you?" "No one of consequence." "I must know." "Get used to disappointment."
  9. Hope it's better than the movies by gurps_npc · · Score: 2
    Generally fantastic sci-fi books tends not to do well when transformed for the screen.

    I Robot, and Bicentennial man simply did not live up to the books.

    --
    excitingthingstodo.blogspot.com
    1. Re:Hope it's better than the movies by Chris+Mattern · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I Robot had nothing to do with the book. It was in fact written on another title first and then they bought the name to slap on it because people would recognize it, and, hey, it's about robots, right? A bit of script touch-up to change a few names (gotta have Susan Calvin, although of course she won't be plain) and put in a few references to Asimov's concepts, and we're done!

    2. Re:Hope it's better than the movies by perryizgr8 · · Score: 2

      But it did follow the same format Asimov's short stories usually took: Present the 3 laws as the pinnacle of perfection and show how broken they actually are. I loved it.

      --
      Wealth is the gift that keeps on giving.
  10. Re:Time Jumps by codeButcher · · Score: 2

    Or they could give it the Edmond Blackadder treatment....

    --
    Free, as in your money being freed from the confines of your account.
  11. Radio Drama anyone? by khb · · Score: 2

    For those who care: https://archive.org/details/Is...

    Will be interesting to see if HBO does better than the BBC ;>

    1. Re:Radio Drama anyone? by Kittenman · · Score: 2

      For those who care: https://archive.org/details/Is...

      Will be interesting to see if HBO does better than the BBC ;>

      Yes! You beat me to it. I taped these off my old valve radio when they were broadcast, back when I was 14. I lovingly cared for the cassette tapes over the decades since, hearing them once every blue moon... and then found out I could get flawless copies off this website.

      I remember hanging the mike next to the speaker... portable cassette player. Back in those days, the big thing was recording birdsong.

      --
      "The greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes" - Winston Churchill
  12. Re:Pre chaos theory by RabidReindeer · · Score: 2

    The whole premise of the Foundation series is obsolete. The premise was that it was possible to predict the future to a moderate level of detail by calculation. Now that vast efforts have been expended in that direction by the weather and financial communities, we have a reasonably clear understanding of what can and cannot be accomplished in the prediction department. We know now that little changes grow into big ones (the "butterfly effect") rather than being filtered out. The future is driven by unpredictable noise.

    Hardly obsolete. Validated, if anything. The modern-day psychomathematics is just Big Data and statistical analysis rules. The book gets thicker every day, and the NSA is based on it. So is corporate marketing.

    Asimov also realized that a butterfly could run the train off the rails, which is why Seldon didn't merely work out the mathematics and turn it all loose. The Second Foundation existed precisely to apply compensating forces and to re-calculate the math as time unfolded.

  13. Re:Are we ready for a universe without aliens? by RabidReindeer · · Score: 4, Funny

    Most movies and TV shows take place in a universe where the only sentient beings are humans from Earth.

    Quite a few seem to be based in a universe where there aren't any sentient beings at all. We call them "reality TV".

  14. Re:Pre chaos theory by Mozai · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The story has antigravity, faster-than-light travel, force-shield projectors you can wear as a belt buckle and you're okay with the unrealistic physics, but you dismiss the entire series because you don't like the abstractly-defined maths in the first book?

    If you thought Asimov was unaware of chaos theory, then you haven't read past the first book, and you also don't know the author's other works.

  15. Re:Is it true? by quenda · · Score: 4, Funny

    That Al-Quaida gets its name from these books?

    Yes. As a Russian American Jew, Asimov represented everything that Bin Laden loved.