Adaptation

The first trailer for Baz Luhrmann‘s highly anticipated adaptation of The Great Gatsby has arrived. We’ve embedded the trailer above–what do you think?

The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire and Carey Mulligan. There will be a 3D version. On YouTube, a few readers have been tough on the trailer. After 145,000 views, it has earned 91 dislikes and some bitter commentary.

 

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Over at Tor.com, comic artist John Bonner published a simple and elegant strip explaining why one science fiction classic should never be turned into a Hollywood blockbuster. Follow this link to read the whole comic book review.

Check it out: “Every so often, comic artist John Bonner reviews books, audio, and more, then turns his reactions into a comic strip. You can check out many more of them at Bonner’s site and more of them here on Tor.com. He recently reread Arthur C. Clarke’s Rendezvous With Rama and tried to imagine how Hollywood would turn it into a film that held as much wonder as the book.”

What book should never be filmed? Share your thoughts in the comments, and we will publish your answers in a future post.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has acquired the eBook rights to “We Can Remember it For You Wholesale,” the short story by the late Philip K. Dick that inspired the Total Recall movie in 1990 and an upcoming remake (trailer embedded above).

The Wylie Agency negotiated the deal with publisher Bruce Nichols.

The publisher will release a tie-in version of the story (entitled Total Recall) in time for the remake’s August release . Len Wiseman directed the August 2012 film that stars Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale and Jessica Biel.

Sony Pictures Entertainment will adapt Walter Isaacson‘s bestselling biography of Steve Jobs, with The Social Network screenwriter Aaron Sorkin writing on the script.

Sony Pictures Entertainment co-chairman Amy Pascal had this statement:  “Jobs’ story is unique: he was one of the most revolutionary and influential men not just of our time but of all time. There is no writer working in Hollywood today who is more capable of capturing such an extraordinary life for the screen than Aaron Sorkin; in his hands, we’re confident that the film will be everything that Jobs himself was: captivating, entertaining, and polarizing.”

Mark Gordon, Scott Rudin and Guymon Casady will produce the upcoming biopic.  Deadline Hollywood has the release.

The producers of the Ender’s Game adaptation have launched an on-set Tumblr for fans to follow the creation of the movie.

The weekly posts have featured photos of props, production sets and a sighting of Ender Wiggin himself, actor Asa Butterfield. What do you think of the casting?

Author Orson Scott Card will publish Earth Unaware, a prequel title to Ender’s Game, in July 2012. Besides that book, Card has several other manuscripts in the works including the next installments for the The Shadow Saga, the Women of Genesis series, the Pastwatch series, the Mithermages series, The Mayflower trilogy and the Pathfinder series. (via Shelf Awareness)

Could you imagine a James Bond film directed by Alfred Hitchcock? The film could have changed the course of the cinematic history.

In 1959, Bond creator Ian Fleming dashed off a long telegram to novelist novelist Eric Ambler, proposing that Hitchcock direct the first Bond film with Ambler writing the script. Hitchcock passed on the project (which later became Thunderball, led by legendary Bond director Terence Young). Instead of steering his career into the Bond franchise, Hitchcock directed Psycho as his next project.

Here’s more from Letters of Note: “Have written Bond movie treatment featuring Mafia stolen atomic bomber blackmail of England culminating Nassau with extensive underwater dramatics … Would Hitchcock be interested in directing this first Bond film in association with Xanadu? Plentiful finance available.” (Image via)

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The New York Times reports that filmmaker Francis Lawrence has come on board as the director for the next installment of The Hunger Games movie series, Catching Fire. Lawrence started off his Hollywood career directing music videos. He has since progressed on to movies including literary adaptations such as Constantine (2005) and Water for Elephants (2011).

Here’s more from the article: “Mr. Lawrence said in a statement that he ‘fell in love with the characters’ of Ms. Collins’s novels, as well as ‘the themes and the world she created,’ adding that ‘this chapter opens all of these elements up in such a thrilling, emotional and surprising way.’” MTV reports that star actors Liam Hemsworth and Josh Hutcherson feel sad that Gary Ross did not sign up to direct the sequel film. However, they both look forward to working with Lawrence.

Lawrence is not the only new addition to The Hunger Games movie crew. Simon Beaufoy, the Oscar-winning screenwriter who adapted Slumdog Millionaire (2008), penned the first draft of the script for Catching Fire. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Lionsgate is negotiating with Michael Arndt, the Oscar-winning screenwriter behind Little Miss Sunshine (2006), to polish Beaufoy’s draft.

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MTV has unveiled the nominees for the 2012 Movie Awards. Literary adaptations ruled the “Movie of the Year” category, earning four out of the five spots: The Hunger Games, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2, The Help and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1.

Voting opened yesterday at 8 a.m. to allow fans to choose their favorite films. The winners will be revealed at the awards show which takes place on Sunday, June 3rd. Follow this link to check out the full list of nominees.

For the past three years, actor Robert Pattinson and actress Kristen Stewart have won the golden popcorn trophy in the “Best Kiss” category as Edward Cullen and Bella Swan. This year, the vampire couple will battle Hunger Games tributes Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) and Peeta Mallark (Josh Hutcherson) and wizard-witch duo Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) for the prize. Who do you think will win?

After ordering a pilot last year, HBO has passed on The Corrections, a television adaptation of Jonathan Franzen‘s bestselling novel.

Director Noah Baumbach shot the pilot and Franzen produced alongside Scott Rudin. Franzen discussed the project at a literary festival last year. Are you surprised?

Variety has the scoop: “The Corrections revolves around the troubles of a Midwestern couple and their three adult children as they trace their lives from the mid-20th century to ‘one last Christmas’ together near the turn of the millennium. The parents were played by Chris Cooper and Dianne Wiest while Ewan McGregor and Maggie Gyllenhaal were cast as the couple’s adult children.”

Legendary Pictures has released the third trailer for its upcoming Batman comic book adaptation, The Dark Knight Rises. We’ve embedded the trailer above–what do you think?

According to Comic Book Resources, Titan Books will publish the official movie tie-in novel by Greg Cox. Both the book and the movie will be released in July 2012.

Here’s more from E! Online: “[Anne] Hathaway gets lots of screen time in the new trailer as both [Selina] Kyle and her feline alter ego Catwoman. She appears to be taking Batman’s side and has no problem getting in on the action. There’s plenty of Jordon Gordon-Levitt‘s mysterious new cop John Blake looking all emotional. We also get to see franchise stalwarts like Commissioner Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman), Alfred Pennyworth (Michael Caine) and Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman).”