Sunday, May 27, 2007

Pray To The Film Gods That They Don't Screw This Up


William Gibson's Neuromancer Finally Coming to the Big Screen!
May 18, 2007Source: Varietyby Alex Billington
Finally a great science fiction novel is getting adapted for the big screen! Well, not that there hasn't been a great selection of other sci fi novels in the past (like anything by Isaac Asimov or Philip K. Dick), but I have a certain affinity for William Gibson's books. His bestseller novel that was first published in 1984, Neuromancer, is being brought to the big screen by indie producer Peter Hoffman. The project will get a $70 million budget with Joseph Kahn currently set to direct. Kahn has only directed one full length feature so far, the motorcycle film Torque, but he may be better known for directing Britney Spear's music video for “Toxic". I think all the excitement I just had flew out the window.
And get this, the project is being fast-tracked to replace the next Paul Verhoeven project The Winter Queen, a tough blow for the filmmaker behind one of my own all time favorite sci fi films - Starship Troopers. However, it's not because this is a better script, it's because Verhoeven's film is waiting for Fifth Element star Milla Jovovich to have her baby.
For those who may be unfamiliar with the fantastic novel Neuromancer, (from Wikipedia) it tells the story of Case, an out-of-work computer hacker hired by an unknown patron to participate in a seemingly impossible crime. The novel examines the concepts of artificial intelligence, virtual reality, genetic engineering, multinational corporations overpowering the traditional nation-state, and cyberspace long before these ideas became fashionable in popular culture. In addition to tackling these hot topics in the film, producer Hoffman stated “there'll be a sort of love interest as well." Quite unnecessary, but that's Hollywood for you these days.
Now they just need to work on bringing my own favorite Neal Stephenson novel Snow Crash to the big screen, too, as I think if done right it could nearly be another fascinating and revolutionary sci fi film… if done right. In the meantime, or at least for the year or so it'll take to film and edit, I suggest you pick up a copy of Neuromancer, or anything by William Gibson or Neal Stephenson, and become immersed in his wonderful world of science fiction.

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