Neuromancer movie?, Is the inspirational novel finally going to be made into a movie!? Options

[Bastard]

First off, I apologize if I am not the first to post this. I have learned that it is offensive to post a link second in the past. I did a search and didn't find anyone else posting it, so please don't bite my head off in a nerd rage. I didn't see it. If you chose to, anyways, well then fuck you and fuck your mother. Otherwise, have a nice day! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grinbig.gif)

That said...



I found this promising news on the Internet Movie Database. William Gibson's Neuromancer is in development. A year ago there were reports that they were in pre-production.

Could we finally have a Shadowrun movie? No magic, elves or dragons, but there are deckers, cyberware and street sams.


If you have never read Neuromancer, then you need to. The novel introduced us to the Sprawl, cyberdecks, cyberspace and the matrix, cyberware, bioware and street samurais.


Link to short old 1998 interview about Johnny Mnemonic and how they hacked the movie apart and some comments on Cyberpunk and Shadowrun.

[McDougle]

Epic news!

But as with BladeRunner=don't expect the movie to follow the book all that closely.

We will utmost likely see a "modern" Neuromancer, maybe around the lines of SR4.

[Bastard]

But as with BladeRunner=don't expect the movie to follow the book all that closely.

We will utmost likely see a "modern" Neuromancer, maybe around the lines of SR4.

Quite possible, but I am still excited. And Ender's Game is also going to be coming out in 2013.

[DuckEggBlue Omeg...]

Link to short old 1998 interview about Johnny Mnemonic and how they hacked the movie apart and some comments on Cyberpunk and Shadowrun.

I like the Sprawl Trilogy, and Burning Chrome maybe even more, but I hate William Gibson.

[phlapjack77]

I'd be interested to hear why you hate him

[Dr.Rockso]

As I said in the last Neuromancer movie thread, I'll withhold my enthusiasm until I see the trailer (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

[Tanegar]

Link to short old 1998 interview about Johnny Mnemonic and how they hacked the movie apart and some comments on Cyberpunk and Shadowrun.

Well, in all fairness, the Johnny Mnemonic movie was utter, utter shit, largely because the story was completely mangled to make it more palatable to mass audiences.

[mister__joshua]

I'd be interested to hear why you hate him

I know it wasn't my comment, and I personally don't hate him, but I'd guess it could have something to do with him coming across as incredibly arrogant and elitist in interviews. That, and he's been very vocal of his dislike of Shadowrun.

Neuromancer film is good news though. I'm also hoping they don't mess up the Total Recall remake as the trailer looks promising

[DuckEggBlue Omeg...]

I know it wasn't my comment, and I personally don't hate him, but I'd guess it could have something to do with him coming across as incredibly arrogant and elitist in interviews. That, and he's been very vocal of his dislike of Shadowrun.

That's the short of it, yes. I could elaborate, but it would get ranty.

But I do look forward to this movie. If all goes well we might get the trilogy (unlikely I know), and there are some pretty cool scenes in the other 2 books I'd like to see on film. Killer Robots fighting Mercenaries in Hovercrafts, yes please.

On Total Recall, I love the original, and want the remake to be good, but fear a good remake means people will fail to appreciate how good the original is.

[Bastard]

I'd be interested to hear why you hate him

I assume this is one of the quotes:

"So when I see things like Shadowrun, the only negative thing I feel about it is that initial extreme revulsion at seeing my literary DNA mixed with elves. Somewhere somebody's sitting and saying 'I've got it! We're gonna do William Gibson and Tolkien!' Over my dead body! But I don't have to bear any aesthetic responsibility for it. I've never earned a nickel, but I wouldn't sue them. It's a fair cop. I'm sure there are people who could sue me, if they were so inclined, for messing with their stuff. So it's just kind of amusing.

There's kind of a whole shelf of really low-budget sci-fi movies that I look at them and think 'Yeah-I know what they've been reading.' And I kinda like that. It's kinda cool. Each one always has one really great moment."

I don't hate the guy for having different opinions than I do. It sounds like he thinks fantasy is stupid, sci-fi is cool, but doesn't hold it against the creators of Shadowrun for blending the two. If you have read the Sprawl Trilogy, many things in Shadowrun are blatant ripoffs, not just stolen ideas, from Gibson's novels.

Personally I prefer sci-fi over fantasy, but I love Shadowrun cause it brings all gaming groups together. Though mages piss me off cause they always manabolt the shit out of my sec-guards.

[Speed Wraith]

If you have read the Sprawl Trilogy, many things in Shadowrun are blatant ripoffs, not just stolen ideas, from Gibson's novels.

I'd like to think the word is, "homage". At least, that's how I've always perceived Gibson's rather obvious and inescapable influence on Shadowrun.

As for talk of a Neuromancer movie, well, I've heard it before and will only believe it when I see an actual release date (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) Even though Gibson's short stories are always poorly adapted, I'd see it in the theater. Just like when I went to see V for Vendetta, I'll sit in my seat chanting, "It isn't going to be as good as the book" during the previews like a mantra so I can enjoy the movie on its own merits (IMG:style_emoticons/default/nyahnyah.gif)

[Bastard]

I'd like to think the word is, "homage". At least, that's how I've always perceived Gibson's rather obvious and inescapable influence on Shadowrun.

I was just pointing out how many things are taken directly from his books, not just the general idea. It wasn't just the cyberpunk/decking idea. I don't think Gibson was overly arrogant by saying they stole his ideas and mixed them with Tolkien's. He then said it didn't offend him, so I don't think he was angry, and if you read further into the interview I think that is more evident that he does not hate Shadowrun for "stealing" his ideas, but I get the impression that he thinks elves, trolls and magic are stupid, and that is his problem with Shadowrun. And that the XBox game sucked too.

"It isn't going to be as good as the book"

It's hard to fit all the details of a book into a 90-120 minute movie, or to fit certain details in and make it make sense, so I give them some room to make cuts and edits, but I do hate when they hack and change important details and characters. What pisses me off the most is when they completely change the end or plot to make it Hollywood, hip or more easily understandable for the moronic masses. That is when I want to stab myself in the eyes with my Twizzlers.

[nezumi]

Just have to ask, how many of you were fans of the New Rose Hotel movie?

My problem with Gibson has always been that, as a storyteller, he isn't very good. His writing style is so convoluted that, unless I take notes, I rarely remember by page 200 who was it I was supposed to care about. Yes, he's an awesome world-builder, but I do give the script-writers credit for recognizing a story as too convoluted to sell.

[DuckEggBlue Omeg...]

I don't hate the guy for having different opinions than I do. It sounds like he thinks fantasy is stupid, sci-fi is cool, but doesn't hold it against the creators of Shadowrun for blending the two.

Won't Rant, Won't Rant, Won't Rant. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

He does use the phrases "extreme revulsion" and "over my dead body" and then dismisses it because he's not responsible for it and that he finds it amusing. So he hates it, but is 'above' it.

I also don't hate him for having different opinions. That interview is a rather mild version of things I've seen before, having an opinion is one thing, I can even understand and respect that opinion about mixing cyberpunk and magic, especially after you've made the point that one of the great things about cyberpunk (and other scifi written in a similar vein) is that the science is more 'real' and 'within reach' which distinguishes it from most scifi where the science is so fantastic it might aswell be fantasy (even if it was written entirely in the tone of "this is why I'm great, and everyone else sucks") and mixing it with magic undermines that, but A) there's no need to be a dick about it, and B) don't have a magician in your book.

There, I think I've avoided ranting.

[DuckEggBlue Omeg...]

Just have to ask, how many of you were fans of the New Rose Hotel movie?

My problem with Gibson has always been that, as a storyteller, he isn't very good. His writing style is so convoluted that, unless I take notes, I rarely remember by page 200 who was it I was supposed to care about. Yes, he's an awesome world-builder, but I do give the script-writers credit for recognizing a story as too convoluted to sell.

Not seen it, want to. If nothing else, it has Cristopher Walken and Willem Dafoe in it.

[Speed Wraith]

Just have to ask, how many of you were fans of the New Rose Hotel movie?

I can only say two nice things about it: it didn't suck as hard as Johnny Mnemonic and it had Asia Argento in it. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[nezumi]

Not seen it, want to. If nothing else, it has Cristopher Walken and Willem Dafoe in it.

Indeed. Awesome cast. Some of the lines they use burn into your brain (if you read the short story, you know what I'm talking about). It's a pretty faithful reproduction of the story. But an hour and a half of watching them chat, it's boring, and a little convoluted. It's a story that's better as a book. And frankly, most of what Gibson does falls into that category. I would not WANT to watch a truly faithful rendition of Neuromancer. It's too much. I'd have to watch it in thirty-minute episodes (and take notes; books have the advantage of being able to reinforce who is who and why. Movies are under time constraints.)

[phlapjack77]

Thanks for all the replies about the Gibson-hate (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I had heard about his (in)famous dislike of SR. It's interesting to hear other people's take on him and his "eccentricities". For my part, I want to be fair to the guy, I'm sure he has the problem of "celebrity" where he has to deal with a lot of crazies / super-fans / etc. And of course I don't know him. But I met him once at a book-signing, even asked him a question during a Q&A session, and he seemed to come off...holier than thou? Dismissive? Not terribly personable, anyway.

[ZeroPoint]

On Total Recall, I love the original, and want the remake to be good, but fear a good remake means people will fail to appreciate how good the original is.

I just had to comment on how funny this is to me. Because the original total recall was based on the short story for Phillip K. Dick "We'll Remember it for you wholesale". And as was commented earlier, the original short story would suck as a movie if kept as it was (though the short story is great). So Total Recall is a great example of a movie made better by being drastically changed in adaptation. And I think Neuromancer would also fall in that category.