Oh, no they di'n't!

[mistymassey]

Sometime during middle school, I discovered Susan Cooper's Dark Is Rising sequence - five amazing books that told a gorgeous modern story based on British folklore. That series remains on the short list of books I'd risk life and limb to save if my house was on fire. It's that good. Needless to say, Ive read them so many times I could probably quote chapters to you if asked.

I was excited that a movie was being made. Chris Eccleston was cast as the Black Rider - how cool would that be? Alas, that excitement has waned in the ensuing weeks since I first heard the news.

* Merriman is described in the books as tall, thin, hawk-nosed and white-headed. So they cast Ian MacShane, a less-tall, straight-nosed, dark-haired man.

* Will and his family are British in the books, but American in the movie.

* Will's parents in the book are loving, warm parents, and the family is close-knit. In the movie, the parents are cold people who pay more attention to their careers than their kids.

* In the book, Gwen is the oldest sister, an adult. In the movie, she's a preteen girl.

* In the book, Will's closest brother is James. In the movie, they've made Max his closest brother. If you recall from the book, Max spent most of his time upstairs writing letters to his art-school girlfriend, and had pretty much nothing to do with Will's adventure.

* The movie has described Max as having multiple tattoos and piercings. What?

I've decided not to even bother going. I'll stay home when it's released, and reread the books instead. Directors who option books just so they can completely change them deserve neither our money nor our attention. It's doubly bad when the book they change is one so beloved by so many.

Comments

[briary-flower.livejournal.com]

As much as I appreciate the fact that selling an option can provide a much needed cash infusion for the writer, I hate the fact that everything is fodder for the movies. There's a mentality that the adaption of book to film is the apex of the novel's journey. Look at John Irving and Cider House Rules. I've always felt that working on that film drastically shortened his life as a productive writer.