Apple picks up TV adaptation of Isaac Asimov's 'Foundation' sci-fi novels

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Comments

  • Reply 61 of 90
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,152member
    What about rhe night’s dawn trilogy?
    High tech space opera, Victorian maidens (you just know what will happen), and the dead taking over the bodies of the living, expressed scientifically!
  • Reply 62 of 90
    gatorguy said:

    gatorguy said:
    Well this could go one of two ways: End up similar to the screen adaptation of "Dune" and because it had so many necessary characters and nuances ended up a mess, or closer to a very worthy novel-to-screen like Blade Runner.
    Okay, 1) Dune wasn't a mess and is now a cult classic; it's one of my personal favorite science-fiction films. 2) My other favorite is Blade Runner, which has little to do with the novel it's based on.
    And of course right you are about Blade Runner and it being a good adaptation. A good movie yes, not so great at mirroring the book. Thanks for the correction, I agree with you. 

    Dune? Nah a definite mess IMHO. 


    I think Jodorowsky's Dune with a soundtrack by Pink Floyd would have been amazing.


    The Dune we got was the weakest movie by David Lynch.

    Then again, my favourite Lynch nightmares are Lost Highway and Inland Empire, so what di I know?

    spheric
  • Reply 63 of 90
    gatorguy said:
    or closer to a very worthy novel-to-screen like Blade Runner. 
    Blade Runner is a pretty loose adaptation of Philip K. Dick's novel. It's more like general-concept-to-screen than anything else. 
    Correct. The book was short. The world of the movie was really filled in by Ridley Scott, Syd Mead and the art director & production designer team.
    And Hampton Fancher, the writer of the screenplay.
    Of course. His inventions in the script are some of the most creative ideas. The Esper machine and its realization predated popular notions of the Internet and hinted at a sort of ether in which the police could tap into to derive previously invisible information.


    Didn't David Peoples also have a lot to do with the fine-tuning of the screenplay?


    The movie is one of my favourites and, unlike a certain beloved sci-fi trilogy's fate, the director's Final Cut of Blade Runner is my favourite version.

    spheric
  • Reply 64 of 90
    The Dune we got was the weakest movie by David Lynch.

    Then again, my favourite Lynch nightmares are Lost Highway and Inland Empire, so what di I know?

    Nah, I agree with you-- Lynch's Dune is my least favorite of his. I'm pretty partial to Lost Highway too
  • Reply 65 of 90
    wonkothesanewonkothesane Posts: 1,717member
    sy1492 said:
    Foundation is one of those futuristic books that ages very poorly as real technology develops. Its like the book branched off one way and reality branches off the other way.
    Personally, I think the opposite since Asimov has always been more around sociology and psychology rather than technology. And from that perspective, just recently I thought how close modern marketing comes to predicting (and influencing) human behavior. What also started as a toolset that was generally correct on a large statistical basis, it becomes more and more focused and able for smaller target groups. 

    Having said that, apart from his IMO very precise observations in human behavior, I just like the atmosphere he creates, starting from the Bailey triologoy and then spanning to the foundation saga. And while the tech particularly in the robot stories is way off, reading about Susan Calvin and the others still make me smile. 
    spheric
  • Reply 66 of 90
    wonkothesanewonkothesane Posts: 1,717member
    As a futurist and character creator, Asimov is as boring as all the 50s dribble for Sci-Fi. I have no doubt many will be thrilled.
    Maybe give Lem a shot, then. Just make sure you get a good translation. :)
    sphericunbeliever2
  • Reply 67 of 90
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    I guess that puts the idea that Apple are playing it safe and not being ambitious with their TV maneuvres to bed. 

    I can't see how they'll be able to make a good show out of Foundation though without some major liberties being taken, the book just doesn't suit a screen format at all.
  • Reply 68 of 90
    akindc said:
    sy1492 said:
    Foundation is one of those futuristic books that ages very poorly as real technology develops. Its like the book branched off one way and reality branches off the other way.
    After so much dystopic post-modern crap, a bit of utopia / optimism from one of the founders of sci-fi is welcome.
    Utopia? Did you read the books?


    Yes.  While not a utopia per se, the outlook of the Foundation stories is, in the main, optimistic.

    Given that the original Foundation "book" was essentially a series of short stories, I think an episodic TV series would work well.  The second book is a more cohesive story, but could also be episodic, as long as they actually ended the Mule story, and didn't try to carry it on as a permanent conflict.

  • Reply 69 of 90
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    gatorguy said:

    gatorguy said:
    Well this could go one of two ways: End up similar to the screen adaptation of "Dune" and because it had so many necessary characters and nuances ended up a mess, or closer to a very worthy novel-to-screen like Blade Runner.
    Okay, 1) Dune wasn't a mess and is now a cult classic; it's one of my personal favorite science-fiction films. 2) My other favorite is Blade Runner, which has little to do with the novel it's based on.
    And of course right you are about Blade Runner and it being a good adaptation. A good movie yes, not so great at mirroring the book. Thanks for the correction, I agree with you. 

    Dune? Nah a definite mess IMHO. 


    I think Jodorowsky's Dune with a soundtrack by Pink Floyd would have been amazing.


    The Dune we got was the weakest movie by David Lynch.

    Then again, my favourite Lynch nightmares are Lost Highway and Inland Empire, so what di I know?

    Blue Velvet and Eraserhead are still his best films.
  • Reply 70 of 90
    eightzeroeightzero Posts: 3,056member
    entropys said:

    The robot series would be better to convert to screen. 


    This too would be interesting, but each of those original stories really were standalone works, with very loose tie-ins with USRMM and a few common characters. A screenplay might do well to set it up with the tie-together Isaac did at the end, then tell each of those stories sort of as flash backs. It could work. The real main character is Susan Calvin, and like Horatio Hornblower, doesn't really say much...but boy oh boy does she think a lot. No idea how you bring this to a screen without messing with the character. Gregory Peck's Hornblower was a failure, only surpassed by Ioan Gruffudd. 

    While Foundation has no major female characters, I see no reason why Hari Seldon, couldn't be recast as female. Or do it with the Mule and cast Aubrey Plaza (Legion) for it. 


    edited April 2018
  • Reply 71 of 90
    anome said:
    sy1492 said:
    Foundation is one of those futuristic books that ages very poorly as real technology develops. Its like the book branched off one way and reality branches off the other way.

    I would like to see someone make an adaptation of this, or perhaps the Lensman series, or even that supposed Ringworld series, without updating the technology. (Hell, I'd even give them extra points if the Ringworld adaptation had the Earth spinning the wrong way.) Some of the ideas on how technology would evolve are interesting in their own right. Others are laughable. A few of them were kind of close (although, as with a lot of the Star Trek stuff that seemed to get it right, some of that is down to the people creating the tech taking inspiration from the relevant fiction).

    I don't expect most networks or studios would be willing to do that. Apple should take the lead on this. All fiction is in a parallel universe, anyway.

    I'd rather see them do an update on the original Skylark books since that was the first "Space Opera" series. Or better yet how about looking at the old Tom Swift-not Jr-books? Have to scrub the racially intolerant parts out of them but they are classic, right?
  • Reply 72 of 90
    eightzero said:
    entropys said:

    The robot series would be better to convert to screen. 


    This too would be interesting, but each of those original stories really were standalone works, with very loose tie-ins with USRMM and a few common characters. A screenplay might do well to set it up with the tie-together Isaac did at the end, then tell each of those stories sort of as flash backs. It could work. The real main character is Susan Calvin, and like Horatio Hornblower, doesn't really say much...but boy oh boy does she think a lot. No idea how you bring this to a screen without messing with the character. Gregory Peck's Hornblower was a failure, only surpassed by Ioan Gruffudd. 

    While Foundation has no major female characters, I see no reason why Hari Seldon, couldn't be recast as female. Or do it with the Mule and cast Aubrey Plaza (Legion) for it. 


    Pretty good ideas actually. I don't think the gender of either character is important to the story and would in fact make the story more interesting.
  • Reply 73 of 90
    sphericspheric Posts: 2,544member
    As a futurist and character creator, Asimov is as boring as all the 50s dribble for Sci-Fi. I have no doubt many will be thrilled.
    Maybe give Lem a shot, then. Just make sure you get a good translation. :)
    Stanislaw Lem: So awesome. 

    But it if he considers Asimov “boring” for being about character creation rather than whiz-bang technical gizmo sci-fi, then surely Lem is the complete opposite of appealing... 
  • Reply 74 of 90
    19831983 Posts: 1,225member
    Never read Asimov’s Foundation series, my father did though. I was more of an Arthur C. Clarke fan...I’ve read nearly all his work.
  • Reply 75 of 90
    eightzeroeightzero Posts: 3,056member
    The more I think about it, there is plenty of source material in Isaac's catalog. There's mysteries of a sort in Tales of the Black Widowers that would make an easy series. Heck, even his non-fiction could be turned over to  a Bill Nye the Science Guy/ Professor Proton and made educational. Tie it into iPad textbooks and their educational products line. Jeebz, outfit a lab with Apple products and use it as a recurring set. Parade in famous scientists as guest stars. 
    edited April 2018
  • Reply 76 of 90
    eightzeroeightzero Posts: 3,056member
    1983 said:
    Never read Asimov’s Foundation series, my father did though. I was more of an Arthur C. Clarke fan...I’ve read nearly all his work.
    Do it now. Old Tyme SF. They are short, won't take long.
  • Reply 77 of 90
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    eightzero said:
    1983 said:
    Never read Asimov’s Foundation series, my father did though. I was more of an Arthur C. Clarke fan...I’ve read nearly all his work.
    Do it now. Old Tyme SF. They are short, won't take long.
    LOL. What are you talking about? The Foundation books are massive.
  • Reply 78 of 90
    eightzeroeightzero Posts: 3,056member
    eightzero said:
    1983 said:
    Never read Asimov’s Foundation series, my father did though. I was more of an Arthur C. Clarke fan...I’ve read nearly all his work.
    Do it now. Old Tyme SF. They are short, won't take long.
    LOL. What are you talking about? The Foundation books are massive.
    First one lists on amazon as a mass market paperback at 296 pages. That's massive? The last Harry Potter book weighs in at 784.
  • Reply 79 of 90
    SpamSandwichSpamSandwich Posts: 33,407member
    eightzero said:
    eightzero said:
    1983 said:
    Never read Asimov’s Foundation series, my father did though. I was more of an Arthur C. Clarke fan...I’ve read nearly all his work.
    Do it now. Old Tyme SF. They are short, won't take long.
    LOL. What are you talking about? The Foundation books are massive.
    First one lists on amazon as a mass market paperback at 296 pages. That's massive? The last Harry Potter book weighs in at 784.
    How about word density? They're not exactly breezy reading. Try reading "Human Action" if you want a real challenge. Eleven-hundred+ pages of extremely dense information about economics.
  • Reply 80 of 90
    SoliSoli Posts: 10,035member
    eightzero said:
    eightzero said:
    1983 said:
    Never read Asimov’s Foundation series, my father did though. I was more of an Arthur C. Clarke fan...I’ve read nearly all his work.
    Do it now. Old Tyme SF. They are short, won't take long.
    LOL. What are you talking about? The Foundation books are massive.
    First one lists on amazon as a mass market paperback at 296 pages. That's massive? The last Harry Potter book weighs in at 784.
    Shameful in how duplicitous your comment is.
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