Dear God... they're gonna try to film SNOW CRASH

[AndrewCrossett]

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/56412

This both excites and terrifies me.

There are some significant aspects of the story that really aren't filmable, yet are central to the plot. It will take some really brilliant screenwriting and directing to pull this off.

Neal Stephenson is like Philip K. Dick in that his stuff is absolutely brilliant, but horrifyingly easy to fuck up BADLY when being adapted.

[Tobias M]

Attack the Block was very underrated. I'm happy with this news.

[Karen El]

Yeah, this is one of those stories I'd consider practically unfilmable. It's possible to make a decent movie based on the plot, but I don't see how they would ever be able to include the more philosophical musings on the nature of language, which is what the book is really about.

[Hugin]

Yeah, there are a lot of elements I don't see translating well to the big screen. I also worry about what they're going to cut, it seems like it'd be to long for a movie.

[AndrewCrossett]

I think they'll have to change the narrative framework quite a bit to work in the more high-concept stuff. That will irritate a lot of fans, but would it irritate them more to have it left out completely and just turn the story into an action film?

That's why it will take some very, very good writing and directing to pull this off. I certainly hope Stephenson will have some input.

[Spiffy]

Yeah, this is one of those stories I'd consider practically unfilmable. It's possible to make a decent movie based on the plot, but I don't see how they would ever be able to include the more philosophical musings on the nature of language, which is what the book is really about.

My assumption, by default, when I hear about a project like this is that anything philosophical or complex will likely be dropped (or re-imagined in such a way that it comes off in a simplistic expository fashion, like "take the red pill or the blue pill").

[AndrewCrossett]

My assumption, by default, when I hear about a project like this is that anything philosophical or complex will likely be dropped (or re-imagined in such a way that it comes off in a simplistic expository fashion, like "take the red pill or the blue pill").

Yeah... I can picture some studio executive going "What's all this crap? Ancient Sumerian whatchamahoosis? Whaddaya think this is, PBS? Drop that stuff and put in some more scenes of YT doing flips on her skateboard. And while you're at it, ditch the cargo pants and put her in some daisy dukes and fishnets. What? She's only 15? Well, abracadabra: now she's 18. See what I did there?"

[Tobias M]

The Naked Lunch by William Burroughs- more a companion piece to the novel than an adaptation, and a successful one at that.