Exodus into a movie?

[wazildhum12]

what with global warming looming up on the face of the earth all we hear these days on the news,books,documentry and speeches is ways in which to raise awarnes and we try.But what better way than to do it through a movie?!!

Has anyone ever concidered exodus and zenith becoming a movie?
The plot is wonderful,gripping and very "movie suitable!".

It would definaitly raise awarnes and i know that many people,like me,after reading exodus and zenith started to be more aware of global warming.
i think it is a wonderful idea!!
A hit!

There would be prmieres,newspaper articles,playlist and all the exciting melodrama of a movie in the making!
But we can all dream.
right?

 

[Julie Bertagna]

Thanks, wazildhum12.

There's a really interesting discussion on this in General Books Discussion on the Books and Writing part of the forum. The thread is started by another author, Mary Hoffman, and is called How Books Get Made Into Films.

If you read it, you will see that readers can be the key - droves of readers writing to Hollywood directors is one way to get a film made, it seems. (That's not a hint, course not!)

For me, there's been lots of talk about the books being made into films but that's all. (And what crispenygate says on the above discussion is very true.) But Exodus is only just about to come out in America, which is where most films are made, so you never know.

It's not something I give much thought to, to be honest, though I'm asked about it a lot. I have mixed feelings as I often find film adaptations of books I've loved to be very disappointing - though it would be exciting, of course it would.

But my job is to dream up the stories and get them onto the page. Anything beyond that is a surprise and bonus - and out of my control.

 

[woolleywrld]

That was my first question too, wazildhum12!!!
I proposed Sean Biggerstaff as Fox...

But I agree, I think a movie of these books would be absolutely fantastic. Way more people see movies than read books! It would be a great way to raise awareness. I guess we better get writing to Hollywood!

 

[woolleywrld]

Does any one agree? Doesn't Sean Biggerstaff look like a Fox to you? That is my proposition to Hollywood!

 

[Namorvia]

What's he been in? I recognize him from something but I can't place it.

 

[woolleywrld]

This is a picture of him in Harry Potter. He played Oliver Wood! This is my favourite scene in the entire HP series!

 

[Julie Bertagna]

Someone suggested that David Tennant would be perfect for the adult Fox in Zenith - especially as he's Scottish, and from Paisley, just down the road from here. Not that Fox needs to be Scottish; I envisioned the sky cities as pretty transatlantic/ transoceanic places. But it would be fitting. I do think DT is the best Dr Who but I couldn't see him as Fox at all. Then I saw this pic at the weekend, and now.... well, I don't know. That intense, unshaven look...? And Fox would be pretty skinny too after all those years in the netherworld...

What do you people think?

 

[Namorvia]

Hmm, I can see that. He even sort of fits as an adult of Sean Biggerstaff.
Only thing with casting Sean is his age. [I could look up how old he is, but it's more fun to do the maths]. The main HP cast are now, 18ish? and he started off 2/3 years older. He's got to be at least 20 by now. Not sure how old Fox is supposed to be.

It'd be good to get an all Scottish cast, I always like it when they have all British cast for British stories, so an all Scottish cast for a Scottish story would take it even further into coolness.

I dunno; the PM, James Bond, Dr Who... they'll be letting you vote next.

 

[woolleywrld]

Actually, he was even older. He is now about 25!! He looks younger though. But maybe if we start writing to Hollywood now, we could get the movie in action in time for Sean to be old enough to be the adult Fox!

I like the idea of an all Scottish cast though, that would be amazing! Then maybe Scotland can finally take charge! I shall include it in my letter to Hollywood...

 

[Namorvia]

I don't suppose anyone has any connections with Pinewood do they? You could see if there was a department or society in one of the Scottish universities that'd be interested in trying it, it's possible if you have a really talented director/cast/crew to make a really low budget classic.

Personally part of me wants to see in made as a CG animation. The idea of a city in sky is very suited for the Final Fantasy production team and they'd pull of the colours perfectly. Bright for the new world, dark for the undercity. But that's just as unlikely as Hollywood making it.

Sorry, it seems I can't edit the size of the pictures. Double sorry to anyone trying to load the page on a PDA.

 

[Julie Bertagna]

Ooh, I like that. That would really work.

Just for fun: that Scottish cast.

'Ewan Cobain' below (Ewan MacGregor playing Curt Cobain) as Tuck in Zenith? And if Kirsty Mitchell was a little younger, she'd be perfect for Mara - though she could play her as an adult; quite unnervingly close to how I'd pictured her...

Kirsty's photo is too big a file to upload but you can see her here.

 

[writergirl12]

I just started reading Exodus, and I'm really liking it so far! I just have to stay away from unintentional spoilers in this forum, haha. I think Exodus would make an excellent movie, far better than all the other movies Hollywood has been coming out with. I'm an aspiring actress, and I thought Exodus would make a great movie so I went online to find out if anything was in the works for it. That led me here! Unfortunately I do not look like Mara, though...our hair is not the same color. There's always hair dye, though, haha. But, on the note of how a movie gets made, I would be willing to send a letter to Hollywood rallying for an Exodus movie. Then again, the postage is a lot less for me here in the US then it is for everyone in Europe and other countries.

 

[woolleywrld]

Alright writergirl12!!! Let's get writing to Hollywood!!!

I heard from somewhere that Robert Redford would be the one to write to. What do you think?

 

[Julie Bertagna]

Welcome to the forum, writergirl12. Oops, those spoilers are hard to avoid. We'll need to be more careful or put up spoiler warnings!

Mara only belongs to me in my imagination; as soon as you read the book she is yours and you can decide how she looks. Admittedly I did give her dark hair.

Maybe we should do an online petition to Hollywood and save all that postage (though I see you people above are a lot closer than many of us who live across the big pond) : )

 

[writergirl12]

Woolleywrld--hmm, Robert Redford, eh? Sounds interesting. His support and advocacy for the environment would mesh very well with the story!
I like the idea of an online petition! It's more practical and much easier to organize all the people who are rallying for an Exodus movie. Not to mention, the people in Hollywood always seem to be in a hurry (people say to use tape to close the flap on the envelope you send your headshot in instead of sealing it so the person recieveing it can open it more quickly!), and an online petition is quick and easy to access.
Since this is only my second post, I'm not allowed to post links, but Petition Online is a website that hosts public petitions for free.

 

[woolleywrld]

Ok, I looked up the Online Petition Website, www.PetitionOnline.com - Free Online Petition Hosting and it seems almost too easy to be true. The only thing to be decided is to whom do we address it? Hollywood? Robert Redford? A specific director? Thoughts anyone?

 

[writergirl12]

I would suggest a production company, preferably one that has done work with movies similar to Exodus...New Line Cinema did the Golden Compass, which I haven't seen, but it won the Oscar for Best Special Effects. Walden Media has made quite a few books into movies, with special effects, such as the 2 Chronicles of Narnia movies, Bridge To Terabithia, Nim's Island, the upcoming City of Ember and Journey to the Earth 3-D.
Of course these are only musings, but who knows what could happen if we did begin an online petition? The prospect makes me very excited!

 

[woolleywrld]

Maybe Walden Media. I was more impressed with The Chronicles of Narnia movie than with The Golden Compass movie; it was truer to the book. I couldn't bear it if Exodus was changed too much on the big screen!!

 

[writergirl12]

Walden Media has teamed up with Disney and New Line Cinema for most of it's pictures. So, if we would like to write the petition to Walden, we would also have to consider who they would collaborate with for the picture. I would prefer New Line, personally, because Disney doesn't really seem to fit for Exodus's story, you know? As for staying true to Exodus, I absolutely agree with you! I dislike when they change the book a lot for the movie. But I think that depends more on who writes the screenplay than the production company.

 

[Namorvia]

New Line did Lord of the Rings, they get many points for that. Fox did Day After Tomorrow, I think there would be an irony in getting Exodus made by a company that had Fox in the name.
I'm going go out on a British limb and say we should picket Film4. To quote them "Film4 is the film arm of Channel 4 Television, dedicated to the production of smart, distinctive and contemporary feature films." And you could probably stick the word "British" in there somewhere. They've done some pretty classic films, though admittedly no Sci-Fi (that I know of), but I reckon that'd just make them up for a challenge.