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| So who's read "The Passage" by Justin Cronin?; Also my thoughts on the film adaptation | |
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| Topic Started: Aug 12 2010, 01:40 PM (291 Views) | |
| Yorick | Aug 12 2010, 01:40 PM Post #1 |
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Adult
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It's the New York Times bestseller released earlier this summer. It's been drawing many comparisons to Stephen King's "The Stand" and Richard Matheson's "I Am Legend." The epic novel (766 pages) is about a military experiment gone horribly wrong and a race of mutant vampires taking over North America-maybe even the world-and pushing the last humans into hiding. The first book (it's been planned as a trilogy) spans over the course of a century and is divided between the years 2018 and then we jump to 2111. I finished reading the book last night. I loved it. It's Michael Crichton meets Stephen King. I don't think Peter was well-developed though. Most of the post-plague characters weren't. The pre-plague characters felt more...real for some reason. Anyway, I liked the action and suspense and Amy is one of the best characters I've read in a long while. If you liked this book, check out this great film "Doomsday" (2008). And didn't you guys find it funny whenever Cronin came up with what will have occurred between now and 2018? -Jenna Bush is governor of Texas -A hurricane named Hurricane Vanessa will later ravage New Orleans ala Katrina '05 and leave the city a toxic wasteland -The war in the Middle East will bleed out from Iraq to Iran from where soldiers gunned down 300 civilians at the Mall of America I was half expecting Cronin to mention that Sarah Palin was the president of the U.S. The film rights for "The Passage" were bought by Ridley and Tony Scott for Fox 2000 long ago. Two-time Oscar-nominated playwright-turned-screenwriter John Logan is working on the script. These are talented artisans-their awards and accolades speak for themselves-but come on! There is no way that anyone can fit all the contents of this 766-page long book in a 2 or 3 hour-long plus film. So I'm guessing that the film adaptation of "The Passage" will be divided into a trilogy (with the later two monster sequels yet to be published will be each become trilogies as well). I'd prefer a 13-episode TV miniseries adaptation for each book but hey! What do I know? I have some ideas though on how to adapt it to film. Here they are: (You might want to stop reading here if you haven't read the book or past page 300.) -A partial adaptation of the 'past' section of the book that takes place in 2018 which can be pitched as "The Children of Men" (2006) meets "I Am Legend" (2007) with a splash of "28 Weeks Later..." (2007). The credits can say 'Suggested by the novel by Justin Cronin' instead of 'Based on the novel by Justin Cronin.' Most of the events are the same. Amy is born to a poor teenager, Lear is in the jungle trying to find a life-saving virus and is attacked by bats, Amy is abandoned at the nunnery at six, Wolgast is haunted by the death of his daughter, Wolgast and his partner are picking up death row inmates to take to a site where experiments are being done, Wolgast and Doyle try to take Amy to the site, the carnival scene, the psychic influence of Fanning at the site on Grey who releases them all, the virals escape and begin to tear up the site, Doyle's redemption, Sister Lacey's sacrifice, Wolgast and Amy escape. All this can be done in less than 150 minutes. -The virals represent two things in the movie: 1. the "Frankenstein" theme of playing God and the audience gets their action in the jungle scenes and at the film's climax when the viral's escape the site 2. as a sort of McGuffin to get a grieving Wolgast the chance to be the protective father he never was and Amy find the parent she never had. -Rob Bowman-either a feature film or TV miniseries-has to direct the adaptation. The 'future' scenes of The Colony in the book reminded me of "Battlefield Earth" (2000) and Bowman's own "Reign of Fire" (2002). (Okay. Doesn't HAVE to but he's my fave choice to helm. Other fave choices include Jonathan Mostow.) -Cast Matt Damon as Wolgast. (I'd say Will Smith but that's too obvious and the last thing the book and movie needs are comparisons to "I Am Legend.") -R rating-of course! -Lose Anthony Carter's history and simply make him a death row inmate that Wolgast and Doyle pick up and later kills one of the site's employees to show the audience what the two FBI agents are doing as well as showing the kind of effects that the violent effects the virus has on the people being experimented on. -Either A. end the movie with a nuclear destruction of the site with Wolgast and Amy narrowly escaping and ending the threat of viral outbreak and the pair live on happily as father and daughter leaving no room open for sequels (ala the alternate ending to "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" (1991)) or B. leave the movie open for a sequel and adapt the book's scenes where Amy and Wolgast await the end of the world at that summer camp and end the film with Wolgast dying from radiation sickness and kills himself to end his suffering after Amy long since left him, fade to black, end credits, 'The Passage 2' coming next summer, Peter and company in the future scenes. What do you guys think? |
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"I believe, that whatever doesn't kill you, simply makes you...stranger" -The Dark Knight (2008) | |
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11:40 AM Jul 13