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Hayden Christensen, New Romancer. Er, NEUROMANCER.

post #1 of 28
1/7/08 at 9:12pm
Thread Starter 
http://chud.com/news/13201
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post #2 of 28
1/7/08 at 9:19pm
I have long wanted to see this adapted to the big screen. I shall hope for the best, despite my misgivings about the unadaptibility of the source material or Hayden's wooden acting mannerisms.
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post #3 of 28
1/7/08 at 9:25pm
Quote:
Made more or less as a $70M indie with Torque director Joseph Kahn in charge, this is a weird beast.
Hmmm... I'd be prepared for disappointment, Overlord.
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post #4 of 28
1/7/08 at 9:31pm
iirc Michael Mann was rumoured to be planning to adapt Count Zero back in the day, post-Heat.
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post #5 of 28
1/7/08 at 9:33pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Subotai
iirc Michael Mann was rumoured to be planning to adapt Count Zero back in the day, post-Heat.
I don't think there's a single Gibson option that hasn't been through a couple of directors and producers.

Too bad Chris Cunningham couldn't get NEUROMANCER off the ground. And he's not even proven with narrative, so that might not have worked either.
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post #6 of 28
1/7/08 at 9:35pm
I read this book. Wow it was really really confusing.
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post #7 of 28
1/7/08 at 9:40pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tieman
Hmmm... I'd be prepared for disappointment, Overlord.
Don't you mean a CLASSIC?
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post #8 of 28
1/7/08 at 9:42pm
With Joseph "TORQUE" Kahn involved, you know you will.
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post #9 of 28
1/7/08 at 10:50pm
If anyone ever makes a "real" cyberpunk movie, it won't be an adaptation. A movie optioned from William Gibson or Neal Stephenson or Warren Ellis or whatever is doomed to be instantly blandified, because it'll be owned by a corporation, who will immediately set out to turn it into a tentpole SF movie. Which will kill the whole point. The crucial thing about cyberpunk, the heart of the genre, is trying to explore the future possibilities of the counterculture--whether it's extrapolating from potential technology or taking a punk-rock look at the future. The plot is fairly irrelevant--you could make a cyberpunk movie without any action or particularly elaborate special effects. But a cyberpunk movie would have to be subversive and imaginative, or at the very least, hip in a gonzo kind of way. I'm skeptical that a $70 million production, even one described as an "indie", is going to fit that description.
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post #10 of 28
1/7/08 at 11:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Prankster
If anyone ever makes a "real" cyberpunk movie, it won't be an adaptation. A movie optioned from William Gibson or Neal Stephenson or Warren Ellis or whatever is doomed to be instantly blandified, because it'll be owned by a corporation, who will immediately set out to turn it into a tentpole SF movie. Which will kill the whole point. The crucial thing about cyberpunk, the heart of the genre, is trying to explore the future possibilities of the counterculture--whether it's extrapolating from potential technology or taking a punk-rock look at the future. The plot is fairly irrelevant--you could make a cyberpunk movie without any action or particularly elaborate special effects. But a cyberpunk movie would have to be subversive and imaginative, or at the very least, hip in a gonzo kind of way. I'm skeptical that a $70 million production, even one described as an "indie", is going to fit that description.
Ineresting idea, but the novels you mentioned were all published by major corporations. Sure movies require more resources and therefore would result in more blandness, but then again think of a Cyberpuck movie directed by David Lynch or Croenenberg
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post #11 of 28
1/7/08 at 11:56pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cylon Baby
then again think of a Cyberpuck movie directed by David ...Croenenberg
You might want to rent VIDEODROME.
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post #12 of 28
1/8/08 at 12:43am
It's been so long since I read this that it's hard to remember specifics, but it seems unadaptable without destroying the narrative, especially with the Torque guy directing. If I recall the book has little action, but does have an exciting scene featuring cyber-ninjas kicking ass in pitch-black darkness. I can think of at least one reason that won't be as cool on the screen.
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post #13 of 28
1/8/08 at 1:04am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cylon Baby
Ineresting idea, but the novels you mentioned were all published by major corporations. Sure movies require more resources and therefore would result in more blandness, but then again think of a Cyberpuck movie directed by David Lynch or Croenenberg
A movie about computerized hockey players?

And not to seem like I'm picking on you, but why did you disagree with me and then immediately contradict yourself? I mean, you obviously understand that books cost much much less than movies and can therefore be more experimental, so why even bring it up?
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post #14 of 28
1/8/08 at 1:36am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brad_Lohan
Anybody watch "Dangerous Days," the documentary about the making of "Blade Runner." They interviewed a couple real directors -- Guillermo del Toro, Frank Darabont -- then suddenly Joseph Kahn showed up to give his two cents on the film. I was like, "What the shit?! Why the fuck is the 'Torque' guy on my 'Blade Runner' doc?!" Apparently, he made a George Michael video that directly lifted some shots from "BR." What a visionary.
Yeah, when he popped up, I hoped we'd hear some words from the guy who directed that Spice Girls Blade runner music video (which, by the way, was fucking odd).
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post #15 of 28
1/8/08 at 1:49am
Just a little heads up, the entire book is online for free:
http://project.cyberpunk.ru/lib/neuromancer
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post #16 of 28
1/8/08 at 3:27am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Keith Fordyce
His face was the color of a television, tuned to a dead channel. Wow, Joseph Kahn and now Hayden Chrisensen, they're pulling out all the stops.

This is one of the few projects where I do get geeky and protective, I care about the material. There is a great potential trilogy here, what with Neuromancer, Count Zero and Mona Lisa Overdrive, but what they'll do is just add some kung fu fights and more guns. And no, Christensen is not right for Case at all. I certainly don't see it. Prove me wrong, pretty boy.
I said before and I still maintain that Kahn could do well with the material if he gets a decent screenplay to work with. All the more so with that kind of limited money, as there should be less interference that way and I think he can get the right look (NOT The Matrix, or Bladerunner) for that.

Christ O'Hades, on the other hand, I have no faith in. I really don't think he can act. Case is a tough part since he's lost the thing that made him him already at the beginning of the story and even when he gets it back he never really gets over the burnout. He doesn't necessarily require one of the great character actors, but someone with a range beyond petulant would be a must.

All that said, I could take or leave a Neuromancer movie I guess, like everyone else. Cyberpunk, like most other punk, has long since descended into repetitive self-parody and if the genre itself hasn't tarnished the book by association I doubt one adaptation will. Maybe it'll look cool. Probably won't happen anyway.
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post #17 of 28
1/8/08 at 4:38am
I was always hoping Chris Cunningham could make this movie because even his non-futuristic videos are brilliant and inherently cyberpunk, but I am willing to give this version a shot because cp is my favorite genre and Neuromancer is the proto-cp (unless you count Alien, which inspired Gibson).

That said, in the '90s, the studio adaptation of Snow Crash had Hiro married. Yes, married. I hope they will approach Neuromancer with a degree of respect for the material and not try to top The Matrix or make it more of today. It was a dystopic vision of the future conceived in the 80s, but Johnny Mnemonic, which I love in spite of its flaws, proves that miring the material in a contemporary aesthetic doesn't do it any favors.

It's just a really hard vision to realize. Blade Runner to me is the best distillation of cp to date (including the Matrix, which I also love, even though it's derivative). With any luck, the director will be able to bring this great book to the screen with some dignity and style. I'll keep my fingers crossed.
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post #18 of 28
1/8/08 at 11:52am
I nearly shit myself when I read the first paragraph. My mind played a trick on me, I thought I saw "Ratner" instead of "rather".

This is one of those books I still need to get around to, because of all the stuff it's apparently influenced. I hope it still holds up.
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post #19 of 28
1/8/08 at 12:01pm
I remember the very first description of cyberspace in Neuromancer, and if that's not tempting as an image to throw a few million at, I don't know what is.

STRANGE DAYS is also a little bit cyberpunk. Crucially, that film keeps everything grounded in reality, and the point of it all is not just to show off truckloads of expensive special effects that'll be outdated in 6 months time.
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post #20 of 28
1/8/08 at 12:32pm
I have no problem with Anakin, but Joseph Kahn directing NEUROMANCER? What the fuck?
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post #21 of 28
1/8/08 at 12:43pm
I only read this for the first time a few years ago, and I think the window for its commercial viability as a film has long passed, if it ever had one. Personally, I'd love to see an adaptation that hewed closely to the "analog" cyberspace aesthetic of the book, but there's no audience for that post-Matrix, and any other kind of adaptation is just going to look like a Matrix clone.

Gibson's characters aren't exactly layers within layers, but Christenson seems too young and pretty for Case.
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post #22 of 28
1/8/08 at 1:23pm
Mhm, is it true that this plays in the same time and place as Johnny Mnemonic? Because if, I want some Street Preacher.
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post #23 of 28
1/8/08 at 1:36pm
I'm rather stunned that this thread hasn't turned into an Anakin bash-fest.

Not that I think Hayden has the chops. His best performance is more a case of nearly perfect casting: Shattered Glass.
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post #24 of 28
1/8/08 at 2:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Russ Fischer
You might want to rent VIDEODROME.
I've seen it, that's why I brought him up. Would you consier Viiodrome cybepunk though?
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post #25 of 28
1/8/08 at 2:43pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gabriel Williams
STRANGE DAYS is also a little bit cyberpunk. Crucially, that film keeps everything grounded in reality, and the point of it all is not just to show off truckloads of expensive special effects that'll be outdated in 6 months time.
Agree. Strange Days just gets better over the years. Cameron has long been a fan of cp, and was developing Burning Chrome at the time he was writing Strange Days, so I think the Gibson cp vision was in his head. It's such a great flick. "I am the magic man. I am your link to the subconscious. I have what you want. I can get you what you can't have."
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post #26 of 28
1/8/08 at 2:45pm
The William Gibson-written script for Neuromancer from way back when. It's surprisingly cheesy, but who knows, maybe it was rewritten a lot at the behest of the suits.
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post #27 of 28
1/8/08 at 2:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Keith Fordyce
I remember thinking back in 99 when the Matrix came out that any chance for Neuromancer to be successful was effectively dead. Oh well, always have New Rose Hotel. Say what you will about that movie, it captured the cyberpunk essence as well as anything.

Hell, Circuitry Man was better cyberpunk than most of what gets passed off as cinematic punk. So was Automatic, starring that master thespian Olivier Gruner.

I don't think I have a point. Part of me would still like to see somebody bring this to the screen, and part of me remembers watching Johnny Mnemonic.
You know what else is really cyberpunk? the straight to video Sci-Fighters with Billy Drago and Rowdy Roddy Piper. A B movie knockoff made for like $2 but still pretty cool.
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post #28 of 28
1/8/08 at 3:01pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris Myers
I have no problem with Anakin, but Joseph Kahn directing NEUROMANCER? What the fuck?

Here's a Joseph Kahn-directed clip you've probably never seen. It's for Muse. It's pretty great.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...arch&plindex=0
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