So, what's the best sci-fi film never made?
Note: Nominations are now closed. Thanks for the stampede of sugestions. We're now ploughing through the lot to make the final selection for the poll. Watch this space... We know a lot of you are sci-fi buffs, and have your own personal feelings on what would make the ultimate sci-fi movie. The recent news that Paramount will …
This topic is closed for new posts.
A suggestion
Ian M Banks' "Consider Phlebas". Not the best Culture novel, but probably the most "cinematic".
Blakes 7
They should make an multi-part Blakes 7 epic on he scale of Star Wars, PotC, LOTR,etc
Yep... totally agree
Redo Blakes 7 into a series of films. Yes, I was always pretty fond of that lovely white ship.
When I were a wee lad, I often wondered who'd win, Enterprise or Liberator...
Stainless Steel Rat
Humour, action, story line simple enough for easy rewrite to screenplay. What's not to like?
(and yes, I also sent an email)
No more Asimov please
I found his stuff to be misogynistic, or maybe I missed the point. Also the whole thing of 'Robot is built, robot goes bad, robo-psychologist figures out obscure logic puzzle to make Robot be good' gets a little boring after a while.
William Gibson / Alien
If you search the intertubes you can find a screenplay written by William Gibson for an Alien sequel, the hook being that the Aliens reach Earth and much hilarity^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H mayhem ensues.
I've got a copy somewhere - it's effin' good.
Alastair Reynolds perhaps
The Revelation Space series could be good just give the melding plaque backdrop to any european designer but which one would you do
Pushing Ice well thought through but doesn't have a heroic hollywood ending
House of Suns now there's a possibility...
Century Rain an Alternative history in Paris, or is it!
MAC
House of Suns
is great. not sure how well it would translate to screen.
Surprised nobody has mentioned Neal Asher yet.
Neal Asher. The Skinner sequence would make a good, if gruesome, film.
+1
Was going to say Revelation Space series, but you did already.
How did I forget these?
Chatted a little to the author by email once as well.
Would be excellent films
Definitely need more of Slippery Jim DiGriz
I am surprised that no-one has tried to do a Stainless Steel Rat film yet - it's not like there weren't enough stories to choose from
Or if you want to go even sillier, Bill, The Galactic Hero....
A Fire upon The Deep
A Vernor Vinge Classic - although training dog/hyenas to work co-operatively with the talking plants may be a challenge...
+1 for any Stainless Steel Rat movies...
Absolutely!
My first choice in the moderately-hard-sf area. And animal training is no issue in the age of cheap CGI.
Another vote for...
Ringworld, by Larry Niven.
And the sequel, The Ringworld Engineers... but that's it, no ringworld throne or ringworld children
R
Deus Ex
The big daddy of non linear PC gaming. That awesome story combined with today's CGI
I sent mine in am email
But I forgot Nightfall - though it's not really long enough I guess.
For me it's 'Ringworld' and the other Known Space books.
Iain M Banks
Snow Crash.
I don't know if mentioning 'Bill the Galactic hero' would be a good idea though, or 'Phules Company', or 'Johnny and the Bomb' come to that.
ttfn
@Paul_Murphy
I think Nightfall would make a fantastic movie. Unfortunately, it's already been made, into a shitty movie.
Kim Stanley Robinson
I always thought Robinson's Mars Trilogy (Red, Green & Blue Mars) would make a good series of movies if it was done properly. But considering the wide scope of the books, it's highly unlikely that any movie or series could do it justice. And it's a lot of hard science, with just a couple of revolutions thrown in occasionally -- so there's probably not enough action there for mainstream consumption.
Still one of my favourite series of books though.
Miniseries perhaps
I don't think it's possible to squeeze these into movies, but they would make a terrific miniseries if done properly.
@Petrea Mitchell
There would be nothing "mini" about that series. Maybe as three seasons of a TV show?
Riight
nine princes in amber / guns of avalon / rest of the corwin cycle (Zelazny ftw)
Neuromancer / count zero / mona lisa overdriver (if done well)
Consider Plebas / excession / use of weapons / any culture novel
also the Algebraist
stainless steel rat
Elric of melnibourne / other moorcock (more fantasy but what the hell)
Stranger in a strange land
the Forever War
Ringworld / some other known space novel
Canticle for leibniz
plenty of others i can't think of right now.
Your luck is partially in....
The Forever War is "in development"
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1307468/
Which probably means it will never come to pass :(
chocolate ones?
'canticle for leibniz' would presumably be about biscuits?
A canticle for Leibowitz on the other hand...
Of course we're talking about it here...
Endymion.
Any of the Laundry gothic horror books, I want to see a demonically-possessed EE lightning!
That huge mad dark triliogy with the Inhibitors; now *there's* an implacable enemy.
Alien 3
It would be great if they'd followed up Aliens with a third move to tie up what happened when Ripley, Newt and Hicks got back home..
..and I always thought that The Matrix could have done with a sequel too.
It's got to be Iain M Banks' "Consider Phlebas'.
The opening scene; the attack on the temple; the fight under the hovercraft; the CAT shooting its way out of the small-bay; the ice-berg; taking an orbital down with grid-fire; the train. It's made for the big screen. It's the ultimate space-opera, with weird aliens, hyper-intelligent machines, rocket-ships and ray-guns. There's even a plot twist where the "evil" culture turn out to be the good guys (oops, spoiler, sorry).
But it doesn't stop there. Once the culture has been introduced, the sequel potential using it as a framework is fantastic; Excession, Use of Weapons; The Player of Games; Look to Windward...
And Iain's on record as saying that he wouldn't mind (too much) if they stapled a happy ending onto it. You know: Horza survives and sees the error of his ways; hooks up with Balveda, who recruits him into SC. Job done. Hollywood'll love it!
Hmmmm
I always thought horse became the ship mind at the end. A bit out there but the ultimate chameleon. Also. That whole sequence in the train tunnels could be done very original alien spooky.
So many choices.....
Well, Ringworld would look great (but the sequel would probably film better).
The Dread Empires Fall by Walter Jon Williams would be pretty spectacular.
Something by Iain M Banks? Excession would probably be my choice. Definitely not Feersum Endjinn or The Algebraist as they would be just a little (a lot) weird.
The Lost Fleet?
Ok, I admit it, pretty much anything with HUGE space battles....
"Rensman"?
This anime was made to trade on the Star Wars frenzy of the 80s, had *nothing* to do with the original storyline other than borrowing the characters' names, and so p*ssed off Smith's family they took back the book rights for years to prevent any other such travesties.
Finding a VHS copy at a convention, I promptly dropped the $20, and broke the cassette over my knee in front of the huckster.
Time Traders
By Andre Norton. very dated by now but a decent script writer should be able to update it while staying true to the original
my fav non-films
why just books? what about computer games? elite? knights of the old republic? mass effect? halo? half life?
or music? venice in peril by rondo viziano (or how ever thats spelt!)?
but books: stainless steel rat gets my vote. or the david feuntuch series, midshipmans hope (i may have the name slightly wrong....) or enders game?
There was a novelette for Elite...
..."The Dark Wheel" by Robert Holdstock: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Wheel
Maybe that could be developed.
Keep games as games
Causes nothing but hurt.
Can't think of any SF game which would translate to a film without being butchered.
HL2 - would we see Gordon Freeman?
Not SF but there is a lot of upset currently over a proposed Uncharted film, unsuitable actors (just use voice cast) and script NOTHING like game. Would be better toedit together some game play and the cut scenes.
@Mike Brown
Mass Effect would be a fantastic movie, and good news - it's already in the works, with Bioware staff involved in it. Although, I bet they're going to pretend Shepard was male...
How about...
"The Difference Engine" by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling, if only for the mechanical computers.
Suggstions
the Skylark series?
Voyage of the space beagle. (The only problem with this, is of course how many people would claim its an Alien rip off rather than the other way around.)
The Dark night stuff by Mr Hamilton, (The Reality dysfunction et al)
How about a proper film of Starship troopers. (I did enjoy the film, but it didnt have much in common with the book)
Slightly more modern:
Space captain Smith
The Lost fleet.
Letters and digits and all that
Well, seeing as Muppets From Space has already been made I guess it'll have to be Rama! :)
Julian May / Peter F Hamilton
Julian May's Saga of the Exiles
Peter F Hamiltons Pandora's Star & Judas Unchained.
Anything
by Iain M Banks would be nice, particulalrly some of the Culture novels.
The Algebraist would make a very nice stand-alone Sci-Fi film too.
Answer
greatest sci-fi film(s) that were never made? Oh, that would be the three Star Wars prequels that were of the same quality as the films from the 70's/80's. I refuse to put Phantom Menace, et al, into the same category as the original Star Wars trilogy.
As others said yesterday in the other thread, Asimov's Foundation series could be good. It's lengthy so could spawn a decent franchise. But at the same time, I don't know that Hollywood, as we know it today, could or would do the books justice.
Same for some of the Niven/Pournelle books. Just not the Ringworld series, which I found to be terminally boring books. But Mote in God's Eye or Lucifer's Hammer would make good movies.
does it have to be the best movie never made?
how about the best series never made? Would have to be Firefly season 2, or Firefly season 3... Maybe Firefly season 4? Can anyone else see where I might be going with this?
Seriously though, '48 by James Herbert could make for a fun Sci-Fi/Thriller/Horror type movie
Dune trilogy, vols 6 and 7
The first book of Dune was done and redone, but the story picked up speed at the end.
This topic is closed for new posts.
