I loved the Harry Potter films, and regret that I have not yet found time to read the actual books, as Harry Potter fever kicked off right at the moment when I was embarking on motherhood. All of J.K. Rowling's books are on my lengthy "To Read List" right along beside my "Must See Movie List."
I also am embarrassed to say that as a film buff, I have not yet watched the whole Lord of the Rings trilogy in any kind of cohesive way. To me, the films are of such epic proportion that until I have the gazillion hours of concentration that they deserve, I'm kinda staying away, holding off, waiting for the perfect moment to indulge in them. I also want to watch them, if for no other reason, but to catch Viggo and Orlando.
I admit though that I am not the greatest fan of fantasy-type adventures. I forced myself to read "The Hobbit" as a kid only because my brother (aka "Ron the LOTR guru") forced me to and besides Gollum ("my precious"), I didn't really care for the book.
As a kid, I was a voracious reader and read many groupings of books. I read all of the Wizard of Oz books, all of the Little House books, and all of the Narnia books. To this day, as a filmmaker, I still wonder why with all of these wonderful source materials that more of the Oz books haven't been filmed.
Now that I am re-reading the Little House books with my daughter, I also secretly want to film a more authentic version of Laura Ingalls' pioneer adventures. No disrespect to Michael Landon, whom I loved, but the TV series was a bit 70's and also at times creepy.
For the past couple of years, I have been bemoaning the fact that C.S. Lewis' The Narnia Chronicles have not yet been made into a live action film. Thanks to the success of films like Harry Potter and LOTR's and the advances in cgi (computer-generated images) all that is about to change. The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe is finally going to be made. To check out the progress on that film, go to www.narnia.com.
By the way, I also learned that my other brother who works for Rhythm & Hues in California is going to be working on the animation team for the film. So it is all very exciting. Sure my kids were more excited to know that their Uncle Daev worked on the live-action Scooby Doo movies, but to me Narnia will always be the most beloved and respected of all children's chronicles. They are, without a doubt, true classics.
For fans of the books, you should also see the film Shadowlands about the author C.S. Lewis and his brief marriage which ended when his wife died of cancer. It is an amazing film, and Sir Anthony Hopkins is at his best. C.S. Lewis wrote a book about his grief, called appropriately enough "A Grief Observed" which is basically his journals from that period. It was one of the source materials that I used when writing my own short film on the subject of grief. And it is unbelievably thought-provoking, touching, heart-breaking, and real.
Hi Liz,
In reference to your comments on the lack of "Wizard of Oz" movies. It is so coincidental that you bring this up in your blog today because I just happen to be reading "The Annotated Wizard of Oz" right now, being slightly nuts about all things Oz myself, and was just bemoaning this very fact with my kids yesterday!! Strange. The book is chock full of informative Oz/L. Frank Baum tidbits--among them, the fact that Walt Disney has owned the rights to the remaining 13 Oz books since 1956. You probably know that they did make one movie--"The Return to Oz"--in 1985 with Fairuza Balk starring as Dorothy (hasn't she recently turned up in some independent films to some acclaim?). It was not received very well, probably mainly due to the fact that it was nothing like the beloved 1939 musical version of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz." I am not sure if Disney still owns the rights to the Oz books or not, but I agree that with the success of Harry, LOTR, and hopefully Narnia, we may see a brave director/producer take this series on in the future and do it justice--enough time has passed since the 1939 version to give it new life. (Don't get me wrong--it's one of my favorite movies of all time, but its formula can't and-- I don't think should--be duplicated!) Baum's imagination knew no bounds, and it's a shame attention is paid mainly to the first of the Oz books. He was an interesting man, very involved in theatrical productions of his works as well. BTW, one thing I would like to get my hands on is a copy of "The Dreamer of Oz" television movie from--I think-- 1991, that starred John Ritter. Anyway, that's my two cents on Oz for the day, sis!
Posted by: Gem | Monday, February 09, 2004 at 12:02 PM