Movie Reviews that Stink

[eredien]

This was in the TV section of my local paper; alongside the article there was a photo of Ashmore, who has a pointier chin than the Wicked Witch of the West.

I won't quote the whole thing here; they're talking about how "Legend of Earthsea" played on the Sci Fi Channel last week.

LEGEND COMES OF AGE
by Mike Hughes

...This is an old tale that feels new. "Think 'Harry Potter' meets 'Lord of the Rings,'" said Bonnie Hammer, the Sci Fi chief.

That's not really an exaggeration. At first, "Earthsea" seems like post-pubescent Potter. Ged (Ashmore), a working-class kid, goes to a wizardry school, where a snobbish classmate mocks him.

Alongside that are deeper and darker things.

There are so many things wrong with this article, and one that just infuriates me.

First, shouldn't they have credited LeGuin?
Second, why did the article end there? It just--stopped!
Third, as far as I can tell from the bits of it I've read, this miniseries should not feel like either LotR or Harry Potter. If it does, that's the fault of the movie director; if it doesn't, why do they have people like Hammer describing it as such?
Fourth--here's the annoying one--that quote is obviously meant to appeal only to people whose only exposure to the field has been through movie adaptations of recent books. And while I can understand why the Sci Fi channel bigshots would want to appeal to that demographic, can't they realize that producing more and more programming that appeals only to that demographic will alienate their core audience?

Or do they just not care?


Oh, and Esgalaith and others who would be interested in such news:

I found out that I CAN VISIT ONE OF WILLIAM MORRIS' HOMES WHEN I AM IN ENGLAND! For FREE!

*keels over out of sheer gratitude that it appears to be open until January, and that she remembered that she wanted to do this and looked it up*

Comments

[lotusbiosm.livejournal.com]

The mini-series doesn't feel at all like the HP or LotR movies. I've not read the book, but the dialogue in the movie was ridiculous. I think it sounded like what the dialogue in the book sounded like, but that kind of fantasy-novel dialogue sounds really weird coming out of people's mouths. But it's not just about some kid who gets made fun of at wizadry school- I wasn't even paying attention and I understood that.
The problem is that people who don't know anything about Fantasy/SF think it's all the same. They don't know about how LotR really is the forebearer of all fantasy novels of its type. Yes, lots of fantasy feels like LotR, b/c it was inspired by it. Lots of it is not related at all, but these people don't know that. Lots of fiction resembles fiction in the same genre that really helped define the genre. Much the same thing is true in television and movies. But remember, this is the OD. So try not to have high expectations.
(PS- it started Monday night, which is not last week)

[signy1.livejournal.com]

I've not seen the miniseries- I work nights- nor read all the books, but the fannish reviews I've read were... illuminating. The hatred was rather impressive.

Ursula LeGuin wasn't too happy with the adaptation, either. She was given no opportunity to contribute to the film, and when she tried to point out that what they were doing to the story would alienate a great many people, she was mailed a copy of the completed script and a snide note that it was already in production. There's a reason I'm usually pretty dubious about movie renditions of my favorite works.

[gallian.livejournal.com]

thanks for the tip, signy.

i would have had to go out of my way to find it, now i won't bother. i love earthsea too much.

gallian.