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Topic: The Culture (Amazon) (Read 4435 times)
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Bungee
Terracotta Army
Posts: 897
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I feel... conflicted. The series will be adapted by Dennis Kelly (Utopia, Matilda) with Plan B Entertainment (World War Z, 12 Years a Slave, The Big Short, Moonlight, Feud) slated to produce and the Estate of Iain Banks attached as Executive Producer. Announcement
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« Last Edit: February 21, 2018, 08:45:48 AM by Bungee »
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Freedom is the raid target. -tazelbain
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IainC
Developers
Posts: 6538
Wargaming.net
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Came here to post this. As a massive, massive Iain M. Banks fan I am super stoked for this. I don't know how well his dry and witty writing will translate to TV action however.
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tar
Terracotta Army
Posts: 257
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Hmm, the guy behind Utopia being part of it gives me some hope. Not 100% convinced it's the right fit but willing to give it a go.
I think a TV series for the book is much more liikelly to work than a film. I used to think that Excession would be a great adaption but having re-read it (again) recently I'm less sure.
I dunno. The recent successes of things like Altered Carbon and The Expanse are encouraging.
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HaemishM
Staff Emeritus
Posts: 42629
the Confederate flag underneath the stone in my class ring
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On a service like Amazon, it will probably work.
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Ironwood
Terracotta Army
Posts: 28240
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Ummmmmmmm.
Oh.
Um.
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"Mr Soft Owl has Seen Some Shit." - Sun Tzu
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Soln
Terracotta Army
Posts: 4737
the opportunity for evil is just delicious
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Sure. Let's hope for the best.
Pretty much the same conflicted and anxious feelings I have for their Tolkien project.
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HaemishM
Staff Emeritus
Posts: 42629
the Confederate flag underneath the stone in my class ring
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Ummmmmmmm.
Oh.
Um.
Yeah. I mean it's essentially an unfilmable mess as one overarching story unless you plan to change the cast/timeframe every season. But given the freedom that creators seem to have on Amazon, I'm willing to give it a hopeful chance.
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Samwise
Moderator
Posts: 19220
sentient yeast infection
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Pretty much the same conflicted and anxious feelings I have for their Tolkien project.
wait, what? WHAT??? (goes and Googles) Shit, I've been saying since the PJ movies came out that this needs to get done as a miniseries. They'll probably find a way to fuck it up but I'm excited by the possibilities. Okay, back to the Culture. So now that it's being made a series can I skip the books?
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"I have not actually recommended many games, and I'll go on the record here saying my track record is probably best in the industry." - schild
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Ironwood
Terracotta Army
Posts: 28240
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No. You may not.
Edit : Except for Excession, which was shit.
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"Mr Soft Owl has Seen Some Shit." - Sun Tzu
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Abagadro
Terracotta Army
Posts: 12227
Possibly the only user with more posts in the Den than PC/Console Gaming.
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I'm with Zod. No way the really interesting themes of those works translate to TV even if they magically are able to make a story arc out of it.
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"As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”
-H.L. Mencken
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Tale
Terracotta Army
Posts: 8559
sıɥʇ ǝʞıן sʞןɐʇ
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Amazon has been making some great TV and we're in an era where hard sci-fi is being done well (Altered Carbon, The Expanse). I've only read one Culture novel, but I think this attempt stands a chance.
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Abagadro
Terracotta Army
Posts: 12227
Possibly the only user with more posts in the Den than PC/Console Gaming.
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Altered Carbon was one fairly straight forward book. Expanse is a series with a pretty obvious eye to adaptation from the jump (not to its detriment, but its clearly there).
I like what Amazon has done with High Castle, so who knows, but I just don't see it working as anything other than a pale imitation that boils down to "oooooo, sentient ships."
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"As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely, the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron.”
-H.L. Mencken
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Khaldun
Terracotta Army
Posts: 15158
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I...
I want to believe.
Let's put it this way: if Star Trek took all of its tech and ideas seriously (what's a post-scarcity civilization like? hey, your computer talks and thinks, isn't that important? so, this Prime Directive thing, really, you know there are problems with it) etc. it would be the Culture. And that doesn't seem entirely impossible.
I think if they have the right to do Player of Games or Excession, they have two really good story templates right off the bat.
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MahrinSkel
Terracotta Army
Posts: 10857
When she crossed over, she was just a ship. But when she came back... she was bullshit!
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I...
I want to believe.
Let's put it this way: if Star Trek took all of its tech and ideas seriously (what's a post-scarcity civilization like? hey, your computer talks and thinks, isn't that important? so, this Prime Directive thing, really, you know there are problems with it) etc. it would be the Culture. And that doesn't seem entirely impossible.
I think if they have the right to do Player of Games or Excession, they have two really good story templates right off the bat.
If they do Player of Games and screw it up, I will end them. The show runners, Bezos, their fucking pets, the kid they sat next to in 9th grade. I will erase every sign of their existence. --Dave
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--Signature Unclear
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Surlyboi
Terracotta Army
Posts: 10963
eat a bag of dicks
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No. You may not.
Edit : Except for Excession, which was shit.
I liked Excession. It took the piss when the culture needed it.
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Tuned in, immediately get to watch cringey Ubisoft talking head offering her deepest sympathies to the families impacted by the Orlando shooting while flanked by a man in a giraffe suit and some sort of "horrifically garish neon costumes through the ages" exhibit or something. We need to stop this fucking planet right now and sort some shit out. -Kail
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Morat20
Terracotta Army
Posts: 18529
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I liked Excession. It took the piss when the culture needed it.
The Culture needs it. I think, especially in later books, Banks kinda felt the need to show more of the Culture's downsides, hidden under the shiny, happy, utopia. I got the impression they're doing Consider Phlebas, which is almost an episodic adventure. Although I suspect they'll play it straight, rather than being a bit of an ironic take on a space opera. (The main character is, by and large, on the wrong side and in the end nothing he does really changes much in the big picture. Which is absolutely the opposite of space opera tropes). I worry more about the guts of the Culture being....whitewashed, so to speak. Drones turned into androids or robot models (cheaper on the FX), the cast pretty much stock from Sci-Fi (mostly white, straight, probably a love triangle), and then the special effects budgets to cover something a GSV, or an orbital.
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Goldenmean
Terracotta Army
Posts: 844
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Corporation owned by world's richest man to adapt vehemently socialist books.
I'm sure this will end well.
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Ironwood
Terracotta Army
Posts: 28240
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Consider Phlebas is a good one to start with. It lends itself well to an episodic piece. The only better one would be either Player of Games or Use of Weapons. Ironically I did all three for my dissertation, so I'm fairly sure they could be done fairly readily for the screen.
The trouble is, television doesn't seem to lend itself much to subtlety these days, something I really think you'd need. It's also sometimes quite tricky to bring the more....morally challenging stuff to the screen. (I'm interested if they're actually going to film the Eater and what that would look like !)
I don't know. Hopeful. But not really.
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"Mr Soft Owl has Seen Some Shit." - Sun Tzu
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rattran
Moderator
Posts: 4257
Unreasonable
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I would love to see it done right, but expect it to be shit.
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HaemishM
Staff Emeritus
Posts: 42629
the Confederate flag underneath the stone in my class ring
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Consider Phlebas would be an interesting season long arc but I'm not sure how well it would set up a second season. Player of Games would make more sense seeing as how the main character is on the Culture's side as opposed to Phlebas. It's also a fairly straightforward plot. Either one could be really good or could be done for shit. Since this is Amazon and not SyFy, I'm going to lean towards at least being not shit.
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Shannow
Terracotta Army
Posts: 3703
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Since this is Amazon and not SyFy, I'm going to lean towards at least being not shit.
Electric Dreams called and would like you to reconsider.
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Someone liked something? Who the fuzzy fuck was this heretic? You don't come to this website and enjoy something. Fuck that. ~ The Walrus
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HaemishM
Staff Emeritus
Posts: 42629
the Confederate flag underneath the stone in my class ring
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I haven't watched it yet but it's Dick. Adapting his stuff into a good story is very difficult.
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Ironwood
Terracotta Army
Posts: 28240
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I haven't watched it yet but it's Dick. Adapting his stuff into a good story is very difficult.
I watched it and it was indeed dick.
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"Mr Soft Owl has Seen Some Shit." - Sun Tzu
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Engels
Terracotta Army
Posts: 9029
inflicts shingles.
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Why are people so down on Electric Dreams. I'm 5 episodes in and I love it. I mean, it IS Philip K Dick, and THAT is not for everyone, but as far as I'm concerned, they are doing a better job of it than anyone has thus far.
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I should get back to nature, too. You know, like going to a shop for groceries instead of the computer. Maybe a condo in the woods that doesn't even have a health club or restaurant attached. Buy a car with only two cup holders or something. -Signe
I LIKE being bounced around by Tonkors. - Lantyssa
Babies shooting themselves in the head is the state bird of West Virginia. - schild
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Tale
Terracotta Army
Posts: 8559
sıɥʇ ǝʞıן sʞןɐʇ
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I haven't watched it yet but it's Dick. Adapting his stuff into a good story is very difficult.
I watched it and it was indeed dick. I hear this in my head.
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Quinton
Terracotta Army
Posts: 3332
is saving up his raid points for a fancy board title
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I can't find it, but I recall an interview with Banks where he said that if anyone could pull off the Clear Air Turbulence escaping from the GSV he didn't care much what happened to the rest of the book. We shall have to see!
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