retsuko | Adaptations (And How Not to Do Them, Maybe) & Comic Con Notes So Far!

Tonight,

yebisu9 and I watched The Wolfman, which had a plot that can be best described as "murky". Normally, when this sort of thing happens, I wonder just how many screenwriters were in on the creative process and where the ideas got too mixed up to work anymore. In this case, there were only two screenwriters, but they were basing the script off the Lon Chaney original, and on top of that, there were four producers. Too many cooks syndrome, most definitely. The results were... kind of mixed. The atmosphere that the production cooked up was top-notch: creepy moors with lingering fingers of fog; gorgeous costumes and score; cavernous country houses with dramatic-looking staircases; and a scene set in an "asylum" that sets a new low in the history of mental health care. But the story dragged on and on, and Anthony Hopkins seemed to be phoning his performance in. I swear, in every scene he was in, he was thinking about his laundry, or what he'd had for dinner the night before, or something else other than the action at hand. Done right, this would be scary and psychopathic-seeming, but it just felt distracted/distracting. As usual, with a boring main plot like this, I wanted to focus on the side characters instead, particularly in devising a sequel where the love interest (played with steely propriety by Emily Blunt) and the inspector from Scotland Yard (Hugo Weaving) forge an unlikely monster-fighting relationship after getting a handle on how best to deal with his impending lycanthropy problem. (He's the last bitten.) That would be a movie I'd happily pay to see, and not wait for the DVD from Netflix.

And, speaking of adaptations, there's a rumor afoot of a live-action version of the manga Rurouni Kenshin. I'm very fond of this manga, and its various anime adaptations, but I have my sincere doubts that it could be successfully turned into a satisfying live-action movie. For one thing, there are too many characters to include in a 90-minute movie; quite a few of them would have to be excised to create a workable script. And this is sad, because one of this story's strengths is its ensemble cast and their interactions with one another. (I think this would be yet another movie where the plot would be better served by being carved into a 12-episode mini-series.) Another point of contention would be which arc of the story to turn into the main movie plot. (This is a 28-volume manga epic.) I would like to see some part of the Kyoto arc, but that means we'd have to put up with the villain of that arc, who really, really gets on my nerves. On the plus side, there's the part of the rumor that Watsuki (the creator) held out on offers from Hollywood studios (YAY!) until he got an offer from a company that promised to devote enough $$$/yen to recreate the CGI effects necessary to bring to life the original style of martial arts he created for the manga. Anyway, over on the newsgroup, casting rumors and suggestions are flying back and forth, but I think I won't weigh in on this until there's some actual footage/confirmation from official PTB on this.

In other fannish news, the schedules for Comic Con Thursday and Friday are up.

For Thursday, I'm into:

10:30-11:30 The Power of Myth— Fantasy authors discuss claiming world mythology to shape one's own stories. Authors include Comic-Con special guest Rick Riordan (Percy Jackson and the Olympians series), Amber Benson (the Calliope Reaper-Jones Novels), Esther Friesner (Sphinx's Princess), Thomas Greanias (The Promised War), Lev Grossman (The Magicians), Les Klinger (editor, The New Annotated Dracula), Seanan McGuire (the October Daye novels), Michael Scott (the Secret of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series), and Thomas Sniegoski (Where Angels Fear To Tread). Moderated by Maryelizabeth Hart of Mysterious Galaxy. Room 24ABC

I'm always interested to hear Maryelizabeth moderate things, and this is an interesting collection of people. (I will refrain from asking Lev Grossman if he hates YA fantasy novels.)

11:30-12:30 Iron Man and Rocket Men: Is Stark Industries an Appropriate Model for Private-Industry Space Exploration?— Leading New Space entrepreneurs Mark Street (XCOR Aerospace) and John Hunter (Quicklaunch) discuss realistic options for future space exploration. Presented by the San Diego Space Society (SD Space), the panel also includes Chris Radcliff (SD Space) and Dave Rankin (The Mars Society - San Diego cofounder). Jeff Berkwits (former Amazing Stories editor and two-time Hugo Award nominee) moderates. Room 24ABC

Depending on the presenters, this talk will either rock, or be completely and totally dull. My mental jury is still out, but since it's in the same room immediately following the first talk, I'll likely just stay.

4:00-5:00 Twisting Genres— Fantastic fiction authors talk about pushing the envelope on genre, not confining it to one definition. Participants include China Miéville (Kraken), Justin Cronin (The Passage), Naomi Novik (Tongues of Serpents), Daryl Gregory (The Devil's Alphabet), Jeffrey J. Mariotte (Cold Black Hearts), Robert Masello (Blood And Ice), Keith Thompson (The Leviathan trilogy), and Scott Westerfeld (The Leviathan trilogy). Moderated by Maryelizabeth Hart of Mysterious Galaxy. Room 25ABC

Lots of Maryelizabeth today! Well, no matter: an interesting collection of people, yet again, and a fascinating topic of conversation.

On Friday:

10:30-11:30 Spotlight on Moto Hagio— Comic-Con special guest Moto Hagio is considered to be the mother of shōjo (young girl) manga. Her large body of work is renowned the world over, and Fantagraphics Books is publishing a new collection of her short stories, Drunken Dreams. Celebrate her first-ever visit to the U.S. at this special Q&A session, moderated by Matt Thorn, associate professor in the department of manga production at Kyoto Seika University in Japan. (Thorn decided to translate shōjo manga into English after reading Thomas no Shinzō by Moto Hagio in the mid-1980s). Room 5AB

WOW. I cannot believe I will get to hear her speak! And Matt Thorn, I have a lot of respect for, considering that it's because of his translation work, I first read Keiko Nishi. :D

12:00-2:00 CBLDF Master Session: Jill Thompson: Secrets of Watercolor Technique— Bring your sketchbooks and learn the secrets of expressive watercolor from one of the medium's top practitioners! Renowned for her work on Beasts of Burden, Scary Godmother, and Sandman, Jill Thompson shows you the intricacies of the watercolor medium and how to apply it to making masterful comics and covers. The original art from this session will be auctioned off on Saturday night at the CBLDF's Art Auction! Room 30CDE

This one is a little iffy, but I LOVE her work on Beasts of Burden, and I really enjoyed watching Mike Mignola draw last year.

4:00-5:00 Entertainment Weekly: Girls Who Kick Ass: A New Generation of Heroines— EW moderates this discussion with Jena Malone (Sucker Punch), Anna Torv (Fringe), Chloe Moretz (Kick Ass), and Ellen Wong and Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) about the next generation of female action heroes and the power and privilege of playing young women who are nobody's arm candy. Moderated by Nicole Sperling. Ballroom 20

This panel was great last year, but I'm a bit lukewarm on the people listed here. I'll probably see what the line's like before I commit to this one.

5:00-6:00 Girls Gone Genre: Movies, TV, Comics, Web— Meet and talk with women who write, read, game, and perform in arenas that are historically and statistically dominated by men. What's it like to try and get a job in a field where most of your competitors and colleagues are guys? Can women write men, and vice versa? And what happens when traditionally "male" genres are reinvented by female writers and embraced by female fans? Sex and the City it ain't! Meet the women who like to play with trucks and Barbies...and Wolverine action figures. And flux capacitors. Featuring Felicia Day (writer/producer, The Guild; actress, The Guild, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog), Kathryn Immonen (writer, Patsy Walker: Hellcat, Runaways, Heralds), Laeta Kalogridis (screenwriter/producer, Shutter Island, Ghost in the Shell, Avatar), Marti Noxon (screenwriter/producer, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Mad Men, I Am Number Four, Fright Night), Melissa Rosenberg (screenwriter/producer, Dexter, The Twilight Saga), and Gail Simone (writer, Wonder Woman, Birds of Prey).Moderated by Io9's Annalee Newitz. Room 24ABC

This may be a better choice than the previous panel. (The infamous Marti Noxon!)