So they are making an Elric TV show - and a BBC series about Hawkmoon

[soltakss]

2 hours ago, Atgxtg said:

Arioch as a fly or an actor  is pretty easy on the budget, and his "shoggoth" form only shows up once. 

I would love to see Arioch being played by the same actor in an Elric and Corum series, perhaps as well in the various other places he pops up. I know he appears as a Judge in the end of Time series.

[g33k]

8 hours ago, Nick J. said:

Tilda Swinton is an interesting choice, but I can't say I ever really envisioned Elric as an androgyne ...

Huh.

To me, the androgynous look seems spot-on.  I remember all the covers showing a rather badass & masculine Elric never matched the vibe I got of him from the books.

[Nick J.]

6 hours ago, g33k said:

Huh.

To me, the androgynous look seems spot-on.  I remember all the covers showing a rather badass & masculine Elric never matched the vibe I got of him from the books.

I definitely envisioned him as frail, gaunt, and slightly alien looking, but I guess that's the weird thing about books; we all get to invent our own image for a character. I never really consumed any of the graphic novels, but I admit I'm probably susceptible to having been influenced by the illustrations by Brom, and and Brunner.

[Sean_RDP]

The look has to be right; you can't turn Jason Momoa into a frail albino it just won't work. The actor also needs to be able to sell evil, to brood and not look like Batman, and to keep folks interest even when Elric makes bad choices. A lot of variables to go into it. And it is a very physical role. 

 

Next BIG question, if you are doing Stormbringer, run the series in Publication order or Chronological order.

[Bill the barbarian]

On 11/24/2019 at 12:25 AM, Nick J. said:

I definitely envisioned him as frail, gaunt, and slightly alien looking, but I guess that's the weird thing about books; we all get to invent our own image for a character. I never really consumed any of the graphic novels, but I admit I'm probably susceptible to having been influenced by the illustrations by Brom, and and Brunner.

Dead on, the only reason I was envisioning a small muscled but well toned Johnny Winters in that role is that waving a demon around whilst screaming Blood and souls.... is going to  take a lot out of ya camera magic or not... I do not know if an albino is required but the individual will have to be able to play pale and brooding (nothing else will do. these are mandatory traits so if you can play pale (don’t ask me me how, just do it, yer the actor... motivation? how about a paycheque <grin>) 

[lawrence.whitaker]

Elric should also be young. He's a young man when he ascends to the Ruby Throne, not a 30-something. And the books are clear that he's frail and weak without the help of drugs or sorcery, so the actor has to fit the whole pale-and-interesting look well.

[Questbird]

On 11/23/2019 at 10:47 AM, Atgxtg said:

Yeah, but that doesn't really tell us how the show will come out. I have hope but often when a book series is turned into a film or TV  show it gets changed and doesn't come close to the original. Especially with Science Fiction and Fantasy. And these days...we could have a Black gender swapped lesbian Elric, in the name of cultural diversity and inclusivity. Not that I have anything against a black lesbian, just that she wouldn't be Elric.

 

In the multiverse anything is possible and indeed probable.

[Questbird]

On 11/24/2019 at 3:36 AM, Bill the barbarian said:

Shit, it’s obvious! Iggy Pop! Circa: early 70’s China Girl era!

 

The show is (maybe) being made in the 2020s not the 1970s. Iggy has too many wrinkles now. You could also suggest David Bowie, but he's dead already.

[Questbird]

On 11/24/2019 at 12:10 PM, g33k said:

Huh.

To me, the androgynous look seems spot-on.  I remember all the covers showing a rather badass & masculine Elric never matched the vibe I got of him from the books.

 

I agree, but even our dear Tilda is getting on a bit.

[Atgxtg]

On 11/27/2019 at 8:47 PM, Questbird said:

The show is (maybe) being made in the 2020s not the 1970s. Iggy has too many wrinkles now. You could also suggest David Bowie, but he's dead already.

 

On 11/27/2019 at 8:52 PM, Questbird said:

I agree, but even our dear Tilda is getting on a bit.

 

These days they can digitally de-age people, and put faces over motion capture, so those people could still be "in the running", but I don't think that's necessary. It's not like an actor would have to compete with the image of a previous portrayal. Considering the current trend towards younger actors, and that Elric is in his 20s or so throughout the saga, I could see them going with an unknown or little know actor, barely in their 20s.

[g33k]

2 hours ago, Atgxtg said:

... These days they can digitally de-age people, and put faces over motion capture, so those people could still be "in the running", but I don't think that's necessary. It's not like an actor would have to compete with the image of a previous portrayal. Considering the current trend towards younger actors, and that Elric is in his 20s or so throughout the saga, I could see them going with an unknown or little know actor, barely in their 20s.

This is an excellent point.

What's more:  if the producers &c have the guts & the vision to lean-in on this, they could cast someone with that sort of "odd" look that ISN'T a hugely attractive "leading man" image, and give someone a leading role who'd normally only be up for "character actor" roles.

I think that'd be a really good sign that they "get" the stories, and that they understand how much this  can't  follow the formulaic tropes if they want to stay anywhere close to true to the Elric vibe.

I was (and remain) really annoyed at the HP directors casting Emma Watson as Hermione Granger.  One of Hermione's defining traits in the books was that she WASN'T a "cute" girl, but plain at best and maybe below-average in looks -- and she was self-aware of this -- it was one of her major personal issues -- and she didn't let it stop her.  Sitting in the theater watching Emma Watson introduce Hermione, I said "that's a really cute girl, she's going to become a very attractive teen and have beautiful 'leading lady' looks; before they film the final movie, they'll have a raving beauty.  They blew that, on multiple levels."

 

[Atgxtg]

Yes, plus if they cast young they can use the actor for longer.

If I were doing this, and I'm not, I'd look for a good actor in their early 20s, either from TV or the stage who had the right look and the acting chops to pull it off. Assuming I could find someone like that. 

 

 

[g33k]

1 hour ago, Atgxtg said:

Yes, plus if they cast young they can use the actor for longer.

If I were doing this, and I'm not, I'd look for a good actor in their early 20s ...

Neither of us is doing it, unfortunately!  We clearly know far better than they do.    😳

I'd hope they'd even be open to someone in their late teens...  I've seen some really good performances from the young set!

 

1 hour ago, Atgxtg said:

either from TV or the stage who had the right look and the acting chops to pull it off. Assuming I could find someone like that. 

James Marsters has remarked that moving to TV from stage meant adopting a LOT of new techniques & abandoning favored and familiar ones, and that it was really challenging.  On stage, actors all need to go big, fill space, project loudly & articulate/enunciate in a similar way, even in the quietest scenes.

Because of the initimacy provided by camera views, that comes off as wildly inappropriate in tv & movies.

(This was in the context of him being the voice-actor for some audiobooks, where he found the voice-acting let him roll out some of his favorite vocal techniques he used to use on stage)

 

[Atgxtg]

7 hours ago, g33k said:

Neither of us is doing it, unfortunately!  We clearly know far better than they do.    😳

LOL! I hope not. In theory the people who do this for a living should know more that we do. Unfortunately, when it comes to fantasy and science fiction the people who do this for aliving often don't understand the genres and mess things up.

7 hours ago, g33k said:

I'd hope they'd even be open to someone in their late teens...  I've seen some really good performances from the young set!

Sure. It all comes down to how well the can act, and look the part. 

7 hours ago, g33k said:

James Marsters has remarked that moving to TV from stage meant adopting a LOT of new techniques & abandoning favored and familiar ones, and that it was really challenging.  On stage, actors all need to go big, fill space, project loudly & articulate/enunciate in a similar way, even in the quietest scenes.

Because of the initimacy provided by camera views, that comes off as wildly inappropriate in tv & movies.

(This was in the context of him being the voice-actor for some audiobooks, where he found the voice-acting let him roll out some of his favorite vocal techniques he used to use on stage)

That's not surprising. From what I've read and seen, stage actors have to learn to tone things down a bit for TV or film. The stage teaches them to "project' and exaggerate their motions and expressions in order to convey them to the people sitting at the back of the theater. That looks like overacting (which it is) to the camera. It was more of an issue in the early days of film, than now, but it still exists.