Denis Villeneuve is directing a Rendezvous With Rama adaptation
- Thread starter Hartzilla2007
- Start date
That's the thing about James Cameron. Practically every film he's made has been highly criticized and often laughed about while he is making it, and then it breaks records when it is released. (Maybe The Abyss is the exception)
I suppose if anyone was going to take a swing at Rama, Villeneuve is probably the best choice. With him in charge I'm reasonably confident they're not going to try and turn it into some BS action adventure, but I'm still curious how they're going to develop the script, given that the story in the book has no real stakes, or even really any actual three dimensional characters.
I guess what I'm saying is that while we know it'll be pretty, will it be interesting or substantive?
I guess what I'm saying is that while we know it'll be pretty, will it be interesting or substantive?
Perhaps make the adaptation Lovecraftian - exposure to truly bizarre, mind-bending alien technology - rather than have the drama stem from conflict between opposing human factions? I wouldn't want to be the person to have to realise the former option. Even A C Clarke didn't make the Raman technology seem much more advanced than that possessed by the humans in the story. The human "conflict" (for want of a better term) in the book is easily forgotten compared to the impression left by the overall scenario, however. There is better characterisation and a more interesting conclusion in Rama II so perhaps the first two books could be blended somewhat as the Sierra video game did. It would require paying Gentry Lee for his share of the film rights if these have not already been acquired.
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I don't think Lovecraft is the way to go. Even when dealing with vastly powerful, indifferent alien intelligences, the overall tone of Clarke's works has always leaned towards the optimistic, and rational.
The alien technology was supposed to be comprehensible precisely because the laws of physics are the laws of physics. Engineering is engineering. It's the commonalities as much as the differences that were half the point of the story.
The alien technology was supposed to be comprehensible precisely because the laws of physics are the laws of physics. Engineering is engineering. It's the commonalities as much as the differences that were half the point of the story.
I'll just read the original Pocahontas story and be done with it.
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." - Arthur C Clarke
I found the Ramans kind of disappointingly too like us - especially as the series of novels, written with Gentry Lee after the first, progressed. Even ACC's imagination fell short although he was well ahead of the curve. I lack the imagination to think how Rendezvous with Rama could be adapted to make a decent movie never mind a great one. I'm not sure that we're in desperate need of this film anyway. What could it bring to the table that is new?
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I'm not arguing in favour of the adaptation, just that if it's going to be done, going the cosmic horror route kinda defeats the point.
Honestly I find the book to be rather overrated.
And I don't know why you're quoting Clarke's Law at me, what has that got to do with anything?
Yeah, I don't think we fundamentally disagree. Clarke didn't take his own law seriously - perhaps as you state, making the technology comprehensible to humans was deliberate. He didn't intend originally to have any sequels. Having read what we got due to Gentry Lee, that would probably have been for the best. Clarke wasn't even the first SF author to come up with the scenario I believe but I can't remember who it was whose story preceded his. The novel has been overhyped for some reason.
ETA: I believe the other novel I'm thinking of is James White's All Judgement Fled (1969) published four years before Rendezvous with Rama. Here is a synopsis:
James White Information (sectorgeneral.com)
From what little info I can find, it sounds more interesting.
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Blade Runner 2049 was also a worthy sequel to the original, definitely worth a look if you haven't seen it yet.
I liked it a lot more than the OG
