Sony Pictures Has bought "Foundation"

[Holdfast]

It's seems that every other year a story comes out about Foundation being converted into a movie. I doubt it will ever really happen, sadly.

If it does, it will translate the source Asimov material in a similar way to the I, Robot Will Smith movie did a few years back. I actually quite liked that effort. It took some key concepts and motifs from Asimov and made a completely different feeling movie to Asimov that somewhere still seemed vaguely faithful. An Alternate Universe Asimov world, if you like.

If something similar can be done with Foundation, it might just work. A straight conversion just can't work IMO. The books are a wonderful intellectual exercise, paralleling what would have happened after the Fall of Rome in a sci-fi setting, if one had access to future history books at the time, but what works brilliantly in text doesn't necessarily work in a movie.

But take the core concepts of psychohistory, a collapsing Galactic Empire and a struggling new seed colony at its fringes, and it just might become a story worth telling on the big screen. But leave the Mule and the Second Foundation out of the first movie; establish the basic premise first (analogous to up to about the end of the Bel Riose story from the books, though as I say, I wouldn't advocate a straight conversion). If it does well, introduce both the Mule and the Second Foundation in a sequel.

There's actually quite a lot of research currently going on in psychological, sociological and mathematical fields that (given a few thousand years of further research) could conceivable contribute to something approximating psychohistory, and audiences have already been proven to be accepting of the vague premise of "magically" knowing the future in SF movies (viz. Minority Report), so I don't think it will be too much of a conceptual problem for a decent group of writers.

 

[Kegg]

^
When it comes down to it Foundation has some brand recognizability, and is an epic space opera with a galactic scope and a fabulous (and later ruined) city planet. It's a Star Wars-ish property as that as that thin analogy goes and I fully expect a film to come around sooner or later.

Back on topic, if there's anything missing from Asimov's work in general, it is compelling emotional tension. Dick's work seems to have that in spades, from all the movies I've seen and the few books of his I've read. On the other hand, Foundation unfortunately lacks that. The Mule stuff is the only possibility for something with emotional impact.

Precisely (and A Scanner Darkly is indeed fantastic). A good Foundation movie should take the premise - collapse of galactic civilization, the rogue elemnt of the Mule - and construct a human story from these building blocks, rather than trying to seek to rigorously follow Asimov's text.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

It's an understatement to say that Dick's work generally includes strong themes of paranoia, rebellion against conformity and the individual haunted and pursued by powerful, pervasive and mysterious forces. That's why, no matter how interior some of the conflicts in his stories may be, they're tailor-made for Hollywood.

 

[Owain Taggart]

They could always build a story from the point of view years later, recounting what happened, which might be easier to do than adapting.

 

[Kegg]

They could always build a story from the point of view years later, recounting what happened, which might be easier to do than adapting.

I'd say that's worse. For a movie, they need things to be happening to the people who are in the movie. This is why I suggested keeping the core idea of Galactic fall, renewal and all that rather than a concrete adherence to the story. Shaving a few thousand years here and there so Our Heroes live during an Age where Important Things Happen are what you need to start with.

 

[Owain Taggart]

They could always build a story from the point of view years later, recounting what happened, which might be easier to do than adapting.

I'd say that's worse. For a movie, they need things to be happening to the people who are in the movie. This is why I suggested keeping the core idea of Galactic fall, renewal and all that rather than a concrete adherence to the story. Shaving a few thousand years here and there so Our Heroes live during an Age where Important Things Happen are what you need to start with.

They could still be. Weren't there any descendants in the stories that had a direct impact on the story? You build from that, and tell the story about how their ancestor was involved in some great event, which actually continues with this ancestor. You then have a story that's still happening even as this person speaks, making it a sweeping epic spanning centuries.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

Even if they can't compress the timeline to a single human lifespan, perhaps they could follow a family line through the galaxy-spanning events. So perhaps make Bayta and Arkady Darrell be descended from Gaal Dornick (but not Hari Seldon) and Salvor Hardin as well as from Hober Mallow. That would work better for a miniseries than for a series of movies, and certainly wouldn't work for a single movie.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

If it were up to me, I'd start with the Bel Riose story.

Like Star Wars, it can start in media res; the Empire's fleets are already moving against the Foundation. Downplay the Foundationers in the story somewhat -- they're dull as dishwater. And Bel Riose needs to be played up in the story -- make him a Tarkin-like or Thrawn-like figure, make him aware of the Seldon prophecies, make him a character who is challenging the universe on his own terms and he's determined the win.

Second film, the Mule.

Third film, Arkady, and make sure she's a leggy redhead like the Michael Whelan painting.

Yeah, I'm basically treating the first book as the equivalent of the Prequel Trilogy. If necessary, tell the necessary parts in flashback or like the prologue to Fellowship of the Ring where Galadriel narrates three thousand years of history in five minutes. Otherwise, it's uncinematic stuff, ill-suited to film.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

I like that idea, although like the His Dark Materials trilogy, I suspect the second and third films would never get made. I guess they could make Lathan Devers an ancestor of the Darrells, or just change his name to Lathan Darrell. However, as his efforts are ultimately futile, and sociopolitical forces act to counter Bel Riose instead, it wouldn't play well to audiences who are probably unfamiliar with the story of Flavius Belisarius and Justinian the Great.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

This is a movie that doesn't need to be made. It will satisfy virtually no one - people who like the books are going to be furious, and it will never make the metric buttload of cash that would satisfy the studio given how expensive even a scaled-down version would be.

 

[Asbo Zaprudder]

Yeah, I'm happy to stick with the books and the BBC radio adaptation from the 70s.

 

[Owain Taggart]

Even if they can't compress the timeline to a single human lifespan, perhaps they could follow a family line through the galaxy-spanning events. So perhaps make Bayta and Arkady Darrell be descended from Gaal Dornick (but not Hari Seldon) and Salvor Hardin as well as from Hober Mallow. That would work better for a miniseries than for a series of movies, and certainly wouldn't work for a single movie.

Yeah, that's what I was getting at. The events are just too big to be contained to one generation, so then as a means of telling the story, you tell it from the point of view of the different descendents who are all playing a role. That way you never lose focus of the story, but you also get a way to show time elapse.

 

[RAMA]

Everybody WANTS the movie but everyone knows they'll be unhappy...I still think that someone should give it a shot, after all someone gave Dune 3 shots.

RAMA

 

[TeknoNurd]

I have not read any links, so this may be obvious and addressed in those links:

"The Mule" was in the third of the series: "Second Foundation". Before that, is "Foundation" and "Foundation and Empire", not counting prequels, of course.

There are a lot of GOOD angles they could take, with some good visuals.

- It could be set up as a "Free Will" vs "Secret Controlling Cabal" (2nd Foundation) spy thriller.

- It could be The Empire trying to assert itself vs the 1st Foundation, again with a main character(s) trying to figure out the plan.

At some point, they have the cool projection of the plan and how it works. There is even room for space battles, riots, destruction on Trantor and at the Foundation that could be exciting.

As is common, they could pull elements from any of the books to make exposition/explanition easier.

*IF* they don't overreach, there are a lot of approaches to good movies here.

I await in hopeful anticipation.

 

[Brandonv]

I could see a Foundation movie working if it incorporated some of the elements from the two prequel novels, Prelude and Forward. The story could focus on different factions vying for control over psychohistory, with Dors serving as Seldon's bodyguard. It has been a long time since I read the books, but I seem to remember Dors having super human strength and speed, which could make for some good action scenes if they choose to go that route.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

"The Mule" was in the third of the series: "Second Foundation". Before that, is "Foundation" and "Foundation and Empire", not counting prequels, of course.

This is incorrect.

The Mule is a character in Part II of the second book, Foundation and Empire, which is called "The Mule" and which begins the Mule's tale.

The Mule is also a character in Part I of the third book, Second Foundation, which is called "Search by the Mule" and which concludes the Mule's tale.

 

[Greg Cox]

Everybody WANTS the movie but everyone knows they'll be unhappy...
RAMA

I don't know. Is this is really a movie people have been crying out for? I don't remember seeing lots of posts demanding a FOUNDATION movie before.

I can think of lots of classic sf novels that seem better suited to film. CHILDHOOD'S END, MORE THAN HUMAN, THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS (again), HAVE SPACESUIT WILL TRAVEL, THE MOON IS A HARSH MISTRESS, DANCERS AT THE END OF TIME, LEST DARKNESS FALLS, THE CHRYSALIDS, GATHER DARKNESS, maybe something by Poul Anderson or William Gibson . . . .

 

[The Lensman]

Everybody WANTS the movie but everyone knows they'll be unhappy...
RAMA

I don't know. Is this is really a movie people have been crying out for? I don't remember seeing lots of posts demanding a FOUNDATION movie before.

I can think of lots of classic sf novels that seem better suited to film. CHILDHOOD'S END, MORE THAN HUMAN, THE DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS (again), HAVE SPACESUIT WILL TRAVEL, THE MOON IS A HARSH MISTRESS, DANCERS AT THE END OF TIME, LEST DARKNESS FALLS, THE CHRYSALIDS, GATHER DARKNESS, maybe something by Poul Anderson or William Gibson . . . .

Well, it was to sci-fi what "Lord Of The Rings" was to fantasy. I recall reading plenty of stories in my younger days, that all ripped off the "falling Empire....worlds falling into barbarism" thing.

Personally I'd rather see something like Zelazny's Amber series, Moorcock's Champion Eternal stories, or Vance's Dying Earth books brought to the screen. I enjoy a bit of sci-fi, and a bit of fantasy, but I prefer these strange hybrids of both more.

 

[Guy Gardener]

See the bullshit thing about Asimov is that he would just pull these giant game changing resolves out of his ass without any foreshadowing and you'd have to wonder if he had been knowing what he was heading towards the whole time...

What we need to see on Camera is actors from the third movie wandering through in and out of the first two in some mildly identifiable way that you can think "is that the Second Foundation at work course correcting all this from disaster?" when you go back and watch the trilogy again.

Wow.

That sfx/plotting sounds like the Dickesian Adjustment Beura now that I think about it?

 

[Greg Cox]

Personally I'd rather see something like Zelazny's Amber series, Moorcock's Champion Eternal stories, or Vance's Dying Earth books brought to the screen. I enjoy a bit of sci-fi, and a bit of fantasy, but I prefer these strange hybrids of both more.

Those are all great ideas, too. And let's not forget The Stainless Steel Rat and the Dorsai books. Or maybe Andre Norton's Witch World?