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Richard Morgan + Netflix = ALTERED CARBON TV series


Werthead

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And none of this "optioned" or "under development" guff, Netflix have committed to a full 10-episode series based on Richard Morgan's cyberpunk novel Altered Carbon. If successful, I presume they will adapt the other two books in the series, as all three are under option (but apparently not the Land Fit For Heroes trilogy, set many millennia later in the same universe).

Based on how far advanced the project is, we may see this before 2017 is out.

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1 hour ago, red snow said:

I've been championing this as a HBO style sci-fi show for years! Great it's finally happening and yet another case of HBO missing an opportunity. Looking forward to it and congratulations to Richard.

Yeah Altered Carbon was right behind ASOIAF on my list of books that I would like to see a cinematic version of. I always thought it would best make for an HBO movie or a 2 part miniseries like what they did with Empire Falls. 10 hours seems a little long for the source material but I'll take it.

 

 

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5 minutes ago, WarGalley said:

Yeah Altered Carbon was right behind ASOIAF on my list of books that I would like to see a cinematic version of. I always thought it would best make for an HBO movie or a 2 part miniseries like what they did with Empire Falls. 10 hours seems a little long for the source material but I'll take it.

 

 

10 episodes does seem quite long for what isn't a very long book. I guess they could add some elements to it or lengthen the intro? Probably just make the most of all the sex scenes. HBO will be so jealous.

I suppose it depends on how strict an adaptation it will be. They could go for "inspired by" and create other elements.

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52 minutes ago, red snow said:

10 episodes does seem quite long for what isn't a very long book. I guess they could add some elements to it or lengthen the intro? Probably just make the most of all the sex scenes. HBO will be so jealous.

I suppose it depends on how strict an adaptation it will be. They could go for "inspired by" and create other elements.

I wouldn't mind lengthening the intro but still think things would be stretched. Maybe they'll turn some of the minor antagonist into larger ones for greater dramatic effect in the first half of the season. I'm hoping we get more world immersion while still having a natural pace to the plot. I also wonder if they'll soften the vernacular and language... I recall Morgan being like GRRM in that he didn't really spoonfeed you with explanations of the politics and technology of his world.. just sort of dropped you into it and you had figure it out.

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54 minutes ago, red snow said:

10 episodes does seem quite long for what isn't a very long book. I guess they could add some elements to it or lengthen the intro? Probably just make the most of all the sex scenes. HBO will be so jealous.

I suppose they could have extended flashbacks to Kovacs' younger days, particularly where it is relevant to the current-day plot, things like his history with the Envoys. It's been well over a decade since I read the book but I think there were brief flashbacks in it?

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Thanks. This is fantastic news, I love all 3 of those books. Not sure how they'll handle the changing bodies. Maybe he'll be issued a similar one or something.

 

Quote

I suppose they could have extended flashbacks to Kovacs' younger days, particularly where it is relevant to the current-day plot, things like his history with the Envoys. It's been well over a decade since I read the book but I think there were brief flashbacks in it? '

Yeah, I'm hoping they go into a lot of detail about his past with the rebels from the third book.

 

 

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8 hours ago, WarGalley said:

I wouldn't mind lengthening the intro but still think things would be stretched. Maybe they'll turn some of the minor antagonist into larger ones for greater dramatic effect in the first half of the season. I'm hoping we get more world immersion while still having a natural pace to the plot. I also wonder if they'll soften the vernacular and language... I recall Morgan being like GRRM in that he didn't really spoonfeed you with explanations of the politics and technology of his world.. just sort of dropped you into it and you had figure it out.

It's a long time since I've read the books (easily 10+ years) but I recall a villain called the "patchwork man" or something like that who was really creepy. I think he had a shifting face or something but that may have only been on the web? Anyways if they want to expand they should do more with him as he'd work really well on screen.

Morgan is probably one of my favourite authors at finding the balance of letting things unfold naturally and not being offputting. It's great the feeling you get when terminology finally falls into place.

8 hours ago, williamjm said:

I suppose they could have extended flashbacks to Kovacs' younger days, particularly where it is relevant to the current-day plot, things like his history with the Envoys. It's been well over a decade since I read the book but I think there were brief flashbacks in it?

That could also work, There's plenty of scope for young Kovacs that would pay-off if they ever got to book 3 :)

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http://www.richardkmorgan.com/2016/01/faq-ac/

What about the other Kovacs books? Are they going to form part of the series?

Again, it’s early days to be saying anything definitive on that. The longterm aim is to produce at least five seasons of the show, and certainly Broken Angels and Woken Furies are an obvious place to start looking for future material. But the good thing about the Kovacs series is that it’s full of gaps – Broken Angels doesn’t get started until thirty years after the events of Altered Carbon, and you can assume a similarly lengthy hiatus between the end of Angels and the start of Woken Furies. There are certain references in the books to what may and may not have gone on in those intervals, but the truth is there’s space for almost anything to have happened, to Kovacs and to any of the other characters he has dealings with. Which has given us all a lot of food for thought!

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Hmmm, i loved Altered Carbon but wasn't really a fan of the following two books. I'd prefer it if they hired Morgan to write some more Noir-ish style Kovacs detective stories to flesh out the 5 seasons, forgoing the convolution of Broken Angels and W.F.  

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52 minutes ago, Relic said:

Hmmm, i loved Altered Carbon but wasn't really a fan of the following two books. I'd prefer it if they hired Morgan to write some more Noir-ish style Kovacs detective stories to flesh out the 5 seasons, forgoing the convolution of Broken Angels and W.F.  

At the end of the imaginary Q&A session there is one regarding new books. As he's always maintained, he'd like to go back if he had a good idea (and to be honest from one of his signings I attended it sounded like he had the seeds of such a thing). The show may inspire him to return - especially if he does something set in Kovacs past between Altered and Broken

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On ‎1‎/‎21‎/‎2016 at 1:56 AM, red snow said:

It's a long time since I've read the books (easily 10+ years) but I recall a villain called the "patchwork man" or something like that who was really creepy. I think he had a shifting face or something but that may have only been on the web? Anyways if they want to expand they should do more with him as he'd work really well on screen.

 

I just finished Altered Carbon the other day. Regarding the Patchwork Man:

Spoiler

The Patchwork Man was the Bogeyman on Harlan's World. He was a construct that was made of children's flesh and had to keep killing children and using their flesh to replace the parts of his body that were decomposing. The hitman that was chasing Kovacs throughout the novel, Kadmin, appeared patchwork when he was interrogated virtually by Kovacs and Ortega. I'm not sure how much they can add unless he figures more prominently in the second and third novels, which I haven't read.

 

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  • 3 months later...

Joel Kinnaman To Star In Netflix’s ‘Altered Carbon’ Series; Miguel Sapochnik Directs

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The Killing alum Joel Kinnaman is set as the lead in Netflix’s Altered Carbon, a futuristic drama series conceived, written and executive produced by Laeta Kalogridis (Avatar). Miguel Sapochnik (Game Of Thrones) has come on board to direct the first episode of the series, from Skydance Television.

 

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On 24/01/2016 at 8:33 PM, Astromech said:

I just finished Altered Carbon the other day. Regarding the Patchwork Man:

  Hide contents

The Patchwork Man was the Bogeyman on Harlan's World. He was a construct that was made of children's flesh and had to keep killing children and using their flesh to replace the parts of his body that were decomposing. The hitman that was chasing Kovacs throughout the novel, Kadmin, appeared patchwork when he was interrogated virtually by Kovacs and Ortega. I'm not sure how much they can add unless he figures more prominently in the second and third novels, which I haven't read.

 

Thanks for the reminder! I still think the character is creepy enough for them to have some leeway in altering his story/timeline to bring to the screen.

20 minutes ago, AncalagonTheBlack said:

I haven't seen him in anything yet - Suicide squad will probably be where I catch him first. It's funny how he's got the lead part but has little chance of making it to season 2 (or the duration of season 1) given the nature of skins in the fictional world. I guess they can go for "biggish" people for such roles. The tough job is going to be the other skins having to mimic Kinnaman.

I was just thinking the lead from "banshee" could have worked in the role but I think this guy reminds me a bit of him but has the harder edge which "Kovacs" will need on many an occasion.

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37 minutes ago, red snow said:

I haven't seen him in anything yet - Suicide squad will probably be where I catch him first. It's funny how he's got the lead part but has little chance of making it to season 2 (or the duration of season 1) given the nature of skins in the fictional world. I guess they can go for "biggish" people for such roles. The tough job is going to be the other skins having to mimic Kinnaman.

I was just thinking the lead from "banshee" could have worked in the role but I think this guy reminds me a bit of him but has the harder edge which "Kovacs" will need on many an occasion.

Joel is a very intense actor and owns the screen when he's at his best.I've loved him in all that i've seen of his work,The Killing,Snabba cash (Easy Money),Johan Falk etc.

Here's a fan video of his collected scenes :D

ETA: more stuff

 

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7 hours ago, Mandy said:

Really?  The Killing wasn't a bad show, just got a little long and dreary for my tastes, but no House of Cards for you, either??

I have seen him in the killing - although I've only seen the first 4 episodes from 5+ years ago. I really need to try and go back to it. I just find subtitles require undivided attention and I tended to doze off a lot meaning I was missing vital clues.

House of Cards has been on my list since I got netflix last year. I really should stop watching shows like the Flash to catch up on the good stuff.

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40 minutes ago, Mandy said:

Oh no, he's in the American remake of the show, so it's in English. Or American, at least. Close enough.

House of Card you have to give a few episodes, but it gets good. 

Never stop watching the Flash. I would enjoy it less without everyone's commentary lol

The Flash thread is the most entertaining thing about the Flash show :)

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4 hours ago, Mandy said:

Truer words have never been spoken. I wish we could all get together and watch it together LMAO

It would be like a support group.

It does make me much more excited at the prospect of this show though. Be nice to have something with internal logic and sci-fi.

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