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[quote name='pablonohablo' post='1595235' date='Nov 21 2008, 05.10']I've heard from folks I know in Hollywood that Fran is a really cool, down to earth person. Peter too. I'd be glad to know that was true. It would be nice to have down to earth folks working on this project, even if tangentially. (Assuming everything goes through and they even wanted to work on a future episode.)[/quote]

Fran is very friendly and personable. The kids are, well pretty typical Kiwi kids really (if you know what that means), and becoming good pianists too. Haven't had the pleasure of meeting Peter yet. It seems rather surreal having had Fran Walsh in our home, sitting on our couch, in our living room, reading a magazine and listening to her kids play piano.

Back to the subject though. The director is the one person who can make or break this series. It is the one position where money should not be a deciding factor. The producers should decide who is the best person willing and available to do the project and take them no matter what the cost.

Jackson may be willing, it is far from certain that it is a project he'd actually be interested in, but he is almost certainly not available.

I don't know whether fantasy needs a particular type of director, other than one who quite likes the genre, so I would be more than happy with the director of any of the other critically acclaimed ensemble type TV dramas. Though I couldn't name a single director of said dramas.
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*shudders at the thought of Jackson's interpretation of ASoIaF*

I'm sorry, but that man royally fucked up after FotR. First he destroys the end of TT by screwing up the desperation of Helm's Deep with elves and the entire pacing of the climax by pushing Shelob over a movie, not to mention making Legolas and Gimli into stereotypes to appease a wider audience, but then he adds in or just plain overdramatizes scenes for the sake of "better" storytelling when all he really has to do is focus on what's already there. It's like adding color to a classic painting. Just doesn't belong.

If you can screw up a story as basic as LotR then I don't want to see you touch anything near as complex as ASoIaF can be.
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Very well stated b09boy, however I think you're missing the point. Jackson did not mess with the story nearly as much as most other directors would have... They would have all tried to find some current issue that they felt the story was "about" and they would have focused on that to the exclusion of all else...
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[quote name='the Blauer Dragon' post='1599252' date='Nov 24 2008, 23.15']Very well stated b09boy, however I think you're missing the point. Jackson did not mess with the story nearly as much as most other directors would have... They would have all tried to find some current issue that they felt the story was "about" and they would have focused on that to the exclusion of all else...[/quote]
I agree, it's actually amazing how true the movies are to the books. Movies with extremely high budgets are generally much more commercial and the book is written in a way that doesn't really suit movie dramaturgy that well at all. Jackson & co actually started writing a script that was extremely faithful to the text but that just didn't work. Changes were needed to be made and while I don't personally agree with them all it's clear that the movie was made with love for the original text since a lot of changes are made to either use parts Tolkien wrote when they didn't fit in in their original place, or to portray themes Tolkien had that didn't come out as well otherwise.


In order to get more on topic with the discussion I doubt that any well known movie director is even worth mentioning since they will be making a lot more money directing movies, as well as having more resources to play with. Unfortunately my knowledge about directors of TV series isn't deep enough to be likely to produce any really probable names.
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Ick! can you imagine LOTR in the hand of say Spielberg. Don't get me wrong, I have on occasion been discovered enjoying a Spielberg movie.
But OMG it would just be a back to back displaying of barely impressive CGI monsters and some almost funny banter between elf and dwarf that adds or brings nothing to the story. All three books squeezed into and hour and a half
*shudder*

PJ and weta brought it to life for me. Books to movies are always going to lose something in the translation that those of us who truly love the written word, will grieve over.
But I can't think of anyone that has ever proven that they could have done it better.

Movie remakes, makes it a possibility that sometime in the future though it may be different.

As for aSoIaF. I'm slightly frightened to be honest. Any touching from someone else anyone else, will make it sullied in my eyes and yet I want to see it. and it should be done. If for no other reason than to introduce the books to those who may have previously missed the privilege.

James Cameron does TV and movies. he portrays dark satisfactorily. but seems to wander from story line and eventually kills the show. Whether that is his doing completely I doubt. but in the end it means he will cave to pressure to cater to what we apparently want. According to know it all - know nothing suits.
So he doesn't really get my full vote.

Joss Whedon. oh come on! Firefly was genius. And he does his darnedest to stay true to the vision.
He isn't doing wonder woman any more because he wouldn't conform to the suits. he told em to stick it.
But he hasn't really been tested with this kind of epic fantasy I suppose.

lol, can you visualise Quentin Tarantino on the job. He has also directed some TV. Well I know an episode or two of CSI at least.
it would certainly be true to the bloody.
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Re: Jackson & LOTR

IIRC there was extensive speculation that the producers of the movies would force PJ to turn Sam into a woman, so that Frodo could have a love interest. After all, as common Hollywood wisdom dictates, the main protagonist needs to have a love interest!

So before this thread descends into bemoaning of all the little things that Jackson should have done differently, just remember how much worse this thing could have turned out.

IMO, Jackson struck the right balance between staying faithful to the source material and making the necessary adjustments to capture the mainstream audience that the huge budget for the movies obviously required.
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I was just joking about all the other famous directors. And though I do agree that LotR could have been worse with other directors, I also believe that it could have been possible for other directors to do just as well or (Dare I say it? I shall ...) better. Not so much Anti-Jackson, but Anti-"Jackson is God of Fantasy Film-making."

Anyways, don't most of the HBO shows have multiple directors as well as writers? From what I've seen so far of them shows, the directors should do well.
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[quote name='the Blauer Dragon' post='1599252' date='Nov 24 2008, 16.15']Very well stated b09boy, however I think you're missing the point. Jackson did not mess with the story nearly as much as most other directors would have... They would have all tried to find some current issue that they felt the story was "about" and they would have focused on that to the exclusion of all else...[/quote]

Heh, actually I think you're missing my point. It's not so much that Jackson changed little bits and pieces, but that he changed them for the WORSE. Making key characters into a cliche, ruining the pacing of climactic scenes and adding in or over-focusing on sections to bring in so much drama that it's almost embarassing to watch. The man killed his own movie for repeat viewing just because you see something annoying which ruins a section after every repeat viewing. Example: the rain in Helm's Deep turns on and off throughout the battle, including scene cuts within the battle.

There are plenty of directors who will follow the source material much worse than Jackson. There are also many who won't and many of those many know how to not screw up everything from individual scenes to entire sections of film with piss poor choices ranging from editing to design to script changes.
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[quote name='b09boy' post='1599682' date='Nov 25 2008, 09.58']Heh, actually I think you're missing my point. It's not so much that Jackson changed little bits and pieces, but that he changed them for the WORSE. Making key characters into a cliche, ruining the pacing of climactic scenes and adding in or over-focusing on sections to bring in so much drama that it's almost embarassing to watch. The man killed his own movie for repeat viewing just because you see something annoying which ruins a section after every repeat viewing. Example: the rain in Helm's Deep turns on and off throughout the battle, including scene cuts within the battle.

There are plenty of directors who will follow the source material much worse than Jackson. There are also many who won't and many of those many know how to not screw up everything from individual scenes to entire sections of film with piss poor choices ranging from editing to design to script changes.[/quote]

I like you. I was emphatically unenthused and unimpressed with the LotR trilogy, particularly the last two films.
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[quote name='Ran' post='1599686' date='Nov 25 2008, 03.19']No, Wolfgang Petersen is not involved according to anything I've read.[/quote]

Thank goodness! Speaking of ruined stories and movies... All of the complaints some of you are logging over LotR 2 & 3, Troy exemplifies those complaints even more, as far as I'm concerned. Thankfully, Benioff seems to have other material that inspires more confidence.
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:rofl: [quote name='Yagathai' post='1600001' date='Nov 25 2008, 17.17']Why all the George Lucas hate? I mean, we already know he can direct twincest... :P[/quote] :rofl:

I may exhibit a very poor knowledge of moviemaking (because my knowledge is poor) but wasn´t Peter Jackson an odd choice for LOTR at the time? I don´t know of any pre-LOTR great fantasy movies directed by him. A director seriously in love with the series and knowledgeable of all the little stuff going on is key factor, IMO. And talented, yes. Having done similar themes before is a bonus, but hardly a requirement.
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[quote name='Matarreyes' post='1600017' date='Nov 25 2008, 17.29']:rofl: :rofl:

I may exhibit a very poor knowledge of moviemaking (because my knowledge is poor) but wasn´t Peter Jackson an odd choice for LOTR at the time? I don´t know of any pre-LOTR great fantasy movies directed by him. A director seriously in love with the series and knowledgeable of all the little stuff going on is key factor, IMO. And talented, yes. Having done similar themes before is a bonus, but hardly a requirement.[/quote]
Yes, he was a very odd choice but it was actually he who started the idea and then went around to the big companies trying to sell his idea. The choice of director was thus already done when they got the deal on the table. From what I've heard a lot of companies turned them down before New Line got on board and actually expanded the project.
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with troy comment i was focusing primarily on the battle sequences...u cant really expect great tuning with the characters when the story is most likely a myth to begin with...no one can say what achilles or helen was like..so to complain about the way they are portrayed seems like jsut a nother reason to whine about somethin...imo
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A movie (and prospective TV series) is more than the sum of its battle scenes. I expect much more from a GoT adaptation than some cool looking battles. Every other "epic" movie these days has battles, and most of those movies are terrible. And I think it's perfectly fair to expect good characters from any movie, it's part of what makes a movie good, regardless of how old the source material is.

Nothing about any Wolfgang Peterson movie I've ever seen makes me want him involved. His specialty is hollywood summer blockbuster garbage. Full disclosure, I've never seen Das Boot, but I think I characterized his recent track record fairly.

Rather than focusing on battle scenes, I'd rather a high emphasis be put on hiring a good sword fight coordinator. Those are far more common in the story.
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[quote name='superkick' post='1600908' date='Nov 26 2008, 09.47']though I read soemwhere about the director of deadwood being tinerested or taking part.[/quote]


That wouldn't be so bad I like the way he did season one of deadwood but I don't want to hear any cocksuckers or motherfuckters (unless shit mouth is in the scene :smoking: )
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