So far, this trip has been marked by seating issues, a late cancellation, general misfortune, and the mid-brush realization that what I’d packed was not, in fact, toothpaste but a topical ointment for rashes. All in all, an inauspicious start to this east coast swing.
Back on the west coast, meanwhile, my pug Jelly is apparently missing me something terrible. This according to Akemi who claims she seems downcast and considerably less vocal – although her appetite remains as healthy as ever. My french bulldog Lulu, on the other hand, is coping just fine. Last night, she seized the opportunity of my absence to lay claim over my spot on the bed.
Given her general stubbornness, I have a feeling it’s going to be very tough to take it back.
Met up with my Toronto buddies Tara and Trevor last night. Catching up with them over mini turkey burgers, flatbread, and scotch almost makes me want to come back and shoot a series here in Toronto.
Today, it was meetings, meetings, and meetings (in that order). We hammered out a pretty solid structure for the JM series (note: it doesn’t stand for either Joseph Mallozzi or Jason Momoa) and will be starting work on the overview and pilot when we get back to Vancouver. We have a dinner meeting tonight and then, tomorrow, we start breaking the film script! In addition, a couple of other opportunities have cropped up in the last 48 hours including a partnership to pursue some established properties.
Which is where you all come in. Again, I need your input. What book, graphic novel, or anime series do you think would make a great television series (or movie)? List away. If your idea is a good one and we do end up securing the rights and making the series (or movie), you automatically win yourself a set visit!
With some time to kill this afternoon, I visited one of my favorite Toronto haunts:
SOMA Chocolatemaker (Welcome to SOMA chocolatemaker). Akemi, no doubt, misses it even more than I do so I picked her up a little something(s) for dog-sitting while I’m away:
I’m hoping they’ll actually make it back to Vancouver.
Note from my sis: Andria asked me to thank Sparrow_hawk, gforce, and astrumporta for their support of The Missing Children’s Network!
Hey, Stella – hope the doggy surgery went well today!
For that kind of haul, I’ll dog-sit any day! 🙂
🙁 I contributed, too. I did it yesterday. Maybe I did it wrong, although it said it was going to charge my card. I didn’t get an email confirmation about it now that I look back. I hit “send” and not “verify” Maybe that is where I screwed up.
Maddie takes my spot on the bed but since she knows I’m the alpha, she moves as soon as I come in. It’s like when one parent goes on vacation and it’s like a mini-vacation with the other parent. Late night inside tenting, staying up late, watch TV in bed, etc.
JM? Just Mummies?
I’ll have to think about what book could be a good movie. I’m partial to Elizabeth Moon’s book.
I reckon Dale Browns Megafortress/Air Battle Force series of books could form the basis of a great series..
Ohhhh, cool, a contest.
So many come to mind from the many books in the BotM club.
And, one that I stumbled on but thoroughly enjoyed as well as the one Sparrow Hawk recommended.
1. Divergent – by Veronica Roth
2. Ready Player One – Earnest Cline (SparrowHawk)
1. I Remember the future – Michael Burstein
2. The first law series – Joe Abercrombie
3. The Traveler series – John Twelve Hawks
4. The company series – Kage Baker
Have to think more….
and I have thinking food.
Got me some macarons from Whole Foods….YUMMMMMMMM.
Sorry…did not categorize between movies or TV series.
I agree with PBmom – The Speed of Light would make a good movie.
Sounds like a busy day, but it’s great that it sounds pretty productive. Did June 6th provide any answers like you were expecting?
I wish I had a suggestion for a property that would make a good conversion to video, but sadly I’m drawing a blank at the moment. I’ve been reading mostly “documentary” type stuff recently so there’s not a lot of drama in those. One I read a couple of years ago “Little Princes” was a true story but it’s a great read. It’s the story of a fellow who went to Nepal to volunteer for a couple of months and wound up setting up a charity “Next Generation Nepal” to help reunite victims of child trafficking (a fairly large problem there) with their families.
Tell Andria, no problem!
The chocolate looks great – I’m going to try to get to Beta5 out in Vancouver!
@PBMom: I didn’t get a confirmation either, but it looks like it went through okay. Perhaps your entry just didn’t get processed through the system yet.
I’m glad you guys got something solid hammered out that well. It sounds like a great working relationship and solid, knowledgeable leadership that knows what it wants from you and how to knock out an outline.
I don’t have many JMss to choose from. My husband is a J. Mikey, but there’s another letter in his initials.
—
There’s a lot by Neil Gaiman I’d throw into the ring. If Sandman or American Gods might happen, they probably are already in the running.
But I’m reading a novel he co-authored. I picked it up in a corner of the juvenile fiction section. There are unsung jewels in that section. Interworlds, it’s called. Something tells me it would be a casting and child labor nightmare to populate most of the cast with kids who share a likeness because they are all the same person from alternate universes. Are there more Caulkins yet? But I think the premise has potential for recurring stories. Unlike many alternate universe stories, it lays a decent and exciting foundation for why the happenings of alternate universes are of consequence.
Here’s my pitch for why you should focus your book search on novels that have been serialized without a planned trilogy: If there was a book #2, someone wanted to hear another story. If there was a book #3, someone thought making another story out of the first worked. That’s a foundation for being able to make recurring stories out of it. So you have your Takeshi Kovacs novels for the cyberpunk detective stories. Spin for some recurring science fiction stories. Neuromancer for that huge audience that doesn’t include me.
There isn’t much precedence for making a series out of a single novel or even movie that didn’t get sequels first. Sex and the City and Running Man and Stargate are all I can think of off the top of my head. Was Dexter serialized first?
I’m surprised how few adaptations to TV series (outside of anime) exist. I guess it makes sense that it might be better to build the universe from the ground for the TV format, but there’s a lot that seems suitable in the graphic novels world. Now you have your Walking Dead success to set a new precedent. Throw some talent at adapting it right and go for it.
Watchmen, of course. That’s a no-brainer, but like Sandman and American Gods, I would assume it’s been considered.
Initial D is awesome. The movie they made out of it was hokey, but it might make a cute live action series. Or not, the fans may be happy with it as is. Maybe try a parkour version of the natural-born talent, cool kids skirting legality for fame premise and choose waaaay better music.
Here’s an old Sci-Fi book I really like:
Orphans of the Sky by Robert A. Heinlein
You could probably pick up the rights for a song. And, I think it would make an interesting movie/series.
Oh, I meant to add that I made DP’s very tasty cobbler this evening. I used peaches, and I did add a little bit of cinnamon (just because I love it) and just a hint of nutmeg. Very good!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v98/gforce2002/8E8B5799-887F-4C35-A817-36A3B8EB639D-461-0000010285010DEA_zps73185422.jpg
My Siamese steals my spot on the bed whenever I am not in it. Harry, the big 18 pounder, takes my husband’s half of the bed.
JM… Junkie Moon? Jeebus Man?
Fritz Lieber;s Fafhrd and Gray Mouser would be fun if done properly
I’d love to see a movie of The Peace War or Marooned In Realtime, both by Vernor Vinge. Or also Replay by Ken Grimwood.
“We hammered out a pretty solid structure for the JM series (note: it doesn’t stand for either Joseph Mallozzi or Jason Momoa)…”
Damn!! Why not?! Jason would be awesome in his own series. Think of building one around him. I’ll dream…oops, I mean, think about it and see if I can come up with some brilliant ideas for you. Maybe you could put him in your Dark Matter series when that gets going. He was on the hollywood gossip show TMZ last night. He was practicing some tribal warrior thing on an overseas beach with 2 other guys. TMZ was tring to figure out what the ritual meant, and why he was doing it. In the end, TMZ said “who cares, he is such a big guy, he can do whatever he wants”.
Where are the pictures of Trevor and Tara? How is Trevor’s baby daughter Eufemia (or something like that)? Pictures Joe, pictures! Always. Of everything.
@ StellaByStargate – hope your beagle did good!
still say DARK MATTER would make a great tv series (and video game)!
..as for anime, the classic AREA 88 by Kaoru Shintani would be a cool live action series (sort of like a renegade Top Gun meets Bounty Hunter vibe).
Hey, Joe, any chance that Cookie will do a review of the ‘JM’ movie that is inspiring the ‘JM’ series?
I think you should check out The Unproffesionals Graphic Novel. Written by Colin Rankine. It’s definitely worth a look.
Cybersix.
1. Is there still time to support the MCN? I’ve just been so busy I missed it. 😛
2. Careful…I think you’re turning into an alcoholic, Joey.
3. Books, etc, for a series:
A. Agent Pendergast, of course (Preston and Child have expressed interest in such a thing, but the character may not be available due to whatever studio laid claims to it when they screwed up Relic).
B. Monsieur Zenith! (Yeah, that’s just a personal thingy)
C. Uh…Dark Matter??? 😉
D. Elric!! If they can do GoT, then why not the one who opened the way for modern fantasy? (Not sure if any studios own the rights, though.)
Yeah, yeah…those are mostly self-serving suggestions. I’ll have to give it a bit more thought.
BIG night – tons of rugby to watch, and so I think I might go sleepies now so that I can be bright-tailed and bushy-eyed at 3am!! WOO!!
das
😆
Ointment + Johnny Walker + toothbrush? I read that and laughed out loud. God Bless you, Joe. It’s been a tough week, and a tough day in the news. So needed to laugh! Too bad the camera wasn’t running when you brushed your teeth. THAT would be a weird toothpaste of the day video. 😛
Aw… your doggie babies miss their dad. I used to get my grrrl excited about going to Grandma’s house. It got so I could I could *hum* the tune “Over the river and through the woods to Grandmother’s house we go…” and she’d emit an ear-splitting bark and go berserk. (There’s a big back yard to play in, cherry tomatoes to snitch. See avatar.) Leaving her there was not a problem. “SEE ya, mom! Take your time!” At least she was glad to see me when I came home. 🙂
I agree, PBMom! Joe, Elizabeth Moon’s The Speed of Dark would make an incredible movie, and possibly a good series. Because people would get very attached to Lou’s character, I think they’d need to get to the good stuff quickly, as in a 2-hour feature film. Otherwise, they’d have to leave him hanging in a heart-wrenching place until the next week. And with networks’ penchant for pulling plugs so soon, never seeing how Lou’s story ended would be heart-breaking for sure.
Can’t think of a second book or idea, but PLEASE oh please, can it have humor? Like PG-13 humor that we can share with a group? We need laughter & escapism, and the only thing better is to share laughs with friends or family. Am not enjoying the dark-twisty-and-steamy tropes anymore.
Sparrow! Man, I hate that you took such a hard hit. You and Deni, doggies in surgery and whenever someone posts, you have all been in my thoughts. Thanks for the good car wishes! The brake line is fixed. Now onto the hazy headlights and the kit from autozone.
Joe, I hope your Mom is okay. Let us know? Your blog family is praying. 🙂
Did you not have a similar toothpaste experience in Japan a while back?
But, then I don’t think you had the scotch.
How’s your eye?
In addition to a nice haul of stuff for Akemi – need to add to it cause Akemi is special, need a few toys/treats for your puppies too.
Hi Joe,
Happy to report that the vet said the surgery was textbook and Lily was up and hobbling around on three legs. I will bring her home tomorrow and then the hard part begins. (Unfortunately, you can’t just tuck a dog in bed, pop Season 1 of SG-1 into the DVD player and tell her to stay off her feet for the next six weeks….).
All your good wishes were much appreciated! Thanks, Joe!
Stella
Travel safely and productively. LOL, at least you noticed BEFORE brushing your teeth with the rash stuff!
Which is where you all come in. Again, I need your input. What book, graphic novel, or anime series do you think would make a great television series (or movie)? List away.
there are many that i’ve thought would make a good movie.
(WARNING! often there are spoilers when you look this stuff up on amazon & such)
the grounding of group 6 by julian f. thompson
a cast of killers by sidney d. kirkpatrick
the silver wolf by by alice borchardt (technically 1 of 3, but i think this one stands alone)
americans in paris: life and death under nazi occupation by charles glass
mistress of the vatican by eleanor herman
four seasons in rome by anthony doerr
the second assistant (& the sequel the first assistant) by clare naylor & mimi hare
and there are a few book series that would make good tv movies or a tv series.
the masters of rome series by colleen mccullough
the amelia peabody mysteries by elizabeth peters
the sarah kelling mysteries by charlotte macleod
the parasol protectorate series by gail carriger (i think this might have been optioned already, but if that falls through maybe you can get it)
I would say Avatar The Last Airbender, but I think we all know that is all but dead now.
Maybe George Orwell’s 1982, set in modern day? So just our average lifestyles.
While i would love to suggest a lot of anime that would make a good tv series, in a way some would be overly expensive to adapt lol
Either way I’ll add a few I think would be decent
Angel Beats – This one can be done with an older cast, basically about a group of high school students who are dead, the series starts with them essentially in purgatory, living out their days at the school, one by one each of them comes to terms with their ‘issues’ and passes on.
The thing about this show, is simply that they never actually reveal who created the world. I think if anything you could probably expand this.
A Certain Magical Index – Wouldn’t really need a huge cast, more a fantasy series about Espers and Science, the main character Toma has an arm that can cancel out all magical attacks aimed at him, which he calls the Imagine Breaker. Based almost entirely in one city even, with multiple arcs.
This show can be pretty violent, not to mention all the special effects you’d need, it can be done with an older cast, just say Toma is a college student or something and cast someone in their 20s.
Not to mention there’s a spinoff series called A Certain Scientific Railgun which has one major character from Index as the lead.
(There’s light 20+ light novels in this series even, plenty to source from).
Eden of the East – You can do this easily Joe, this would probably be one of the easiest to adapt even.
Planetes – An almost modern day Science fiction series about debris collectors, which covers a lot of human/moral issues even, would need a few dozens sets though no?
Spice and Wolf – Lawrence and Holo travel across the land, ultimately to return Holo to her home in the north, in Yoitsu. This is more a period piece if anything, no modern technology or anything, Lawrence being a traveling merchant, with Holo the Wolf spirit who takes the form of a girl. Besides the extensive dialogue and situations they get into in their long but eventful journey, the joy of the series is the banter between the 2 characters. You wouldn’t need a huge cast for this either.(Seriously, Lawrence is a pretty naive trader at times, lots of dialogue when he sells stuff..)
Starship Operators – I think you’ve seen this one right Joe? You could do this one easily enough assuming you can build the ship sets if you have the budget, this one would be a good family show, has some deaths in it though but boy are the ship battles amazing. Cadets fighting for the freedom of their homeworld(Not Earth) from an oppressive regime that conquered it.(This can be done easily enough, Earth has colonized far into space, different empires have formed, I say empires but more the armys of various star systems coming together to conquer stuff).. The crew interactions and general togetherness, even during the hard times is what makes this work. Lots of talking in general really.
Coyote Ragtime Show – Another Science fiction show about a group of ‘Coyotes’ who are hunting down some treasure from one of the biggest heists in the galaxy even. They love to have fun, they’re basically a family, ship battles, space stations, planets, drinking, cussing even lol
Anyway without wanting to make this post overly long I’ll skip the explainations for the rest as just list em.
Madlax, Noir, El Cazador De La Bruja, .hack series, Sword Art Online, Tenjo Tenge, Death Note, Baka To Test, Banner of the Stars, Infinite Ryvius, Tsubasa Chronicles, Pumpkin Scissors, Black Lagoon(Please. You can do this easy Joe, you know you want to do Black Lagoon).
Hope my suggestions help Joe, sorry if the post was overly long, you might need to research some of the shows given if you haven’t seen. But theses were some of the ones I thought of, off the top of my head anyway.
Problem mostly is viability and budget, I listed ones that realistically can be done in the real world anyway lol
Sorry things started so inauspiciously. But perhaps you were just getting the bad stuff out of the way to make room for the good?
Book for a movie: I I was going to say John Scalzi’s Old Man’s War but someone already snagged that one. Continuing in the Scalzi family:Red Shirts was a lot of fun and could do well as a movie or miniseries.
If you want to go outside the sci-fi realm: Ellen Kushner’s Privilege of the Sword. I love that one. I think it might play better than Swordspoint, but that is another one that I think would transition to the screen very nicely.
My daughter contributed: Neil Gaiman’s American Gods or Good Omens (with Terry Pratchett)..
For anime, well, I’m a bit leery of trying to bring anime to live action. But one that might work is Samurai 7.
More fantasy than science fiction, but the Mistborn Series by Brandon Sanderson has a world big enough with enough fun characters to play in for a tv series. While I love Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss it would be a little ‘How I met Your Mother’ with the way it is currently told as a present day hero tells of his past (mostly).
Wow, just noticed quite a few grammar mistakes there. Sorry about that Joe, I typed that out pretty quickly and didn’t bother proof reading lol.
Anyway, adding Fate/Stay Night and Fate/Zero to that list. Both amazing shows that can be done realistically.
May I suggest that you collaborate with me on producing The Black Tower? Published online in 2008, this webcomic amassed a worldwide fan base of over 100,000 readers before it was taken down in 2011, and in that time it garnered praise from some of the industry’s biggest TV writers and producers, including those who write or have written for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Smallville, Supernatural, Lost, Heroes, Battlestar Galactica, Alphas, Star Trek, Haven, Warehouse 13, Lost Girl, Primeval:UK and The Listener, among others. The series bible is complete, I’m writing the pilot script now for a producer in LA who asked me to have it ready to show Shawn Pillar by the end of the summer. Haven’s Sam Ernst & Jim Dunn have expressed an interest in coming on board as co-producers, along with Robert Hewitt Wolfe, once I have sold the show to either SyFy or the CW for the 2014/15 season. It would be nice to have you along for the ride, too, Joseph.
i didn’t know that books had to be sci-fi or fantasy. <_<
in that case; (same warning applies)
the great game trilogy (past Imperative, present tense & future Indefinite) by dave duncan
snare by katharine kerr
Hey Joe,
Great idea… for us little guys.
Well “this” is project I personally have dreamed to come to life for long time. Since I doubt I can ever get Michael Bay’s attention maybe you could pass some ideas on to someone who could vision this just as I do…
My idea is to somehow bring the 80’s cartoon of M.A.S.K. to life. Still rated one the top ten 80’s theme songs from that era. A fresh hip new show now with the tech to make this appear real… With the right casting, even a huge hit. This has a huge following, try to find one vintage toys on eBay at affordable price still to this day!
Here is the opening theme to bring back some memories…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2Z1yLO9C-Q
Here are some fun links of those who also think this be a great idea… and some the ideas the show brought to us as kids. I think if done in a movie it would be better than series, but Knight Rider did make slight come back with this type of special effects.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbfC8gZkekI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WO90Q1-uOvk
I’ll post some openings for stuff I suggested to give anyone interested some idea of what I’m talking about.
Planetes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZ-OyT4ivkM
Starship Operators
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aWEy2JXiZY
Heroic Age
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAtfEu_mPy4
Speaking of Heroic Age, this would be an utterly fantastic space opera series, assuming someone with money invested in it. The budget would likely be higher than SGUs even lol
El Cazador De La Bruja
My choices of graphic novels: Dark Matter, Table For One(Bosch Fawstin)
Books by Scalzi: Old Mans’ War, RedShirts
For a more updated version of a movie based on a book: Martian Chronicles
In regards to anime suggestions randomness beat me to it with A certain Magical Index and A Certain Scientific Railgun. Second the increase in age for the characters.
Novel wise Wen Spencer has a series that blends magic and tech with her Tinker series.
G’day
Agree with Ryan “Stitch” Nixon, M.A.S.K. was an excellent show, as was Voltron.
Pretty sure my sister has some of my old toys from M.A.S.K. Hidden away somewhere, she would know, being very orderly and a hoarder (unlike me).
I would LOVE to see something made about “Mandrake The Magician”. He is just awesome.
Not gotten around to the cobbler yet. Hope to during this long weekend.
Yeahhhh that stash ain’t gonna make it, ten bucks says there’s a replacement buy in your very near future… chocolate tends to call out for attention at 2am…
The Weather Warden series by Rachel Caine…
(I haven’t read the other comments yet, so sorry if I doubled up).
I noticed they’re doing a new Stephen King television series, Under the Dome which is kind of interesting given it was already an episode on Haven, his other tv series.
K
I wanted to throw a suggestion into the ring. I am a big fan of R.A. Salvatore’s writing and there is a great series, The Icewind Dale Trilogy, involving the dark elf Drizzt Do’Urden that I think would make a great television series. Great characters, great possibilities for action scenes and already well known characters among the fantasy loving community. Drizzt is just such a classic character I’m surprised there haven’t already been shows or movies made about him.
As for the rest of your trip – I hope it turns out to be wonderful!
– Tim Powers’ Anubis Gates
– RA MacAvoy’s A Trio for Lute
– Raymond Feist’s Rift War Saga (Magician, Silverthorn, Darkness at Sethanon)
– Tolkien’s tales, Silmarillion etc in a tv series where each stories are a 1+ episodes.
– A D&D book that I would love to see in movies are the DragonLance trilogies, if properly made.
They Kayla Steele series by Natasha Rhodes…I think there are three or four novels out now.
Hi Joe,
Glad you made it to Toronto safe. I had to laugh at Lulu stealing your spot. I have the same problem when I’ve gone on trips. Try chasing a heavy-sleeping 50lbs Husky off of your side of the bed in the middle of the night! That and she has a bad habit of licking the sheets, meaning that if I do manage to chase her off, I’d be sleeping in cold-wet dog drool. It’s usually easier to go to sleep in the guest bedroom and then reclaim my spot (along with fresh sheets!) the next day.
On the book suggestions, I’m chiming in late because it’s been a busy day…
For a movie, or TV-series, I thought either Ringworld (Larry Niven) or Caves of Steel (Asimov) might make an interesting starting point.
In Ringworld’s case, the characters could travel the Ringworld (meeting new cultures ala Stargate), while trying to find a way off the Ringworld (maybe they crash landed). Hmm…this one is starting to sound like Gilligan’s Island in space! Niven provides in his novels the mechanisms for jumping large distances (stepping discs), that could provide the traveling method. As Niven describes it, the person stepping on top of a stepping disc simply winks out or jumps to the next location. That should be an easier effect to manage than the Stargate puddle 😉
The cultures could be all types and levels of industrialization (since in the Niven novels the Ringworld is seeded with various lifeforms and cultures by the Pak; the ones who created the Ringworld).
For Caves of Steel it could be set in the near-distant future as a crime drama (if you’ve read Caves of Steel that’s basically what it is). Think very lifelike humanoid robot coupled with a middle-aged grizzled detective. I’m not sure if 20th Century Fox owns the film rights to this part of the Asimov library, since they did the I, Robot movie with Will Smith. If so, it’ll probably be too difficult to wrestle the rights from them (unless you’re working with a Fox affiliated studio?)
Good luck with the meetings!
I would love to see a good show made out of Lois Bujold’s Miles Vorkosigan.
That M.A.S.K. looks pretty cool. Actually, i’ve got two great ideas! (To me anyways lol)
#1.-The Graphic Novel “Sandman” would be an amazing show with amazing possiblities. My favorite which i can’t remember the title was where he had to travel to hell.
Another one or could be apart of it is “Death” which is Sandmans’ sister in the Graphic Novel Universe.
#2.- “What If” -There used to be this comic series(maybe still around) called What If. Each issue was something completely twisted. My Favorite was What if Wolverine was Lord of the Vampires- I lovvved that issue, i wore the cover off reading it so much and had to buy a new one from someone later on for more than i’d like to have paid. lol This series could be endless possiblities.Taken from fictional books, grahic novels, or Non-Fiction Scenerios. Like
“WHAT IF” – Hitler ruled the world.
-Superman was a psychotic homosexual with bonding issues (no offense)
-President Obama was a transvestite exterestrial from Mars or somewhere
-Stargate met BattleStar Gallactica (had to put that in there)
-We were all Immortal
-Hetereosexuality was unaccepted in society
-We all had to travel in the future to kill our old selves for mercy
Those are just off the top of my head but i’m sure someone with your talent could come up with far greater scenarios.
I’d also love for them to bring back the tv show “Tracker” starring Adrian Paul. That was an amazing show. At the time, it was ahead of it’s time but, i think it would do great nowadays. People are more into that type of show than they were then. (in early 2001) etc
I’d love to watch Adrian Paul in another series (starring) with his fighting skills etc. Something that could use his sword skills from Highlander The Series.
In my opinion he is an actor that could help create a new legend in television lol
When I was 5-6 years old, I accidentally brushed my teeth with Ben-Gay Ointment!!! lol. It burnt like Acid-Peppermint! I had to be rushed to the Hospital and the Doc. made me drink 8 cups (24oz.) of epicac(probably wrong spelling) so i would vomit into this big plastic tub i had to carry around.After the 7th cup he said if I didn’t vomit after the 8th cup, They would have to put a tube down my throat and pump my stomach. Well!, being 6 I didn’t like the sound of that. lol So, I chugged the 8th cup down and luckily I started to vomit. I had never been so happy to in my entire life. lol I had to carry that plastic tub type container around the halls etc. with me for a good hour or so. Ever since then…..I do not like the smell of peppermint! lol Just thought i would share that. It should make you feel ALOT better about you almost brushing your teeth with whatever you did. lol
Oh yeah, One more thing,
On the Show idea for ‘What If”. You’d have 2, 4, 6, or however many actors you’d want starring in the show.Each episode they would have to challenge themselves to be better and better. The entire team would have to do so. From actors, to writers, to designers, to stage builders, and etc. Everyone would have to challenge themselves to do better and better as they go along. Which to me, would be the best thing. Whats the point if your not trieing to do better and better, regardless your field of expertise. It would be more exciteing to do for everyone. The entire team would excel from it also. Everyone would be more proud of their work and Everything would be the best there is because everyone is pushing themselves further and further. As the show goes on, the entire workforce would be the best there is and they would be happier because they would prove to themselves they are far better at their craft than they thought before-hand. Whats the point in trieing if your not steping out of your comfort zone and takeing that adventure inside ourselves? Thats the only way we learn more, we get far better, and volunteer for the projects thats never been done because they are the greatest fun, adventure, and most likely to become Legend! To win all the cookies baby! lol
M.A.S.K could well in serialised form, if wikipedia is to be believed then there’s supposed to be some sort of tie in between M.A.S.K and GI JOE, if thats true and it filters through to the films then is there room for a offshoot series (i’m looking at Agent Coulson amd S.H.I.E.L.D here.)
Okay, I have a couple of suggestions for you. Time & Again by Nora Roberts is about two brothers who travel to the past…
“He was stranded in the present, but getting back to the future wasn’t Caleb’s biggest dilemma. Cynical Jacob had followed his brother into the past intending to lure him home, but discovered home is where the heart is.”
Yes, this is a romance novel, but I’m sure you could put your spin on it. Also, I don’t think it would cost a fortune to get the rights. (BTW, if you were interested I have an idea for a time travelling tale – not a romance.)
And…how about The incredible Mr Ripley? Yes, I know its been done as a movie, but what a wonderful series it could make. Dark themes are doing really well on TV right now, and you don’t get much darker or contrived than the way this character thinks!
Good luck with whatever you decide to do Joe.
I would love to see Peter F. Hamilton’s Night’s Dawn Trilogy turned into a TV series. Preferably with HBO or AMC so there can be swearing, sex and violence. I think it’s great how a pretty standard space opera is completely turned on its head when the dead start coming back and possessing the living. While the books are probably too long to faithfully translate to TV (the entire first season of True Blood was based on the 291 page Dead Until Dark while The Reality Dysfunction runs at 1225 pages!) I think the story could be distilled to make an awesome series.
I live in hope that one day The Amtrak Wars by Patrick Tilley will be made into a movie or TV series. The books have been optioned by an Australian production company but have been in production hell for years. The story about war between the underground dwelling, technologically advanced survivors of nuclear holocaust and the above ground, magical mutants would make great viewing.
I’m currently listening to the audiobooks of The Dresden Files which is fantastic! I’m not usually much of a fan of urban fantasy (I shunned Buffy for a long time.) but I really enjoy these books. Alas, it has already been unsuccessfully (and quite badly, IMHO) adapted to a TV series in 2007 so I suspect no production company would want to touch it. But I’d love to see each book turned into a movie.
Well if they could ever be finished, the Dune series. I would especially like to see what kind of spin you could put on the last two books that were written by his son (via his detailed notes and outlines). Oh and the impossible – something in the Babylon 5 universe (good luck with WB not being dicks). I sure JMS would be on board to see what you could do in that universe.
Mass Effect or Boishock??!!
Or HALO? Just look what they did with Forward Unto Dawn. Sorry about the multiple entries.
I’ve always wanted to see Anne McCaffrey’s Dragon Riders of Pern series on the big (or little) screen.
How about the Lensmen series … updated to modern technology:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lensman_series
and I think something could be done with Kiki’s Delivery Service (ie a young witch in training with a very cute talking cat … or has this been done!!)
Joe, please tell Andria that she is very welcome and wish her good luck in the race!
@sylvia: my BotM book suggestion, Ready Player One already sold it’s movie rights.
@Randomness: I agree! Eden of the East would be great as a TV show! And I like Fate/Stay Night, too, but i’m not sure how easy it would be to bring to TV. And I’m scared about what they would do to some of my favorite characters…
@das and Joe: I agree about Monsieur Zenith the Albino. Joe, you need to read that one before you give up on Zenith. It is a novel length book by Michael Moorcock and Anthony Skene. I know you read the short story collection, some of which were okay, but this one is excellent! Great for a movie and there is a ton of additional Zenith material out there to mine for plots for sequels! And das, he did ask for what YOU would like to see made into movies or TV shows, so self-serving is just fine. Don’t you have some graphic novels you could suggest to Joey? You read a lot more of them than I do. And I’ll check out some rugby this weekend. My kids are curious, too.
@for the love of Beckett: Thanks for the sympathy. My orthopedic doctor says “the bones are in good position” but no healing yet. He said it will be another 3 weeks.
And I agree with everyone who mentioned Speed of Dark. But that one makes me cry.
@StellabyStargate: Get well wishes to Lily!
I think something based on the “Eden of the East” anime would make a good live-action series, as long as you stuck to the mysterious, action-oriented flavor of the first anime series and not the ponderous swamp of dialog that was the subsequent movies. Not only is it still current, but there’s the potential for a strong episodic structure as all of the different elect battle it out with the unlimited resources provided by a mysterious benefactor, and the setting could easily be changed from Japan (and Washington DC) to Vancouver.
Relentless, Fearless, Merciless (Trilogy) – by Robin Parrish.
Its an interesting take on a super-hero-esque genre. Excellent books, would make for a fantastic movie.
I’d love to see a follow up series for an established but current fallow property that involves intrepid explorers from an arm of the military, who use a series of stable wormholes to explore our universe. They would have spaceships too, of course, and would meet a multitude of aliens, both friends and foes. Who wouldn’t love that concept?
Just thought I’d throw that in there.
Also, you could consider doing a remake of “VS: All Superheroes Must Die”! 😉 I’m sure the rights would be cheap!
*currently fallow* not *current*. Ugh. My kingdom for a comment editor, WordPress!
Hmm…somehow I missed that you were looking for movies, too, so my comment was assuming TV series only in places where I wasn’t clear about that upfront. That’s why I was barely considering stand-alone novels.
Is this stage of shopping about acquiring the option to be the one to produce? If it is, how close is that to being an intention to produce? Is my impatience for more stuff on TV that I want to watch showing?
Oh, another thing about Interworld (not Interworlds), it has this fun take on mingling science and magic, but not in a sloppy, confused about genre definitions way. The book is very intentional and clear about why and how it’s being done.
I’ve decided if you do American Gods, I’m going to take great offense at the title and mount a protest campaign. It’ll be great publicity for you. You’re welcome.
@Terri – oooo, I love Pern stories, Anne McCaffrey stories in general, too, but I’m bored of her characters. I’d love to see her worlds, but with new takes on the characters.
@Alabaster – I love the Dune series. There’s so much to that universe. I loved the idea of exploring more points in the history of that universe through his son’s books, but I couldn’t handle the leap in how disturbing it was. And a leap from how disturbing Dune was is really a feat.
My youngest daughter, Bethany, would love to see Ridley Pearson’s “Kingdom Keeper’s” would make a great movie, series of movies, or a series. I just finished a children’s book called “Once Upon a Marigold” (there are 3 books in the series). Ridley Pearson has written A LOT of good children’s and adult books. I know children’s movie/series may not be what your thinking of but these are some pretty intelligent books, especially Pearson’s.
Dang. That should be “its” possessive not “it’s” contraction. I hate when I do that.
My suggestions would be
Saber Rider:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWOA1TtK2YY
Galaxy Rangers:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hSMzrWZCAE
and
Misfits of Science
@Sparrow_hawk
I have faith as Joe is a pretty big anime fan too. If it’s something he likes/is familiar with, I’m sure he would do well.
Anyway I would love to see Accel World done, it’s done by the same person behind Sword Art Online, it uses the same technology used there too even. The main character is a complete loser, but the fight scenes are amazing, and watching his character grow throughout the show is the best part, this kind of idea if done right would be amazing.
Everyone having Neural links attached to their necks from birth in this series is kinda cool. Using a program called Brain Burst people can challenge each other to ‘virtual’ fights anywhere in the real world, it’s really really amazing lol
Accel World Op
My TV series suggestion: Hugh Howey’s Silo series (see Wool if you’re not familiar with it: http://amzn.to/ZZJYsW). An engaging concept and background, with plenty of scope for ongoing stories.
I trust Joe. I really do. I just think it would be hard for anyone to do it.
Well, if we are dreaming – how about Berserk? That would make a helluva movie trilogy!
Manga: I Am a Hero or Death note
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/manga.php?id=11880
Sf: Bill, the Galactic Hero ( harry Harrison) ,
Planet of Adventure and The Dying Earth series (Jack Vance-and many more of her series, is very little used in tv&film) http://goo.gl/SEDLo
Comic: Incognito (Brubaker & phillips)
http://animabarda.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/incognito.jpg
@Sparrow_hawk
Personally I think with enough money, you can do anything.
Where I said “Running Man” yesterday, I meant “Logan’s Run”. Minor detail, but that’s how I am.
@joe These are my series suggestions, thanks for asking!
1. Florence Undercover-Specialized Italian Art anti-theft unit.
2. The BladeRunner Chronicles-Son of Dekker and Sean Young carries on.
3. World War Z-The Z-Files (I finished the book, BEGS to be a TV series!)
4. Classic Murder-Master pianist solves international crime.
5. The French Embassy-Tales of state department derring-do worldwide,
6, Half-Life Chronicles-The Gordon Freeman Files (video games are the NEXT reality TV imho)
7. Stargate Academy-Secret Air Force prep school.
8. Vancouver Tattoo-Green card underground railway.
9. The Mt. Shasta Gang-Turn of the century crime dramedy.
10. RoboWars-The NEW battlefield.
bonus
11. Sugar, Sugar-Louisiana lady homicide detective and her albino-Cajun partner solve murders in Birmingham.
Apologies-So excited at the prospect of a set visit I slipped original ideas in, my bad!
Hello Joe! Hope the weather’s nice in Toronto. This Friday I’m off to see my first Ice Hockey Match – Canada vs USA in Melbourne. I’m going for Canada.
Well I can’t compete with Kelly but I did some research and came up with the following book:
Jennifer Government by Max Barry
“The world is run by American corporations; there are no taxes; employees take the last names of the companies they work for; the Police and the NRA are publicly-traded security firms; the government can only investigate crimes it can bill for.
Hack Nike is a Merchandising Officer who discovers an all-new way to sell sneakers. Buy Mitsui is a stockbroker with a death-wish. Billy NRA is finding out that life in a private army isn’t all snappy uniforms and code names. And Jennifer Government, a legendary agent with a barcode tattoo, is a consumer watchdog with a gun.”
You’re welcome!
Cheers, Chev
The first law series by Joe Abercrombie would be an amazing television series.
Johnny Mnemonic would make a great TV series, but I think someone is working on that already.
I’ve always thought Heinliens Methuselahs Children would make a fun movie. It could easily be extended into a tv serial…
I would like to add another suggestion … this premise would make a fun sci fi series (maybe making use of new video spliced with scenes from all the old Trek TV shows)
http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Star_Trek:_Department_of_Temporal_Investigations
Anne- You just gave me another idea as well! How many remember that awesome 80’s show that not only taught us to do the right thing, but also all about history!
Joe,
TV needs some history teaching again! We have lost all the shows like He-Man and GI JOE that had a message about doing the right thing and way before Quantum Leap we had one teaching us about history! Also what prop collector never at some point wanted his own Omni…
That’s right people we need to bring back Voyagers! =)
I know, sorry It is not an established series, but what about a reinvention of a Indiana Jones like character set in future times, pursuing artifacts from other galaxies? So many possibilities.
The “Watch” novels by Sergei Lukyanenko are a great property waiting for someone to pick up and continue, or simply re-boot. They are a uniquely Russian take on fantasy and adventure which juxtapose magic with the modern world.
The five books in the series, “Night Watch”, “Day Watch”, “Twilight Watch”, “Last Watch”, and the just-released “New Watch” tell complex stories with characters in uncertain situations having to question what is ethical or what constitutes justice in the ancient, morally ambiguous conflict between the “Light” and the “Dark”.
The books have been runaway best-sellers in Russia for years and have been translated into many languages. Two movies were created based on the series which became the first two blockbusters of post-Soviet Russian cinema. They were so successful that at one time an American studio was supposed to finance a third film. However the U.S. release of the first two films was mishandled and the project was eventually shelved.
The material could likely be successfully adapted into many formats, including films or TV series. There are great characters and plots which (for Western audiences) would feature exotic settings and cultures.
I think you would have fun adapting the material. The series includes much sly commentary on the circumstances and motivations which underlie the actions of “heroes” and “villains”. Are the conflicts depicted “good vs. evil”, “order vs. chaos”, or just the inevitable chafing which occurs while finding a balance between the needs of society and the needs of the individual?
On the book front I’ll add my voice to those who suggested John Scalzi Old Man Wars Series
Also Protector of the Small by Tamora Pierce
http://www.amazon.com/First-Test-Protector-Small-1/dp/0375829059/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1370882932&sr=8-1&keywords=protector+of+the+small
Rangers Apprentice by John Flanagan
http://www.amazon.com/Rangers-Apprentice-Ruins-Gorlan-Flanagan/dp/0756968984/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1370883038&sr=1-2&keywords=rangers+apprentice
As for Anime –
Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit
Ouran High School Host Club
Skip Beat
While I think these would make a great transition to live action, I am thinking they’d cost too much to make:
Bleach
Fullmetal Alchemist
Movies:
Sword of the Stranger (2007) Directed by Masahiro Ando
http://www.amazon.com/Sword-Stranger-Blu-ray-Yuri-Chinen/dp/B001W79MB8/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1370883229&sr=1-1&keywords=sword+of+the+stranger
I am so sorry, I didn’t realize the links would make huge pictures on the site. Please feel free to delete them. So my bad. I just wanted to give you a link to the ones I wasn’t sure you are aware of.
I would like to add another suggestion …
1.Clive Cussler books the Dirk Pitt series are the Oregan Files are both grate.
2. Matthew Reilly book series with Scarecrow are also really good.
Hope this helps i really would love to see anyone of the books series made into a tv show. good luck with all the projects you have going and with the
Dark Matter endeavor.
There’s a little-known book called “Replay”, by Ken Grimwood, that I’ve always thought would make a good film, or better yet, a short series. Basically, it’s about a guy who has a heart attack and dies within the first few pages; except he wakes up as a university student again, living in a dorm room, living the same life he had 30 or so years before his death. His memories of the life he lived before are all still intact, and he has no idea why he’s been zapped back in time. He struggles with the ethical dilemma of whether he changes his own timeline, uses his knowledge of future events to make a fortune, lives his life as if there are no consequences, etc. Think “Window of Opportunity” (because this time jump happens multiple times), only the jump back in time is decades, rather than hours. Could he thwart the Kennedy assassination? Could he become the wealthiest man on earth? Could he do something simple like marry someone else and have a happier marriage, and maybe have kids? What happens to those kids if/when jumps back in time again? Can he handle that?
The book has some problems that would need to be dealt with. For example, there never does emerge an explanation for, or a power behind, the time-jumping, even though he eventually meets another person who also is time-jumping. And the main protagonist isn’t the most sympathetic of characters, especially when he starts doing rather unsavoury things to take the most advantage of his situation. But I think there’s a lot of fertile ground for interesting, thought-provoking stories. For example, are some events unchangeable, no matter how much you may try to prevent them? Are they fixed points in time, so to speak? What does this mean for free will? Is it wrong to change the course of history? Are you really even changing it, if from everyone else’s perspective, it hasn’t happened yet?
I have to second Shana’s suggestion of Fullmetal Alchemist. It’s an amazing story and both incarnations of the anime series have been excellent. They have great characters, great individual episodes, and great overall plotting for the whole ark of each series. The first show had a flat-out amazing music too.
They’re also really affecting stories. I’m pretty comfortable watching most entertainment; I can keep enough emotional detachment to weather some really harrowing material. And the first version of Fullmetal Alchemist made me shout “holy sh*t” more times than any other show before or since.
It’s half happy-go-lucky adventure and half really, really awful things happening — things you wouldn’t think could happen in a happy-go-lucky show. You know when you’re watching a show and think to yourself, “I’m glad the writers aren’t following these implications to their logical conclusions — that’d spoil such a sweet show as this.” These writers followed.
I wondered at the time what these shows would be like in live-action and decided no one could ever get that content on the air in this market. I still believed this, right up until I watched a recent episode of NBC’s Hannibal. After that, anything must be possible.
A late reply but would love to see A Moon Is A Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein turned into a mini series or tv series.
Joe:
I would suggest
The Penderghast series of books by Child and Preston.
The Charlie Parker series of books by John Connolly that begins with Every Dead Thing. I like this a lot, it has the supernatural that seems to be hot without the over done vampires, well developed characters, mystery and a private detective with a great deal of private suffering.