Where the hell is the Ringworld movie?

[pokerfan]

I've been waiting thirty years! How come so few of Larry Niven's works have found their way onto the big screen? Don't tell me we don't have the technology to realize a Pierson's Puppeteer. If Gollum can be be done than a Puppeteer, Kzin or a Protector can also be done.

Niven's imdb credits are surprisingly meager:

1. "The Outer Limits" (1 episode, 1996)
- Inconstant Moon (1996) TV episode (story)
2. "Land of the Lost" (3 episodes, 1974)
- Circle (1974) TV episode (writer)
- Hurricane (1974) TV episode (written by)
- Downstream (1974) TV episode (writer)
3. "Star Trek" (1 episode, 1973)
- The Slaver Weapon (1973) TV episode (writer) (story "The Soft Weapon")

I think the following would make terrific movies:

- Ringworld (comes with several sequels already written)
- Footfall
- Lucifer's Hammer
- The Mote in God's Eye
- The Man - Kzin Wars (this could be franchised into a series of films)
- Protector

[Dogtown]

1. I'd buy a ticket for that.

Fascinating author.

[pokerfan]

2. Reading him, you could tell he was a mathematician

His stories generally resolved themselves logically though seldom in any kind of linear/pedestrian fashion. There's usually some little twist that makes complete sense only in hindsight. A lot like reading a good mystery. Especially his short stories.

[Fire Walk With Me]

3. There isn't enough CHON in the galaxy to make that into a movie.

Plus, look at the cover of the book. Each "daytime" section is like a snapshot of a hillside with clouds above them. Not like a section of land with clouds over it... D'oh!

[Taverner]

4. Isn't most of Niven's work "John Galt in space"?

Granted, I have only read some of his short stories...

[pokerfan]

5. I never noticed that

Example?

[Taverner]

7. Like I said, I am not familiar with his novels, just a few Short Stories

But a few I read dealt with a "rich, powerful, benevolent and talented individual" who does x

[pokerfan]

8. I'm wracking my brain here

and I'm not recalling an example.

Matthew Keller (Gift from Earth), an ordinary miner
Jack Brennan (Protector) another miner
Beowulf Shaeffer (Tales of Known Space) pilot
Gil Hamilton (detective)

Louis Wu (Ringworld) is rich and bored. Perhaps this is who you're thinking of, except I don't think he shows up in any short stories.

[MicaelS]

10. No, I classify Niven as a liberal

In his Known Space series, Earth is united under a UN government. There are no more nation states. There are no national more armies. The UN ARM (Augmented Regional Militia) is the global police / military. There is a strong social welfare system.

He writes against Libertarianism in "Cloak of Anarchy".

He speaks out very strongly against the Death Penalty in a series of works, in "A Gift from Earth", "The Defenseless Dead", "Death by Ecstasy", "ARM" and "The Patchwork Girl".

He started speaking out against the Death Penalty as far back as the 60s. He took the idea of execution as a "repayment of a debt to society" to its logical extreme. His future society starts executing criminals by putting them into "the organ banks". In other words, you give a condemned criminal something to stop their heart / destroy their brain so they are "technically" dead. Then you cut them up for their spare parts (organs) before their body starts to decay. The argument being that one criminal can save several lives. Executions are carried in transplant hospitals. The organs go straight to those who are sick, or banked for future use. He illustrates just how far people will go when they want to live by their voting lesser and lesser crimes to be worthy of execution. Income tax evasion, too many traffic tickets, etc. The idea being that the more "criminals" executed the more chance their are plenty of organs for the "law abiding". The problem becomes that there are never enough organs for those in need, so people start turning to "organleggers" who kidnap people off the streets and "break them up" for spare parts. The problem is solved and the Death Penalty abolished when synthetic and cloned organs put and end to the need for organ banks.


http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Larry_Niven

http://www.larryniven.org/timeline.shtml

[Taverner]

11. You know I may be mixing him up with Orson Scott Card...

Those hard SF writers - damn if they don't confuse me sometimes

[Orrex]

12. Might you also be mixing Heinlein in there?

Heinlein can be considered a hardcore Libertarian writer with some minor dabbling in science fiction...

[Taverner]

14. Yes he did loves himself some Ayn Rand

Read "Take Back Your Government" and its a pretty hard core Lib read

HOWEVER - he did allow for, of all things, Communism and Socialism. He was a hard bird to pin.

Sure "Moon is a Harsh Mistress" is Atlas Shrugged from the standpoint of Galt Island but...

"Spaceship Troopers" is kind of almost a Communist ideal with "citizenship" replacing "party member" (although its scary how I can't watch it now because of the Iraq War having happened)

I think if anything his work is "Anti Authoritarian" and he works from there, blindly and without direction

[Blue-Jay]

6. I think The Legacy of Heorot would make a good movie.

[pokerfan]

9. Ah yes, the grendel

or at least, Niven's version of it.

I think the Integral Trees & the Smoke Ring would be good as well. The aliens from Avatar kind of remind of the humans in that story, except for the color.

[EvolveOrConvolve]

13. Haven't you seen "The Breakfast Club"?

Oh, you said "Ringworld" instead of "Ringwald".

Just ignore me.

[pokerfan]

15. lol

[MicaelS]

16. Ringworld movie looks like it's in development hell.....

Ringworld Movie News

For the last several, ever since the movie rights to Ringworld were sold, there have been rumors of a Ringworld Movie which has led to untold amounts of speculation about the cast, the characters and the special effects involved in making the movie.

This page has been created to hold information about the movie and rumours when they are known.

[Ghost of Tom Joad]

17. I used to dream of Ringworld

boy I would love to see a well done version of Niven's work