LeGuin Weighs in on EarthSea miniseries and it aint pretty

[CBGLuthier]

http://www.ursulakleguin.com/UKL_Info.html#Earthsea

I've tried very hard to keep from saying anything at all about this production, being well aware that movies must differ in many ways from the books they're based on, and feeling that I really had no business talking about it, since I was not included in planning it and was given no part in discussions or decisions.

That makes it particularly galling of the director to put words in my mouth.

Mr Lieberman has every right to say what his intentions were in making the film he directed, called "Earthsea." He has no right at all to state what I intended in writing the Earthsea books.

[Fleurs du Mal]

1. "Toto, something tells me Earthsea isn't Iraq."

Ahahah, I love this! :toast:

[DrWeird]

2. oh my

Haven't read the books, couldn't stomach more than the first five minutes of the movie.

But I can tell this may very well be the worst adaptation since War of the Worlds.

[Walt Starr]

3. Nah, the worst adaptation since War of the Worlds was

I, Robot

[HawkerHurricane]

9. In the running for worst adaptation...

Starship Troopers

[CBGLuthier]

4. Wait, it gets better (followup on slate)

http://slate.msn.com/id/2111107/fr/rss/

[robbedvoter]

5. Very interesting. Makes me want to read the books.

I thought, while watching the clunky miniseries that there was something to the story. Now , I am actually curious.

[YankeyMCC]

6. very interesting

In an ironic way this horrible adaptation of Earthsea may help promote the novels.

:)

I feel much more strongly now than I ever have that I need to go pick up some of her books and read them.

[Technowitch]

7. Just added "Dreamkeeper" to my Netflix queue, based on her recommendation

[Sabriel]

8. Yeeessss, let's whiten everything we can

White privilege, anyone? Heaven forbid a protagonist should not look white.

[phantom power]

10. It's interesting that she focuses most of her ire on

skin-color discrepancies. I would have guessed that the many other screw-ups the producers made regarding basic plot and themes would have been more offensive to her. But then, maybe that's because I fall into that "don't notice, don't care" category that she mentioned. The racial characteristics of her characters was obviously an important thing for her.

It's cool to get this sort of insight into an author. As a reader, I often wonder how differently my experience of a book is, as compared to what the author was thinking when it was written.