The animated adaptations of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings from the 1970s and 1980s have a bit of a bad reputation these days, but these are not entirely deserved. In particular, Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass’ 1977 TV movie of The Hobbit, with a screenplay by Romeo Miller, gets a lot of things right that Peter Jackson’s three-part live-action film adaptation did not.
The most obvious advantage that the animated version has over the live-action films is its length. The fact that the live-action movies are too long is pretty well-established, but by way of a reminder, the book of The Hobbit is about 300 pages long, with slight variations in each edition. Other books of similar length that have been adapted into films include Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Emma Donoghue’s Room, John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars, and Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird.
The most obvious advantage that the animated version has over the live-action films is its length. The fact that the live-action movies are too long is pretty well-established, but by way of a reminder, the book of The Hobbit is about 300 pages long, with slight variations in each edition. Other books of similar length that have been adapted into films include Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Emma Donoghue’s Room, John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars, and Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird.
- 12/1/2023
- by John Saavedra
- Den of Geek
Ah, Dakota Johnson. If she's not out there messing up Olivia Colman's vacation (or is it the other way around?), then she's taking over Tilda Swinton's witchy dance academy or using a shotgun to ward off Chris Hemsworth's cult leader in a seedy hotel on the California-Nevada border. Yes, this is my not-so-subtle way of telling you to finally watch "Bad Times at the El Royale," if you already haven't.
For her next trick, Johnson is starring in Netflix's "Persuasion," which is the only screen take on Jane Austen's 1817 novel moving forward at this time. (Another one, announced in 2020, had "Succession"...
The post Persuasion First Look: Dakota Johnson Falls in Love in Netflix's Jane Austen Adaptation appeared first on /Film.
For her next trick, Johnson is starring in Netflix's "Persuasion," which is the only screen take on Jane Austen's 1817 novel moving forward at this time. (Another one, announced in 2020, had "Succession"...
The post Persuasion First Look: Dakota Johnson Falls in Love in Netflix's Jane Austen Adaptation appeared first on /Film.
- 4/21/2022
- by Sandy Schaefer
- Slash Film
Sean Young Actress Sean Young attends the 2011 Governors Awards in the Grand Ballroom at Hollywood & Highland in Hollywood, on Saturday, November 12. [Photo: Matt Petit / ©A.M.P.A.S.] James Earl Jones was a long-distance Honorary Oscar honoree, as he's co-starring with Vanessa Redgrave in Driving Miss Daisy on the London stage; veteran makeup artist Dick Smith (Ghost Story, The Fan, The Hunger), however, was present at the ceremony to receive his Honorary Oscar. TV talk show personality Oprah Winfrey, a 1985 Best Supporting Actress nominee for Steven Spielberg's The Color Purple, was the recipient of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. Among Young's credits are James Ivory's Jane Austen in Manhattan, Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, David Lynch's Dune, Oliver Stone's Wall Street, Roger Donaldson's Now Way Out, and Joel Schumacher's Cousins. Also, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Boost, Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde, Motel Blue, and Poor White Trash. Her leading men included Harrison Ford,...
- 11/18/2011
- by D. Zhea
- Alt Film Guide
Producer Ismail Merchant, who, along with James Ivory, brought such acclaimed literary adaptations as A Room with a View and Howards End to the screen, died Wednesday in London; he was 68. Reports on Merchant's death cited that he had been ill for some time and had undergone surgery for abdominal ulcers, and passed away at a London hospital surrounded by family and friends. Born in Bombay and educated both there and in New York, Merchant studied film at USC and early in his career produced and directed a number of acclaimed shorts. His film work brought him to the attention of New York's Asia Society, which commissioned him to make a documentary about Delhi. In India, he met American director James Ivory, and in 1961 the two embarked on a career together (both personally and professionally) that would result in more than 40 films; the first was The Householder (1963), based on the novel by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, who, as their longtime screenwriter, was effectively the third "partner" in Merchant-Ivory Films. Initially, Merchant-Ivory was formed with the charter of making English-language films in India for international release, and their films reflected the conflicts between Indian and British culture. In the early '70s, they tentatively explored new territory . specifically 1920s Hollywood . with The Wild Party, but wouldn't find success outside of India-based films until 1979's The Europeans, based on the Henry James novel, which marked their first major literary adaptation. Small but acclaimed films followed, including Jane Austen in Manhattan and Heat and Dust, but Merchant-Ivory made a name for itself in the mid-'80s with two Oscar-nominated films: 1984's The Bostonians, featuring an Academy Award-nominated performance by Vanessa Redgrave, and their breakout hit, 1985's A Room With a View, the sublime adaptation of E.M. Forster's novel. The film made a star of a young ingénue named Helena Bonham Carter, established Merchant-Ivory as the highbrow literary filmmakers, and received eight Oscar nominations, including Best Picture (it won three). Taking on Forster again, Merchant-Ivory made the groundbreaking gay-themed drama Maurice in 1987 before unsuccessfully trying on modern-day Manhattan in Slaves of New York. After that film, Merchant-Ivory returned to classic literary adaptations including Mr. and Mrs. Bridge and two back-to-back Best Picture nominees, Howards End (eight Oscar nominations and three wins, including Best Actress for Emma Thompson) and The Remains of the Day (also eight nominations). Merchant's remaining films, from Jefferson in Paris (1995) to Le Divorce (2003) were relatively well-received, but never achieved the heights of his previous films. No further details regarding Merchant's death were forthcoming, and a statement was expected to be released later in the day. --Prepared by IMDb staff...
- 5/25/2005
- IMDb News
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