What would you like to see made into a movie?

[Bini]

Unfortunately, I'm not a reader, and I've tried so many times. I am a gamer, though, and I've heard that the video game Uncharted is in the works to be a motion picture in 2016. Got my fingers crossed for this one! I'm really hoping they cast the right actor for Nathan Drake, and preferably, not someone so well known but someone under the radar a bit. On Popsugar they have a list of 38 books that are due to be movies in 2015. I haven't checked out the list, mostly because I just don't read. I know purists like to keep their books as books but in the past a few of you have mentioned that the movie was actually better than the book.

 

So any books, video games, comics, or plays that you think would make a great movie? Who'd you like to see cast in the leading roles?

[PolarVortex]

I think a biopic about Hugh Nibley would be fascinating, although such a movie would open itself up to criticism no matter how it handled his daughter's unfortunate accusations against him in the sunset of his life.  Also, I'm afraid the movie wouldn't have much of a story arc, since his life didn't have the twists and turns that a Joseph Smith or Alan Turing did.  As I recall, the only real speed bumps in his life were a few complaints about his careless footnotes in scholarly works.  But it would still be fascinating.  For the leading role... I guess we can rule out Leonardo DiCaprio and George Clooney.  I wonder if Ben Kingsley can do American accents.

[Vort]

I have a screenplay in mind for the first two books of Nephi. Anyone know a good director/producer team and have access to, say, $5 million in funding?

[Traveler]

I have 3 outlines:

#1: Feathers - about an idiot savant that talks to birds.  Thus the individual is a failure in human society and a g-d to birds.

#2: Enigma - about a phenomenon (in space time) that takes place and is argued to be natural or cause by intelligence.

#3: Mariana Trench - about the discovery of a creature hidden in the debts of the ocean that has evolved intelligence superior to man's.

[Traveler]

I think a biopic about Hugh Nibley would be fascinating, although such a movie would open itself up to criticism no matter how it handled his daughter's unfortunate accusations against him in the sunset of his life.  Also, I'm afraid the movie wouldn't have much of a story arc, since his life didn't have the twists and turns that a Joseph Smith or Alan Turing did.  As I recall, the only real speed bumps in his life were a few complaints about his careless footnotes in scholarly works.  But it would still be fascinating.  For the leading role... I guess we can rule out Leonardo DiCaprio and George Clooney.  I wonder if Ben Kingsley can do American accents.

 

Having known Dr. Nibley personally - his life could not be told with a single movie.  An entire movie could be made just out of an auto accident (minor) he caused and the fall out from his very eccentric mannerisms that are so different from us "normal" folks.

[Guest MormonGator]

I'd like to see a faithful version of Brideshead Revisited by Waugh. Still haven't gotten one that fits the book, in my view. 

 

A better version of Prince Caspian would be nice too. I like the one released a few years ago but it wasn't even close to the book. 

[Guest]

Brandon Mull's "Fablehaven" series would be fun if it was done well.

[PolarVortex]

Having known Dr. Nibley personally - his life could not be told with a single movie.  An entire movie could be made just out of an auto accident (minor) he caused and the fall out from his very eccentric mannerisms that are so different from us "normal" folks.

 

Hmm.  Well, I'll wait for it to come out on DVD.   :)

 

But you knew Hugh Nibley personally?  How cool is that!  Certainly I admire all LDS thought leaders, but Hugh Nibley and President Uchtdorf stand out as especially interesting people.  Perhaps we could do a movie on both.

[mordorbund]

I have a screenplay in mind for the first two books of Nephi. Anyone know a good director/producer team and have access to, say, $5 million in funding?

 

Please tell me Lehi's sermon to the people of Jerusalem consists of more than "Repent! You must repent! You need to repent!"

 

UGH!

[Traveler]

Hmm.  Well, I'll wait for it to come out on DVD.   :)

 

But you knew Hugh Nibley personally?  How cool is that!  Certainly I admire all LDS thought leaders, but Hugh Nibley and President Uchtdorf stand out as especially interesting people.  Perhaps we could do a movie on both.

If you liked the Disney "The Absent Minded Professor" with Fred MacMurray you would love knowing Dr Nibley and any movie of his life.

[Vort]

Please tell me Lehi's sermon to the people of Jerusalem consists of more than "Repent! You must repent! You need to repent!"

 

UGH!

You know, I appreciate the intent of the makers of the Book of Mormon Movie. I really do. But my buddy and I laughed our way through that movie, almost from the beginning. We had to. You either had to take it at face value and laugh at the unintended hilarity, or be so thoroughly disgusted that you left the movie theater after 45 minutes.

• Nephi: Tongue-tied. All the scintillating personality of a used cardboard box.
• Lehi: Ineffective, wimpy, more or less insane. "Crying repentance" means going up to strangers on the street, shaking your hands in their face, and saying, "Repeeeeent!"? And would any patriarch, ancient or modern, have started every dialogue with his children by saying, "Your mother and I both love you all so very, very much"? It was simply painful to watch.
• Sam: Was Sam there? Kirby Heyborne was the biggest name in Mormon cinema at the time, yet his character got almost zero screen time and pretty much zero imporance in the film.
• Ishmael's daughters: Oh. I'm blushing just thinking about it.
• Laman: Okay, honestly, this character was not as laughable as the others. He actually pulled his weight for the most part, and the few effective scenes in the movie included him (e.g. the angel stops him from beating up Nephi and Sam). But the final scene of Cavemen Laman and Lemuel jumping around over a fire pretty much burned up all that goodwill.

It could be done well. It really could. But that's not the movie to prove my point.

[mordorbund]

What bugged me in particular with Lehi's crying repentance is that there's a perfectly good script for him to recite in 1 Nephi 1:8-14. You just need to put it in first person and modernify the language. C'mon writers, (or even Lehi-actor) you don't even have to do any work for this background-monologue!

 

Of course the book could be a solid film. You have 4 brothers in a black-ops mission. Their relationship breaks down as plans A & B fail tremendously. Plan C is your classic "I'm making this up as I go along" by the hero. And that's just the first 10 pages!

[PolarVortex]

I didn't make it through The Book of Mormon Movie, and I was snuggled warmly in bed with a Jacuzzi-sized bowl of popcorn next to me.  It was almost as unbearable as Brigham City.  And I seem to have a high pain threshold for bottom-rung movies, because I watched The Singles Ward to the end with no problem at all... even through all the recipes (bonus DVD feature).

 

But to be savagely honest, I'm sort of surprised that Hollywood hasn't made a movie about Mountain Meadows yet. 

Edited December 18, 2014 by PolarVortex

[pam]

A movie about Sir Nicholas Winton.  What an amazing amazing man.

[Guest]

I only have 2 requests:

 

The Legend of Drizzt

 

Halo

 

Well... and maybe Video Game High School for my kids.

[PolarVortex]

A movie about Sir Nicholas Winton.  What an amazing amazing man.

 

They did, sort of: Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport.  I just checked, and you can watch it on YouTube for three bucks.  It won an Oscar for best documentary.  Nicholas Winton himself is in it.

[Vort]

I only have 2 requests:

 

The Legend of Drizzt

 

Halo

 

Well... and maybe Video Game High School for my kids.

What, no Portal movie?

 

For such an awesome game, Portal's inferred backstory is really ugly and dark.

[mordorbund]

I didn't make it through The Book of Mormon Movie, and I was snuggled warmly in bed with a Jacuzzi-sized bowl of popcorn next to me.  It was almost as unbearable as Brigham City.  And I seem to have a high pain threshold for bottom-rung movies, because I watched The Singles Ward to the end with no problem at all... even through all the recipes (bonus DVD feature).

 

But to be savagely honest, I'm sort of surprised that Hollywood hasn't made a movie about Mountain Meadows yet. 

 

They did (September Dawn). General Zod from Superman II played Brigham Young and Superman from Lois and Clark starred in it. It got really poor reviews.

[Guest]

What, no Portal movie?

 

For such an awesome game, Portal's inferred backstory is really ugly and dark.

 

There isn't even any cake.

[PolarVortex]

They did (September Dawn). General Zod from Superman II played Brigham Young and Superman from Lois and Clark starred in it. It got really poor reviews.

 

A while back Pam cracked a joke about snow in Buffalo and I didn't realize she was joking.  I read your post today and was utterly convinced you were pulling my leg, and I started to compose an acidic retort.  But for insurance I checked IMDB at the last minute and was horrified to see you were totally serious.

 

I think my batteries are in backwards or something.  Wouldn't be the first time.  Thanks for your post, Polar.

[skalenfehl]

You know, I appreciate the intent of the makers of the Book of Mormon Movie. I really do. But my buddy and I laughed our way through that movie, almost from the beginning. We had to. You either had to take it at face value and laugh at the unintended hilarity, or be so thoroughly disgusted that you left the movie theater after 45 minutes.

• Nephi: Tongue-tied. All the scintillating personality of a used cardboard box.
• Lehi: Ineffective, wimpy, more or less insane. "Crying repentance" means going up to strangers on the street, shaking your hands in their face, and saying, "Repeeeeent!"? And would any patriarch, ancient or modern, have started every dialogue with his children by saying, "Your mother and I both love you all so very, very much"? It was simply painful to watch.
• Sam: Was Sam there? Kirby Heyborne was the biggest name in Mormon cinema at the time, yet his character got almost zero screen time and pretty much zero imporance in the film.
• Ishmael's daughters: Oh. I'm blushing just thinking about it.
• Laman: Okay, honestly, this character was not as laughable as the others. He actually pulled his weight for the most part, and the few effective scenes in the movie included him (e.g. the angel stops him from beating up Nephi and Sam). But the final scene of Cavemen Laman and Lemuel jumping around over a fire pretty much burned up all that goodwill.

It could be done well. It really could. But that's not the movie to prove my point.

 

+1. The BoM Movie was bad. Bad! I agree with your assessment of Laman, too. By the way, if all goes well, there are two BoM theme movies in the works. One is called End of An Empire.

 

http://www.endofanempire.com/

https://www.facebook.com/ENDOFANEMPIRE/timeline

http://www.prox13.com/ (click on the projects link)

 

In the final days of their civilization, two generals must defend themselves and their families against a bloodthirsty people. As they struggle against the power hungry but naïve politicians to secure the support they need, their enemies grow ever stronger, fueled by a thousand year old grudge. As the end draws near every man must question his beliefs, his loyalties and himself.

 

Another is called Reign of Judges, Title of Liberty.

 

https://www.facebook.com/reignofjudgesmovie/timeline

 

I'm not holding my breath for either as there seem to be issues that have or are making production a challenge for them. But if they succeed, I do look forward to seeing how they fare. Darrin Southam messaged me on Facebook asking for support. After reading some of what he has written, it shows promise, but I disagreed with him that the Nephites had a republic and advised him that if anything, they lived under a theocracy. Anyway, should be fun to see these two finished. 

 

If I ever were to make a movie and had an unlimited budget, based on a book, it would be from the Book of Mormon, though my story would revolve around the effects, which the ministries of Alma and the sons of Mosiah had throughout the lands of Ishmael, Nephi and Zarahemla and the lands round about and the escalating wars after that, but that would result in a Lord of the Rings type trilogy. 

[Backroads]

Brandon Mull's "Fablehaven" series would be fun if it was done well.

Isn't this in the works?

[Guest]

What, no Portal movie?

 

For such an awesome game, Portal's inferred backstory is really ugly and dark.

 

But my kids don't play portal...

 

They love Assassin's Creed though (even if they've never played it) because of Tobascus' Literals about it...

[kapikui]

I think a biopic about Hugh Nibley would be fascinating, although such a movie would open itself up to criticism no matter how it handled his daughter's unfortunate accusations against him in the sunset of his life.  Also, I'm afraid the movie wouldn't have much of a story arc, since his life didn't have the twists and turns that a Joseph Smith or Alan Turing did.  As I recall, the only real speed bumps in his life were a few complaints about his careless footnotes in scholarly works.  But it would still be fascinating.  For the leading role... I guess we can rule out Leonardo DiCaprio and George Clooney.  I wonder if Ben Kingsley can do American accents.

 

I hadn't heard about the issue with his daughter.  Apparently she "recovered repressed memories"  The problem is that recovered memories are as often as not implanted by (usually) well meaning psychologists. It apparently isn't particularly hard to make someone truly believe that they remember something that never happened.

[Guest]

Isn't this in the works?

 

I didn't know it was, but it appears so! Brandon Mull is directly involved, so I hope it will do the books some justice.