h e i n l e i n b l o g

News and opinion related to Robert A. Heinlein, the first grandmaster of science fiction.

Saturday, May 31, 2003

'Spacesuit,' 'Mistress' coming to a theater near you

I found these two articles on Sci-Fi Wire:

Heinlein's Moon Optioned Producer David Heyman and Mike Medavoy's Phoenix Pictures have teamed to option the feature-film rights to Robert Heinlein's classic SF novel The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, Variety reported. Published in 1966, the book centers on a computer repairman and moon resident who gets caught up in a rebellion against the authority that controls it from Earth, the trade paper reported. DreamWorks previously optioned the novel. Heyman's Heyday Films also holds the option to the late author's "Have Spacesuit Will Travel," the trade paper reported. Heyman told Variety that Heinlein's widow, Virginia, gave her blessing to their acquisition of the project shortly before her death Jan. 26. "She wanted to know who was going to do it," he said. "She looked at our bios and decided that it seemed like we wouldn't screw it up."

Well, Heyman's bio includes the Harry Potter flicks and some clunkers, including "The Stoned Age" a comedy about two stoners out on the town one night, and "Ravenous," about cannibalism.

Also, this:

Heinlein's 'Spacesuit' Optioned
Warner Brothers has optioned film rights to Robert Heinlein's classic SF tale "Have Spacesuit—Will Travel" for Harry Potter producer David Heyman, via his Heyday Films banner, Variety reported. Vince Gerardis and Ralph Vicinaza will executive produce under their Created By banner. No screenwriter has been hired. The film will tell the story of a teenager who loses a contest that will take the first teen into space, but wins the consolation prize: a spacesuit from the original Apollo missions. When he discovers the spacesuit has made alien contact, the boy is propelled into an adventure of intergalactic proportions, the trade paper reported. Heyman is now in production in London on the third installment in the Potter franchise, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban."

I'm not worried so much about HSS-WT. Remember, it is one of Heinlein's juvenile novels. It wont hurt the movie to be produced by someone who knows how to produce movies based on juvenile books.

Praise the Creator that Paul ~~Verhoaxen~~ Verhoeven will have nothing to do with it either one.

However, I am not sure Heyman is the person to produce TMiaHM. "Moon" is a very adult, overtly political novel. In addition to being a science fiction classic, it is a also a libertarian manifesto. Nothing Heyman has done in the past indicates an an ability to portray these ideas on the screen.

posted by Billy Dennis # 5/31/2003 07:45:00 PM

Starship Troopers 2: More of the same?

Most Heinlein purists hated the movie version of "Starship Troopers." They hated the fascist imagery. They hated the bad science (spaceships banking in zero gravity, insects shooting plasma out of their butts). They hated the portrayal of professional soldiers as sadistic. They hated that a minor character changed sexes and because a love interest. They hated the bad acting. Most of the ire was directed at director Paul Verhoeven.

Well, Verhoeven isn't involved in the sequel, now in production. But from this brief report from the Dark Horizons Web site, it looks like the sequel now in production probably won't be much better:

It takes place 5 years after the first movie, the opening scenes are of the propaganda commercial stating why you should join the Federation Troopers, lots of scenes of Troopers running and then a scene that is a copy of the Iowa Shima [that's spelled Iwo Jima, dumbass]Flag Lifting. Immediately cuts to planet Zulu where the troopers are surrounded on a cliff by bugs and they are blasting away and are told to retreat. Nearly ¾ of the troopers are killed as they retreat towards an abandoned military base. They arrive at the base and get no response from the Federation when they ask for evacuation and pick up, meaning they are stranded there. There is also a subplot that the bugs have engendered a virus that infects some of the troopers and the bugs are trying to get the infection to go all the way up to the heads of the Federation. This virus turns it’s victims into Zombies of sorts." [Producer Jon] Davison told me he was off to a zombie test last week – now that does sound captivating.

Other changes: No Casper Van Dien, Denise Richards, no guy who played Doogie Howzer (Neil Patrick Harris).

The movie sequel cannot be faulted for failure to follow the book because Heinlein wrote no sequel. I am not anticipating any great improvement in Starship Troopers 2, considering the use of "propaganda" commercials. I also thing the idea of a virus that turns people into zombies wouldn't pass muster with Heinlein, either.

At the time I saw this movie, it had been 10 years since I read Starship Troopers. My reaction was that I didn't recall the book portraying the Federation as fascists. My impression was the opposite. I missed seeing the powered armor. I didn't mind the co-ed army, but I was appalled at the co-ed shower scenes. I don't mind nudity in movies. Hell, I usually enjoy the hell out of it. But I thought the scenes were intrusive, embarrassing and an insult to the characters.

I think Heinlein fans -- myself included -- would not have minded the changes between book and movie had the movie not treated the concept of honor, duty and responsibility as a source of campy humor.

After the movie came out, there was a syndicated show called "Starship Troopers: Roughnecks." It was computer animated and a much better representation of the novel. It also had powered armor. Maybe they should put the people who did this version in charge of the next sequel.

posted by Billy Dennis # 5/31/2003 10:20:00 AM

Thursday, May 29, 2003

New URL

I'm migrating this blog to my own hosted server. The new address will be http://ariel.affordablehost.com/~content/heinleinblog.htm. Soon, it will be at heinlein.billscontent.com.

posted by Billy Dennis # 5/29/2003 02:09:00 AM

Changes are a-comin'

My last post to this blog was on March 30. That's a long time in the Blogosphere. But I simply don't have the time to post as much as I would like. Also, there are others more deeply involved in Heinlein fandom that I am. That's why I am asking anyone who is interested in posting to let me know, and I will add them to the list of people who can add articles to this site.

By the way, as soon as my new domain (billscontent.com) goes online, I'll be giving The Robert A. Heinlein News Page a new name (I haven't decided on one yet) its own subdomain (probably heinlein.billscontent.com). I'm also going to work on a new template and go through my earlier articles and sites about Heinlein and do some much-needed copyediting. It's not that big an assignment. I'm sure I have five minutes free. UPDATE: I am hard at work copyediting articles submitted for the upcoming Heinlein Society newsletter. It will have tons of news about the convention in Missouri and follow-ups on services for Ginny. UPDATE, 2: OK, so I decided on a name: heinleinblog.

posted by Billy Dennis # 5/29/2003 12:09:00 AM