Foundation trilogy for the big screen

[Stofsk]

Cross posted from SDN. Link and quoted for your convenience:

ROLAND EMMERICH CATCHES THE 'AVATAR' BUG, PLANS 'FOUNDATION' TRILOGY IN 3D

2012 director Roland Emmerich discusses his plans to use 3D and mo-cap technology for his film adaptation of Isaac Asimov's FOUNDATION series

By JASON SWEARINGEN, News Editor
Published 2/15/2010



LOCATION: The Galactic Empire

THE SKINNY: It's quickly becoming a necessity these days for all big budget, SFX-heavy films to be in 3D. Often times, the addition seems extraneous, but when adapting a universe as expansive as the one presented in Isaac Asimov's FOUNDATION series, it would be criminal not to approach it with the most cutting-edge technology available.

After seeing James Cameron's AVATAR, director Roland Emmerich realized just this, and has decided to push the envelope with his planned three-picture adaptation of Asimov's FOUNDATION using similar 3D and motion capture technology.

"The AVATAR technology applies to FOUNDATION," Emmerich told MTV. "It has to be done all CG because I would not know how to shoot this thing in real."

When asked if he also plans to utilize technology similar to AVATAR's motion capture process, the director said "Yes."

"I was on the set of AVATAR and I saw how it worked and I really thought, 'That's the ultimate way of making movies,'" Emmerich added.

FOUNDATION takes place thousands of years in the future and deals with mankind's struggle to preserve knowledge amidst the collapse of a 12,000-year-old Galactic Empire.

Roland Emmerich is famous for bringing us end-of-the-world style disaster movies. At first I wasn't sure if he would be the best choice of directors, that said, there is scope in Asimov's novels to depict a cataclysmic collapse of a Galactic Empire in such a way that would be appropriate. Trantor itself is something of an inspiration for Coruscant, and showing its collapse would be something worth to see on the big screen (something which even Asimov IIRC didn't go into, we simply see Trantor at the start of the series, then later on its referred to as having been sacked).

Anyway, commence the gnashing of teeth and nerdrage wails of the damned!

[Mayabird]

Predictions:
It will resemble the Foundation series about as much as your typical sci-fi book adaptation resembles the original: not at all.
The book tie-ins will have covers that, since they will be about the movie, won't have anything to do with the actual plot and thus will trick a lot of people into reading them. Or at least buying them.

[Stofsk]

Surely you're being pessimistic Amy. Can't Roland Emmerich be trusted?

[Batman]

My copy of 'Starship Troopers' actually had a picture from the movie of the same name for a cover which lead me to (quite erroneously as it turned out) believe that the movie would actually be a moderately accurate translation of the book. Valen, was I wrong.
As for the Foundation movie, as I said over at SDN, I'm dubious. Too much of it is exposition as opposed to stuff actually HAPPENING. It'd make a great pseudohistory miniseries with lots of voiceovers, but an actual Hollywood movie? I don't think so.
That's not to say that you CAN'T do a thoroughly entertaining Foundation movie. I just doubt it's going to have to do all that much with the material it's supposedly based on.

[SirNitram]

Thankfully, I had the 1968 paperback release.

It turned out to be for the same reasons my father gave me Homecoming Saga books.. He wanted me to work out what was blatantly wrong.

I handled it well except for realizing Homecoming is Mormon legend done sci-fi.