#I would love to see an adaptation of these books

[spockandawe]

Oh man. Guys, I'm obsessed with 'I Became A God In A Horror Game.' I'm so into it that I'm having trouble catching up to the translation, because I'm so tense with the stakes and afraid for it to be over. Honestly, I opened it expecting some mindless power leveling fun, and instead it's just STUFFED with layers and memorable imagery, all with a protagonist with such a fun personality to fit into one of these infinite flow plots. And an INCREDIBLY aesthetic love interest, my god.

Now, the question of how to pitch this book without spoiling it is something I've been wrestling with, without a good answer. The plot is essentially that Bai Liu is a laid off horror video game developer, and when he stops caring about life or death as a result, he enters the game world, where competitors enter horror video game scenarios and fight to win, or just survive. Bai Liu's job gives him an edge, and his calculating, risk tolerant personality gives him more! The love interest makes an appearance in the first of these scenarios, a game that's almost a cross between shadow over innsmouth and the weeping angels, and at first I worried he would be... an accessory to the plot, not really linked to the STORY. I was extremely wrong! But it's hard to say more, and around 140 chapters in, I started losing my MIND for reasons I definitely won't spoil.

But BOY is it fun to draw art for him. I thought about finishing the rose arc to see if there were any more references I could fit in, but I think that would be pushing it with teeny details in the low light, hahaha. I've got to have that pieta, that's very obvious, and the siren king is here. The state of their bodies could be more of a focus in a different piece of art, but I'm still adapting to procreate, and I already had a concept here. The doll was a must, I realized that the scattered pages were PERFECT to fill the water below, and the last little detail that occurred to me was to fit a hint of fire into their reflections below. This was very fun! If this is what entices me to draw again, oh boy, expect to see more of it. And read this book, it's so, so good!!

[sneez]

adaptations of l'homme qui rit rated according to a) book accuracy b) how much i enjoy them and c) gwynplaine's makeup (in chronological order of release)

das grinsende gesicht/the grinning face (1921), dir. julius herska

accuracy rating: 3/5

reasonably book-accurate with some weird changes like gwynplaine stabbing himself to death onstage which i do not remember from the book i have to say

ned rating: 2/5

ehh it was alright. nothing special but not egregiously bad either. i was not a fan of the conflict introduced between gwynplaine and dea (nor the fact that gwynplaine voluntarily starts an affair with josiana) but it could have been worse (foreshadowing). ursus wears a great hat

makeup rating: 3/5

i wish he was smiling more but it's fine. he is cute :-)

the man who laughs (1928), dir. paul leni

accuracy rating: 3/5

most of the same events happen but not necessarily in the same context or order, which personally i think is fine for a film given that an accurate adaptation could have the potential to be quite confusing or boring at times (also foreshadowing). conrad veidt and mary philbin are overwhelmingly lovely and make me cry. i also wholeheartedly support the altered ending because the actual ending keeps me up at night

ned rating: 10000000/10

this is the best film that has ever been made in the history of the universe, objectively speaking

makeup rating: 4/5

i think this is about as good as it gets without torturing your actor to an unreasonable degree. this is somehow the only gwynplaine who actually looks like he is always laughing, which is remarkable given the title of the book. confining gwynplaine's mutilation to his mouth is a significant divergence, but personally i think it is a wise decision for a visual adaptation (or at least one in which gwynplaine is played by a physically normative actor) given how much work conrad veidt's eyes do in conveying gwynplaine's personality and interiority. i would still love to see an adaptation in which gwynplaine actually looks the way he does in the book, but i can appreciate the difficulties in realising it, so in the meantime i will rotate 1928 gwynplaine lovingly in my mind

l'uomo che ride/the man who laughs (1966), dir. sergio corbucci

accuracy rating: 0/5

what in the goddamn

ned rating: 2/5

actually kind of fun if you can ignore the fact that it's supposed to be an adaptation of l'homme qui rit. also the only adaptation which has given gwynplaine anything close to his terrible book dye-job. points withdrawn however for 'fixing' both his and dea's disabilities in a way which vexes and haunts me

makeup rating: 2.5/5

not even close to a smile but it's alright i guess. i think they were going for 'scary' more than anything else so it doesn't read as gwynplaine to me (not to mention the fact that they changed his name to angelo so he is straight up Just Some Guy)

l'homme qui rit/the man who laughs (1971), dir. jean kerchbron

accuracy rating: 5/5

basically just the book in tv form, which is severely excellent and also slightly boring at times. i enjoy it far more than i resent it but it does make me appreciate how bizarrely structured and paced the book is. i greatly respect how much effort was put into representing the themes and talking points of the book, although the difficulty of translating these to screen comes across in the weirdness of some of them (aristocrat being carried around beneath barrels of wine and making the worst drinking noises imaginable springs to mind). also has by far the best version of gwynplaine's speech to the house of lords (and one of the best gwynplaines in general) and my favourite ursus of all ursuses ever

ned rating: 3.5/5

in my head this is the most wonderful perfect adaptation and then i watch it and i remember how much of it i find mildly uninteresting. if i were only ranking it based on the ursus/dea/gwynplaine segments it would be a 5/5, but there is an awful lot which is not particularly compelling to me, either because it doesn't translate well to the screen or because it highlights how much time hugo spends saying the same thing over and over (affectionate. mostly) or because it is weird. the cinematographer also has a penchant for panning over a large group of people and lingering on their faces one by one, which starts to become very funny once you notice it. my feelings are mixed and i am vexed. it does however get many bonus points for not one but Two (2) ursus and gwynplaine hugs

makeup rating: 3.5/5

pretty good! he still doesn't look like he's smiling but i can see all his teeth (win) and the scars at the corners of his mouth are a neat detail, even if they are not book-accurate. philippe bouclet also does a great job emoting with his big sad wet eyes. bonus points for including the scene in the house of lords when he briefly suppresses his smile

l'homme qui rit/the man who laughs (2012), dir. jean-pierre améris

accuracy rating: 3/5

not bad until the josiana plotline unfolds and then it gets weird and bad and i hate and i don't like it. dea is very cute, gwynplaine is alright, gérard depardieu is ursus

ned rating: 2/5

i did not like this film much but it did have some cute bits which i enjoyed, especially with young gwynplaine and dea at the beginning. ultimately though i found it very flat and remarkably emotionless considering how overwhelmingly emotional the book is. it also just looked ugly, which you would not think would bother me considering how much i enjoyed the 1971 tv series (featuring gwynplaine's bodysuit with a mouth painted on it), but the fakeness of the sets and the weird anachronistic costuming was very distracting, especially gwynplaine's jeans. gwynplaine should not be wearing jeans i don't think

makeup rating: 1/5

rubbish. bad. cowardly. that is a conventionally attractive man with lines drawn on his face. try again and do better next time

человек, который смеется/the man who laughs (?2012), dir. ???

accuracy rating: 5/5

absurdly accurate to the point of including direct quotes from the book in most of the songs, as well as referencing book details like the fun club and the fight between helmsgail and phelem-ghe-madone, which is absurd (positive) in a musical which is less than two hours. gwynplaine and dea are wonderful. during one of dea's songs gwynplaine brings her flowers and then rolls around on the floor holding onto her legs like a sloth. this musical also single-handedly made me care about dirry-moir because the actor playing him does such an incredibly good job. no homo sadly but everything else is outstandingly accurate all things considered

ned rating: 5/5

i love this musical so much i have listened to it several dozen times i love it it is so good you should listen to it it is on youtube here it is very good i promise. visually it's nothing special but the songs are either a) relentless bangers or b) devastating, which is the perfect combination in my humble onion. i have no idea who directed it or starred in it because i can't find any information about it and my russian is not excellent but it is so worth watching. also worth noting that it is all in russian and there are no subtitles, but if you are familiar with the plot it is very easy to follow. excellent wonderful marvellous i love this musical so much (thank you to beloved @elmorinn for making me aware of it :D)

makeup rating: ?/5

the above picture is the best view you get and i still can't see it very clearly so i am withholding my rating. it looks like it's just lines again but i have much more tolerance for a stage play doing that than a film. rank pending

the grinning man (2020), dir. tom morris

accuracy rating: 2/5

definitely recognisable but with so many changes i can't accept it as the same story. i also think that most or all of the changes damage the plot quite significantly (setting it in an alternate reality rather than eighteenth-century england, making ursus dea's biological father, barkilphedro being responsible for everything ever, etc.) but the relationship between gwynplaine and dea was lovely and the cast did a brilliant job

ned rating: 3.5/5

i like it! i enjoy it much more as its own production than an adaptation, but i love the puppetry and it is generally very fun and full of energy. i have only watched it once so far but i would definitely watch it again. labyrinth is also a very good song and i have listened to it many times

makeup rating: 4/5

not book accurate at all but it looks wicked so i am rating it highly for effort and effect. it is also curious that despite defanging almost every other aspect of the story they decided to double down on gwynplaine's trauma by having him wander around his entire life with a giant gaping bleeding wound in his face. did he not already have it bad enough!

[theside-b]

Spoilers for the novel (and my review for the Live Action) ahead :

The boys do get together, but that act ends with their break up when people find out that Tian and Wang are romantically involved, unlike in Unknown where everyone was ok with Qian and Yuan getting together in A Certain Someone the fact that they are 'brothers' plays a huge role at that stage of their relationship and the eventual demise of their first attempt at a romance. Their break up lasts 6/7 years, don't remember exactly, but its a long time...

A lot more happens, but the show made some fundamental changes to both characters. It takes A LONG time for Tian to come to terms with his own feelings, that scene where he sees his father with another man in bed tints his whole worldview from a very young age — he develops quite the internalized homophobia; he is fine with other's queerness but it's his own that he cannot accept since he sees his father sexual orientation as the reason for the destruction of his family.

There is a tense moment between Tian and his father, where his dad says "we are more alike than you care to admit" hinting that he knows of what its happening between the boys and mind you Tian is still trying to sort out what he feels for Wang. The show sugarcoats quite a lot, novel's Tian would never initiate a kiss with Wang or even play along like he did in the show, at least not at that stage of their relationship.

Speaking of which, Wang is also different in the books. In the show he reads as pretty open minded, curious about anything and everything. In the novel he's pretty straight (at first), the journey really begins as a bromance until the feelings start to change. There is a lot of push and shove between the two of them, and is veeery slow.

The show pretty much burns bright the part where Wang tears Tian's emotional walls. Which I don't mind, otherwise it would take 50 episodes to wrap the first act. I honestly thought they were going to draw an original route for the show, but they are slowly adapting elements they left behind so they can follow the book.

Now for the review:

All in all, I think the show did a good job all things considered: production began in mainland China where Liu Dong was cast, but censorship hinders lgbtqia+ productions there so pre-production moved to Taiwan and there the rest of the casting was done. It's hard to tell how much of that interfered in the script but I assume Tian's father core plot was removed in the first draft and got re-integrated once production moved to Taiwan (Chris Lee's casting was one of the last to be announced which probably means he was also one of the last to join filming). Considering that productions like The Spirealm got pulled for much less is understandable that they would avoid the more thorny subjects under China's homophobic gaze.

(Educated guess here: considering all the publicity push, I imagine either Andy Cheng or Stan Huang were the choices for Wang, but since Liu's casting was an order from one of the financial backers they got smaller roles — it's a common move in taiwanese productions — by the way, there is a 'love triangle' later, is a sad thing since there is no-way you can split the main couple, but the show made me wonder who is going to be playing the third party in the live action).

As I always say about taiwanese shows: you have to watch the live play. The On1y One is much like it's local peers, it works wonders in small doses, but as soon as you see the whole picture you start to see the cracks. It reminded me a lot of Kiseki: Dear to Me in the sense that the main couple story is the emotional backbone, with a somber approach with brief moments of humor but everything surrounding it is slightly unhinged.

Everything that happened at that school was insane. The amount of crimes committed in the school grounds was ridiculous, the fact that Qi Jia Hao didn't ended up behind bars after ordering thugs to attack Wang and assault the english teacher is crazy. The whole side-plot involving the teachers was head-scraching by the way, much like everyone else I assumed that Zhao Xi and Benny were married when they were introduced.

Imagine my surprise finding out that not only they were not married but at one point Zhao Xi thought Benny could be interested in the english teacher (speaking of her, why the hell did she sounded dubbed? Is that not her real voice?). This whole story felt so disjointed from everything else, and it came at the tail end of the season(?), so not only it took some much suspension of disbelief for me to buy that these 40-year old gays were that emotionally impaired but also demanded patience since they spent very valuable screen time which could've benefited the main couple.

That is all to say that while I was having a blast while watching, the more I stop and think about it critically the more problems I see in this show. And again, that usually happens with taiwanese productions, experienced the same with Kiseki and Unknown, two shows that I adore, flaws and all, and now the same happens with The On1y One.

[hyohaehyuk]

NBC News: The stars of ‘Interview With the Vampire’ on adapting the immortal love story for TV

I only find that small video of the interview. i dont know if there is more bc there is transcriptions of their quotes in the link that i didnt saw in the video

“Vampires intrinsically are about yearning and love — immortal love and yearning over the ages,” Reid told NBC News, citing the famous immortals Nosferatu and Dracula as examples. “They’re very emotional, desperate beings who have to survive eternity and don’t usually want to do that alone. When you read Anne Rice, you see that in Louis and Lestat.” 

“This is the quintessential vampire story, really,” Reid added. “It’s this yearning and love and intensity, with all of its darkest elements brought to the front, and told over the centuries.”

“There’s something so beautifully domestic about Louis and Lestat in the novels. They have this homeliness, this deep connection that they always come back to, no matter what’s happened,” Anderson said of translating the vampires’ complicated love affair on screen.

“But then they’ll burn each other’s houses down, as well,” Reid interjected, laughing. “It’s vampire love. Murder is our love language.” 

Anderson and Reid’s approach to the protagonists’ fiery relationship was very much informed by Rice’s many novels involving the characters, which collectively make up the Lestat-focused Vampire Chronicles series. Reid came to the project as a longtime fan of Rice and the vampire genre, which he said he almost had to push aside in order to approach the role effectively. And Anderson, although he dove deeper into Rice’s work after being cast, also had a healthy grasp of the characters from reading the first few books in the Vampire Chronicles.

“I feel such an affinity with Louis. Although I do love Lestat in the book series, particularly ‘The Vampire Lestat’ on” Anderson said, referencing the second book in the Vampire Chronicles. “There are times that I don’t envy Sam.” 

“He’s very complex,” Reid responded, referring to Lestat. “Heis a vampire. And he behaves in ways that you would want a vampire to behave — otherwise, you wouldn’t be reading vampire literature or looking at vampires.”

“Reading the script for the first time, even before I was attached to it, I could tell that it was the right approach to the material. You could really feel that there was a huge amount of respect for the books and what she was trying to say,” Reid said, referring to Rice. “And the lightness, the humor, the love story, the drama, the absurdity — all of that’s there.”

Rather than taking the approach of color-blind casting, Jones reframes the story so that Louis, who begins immortal life at the beginning of the 20th century, is dealing with the racism and limitations of the eras through which he lives. This, Anderson points out, brings another dimension to this character’s defining struggle with immortal life.

“Because Louis’ central preoccupation is his humanity — and what he still retains from it and what he’s lost from it — if you cast him as a person of color but then don’t factor in his race, then that would read as phony,” Anderson said. “I don’t really see what the point would be. “There are examples of colorblind casting where it’s a fantasy character and you don’t need to go there. But, because Louis’ ‘human-ness’ is so central to him, I wouldn’t have wanted to do it if we weren’t going to bring the real world into it in that way.”

“The characters are intrinsically linked to the city. You walk around the French Quarter and you hear an Anne Rice tour every 100 meters. So it was incredibly important to everyone that New Orleans remained this character,” Reid said, describing the city’s role in the series almost as if it were an actor.

“Mara [LePere-Schloop], the designer, created these beautiful sets. I mean, they were just stunning. When I walked into the Rue Royale set for the first time, my legs buckled,” he added, referring to the street on which the vampires’ luxurious home resides. “It was incredibly transportive.”

During filming, the actors lived in Rice’s beloved hometown for about six months, soaking up the city’s infamous late-night culture while depicting her nocturnal creatures.

“If you’re gonna live anywhere in the country, that’s where you want to live at night,” Reid said.

[galpaladvns]

So I’ve been devouring the Amelia Peabody books over last two months, and I know we all have Opinions about who should play Emerson in an adaptation, but what about Sethos?

I think whoever was cast as Emerson would HAVE to play Sethos, too.

Think how hilarious it would be if Amelia was arguing with Emerson, stormed off, and was talking to the same guy in a fake beard and sunglasses.

For scenes where they interact they could do the Orphan Black thing with a stunt double (Henry Cavill has at least one 😛)

And since we don’t even see his real face until after the Reveal, it would kinda make sense/be even MORE hilarious

[frootbyethefoot]

house of leaves is so incredible to me because i don't think you could ever completley adapt it into something like a movie or a tv show or a play or even a game. myhouse.wad is the closest from what i know, but that's more so based on 1. the horror of an endless house where you are so unbelievably tiny in the grand scheme of it. and 2. johnny truants no good very bad terrible breakdown (in the form of diary entries from steve nelson.) but. house of leaves is a book, and an essay first and foremost and i think the footnotes and the WAY the book is written is at the very least, INCREDIBLY difficult to translate into a visual media like film, tv, etc.

[dye-it-rouge-et-noir]

"For particularly important things, it's always more reassuring to write them down like this." - Zhang Beihai

[ID in alt text]

[s4pphoiduser]

in a world with an aftg show (because it Has to be a show, not a movie) seth would have a Pretty Guy actor playing him who looked even prettier when he was sneering or scowling and people would make edits of him with the velocity + slo-mo effects and be like "i can fix him"

[oozeandgoo-art]

had an odd dream that i was reading a comic book. sketched a couple of the pages i could remember.

[elevenenthusiast]

The Amazing Spider-Man should have been adapted into a tv show instead of movies.

[pharah-airways]

Put your reasoning in the tags if you feel like it I'm very curious

[themidnightcircusshow]

@heartofstanding tagged me in this meme months ago and unfortunately it took me this long to get to it because I had a mild crisis over how long it's been since I've read a novel, let alone one that I loved 😅 so this is nine of my favourite novels (not books, because if I included manga/short stories/comics/etc this would be giant)

0The Picture of Dorian Gray -- Oscar Wilde// Pyrrhus-- Mark Merlis//The Scarecrow--Ronald Hugh Morrieson//Unnatural History--Kate Osman//Tunnels of Blood--Darren Shan//The Coffin Dancer--Jeffery Deaver//Hero--Perry Moore//Frankenstein--Mary Shelley//One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest-- Ken Kasey

[bisexualmultifandommess]

Now it’s time for my favourite Ninja Turtle!

This is probably more for the 2003 version of him but can fit the others too if you want.

I see this Mikey as Gender-Fluid and Pansexual.

Mikey goes by he/they pronouns and will have some days where both pronouns are fine or days where only one of them is comfortable.

Mikey will usually go by he/him pronouns some of the time but it’s nice to be referred to as they at times. His preference is he/they which means he is called he more than they but likes both to be used.

Mikey really loves wearing dresses or skirts. It started on a mission one day when he had to wear one as a disguise and he found it really comfortable and natural to wear it. They don’t see it as a big deal and believe that you should be able to wear what you like. After they came out to April she would often give him old clothes from when she was a teen or buy new ones for when it’s the turtles’ birthday.

The first person they came out to was Donnie because he’s the brother Mikey is closest too. Donnie immediately took to researching all about it so he could support Mikey better. Mikey felt really comforted by the fact that his brother accepted it so easily and since it was something new to both of them they both looked into it together.

Mikey told Leo and Raph together and although both were confused by it they were supportive. Donnie also made them learn about it which amused Mikey but he was also touched that all of his brothers cared so much. Splinter was a little confused but he did used to be a rat so thats understandable but after some confusion he did take time to learn (that’s because 2003 splinter is the best splinter)

Leo, Raph and Donnie are very protective of their youngest brother even before finding out so when meeting new people they can get very tense if it looks like they won’t be accepting. Mikey appreciates it but also makes it clear that they can handle it.

Mikey’s brothers will often used gender neutral terms for them. Donnie often calls Mikey “Annoying Sibling” when they’re joking around and trying to annoy him.

Casey is also supportive even though he doesn’t really understand it at first. He will sometimes slip up and say the wrong thing at first but Mikey’s doesn’t take it personally because they know that it isn’t deliberate and Casey is still learning. Eventually Casey gets to a point where he understands and doesn’t make mistakes as much as he did when he first learnt about it.

Mikey is a big fan of Queer characters in his comics such as Wiccan, batwoman (Kate Kane), Constantine and Loki. He also really likes The Doctor in Doctor Who. He loves all comics but likes it when some include people like him.

Mikey will sometimes draw their flag colours on their notebooks or their bedroom walls.

[love-has-a-way-ofgrowingbackward]

thinking about hamilton and burr together but not in a kissing way but in a you are so different on surface but are made of the same core way. they have the same sort of wants and hurt but they project it in such different ways.

[aquitainequeen]

Would be that my favourite adaptation of Hans Christian Anderson's The Snow Queen is the space opera which is basically Dune if it was on a ocean planet instead of a desert, 'Gerda' is the 'Snow Queen's' clone, she and 'Kay' are on a quest to become sibyls (basically Sense8 several decades early), 'Kay' becomes the 'Snow Queen's' consort and is known as 'Starbuck'

(it was the 80s and the massive coffee chain was yet to come, but still, yeeeah...)

'Gerda' has to battle her way across the galaxy to get back to 'Kay'...except that she doesn't really do anything except transported from place to place, 'Kay' slaughters a whole bunch of sentient sea-dwelling creatures for their MacGuffin blood, and 'Gerda's' secondary love interest is the book's equivalent of the reindeer who helps her escape from the Robber Girl.

Bet you didn't expect that last bit.

[whenthegoldrays]

I don’t know what it is about the Jane Austen adaptations I’ve seen recently, but they just have so much trouble sticking the landing.