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ravenbell
2011-03-29 04:27 am UTC (link)

Maybe it'll be another "Graveyard Book." Or maybe it'll be another "Anansi Boys." Gaiman is capable of both, and it'll be interesting to see which he leans toward with this.

There have been many, many "Journey to the West" adaptations from all corners of the world, and I've seen some really rotten ones, from the awful Robert Halmi miniseries "The Forbidden Kingdom" to that idiotic "Saiyuki" anime. Let Gaiman and Cameron have a shot. They won't be the first Westerners to try to adapt the story, and they won't be the last.

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	sizer 2011-03-29 10:59 am UTC (link)
	They won't be the first Westerners to try to adapt the story, and they won't be the last. Trufax. I kind of want to see it. I love bad adaptations of JttW. We've got tons of them in here China, after all. :P (Reply to this)(Parent)

	sizer 2011-03-29 11:01 am UTC (link)
	Although, I've got to say that I do hope that the official Party papers come out with some op-eds on Western Cultural Appropriation and how it is both a sign of Western arrogance as well as the Superiority of Chinese Culture. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	queencallipygos 2011-03-29 03:22 pm UTC (link)
	I was wondering if I was the only one who was thinking "why are people already assuming this would be bad?" Out of curiousity -- what did people think of Gaiman's translation of Princess Mononoke? Not that I thought it was his best work, but it wasn't "nuke it from space" terrible either. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	sukeban 2011-03-29 11:45 pm UTC (link)
	I was wondering if I was the only one who was thinking "why are people already assuming this would be bad?" Apart from the facepalm-inducing things he's said recently and have been linked upthread, because of the previous Neil Gaiman incursion in movie making with an adaptaton of a classic story. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	spawn_of_kong 2011-03-30 12:35 am UTC (link)
	To be fair, most of the changes to Beowulf were Roger Avary's. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	sukeban 2011-03-30 01:31 am UTC (link)
	I don't know. From the point where I knew that Grendel's mother was Angelina Jolie naked, covered in golden paint and with strange stiletto heel talons I just didn't want to know anything more about the movie. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	spawn_of_kong 2011-03-30 01:59 pm UTC (link)
	As I recall, the English dub of Princess Mononoke is pretty well-regarded. Certainly Miyazaki seemed satisfied. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	eclatante 2011-03-29 06:46 pm UTC (link)
	...because if other people are doing it, they should too. Of course. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	isaiddietpepsi 2011-03-29 08:34 pm UTC (link)
	IKR. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	chikane 2011-03-29 09:33 pm UTC (link)
	Of course. Criticism is mean. (Reply to this)(Parent)

ravenbell
2011-03-30 04:35 am UTC (link)

Not what I meant. But I see no point in discouraging the project from the outset simply because Gaiman has a spotty track record with adaptations. He may have badly bungled some stories, but he's done right in other cases. I'm not willing to write him off until he actually does screw up. But compared to the likes of Richard Halmi and their ilk, I think Gaiman has a far better chance of turning out something culturally sensitive.

If he doesn't, I'll be the first to start waiving a pitchfork. The Monkey King and I go waaaay back.

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	eclatante 2011-03-30 05:07 am UTC (link)
	I see no point in discouraging the project from the outset simply because Gaiman has a spotty track record with adaptations. That's... not really the entirety of the point. However, there's too much shit going down in my life right now and I don't have the energy for talky activismz!!, so... hopefully someone else will do the talking. Or whatever. (Reply to this)(Parent)

napalmnacey
2011-03-30 12:47 pm UTC (link)

From my perspective, my brain-slodey rage comes from the fact that this storyline deserves a cast and crew that are actually Chinese. It's about time Hollywood did something truly new and exciting, and if they're going to make a movie about this story, why not do it properly? I'm angry because I know this well never happen, because the Big Knobs there are mortally terrified of People of Colour. Any friggin' colour.

The Monkey King and I go way back too, but I'm probably way more wanky about it than you are, cause I'm like that with things I watched from childhood.

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	kedase_derragar 2011-03-29 09:42 pm UTC (link)
	Including a video game set (of course) in a post-apocalyptic NYC and starring (of course) a gritty white guy. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	sukeban 2011-03-29 11:39 pm UTC (link)
	to that idiotic "Saiyuki" anime If Saiyuki is idiotic, then what's Dragonball? :P (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	ecchaniz0r 2011-03-30 02:01 am UTC (link)
	For someone expecting a loyal adaptation, it's brain-exploding. has seen this happen a few times (Reply to this)(Parent)

	ravenbell 2011-03-30 04:36 am UTC (link)
	Infantile. (Reply to this)(Parent)

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