5 ms·

I'm a huge fan of the Foundation series, and I really can't see how it can be adapted for video in any sort of faithful way. For one thing it's almost all dialo

I'm a huge fan of the Foundation series, and I really can't see how it can be adapted for video in any sort of faithful way. For one thing it's almost all dialog. There is very little action or exposition, the former of which at least Hollywood relies heavily on.

robertlagrant 9y ago
I agree - I would love to see a film, but I can't imagine how it'd work.
- redler 9y ago
  I imagine they would take a sort of "Cloud Atlas" approach.
  - sbarre 9y ago
    That's not a comforting thought
MrZongle2 9y ago
What's even more concerning is if you look at what Goyer & Friedman have done in the past, it's almost exclusively comic book and action movie stuff (and that track record is pretty spotty). My expectations are low, unfortunately.
- JKCalhoun 9y ago
  Mine too. Wither, Dune....
mattmanser 9y ago
And, worse, it keeps changing main characters. No star actors. You can't even have an ensemble cast, the protagonists constantly change as the story progresses.
- FatalErrorr 9y ago
  why does that matter? works for black mirror
- Cyph0n 9y ago
  To be fair, the mini-series format has recently proven to be quite successful. Examples include Fargo and True Detective. Honestly, I'm more concerned with the scale of the Foundation universe and timeline. If it's not well written and presented, viewers will easily lose track of the where and when.
DonaldPShimoda 9y ago
I'm trying to figure whether they would start with the main trilogy or the prequels. The trilogy has super frequent cast changes. They might be able to do a season per book, but even then some of the books go through way too many characters to be comfortable for a format like that. Maybe do like a three-part episode per section in the books, in a sort of mini-miniseries? That condenses the dialog-heaviness and allows for some emphasis on the "action", although it would still be very cerebral compared to most series these days. If they start with the prequels, they'd have a more stable cast. Not to mention, the prequels have a lot more action-y scenes and are a bit more fast-paced. The main downside is that they might lose audience if they go through the prequels and then do the main trilogy; many people would find the later seasons excessively boring, I think. So I dunno. I can see ways where it might work, but it would have to be well-executed and planned out thoroughly. I think I'm going to try to be hesitantly optimistic, haha. We'll see what happens.
- marktangotango 9y ago
  Everyone really hated Will Smith and "I Robot" but I've always maintained it at least captured the spirit of the robot stories, three laws, and the problems that can arise. I ask myself, what is the spirit of the Foundation series that could be captured in a similar way? I personally come up empty handed, hopefully these people can do better!
  - dep_b 9y ago
    It wasn't bad at all, but maybe some people are put off by certain characters in roles that are not associated with them, like Stallone in Copland.
  - phonon 9y ago
    The movie started off as a completely unrelated (to the Asimov series) script. http://www.screenwritersutopia.com/article/d19127d8 http://www.screenwritersutopia.com/article/d19127d8 Interestingly, the article discusses how the same scriptwriter was involved in a Foundation adaptation, (that didn't seem to go anywhere.)

robertlagrant 9y ago

I agree - I would love to see a film, but I can't imagine how it'd work.

redler 9y ago
I imagine they would take a sort of "Cloud Atlas" approach.
- sbarre 9y ago
  That's not a comforting thought

MrZongle2 9y ago

What's even more concerning is if you look at what Goyer & Friedman have done in the past, it's almost exclusively comic book and action movie stuff (and that track record is pretty spotty). My expectations are low, unfortunately.

JKCalhoun 9y ago
Mine too. Wither, Dune....

mattmanser 9y ago

And, worse, it keeps changing main characters. No star actors. You can't even have an ensemble cast, the protagonists constantly change as the story progresses.

FatalErrorr 9y ago
why does that matter? works for black mirror
Cyph0n 9y ago
To be fair, the mini-series format has recently proven to be quite successful. Examples include Fargo and True Detective. Honestly, I'm more concerned with the scale of the Foundation universe and timeline. If it's not well written and presented, viewers will easily lose track of the where and when.

DonaldPShimoda 9y ago

I'm trying to figure whether they would start with the main trilogy or the prequels. The trilogy has super frequent cast changes. They might be able to do a season per book, but even then some of the books go through way too many characters to be comfortable for a format like that. Maybe do like a three-part episode per section in the books, in a sort of mini-miniseries? That condenses the dialog-heaviness and allows for some emphasis on the "action", although it would still be very cerebral compared to most series these days. If they start with the prequels, they'd have a more stable cast. Not to mention, the prequels have a lot more action-y scenes and are a bit more fast-paced. The main downside is that they might lose audience if they go through the prequels and then do the main trilogy; many people would find the later seasons excessively boring, I think. So I dunno. I can see ways where it might work, but it would have to be well-executed and planned out thoroughly. I think I'm going to try to be hesitantly optimistic, haha. We'll see what happens.

marktangotango 9y ago
Everyone really hated Will Smith and "I Robot" but I've always maintained it at least captured the spirit of the robot stories, three laws, and the problems that can arise. I ask myself, what is the spirit of the Foundation series that could be captured in a similar way? I personally come up empty handed, hopefully these people can do better!
- dep_b 9y ago
  It wasn't bad at all, but maybe some people are put off by certain characters in roles that are not associated with them, like Stallone in Copland.
- phonon 9y ago
  The movie started off as a completely unrelated (to the Asimov series) script. http://www.screenwritersutopia.com/article/d19127d8 http://www.screenwritersutopia.com/article/d19127d8 Interestingly, the article discusses how the same scriptwriter was involved in a Foundation adaptation, (that didn't seem to go anywhere.)