"Dragon Riders of Pern" to be adapted for screen

Nodin

There can never be enough dragons in movies. It was announced by Copperheart Ent. that writer David Hayter (voice of Solid Snake, but also writer on X-Men, X2 and Watchmen) will be penning the adaptation of Dragonflight, the first novel in an epic sci-fi/fantasy series called the Dragonriders of Pern. Hayter will also produce with Dark Hero Studios, Don Murphy and Susan Montford's Angry Films and Entertainment One.

http://www.firstshowing.net/2011/david-hayter-penning-the-adaptation-of-sci-fifantasy-dragonflight/

Read a few of these years ago. Not bad, though a bit 'gentle' for my tastes. One would hope they don't make a complete bags of it.

Sleepy

I thought Eragon was a close enough adaptation...

j/k

Kazuma

Dear lord...please let Hayter himself be in it also.


And I'll buy 10 copies of this if he says "Metal gear!" at any point in the film.

On a side note, is this series good? I'd never heard of it, but I was quite partial David Gemell stuff - is it comparable?

Morag

I've always enjoyed it, mind you I started reading them as a teen so that may be tinged with nostalgia. It's one of Anne McCaffrey f's bigger and better known series.
Which manages to be fantasy and scifi in an intresting way. The planet is colonised by space ships from earth and how they have to rough it out on the planet and go backwards tech wise while utilising the natives species on the planet and how the culture and society evolves around that.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragonriders_of_Pern

The series (which currently stands at 21 books) is being handed over to her son Todd, who co wrote the last few with her over the last 8 years and is a writer in his own stead with several other books published.

I'd prefer to see the Hive and the Tower books make into a series personally but Pern had a huge fan base in the USA.

AnCapaillMor

So you're saying there's alot of hardcore pern fans in the states.

Morag

Not just there but there is enough of a fan base and the numbers of books sold over the last 40 years in the USA for the production companies to consider it a safe enough bet to make a series. Guess it would be nice if it happened with in
Anne McCaffrey's life time considering she turned 84 this month.

Introduction to the 1999 Pern pc game.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWF7Yb8HqXs

ixoy

Read a few of them - they're grand but I like my fantasy/sci-fi (they're a bit of both) a bit rougher. They're popular though so they may do well on screen.
For what it's worth, Mrs. McCaffrey live in Wicklow and calls her house "Dragonhold-Underhill".

Nodin

Kazuma wrote: »

.............On a side note, is this series good? I'd never heard of it, but I was quite partial David Gemell stuff - is it comparable?

Nothing like it at all, at all.

..Brian..

I loved these books tbh. Loved the story and the idea of technological devolution, utilising indeginous specices and materials. Building their own culture and historys and Earth becomming a forgotten myth .... excellent stuff!

Not sure if it will translate will to screen tho, part of the charm of the earlier books I found was the fact they were wrote in the 60's when menwere men and women knew their place! (j/k )

Morag

Anne McCartney was one of the first big female fantasy and scifi writers and part of why she started writing was the lack of female protagonists in the genre and all the other females were not role models and 2 dimensional at best. She is the first woman to win the Hugo and Nebula awards, and her 1978 novel The White Dragon was the first science-fiction novel to appear on the New York Times hardcover bestseller list.

Sir Ophiuchus

That's definitely admirable Sharrow, and I agree about the lack of female protagonists at the time, but her views on gay characters and homosexuality in general are uncharacteristically negative and pretty horrible for a feminist author. It's one of the main things that turned me away from her writing.

Morag

I can only think of one mention of someone preferring guys, have you any quotes/references you can share with me?

Yes I did notice the lack of 'gay' characters in her book but just because a person is a scifi writer it doesn't mean they are not influenced by the socail mores they grew up with. This is the case with many writers when we look back from a current perspective to what was written back then.

Sir Ophiuchus

All green dragons only impress on gay men: http://www.cibryen.com/airforce.html

She's on record as believing that being raped or having anal sex of any kind makes a man homosexual. It's elabaorated here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragons_%28Pern%29#Fandom_Considerations

Here's part of the interview transcript, which is really hard to find.

A: The situation will arise where two males will enagage in sexual activity. Greenriders, have to be homosexual.

Q: Some fandom Weyrs choose to seperate sexual tendencies and flight related sex experiences...

A: Let me stop you right there, there is no seperation. Two men engaging in sexual activity with one another are gay. The dragons choose based on their own drives.

Q: *audible pause* *sounds of paper rustling* But, uh, some people say one experience, especially under the control of outside forces dosen't really make you *emphasis* gay.

A: It's not a matter of the rider *emphasis* becoming homosexual. Green and blue dragons choose people who are already homosexual. And even if circumstances arose, and a green dragon chose a heterosexual lifemate... Well, he would become homosexual. It's a proven fact that a single anal sex experience causes one to be homosexual. The hormones released by a sexual situation involving the anus being broached, are the same hormones found in large quantities in effeminate homosexual males. For example, when I was much younger I knew a young man who was for all intents and purposes, heterosexual. He was mugged, and involved in a rape situation involving a tent peg. This one event was enough to have him start on a road that eventually led to him becoming effeminate and gay.

Morag

I have to say I am not surprised to find out she has such antiquated notions, disappointed yes but considering her age not surprised.

Sir Ophiuchus

Yeah, I know, it's just sad to see them in someone who's a feminist author, given the links between feminism and the gay movement in activism and fiction.

Nodin

Sir Ophiuchus wrote: »

All green dragons only impress on gay men: http://www.cibryen.com/airforce.html

She's on record as believing that being raped or having anal sex of any kind makes a man homosexual. It's elabaorated here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragons_%28Pern%29#Fandom_Considerations

Here's part of the interview transcript, which is really hard to find.

....they won't be using her to advocate prostate health awareness then so.

Morag

Sir Ophiuchus wrote: »

Yeah, I know, it's just sad to see them in someone who's a feminist author, given the links between feminism and the gay movement in activism and fiction.

It is unfortunate but,I don't expect writers to be anything other then human, like the rest of us, we are all flawed and imperfect and products of cultural context and constructs. While those may changed it's not always fair to go back and measure against current standards. I have always preferred her non pern books such as the Hive & Tower and the crystal singer books which didn't have such notions in them.

I guess it was boundary pushing back then even to have 'gay' characters or to even mention them rather then hetrowashing the entire planet and series.

Dan_Solo

Like the Mills And Boon of fantasy. Definitely giving this a miss

Conall Cernach

I've read some of the Pern books (the early ones mainly) and I can't remember any mention of Gay Dragonriders or Green dragon preferences. I assume it comes up in some of the later (less good) books.

Morag

http://sf-fantasy.suvudu.com/2011/11/anne-mccaffrey-april-1-1926-november-21-2011.html

It is with great sadness that Del Rey Books and Random House report the passing of beloved author Anne McCaffrey. Anne McCaffrey was best known for her award-winning and immensely popular Dragonriders of Pern® novels. McCaffrey died at her home in Ireland on November 21st shortly after suffering a stroke. She was 85 years old. She is survived by her two sons and daughter. We will provide more information as we receive it from Anne’s family.

Trojan

I've started reading the Pern books now, and I've read the following:

Dragonflight (Pern #1)
Dragonquest (Pern #2)
Masterharper of Pern (way out of sequence but ok in context)

I can see why they were great back in the late 60's and early 70's. But they're now feeling very dated and slow moving, and I'm not sure whether to continue with the series or not.

Can anyone tell me, does it pick up in pace? Are there any Must Read books (e.g The White Dragon won a couple of awards, is it in the same vein or does it stand out)? Thoughts on continuing with Dragonsong/singer (I've read reviews and not optimistic).

Manach

It has been a long while since I read them.The quality varies, but I rather enjoyed more the earlier books has they had a more medieval type flavour rather than the latter ones some of which I passed on.I'd agree that the "White Dragon"one of the better ones.