Why hasn't there been a mega budget CG extravaganza adaptation of Moby Dick yet?

nyarlothothep

Hollywood is obsessed with CG films, so why on earth haven't they made Moby Dick yet, they have high literary source material for the script so as long as they stuck somewhat faithful to it while cutting out what essentially counts for a whaling manual for 3/5 of the book, they could make an epic, entertaining yet intelligent film. They could use this song in the final showdown scene between Ahab and the whale, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-Su1YXQYek

it would be epic, a 100 ft CG whale rising Leviathan-like out of the sea while Ahab is like It's time to settle the score Mutha****a with loads of screaming panicking sailors jumping ship. Why haven't they made this yet? It's a no brainer.

indough

because in truth it's an awful book with at most 30 mins worth of story

edit: okay i suppose i should elaborate, it would have to be a loose adaptation unless we want to hear constant narration about types of whales and how to best get the oil out of them for the entire running time.

i always think jaws is pretty much the perfect adaptation

nyarlothothep

indough wrote: »

because in truth it's an awful book with at most 30 mins worth of story

edit: okay i suppose i should elaborate, it would have to be a loose adaptation unless we want to hear constant narration about types of whales and how to best get the oil out of them for the entire running time.

i always think jaws is pretty much the perfect adaptation

Yeah but Jaws is Jaws, it wouldn't compare to a massive CG whale rising up from the ocean with loads of people running around with harpoons as sea water cascades across the deck with a 300 style lighting and backgrounds. The books is...crap but high minded critics say its one of the best novels ever written and it has that whole philosophical subtext about the whiteness of the whale/meaninglessness of life, that would be an epic theme for the film, Ahab trying to give his life meaning but failing, the whale being the ultimate representation of indifferent and all powerful nature. The story itself isn't that well written because 300 pages are just about the science of whaling, but it has enough elements for the scriptwriters to work with while not being constrained by the book.

thegreengoblin

I haven't read the book, I saw the film years ago, but a version of it set in space could be good if it was done right... http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/moby-dick-mobius-lynne-ramsay-scott-pictures-375989

thegreengoblin

thegreengoblin wrote: »

I haven't read the book, I saw the film years ago, but a version of it set in space could be good if it was done right... http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/moby-dick-mobius-lynne-ramsay-scott-pictures-375989

Not a chance in hell that Ramsey will be making that film after the fall out she and
Steindorff had which resulted in her simply not turning up for the first day of shooting on Jane Got A Gun. Wouldn't surprise me if her career came to something of a grinding halt as few producers are going to want to back her projects.

Zubeneschamali

indough wrote: »

because in truth it's an awful book with at most 30 mins worth of story

You only need about 20 pages of story for a 90 minute movie, and Moby Dick has a lot more than 20 pages of story, even if you remove all the good bits about whaling.

thebostoncrab

It is my favourite book, and I often wondered why noone has made a large big budget adaptation. There is more than enough to make a 3 hour epic, which is at the heart of it a very simple story

Hart

What about this version; http://www.theasylum.cc/product.php?id=177

Hart

Hart wrote: »

What about this version; http://www.theasylum.cc/product.php?id=177

He was asking why there wasn't "a mega budget CG extravaganza" and not one made for the change the producers found down the back of their sofas.

There is also the made for feck all adaptation that replaces Whales with Dragons.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sjMdYnOZ_k

debaser13

love ur enthusiasm.....yeah it could be interesting. Possibly they wont make it because the hero is a whaler??? Whales are very 'in' at the moment.

Technocentral

Fcuk "CG".

im invisible

Kess73

indough wrote: »

because in truth it's an awful book with at most 30 mins worth of story

edit: okay i suppose i should elaborate, it would have to be a loose adaptation unless we want to hear constant narration about types of whales and how to best get the oil out of them for the entire running time.

i always think jaws is pretty much the perfect adaptation

Jaws is a very loose adaptation of the book of the same name. Even Spielberg has come out and said that Moby Dick was one of the biggest influences on how he made the film, and if not for some copyright issues he would have had included footage from the Gregory Peck version of Moby Dick as well as scenes that were in homage to scenes from the pages of Moby Dick.

The majority of the sub plots in the book version of Jaws were left out of the film, and most of the major characters who made it from book to film had almost complete personality and backstory overhauls.

Rather than Jaws being an example of a perfect film adaptation of a book, it is probably the best example of a very average (at best) book being turned into a classic film thanks to the almost complete removal of the book's plots and characterisations.

Zubeneschamali

Kess73 wrote: »

Jaws is a very loose adaptation of the book of the same name.

I think indough meant that the movie "Jaws" is pretty much the perfect adaptation of the book "Moby Dick".

Technocentral

Zubeneschamali wrote: »

I think indough meant that the movie "Jaws" is pretty much the perfect adaptation of the book "Moby Dick".

Surely "Jaws" the film is a more perfect adaptation of the book "Jaws" by Peter Benchley though?

Kess73

Technocentral wrote: »

Surely "Jaws" the film is a more perfect adaptation of the book "Jaws" by Peter Benchley though?

Quint in the film Jaws is closer to being a film adapatation of Ahab that he is one of the book version of Quint.

Ishmael and Queequeg would be closer to the film Brody and Hooper than Benchley's take on the latter pairing which has them pretty much enemies competing for the same woman.


Hendricks in the film is not a million miles from Dough Boy in Moby Dick although it could be argued that the dude that follows Quint after his "I'll catch him" speech represents Dough Boy.


The list of comparisons between Jaws the film and Moby Dick the book could go on.

Kess73

Zubeneschamali wrote: »

I think indough meant that the movie "Jaws" is pretty much the perfect adaptation of the book "Moby Dick".

In that case, I took what he said completely wrong.

indough

ha! yeah i was referring to it in regard to moby dick, but it seems we are mostly in agreement anyway. to the other poster, i am aware it took its name and very basic premise from the other novel, but regardless of that fact there is no doubt whatsoever that it is also a loose adaptation of moby dick. and the best one so far, at that