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Will we see a new film adaptation of 1984 soon?

posted 4 years ago by PrimeMinisterX (8291)
32 replies | jump to latest

I learned today that 1984 will go into the public domain in the US next year. That means, of course, that studios will be free to adapt it without paying a penny for the rights.

I have always thought it strange that a story as well-known and interesting as 1984 has only been adapted twice (that I know of), and hasn't been re-adapted in over 35 years.

Now that the book is about to hit the public domain State-side, do you think we'll see a new, big-budget film from Hollywood? Do you think, perhaps, the screenplay is already being worked on?

[–] MovieManCin2 (26342) 4 years ago

Why?

😎

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8291) 4 years ago

Because with the right director and today's effects, it could be great!

[–] MovieManCin2 (26342) 4 years ago

(sighs audibly)

😐

[–] actionkamen (23176) 4 years ago

Idk. The story isn't exactly putting Hollywood, the media and Internet "creepy stalkers" (Google, Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, etc.) on a good light. So probably nobody would want to finance it.

That leaves it to indie scene. However, for such a classic and highly scrutined story I don't think small budget would suffice. Audience would tear any adaptation to pieces. 'The book is better,' they'd say.

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8291) 4 years ago

You make a point about Hollywood not wanting to finance it. Sadly, you also express exactly why it NEEDS to be financed. The story is more relevant now than ever!

I think that it would have to have the right talent behind it, but hire the proper writer, director, production designer, effects house and actors, and it could be a winner.

It could go badly wrong, though. On a related note, I waited for years for a new adaptation of Fahrenheit 451, and then HBO finally produced one with Michael B. Jordan a couple of years ago. Not sure if you saw it, but it was pretty lame. I'm still waiting for a GOOD adaptation of that book.

[–] actionkamen (23176) 4 years ago

I think Black Mirror S1E2 is the closest to 1984 adaptation we would ever get.

[–] HarlemEagle42 (16160) 4 years ago

Everything else is being remade or given a new adaptation, so why not?

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8291) 4 years ago

Considering how right you are that Hollywood is remake-crazy these days, it really does seem strange that they apparently have no interest in this classic and well-known work of literature.

[–] HarlemEagle42 (16160) 4 years ago

Big Brother advised against doing so. ;)

[–] actionkamen (23176) 4 years ago

Double plus ungood.

[–] RamsesTheGreat (323) 4 years ago

The film adaptation of 1984 was almost spot on even though what's written in that book can never be emulated perfectly.

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8291) 4 years ago

I tend to believe that for very important stories, each generation deserves their own version. Some classic tales should not be adapted merely once or twice for all time.

Take, for example, The Count of Monte Cristo. I love the 2002 version, but I also have a hunger to see the story be adapted by new writers and directors with different visions for how to tell the story. It's just that good, and it deserves to be told anew.

Or consider A Christmas Carol. That's such a beloved and classic tale that one adaptation wasn't enough. My personal favorite is the 1951 version with Alistair Sim, but I also love the '84 and '99 versions as well. So I would hate for the movie industry to have stopped re-telling this story 70 years ago.

[–] RamsesTheGreat (323) 4 years ago

I understand what you're getting at. Each generation should remake classics suited to their era. I agree with you on that. I need to rewatch The count of monte cristo or at least read that book once more.

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8291) 4 years ago

When I first saw The Count of Monte Cristo, I was a little disappointed in it because I had just read the book and, in comparison, the movie feels so rushed. But later I rewatched it and realized it's actually a very good movie and they did about the best that could be done considering they only had two hours to tell the story.

I say I had just read the book, but in reality I found out later that what I had read was a ~600 page abridgment of a ~1300 page novel. To be fair, it was an excellent read nevertheless. But I always wondered what I had missed. To answer that question I actually ordered the full-length book just a few days ago and am waiting for it to come in.

[–] RamsesTheGreat (323) 4 years ago

To answer that question I actually ordered the full-length book just a few days ago and am waiting for it to come in.

1300 pages worth of reading? How long will it take for you to read it all?

https://www.reddit.com/r/books/comments/1lecfy/the_count_of_monte_cristo_im_looking_for_an/

"There are two really good versions in my opinion. I cut my teeth on the Penguin Classics unabridged version.

http://www.amazon.com/Count-Monte-Cristo-Penguin-Classics/dp/0140449264

There is also an Oxford World's Classics version which is good...though not as good as the Penguin in my opinion."

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8291) 4 years ago

Seeing as how I am a slow reader, and I also have other things I will be reading at the same time, it's going to take forever to finish it. It will probably take about a year, actually. But I think it will be a good journey.

And that Penguin edition is in fact the one that I ordered. I chose it because of this article:

https://spjg.com/2018/12/11/which-english-edition-of-the-count-of-monte-cristo-should-i-read/

I also have the version that Project Gutenberg provides for free as an eBook and have read some of it. It seems to be a good version as well, and I think it would be a good option for anyone who is broke but is still interested in the story.

I'll also say that if you are interested in reading it but just don't want to invest the time required to get through the complete novel, then the abridgment that I read in high school was still excellent. I did not even realize at the time that it was cut down, because I didn't know what the word "abridged" even meant LOL. If you want to go that route, you'll want to look for the abridged version translated by Lowell Bair.

[–] RamsesTheGreat (323) 4 years ago

I actually started reading the Gutenberg version then ran out of steam. I was reading it as soon i posted my reply to you 3 hrs richard pryor. It's too damn lengthy or i am not in a right state of mind to read it all. Such classics are better off read as paperbacks or hardcovers.

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8291) 4 years ago

I feel you. I'm a physical book guy myself.

Well, if you want the full-length experience, the Robin Buss (Penguin) translation seems to be the way to go, and like I said, if that's just too much then the Lowell Bair abridgment worked for me back in the day. That one cuts the text down to about 600 pages, or at least that was the case in the edition I read.

[–] RamsesTheGreat (323) 4 years ago

I never thought the classic was worth 1300 pages! Imagine 1984 by George Orwell lasting 600 pages instead of 200 odd.

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8291) 4 years ago

It's a huge ass book. No doubt about that.

I was actually shocked to learn that the original version I read was an abridgment and that the full book was as big as it is.

But no doubt that is due to the fact that it was originally released in serialized installments instead of a single bound book and, I'm positive, Dumas was getting paid by the word. This is also why some of Dickens' books are so long. And while I'm not positive, I'd guess that's probably also why Les Miserables is as long as it is (1488 pages in the edition I just looked up on Amazon).

[–] dmac8 (5050) 4 years ago

more likely an "updated" version on cable tv

[–] kukuxu (5409) 4 years ago

No need for a movie. We already have mainstream media in real life 😄

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

i agree in that it seems odd to me that a book that's still so well known & so ingrained in our culture has only made it to film twice.

i think the 80s version is fine. john hurt certainly was as good an actor to bring that character to the screen as anyone you could name imo.

maybe it's just seen as too pessimistic & down-beat a story to bring to the screen. asking studios to sink who knows how many millions into a bleak dystopian film with few moments of happiness & no ending triumph is probably not an easy sell.

[–] PrimeMinisterX (8291) 4 years ago

When I made this thread I was still in the middle of the book. I have since finished it and concur with your assessment: It is too downbeat of a story to be a crowd-pleaser.

It also, I think, is just not especially adaptable for the screen. It seems it would require lots of voiceover or a great deal of exposition via clunky dialogue.

If it does get adapted anew at some time in the future, it would not surprise me at all if the actual plot is expanded and the ending changed. Perhaps instead of directly making 1984, it's better to use it as an inspiration and incorporate some of its ideas into original screenplays.

[–] Forky (1739) 4 years ago

2084

[–] davodikum (5970) 4 years ago

id watch that.

[–] Forky (1739) 4 years ago

👍