CA: Anyone else constantly checking IMDB while reading this?

[Erik]

Normally while reading a book that's been/being adapted to film, I'm not one to check IMDB to see who's playing who. But in the case of CLOUD ATLAS, I'm reading the latest paperback edition which has the majority of the film's cast on the cover, so I'm already picturing the actors in various roles and feel compelled to make sure I'm imagining them in the correct ones. In the effort of saving time, I've gotten to the point where I'm considering printing out a bookmark, to consult at the start of each new story, with a list of the actors' names and the multiple roles they're each playing. Is there anyone else out there with a similar IMDB obsession?

Also, I have to add, I think Ben Whishaw (who was amazing in the brilliant BBC series THE HOUR) seems perfectly cast as Robert Frobisher. I could completely hear his voice when reading that story/chapter.

[Kirsten]

YES! So glad it's not just me. I kept checking it over and over while reading, because I kept forgetting all the different roles people were playing. Some of them surprised me though - isn't Tom Hanks a little old to play Zachry?

[Josh]

Same here!

[Mark]

I waited till i was finished then checked...Had enough to try remember and think about as it was.
I was pretty surprised when I seen who Tom Hanks was playing, would never have put him as Zachry. Or Isaac Sachs really.

[Michael]

I usually lose almost all interest in a movie adaptation after reading the book.
If I see the movie adaptation first, the book ends up lower down on my to-read list.

[Kirsten]

I imagined Zachry as a lot younger

[Josh]

Definitely wouldn't have put Tom Hanks as an Isaac Sachs but he's a quality actor and I bet he pulls off the part. I think they cast him in that role because they wanted to have several of the more recognizable characters show up several times to give the audience another cue that these were connected stories. Something you may not catch if you haven't read the book.

I've gone back several times and read books that later inspired movies and am always left more satisfied with the book. The Body (Stand By Me) is one of my all-time favorites in this regard.

[Spriggan1]

I did the same thing for some parts, but not all for some reason. (view spoiler)[It's important to note that the movie is doing something distinctly different to the book. In the book, only one central character from each story is of the same soul, but in the movie it's an ensemble cast of souls represented by a particular actor.

Also, Imdb doesn't list all the parts that the actors are playing. I know Hugh Grant, and Hugo Weaving have more parts than what's listed. And for Tom Hanks the Wachowski's are making him start as a wayward, evil soul in the Ewing story, but by the last story (Zachary) he becomes a good soul. This is something not in the book.

David Mitchell called the casting move a genius idea. Can't know for sure until I've seen it play out. (hide spoiler)]

[terpkristin]

I rarely do it, but I'm in the minority. I can't seem to get "into" movies, even movies with tie-ins like this. I don't know actors by name (well, big ones I know, but there are some I "should" know that I don't), and I usually keep books and movies separate in my experience of a book/story. I think I'm weird, though.

[Josh]

What do you mean "movies with tie-ins like this"? This book was written several years before the producers decided to shoot the film.

[terpkristin]

I mean that the movie is tied to the book. It's based on it. Not that the book was written explicitly for the movie, to be an "added feature" or anything. I told ya, I don't watch movies. It was the best word I could come up with quickly while drug-addled (recovering from back surgery). :D

[Josh]

No worries! It was the use of the word "tie-in" which typically refers to books that were written to provide additional backstory for movies (usually bad movies).

Hope you feel better! ;)

[Tina]

Please remember to use spoiler tags- not all of us have finished reading the book...Spriggan1, this means you :)

[Ronan]

Tina wrote: "Please remember to use spoiler tags- not all of us have finished reading the book...Spriggan1, this means you :)"

Funny thing is, in a way, this should have a spoiler tag *for the movie* as well. I think a portion of the fun of this movie will be to see who plays which character in which story.

That being said, it is fun to check who is who on IMDB :)

[Rand]

I became interested in the book from the movie trailer but so far the book is not living up to my expectations at all. So, will this be a case where the movie is better than the book? Anyway, maybe knowing which actor/character match up will help me get through the book; or maybe music or something. Otherwise I am just going to wait for the DVD of the movie to come out and move on to other books on my list.

[Ruth (tilltab) Ashworth]

Urgh, for me, knowing Tom Hanks is in this film makes me far less excited about it. I know I'm in the minority here (most people seem to rave about him) but I find him an incredibly flat, uninteresting actor. What's worse, they seem, based on the trailer, to be putting him into a romantic role, and I just don't think the guy can pull off romance at all. Again, this is just a personal thing. Not happy with that bit of casting, but perhaps the film will work in spite of him.

[Syacelion]

I read and enjoyed the book and did not spare a single thought for the movie adaptation until I finished the book today and read the author's enthusiastic bit about the movie. Having read the book on my Kindle, I also managed to not look at the cover until then. As such, book-Zachry and film-Zachry for example will remain two different characters in my mind.
I enjoyed the book, and I am also looking forward to the movie, but am keeping those two things separate.
The actor-character grid Matt linked made me guffaw and cheer because of some of the (re)casting choices, such as Nurse Noakes. Watching the trailer on IMDB was intriguing, but it also made me cringe at some small things, like the angle and orientation of the Beetle in that scene (1:39 in the trailer). I hope there won't be too many "movie mistakes", both generic and of adaptation. I'm happy to accept liberties with the source material in big things, made for narrative reasons, if on the other hand besides an overall respect they pay attention to the small stuff, especially if it's something that stood out because the author gave special thought to a detail and it made sense. I find that not getting details right, without compelling reason, can be quite jarring and make a major difference in my appreciation of adaptations.
I'll have the one with an extra helping of Authenticity, vis-à-vis the source and to and within itself both, please.
So I guess I'll now have to be cautiously optimistic, within reason and with reservations, but then again, what better premise for enjoyment than tempering your expectations? :)

[Jenny (Reading Envy)]

NO. No, no, no.

I love Tom Hanks but I'm skeptical about this movie adaptation. The last thing I wanted was to ruin my book experience by picturing actors' faces in my head.

(I know, I know, get off my lawn.)

[J. Alberto]

I did and I feel like I cheated...

[Rainer]

Rand wrote: "I became interested in the book from the movie trailer but so far the book is not living up to my expectations at all. So, will this be a case where the movie is better than the book? Anyway, maybe..."

I agree, from watching the trailer I thought Cloud Atlas is a love story though time, which explains why the actors are recycled in each time period. I'm halfway through the book and I have no idea what I'm reading ..

[Sandi]

I finished the book today and have just looked at the cast list. UGH!!!! REALLY?????? Tom Hanks is playing Isaac????? Isn't that character in his thirties? Also, why is he playing Zachry? Through most of the story, Zachry is in his late teens, early twenties. And, why Halle Berry for Luisa Rey? I thought Luisa was a Latina and in her early thirties. Halle Berry is a wonderful actress and quite beautiful, but she just isn't suited for the role of Luisa. And, what's Hugh Grant doing in this movie? I can't picture him for anything.

I foresee an epic fail.

[John]

Oh dear no, no, no! I am avoiding reading anything about the films, even the trailers, so as to be able to properly enjoy the book!

Sadly us UK based members have to wait until Feb 2013 before we can watch the film in the cinema. Sigh

[Mark]

I foresee an epic fail.

Except 95% (probably closer to 99%) of the people in the theater will never have read the book ...

[Sandi]

Mark wrote: "I foresee an epic fail.

Except 95% (probably closer to 99%) of the people in the theater will never have read the book ..."

That will probably make it worse. Those who read the book will say that it wasn't a good adaptation and those who haven't will be scratching their heads trying to figure out what's going on.

I saw the trailer when we went to see "Argo" yesterday. It looks as awful as I expected. I think they've turned it into a romance across time or some such drivel. The Somni scenes looked pretty cool, but the rest looked like crap.

By the way, "Argo" is one of the best movies I've seen in a really long time. It was so tense at times that I found myself holding my breath. It also had some great humor in the scenes with John Goodman and Alan Arkin. At the end, they showed pictures of the actors next to pictures of the real people the portrayed and the resemblances were uncanny. I know it's off-topic, but I can't say enough good things about this movie.

[Mark]

But that was my point ... people who don't know anything about it tend to not have any preconceived notions about the movie. I've never read the book but the trailer looked interesting (I guess they always do) so I'll probably see it ... if it's interesting, I'll probably read the book (which I otherwise didn't have much interest in).

Argo is a good example: it might be a great movie but it has been criticized as not accurately portraying the event. As a movie, does it matter? ... to me, no. But as an adaptation? People familiar with the event might say otherwise.

[Ronan]

I can keep the book and the film separate in my head (most of the time). No doubt most of the subtlety of the book will be lost (particularly the Nietzschean undertones) but movies can't do that well anyway. I am looking forward to the visual spectacle of the setting of each story.

[Lauratron]

So, I'm going to go ahead and be contrary here, but on the whole, I didn't like the book. However, I am excited for the movie.

I feel like (and I think someone in another thread also complained of this) the overall message of the book was pessimistic, and being the eternal optimist that I am, it didn't sit well with me. I also had trouble believing that some of the characters would be interested in each other's stories, for example, why would a young feminist journalist be interested in reading the letters of a young playboy musician?

But after checking out the trailer, it looks like the filmmakers decided to go with a slightly more optimistic theme of connections, and some of the characters being played by the same actors gives us more of a reason to believe in those connections, even though Tom Hanks is way older than Zachry is in the book, it reinforces the human connections in a way that translates visually and emotionally. I hope.

So I guess what I'm saying is, I want the fluffy romantic adaptation because I felt the book was a bit too bleak.

[Erik]

Lauratron, while I can't comment on the bleakness of the book (I've just started in on Sloosha's Crossing, so I haven't read the second halves of any of the stories yet), on your comment about Luisa Rey and Frobisher's letters, I would say (view spoiler)[ Luisa starts reading the letters because they're her only available clue into what happened to Sixsmith. And I think she continues reading them because Frobisher's birthmark freaks her out a bit. I liked how the stories all referenced the preceding one. For me, the Luisa Rey/Timothy Cavendish connection added the least to the story, but it did make sense that he'd be reading that manuscript. (hide spoiler)]

[Emmanuel]

No, I didn't check IMDB, but I had seen the trailer for the movie before starting reading. Well, half of the trailer, It felt like it was waaaaay to spoilery.

I kept mentally marking the scenes I had seen in the trailer as they happened in the book.

I don't really care who plays who, and there's no rush, the movie cames out here in March. -_-

[Sandi]

Emmanuel wrote: "No, I didn't check IMDB, but I had seen the trailer for the movie before starting reading. Well, half of the trailer, It felt like it was waaaaay to spoilery.

I kept mentally marking the scenes I ..."

Heck, the opening of the movie is spoilery. Was showing the end first part of the art?