The Eye of the World (The Wheel of Time, #1) The Eye of the World discussion


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Do you think it could be possible to adapt The Wheel Of Time Series as movies?

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message 1: by Michael (new) - added it

Michael If they did it like they did The Lord Of The Rings movies,it could really work and I would love it if they did that because they are my absolute favorite movies,but 14 movies seems a bit of a stretch.Do you think its possible?I mean the longest series I saw was Harry Potter and that was 8 movies.


Neal Simmons Anything is possible, but there is no way they could do it and keep the integrity of the series. Some books are okay to develop into movies, but most I would rather just leave them as books. Personally, very few books that are in a class of their own like this series can out good as a movie. Most of the adaptations I have liked have been from books that aren't quite up to the level. LOTR was an exception, but I actually thought the movies were better. HP movies were good, but they left out some major stuff or changed it. Percy Jackson movie really had nothing to do with the books. Heck, they even blended Annabeth with Clarise.

Usually, the better the book, the less I want it turned into a movie.


message 3: by Michael (last edited Jun 14, 2013 02:32PM) (new) - added it

Michael True,but if they did it like lord of the rings with a 3-4 hour time line,and agreed for 14-18 movies,it can definatly be accomplished.If those demands are not met though I would worry.I would ask for it to be made into a tv seriee like Game Of Thrones,but I don't think I would like that at all because Game Of Thrones tv show eliminated most of the battles/wars from the books and The Wheel Of Times needs all its battles just look at the last book,and the budget.The Wheel Of Time needs a huge budget.Maybe all of us fans should sign a petition and send it to Peter Jackson to have him direct.


message 4: by Michael (new) - added it

Michael Also I thought the hp movies could have been way better.I really didn't like any of the special effects.And they should have gave it at least 3 hours per movie.To much stuff left out.So disappointing.However the lord of the rings and the hobbit are my favorite movies.


Jeff Standard I agree with Neal, it's not feasible while maintaining the integrity of the books unless you did 7+ movies. So much of Jordan's allure comes from vivid descriptions, subtle behaviors, and historical contexts, all of which don't translate too well into movies. You'd lose a lot of depth for things like ji'e'toh or the emotional struggles when the Aiel learn they used to be like the Tinkers.

That said, I think it is possible to greatly adapt and abbreviate the story to churn out some good fantasy/action movies.


R.M.F. Brown If there was an agreement in place to give the films a $2 billion dollar budget for 15 films with each film 3-4 hours long, then maybe! :)


message 7: by Michael (new) - added it

Michael R.M.F wrote: "If there was an agreement in place to give the films a $2 billion dollar budget for 15 films with each film 3-4 hours long, then maybe! :)"

Yes!


Laura Birks I think the books would work better as a TV series but as has been mentioned above they'd need a massive budget to be able to do it properly and still a lot of stuff would have to be left out or condensed.
I cant see any studio wanting to take on the challenge these books represent, either on TV or as movies, especially when some of the middle books of the series are not as strong as the earlier or indeed later books.
Maybe the prequel book 'New Spring' would work better as a film but sadly I don't think the prequel stories that were to follow 'New Spring' will get written now :(


R.M.F. Brown Laura wrote: "I think the books would work better as a TV series but as has been mentioned above they'd need a massive budget to be able to do it properly and still a lot of stuff would have to be left out or co..."

Agreed. At least half the series would have to be purged for TV.


Bryan The only way this story could get brought to screen in a way that kept the integrity of the story would be to do it as an animated series (I'm picturing anime here). I can't imagine the channeling being anything other than super cheesy in a live-action medium.


message 11: by Siobhan (last edited Jun 26, 2013 07:06AM) (new) - rated it 4 stars

Siobhan All I can say is it needs to be an anime. It allows for a long story, many characters with many details and the budget won’t be a problem.


Siobhan Bryan wrote: "The only way this story could get brought to screen in a way that kept the integrity of the story would be to do it as an animated series (I'm picturing anime here). I can't imagine the channeling..."

Ha didn’t even read your comment until I made mine. Totally agree. As I was reading it I could imagine the characters as anime characters.


message 13: by Mike (new) - rated it 5 stars

Mike 14 movies? More like 30 to 45. At the bare minimum they would need to do mini-series. Or perhaps a tv show like with Game of Thrones. I don't think that they could strip down each volume into a single movie. After all, Eye of the world is about as long as the first 4 Harry Potter books combined.

If they do it, I think that it should be animated. That would be the easiest way to get the characters right. I mean, the Aiel alone would be a bitch to cast.


Chris Zaayenga I think everyone is forgetting how much unnecessary filler Jordan included in most of the books, and especially books 6-10. You could easily make this into 4-8 movies. 7movies, like HP, is do-able. A TV series like Game of Thrones is very possible too. The Dark Tower series by Stephen King is also in this same boat. 7books, considering movies or TV.


Siobhan Chris wrote: "I think everyone is forgetting how much unnecessary filler Jordan included in most of the books, and especially books 6-10. You could easily make this into 4-8 movies. 7movies, like HP, is do-abl..."

Even with the things that could easily be removed. Most things are disappointing when adapted, done or not. The only one I think that has done well in GoT. So in my opinion it’s not worth the risk, animated is best.


message 16: by Michael (new) - added it

Michael People forget, the lord of the rings and the hobbit was done in animation, so was dragonlance, neither was good. Animation is not the best way. I would say tv show if they could keep great special effects and all the battles.


Siobhan Michael wrote: "People forget, the lord of the rings and the hobbit was done in animation, so was dragonlance, neither was good. Animation is not the best way. I would say tv show if they could keep great special ..."

But if they do it in they style of anime??



message 18: by Michael (new) - added it

Michael Then it would be even worse,why would anyone want to see a Chinese cartoon on their favorite fantasy series?


message 19: by Michael (new) - added it

Michael Earthsea was made into an anime and it was also horrible.


Siobhan Michael wrote: "Earthsea was made into an anime and it was also horrible."

Iv not seen it but maybe it needs to be given to someone better.


Chris Zaayenga Any book turned movie can be done poorly. But that's not a good reason to not want it done at all. Give it a shot. Specially if the studios are willing to. You never know. Think about all the good movies you've seen over time. I would wager at least 50% of them were books. It doesn't need to be 100% accurate to be a good movie. As long as it follows major plot lines.

Everyone loves Game of Thrones. I assume since you are here you read the books too. Nobody complains about the Direwolves. They are practically non existent in the show. And they are a HUGE part of the plot in the books. Things like this can be done. We don't need that many Aes Sedai. We don't need all these side stories that took up a lot of pages. I really hope they do something.


R.M.F. Brown Chris wrote: "Any book turned movie can be done poorly. But that's not a good reason to not want it done at all. Give it a shot. Specially if the studios are willing to. You never know. Think about all the ..."

We don't need any Aes Sedai! :)


Natalie I think it would work better as a tv series there is way too many books to be made into films. They would have to cut out too much out of the books for it to be adaptable into a film. It should be done like how Game of thrones has been done:)


message 24: by Michael (new) - added it

Michael Natalie wrote: "I think it would work better as a tv series there is way too many books to be made into films. They would have to cut out too much out of the books for it to be adaptable into a film. It should be ..."

That definatly will not work,i mean I love Game Of Thrones,but it cuts out all the battle sequences,the giants,and a lot of the story from the books.The Wheel Of Time needs its battle sequences and wars!!!


message 25: by Michael (new) - added it

Michael Also a tv series works for Game Of Thrones,becuase its basically all political intrigue.Thats not the case for The Wheel Of Time.And have you ever heard of a 14 season tv show?Besides law and order of course.


Natalie Well they could do a tv series with all the battle sequences in it and there is a lot of filler content in the books which we don't need. So it could be cut down. I have heard it's rumoured to become a film though :/


message 27: by Michael (new) - added it

Michael Natalie wrote: "Well they could do a tv series with all the battle sequences in it and there is a lot of filler content in the books which we don't need. So it could be cut down. I have heard it's rumoured to beco..."

To be able to withstand that amount of battle it would take a big budget but if they could make that happen of course I would be all for a tv show.As for the movie I hope but I haven't heard anything about it since the rights got sold so I think that means there not doing it,but with the huge success of The Hobbit they may become further hugely into making it.


Natalie Yeah ofc but who knows someone might :) but I saw it online a while back that it might be a film remember hoping they dont butcher the books as it is my favourite series. :)


message 29: by Michael (new) - added it

Michael Natalie wrote: "Yeah ofc but who knows someone might :) but I saw it online a while back that it might be a film remember hoping they dont butcher the books as it is my favourite series. :)"

Yes,but if they do 3-4 hour movies it could be done,2 hour movies though theres no hope.


Pamela Su There's not enough (implied) sex in WOT to have it become a long running tv series on HBO. :P

WOT is a huge undertaking and I don't know how feasible it would be to turn all those books into a movie series. TV series seems more likely.

I do think that this series is one that might actually benefit from becoming a movie or tv series. Of course, by that I mean the script writers slicing off great big chunks of nothing actually happening and reorganising things so it all moves faster.

...which some fans may consider blasphemous if it changes things around significantly. ;)

But MAYBE the women will become less annoying to me in live action form. Maybe.


message 31: by Dan (last edited Aug 05, 2013 08:38AM) (new) - rated it 5 stars

Dan Might be possible but I rather doubt it will ever happen. Personally I would prefer if it wasn't done rather than end up with a TV series done in the same way as the "Legend of the Seeker" which did not do justice at all to the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind.

If it was done like LoTR sure but I wont hold my breath .. lol


Charles They would have to condense it and only give the essence of the story, maybe in 3 to 5 movies, if it was drawn to far out it gets old. Unless, each movie stood on its on and didn't leave you hanging at the end of each episode then I could enjoy them.


Laura Birks I'm thinking that if they were to do it as a TV series then they'd probably have to stick to just the main plotline with Rand and incorporate a few of the sub-plots here and there. Lan and Nynaeve's plotline would probably be condensed into just a few episodes, maybe the same with Perrin and Faile, and the Tower vs Rebel Aes Sedai conflicts could probably be condensed more as well. (just a few examples that occurred to me off the top of my head)
I'd imagine much of the history of a culture (say the Aiel for example) may be reduced to Rand's ultimate connection to the people and what Aviendha/Rand views in the ter'angreal/Rhuidean.
They'd probably also have to focus more on the Dark One, the Forsaken, Trollocs, Shades and Darkfriends as the main villainous characters and thereby reduce the impact of the Seanchan, Shaido and Whitecloaks as enemies/threats.
Despite all this a TV series could still be done imo, but fans of the books would likely hate the omissions with a vengeance. Unless they can do the series justice I'd hope that most filmmakers/ TV producers etc. would just leave it be.


message 34: by Dan (new) - rated it 5 stars

Dan Donahue I am currently reading book 10 of this series. They could probably get away with turning these books into an HBO mini series. They could make effective use of the camera in replacing the over descriptive nature of these books e.g. decorum of the rooms, clothes, details on weapons, buildings etc... It would be interesting but I don't think this will happen anytime soon. Dan D.


message 35: by Oliver (new) - added it

Oliver Not movies but T.V Mini series in a Game of Thrones style would work really well.


Roland Boykin I think they would run out of Hollywood actors to play the hundreds of characters that paraded through this epic fantasy. Using book one as the basis for a single movie might work and be fun to watch.


Kelsey Im not sure if they would use all the books as movies or smush them together into a smaller faster moving plot, which i wouldnt mind actually


Tejus Movies would work the best, but more than likely any studio/production company would have to get some really good writers in to condense 14 books into at most 8 movies.
This may not be as hard as it sounds, because there were a couple of books in the series (I can't remember which ones, having read the series over 13 years) that really came across as 'filler'. They did nothing for the overall Dragon vs Shaitan plot.
I'm sure that there a quite a few storylines that don't really need to be told. If you concentrate on Rand, Mat, Perrin, Egwene, Nynaeve, I think that would cover it.


message 39: by Shrike (new)

Shrike Michael wrote: "Then it would be even worse,why would anyone want to see a Chinese cartoon on their favorite fantasy series?"

First of all, anime is Japanese, not Chinese. Second, cartoon =/= anime. Third, if you want to talk about cartoons, Avatar?

Anime would be perfect, I would love to see each book made into an OAV series; 4 part for the first few books, up it to 8 for the latter entries. I liked the representation of the One Power in the New Spring graphic novel, they should keep that. That comic was pretty good until the last couple of issues, when it turned to crap.


message 40: by Dan (new) - rated it 5 stars

Dan Donahue I agree with Tejus comments above. Focus on the main characters and get some writers to sift out that descriptiveness of the book on those areas that could be covered by direction and production in cinematography


Michael Miller I don't think a movie could possibly succeed at all. First, anyone that is a fan, has read the books, wouldn't accept anything less than all 14 books and nothing left out. Let's face it. We're debating right now whether this should be a movie. We would be the worst critics because it can't live up to our expectations. People are still going after LoTR. Second, imagine trying to cast the principal characters. Who would play Rand? Could you imagine the uproar if they picked Zac Efron? The Dark One would be laughing his butt off. We're a very picky group when it comes to our fantasy books. It's highly unlikely there would every be an agreement to who should be cast into the roles. Third, this would be the type of movie that is very niche. There's a core group of people, but not enough to make it successful at the theaters. IMHO, I think WoT could best be presented as an animated series, straight to DVD. Thoughts?


Andrew They will have to cut A LOT of stuff that did not contribute much to the plot. Even then it could run six movies. They don't have to stay perfectly true to the books to make it work. If they do a good job I for one will love it.


Roland Boykin Can't wait to see what they come up with!


message 44: by [deleted user] (last edited Nov 10, 2013 02:42PM) (new)

It would work better as a show, in which each book gets a five-episode miniseries, each episode being a couple hours long. In that case, it would work out beautifully. But for a movie, too many complications, including the loss of material. And for a series like this, there is absolutely nothing at all that can be cut out unless you don't mind ruining the story.

And Michaeil in Message 44 is correct on all accounts.


message 45: by Michael (new) - added it

Michael Parker wrote: "Well it is now official
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1277941/?...
It is too far in to pre-production to show anything else other than, "it's out there." But. Universal Studios is going thro..."


Universal has had the movie rights for years, what makes you say it should be put don. Have you seem a recent announcement?


Andrew There is A LOT of stuff that would have to be cut out that was not really anthing more than fill material. If books 8,9, and 10 were condensed into one book's worth of movie that would be a start.


Peter Andrew wrote: "There is A LOT of stuff that would have to be cut out that was not really anthing more than fill material. If books 8,9, and 10 were condensed into one book's worth of movie that would be a start."

I wonder if the people claiming nothing could be cut have actually read the series? There is one book that basically shows the same events from about 4 different POVs. Apart from that not working in a movie, it is indeed filler.


Ciara Ballintyne As movies, no. It would destroy it. It could maybe be done as a Tv series like game of Thrones (not like egend of the Seeker, please, no...) but who would commit to the number of years? How many seasons would it be? You'd have to think fourteen at least. GoT started as one season per book. Now it's half-books. Although they are short seasons, so there is room to expand to 22 episode seasons. But still... I don't ever see anyone making the investment.


Faith I think this series could easily be 4 movies - as long as it's done skillfully and editing done by someone who loves the series. But sadly Hollywood usually kills good books :(


Scarlett Dijk I agree with Ciara. I think if it's done as a tv series similar to game of throne then it could be brilliant. However, with game of throne the author was actually able to be part of the creation of the tv series. Unfortunately Robert Jordan isn't around to oversee anything like this if it came about.


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