Paramount to recount The Martian Chronicles
Eyes film version of Ray Bradbury's Red Planet tales
Paramount is ambitiously eyeing a film version of Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles, the collection of classic sci-fi short stories describing human efforts to colonise the Red Planet.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the studio has picked up the rights following a stalled attempt by Universal and Steven Spielberg to bring the chronicles to celluloid life.
Producer John Davis, whose credits include Predator, I, Robot and the 2004 Flight of the Phoenix rehash, also worked with Universal on the project, and he's on board for the Paramount attempt.
The project doesn't yet have a writer, and whoever takes up the pen faces a formidable challenge. In 1980, NBC and the BBC aired a Martian Chronicles three-part miniseries, starring Rock Hudson. Bradbury dismissed it as "boring". ®
COMMENTS
Never Understood
the fascination that "The Martian Chronicles" have held over people over the years. If someone had bought and were developing Asimov's Foundation series or Niven and Pournelle's "Mote in God's Eye" then I would sit up and pay attention.
Another vote for 'Mote in God's Eye' please
Or failing that, some thud'n'blunder from the Lensman series - how did Hollywood ever miss that?
Red Mars
... or if you want a REALLY ambitious mini-series, why not James Cameron’s version of Stan Robinson’s Red, Green and Blue Mars trilogy?
A corking tale that deserves to be filmed.
The sequels were dross, though.
