Kevin's Watch

Posted: **Sat Dec 18, 2004 2:41 am**

www.scifi.com/scifiwire/art-main.html?2 ... 10.00.film

Revelstone Entertainment and the Mark Gordon Co. are teaming up to produce a feature-film version of Stephen Donaldson's fantasy book series The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Revelstone has optioned the rights to the first six books in the series, which Band of Brothers writer John Orloff will adapt, the trade paper reported. Mark Gordon is producing, with Revelstone's Peter Winther and Randy Simon. Lawrence Inglee will oversee the project on behalf of the Mark Gordon Co., the trade paper reported.

The books revolve around a shunned author (Covenant) who is magically transported to the Land, a mystical world where he discovers he is the incarnation of a great hero. Covenant thinks it's all a dream. But he's the bearer of a magical talisman and is enlisted to help save the Land from Saturn and his representatives, the trade paper reported.

Revelstone also has optioned the film rights to Clifford D. Simak's SF novel Way Station. Winther, who helmed the recent TNT movie The Librarian: Quest for the Spear, will direct the film from an adaptation by screenwriter Simon Barry.

Posted: **Sat Dec 18, 2004 2:42 am**

Thanks for the link, Tacoboy.

Posted: **Sat Dec 18, 2004 3:00 am**

Is he saving the Land from Saturn the auto manufacturer or Saturn the planet. I think I'm a bit confused.

Posted: **Sat Dec 18, 2004 3:00 am**

Tacoboy wrote:Winther, who helmed the recent TNT movie The Librarian: Quest for the Spear, will direct the film from an adaptation by screenwriter Simon Barry.

Did anyone besides me waste 2 hours watching this? It was really, really bad.

This does NOT bode well!

Posted: **Sat Dec 18, 2004 3:02 am**

Brinn wrote:Is he saving the Land from Saturn the auto manufacturer or Saturn the planet. I think I'm a bit confused.

I think it may be a typo or some silly mistake; meaning Satan. Though, Foul's depictions in the books certainly looks like Saturn as depicted in Renaissance art.

Posted: **Sat Dec 18, 2004 3:58 am**

To be honest, I thought of the car myself when I read that. So Saturn's associates would be... Chrysler, Jeep and Eagle?

"Beware ur-Lord, the Chyrslers approach!"

Posted: **Sat Dec 18, 2004 4:47 am**

^Hehe.

Yeah, seriously. Saturn? What the heck?

Maybe it's just a chance to make some extra money from marketing.

Hm...maybe they'll use my "Covette Mach 7" idea...heh.

But yeah...wow. I'm not sure what to make of this, since it seems to be just an early rumor...but I guess it's a sign that people are working on a Covenant movie... I'm kinda scared...heh.

The rumor also doesn't say that Covenant is a leper... I hope that any Covenant movie doesn't leave this "little" bit of information out... It's "kinda" important.

-jay

P.S. And remember. High Lord Mhoram likes Duncan Donuts. Possibly a scene in the movie? Heh.
wam.umd.edu/~resop/ad4.jpg

Oh, and Revelstone Entertainment is a cool name for a company. Maybe a good sign?

Posted: **Sat Dec 18, 2004 6:51 am**

I still say these books will make for bad movies.

Posted: **Sat Dec 18, 2004 7:39 am**

I think we should give the movie people the benefit of a doubt. If the movies turn out to be crap, then yes, those people deserve to be flayed alive by Covenant fans. But I'll play the optimist for now, until something really wacko happens.

Saving the Land from Saturn? Too funny!

Posted: **Sat Dec 18, 2004 12:19 pm**

Hey, Saturns are nice reliable automobiles...I've owned two!
Foul reminds me of my first car, a 1981 Monte Carlo (bought in 1997), but not a saturn, no way!

Posted: **Sat Dec 18, 2004 3:47 pm**

Gah! This is just the kind of thing the gradual interview is for, no?

Posted: **Sat Dec 18, 2004 11:58 pm**

Check out this from Empire online

www.empireonline.co.uk/site/news/newsst ... s_id=16440

Word seems to be out!

Posted: **Sun Dec 19, 2004 12:37 am**

The fact that a production company titled Revelstone Entertainment bought the rights to make the films bodes well; it suggests they love the books and the financers are supportive of it.

Posted: **Sun Dec 19, 2004 12:44 am**

At first, I thought that bit must be a joke.

Posted: **Sun Dec 19, 2004 3:58 pm**

Holy shit! Is this for real?

Posted: **Sun Dec 19, 2004 7:15 pm**

George R R Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series is once such example (if he ever finishes it) and Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time is another (ditto - and assuming films with a 20 hour running times become widely acceptable).

ROTFL!

It's not a joke, but it may become one, not in a good way... You know we're all gonna come down hard on every little thing that doesn't suit us.

Posted: **Mon Dec 20, 2004 6:34 am**

As SRD has now written in his "news" section of his official website:

This past week, "The Hollywood Reporter" announced that "Covenant" is coming to the big screen. This is both premature and misleading. Here are the facts to date.

The production team of Mark Gordon ("Saving Private Ryan") and Peter Winther ("Independence Day") is quite serious about wanting to make a "Covenant" film. "Revelstone Development" has a design in place and a screenwriter on board (John Orloff, "Band of Brothers"). What Gordon and Winther do *not* have is a studio (i.e. money); and without a studio little or nothing is likely to happen. Since Hollywood basically shuts down in December, Gordon and Winther plan to start approaching studios in January.

I would like to emphasize that I have no control over any aspect of this process. After all, the film rights are held by Ballantine Books, not by me. I've met Winther and Orloff, and I'm convinced that their respect for and excitement about "Covenant" is genuine: for that reason, I'm starting to get excited myself. And I have no doubt that Revelstone Development will consult with me from time to time, and will take whatever I have to say seriously. But I have no actual power here. Nor do I want any. In fact, I've refused every offer to give me any power. I love movies; I hope a "Covenant" movie (or several) will be made; I hope it will be good; and I hope it will be successful. But I'm simply not qualified, either by experience or by personality, to make the kinds of decisions--and compromises--which are essential to film-making. And I have my own work to do, work which pretty much consumes all of my creative energy. So I'm rooting hard for Revelstone Development; and if Gordon, Winther, and Orloff ever want my opinion, I'll give it to them. But really this is all out of my hands.

More news as it develops....

P.S. I'm just guessing here; but I suspect that peculiar references to "Saturn" in "The Hollywood Reporter" are a confused conflation of "Satan" and "Sauron." I can't think of any other explanation.

Posted: **Mon Dec 20, 2004 1:11 pm**

Thanks, Seareach!

Posted: **Wed Dec 22, 2004 6:57 pm**

Well, if this does come to fruition, the filmmakers would do well to reference this forum frequently! As someone else said before, we would come down very hard on aspects of the film that we disagreed with or didn't like. I feel sorry for them (the filmmakers), frankly. We can be a tough group to please

and would deal with them mercilessly!

Posted: **Fri Dec 24, 2004 6:47 pm**

well if they don't do it right, there will be some angry people here at the Watch.

Kevin's Watch

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