Studio Ghibli + Ursula LeGuin = I'm intrigued!

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 8/14/07 at 2:39pm

It's surprising how few of Ursula K. LeGuin's books have been adapted for film, and how many of those that have she's been satisfied with. Apart from a reasonable TV adaptation of her novel The Lathe of Heaven, she's been quite unlucky — the most visible example being the de-coloration of her acclaimed Earthsea novels by TV producer Robert Lieberman, who replaced her multi-ethnic characters with white actors and then claimed "colorblind" casting. (A personal aside, but one of my projects was the victim of this same process with the approval of the U.K. Film Council, so you know whose side I'm going to be on.)

Ms. LeGuin has made her feelings on the TV adaptation clear, but it was a surprise to find out that famed Japanese animation house, Studio Ghibli, was adapting the novels as a feature entitled Gedo Seki (or Tales from Earthsea), released in the U.K. last week. LeGuin has expressed reservations about the film but is more positive about it than the mini-series. It seems that Tales of Earthsea had its own behind the scenes drama between famed animator Hiyao Miyazaki and his son Goro, who directed. An informative Independent article goes into the full story of how Tales of Earthsea has caused a schism within Studio Ghibli itself.

As for U.S. audiences getting an opportunity to judge Tales of Earthsea for themselves, that won't be happening till 2009 when Lieberman's right to the material expires. — Faisal A. Qureshi, nerve.com

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 8/14/07 at 2:44pm

Here's that Independent article about the father/son feud.

[Roscoe]

Posted: 8/14/07 at 2:45pm

Didn't they do a remake of LATHE OF HEAVEN, with James Caan as the therapist? I've always liked the book, but can't imagine it would translate very well to film.

As for the EARTHSEA books, they're terrific books, but I feel like the material would feel rather familiar, as they've been copied a good deal. After all, the first book involves a young wizard at a magic academy wrestling with his demons (literally, at one point).