Another favorite fantasy/scifi books to become a shitty movie

[SirFozzie]

From Variety:

Hoffman to produce 'Neuromancer'
Gibson sci-fi novel full of hot topics

By ELIZABETH GUIDER
Posted: Fri., May 18, 2007, 4:00pm PT

William Gibson's prescient sci-fi bestseller from the '80s, "Neuromancer," will get the bigscreen treatment from vet producer-distributor Peter Hoffman, whose own Cannes exploits go back some 25 years.

Hoffman said the project is not just a good sci-fi adventure but a story full of hot topics --issues like artificial intelligence, bio-engineering and alternate theories of immortality will be dealt with dramatically. There'll be a sort of love interest as well.

The $70 million pic is essentially being fast-tracked to replace the Paul Verhoeven project "The Winter Queen." Latter is being pushed back until at least next spring because leading lady Milla Jovovich is pregnant.

Joseph Kahn, a Korean-American commercials director who made "Torque" for Warren Bros., has inked to direct.

"Every indie wants to have one or two high-budgeted pics in its portfolio. For us, both the Verhoeven and 'Neuromancer' fit that description," Hoffman said.

Hoffman's company Seven Arts, which will as of next week have a public listing in London, had no formal announcement for the project. The producer-distributor's modus operandi these days is much more low-key and press-neutral, if not press-shy. (The swashbuckling days of Carolco and co. in the '80s are long gone.)

Still, Hoffman is doing business from his umpteenth yacht (he's had them since 1989) and says he continues to have regular relationships in foreign with all the key buyers.

Oh boy, I feel sorry for Mr Gibson, He's made a lot of good books, but it can't reflect well on his writing that Johnny Mnemonic was the best movie made out of it, can it?

[Marc Vaughan]

Oh boy, I feel sorry for Mr Gibson, He's made a lot of good books, but it can't reflect well on his writing that Johnny Mnemonic was the best movie made out of it, can it?

I've always through his books were full of great ideas, but found the writing style hard to 'get into' and that the characterisation in them to be on a par with most pulp films to be honest ... as such I thought Johnny Mnemonic was a pretty good 'conversion' myself (and yes I did enjoy it, pulpy but fun imho ).

[ISiddiqui]

I have to totally agree with Marc. Great ideas, some visionary stuff (Cyberspace and the like), but the writing was very 'meh'. And the plot was a bit silly as well. Very 'pulp' with the big conspiracy (ie, Wintermute's plan) in the back.

I'm not sure it'll be "butchered" as much, because I don't consider the plot to be all that great. However, the ideas the book spawned were great and for that deserves to be remembered.