Pratfalls and Problems of the Page to Screen Transition

Disclaimer: If you aren't a fan of the Harry Potter series of books/movies, chances are you won't get anything in this. You've been warned.
 Here's the trailer for the new Harry Potter movie.
 I'm cautiously optimistic. The past few years when I've seen a trailer for a Harry Potter movie, I've been all psyched and can't wait to see the movie. Then I see it and it's like 'meh'. From films four to six there have been so many crucial details left out that it has been infurating. I was really spoiled with the care and reverance that Peter Jackson and his crew put into the Lord of the Rings films. Yes they differed from the books in a few ways but any true fan knew that it would be impossible to completely take the text from the page and put it up on the screen.
 It's different with the Harry Potter films for me though. Because they have changed so much from the books that some parts are irrecognizable. The last 100 pages of book five, for instance, feature some of the best written, intense action set pieces I have ever read. When you see the sequence play out on film it's WTF-inducing. "Why aren't they dueling? That's not dueling. They're just like flying around. They can't do that."
 Book four, The Goblet of Fire, was a major shift for the series. It takes the main characters into seriously mature territory and someone actually dies, something that would become a hallmark of the series from that point on. The book weighs in at over 700 pages...so of course some parts would end up on the cutting room floor. Two important characters and one whole storyline (Hermione and Dobby and the House Elf Liberation Movement) get completely scrapped.

 The slicing and dicing is fine I guess considering that most of the people going to see these films in the theatre have the attention span of a squirrel. But what about the die-hard fans? Why not take a page out of the Lord of the Rings playbook and release a set of extended editions DVDs/BluRays. The Order of the Phoenix (the longest in the series) is 860+ pages! The Half Blood Prince is over 600. Each of these books is filled with a treasure trove of detail and complex characters with their own stories. Fans who opted not to read the books have missed out on a LOT. Finally, with one last book left to adapt to the screen with its own set of intricacies, the producers decided to make the film in two parts. Hopefully this move will present the story in the way JK Rowling intended it.

Here's an old LOTR trailer. This is a great example of how to take a beloved series from page to screen.

Yup

If anyone is actually reading this, I want to let you know that despite my previous two posts, this blog is not only about baseball and will eventually cover a broad range of topics. I just felt the need to state that as the last two posts were long extrapolations on an a baseball dialog I had been having with some people.

Follow Up

Here's a quick follow-up on my last post. Joe Buck, the lead baseball announcer on Fox just echoed some of the things I said in my previous blog and in fact expanded on many of them. Buck, while using a podium infinitely higher than I have here, credited Torre with much of the success the Yankees have achieved the past 15 years. Think about it. Torre oversaw four world titles which led to the creation of the so-called 'Evil Empire.' The cable network Yes, the new Yankee Stadium and the fact that the franchise can spend gobs of money to field an all-star team each season.

I hate to harp on this point as I have no posted two consecutive times on the same subject. While I am a proud Yankee fan, I am still disgusted with the way the organizations 'brain trust' ran Torre out of town. Michael Kay, the lead announcer on Yes, makes light of the event saying that with the Yanks winning another title last year and Torre firmly entrenched with the Dodgers the incident is int he past and everyone has moved on. Maybe this is true for Kay who is on the Yankee payroll and in addition to announcing games hosts his own talk show on the Yes network. But for fans like myself who grew up watching and playing baseball in the 90s, you get an emotional attachment to the players and managers that you see on so many lazy Sunday afternoons. This is especially true of a guy like Joe Torre.

Torre certainly does not need Buck or myself to come rushing to his defense - he can handle himself and never backs out of questions from detractors. But it's always nice to someone like Buck call out an organization on an incident that they try to pretend is long past.

For the full story on what went down between Torre and the Yanks, check out the Torre and Tom Verducci co-authored The Yankee Years. Yes it's got a bitter tone and is a little biased but nnot so much that it blurs truth from fiction. It is the story of the rise and fall of the Yanks under Torre and is a great read for any baseball fan.

A Weekend with Two Old Friends

Tonight in Los Angeles two of basbeall's biggest ex-rivals will meet under the bright lights of Dodgers Stadium. During the golden age of New York basbeall (the 1950s), the Brooklyn Dodgers met the Yankees in the World Series seemingly every year. This time there's nothing on the line but bragging rights. But for the fans and beat writers, tonights game is frought with plenty of story lines and drama.

In addition to the fact that it's the renewal of a classic rivalry, the main story here is that it's a dual-reunion of sorts for two men Yankees fans might be a little familiar with.

The first is Manny Ramirez, one of the best clutch hitters and a noted Yankee-killer during his time in Bean Town with the Red Sox. During the 2003 and 2004 seasons (and post-seasons) it seemed every time Manny and his pal David Ortiz came up to bat they delivered clutch hits. Now we all know both Manny and Big Papi, like so many players of this era, are former-steroid users. While they still strike some fear into the hearts of opposing pitchers, they're not quite the same as the earlier portion of the decade.

The next man who is reuniting with the Yanks tonight is an old friend, who was forced out of pinstripes too soon because of a falling out with the organizations leadership. Joe Torre came to the Yankees in 1996 with the dubious distinction as having played/managed in the most games of anybody who failed to reach the post-season. In 12 years in the Bronx, Torre won six AL pennants and four world championships - and reached the playoffs every year.

In his first year, Torre impressed and delighted the cold, hardened Yankees fans as well the owner George Steinbrenner with his wit and sense of humor. His likable personality was easy to root for, a nice contrast from the high-spending and high-tempered Steinbrenner. I was very saddened when Joe was forced out a few years back. I've spoken to some fellow fans who act as if he got what was coming to him. I disagree. But I have my memories of the parades down the Canyon of Heroes (seeminlgy annual affairs when Torre was manager) to console me. And I will definitely be watching every out of this weekend's series.

New Comp

Just got a great new computer today and I am super excited about it. I'm shamefully tired from the stress of putting this thing together but hopefully I will be posting lots of new stuff on here now that I actually have a comp again.

Stay cool