Rendezvous With Rama

[MacGuffin]

Whilst speaking with Sci-Fi Wire, actor Morgan Freeman revealed he's still very much intending to do the adaptation of the famous Arthur C. Clarke sci-fi novel. The story about a group of astronauts investigating the interior of a massive alien cylinder which has entered the solar system, has been in development for several years with Freeman & Director David Fincher attached to helm. Freeman talked a little about the delay: "The bugaboo there is the script. A picture like this, that is written by Arthur C. Clarke, the problem is trying to get someone to understand what it is". The script has gone through several drafts in an effort to make Clarke's very technical (and somewhat mildly paced) story into a more commercially appealing product: "These things, they always want to make it into an action film, so you've got to cowboy it up a little bit. You can't do it with this. And we've been having trouble getting someone to see the science aspect of this, the exploratory aspects of it, rather than the blood and guts and stuff. It's not in limbo. We're pushing hard at it constantly".

Entire article here.

[sphinx]

i read the book in two days about a year ago, it was fantastic.  really looking forward to this one

[Recce]

I read it too when I heard Fincher was working on an adaptation. Altough, I've been told there's a series of books about Rama, so I'm guessing they might combine a few of the books for the film, so as to add more material.

[xerxes]

not usually my thing... but it was interesting

[rustinglass]

I read it too. it's very good. The sequels totally suck ass.
I'm excited about this.
Didn't like the "cowboy it up a little bit" part.

[MacGuffin]

Freeman and Fincher 'Rendezvous' For Sci-Fi Space Thriller
Source: MTV

A thirty-mile-long alien spaceship with mysterious origins is set adrift in our Solar System by an unknown intelligence. What is it? Who built it? What is it doing in our corner of the galaxy?

Morgan Freeman thinks he's just the man to find out.

"I play the captain of the spaceship Endeavor that is charged with rendezvousing with this thing from outer space to find out what it is [and] what its intentions are," Freeman said of his role in "Rendezvous with Rama," the celebrated story from the mind of science-fiction legend Arthur C. Clarke.

Freeman, who has been trying to get the movie made since early in the millennium, said it's still on track to happen, (with "Fight Club" director David Fincher at the helm) - it's just taking a little while longer than expected. "It's a very intellectual science fiction film, a very difficult book to translate cinematically." Freeman said. "[At least] we have found it very difficult to translate, to get ready for film."

Like "2001: A Space Odyssey," perhaps Clarke's most enduring and famous work, "Rendezvous" poses difficulties because it's about thoughts, insisted Freeman, not actions. "There are no guns, no explosions," he said. "Although it's fiction, it's all based on pure science."

"But it's worth doing," he added, clearly delighted at the thought of his adaptation making its way to the big screen. "We're still at it."

[picolas]

..woo!

[tpfkabi]

are there a lot of similiarities to Solaris?

[sickfins]

are there a lot of similiarities to Solaris?

not really.  i'd consider the story to be a straightforward exploration of a very mysterious place.  very simple and wonderful.

[maya kash]

are there a lot of similiarities to Solaris?

a straightforward exploration of a very mysterious place.  very simple and wonderful.

Like my sweet spot.

The problem with the script is the second act.  But that's always the problem it seems.  What they need to do is butter the muffin and let the ship freestlyle the inner depths of this black hole.  Ooh wee!

[tpfkabi]

this seems odd for Freeman to be championing for some reason.

will Freeman do his frequent narrator bit on this one?

[maya kash]

yes.  especially if they don't fix the 2nd act.  it'll need some v/o explanation.

[modage]

Morgan Freeman Still Trying To Put Together David Fincher's Adaptation Of Arthur C. Clarke's 'Rendezvous With Rama'
Source: ThePlaylist

Maybe Morgan Freeman caught onto our "5 Lost David Fincher Projects We'd Love To See" feature?

The actor has been shepherding the number one film on that list — an adaptation of "2001: A Space Odyssey" co-scribe Arthur C. Clarke's "Rendezvous With Rama" — for years with no success and has now provided an update on how (little) it's progressing.

"No [it's not dead]. We're still pushing for 'Rendezvous With Rama,'" Freeman told MTV. "That's a got-to-be-done movie. Just have to figure out how to do it. I've been trying for -- I don't know -- 15 years now to get a script. You would think it was easier than it is. It's not; it's really hard."

"Fincher is still part of the conversation. It's a hard nut to crack, but once it's cracked it could become something." Despite sounding like a very loaded statement, especially considering Fincher's past pessimism, these quotes look to have pretty much been put right into Freeman's mouth by the interviewer upon viewing the actual video. Don't put too much weight on it: they're still looking for a writer to adapt the novel.

Freeman did provide an interesting development though noting that "now that we've got James Cameron who's done 'Avatar,' we know exactly what genre it has to be. It has to be done in 3D. Absolutely has to be done in 3D." With little to no action to speak of, Hollywood hesitation in developing this story has been understandable but perhaps the film now have it's found it's calling in 3D?

The opaque sci-fi story centers on a 30-mile-long hollow cylindrical alien spaceship that is discovered in our solar system and a group of space explorers sent out to investigate (Freeman was being lined up to lead) who find out its intentions and unlock its mysteries.

Without even a script or writer in place after all this time but, we highly doubt there will be any movement in the foreseeable future with Fincher also seemingly occupied by a million other things. For now but, keep selling it Morgan. You never know who's listening.