The Seeker - Anybody know it?

[darklinensuit]

This is the new movie based on the 2nd book in Susan Cooper's award-winning "The Dark is Rising" series (the 2nd book has the same name as the series). Supposedly more adaptaptations are planned.
These were and remain my favorite children's books. Anybody else know them? Maybe some of you Brits?
None of my childhood friends read these books, but in college I met several people who also loved them in their youth.

To be honest, I never wanted to see them made into films (particularly "The Grey King", whose suspense/villainy will be hard to adapt). And these days I don't have much love for fantasy films - have yet to see any Harry Potter movie, though I'm sure the success of that franchise fueled this investment in Cooper's canon.
I'm a bit put off that in this adaptation, the main character is now American. The original series is emphatically British & deals with ancient Celtic magic in contemporary settings.
All the same, I'm still thinking I'll see it in the theater. The special effects seem fine, and there are some names involved. It stars one of the Dr. Who guys and one of the Six Feet Under actresses, I think. (I've never seen either TV series, to be honest.)

FYI, Cooper is the former writing partner and widow of Hume Cronym (sp.?) - they co-wrote "The Dollmaker" of Jane Fonda fame, among others. More recently her book "The Boggart" had much acclaim.

Interestingly, the mythological Rhiannon is a character in her book "Seaward". And the Lady from the Mountain plays a prominent role in "The Grey King".

Anybody else familiar with any of this?


Official film website (including the trailer):
http://www.seekthesigns.com/

- Jake

[RavenOfRhiannon]

Yes, I am familiar with these book, but only slightly. I read the first book way back when I was a wee lad.
I don't think I realized Mr. Cronyn remarried after Jessica Tandy's death. Interesting bit of trivia there. I am very interested in seeing the film, even with the modifications.

You should really check out Six Feet Under, it is a masterwork of television. And also Harry Potter films. My SO absolutely refusus to read, but fell in love with the films.

[amber]

I have the whole series, I really like it. Not sure about the movies. But I probably wouldn't have seen it, anyway. I don't like it better than the L'Engle series, but it is very good. I didn't know about Cooper and Cronyn. I'll have to check out The Boggart.

[darklinensuit]

Originally Posted by RavenOfRhiannon

Yes, I am familiar with these book, but only slightly. I read the first book way back when I was a wee lad.

The 1st book, "Over Sea Under Stone", is by far the weakest St - the others are much more beautifully written & larger in scope. Plus they have a very different tone, less childish. I never read OSUS until I was an adult - I started with "The Grey King", the 4th & best book.

- Jake

[darklinensuit]

Originally Posted by amber

I have the whole series, I really like it. Not sure about the movies. But I probably wouldn't have seen it, anyway. I don't like it better than the L'Engle series, but it is very good. I didn't know about Cooper and Cronyn. I'll have to check out The Boggart.

"The Boggart" would be the easiest to adapt into a film. It's funnier/less eerie than her other works, more kid-friendly than TDIR series, which is often pretty adult (as a child I was shocked by the part about Cafall, for example). There's a sequel, "The Boggart and the Monster", about Loch Ness.
She also has a recent book about a boy who time-travels back to work at The Globe w/Shakespeare.

- Jake

[Starling]

Yes, I was/am a strong fan of Susan Cooper's series and I agree that the Grey King is the best in the bunch. I must've read them a hundred times as an early teen. I saw the trailer in the theatres and am not sure about this version. It definitely seems to have a different twist that didn't strike a chord.

[darklinensuit]

Originally Posted by Starling

Yes, I was/am a strong fan of Susan Cooper's series and I agree that the Grey King is the best in the bunch. I must've read them a hundred times as an early teen. I saw the trailer in the theatres and am not sure about this version. It definitely seems to have a different twist that didn't strike a chord.

Well, moments ago I read an interview with Ian McShane about it, & he seems proud that it's a hatchet job. His character is a substitute for Merriman - There is NO Merriman. Plus it seems they dropped the powerful dialogue in an effort to give a more contemporary feel.
A reader pointed out that Harry Potter fans would never have put up with this kind of thing.

- Jake