A teaching aide was suspended for not showing her employer her Facebook account.  As mentioned a few times here at Fan To Pro, employers have been demanding access to interviewees’ Facebook passwords.  This may be the first time that an already employed person has been suspended for it.  The original complaint came about when a photo was posted to the aide’s Facebook page and was seen by a parent who was a friend of a co-worker.  The principal demanded access, the aide refused and was thus suspended after having union representation denied.  The aide is now going after back pay through legal means.

Remember, according to Facebook’s Terms of Service, sharing a password is a violation.  The image in question was taken when the aide was not working.  And, while teachers and teaching aides appear to have more scrutiny on them by the community, they, too, deserve privacy like we all do.

–Scott D

Over the past three decades, comic books have been mined for movies and TV series. The past few years have seen comic book movies bringing droves of people into the theatres.  What makes for a successful comic to other media adaptation?

As mentioned many times in Lost in Translation, the bulk of the work is done. The characters are created, their looks are easily found, the setting has already been fleshed out. Many superheroes are well known to the general public, guaranteeing interest in the adaptation. A first draft of the storyboards already exists. There is a built-in crowd already in the readers of the comics. The balancing act lies in maintaining faithfulness to the original work while still making the adaptation palpable to the general audience.  There are several ways to go about the process.

Animation
Creating an animated adaptation is a natural step. Most comic book adaptations have gone this way; comic to cartoon and manga to anime. The advantages of animating include being able to portray the characters as they appear in the comic, easy to predict costs as compared to live-action adaptations*, and ease of special effects. The drawback is falling into the animation ghetto, where people assume that, since the show or movie is animated, it is automatically for kids. The drawback could limit the size of the audience and how faithful the adaptation is.

Live-Action Movie
With the proper backing and budgeting, a live-action feature film of a comic can be done.  The mere fact of a cinematic adaptation can get the fans a-stir and, with a well-known character, might even get non-readers interested enough to see the movie. The catch, though, is that the budget needs to be large enough to cover the necessary special effects for the characters’ powers and to get a name involved to draw in non-fans. As well, fans will become more vocal about the portrayal of the adapted title. Costuming may become difficult or impossible**. Movies that are being touted for a major action blockbuster may also be limited to just the A-listers*** of the publisher to ensure that a return on investment is seen. B-list heroes have been used to various degrees of success, though.

Live-Action Television Series
Sometimes, the best format for a comic is a regular TV series, either on one of the traditional broadcasters or on a specialty channel. Viewers are more likely to give a show an episode or two to find its feet. While having an A-lister as the focus character will get people to watch, a B-lister or even a C-lister could pick up an audience. The drawback returns to budgeting for special effects, though a careful choice of heroes can mitigate the problem.

The Origin
One thing that will come up in a superhero adaptation is the origin story, how the hero came to be. While some heroes have a well-know background – Superman’s flight from his doomed homeworld Krypton and being raised by the Kents; the death of Batman’s parents and his quest to keep the city of Gotham safe – others are only aware to comic book fans. Time will be spent on the origin. Ideally, the hero is an active participant in the origin; early conflict and drama will keep viewers hooked before the main plot starts.  Spider-Man’s origin is a good example of the hero being involved; Peter Parker may have been bit by a radioactive spider, but his reaction after discovering his powers and the fateful choice to not get involved leading to the death of his uncle is all under his control. Superman’s origin, however, is more passive; he was rescued and sent off in a rocket as a baby while his world exploded and was raised right by a couple who couldn’t have children of their own. The conflict and drama are lacking in Superman’s case.

The Villain
In most successful superhero movies, the villain either has a personal link to the hero (for example, Norman Osbourne in Spider-Man and Obadiah Stane in Iron Man), represents the diametric opposite of the hero (the Joker in Batman), or cannot be defeated using the hero’s main abilities (Lex Luthor in Superman). Sometimes, a theme starts appearing in a hero’s rogue’s gallery that emphasizes the hero’s abilities. Spider-Man’s gallery has a scientific bent with Doctor Octopus and the Lizard. Batman’s rogues run the gamut of mental health disorders. The catch, though, is that the villain shouldn’t be killed off by the end the episode or the movie. Very few villains die in the comics, and fewer still stay dead.

The Setting
Historically, most comics are set in New York City. This came about because the publishers, writers, and artists were in New York City. DC writers tended to rename the city while Marvel kept their characters in a facsimile of the real world. The city becomes another character, lending its air to the work. The dark, foreboding atmosphere of Gotham City adds to the Batman stories while the brightness of Metropolis**** reflect Superman’s fight for Truth, Justice, and the American Way. Even the real New York City can present different atmospheres. The busy Midtown Manhattan, where Spider-Man fights crime and villainy, allows the Webhead to make snappy comments as he batters his opponents with verbal quips. Meanwhile, the rundown area of Hell’s Kitchen provides a backdrop for both Daredevil and Cloak & Dagger‘s fight for the disadvantages against the those who would steamroller them.

Bringing Things Together
To show how the adaptations could work, I’ll use several examples in parallel. First, an A-list example for a hypothetical live action movie – DC’s Wonder Woman. Next, for a live-action TV series, Marvel’s Cloak & Dagger. Finally, to go through the thought process that I hope gets used, one of my own works, Subject 13.

Starting off, I already know how I’m adapting both Wonder Woman and Cloak & Dagger.  However, Subject 13‘s format is in the air. Given the strong language used by the main character, an animated adaptation is out of the question unless aired late at night on a specialty channel. A live-action movie won’t work as well as I’d hope because the character is practically unknown. That leaves the live-action TV series on a specialty channel, unless there’s a way to reduce the language without losing characterization.

The setting is the next. Wonder Woman is based out of two locations, New York City and Themyscira. Given those locations, she’s set for a story that combines modern sensibilities with Greek myths and the conflict between the two. Cloak & Dagger are based out of Hell’s Kitchen in New York City, suitable to tell stories about fighting for the underdog and of survival. /Subject 13/ is, at least at the beginning, also set in New Yotk City, a mix of working class apartment neighbourhood and a private school, allowing for a fish out of water backdrop to the main character’s discovery of her abilities and figuring out what she’s doing.

The origin of each will be dealt with. Wonder Woman’s is fairly quick – she was made from clay then given life after her mother prayed to the Greek goddesses. Cloak & Dagger’s origin can easily fill an episode as two teens from opposite sides of society are kidnapped and given an experimental drug that triggered their mutant abilities. Their origin can return as they deal with elements from the gang that was looking for a new street drug. Subject 13‘s origin is important to the storyline, as she escapes from an evil consortium, but the actual moment where she becomes a hero could be done during the opening credits of the pilot.

Depiction of powers needs to be looked at, mainly for budget issues. Since my hypothetical Wonder Woman adaptation is meant to be a summer blockbuster, her powers won’t have limits. However, since her powers include super-strength, the Lasso of Truth, and invulnerability, portraying them won’t be difficult, just using camera tricks and props.  Cloak & Dagger might get expensive for television; Cloak is a gateway into a dimension of darkness while Dagger generates living light. Fortunately, decades of science fiction has made laser blasts easy to do and Cloak’s power can be simulated with lighting when needed.  As for Subject 13, she has a powered punch that flares when she hits. The power isn’t used often as it tends to end fights when she connects; the budget for the power should be easy to control.

The villains for the adaptations now comes into play. Wonder Woman’s rogues gallery tends to come from Greek myth. Tie in the locations, and Ares trying to start World War III through manipulating the United Nations makes for a good baseline for a plot. For Cloak & Dagger, the general theme for the first season is survival and adapting to being on the outside of society. Villains can include various gangs and, if we look at later works featuring the characters, toss in D’Spayre, a demon who can resist both characters’ powers, at the end of the season. In /Subject 13/, the origin ties directly to the villains, an evil consortium who was responsible for her getting her powers.

To sum up, Wonder Woman, if done well, should get a good audience. The adapters will have to make sure that the costume reminds the casual fan of her classic one. Cloak & Dagger, being a lesser known title, could work on TV if the drama is played up. Meanwhile, Subject 13, even with the language issue, could work as a live-action series with its on going plot, though her complete lack of fame in the general population without any ties to an existing property could work against the show’s survival

Next time, more stuff!

* Crew, cast, computer equipment (having replaced cels, paint, and ink) vs costs of different special effects based on the needs of the episode/movie.
** Particularly for the women in the film. Some comic costumes defy the laws of physics while revealing more skin than most bikinis.
*** The characters that are known far and wide. DC’s A-listers include Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. Marvel’s are Spider-Man, Wolverine, Captain America and, as groups, the X-Men and the Avenger. A-listers get on the list by wide exposure through comics, animated adaptations, movie adaptations, and cultural drift.
**** Technically, originally modelled on Toronto.

Quick one here.

Canadian rock groups from the 90s are getting a second look.   Digital distribution is making it easier for the bands to get their work out to the fans.  One, Big Wreck, had their first number one single, “Albatross”, fifteen years after their debut album.  One of the advantages of digital distribution is avoiding the needs of studios and radio stations.

Main takeaway here is the reduced influence of music companies in the relationship between band and fan.  Radio is becoming less influential, as well.  These bands making comebacks aren’t getting the radio play they used to in the 90s, but are still touring.  New bands might want to take a look at how these Canadian groups are getting themselves known.

In 1912, Edgar R. Burroughs’ first novel, A Princess of Mars was published, introducing a new character into the world of pulp fiction. John Carter, formerly of Virginia, was trying to escape Apaches when he stumbled upon a device that sent him to the Red Planet, Mars. John Carter of Mars would go on to have eleven adventures, and Burroughs would introduce other characters, such as Tarzan of the Apes.

A century later, Disney released an adaption of A Princess of Mars, simply called John Carter. Directed by Andrew Stanton of Pixar*, the movie caught the flavour of the original story, placing John Carter into an alien world. The movie showed where many now-familar cliches and tropes, used everywhere from the Star Wars saga to Superman and The Justice League, came from. Stanton’s success at Pixar allowed him to make sure that the Green Martians came to life as more than just CGI objects.

By all rights, the movie should be a successful summer action blockbuster. The film takes great care in adapting Burroughs’ story to fit the the format and modern sensibilities. However, box office returns aren’t as high as expected.

The movie’s problems start in the offices of Disney. Between the start of production of John Carter and its release, there was a turnover of executives. With John Carter being greenlit by the outgoing exec, the new one started doing everything possible to show why the one leaving had to go. Executive meddling, once again, rears its head in the lack of respect of a property. How can a movie be derailed?

First, renaming. While A Princess of Mars from Disney’s studios would draw in an audience expecting something completely different, the title John Carter of Mars would allow movie-goers to know what property the movie is based on, especially the target audience. Instead, though, the movie is just called John Carter, ensuring it would get lost in the shuffle.**

Next, timing. The movie is lush, filmed in 3-D, and obviously meant to be released in the summer, when some of the target audience is no longer in class. Instead, the movie came out in March, before the March Break for elementary and secondary schools and after the Study Break for university students. And, despite summer-like weather*** in the eastern part of North America**** mid-March, it’s not summer when people have the time to head into a dark theatre during the day to catch a break from the heat.

Finally, marketing. Specifically, the lack of marketing. The advertising campaign can be described as lack-luster. Unusually for a big-budget Disney film, there were no tie-in campaigns. The trailers that were released did nothing to get people excited about the movie.

As an adaptation, John Carter was successful. The respect the cast and crew had for the work shows in the final product. However, as a release, the movie was sabotaged by internal politics.

Next time, a look a superhero adaptations.

* He directed Finding Nemo and WALL-E and was one of the executive producers of Ratatouille, Partly Cloudy, and Up.
** The film makers, though, did get a dig in by ending the movie with the title “John Carter of Mars” on screen.
*** March 21, 2011, Ottawa had a high of 27 degrees Celcius and a humdex reading of 30 degrees; something normally seen in June.
**** I do feel sorry the people of Alberta and Saskatchewan who received more winter on the first day of Spring.

Facebook is warning employers about demanding passwords. The social networking site is also threatening legal action over the demands. However, employment lawyers are saying that it’s not illegal to ask. Mind, giving over the password is a breach of Facebook’s terms of service. If job applicants have information in their profile that’s not available publicly that’s verboten to ask at an interview, the interviewer could also be violating employment laws. Of course, check your local laws. In Alberta, British Columbia, and Quebec, such password requests are privacy violations. In Ontario, not so much.

–ScottD

I have a backlog of articles to get through, but this is starting to make the rounds.  More and more companies and government agencies are asking people they interview to hand over their Facebook user ID and password.  Others are asking interviewees to login during the interview so the company/government reps can look around the account.  With social media becoming a preferred way to keep in touch with others and companies getting aware, expect social media intrusion to increase.

Um, surprise?

This summer is starting to shape up to be the Summer of Adaptations*. Several movies based on old TV shows and even board games are heading to theatres already, plus sequels and even adaptation of novels.

A quick preview
First, Battleship, based on Hasbro’s game of fleet destruction. One of the trailers even points the connection out in the first words used. Aliens arrive on Earth to turn two fleets into personal weapons of war. Either the scriptwriter got meta or desperate. Sadly, the trailer didn’t include the classic line, “You sank my battleship!” The movie could be a fun popcorn outing held back by the connection to the existing property.

Next, John Carter, which is already out. Disney’s adaptation of Edgar R. Burroughs’ A Princess of Mars was released at a bizarre time for what would normally be and should have been a summer release. A shake up at Disney may have doomed John Carter, with a new exec doing everything possible to tank an out-going exec’s project. The movie deserves better, though a full review and analysis is forthcoming.

The 21 Jump Street movie continues a disturbing trend of taking a popular-in-its-day TV series and turning it into a comedy. The original 21 Jump Street starred Johnny Depp as a cop going undercover at a high school. The movie adaptation has Tatum Channing and Jonah Hill going undercover, with the movie aiming for laughs. That worked oh so well for Starsky & Hutch and Land of the Lost.

Season two of A Song of Ice and Fire is due out in April. HBO signed for a second season after one episode. The first season showed the strength of the team adapting A Game of Thrones and the difficulties that traditional broadcasters face when competing with cable stations.

The Dark Shadows adaptation by Tim Burton is being filmed. The original series was a supernatural soap opera, featuring the trials and tribulations of vampire Barnabas Collins. Tim Burton’s version, though, will turn it into a comedy. Given Burton’s past work, most likely a dark comedy. I expect the movie to be successful at the box office, even if it isn’t faithful to the original.

Wrath of the Titans is the sequel to 2010’s remake of Clash of the Titans. Both movies can be thought of remakes of Ray Harryhausen’s Clash of the Titans, which was a showcase for the best stop-motion animation. The 2010 version** turned the stop-motion into CGI, then had 3-D technology retrofitted, and was a decent action movie. Wrath will follow the heroics of Perseus and is being filmed for a 3-D presentation. I expect the movie to have a decent success, though not record setting at the box office.

The Three Stooges is probably the oddest adaptation to hit the screens this year. The original Stooges made their name through a series of shorts before getting full-length films. The adaptation will have Sean Hayes, Will Sasso, and Chris Diamantopoulos as Larry, Moe, and Curly with the setting moved to the current year. This… yeah, hard to tell how the movie will do. It will have to walk a fine line; it has to keep fans of the Three Stooges happy with the portrayal while still bringing in a modern audience. It’s a movie to keep an eye on.***

Again, I’ll toss it out to you. What adaptations are you looking forward to seeing? What ones are making you cringe?

Next week, something will be here.

* Add reverberation as needed.
** A full analysis is planned.
*** Before it starts poking.

Stuff that came up today, mainly.  Not really part of the main series, but relates.  Not filler, either, otherwise I’d have held on to it.

First up, Hunger Games news.  The screenwriter, Simon Beaufoy, is already working on adapting Catching Fire, the second book in the series.  He is working with Suzanne Collins, the author, on what needs to be kept and what can be dropped for time reasons.  His goal is to make sure that the fans are satisfied with the final result.  Once again, respecting the original work and the fans is showing up.  Whether the movies are successful remains to be seen, though LiT will have a report.

Next, the trailer for Battleship is out.  The movie looks decent enough, but might do better without being tied to the game.  It could go the route of Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li or it could be another G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra.

Speaking of G.I. Joe, there’s a sequel coming.  G.I. Joe: Retaliation will star Bruce Willis and Dwayne Johnson.

Jean Giraud, known to the world as Moebius, has passed away at 73.  Moebius was an influence on many artists in the comics industry and worked with Stan Lee in 1988 for a two-part Silver Surfer story.  Giraud also worked on Alien, Tron, and The Abyss.

Do not refresh the page. This is the page you are looking for. The expected column is delayed. In the meantime, enjoy the following filler-ing replacement.

Last week in Off Track, I listed several works that I felt shouldn’t be redone. This time, I look at shows that are possibly long overdue for a remake.

Starlost*
Starlost was one of the first Canadian science fiction TV series. It failed. At the time it was made, Canadian writers and directors had no idea of what to do with science fiction. Those who did tended to head to the US where there were publishers and studios with a semblance of clue. Glen-Warren Studios of Toronto, Ontario, however, did not. There’s a longer explanation of what happened in Harlan Ellison’s Phoenix Without Ashes on just how badly things went. Short version – the Canadians involved couldn’t see past the studio walls. The result was a low budget mess that had plot holes bigger than the Ark. However, it had potential.**

Since Starlost was first aired, many things have changed. Cameras have improved. Special effects have improved. Canadian studios have learned a lot about both making TV series and doing science fiction.*** The approach to writing TV scripts has gone from episodic with reset button to ongoing with development. And, people may have forgotten about the original. The only thing stopping a remake is Ellison himself – he may just want to wash his hands of the entire original mess and forget it ever happened.

Max Headroom
A dystopia where televisions have no off button, where news channels run 24/7 and manipulate events for ratings. Turns out, today isn’t as smog-ridden as the original show expected. Doesn’t mean that biting commentary about how corporate news media works isn’t needed. Shows like The Daily Show and The Colbert Report have demonstrated how broken news reporting has gotten. Turning the issue into a drama would bring the problems to light to a larger audience. Modern technology alone will let the titular character get to more places, and computer graphics have come a long way since Max Headroom first aired.

The question becomes, who would dare? A specialty channel, like HBO or A&E, could present the remake without question, but the show needs to be seen by a larger audience, something that the traditional broadcast networks could provide. One the other side of that coin, would Fox really air something that calls their news department’s behaviour into question? Would any of the traditional broadcasters give the show a chance to survive if ratings weren’t stellar out of the gate?

Shadowrun
A lot of the hard work in developing a series, beyond selling it, is creating the setting. Shadowrun, a tabletop RPG that crosses cyberpunk with Tolkein-style fantasy, has a lot of the setting creation already done, across four editions and multiple setting books. Many of the setting books, past and present, have minimal game mechanics and focus on the flavour of the game world. All that a creative team would need to do is come up with the characters while being mindful of the setting. What could make the series difficult to make is the cost of special effects. Between the various subspecies of humanity and the effects of magic, the production budget would have to either work around limitations (the mage needs to hold back on spellcasting and conjuring) or plan ahead (no trolls or dwarves in the core cast). Still, the setting is broad enough to allow numerous style of campaigns; there should be plenty of room for a creative team to get at least a mini-series out of the game.

So, what do you suggest?  What do you think is overdue to be remade?

Next time, something may be here.****

* That rumbling sound you hear? Harlan Ellison just exploded in a rage.
** I watched the show as a pre-teen. I could tell it was a cheap Canadian show, despite not having seen that much to compare the show with. But, elements were still chilling, including the computer counting down the time before the Ark was destroyed.
*** Ever wonder why many planets look like British Columbia? 🙂
**** It’ll be a surprise!