Joseph Gordon-Levitt to star and direct in Sandman movie?

[Dodsy]

That's what reports are saying and he's confirmed it on Twitter himself that he's working with Gainmen and used the hastag Prelude.

Interesting choices. I'll be keeping a close eye on this to see what becomes of it. Personally I'd have prefered to see a HBO style TV show but not going to complain without having seen absolutly nothing of the product yet.

[Chris Tresson]

Not too bothered about this. I've never really took the time to enjoy Gaiman's work, perhaps if this film is made and I watch it, I may want to read Sandman...

[radiator]

He said on Twitter that he is just producing at this stage.

[Devons Daddy]

Sadly his stuff fails to translate commercially. Incredible writer but the truth is as yet no one has succeeded on translating his work to box office success it so richly deserves

As for sandman! Amongst the greatest comic books ever written

[LorcanQ]

have never really seen the appeal of a sandman film. It was one of those comics that works perfectly as a comic, but only as a comic. I just dont see how a film of it could ever work

[TordelBack]

It'll certainly be interesting to see someone try to translate it (and what part of it?) to the screen, but I wouldn't be even vaguely optimistic about the likely results.   Ultimately the core story of a very protracted suicide glimpsed through the scheme's impact on multiple onlookers seems a hard one to get to grips with.  I'd expect an attempt at a series of discrete short story sequences that reveal the characters and the broader story from different angles, in the Altman/Lee/Tarantino mode, possibly built around Hob Gadling or maybe Destruction, but that sounds near impossible to deliver in a cinema format.

A recent re-read confirmed that it is very good stuff indeed, and deserving of its exalted status, but also that it is somewhat of its time and very much of its medium. 

[Dandontdare]

I've trotted out this anecdote before but so what....

In 1999 I attended a book signing for Stardust and Gaiman was asked about a Sandman movie. He said he didn't own the character but was often sent scripts and treatments as a courtesy. He said he'd given up even reading them as they were getting steadily worse - the 17th was the last straw as it began "Tremble puny mortals before the power of the Sandman..." and he didn't read any further.

[Proteus4]

tremble puny mortals - that is hilarious!

I think that Gaiman is similar to Stephen King in that neither can be adequately translated to the screen.  stephen King has only a handful of tv/film translations that work - Green Mile, Shawshank Redemption, Misery, Delores Claiborne.  I can't think of another.  Gaiman has only Stardust.

Dave

[TordelBack]

Green Mile, Shawshank Redemption, Misery, Delores Claiborne.  I can't think of another.

Carrie, The Shining, Stand By Me, The Dead Zone...

That's an unprecedented hit rate, cluttering up most Top 100 film lists (Shawshank often coming in at No. 1)

And that's assuming you don't rate Pet Semetary, Running Man, The Mist, Cujo and Children of the Corn, all of which have their own charms. 

[Daveycandlish]

and he wrote the movie Creepshow (I know it wasn't a book, but still...)

[ThryllSeekyr]

Is that about the Neil Gaiman comic?

[Devons Daddy]

Giaman had a bbc show also. FNever where. I think great premise failed though in watch ability terms.

He writes in a multitiered style. To try to film would be very dis functional as you could not the entire complexity into it

[Jim_Campbell]

Giaman had a bbc show also. FNever where. I think great premise failed though in watch ability terms.

I've re-watched Neverwhere relatively recently and I think — if you make some fairly minor allowances for budgetary limitations — it holds up perfectly well. In fact, I think it's probably my favourite thing by Gaiman (given that I'm not a fan by any stretch of the imagination).

Cheers

Jim

[JOE SOAP]

He writes in a multitiered style. To try to film would be very dis functional as you could not the entire complexity into it

Which is why they won't be doing that stuff. I read an early draft of a Sandman screenplay back in the 90's (him being freed, going to Hell and meeting Lucifer, chasing the Corinthian around, the serial killer convention etc.) and it was actually pretty good but I'm sure it's long been scrapped and it felt like it could be a small scale indie which is not what a studio wants. Gaiman's writing always feels like that, though.

[JOE SOAP]

...and a bit too dated and gothy.