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A&E Remakes 'Lathe of Heaven'
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Posted by: tmcmullin

I read this on Zap2It and thought it would be worthwhile sharing in advance so all our Sci-TiVo fans can set it up as a title wishlist at the very least...

LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - The first film adaptation of Ursula K. LeGuin's classic science-fiction novel "Lathe of Heaven" is a longtime favorite of fans of the genre, at least in part because it wasn't shown for nearly 20 years after its initial airing.

The story of a man whose dreams alter reality premiered on PBS in 1980, but legal issues kept the network from re-airing it.. And while it's beloved, the original production was, as director Philip Haas ("Angels and Insects" ) put it Thursday (July 11) at the TV Critics Association press tour, "not 'Citizen Kane.' "

[snip snip snip]

"Lathe of Heaven" is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 8 on A&E.

Posted by: TiVoPony

I really liked the original, and the book. Hope A&E does a decent job...

Posted by: trainman

Oh, good, I dreamed they were going to remake it. :D

Very appropriate, since it takes place in the year 2002.

Posted by: kimsan

They aired a half hour making of show night at 11:30. Interesting but somewhat disturbing for what this version apparently lacks.

Spoiler Alert! (highlight to read)
Unless they're just trying to keep it a surprise, the aliens and in particular Emenenem Asfa are missing in this version. Manny becomes the constant and confidante throughout George Orr's new realities.

I hope they didn't dump that particular aspect of the story! And they BETTER include Ringo's song as that was a kind of focus to the book and PBS movie.

cheers,

kim

Posted by: Rosenkavalier

Saw this link on a TV discussion board: http://www.ursulakleguin.com/AE-Lathe.html.

quote:
Note from Ursula concerning the A&E remake of The Lathe of Heaven:

I know nothing about this production, having heard nothing from anyone concerned in it since the contract was signed....Previews on A&E announce that it will be shown September 8th.

The Lathe of Heaven, released in 1980, directed by David Loxton and Fred Barzyk, starring Kevin Conway, Bruce Davidson, and Margaret Avery, is available as a PBS video. I was involved in this production at several stages, including script rewrites and casting. Although our budget was so small we had to choose which one of the Alien's arms could move and which one couldn't, it's a good movie.

Posted by: Pan Chun

Writers typically get little or no respect in Hollywood. :down: :(

Posted by: Thom

The Los Angeles PBS station (KCET, channel 28) will be broadcasting the original "The Lathe of Heaven" on Saturday, September 7, at 9 pm.

Posted by: Lord Nimon

Frankly, I thought the originally movie sucked. I heard great things about it, so when it finally came on, my wife and I watched it. What a disappointment. I could see how the book would be awesome, but the director and the actors utterly failed to convey any of the real power and meaning of the main character's abilities. It was just incredibly weak.

Posted by: Thom

A&E's remake of The Lathe of Heaven is scheduled for September 8.

Posted by: tmcmullin

Should I watch the original and THEN the remake or the other way 'round?

Posted by: murgatroyd

Whoa!

Who is responsible for drumming up sponsors for different timeslots?

You must have a twisted sense of humor -- not to mention brass balls -- to bring aboard Ambien as a sponsor for The Lathe of Heaven.

HFC!

Jan

Posted by: murgatroyd

quote:
Originally posted by tmcmullin
Should I watch the original and THEN the remake or the other way 'round?

Well, if you go in chronological order -- book, PBS film, A&E remake -- you won't be any worse off than those of us who experienced everything as it came out.

Count me in as somebody who liked the original film. Sure, they had a tight budget, and the special effects were limited, but I thought that (with Le Guin's help) the changes they had to make from the book were clever and inventive. I also liked the performances.

Only halfway in to the remake now; we'll have to see how it comes out (and whether the spoiler-flagged bit above turns out to be true).

Jan

Posted by: stormsweeper

I preferred the original movie adaptation.

Spoiler Alert! (highlight to read)
No aliens and no Ringo make storm go something something

Posted by: murgatroyd

I can't fault the actors, but I have to give this new A&E version a big thumbs down.

I too will stick with the original PBS adaptation. The script for this new version is bland. It just doesn't capture the feel of the book.

Jan

Posted by: TiVoPony

If you didn't know that more had already been done with the idea, you might think this story was ok. The performances were good all around.

But I think you'd finish it and think "well, they could have done a lot more with that!". ;)

I agree. Bland.

And wrapped up quickly in the last few minutes. Lots of time for commercials though. HFC there were a lot of them.

Now I have to find and see the PBS version again...it's been a long time. I've read the book a couple of times over the years...

Pony

Posted by: Rob Helmerichs

Yeah, all story considerations aside the presentation was awful...not only the incessant, instrusive commercial breaks (couldn't they have structured a movie for commercial television with appropriate pauses?), but the cropping (couldn't A&E, of all people, have shown it letterboxed?!).

Oh, well, it's been 25 years since I read the book, this gives me a good reason to go back and enjoy it.

Posted by: murgatroyd

quote:
Originally posted by TiVoPony
Now I have to find and see the PBS version again...it's been a long time. I've read the book a couple of times over the years...

Pony

I nudged my husband into joining one of the local PBS stations a while back when the video was released and that was the only way you could get it. The time to renew our membership came around before we got our video! (Boy, did I have fun calling up and saying "We'd love to renew, but you know, we haven't gotten all our membership gifts yet -- what happened?")

Of course, by then (or not long after) the DVD was out.

So the DVD and tapes are out there -- it shouldn't be too hard to find it.

This A&E thing was impressive -- it managed to leave out both Le Guin's quirkiness and the PKD-inspired surrealness of the reality shifts. So you don't get a flavor of either author. Weird. I'm still trying to figure out how they did that.

Of course you may have the answer there, Pony -- all those commercial breaks (I was watching it live). If the flow of the story is disrupted enough, the shifts in 'reality' don't have the same effect.

Jan

Posted by: Pan Chun

Watched it this evening...since I'd neither read it nor seen the PBS version, it was new to me.

Eh.

Mostly a lot of nothing, compared to what I was expecting. Pretty sad when Manfred was my favorite character. Who was he supposed to have been ORIGINALLY before Orr's abilities kicked in? WAS he the school janitor back then? That's a tad bit creepy :eek: , but I sort of figured he was original a neighbor or other father figure type.

Will have to find the PBS one sometime and give it a look-see. If I can find the time, I'll read the book too. :) Definitely an interesting premise...obviously not adequately executed in this case, though.

Posted by: tmcmullin

I was able to find and request the movie from my local library which had it at two branches. You might be able to find it at your library. On the web site, its ISBN and DBCN numbers were listed in case it helps impress your local librarian at how prepared you are. =)

ISBN: 0767026934
DBCN: AFM-3015

I wasn't incredibly impressed with the A&E version. I kept waiting for some exciting to happen. Something just out of this world. Not having read the book or seen the PBS version, I think I was left empty at the end, too.

Posted by: trainman

KCET in Los Angeles showed the PBS version Saturday night. I haven't watched it yet, and it's thus still on my TiVo, in High quality. If anyone wants a VHS dub, that can definitely be arranged, so PM me. Although if you can get your hands on the DVD or the commercially sold VHS, that's probably a better solution...it won't have the KCET logo bug in the lower right, for example.

Posted by: grecorj

Now just hang on a minute: let me get this straight -- you're complaining about commercials?!? Don't pull a Bob Wright on us and tell us that even though you have a TiVo you still watch commercials. :p

quote:
Originally posted by TiVoPony
Lots of time for commercials though. HFC there were a lot of them.

Posted by: Rob Helmerichs

It's not just that there were commercials, it's that they came so frequently, I didn't bother putting the remote down!

(And they were badly placed, from a story-flow perspective.)

Posted by: stormsweeper

quote:
Originally posted by grecorj
Now just hang on a minute: let me get this straight -- you're complaining about commercials?!? Don't pull a Bob Wright on us and tell us that even though you have a TiVo you still watch commercials. :p

Having to reach for the remote after every 5-10 minutes of programming gets annoying quickly.

Posted by: esperantisto

Spoiler Alert! (highlight to read)
OK, who dreamed there were no aliens?!?!?!

Posted by: trainman

Sorry, my cat woke me up early.

Posted by: innocentfreak

I must say without seeing the PBS version or reading the book I liked it. Yes it was not as good as it could have been, but for what it was, a tv movie, it wasn't bad. I kept thinking about Dark City the whole time.

Posted by: Pan Chun

quote:
Originally posted by trainman
Sorry, my cat woke me up early.

Wasn't that a DOG before you went to sleep?!? :eek: ;)

Posted by: murgatroyd

quote:
Originally posted by innocentfreak
I must say without seeing the PBS version or reading the book I liked it. Yes it was not as good as it could have been, but for what it was, a tv movie, it wasn't bad. I kept thinking about Dark City the whole time.

Good, if you liked this one, see the PBS version and read the book. You're bound to like them even better. :D

Jan

Posted by: innocentfreak

quote:
Originally posted by murgatroyd

Good, if you liked this one, see the PBS version and read the book. You're bound to like them even better. :D

Jan

I wish I had but I missed the PBS airing, I hope they rerun it.

Posted by: JohnJr

I thought the premise was great, and I can see where a book on it could be much, much, much, better than that movie. The Dr. bummed me out a lot in this movie. I couldn't tell where he was coming from. Was he evil, good and confused as the rest, or a bit of both? Also, they seemed to rely on the fact that we would be freaked out by the change of clothes/picture at every "sleep". I think if more sleeping was shown out of the Dr.'s office it would have been better. Now that I think of it, that's probably where the missing Aliens come in.

-John

Posted by: trainman

quote:
Originally posted by Pan Chun
Wasn't that a DOG before you went to sleep?!?

It's worse than that.

It was my wife. :eek:

Posted by: tmcmullin

For those of you hanging on the edges of your seats, I picked up and watched the PBS production on video from my local library. I actually liked this version much, much better than the A&E one. Much more to think about and the added bonus of recognizing so many buildings in Dallas!

The Institute is actually Dallas City Hall, for example. They also used the Hyatt Reunion Tower Hotel lobby and the water garden in Fort Worth. I saw SMU getting a mention in the credits, but I don't remember anything from their campus in the movie unless it was a dorm room. =)

Fitting that the Dallas City Hall would be used as the place where people worked with the intention of making things better only to put their subjects to sleep and screw things up even worse than they were when they became involved!