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Dave Wolverton to self-produce Runelords movie

Dave Wolverton began his career in science fiction, though his real passion lay in fantasy. After years of successfully writing in the science fiction genre he decided he didn’t want to be tied down and he assumed the pen-name David Farland. His fantasy series called The Runelords took off, hitting the bestseller lists in several countries.

He’s now fulfilling his dream as few authors have ever done. He’s producing his own movie from his own bestselling novel.

When an author signs a contract to have his book made into a movie, he’s offered a set amount of money, and he’s done. He never sees any of the big profits from merchandise and tie-ins. So Wolverton decided to follow the money trail and see just who was making the big money. “Many moderately successful producers were living in huge mansions in Hollywood, with swimming pools, and then there were the sea of actors, most of whom were driving beat up old Fords,” Wolverton said. “So I decided I wanted to be behind the camera instead of in front of it.”

As a producer, Wolverton has more control than most authors in the creation of his film. He pitches the movie, secures money for the film, lines up global distribution, hires the director and some of the key actors and pretty much has final say over any changes from the book to screen.

Wolverton has not taken it upon himself to write his own screenplay but he has worked carefully with a seasoned studio screenwriter, Terry Kahn, to make sure his film has the intended effect. It’s a different type of writing, he explained. Although he has the final say, Wolverton’s also open to suggestion. “My goal isn’t to force my own vision on others. A director or visual effects designer may have an idea on how to make the flameweavers more interesting, for example, and I’m fine with that.”He may take that suggestion and incorporate it into the film,making it better. On the other hand,he said,”I also get to tell them when their ideas are less than brilliant.”

There are also problems with internal dialogue that cannot be transferred easily from a book to the screen.To account for this,he has stepped back in time,taking a look into the childhood of the main character, Gaborn. This allows him to visually explain his magic system and the events that shaped Gaborn’s outlook on life.

Wolverton is working closely with designers to make his monsters appear as lifelike as possible. “I don’t want stale creatures. I want them to appear to be real animals.” He comments on the dinosaurs in the first “Jurassic Park” movie. He wants his creatures to be of that quality or better. He’s defined his creatures’ habits and habitat,taking up to three months to design just one of the monsters to be featured in this film.

Source: Hurricane Valley Journal

The Sum of All Men book review
Brotherhood of the Wolf book review
Wizardborn book review
The Lair of Bones book review

Posted: February 1st, 2009
Author: Lee
Categories: David Farland

Worldbinder (Runelords 6 of 8) book extract

The Runelords series began in style with the wonderfully entertaining The Sum of All Men. However, things tailed off as the subsequent books failed to mirror the quality of the first book. Macmillan have recently published a full excerpt from the sixth book, Worldbinder, maybe it will mark a return to form for David Farland (Dave Wolverton).

They came creeping through the woods just before dawn, four of them, weary but resolute, like hunters on the trail of a wounded stag. They halted at the edge of the trees, silently regarding summer fields thick with oats and the brooding castle beyond.
“Castle Coorm,” the leader, Fallion, whispered. “As promised.” The sight of it filled him with nostalgia and soothed his frayed nerves like mulled wine.
The pre-dawn sky still had one bright star in it, and the castle mostly lay in shadows, the limned walls looking soft blue instead of white. There were pinpricks of yellow in the tower windows, and watch-fires burned outside the city gates like blistering gems. The dancing fires, the smell of the smoke, beckoned him. But Fallion merely stood silently regarding the scene. The castle was falling into ruins, but was obviously still inhabited.
He had seen too much devastation, too many ruined cities since his return to Mystarria. The Courts of Tide had been laid waste. Its once-fair streets were now dark lanes, blockaded by gangs that fought like wild dogs to protect their few scraps of food and clothing. The women and children there had a haunted look. They had suffered too much rape, too much plunder.
The sight of it had left Fallion reeling. In a more perfect world, he told himself, the women would wear flowers in their hair, and children would not learn to fear strangers.
Upon the death of Fallion’s father, Gaborn Val Orden, assassins from a dozen lands had descended upon Mystarria, hoping to strike down Fallion and his brother. These weren’t ordinary assassins. These were powerful runelords that had taken brawn, stamina, speed, and grace from their subjects, making them warriors that no commoner could hope to withstand. And though Mystarria had been a wealthy country then, with many strong runelords of its own, it could not withstand the sustained onslaughts of such men.

Read the full book extract

Posted: August 11th, 2008
Author: Lee
Categories: David Farland

Runelords in 2008

The Runelords series from David Farland will reach its seventh outing with the release of The Wyrmling Horde in September 2008.  There is however no update on the movie front with the prospect of the series being adapted into a trilogy now becoming unlikely.

Hopefully The Wyrmling Horde will be a return to form for Farland following the distinctly average offering in The Lair of Bones, Sons of the Oak and Worldbinder.  

David Farland biography, bibliography, interviews and book reviews

Posted: March 21st, 2008
Author: Lee
Categories: David Farland

CS Lewis and racism

I read some of CS Lewis’s Narnia books when I was a youngster (The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and Prince Caspian) and enjoyed them and have been re-reading them recently as an adult and have become very uncomfortable with their content.

I am currently listening to The Last Battle on audio-book and am finding them racist and full of upper class snobbery. I have read criticism before on CS Lewis’s works but that was always based upon the books being labelled as “religious propaganda”. This in itself I have had little or no issues with as many authors place their religious beliefs within the theme of their books. Ursula Le Guin’s Taoist beliefs are in her Earthsea novels and they are all the stronger for it.

There was however one line in particular in The Last Battle in which CS Lewis described a couple of Calormens as having dark faces and smelling of onions and garlic. This is an almost identical phrase that David Farland also uses in one of his Runelords books. Although this does not insult me personally I think that this type of literature no longer has a place in a country that is struggling with race relations and I believe that young adults should not read these works without at least being warned that they contain possibly racist overtones. I don’t believe that children should not be able to read his books as that kind of censorship is in its own way as dangerous as racism.

I spent some time looking at further information on the Internet, in particular what Philip Pullman had to say as I remembered an interview in which he was scathing about CS Lewis.

Philip Pullman says “”I realised that what he was up to was propaganda in the cause of the religion he believed in. ” and went on to state that “It is monumentally disparaging of girls and women. It is blatantly racist. One girl was sent to hell because she was getting interested in clothes and boys.”

Polly Toynbee, of The Guardian, wrote “Narnia is the perfect Republican, muscular Christianity for America — that warped, distorted neo-fascist strain that thinks might is proof of right.”

I may be completely wide of the mark on this whole topic but can only go by the feelings that the book gives me.

Posted: January 8th, 2008
Author: admin
Categories: CS Lewis, David Farland, Philip Pullman, Ursula Le Guin

David Farland on the lack of originality in fantasy today.

In an insightful post on his journal David Farland laments the lack of creativity around at the moment. He comments that would-be authors all seem the follow social trends in their work and as such become the same. A very interesting read.

http://www.runelords.com/journal/

Posted: January 2nd, 2008
Author: admin
Categories: David Farland

Is there any point in continuing with the Runelords series?

I have read the first four books of the Runelords series and was blown away by the first, The Sum of All Men. However, the books became weaker and weaker and after The Lair of Bones I decided to give up on the series altogether.

Just to make sure that I was not making a mistake and in the hope that Farland pulls something out of the bag with the latest additions to the series I went onto amazon.co.uk and had a look at some of the customer reviews for Worldbinder and Sons of the Oak …

… I think this following readers review gave me the answer I was looking for – “it seems clear that Farland’s become even more bored of this series than we have, and has stopped even pretending to try.”

It’s such a shame but I will definitely not be spending any money or time on completing the Runelords series

Posted: December 28th, 2007
Author: admin
Categories: David Farland

Runelords books 8 and 9

David Farland has agreed to a new contract with Tor books for the publication of the 8th and 9th books in his Runelords series. Both these book will be released in 2009.

Posted: December 20th, 2007
Author: admin
Categories: David Farland

Will there be a Runelords movie?

In November 2007 David Farland published a post on his journal updating the status of a proposed Runelords movie.

Visit his journal for the full story http://www.runelords.com/journal/

Posted: December 12th, 2007
Author: admin
Categories: David Farland