I think one of the big barriers to fantasy crossing over into films is simply the length of the stories. In recent years there’s been a trend towards slightly shorter novels, especially in urban fantasy, and this makes it so much easier to adapt works into film. It’s not an insurmountable problem, but just look at the shoehorning they had to do to get the Harry Potter films squashed into less than 3 hours.

The quote came from this article (http://www.nypress.com/blog-6667-neil-gaiman-vampires-and-werewolves-donrst-belong-in-the-literary-ghetto.html) – which in itself is a pretty apt example of how a lot of the media dismiss fantasy as the stuff of ‘nerds’, ‘balding Goths’ and ‘girls with jutting chins’, even when they’re writing an article about how mainstream it is!

Um, Conan the Barbarian is nothing like that. Highlander, which you label as an excellent film, is exactly like that. It has a big guys cutting each other’s heads off to a Queen soundtrack for crying out loud!

I think the problem is this: a high percentage of people don’t read at all. Those that do often think of themselves as high brow and turn their noses up at genre work like fantasy. Films are much more mainstream on the other hand so they don’t encounter the same snobbery. But it is there to an extent. The Harry Potter films are financial successes, but they’ve had few awards or stellar reviews. Return of the King got an undeservedly high amount of Oscars after a huge public outcry for the snubbing of the previous two films. Pirates of the Caribbean 2 & 3 were blasted by critics for upping the fantasy aspects.

@Ros – sure, the Booker Prize winner is an indication to you that you’ll probably hate it – to many other people (who read Literary), it’ll be an indication of quality and something they definitely want to read!

@Stu – thing is, I think there is mileage for certain genre books to be studied at school! Especially some of the excellent dystopian fiction, or the wonderful YA novels being written currently.

@Elio – oh, believe me, a friend of mine has already taken me to task about Conan! I was lectured thoroughly on the fact that I got that one wrong. I will confess – I haven’t watched Conan. It’s one of the few fantasy cult films that I haven’t, and so I shoehorned it in with all the rest. That’ll teach me to do my research in future!

@Mieneke – it’s a very valid theory, IMO!

@Rosie – I think you make a GREAT point in terms of covers having a big effect on the seriousness with which the contents are taken.

I grew up loving mainstream fantasy and science fiction, but often felt that there was an emotional angle missing in many books. To my delight we now have the growth in paranormal romance and urban fantasy that mixes the embrace of imaginative world building of F/SciFi with more focus on relationships. I love it!

But in terms of not having books taken seriously? Try pulling out a paranormal romance book on the train, one with a cheesy romance cover complete with fangs. Then picture the look you get when someone asks you what you’re reading, you show them, and then try and say ‘ no, but it’s really good… no, really …. ummm, yes I know the cover’s awful, but it’s a GOOD book…’)

Yes, I love film and the visual feast it delivers, but I can’t help but laugh at the parallels between movies like Conan and the worst of the paperback romance covers (oh those manly chests!).

Do I think there is a growing recognition of just how excellent so many spec fiction books are? Well yes, but it’s slow. And frankly, my aims aren’t very high – keeping my head up and proud as I whip out my latest PNR book in public! As for the Booker Prize – that might be a while away yet for spec fiction!

Also, fantasy is often considered the ultimate form of escapism. You read a magical/otherworld story which takes you far away from the rut of daily life. For many of us that is an added benefit of reading speculative fiction, for many if not most THE reason they do so. But Literature (and the capital L was intended ) isn’t mean to be light and escapist, it’s supposed to be work and you need to take something profound away from it, at least that is the impression I often get from reviews and the blurbs on the books.

Films on the other hand are supposed to be entertainment and a way to get away and have a good time for at least the duration of said film. Thus, I think, the recent relatively smooth transition of fantasy onto the silver screen and the fact they’re taken more seriously than novels: the escapism is an expected part and parcel of the experience and the setting doesn’t really matter, be it drama, action or fantasy.

But that’s just my theory lol

And the score by Basil Poledouris is actually one of the most memorable scores of the last 30 years (and not synth at all!), and has influenced a lot of film scores.

OTOH, I detest _Ladyhawke_, but it’s mostly because Broderick is entirely out of place and because I hate the score (which _is_ synth) with the heat of a thousand suns.

I can remember back at school (long moons ago) continuing to ask the English teachers why we couldn’t study Lord of the Rings instead of Chaucer and Maestro and wotnot.

What I reckon the scene needs is to build up it’s own “awards” to a major level of prestige. So that winning the Fantasy award is known around the world.

Don’t know how you’d do that though.

Would like to hear your thoughts on story-telling in television. Reality TV’s dominance vs actual story-telling .. That kind of thing.

And Westerns will make a comeback thanks to Red Dead Redemption Heh heh.

I think one of the big barriers to fantasy crossing over into films is simply the length of the stories. In recent years there’s been a trend towards slightly shorter novels, especially in urban fantasy, and this makes it so much easier to adapt works into film. It’s not an insurmountable problem, but just look at the shoehorning they had to do to get the Harry Potter films squashed into less than 3 hours.