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Randall Frakes

Auteur van Terminator 2: Judgment Day

6 Werken 418 Leden 5 Besprekingen

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Bevat de naam: Randall Frakes

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Werken van Randall Frakes

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) 195 exemplaren
The Terminator (1985) — Auteur — 114 exemplaren
Titanic Storybook (1999) 7 exemplaren
Groupie [2010 Film] (2010) — Writer — 2 exemplaren

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Over the last 30 years, writer/director James Cameron has made a number of memorable, and successful films, mostly in the realm of science fiction. Recently, Cameron teamed up with the television channel AMC, to create the six-part original series, AMC Visionaries: James Cameron’s Story of Science Fiction. For the show, Cameron’s goal was to sit down with six of the biggest names in science fiction, and get their perspectives on the importance, and the impact of the genre. The show is divided into themes (such as "sci-fi monsters") and brings in some of the most intriguing actors, authors (such as N.K. Jemisin), and critics/scholars to also comment on the show's given theme.

The main guests of the series include directors Steven Spielberg (Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T., and my favorite, Jurassic Park), George Lucas (THX-1138, Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Star Wars The Prequel Trilogy), Christopher Nolan (Inception, Interstellar), Guillermo Del Toro (Pacific Rim, The Shape of Water), Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner), and actor, Arnold Schwarzenegger (who portrayed the Terminator in Cameron’s film series). To be honest, all the interviews were fascinating expect for Arnold's. I just thought he didn't have too much to say.

It is clear, from these interviews, that science fiction and exploration has been his main preoccupation of Cameron's from when he was very young and this show and the companion book has given me a greater appreciation for his technical abilities (even if I don't care for Avatar). Insight Editions’ book reproduces Cameron’s interviews in full, and offers several topical summaries by a number of people familiar with science fiction and this is where the book often shines. These topics include dark futures, artificial intelligence, time-travel, and much more as these summaries/essays go beyond film history and dives into the history of the sci-fi genre as a whole, often surveying the history of sci-fi literature and how it influenced the silver screen.

Worth picking up if you're a film buff, sci-fi fan, or conceptual artist.

Sadly, my only complaint, is, although I love Lucas, Spielberg, Scott, and Nolan, this really does highlight why we need more diverse viewpoints and diverse directors in Hollywood.
… (meer)
 
Gemarkeerd
ryantlaferney87 | Dec 8, 2023 |
This book added so much to the story that the movie tells. More emotional impact, more data, more thoughts from Skynet.
 
Gemarkeerd
BookstoogeLT | Dec 10, 2016 |
This was a good novelization. While not a blockbuster of a book or anything, I certainly found that this added some much needed depth to side characters and to the relationship between Kyle and Sara and to the mental change of Sara Connor from helpless waif to warrior princess.

I honestly wasn't expecting to enjoy this, but I did.
 
Gemarkeerd
BookstoogeLT | 1 andere bespreking | Dec 10, 2016 |
Yes, there is a level of shame in adding a novelisation of an Arnold Schwarzenegger film to my library, but in my defence, I am a child of the 80s and I love the film. Strip away the dodgy acting and 'special' effects (although, give me stop motion animatronics and miniature models over CGI any day), and there is a truly dark, intelligent and even romantic story at the heart of James Cameron's low-budget B-movie. The rest of the franchise is pure Hollywood, trading black humour and originality for explosions and catchphrases, but that first film is almost brutal in the treatment of Sarah Connor, the mother of the future and heroine in the making. Her actions not only guarantee the survival of the human race, but also lead to the creation of the very machines that are out to destroy her. The predestination paradox of a son sending his own father back in time to save his mother so that he can be born is still generating confusion on movie forums, twenty five years later - how is that for impact? But what captured my imagination is the doomed love affair of Sarah and Reese, which is why I now own both novelisations and of course a copy of the film!

"And you're from the future, too?"
"That's right."
"Right," Sarah answered. She decided that not only were his oars out of the water; he didn't even have a boat.

Out of the two books written to tie-in with the film, Randall Frakes, working in conjunction with William Wisher and James Cameron, definitely adds more to the original screenplay, without veering too far from the spirit or direction of the film. Shaun Hutson, who penned the first novelisation, sticks closer to the script but doesn't really add to the characters. Frakes has a clear sense of soldier Reese, perhaps because the author also served in the armed forces, but also conveys the gradual change in Sarah as she reacts, accepts and then starts to fight what is happening to her. The only time when Frakes flounders is the description of Sarah and Ginger getting ready for a night out!

For what it is, this is a well-crafted story, albeit with the dialogue taken from a script - think Stephen King writing fan fiction. Frakes adds introspection to pad out the scenes and characters (the point of the whole exercise), convincing details about location, weaponry and the mechanics of the terminator, and even gives names and mini-backstories to the secondary characters! (The garbage truck driver who mutters 'What the hell ..?' is Del Roy Goines, and the original owner of Reese's hobo pants is called Ben Schantz - amusing little injokes for anybody who has watched the film far too many times.) Two inserted scenes which were either cut from the script - Sarah meeting Ginger and Matt at the gym - or the film - Reese's tearful appreciation of nature - are restored, as in Hutson's version.

The - *ahem* - love scene is not quite as graphic compared to Hutson's novel, but I sort of prefer Frakes' romance novel imagery: 'She was a thief, and he was a willing victim'. Those two almost demand violins and fireworks, so I revelled in the mush. Plus, Kyle gets to have a shower and change his rank trousers for a pair of new jeans!

The final chase is slightly rushed, but Frakes' novelisation is a fun, indulgent addition to the film. I just wish the cover didn't have Arnold's face plastered on the front and back, so I could enjoy my guilty pleasure in public!
… (meer)
 
Gemarkeerd
AdonisGuilfoyle | 1 andere bespreking | Aug 21, 2010 |

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Statistieken

Werken
6
Leden
418
Populariteit
#58,321
Waardering
½ 3.7
Besprekingen
5
ISBNs
23
Talen
7

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