Song

Go, and catch a falling star,
Get with child a mandrake root
Tell me, where all past years are,
Or who cleft the Devil’s foot,
Teach me to hear mermaids singing,
Or to keep off envy’s stinging,
And find
What wind
Serves to advance an honest mind

If thou be’est born to strange sights,
Things invisible to see,
Ride ten thousand days and nights,
Till age snow white hairs on thee,
Thou, when thou return’st, wilt tell me
All strange wonders that befell thee,
And swear
Nowhere
Lives a woman true, and fair.

If thou find’st one, let me know,
Such a pilgrimage were sweet,
Yet do not, I would not go,
Though at next door we might meet,
Though she were true when you met her,
And last, till you write your letter,
Yet she
Will be
False, ere I come, to two, or three.

~John Donne, 1572-1631

(From the opening pages of Stardust, by Neil Gaiman)

It seems quite serendipitous that the first trailer (click on enter site and, after a brief delay, it will begin) for the film, Stardust, adapted from the work of Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess, should come out the same week we begin our Once Upon a Time Challenge. My fondness for Stardust has been a significant motivating factor in the planning of this challenge.

Adapting a cherished book to film is a dubious process. For every Lord of the Rings there are many more League of Extraordinary Gentlemen‘s.

First impressions from the trailer:

1. I love the budget they threw at this film, it looks incredible.

2. I’m about 50/50 on the casting. The actor chosen to play Tristan Thorn really looks the part. I think Claire Danes is a good choice for the star, given that she has a look similar to that captured by Charles Vess in his illustrations. I have always been leery of Michele Pfieffer and Robert DeNiro in these roles. I like them as actors, but they will have to win me over in these roles.

3. Some of the deviations from the novel that I already see bother me, eventhough I completely understand them. I am very worried that the substantial beginning of the novel, in which we meet Dunstan Thorn, Tristan’s father, and learn about Tristan’s origin will be sacrificed completely as it really is unfilmable. The film would be waaay too long and, from a viewer’s standpoint, you would be introducing a character and getting the audience emotionally involved with that character only to go away from them for most of the rest of the film. I do understand, really. It still hurts. And I could be wrong, maybe they will find a way to work this in.

4. I’m not convinced that the whole ‘faerie’ aspect will be a part of the film, solely based on the trailer.

5. They eyeball scene gives me faith that the market scene will have alot of visual cues for those who’ve read the book.

I have maintained all along that if this is a really good film, I won’t have issues with most of the changes. And I so desperately want this to be a stellar film. Brothers Grimm was fun in spots but ultimately a disappointment. Alan Moore’s comic to film adaptations have largely been messes. In looking for similar fairy tale films to compare it too, Ever After was the only one that instantly came to mind as a film that really hit the right notes. I want this movie to be Pan’s Labyrinth good and maybe I’m expecting too much. We’ll see. I do have some faith, all is not lost.

In the end I have the book, and nothing can tarnish the magic of that.
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Those of you who are Poppet afficionados may have noticed a new Poppet in the image heading this post. That, my friends, is the rare ‘Too Cool For School’ Poppet, given as a gift to the six of us who were chosen to moderate the Poppet Planet forums. Lisa Snellings-Clark has taken to hand painting unique versions of her Poppets and they are always fun and creative. This one has the Joe Cool shades and the little buttons on the front. I love it. Thank you again, Lisa, it is wonderful.

And speaking of the Poppet Planet forums, I just posted a new discussion thread this morning about the Stardust film and asking you, the dear readers, what your opinion is regarding book to film adaptations. I would love for you to click here to go there, and let us know what you think.

And, to do a little more Poppet pimping, here is a link to the store where you can get ahold of your own Poppet goodness.

I have a feeling that a few Poppets may be making their way to new homes courtesy of the Once Upon a Time Challenge. 🙂
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And, to tie it all together (don’t you love how everything has fit together today?), here is an update on the Once Upon a Time Challenge.

First, don’t you love the latest tweak to the image above?!?!? It comes to us courtesy of Sylvia at Classical Bookworm. Thank you Sylvia, and Angela, for the fun things you’ve done with the banner. I appreciate it.

We have 30 people signed up thus far, that I know about. That’s awesome! If you click on the Once Upon a Time post and go to the bottom of the post, before the comments start, you will see the links to everyone’s lists. If your name is not on there you need to let me know so that I can include you. Encourage everyone you can to join in. The list of books, many of which I’ve never heard of, is growing daily, giving all of us who love fantasy an enormous list of books to add to our to read piles! 😉

I am enjoying visiting all of your sites to see what you are reading and I am so excited and appreciative of your participation and enthusiasm. Many of you take pictures of the book piles and post them on your site. I love seeing those. Elaine (Quixotic, Quixotical) is one of my favorites. Looking at her pictures makes me feel like I’m looking into the home of my twin, she’s a real kindred spirit. Her stacks of both familiar books and ones that I drool over in envy make me feel comfy:

(photo by Elaine)

I want that special edition Brom book!!!

(photo by Elaine)

She always makes such fun bookmarks for these challenges.

I look forward to even more people joining in and I’m so excited about the many things running through my head that I want to post during this Mythology, Folklore, Fairytale, Fantasy period!

You guys are great! Here’s looking at you!

(photo by Elaine)

Editor’s Note: the opening poem was not listed to disparage women in any way. I decided to re-listen to the Stardust unabridged audio book today as I was driving in to work and as those words poured out of Neil’s mouth like butter (that man could sell swamp land to Orphanage developers with that voice), I knew that I had to post it to begin today’s thoughts.