One thing though, just don't let it turn out anything like Big Trouble In Little China. It was a good film in many ways, but Kurt Russel just isn't Repairman Jack...

No, he was Jack Burton, and he had some great lines:

"I feel good, and I'm not scared at all. I just feel kind of... kind of invincible... Is it getting hot in here, or is it just me?"

"When some wild-eyed, eight-foot-tall maniac grabs your neck, taps the back of your favorite head up against the barroom wall, looks you crooked in the eye and asks you if ya paid your dues, you just stare that big sucker right back in the eye, and you remember what ol' Jack Burton always says at a time like that: ‘Have ya paid your dues, Jack?’ ‘Yessir, the check is in the mail.’ "

Actually, come to think of it, wouldn't Kurt Russel make a great Abe?

Well, even after the major dissappointment of "The Keep" movie (though I'm sure nowhere nearly as much as Mr. Wilson's own) I'll definately be there opening night. I've been begging for this since around ninth grade.

China? Eh, I guess I can kind of see thier point, but is it that hard to make a place look like India?

[SIZE=3]No, he was Jack Burton, and he had some great lines:

"I feel good, and I'm not scared at all. I just feel kind of... kind of invincible... Is it getting hot in here, or is it just me?"

Don't forget that classis finger gesture!

"I never drive faster than I can see."

Jack Burton: What's in the flask, Egg? Magic potion?
Egg Shen: Yeah.
Jack Burton: Thought so, good. What do we do, drink it?
Egg Shen: Yeah!
Jack Burton: Good, thought so.

Here's to the Army and Navy and the battles they have won; here's to America's colors, the colors that never run.
May the wings of liberty never lose a feather.

No, he was Jack Burton, and he had some great lines:

"If I'm not back in 24 hours, call the President."

I gotta say, I was looking forward to an Indian bad guy. You don't see too many of those. The Golden Child, Mortal Kombat, Lethal Weapon 4, any Jackie Chan movie- all had Chinese bad guys. Plus, who would've played the hot Indian woman? My Japanese professor would've been a good choice.

That these changes have been made
This is how it is in Hollyweird
Lets hope none of the story or its theme/mood/tone of the 3rd Fast/Furious installment creeps into Jack

So I'd expect this latest rewrite will push the start date (the day shooting actually begins) which will likely impact its release date

Here's hoping another Alamo type situation is not developing ......

Spoke to Barry Rosenbush yesterday. Here's the way things look:

The film will be shot in Shanghai. Because of the great temple locations available to them for the flashback, they wanted to know if they could switch from Indian mythology to Chinese. (They don't have to ask -- they own the rights -- but they did.)

I said it was okay with me -- as long as Jack stays Jack.

Yes, Jack will be Jack and the setting will be NYC. (Shanghai has excellent NYC street sets.) But Kusum and Kolabati will be Chinese, and the rakosh will be changed to something drawn from Chinese mythology.

This is all window dressing as far as I'm concerned, and irrelevant to the story.

So, they met this week, decided the elements they needed to change, and gave it to the scripter.

One problem: Chris Morgan, who's been rewriting Repairman Jack for two years now, has signed on to write the third Fast & Furious. Because of that commitment, he won't be able to turn in the Jack rewrite until June.

They tell me this will be the last major rewite. But I've heard that before.

For the most part I concur with your assessment regarding book to film translations

It is a rare thing indeed when a film does complement what an writer has envisioned
In my little life, I can really only think of one adaptation that worked extremely well as both book and film: the Australian Careful He Might Hear you

With Disney handling this, I'm not so sure but will give them the benefit of the doubt

All missgivings aside (and so far, there seem to be a few...) at the end of the day, this is FPWs puppy, not ours, and if he says the Indian mythology is window dressing, then that's that. He is the author, after all.

If The Tomb had always been centred around Chinese mythology then it would still have been The Tomb because no-one would have known any different. And like The Man says, Jack will still be Jack.

If I may stick my two penny worth in though... ( no-one in the room raises an objection, so I forge ahead.) Books will always be better than films, in my opinion. And The Tomb in always going to lose something going to the big screen. That said though, I don't think a film version is a bad thing, it's just that it's a different thing and should, therefore, be judged as such. That the Rakoshi become something else is sad but not the end of the world.

And let's not forget, they own the rights, they didn't have to ask.

One thing though, just don't let it turn out anything like Big Trouble In Little China. It was a good film in many ways, but Kurt Russel just isn't Repairman Jack...

For the most part I concur with your assessment regarding book to film translations

It is a rare thing indeed when a film does complement what an writer has envisioned
In my little life, I can really only think of one adaptation that worked extremely well as both book and film: the Australian Careful He Might Hear you

With Disney handling this, I'm not so sure but will give them the benefit of the doubt

I've had my doubts about Disney Corp. ever since it got taken over by the anti-Walt. We'll just have to see.

Recalling the movies I have seen which best did the book justice, I submit:

The Longest Day, by Cornelius Ryan

Pride And Prejudice, by Jane Austin (5-hour movie)

A Town Like Alice, from the novel The Legacy, by Neville Shute (5-hour movie)

The Great Escape, by Paul Brickhill -- There were some departures like Steve McQueens motorcycle escape, but on the whole it was very accurate. Even too the scar by "Big X'" right eye -- which was the result of a skiing accident.

When Eight Bells Toll, by Alistair MacLean

Ken V.

Recalling the movies I have seen which best did the book justice, I submit:

A couple of other good ones are:To Kill a Mockingbird, Jaws, and The Guns of Navarone.