- Paperback: 320 pages
- Publisher: Titan Books Ltd; Rev Ed edition (25 July 2008)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1845767551
- ISBN-13: 978-1845767556
- Product Dimensions: 14 x 2.6 x 20.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
54,352 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #29 in Books > Music, Stage & Screen > Film > Film Genres > Science Fiction
- #76 in Books > Music, Stage & Screen > Film > Guides & Reference
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Amazon.co.uk Review
David Hughes' wonderfully readable The Greatest Sci-fi Movies Never Made is not only a fascinating insight into the machinations of the Hollywood production factory, but a true testament to Sci-fi's enduring popularity as a film genre among mainstream audiences. It's amazing how long many of these movies languished in "development hell" and even more amazing how long the people involved hung on, despite the fact that quite often it was perfectly obvious that the project was on its last legs. Movie buffs and Internet users will be familiar with a lot of the tales here which have now practically passed into Hollywood folklore. Using combinations of new interviews and press clippings, quotes and statements Hughes pieces together the development behind some truly major motion pictures which all fell foul of budget constraints, studio nerves or extensive rewrites. And he unearths some real gems about movies that came tantalisingly close to the big screen, only to fail at the last hurdle. There's James Cameron's take on Spider Man (now being filmed by Sam Raimi) that was caught up in years of wrangling over who owned the rights; the live action version of Thunderbirds which would have seen Lady Penelope taking on the villainous Hood in a fist fight and Steven Spielberg's SF horror Night Skies which eventually transformed into ET with a slightly more cuddly alien as its star. Superhero fans will delight in reading about the cheapo version of the Fantastic Four, shot in just under a month, as well as Batman director Tim Burton' s attempts to get Superman to fly again in the ill-fated Superman Lives. There's also contributions from Alien designer HR Giger and Harry Knowles, who runs the Aint-It-Cool movie news Web site, and several pages of rare illustrations from aborted SF movies. This is by far the most well-written and absorbing account of Hollywood's broken dreams and it's truly heartbreaking to read about some of the fantastic films that were so close to becoming reality. Hughes writes with energy and enthusiasm, resulting in a book that movie buffs and Sci-fi fans cannot afford to miss. --Jonathan Weir
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
"AN ESSENTIAL PURCHASE... READ IT, AND WEEP" - EMPIRE * 'An essential purchase... Read it, and weep' Empire Five Star Review * 'Engrossing... one is left stunned' Uncut. * 'Fascinating... you'll be astonished. Hughes is a thorough, informed writer' SFX * 'Every so often a book comes along that demands to be read at one or two sittings at most... don't miss this one' Starlog"
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First Sentence
"In the early fifties, science fiction writer Alfred Bester published a four-part story entitled Tiger! Tiger! in the pages of Galaxy, the same respected magazine in which his first novel, The Demolished Man, had appeared serially a few years earlier." Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
"In the early fifties, science fiction writer Alfred Bester published a four-part story entitled Tiger! Tiger! in the pages of Galaxy, the same respected magazine in which his first novel, The Demolished Man, had appeared serially a few years earlier." Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A stunning piece of original research,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Greatest Sci-fi Movies Never Made (Hardcover)
David Hughes' new book is one of those 'why hasn't somebody done this before?' ideas. It's an enthralling read and an essential volume for fans of SF cinema.The premise is simple: instead of writing yet another book about SF movies we know and love because we've seen them a dozen times, Hughes writes about a whole load that we've never seen because, though they may have spent many years in development or even pre-production, they were never actually made and released. ... Hughes has put a lot of effort into researching these non-movies. Though a few have been analysed retrospectively in SFX or Cinefantastique (Hughes is a contributor to both mags), for the most part this book is the result of ploughing through archive publications for optimistic/naive interviews and trade reports, plus a slew of new interviews with writers, director, producers and designers. The result is a terrifying insight into the workings of Hollywood and an invaluable work of reference for film scholars. The chapters which really deliver the goods are the Moreau one, which has sacked director Stanley sneaking back onto the set as an extra to witness the chaos at first hand, and the section on The Tourist (a serious script with a similar premise to Men in Black) in which one interviewee dismisses another's version of events with "That's a load of bollocks!" This is the sort of juicy gossip we want! It has taken David Hughes six years to get The Greatest Sci-Fi Movies Never Made published, so his empathy with frustrated scriptwriters is understandable, and Titan are to be commended for showing enough faith to debut it in hardback. The work is topped and tailed with pieces by Swiss artist HR Giger and internet hack Harry Knowles, which would probably have worked better the other way round. However, what is really missing from the book is a good, solid introduction by Hughes himself, placing these individual horror stories in the greater context of Hollywood's overall insanity. This book gives no hint at quite how common such long-term, ultimately pointless development is, nor does it make it clear that Hollywood could not function any other way. The old adage has it that one per cent of ideas optioned are developed into scripts, one per cent of those scripts enter pre-production, and one per cent of those movies actually get made and released. Hughes has picked a couple of dozen interesting examples - and has done them justice in his assiduous research - but the reader is left with the impression that such events are noteworthy exceptions, rather than the rule. Which leads onto the point that there are plenty of other "greatest sci-fi movies never made" and the hope that David Hughes and Titan can be persuaded to furnish us with a second volume. The stories behind the Nigel Kneale/John Carpenter remake of Creature from the Black Lagoon; the Doctor Who movie; the 3D American Godzilla; David Allen's stop-motion epic The Primevals; Terry Gilliam's jinxed The Man Who Killed Don Quixote; the David Frost-produced Toho/Hammer co-production Nessie; and Harley Cokeliss' unlucky Heaven's Gate victim Thongor in the Valley of Demons are all out there waiting to be told - hopefully by someone as diligent, resourceful and accurate as David Hughes.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another great book by David Hughes,
By Not American (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Greatest Sci-fi Movies Never Made (Paperback)
Well, Hughes has done it again. He has written a book that appeals to students of science fiction (of all types, not just films), movies, history, economics, you name it - and has made it completely entertaining and utterly un-putdownable at the same time. Fans of his earlier book on David Lynch will appreciate the chapter on Lynch's two "lost" movies, Ronnie Rocket and One Saliva Bubble. Also, even though this book is only a couple of years old, it is interesting to see what has happened with some of these projects. For instance, Spider Man and Terminator 3 have already been released, Thunderbirds and Alien vs Predator are being filmed right now (Jan 2004), and apparently I Am Legend and The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy are being cast and actually being made (for sure this time!). I think this proves how fascinating this book is - with any other writing the fact that you are reading about Terminator 3 as a "dead" or "possible future" product would ruin the reading experience. With this book, though, it is still just as fascinating to see why the projects took so long to come to fruition. So if you have any interest in films, art history, behind the scenes Hollywood gossip, or just a fascinating read, pick up this book NOW. Then go on to read his David Lynch bio, and everything else this man has written. I GUARANTEE you won't be disappointed.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
How Hollywood keeps on failing to make a good Sci - Fi movie,
By "prof_von_morgan" (London United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Greatest Sci-fi Movies Never Made (Paperback)
A must for all Sci-Fi and film fans (like myself!). I'd always wondered why some of the greatest Sci-Fi stories had never made it to the silver screen and why the one that had were often very disappointing; after reading this book, I now know why!!!
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