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jemck at 01:09pm on 31/07/2006
jemck at 01:09pm on 31/07/2006We went to see Stormbreaker at the cinema yesterday. Which I throughly recommend as excellent family entertainment. In the car on the way back, my younger son was keen to discuss the differences between the book and the film. This was a bit difficult given he's the only one who's read the book in this household. Yes, the whole series are on my TBR radar but who knows when I'll actually get round to them.
Fortunately, ahem, I 'share representation' with Anthony Horowitz and happen to know a few trivial things about the adaptation, notably why the female interest who doesn't turn up till Book 3 was introduced here. So, cool points for me, and an interesting conversation about the difference between story telling for film and for books. Elder son was quite interested but younger son was really thinking about it...
He's the child who began writing a space opera novel during February half term. I made the usual vaguely encouraging parental noises and expected the idea to run into the sand inside a few days. Only a month later, he presented me with five thousand words, that being Chapter One, for critique. Because he knows that's how books are written. He's grown up with this going on around him, year by year, as my husband is always my first reader.
Anyway, he concluded that the changes in Stormbreaker were 'OK', because Anthony Horowitz wrote the screenplay too.
I've never met Anthony Horowitz but I'd like to. If only to say how many mothers I know think he should be awarded some kind of prize for services to reluctant-reader sons. I'd run out of fingers and toes before I could count all the lads, pals of my own boys, who've been kick-started into the reading habit by the Alex Rider books.
Younger son is currently on Book 4. He's been reading it by red light when it's been too hot and humid to sleep, because he's gone through the batteries of his scouting torch and his front bike light, so he's down to the back light. I'm not inclined to rebuke him, as they're on school holidays and it has been vilely sticky.
It also makes me smile to recall my mother's bafflement at how much faster my own bike light batteries used to run out, compared to my brother's...
Fortunately, ahem, I 'share representation' with Anthony Horowitz and happen to know a few trivial things about the adaptation, notably why the female interest who doesn't turn up till Book 3 was introduced here. So, cool points for me, and an interesting conversation about the difference between story telling for film and for books. Elder son was quite interested but younger son was really thinking about it...
He's the child who began writing a space opera novel during February half term. I made the usual vaguely encouraging parental noises and expected the idea to run into the sand inside a few days. Only a month later, he presented me with five thousand words, that being Chapter One, for critique. Because he knows that's how books are written. He's grown up with this going on around him, year by year, as my husband is always my first reader.
Anyway, he concluded that the changes in Stormbreaker were 'OK', because Anthony Horowitz wrote the screenplay too.
I've never met Anthony Horowitz but I'd like to. If only to say how many mothers I know think he should be awarded some kind of prize for services to reluctant-reader sons. I'd run out of fingers and toes before I could count all the lads, pals of my own boys, who've been kick-started into the reading habit by the Alex Rider books.
Younger son is currently on Book 4. He's been reading it by red light when it's been too hot and humid to sleep, because he's gone through the batteries of his scouting torch and his front bike light, so he's down to the back light. I'm not inclined to rebuke him, as they're on school holidays and it has been vilely sticky.
It also makes me smile to recall my mother's bafflement at how much faster my own bike light batteries used to run out, compared to my brother's...
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