I think it should have said "Inspired by Brad Pitt's thighs", because that is probably truer than its being inspired by the Iliad.
My whole life just flashed before my eyes! I gotta get me a life!
Xander ,'Dirty Girls'
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Nutty - Oct 19, 2004 11:56:28 am PDT #4837 of 10001
"Mister Spock is on his fanny, sir. Reports heavy damage."
Jessica - Oct 19, 2004 11:57:29 am PDT #4838 of 10001
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset
I'm of the opinion that if your source material is public domain, and you've strayed far enough from it that "inspired by" is the best you can do, you're better off not mentioning it at all.
§ ita § - Oct 19, 2004 11:57:33 am PDT #4839 of 10001
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
I dunno. If I was making a movie inspired by Brad's thighs, there'd have been a very different use of leather.
But it's the infinite exploration that keeps storytelling eternal.
§ ita § - Oct 19, 2004 11:58:29 am PDT #4840 of 10001
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
I'm of the opinion that if your source material is public domain, and you've strayed far enough from it that "inspired by" is the best you can do, you're better off not mentioning it at all.
Fair. But if it can't free them from "lousy adaptation!" accusations, it's not any use at all.
Jessica - Oct 19, 2004 12:05:16 pm PDT #4841 of 10001
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset
But if it can't free them from "lousy adaptation!" accusations, it's not any use at all.
Do you think it does? Maybe it should, but in practice, I don't think "inspired by" films get any more leeway than "based on" films when pedants attack.
Gris - Oct 19, 2004 12:09:11 pm PDT #4842 of 10001
Hey. New board.
Duuude. The Emperor's New Groove. That movie was super-funny.
§ ita § - Oct 19, 2004 12:09:23 pm PDT #4843 of 10001
Well not canonically, no, but this is transformative fiction.
I think if they were true pedants, inspired movies would get more leeway than based movies.
Of course, that is with the definition of pedantry=ita.
In my estimation, they could have veered much further away from the texts and still been able to use "inspired by" as a valid description. Now, people who want to see the Iliad onscreen will always be pissed. But if you're not saying you're putting the Iliad onscreen, they might as well be mad at the makers of Austin Powers, who also didn't say they'd make a movie based on the Iliad.
Such are my fine lines.
Nutty - Oct 19, 2004 12:11:43 pm PDT #4844 of 10001
"Mister Spock is on his fanny, sir. Reports heavy damage."
We pedants don't hold on niceties when we attack, but I do think that "we are going to tell The Story of Troy" is a lot more defensible a position for bullshitting and general plot tomfoolery than "we are going to tell a story inspired by the Iliad".
For example, I read children's adaptations of the classics for years before getting to the originals. "Greek Myths" are allowed to leave out teh sex and prisoner slavery and human sacrifice; "The Oresteia" is not.
Kalshane - Oct 19, 2004 12:15:45 pm PDT #4845 of 10001
GS: If you had to choose between kicking evil in the head or the behind, which would you choose, and why?
Minsc: I'm not sure I understand the question. I have two feet, do I not? You do not take a small plate when the feast of evil welcomes seconds.
Duuude. The Emperor's New Groove. That movie was super-funny.
Wrod. And now I'm wondering why I don't own it on DVD. I must correct this after my next paycheck.
Jessica - Oct 19, 2004 12:17:33 pm PDT #4846 of 10001
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset
I'm really not a fan of the "inspired by" label, period. Too often, it seems to be code for "We bought the rights to this property and now we have to make the movie before they expire even though we really don't understand what it is we bought so here's an unrelated movie using the title of the property we bought the rights to."
Which doesn't apply to Troy because, public domain, but still. It's a wishy-washy term, "inspired by."
[eta: Really, this is only true when the source material is a book or play, or something else that could theoretically be faithfully adapted into a film. If your source material is a poem or a painting or a dream the director's wife had, "inspired by" is just fine.]