Get those fava beans ready: Thomas Harris has finally finished his latest Hannibal Lecter novel, slated for a Christmas release. What better way to say ”Happy Birthday, Baby Jesus!” than with some cannibalism? (Have the lambs in the manger stopped screaming, Clarice?) Titled Hannibal Rising, the book will focus on the early life of Dr. Lecter; sort of a ”Hannibal Begins,” if you will, in which we find out just what made the man so insidious. (I sure hope we find out it’s because he fell down a well and had a scary run-in with some scary, scary ferrets.)
The book makes a handy tie-in with Young Hannibal: Behind the Mask, a movie slated for early 2007, also written by Harris (and starring Gaspard Ulliel, pictured). Which is an interesting bit of synergy — we’ve all heard of books being made into movies, and movies being novelized into books, but can anyone think of another instance where the screenplay and the novel were being written almost simultaneously? And do the kids still care about Dr. L. at this late date, or have we all moved on to Saw, Hostel, and other trendier mutilation franchises?
Comments (1-13) of 13 Add your comment
Wasn’t “2001″ made with Arthur C. Clarke writing screenplay and script at the same time?
Arthur C. Clarke’s 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY springs to mind. He was collaborating with Kubrick and working on the book at the same time.
I think “Casino,” though not a novel, was written at the same time as the movie.
I dunno…after Brett Ratner screwed up Red Dragon, I’m not sure how much interest there is in another Hannibal Lecter movie.
Didn’t see Saw or Hostel. But that kid’s grin gives me the creeps. He looks like he’d like eating people.
Hostel was an odd movie. The first quarter was like soft-core porn and then it kicks into horror mode.
I might see Young Hannibal. Still partial to Manhunter. Brian Cox’s Lecter is superb.
Let’s hang up Hannibal’s mask forever. The film versions of HANNIBAL and RED DRAGON were mediocre to awful, even WITH Oscar winner Anthony Hopkins.
Do you really think the new Lecter flick will be a masterwork like THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS was?
Highly doubtful.
And that’s too bad. In the hands of a competent director like Jonathan Demme, HANNIBAL and RED and the surefire bomb YOUNG… could have really added some leverage to the franchise.
I just hope they don’t make a Hannibal Lecter film where the evil doctor -now in his late 80s – is living in a nursing home and suddenly some of the residents start to mysteriously disappear…
“What better way to say ”Happy Birthday, Baby Jesus!” than with some cannibalism?” HILARIOUS
so that’s what hannibal lecter looked like when he was young? hmmm, I’d let him eat me. Well, not eat me, but eat me.
What’s Graham Greene’s The Third Man written at the same time too?
Hannibal was a great movie, and Ridley Scott did a good job with making a movie with a better ending than the one in the book, which was distressing, and the fact that he went ahead and did the brain scene was very brave. Red Dragon was by-the-numbers, but much more faithful to the original story than the heavily-overrated “Mindhunter”.
Bottom Line: Hannibal is the most successful film in the series, so if you don’t like it no one cares.
I enjoyed “Hannibal” too…and what exactly was so bad about “Red Dragon”?
I liked that Ridley Scott took the series in his own direction. Not everyone liked that direction, but I thought the Italy portion of “Hannibal” was particularly good.
“Red Dragon” IS a pale comparison of “The Silence of the Lambs” But that doesn’t mean its awful. I still think it’s completely watchable and enjoyable. (Great cast).
I’ll say what I said when X3 came out: If people didn’t know it was directed by Brett Ratner, there wouldn’t be half of the hateration there is.
Dude this was totally an SNL skit with Anthony Hopkins back when “Red Dragon” came out.