Bryan Cogman, who is the executive story editor on HBO’s Game of Thrones, has been hired to adapt The False Prince for Paramount. The plot seems tailor-fit for Cogman: In a distant land, and with king, queen and crown prince murdered, a nobleman devises a plan to find someone to impersonate the king’s long-lost son and act as a puppet. An orphan finds himself chosen with three other boys in the running. But this is no mere competition -- with court intrigue and political conspiracies make it a contest to the death. Cogman wrote the episodes "What is Dead May Never Die" and "Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things" while serving as story editor on Thrones.Whoa, and I am addicted to Game of Thrones and ASOIAF, thus I have high expectations for this project. I've had high the same expectation for the movie adaptation of Joseph Delaney's first book in his Wardstone Chronicles. After all, a mixture of witches and magic is something to look forward to right? But right from the casting, I felt somewhat betrayed.
Why they would cast a thirty-one year old actor for a tween character is beyond me. Don't misunderstand, I love Ben Barnes and willing to marry him anytime, however, I was expecting they'll make Wardstone Chronicles like Harry Potter-ish, starting with adolescent years and he will grow up with all the danger he's facing and come out as a victorious man.
UPDATE 8/8/2013
The trailer's here. It looks good actually if you have no idea it was actually an adaptation. But from a reader's perspective, this is a plain insult. I mean there is a reason why the books became bestsellers, and why even if I'm already 19, continue to support this YA series. But they just took all the important elements away and made a loose live version instead.
No creepy witches. Wait, well there are witches, but not the old shaggy, flesh eating, drooling hag Wardstone fans came to love. Also look at those motherfucking dragons. Where the fuck did those come from? The only saving grace is Alice, she's perfect. But sorry, my own personal grudge is just too strong, I don't think I'll bother watching this film in the theaters.
