Guy Gavriel Kay’s World Fantasy Award-winning novel Ysabel has been optioned for feature film development by Maryke McEwen of Kinetic Productions and Jeanne Strømberg and Alan Hausegger of StrømHaus Productions in Toronto, Ontario. Kinetic Productions is an independent production company, and StrømHaus Productions specializes in feature film adaptations of literary works. Debbie Wood of Westwood Creative Artists negotiated the deal.
Though I’ve not read Ysabel, I’m a huge fan of Kay’s works and, from what I gather, this one seems like it makes the most sense as a film. As with all things Hollywood, though, I’ll believe it when I see the first trailer… and maybe not even then!
I’ve got ‘The Summer Tree’ in my to-read pile, but beyond the Fionavar Tapestry, Ysabel is the book I was most looking to reading by Kay and I’m glad to hear that there just may be a movie in the works (good for him).
But, yea, I wager the book is better. ;)
I love Kay’s work, although I haven’t read nearly enough of it. I enjoyed the Sarantine Mosaic duology immensely, , and then picked up The Summer Tree, which sadly is lying fallow in my pile of half-read books, though that’s not a reflection of the writing. I’m now reading Tigana, since it was recently released in audio, and while I was underwhelmed by the first couple chapters I’m starting to get sucked in.
I haven’t read Ysabel yet either, but from what I’ve heard, I agree that it seems like the best choice for a film version. I think it would be difficult to make his pseudo-historical novels palatable to a mainstream audience.
Don’t hold your breath. THE LIONS OF AL-RASSAN has been in development hell for about a decade. Edward Zwick (director of GLORY, THE LAST SAMURAI and BLOOD DIAMOND) was going to direct it but it seems to have fallen off the radar recently.
Also, YSABEL is a semi-sequel to an earlier work of Kay’s. It seems odd that they’d option this and not the earlier one.
I’ve read Ysabel and you should rush to read it. Seriously. Way better than the Fionavar Tapestry trilogy, which was way too derivative of Tolkien and needed a firmer editorial hand. And it isn’t a sequel, properly speaking. A couple of characters from the Tapestry pop up, but that’s it.
I have a feeling Ysabel will actually get made before something like the The Lions of Al Rassan because it’s set in modern times.
Having said that, Ysabel was to me quite a disappointment. Just didn’t cut it when placed next to his previous books. I think the fanboys and girls were excited because of the Fionavar Tapestry characters that appeared in it.
I haven’t read most of GGK’s “inbetween” books. I’ll work on it. But I liked Ysabel the best of what I’ve read so far because I found it to be the best writing and storytelling. In the earlier books that I’ve read, there were always rough edges that became rather annoying. Ysabel was both a gripping story and well-crafted writing. Your mileage obviously varies. ;o) I’m looking forward to his other books. If only my reading list weren’t so ridiculously long…
How could any modern work of fantasy not be derivative of Tolkien in some way. I have read the Fionavsr Tapestry ten times and am on the eleventh after several years. I have also read Ysabel. It was good, but I felt it lacked complexity. Perfect for a movie geared toward a teenage audience.