More info about the Television mini-series based on Terry Goodkind’s fantasy series Sword of Truth.
From Suvudu:
Terry Goodkind, the author of the bestselling The Sword of Truth series, visited Comic-Con today with director Sam Raimi and those who produced the television shows Xena and Hercules. Together as a panel, they laid out their plans for adapting Wizard’s First Rule into a 22-episode season to air on ABC via Disney.
I will be posting a lot more news on this in the forthcoming days, but I wanted to share with Goodkind fans that the name of the ABC series is Legend of the Seeker and it will begin November 1, 2008. Richard Cypher and Kahlen have been cast, but today Sam Raimi announced the casting of Zedd. The actor playing the wizard Zedd is Bruce Spence, who had minor roles in LOTR: Return of the King and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith but who has decades of acting experience.
I have to admit that I’m disappointed (and a little surprised) that Goodkind himself didn’t demand the lead role. He does have his work cut out for himself though, convincing everyone that it’s not a fantasy mini-series won’t be easy!
Isn’t Richard supposed to be so hot all girls swoon over him?* Sorry, but that Dick doesn’t make me swoon at all. :)
*I’ve only read half or Wizards First Rule, but I do follow the Goodkind threads on Westeros and Malazanempire. :)
lol, your last paragraph there is made of win.
I’m really relieved that nothing about the teaser trailer strikes me. I would hate to feel tempted to support anything associated with that man or his books.
Gabriele – That’s why I thought Goodkind himself would make a good Richard Cypher. He’s got that studly, chiseled look and what woman wouldn’t swoon at the sight of his tightly slicked hair, flowing pony tail and perfectly trimmed beard?
Nathan – It’s really too bad, I actually think the first several novels in the series are pretty decent (especially when compared to the end of the series) and would translate to the screen quite well. This, however, looks like a trainwreck in the making.
“Isn’t Richard supposed to be so hot all girls swoon over him?* Sorry, but that Dick doesn’t make me swoon at all”
I think it isn’t as much his looks as his attitude and his confidence that get the women.
hey lets give them a chance! they may be making a show with a look nothing like the series portrayed. but it still might have a good story… i hope
What will Terry “I’m Better than Everyone” Goodkind do when the series is quickly canceled? I’m sure it will be b/c the public at large simply cannot understand his genius.
We, as a culture, aren’t ready to comprehend Goodkind’s philosophy.
He won’t be happy.
I am sorry but the only man I can see “PLAYING” as Richard would be Tom Welling…. He has all the features that Richard is described as having in the book.
Can anyone imagine George R.R. Martin as Richard Cypher? Oh, that’s right: GRRM doesn’t believe in “good vs. evil” or in a healhy diet.
No disrespect to Terry Goodkind, but the role of Richard is a younger man. Terry is the age of Cypher’s father.
And just to note that this is a series, as opposed to a “mini-series,” which was first discussed early on. There is a 22 episode commitment.
Here’s the trailer:
http://www.legendoftheseeker.com/
And some cool new photos:
http://www.terrygoodkind.com/
craig horner looks like he belongs on 90210. Did they even read the books? I mean seriously i can’t see this guy intimidating anyone except maybe a 10 yr old kid and even they would probably be able to kick his ass. Very disappointed in their pick for Richard.
Well, I am willing to wait and see how he works out. The chemistry and abilities of the actor often times win out over the look.
In the meantime, people can also keep up to date with the new Facebook page: http://www.new.facebook.com/pages/Legend-of-the-Seeker/25088724403?ref=ts
Well I don’t know what your talking about. It looks spectacular to me, and the way they do it make the guy playing Richard look incredibly hot. Though I must admit in pictures he looks rather plain.
There are some new interviews with Richard and Kahlan (Craig Horner and Bridget Regan) on the official site. Pretty interesting.
I’ve seen the preview, looks nice. I have not read the book though but I have them so am gonna start reading. Anyway, I don’t know much of Terry Goodkind yet and his work, but why couldn’t they have adopted Robert Jordan’s the Wheel of Time series instead into a TV series, that would have been much nicer. Or it’s just me who like WOT? ^_^ Anyway, am still an avid fan of fantasy novels, hope TG satisfies my standards. Is his books any good?
Dani,
Goodkind’s novels get a lot of flak, but I actually think the first 6 are excellent. After that, however, Goodkind gets a little too fond of hearing himself talk and the novels go downhill fast. Chainfire is one of the worst novels I’ve ever read – it’s got enough story to fill a piece of short fiction, and the other 650 pages are just filled with inane preaching. Too bad.
Dani–specifically why they went with Legend of the Seeker seems to be that Sam Raimi was a big fan of the books and wanted to bring it to the screen. That isn’t to say that someone else might not bring the Wheel of Time series to the screen later on. But just not Sam and his production company.
If this show is a hit, though, I would guess that other fantasy-type shows will get the green light.
Aidan–thanks for the tip. I’m on book 2 and was wondering how far I needed to go!
hey tim read all the way through. as long as you have a vivid imagination and you can follow gud enough then you will love the entire series. except for the ending. kinda like your sprinting 100 meters and when you get to the end its a brick wall and you done.
I’m so disappointed after viewing the trailers and the actors. I agree the first few books are great, but then there are those books that are like being in Charlie Brown’s class … WAH WAH WAH WAH… Did these people not read the physical descriptions? I guess when they incorporate the Mord Sith Cara it’ll be some dark haired frumpy woman. WRONG! Okay there are some exceptions to the rule like the movie Legend with Will Smith. I was upset about that, but was satisfied as they remained separate in my mind. The book and movie are very different from each other, but good. So we’ll see if this wins me over. Sorry just had to vent. Feel better now.
Something that’s interesting about this series is that it’s a first-run syndication series. That means that it won’t strictly appear on ABC stations. Where I live, it’s going to be airing on the CW affiliate, which is owned by the CBS Corporation & Warner Brothers — nothing to do with Disney or Buena Vista at all. This means that the show probably will have to worry less about getting cancelled whole sale. It can go away in cities where it doesn’t perform well but still stay in markets where it is strong. So, it’s possible that it will have a much stronger lifeline than most series that are network-dependent do.
Other examples of shows that work this way are game shows like Jeopardy, talk shows like Oprah, and the occasional drama like Star Trek: The Next Generation. All of those shows are/were incredibly successful.
My favorite book series of all time, but this series is directed like dog. Sam Rami has got to be the worst director of all time to screw this story up.
I’m extremely disappointed in this series. I read the entire series, & especially liked the first several books. The casting is terrible, and the changes to the story line so far are unnecessary. So far it seems like a bad mix of elements from Kung Fu, & and Sheena, Charmed, Land of the Lost & others with a sprinkling of LOTR and Matrix effects here & there. Although I realize they have to depart from the book sometimes for screen, the changes they’ve made to the story line so far are totally unnecessary. I think the books had the potential to be a very powerful series of movies. As-is, it should be a Saturday morning kids show.
I’m also disappointed in the series so far. It’s too “adventures of the wandering hero” (much like Xena and Hercules before it). It should be tighter, a true serial adaptation of the book. They waste time pointlessly with concocted drama and small-time story-telling. People are watching this hoping for something epic, not a high fantasy version of, as Brad said, Kung Fu.
i’m so dissappointed i don’t even have any words for it. it’s really embarassing and pathetic. what a waste of potential and talent. it could have been the best, but it is now like the rest lame and a shame.
I have read all the books and like many loved the first few but feel they steadily regressed. However, my wife and children who never read any of the books are all really enjoying the series and we watch them as a family. I feel you can never try to put a movie up to a book because the book wins every time so I’m watching it as a standalone series separate from the books and have found myself for the most part enjoying it. Helps that it’s been years since I’ve read the earliest books as I read them all as they came out. Don’t remember everything that went on so don’t need to compare the two.
hi am watching the tv version on the tv at the moment and love it so much and going to start reading the book i hope its as good as the twilight saga which i love
i’m pretty sure that richard was a really big guy and this guy does’nt look that big to me.
this miniseries contradicts everything that was in the book. like kahlen was the mother confessor and in the miniseries shes just another confessor.
The mini series is no where near what’s in the book. The only reason I watch is to see what morbid twist they’re going to take next. The beginning of ALL the books is that there can only be one talented Rahl heir born to each generation. Richard is not Panis’s son, he’s Darken Rahl’s. Hello, there’s no way that the mini series can fix this problem. The rest of the books rely on this premise. Oh yeah, by the way, Panis is dead long before Richard even meets Kahlan.
It’s a shame they couldn’t stick to the original story line. I have no idea why Terry Goodkind would sell out his story like that. Now his fans who’ve been subjected to this trash are expected to be excited about his new book which we’re supposed to pine over for the next year until he’s got enough time to write it. Probably won’t happen for me, so now he’ll probably need the funds from the trashy series to survive.
Yeah. I’m done with the series, and probably the books as well. There’s only so much an avid fan can take, and this farce has more than crossed that line.