For a nickel...

[bunrab]

Without looking it up on the web, when I quote from the following description, from Time magazine, of a new movie, how many of you recognize the original short story and know the author, before the first sentence is finished? (If you really want your nickel, send me your address and I'll send it to you. This offer excludes Sam, and my spouse, who undoubtedly recognized this even more quickly than I did.) Here's the excerpt from Time, in an interview with Rainn Wilson:

The Last Mimzy is kind of complicated. Can you explain it? RW: Some children find a box of toys from the future. The toys start to teach them...

I went to the web site for the movie, to see if they even bothered to acknowledge the author of the original story, and was surprised to find they did. The web site is an annoying Flash jumble, by the way. Anyway, from the description of the plot, it strays rather rapidly away from the story, and into stupid movie cliche territory. Even the toys are different from the story - a stuffed toy rabbit, for pete's sake? And what's with changing the spelling to Mimzy? Which, in the movie, is the name of said stuffed toy rabbit? Anyway, based on the web site, I don't think you could pay me enough to go see the movie.

Oh yeah, and what kind of a name is Rainn? Does he have a sister named Sunnshinne?

Comments

[momily.livejournal.com]

I recognize the story, and have read it more than once, but for the life of me cannot think of the author. I know it's not one of the "biggies" like Asimov, Clarke, etc. - but damned if I know. *goes to look it up*

[momily.livejournal.com]

Oh hell yeah, of course. I won't spoil it here just in case, but I do have the Science Fiction Hall of Fame Vols. I & II.

[leiacat.livejournal.com]

Count me on the list, as it happens to be one of my favorite authors. (Of course, this particular story is one of his most anthologized.)

I think I'd see it out of fannish masochism, just to see what they'd done to it. But I appreciate the heads-up of the near-inevitable hollywoodization.

[andysocial]

The few reviews so far on Rotten Tomatoes are 60% positive (Fresh!), and I'm sure it'll be better than TMNT, so I'll post a review when my son drags me to see it this weekend. :-)