Gaiman’s Fairy Dust

I’m not sure how I missed this!

Mr Claudia Schiffer, Matthew Vaughn (of Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels) is directing a film version of Stardust, in my opinion the best of Neil Gaiman’s novels. And the cast looks impeccable (apart from slight Sienna Miller-related misfortune): Michelle Pfeiffer (is there a classier B-grade actress?), Claire Danes, Peter O’Toole, Robert De Niro, Ricky Gervais (yay!), Rupert Everett… wow!

It could go the way of the Hollywood over-financed over-CGI’d ultimately emotional wasteland (see previous post). Or it could take the rather lovely and whimsical path trod by The Princess Bride, also originally a novel by William Goldman. Or it could wend down the less lovely but nonetheless still amusing track which led to Willow.

Why am I less worried about Stardust falling afoul of the first option than I am about His Dark Materials? Well, from what I can recall of the story (and admittedly, it has been a very very long time since I read it), it is decidedly more low key. No monumental clash between good and evil, no final battle to decide the fate of the world… no grand conflict basically, on which Hollywood can impose its overwrought notions of grandeur. No, it tells of a simple quest (on which the existence of life as we know it does not hinge) with the humble, simple goal of true love. Gaiman has approved the scriptwriter, Jane Goldman, and apparently, although the ending has been changed (aargh!), they’ve injected more humour into the plot and generally maintained the spirit of the book.

Hmmm… we’ll see. But here’s hoping for a quirky tale to rival the glorious Princess Bride.

It’s out March 2007.

Neil Gaiman’s publisher’s website can be found here.