Terry Pratchett News Update for August 11, 2007

Four major characters in the forthcoming Color of Magic and Light Fantastic TV adaptations have been cast, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Sean Astin, who played Sam Gamgee in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, is cast for Twoflower, confirming earlier speculation that David Jason (Rincewind) would co-star with an American actor. Says Astin in the article:

"I'm honored to be given the chance to make the part of Twoflower my own, starring in a fantasy tale that has captured the imagination of millions of people around the world."

Also cast is Tim Curry as Ymper Trymon, and Christopher Lee reprises his 1997 role as the voice of Death.

Things look hopeful for further adaptations, as Sky director of programs Richard Woolfe called Hogfather an “unparalleled success in every way we could have imagined” and the cast for The Color of Magic “unbelievable”—though expectations for the adaptations seem high.

The Color of Magic team, with Vadim Jean directing and RHI Entertainment, the Mob Film Co. and Sky One all on board, has stayed pretty constant from Hogfather, though David Jason is now also an executive producer.

Exciting news for American fans: Hogfather may make its U.S. debut as part of RHI Movie Weekend on Ion Television.

Terry Pratchett News Update for June 28, 2007

While Terry Pratchett has confirmed that one more Discworld TV dramatization is in the works, a Daily Mail article mentions that David Jason has “an existing commitment to appear in two more bigbudget Terry Pratchett dramatisations” (emphasis added). However exciting this news may be, readers should remember that the Daily Mail is a tabloid, and therefore can’t be wholly trusted.
Terry Pratchett has confirmed that he is now working on a TV script that combines stories from The Color of Magic and The Light Fantastic.

Terry Pratchett News Update for May 24, 2007

A chat transcript with Terry Pratchett on the Douglas Adams Continuum is online now (scroll down to the first post), where Pratchett (amidst complaints about the font) answers questions about everything – from the movies to the books to his meeting with Douglas Adams. The concise statements include:

I met DNA [note: DNA is Douglas Adams] only once, at a crowded party, where it as almost impossible to be heard, and I think we were almost immediately dragged in opposite directions by people who wanted us to meet interesting people. I have no idea if we would have got on. I was in a hotel in Chicago when I read that he had died, and I sang the Betelgeusian Death Anthem, all by myself. It was a shame.

I don't have a secret desire to write somthing else--if I did, I'd do it. There eill [sic] be a Y/A book that's non-DW next year, though. One book a year is not punishing, but life seems to fill up with other things, [sic]

To judge by the biographies [Douglas Adams] thought writing got in the way of having a good time. For me, it’s the other way round. I get a kick out of it, is the simple answer. When a book is going well, I’m on a high.

Among the interesting bits of news we get what seems to be a confirmation that The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic are being adapted together by Sky after the tremendous success of Hogfather. Additionally, an illustrated Wee Free Men (of the YA Tiffany Aching series) is in the works, possibly in the style of The Last Hero.