Has anyone noticed this?

Rating: Null/10 (25 September 2004)

Quote:
"Not too long ago I adapted a novel into a screenplay. I had to start from scratch. It was a disaster book about a meteorologist who discovers a new ice age approaching. No one believes him, of course, and when the weather changes it's too late. The new ice age begins. The meteorologist and a group of other scientists are sent to examine the glacier in Iceland, but the ship freezes in the ice. The novel ends with the main character freezing to death.
"That was the book. A disaster story of 650 pages that's a downer.
"I decided to keep the main character, but I wanted to place him in emotional conflict for more dramatic value. So I made him a politically outspoken professor, who was being considered for tenure at NYU. His 'irresponsible' statements about the impending ice age could possibly jeopardize his appointment.
"Then I had to figure out what to do about the story. I needed to change the ending into an 'upbeat' or positive one. I wanted them to live, not die in the frozen ice. So I had to construct new elements BASED on the novel. I began knowing I wanted an exciting opening. I went through the book and on page 287 found the main character traveling to the glacier in Iceland to measure glacial movement. I decided to open there, on the vast ice plain. A visual element. As they descend deep into the heart of the glacier an earthquake occurs, causing an avalanche. They barely make it out alive. It's a strong, visual sequence and sets up the story appropriately.
"When the professor returns to New York and presents his findings to his superiors, they don't believe him. The first blizzard of the year, the warning, then becomes the plot point at the end of Act I... The shape of things to come.
"The second act was another problem. I reduced most of the action to three major sequences: one, the main character organizes a world-wide network of scientists to try and solve the problem; two, New York City freezes; and three, the people finally accept the truth and try to formulate a plan. I strung these sequences together with incidents from the book, knowing I had to avoid all disaster-movie clichés; there was no market for disaster movies at the time. As I mentioned, the original ending didn't work and had to be changed. I ended up with a futuristic survival story."
The above quote is from the 1982 edition of the 1979 book SCREENPLAY, by Syd Field.
It has been reproduced without permission.
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