Spin-offs: Movies and so forth

Q: Any chance of your books becoming movies? 
A: Not under my control. 

Q: Since there are currently WOT card games and video games in the works, what other mediums will we see in the future? Comic Books? Films? 
A: I really don't know. I just take it as it comes. There will be a line of Wheel of Time fantasy clothing and jewelry. There's a company that wants to make WOT weapons--swords, etc.-- but nothing in the way of games that I can discuss.

Q: Have you ever considered making the Wheel of time into a movie? 
A: With almost every book that has come out, and certainly every one that has made the bestseller lists, there's a feeler about a movie but it always goes away, because any one of these books would have to be a TV miniseries. There's no way that I can see to compress them into a three hour movie or even a four hour movie. That's not to say it won't happen, but I don't really expect it.

Q: Would you ever consent to a movie? 
A: Sure! But who's going to make a movie at 16 or 18 hours per book? If anybody out there actually thinks he can cut one of these books down to a two hour movie, I suspect he's been drinking something funny ! 
Comment: Well, there's always the option of a mini-series.

Q: What are the chances of seeing any adaptations either film or television of any characters from Wheel of Time? 
A: I really don't know. I occasionally have gotten approaches in the past, but the books are all so long and involved that I think it would take a 16-hour movie to do any one of the books. We'll see what happens.

Q: Would you allow the series to be made into a series of movies if the were going to be as great as the books? 
A: Sure. If they were going to be as good as the books.

Q: Do you think a two hour movie could ever do the series justice? Or would it at least have to be a trilogy of some sort? 
A: I think it would take at least 18 or 20 hours of movie to do any one of the books. Which means, I suppose, that none of them will ever be done as movies.

Q: do you see a movie coming in the future? 
A: Not unless someone wants to make an 18 hour film. That's how long any one of these books would take, I believe.,
Q: A miniseries? 
A: and no one is doing miniseries any more.: Of course, "New Spring" has just been released but no one has come sniffing around yet. Boorman would be the guy...

Q: What is going on with the NBC Eye of the World mini-series?
A: To the best of my knowledge, nothing whatsoever. I have been told that the people who were key in making the deal in the first place have all left NBC now. So I'm afraid that nothing is going to happen there.

Q: What are your feelings about the card game and upcoming role-playing game based on WoT?
A: So far I've heard only good things. I don't know how much I'll be involved.

Q: The Wheel of Time series is very popular and I believe the PC game using the unreal engine has done very well. Has there been any plans to branch into other mediums such as film or tv?
A: Well, NBC has an option for a miniseries, but I understand the option is unlikely to be renewed. I guess you can write to the network

Q: Has there been any serious discussion about making a WoT movie?
A: Yes. Not a movie as such, but a miniseries. NBC has purchased an option to do a miniseries of "The Eye of the World." Most options are not exercised, however. If you want NBC to make the miniseries, write to them and say "make the miniseries of 'The Eye of the World.' "

Q: "Winter's Heart" (The audio version is being referred to - Raina) came out unabridged, which is the first time your books have been unabridged for the retail market. Did you have any influence in that?
A: Yes I did. I very much wanted it to come out unabridged, because I have a first cousin once removed who is dyslexic and she could not manage to read the books very well, and she wanted to. So, I agitated to get an unabridged edition done from the very beginning. And I also pressed for there to be a man to read the male point of view sections and a woman to read the female point of view sections. At first I was told it was not necessary and that it was not done. And I said, "We'd like it done." Various people finally agreed with me.
Q: You must have heard the abridged versions.
A: Please don't get me off on that.
Q: Oh, go ahead. This is my big bugaboo too.
A: I don't like abridged versions, and particularly with something as long as my own books. In the abridged versions as much as 90 percent of the book has to be cut out, so I don't like them. As a matter of fact, I made sure that no one could do an abridged version of this latest book. I still own those particular rights, specifically defined, and I do not intend to let anybody do it.
I do not believe in abridgements. I think abridgements tell people that they are getting a dumbed down version of something. What people think they're getting is an easier or faster version, but what they are actually getting is the version for dummies.
Q: Do you listen to many audiobooks?
A: Not to a great extent, sometimes in the evening. But most of the time I read the actual hardbacks. I read books before they ever hit the audio stage and I listen to music most of the time.

A question about a WoT movie: .
A: A japanese company contacted me about doing an animated movie. I told them no, because they wanted to do a movie based on two or three books, and I said 'no, I won't do that.' (Then he talked about NBC acquiring an option about doing a miniseries based on the first book and options to buy options on the other books, and that there was quite some progress made by the people involved and then "those people promptly left NBC" and NBC has let the option lapse... ) It's a chancy thing. I would not support anyone doing a feature film of, say, The Eye of the World. I do not think it could be compressed into three hours. Certainly not into two. That would make it incomprehensible. But... [end of this side of the tape]
... the screenwriter makes further changes, because, although it's a collaborative effort, if the director says I don't like this, do it some other way, do it this way, and the screenwriter does that. And if the screenwriter doesn't do that, they'll get another screenwriter. And then the actor says 'I don't believe this character would say this.' And the actress says I don't want to do that, see, I want to do it this way, so they change the dialogue, and they change the scene. And the director, again, comes up and says 'I think it should be done in this fashion' and he shapes it.
And what goes up on the screen bears, you hope, some resemblance to what was on the page.

Q: Which actors and actresses would you cast if a movie were made, and you had that power?
A: That power is never given to a writer of a book, believe me. I know that there are websites, more than one, that have sections or they have posts that this actor or that actress for this role or that role. I don't htink I've ever really thought about it. To me a movie is something that would be nice if it happened. A miniseries....
... ...if Thom should be Sean Connery or Patrick Stewart. I'm sorry, I simply have never thought about that.

Q: How closely are you involved in the role-playing game of the Wheel of Time?
A: I assume you mean the work of Wizards of the Coast, the Dungeons & Dragon type game? Q: Yeah.
Uhm, I really don't know how closely involved I am, to tell you the truth. I told them I want to be.., I want to have approval. I want to be involved from the earliest stages and beyond.
As near as I can tell, so far that's resulted in me being sent a table of contents. I haven't seen anything else. We'll see what happens, I don't know.

Q: Mister Jordan what do you think about the short movie that there going to make about Lews therin breaking the world (I read it on the dragonmount site). Do you improve that Idea?
A: I don't know anything about someone making a short movie about LTT breaking the world but if someone intends that they better talk to me first. I know lawyers who eat shotguns shells for breakfast.

If a well-known composer would like to compose a musical score for your entire books, what would your opinion about that be? Would you like it?
I’d be very interested to see what he or she would do! [smiles]

Q: Would you like to see the Wheel of Time made into a movie - or movies? If so, who would you like to see play Rand?
A: I would very much like to see the Wheel of Time made into a miniseries for television, perhaps by someone like HBO. They do very good work, and there would be no commercial interruptions. I don't think I would let one of the books be made into a movie. Such a movie would have to be at least five or six hours long, perhaps longer, just for one book, to maintain the coherence of the story, and movies of that sort aren't being made by anyone I know of. As to who should play Rand, I really don't know. How many good, young actors are there who happen to be six feet five inches tall?

Reports from signings

I did learn that in addition to the Card game and computer game and clothing line there will be a line of museum quality replica weapons. Someone asked excitedly about the SCA and RJ said that these would be real weapons since he didn't like play war [which is understandable].

He says that unabridged books-on-tape production of TEOTW and ACOS are forthcoming. When, I dunno; I got the impression it was still a rather nebulous plan, but Tor (or whoever) _has_ agreed to do them. The two mentioned above will be the first released, and the intermediary books will come out on tape in due course. The idea is to get a woman to read the parts which are in a woman's POV and a man to read the parts in a man's POV. Marina Sirtis of Star Trek fame, and Ben Kingly were mentioned as possible readers.

Also (and I'm not sure if this is new to anyone) he told me that NBC has signed an option to make 'Eye of the World' into a mini-series (4-6 hours). He doesn't know if it will definitely go ahead or not.

Oh and he said he had signed a contract with NBC (i think) for a mini-series to be made of "The Eye of the world".The guy who wrote the sreen play for merlin is writing it.

The Museum Replica weapons are good. The design work (some of it at least) was done by the same person who did the maps, for a somewhat unusual price. I don't quite recall their name, and can't decipher my handwriting now.

Apparently a Dorset House (?)  is currently planning to produce replica of jewelry (such as the Aes Sedai rings, Moiraine's forehead jewel) and articles of clothing (like the Shawls) for the market.

There was a question about the Tolkien movie and if anything similar would be done with WoT. Jordan mentioned the NBC miniseries, and the option to take options on the other parts. Also that each book deserved at least a miniseries. Perhaps New Spring could be done in a three hour feature length movie. "I'm not saying that it will be done, but it could."
He also said that his editor was telling him that perhaps it was "time to start shopping this around again. I didn't have to go to him to say 'hey you think anybody would be interested'"
Another point he mentioned was that if nothing would happen he wouldn't mind it too much, he never set out to write movies.

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