Came across this while perusing the ‘net this afternoon and can only say that I hope they do it better justice than they did the woefully mischaracterized cinematic abortion that was Starship Troopers.

Bryan Singer to direct adaptation of Heinlein’s The Moon is a Harsh Mistress

I’ll admit to mixed feelings over this one. Heinlein’s works have simply not been well or fairly represented on screen to date and I’d hate to see yet another movie purporting to be an adaptation of one of his works that instead tears apart the very ideals he espoused. Singer has handled the X-Men flicks stylishly, and they do bring up larger questions about the dignity of the individual and the dangers of a government determined to protect the people from themselves. At the same time, they have a strong tendency to let the action and special effects take over, leaving little room for true exploration of said themes. It remains to be seen whether he’s the right person for this project. The fact that they are changing the name to Uprising for the film adaptation makes me fearful that they already intend to distance themselves from the themes explored in the original novel.

Heinlein was a major influence in the development of my own political philosophies, so I’d be thrilled to see his “Rational Anarchist” actually get his due.  But I suspect that, at best, we’ll get a visually appealing, sci-fi action movie about a civil war on the moon, with little thought given to the deeper ideas behind the story.  And that’s a shame, because, at his best, Heinlein is a writer who is as much about exploring ideas about political structures and society as he is about interplanetary adventure and The Moon is a Harsh Mistress may be his most successful attempt to balance the two.

Ah well, TANSTAAFL!

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