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Neil Gaiman has become a novelist with an enormous following, and it would seem to be fairly natural that a company like HBO would tackle one of his books. And so it was with American Gods, but the project ultimately folded with nary a frame shot. And it turns out, there was good reason.
No, it wasn’t Gaiman being a prima donna. Instead, HBO’s president of programming admitted to Vulture that he dropped it because nobody could write a script worth shooting.
I think we’re all huge fans of the book, and I think the script just didn’t — we couldn’t craft the script as good as we needed it to be. We tried three different writers, we put a lot of effort into it. We have to trust at the end of the day, if you don’t have a star with a great script, you’re just not going to go through with it.
We have to admit, that took a while to wrap our heads around. So, HBO couldn’t find a good script for the show… they invested all this money in it… and they ate that money rather than make a subpar product? Wow, it’s almost like they actually care about what they put on the air!
American Gods is still in the works, at least as of February, but it’s nice to know that HBO would rather let a book go than put out one season of a crappy series. Maybe other networks should take note, instead of assuming it’s the boobs that sell Game of Thrones?
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Damn HBO has some gumption. Hats off to ya, HBO. On the other hand, I still want some episodic American Gods, so please keep working on it. John Hurt as Mr. Wednesday! Bruce Willis with a toupee as Shadow (maybe? I don’t know…I suppose if he had the right director)! And I can’t remember anybody else. Keith David as Mr. Nancy! Wayne Knight as the god of the Internet!
/collapses
Honestly, I’ve always thought Dwayne Johnson would be a great Shadow. Maybe that’s just me.
You get that Shadow’s black, right?
Jeff Bridges as Wednesday or GTFO.
@Uncle Phil
I agree with that.
@Shadowtag…actually, I sorta remember him being mixed…a complexion not unlike a Dwayne The Rock Johnson, as others have pointed out. I DID forget all about that though, he always had Bruce Willis’s’s face to me for some reason. He was PAINED. Bruce Willis does pained really well.
I desperately want someone to make an American Gods series, but if HBO can’t do it right, then who can?
At least BBC is supposedly doing Anansi Boys. I love that book just as much, and it should be easier to manage.
Anansi Boys was weak. At least, I remember not liking it.
I loved the lighter tone of Anansi Boys. It usually gets a re-read every couple of years.
I named my cat after Fat Charlie Nancy. I’m a fan.
If your cat sings and wears a fedora I’m inviting you to Raleigh.
I need to try it again maybe.
!!!!!!!!!! I just finished Anansi. I am ready for this.
Just read American Gods for the first time, and I’m glad they ditched it rather than make something they had no faith in. It’s a damn good read in my opinion, and seems like it would be hard to translate to a screen.
IDK I am not sure about all the love for ‘American Gods’. It was okay you could see the twists a mile away. A show of Shadow being led from place to place by Wednesday interacting with the older gods would be more interesting than the show building up to the books climax.
I liked the imagery of the gods and everything else, but I will agree some of the twists weren’t so… er, twisty.
I think that’s a pretty common criticism. Awesome world building and characters, okay plot. And as much as I love the novel, I get it. Some of the most interesting parts are the interludes to random gods and other supernatural beings.
That said, there are lots of opportunities to tell good stories in that universe, which is why it’s so disappointing that HBO couldn’t make it work.
I always kind of saw the series paying more attention to those other gods’ interludes, which would have made it perfect for television. I mean there’s a very simple primary plot arc, but the other gods would have made it perfect for episodic television, with just occasional call backs to the primary story.
Really, you don’t read Gaiman’s stuff for the plot. It’s all the same plot; the protagonist stumbles across a portal to a magical world, has an adventure there, and comes out more mature/stronger/smarter, etc.
@Patty Boots Yes I agree the world building was amazing and interesting, but so brief. I felt as if I was reading a very long synopsis to a great book. Like “wow this character is very interesting I would like to get to know… and he is gone”. or “This woman is very interesting I am not sure why this was thrown in here but maybe they will revi… and shes gone”
@GirlWithABoysName I agree it should be a show set in that world but loosely follow the book. Shadow is their as a guide for the viewer through all the different people/gods/supernatural worlds etc. There is a good show in that book it is just not by following the source material. I’d say more but I didn’t want to get into spoilers.
It’s a shame that HBO isn’t doing this, because GoT does such a great job of emphasizing the good parts of the source material. I mean, look at the increased screen time of characters like Tywin and Lady Olenna.
GoT isn’t perfect in what it adds or leaves out, but it’s a good model.
@Patty Boots Not perfect but a more intriguing over all plot. It has been a while since I read the book, I do remember telling friends that it is wonderfully written. Hell you could have made the whole book about the time he spent in Lakeside and I would have said it was one of my favorite books.
Love the book. Was hoping it’d happen, but I respect HBO a lot to not want to put out a subpar product just because they’ve put money into it.
On the other hand, something like Scalped is BEGGING for the HBO treatment. I think WGN is adapting it now? But fuck. Come on HBO. It’s the crime epic you’ve been waiting for since The Sopranos.
WGN is indeed adapting “Scalped”, and considering how completely insane “Salem” is that actually gives me a lot of hope.
I’ve actually not seen any of Salem, so I guess that is reassuring. But that’s still a property that needs to be on HBO. But if WGN can at least give it an FX/AMC-style treatment, it could still be great.
Salem is pretty good but I honestly think Scalped could be the next Breaking Bad if AMC got a hold of it.
Well then, perhaps HBO could also look to start working with his writing partner on Good Omens, Terry Pratchett. There’s a slew of Discworld stories to choose from. If Game of Thrones can be a hit, then there’s room on their schedule for Granny Weatherwax and Samuel Vimes to succeed.
Short answer, Pratchett won’t license it to Hollywood. He’s not averse to adaptations, obviously, but he’s turned down offers because basically every pitch has been terrible.
Very cool idea. Bad story. I don’t recommend this novel. If they were to make a series out of this, I would hope they rewrite/add-inn a better story. It was a long time ago when I read this, but I remember many of my reactions while reading being in the vane of, ‘Uuugghghhh… Really?’
You hear such great things about Neil Gaiman, and this is the first and only novel I read of his. Completely turned me off his hype.
There had to be one of you.
I love Sandman and I thought American Gods was dooooooodooo.
I definitely don’t see the similarities.
@Baltimore Dan Make that two, actually. Not that I don’t enjoy Sandman, and Morrison’s output can vary in quality, but when push comes to shove, I think Morrison’s the more creative writer.