Netflix buys rights to Roald Dahl books

[Norphy]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-58648566

 

I mean, wow. That's huge. I don't know if it's a good thing, but it could be considering the quality of a lot of Netflix's other adaptations. Time will tell I guess.

[slugshead]

With budget Netflix has to throw at each Netflix Original, I'm quite excited to see what happens next!

[jthompson]

The cynic in me immediatly thinks we'll now get to see things like:

• what Willy Wonka was like in school.
  
• a long-form, sympathetic exploration of the early years of aunts Spiker and Sponge.
  
• a post-MeToo reevaluation of the complex power dynamic between Mr and Mrs Twit #gaslightingisntfunnykids
  

 

The Dahl-reading child in me thinks:

• Great Glass Elevator yes please!!!
  

[elsiegee40]

The cynic in me immediatly thinks we'll now get to see things like:

• what Willy Wonka was like in school.
  
• a long-form, sympathetic exploration of the early years of aunts Spiker and Sponge.
  
• a post-MeToo reevaluation of the complex power dynamic between Mr and Mrs Twit #gaslightingisntfunnykids
  

 

The Dahl-reading child in me thinks:

• Great Glass Elevator yes please!!!
  

 

Apparently there’s already an oompa loompa spinoff on the cards

[ICTDirect_Dave]

The Dahl-reading child in me thinks:

• Great Glass Elevator yes please!!!
  

They'd need to re-write significant chunks of it. Reading it with my son a few months back and large parts of it, mainly those with the president, were downright uncomfortable to read!

The parts about Chinese people, for instance, should never have been acceptable. I had to do a lot of editing on the fly!

 

There's huge potential for his books as a whole, though. Can't imagine they'll muck it up.

[jthompson]

They'd need to re-write significant chunks of it. Reading it with my son a few months back and large parts of it, mainly those with the president, were downright uncomfortable to read!

The parts about Chinese people, for instance, should never have been acceptable. I had to do a lot of editing on the fly!

 

There's huge potential for his books as a whole, though. Can't imagine they'll muck it up.

 

Oh wow, I really have only remembered a few bits of that book, then!

[paulkerton]

Not the same author obviously, but I'm listening to the audio book of Lord of the Rings at the moment and the use of the word "queer" constantly has come as a real surprise. I know the context of use has changed, but it certainly was used as a perjorative when it was being written... It's persistent and constant through the first six chapters. That a lot of Dahl's work might need fixing isn't a shock.

 

And anyway, with the Dahl deal if Netflix have their wits about them, surely Tales of the Unexpected is inevitable?!

 

Oh and Young Wonka is already being made, just not by Netflix but by Warner Bros and the Paddington team.

[Norphy]

From what the BBC article says, it's just the children's books that Netflix have got the rights to. Which means we're not going to see adaptations of anything from Switch Bitch any time soon

[paulkerton]

From what the BBC article says, it's just the children's books that Netflix have got the rights to. Which means we're not going to see adaptations of anything from Switch Bitch any time soon

 

Yes, I saw that too but they've purchased the Roald Dahl Story Company rather than just get the rights and they were negotiating with The Ink Factory (John le Carre's kids production company that made The Night Manager & The Little Drummer Girl) for the rights to Tales of the Unexpected about three years ago - nothing has happened with them since so you assume that they have the rights anything RDSC holds, which must includes the content for adults.

 

They'll make more buck on the kids content, but who doesn't want to see My Uncle Oswald turned into a TV show? Artifical insemination Bill and Ted?! Why not?!

 

The Dahl-reading child in me thinks:

• Great Glass Elevator yes please!!!
  

 

Already being worked on by Taika Waititi

 

https://www.cnet.com/news/taika-waititi-to-direct-two-netflix-charlie-and-the-chocolate-factory-shows/

Edited September 23, 2021 by paulkerton

[Zoom7000]

They'd need to re-write significant chunks of it. Reading it with my son a few months back and large parts of it, mainly those with the president, were downright uncomfortable to read!

The parts about Chinese people, for instance, should never have been acceptable. I had to do a lot of editing on the fly!

 

There's huge potential for his books as a whole, though. Can't imagine they'll muck it up.

 

They might also choose to go down the route that Disney took with episodes of "The Muppet Show" on Disney+

 

“This program includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures. These stereotypes were wrong then and are wrong now,” the disclaimer reads. “Rather than remove this content, we want to acknowledge its harmful impact, learn from it and spark conversation to create a more inclusive future together.”

https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/disney-plus-the-muppet-show-content-disclaimer-1234911964/

Though, I suspect, given as the content will be new, they may choose to re-write or edit the parts.

 

Also, given the discussion in this thread, how long before we run into the teachers wanting to use Netflix in school because of this new offering! It never goes down well when we say no, resulting us in being public enemy number 1!