Hello there,

I just recently stumbled across your website and writing when I felt a sudden interest to re-read the Dragonriders of Pern series. It had been an old favorite of mine and I believe today’s entertainment industry, with Lord of the Rings and such, has brought back a lot of the love of pern back to the surface. I look forward to reading your collaboration with your mother Dragon’s Kin although I haven’t quite gotten to it yet due to my re-reading all the awesomely written pern books of your mothers.

I must say that I like the idea of taking Pern to a younger audience with the young adult writing of Dragon’s Kin. I really look forward to it, especially since I have recently become a faithful reader of your website. I look forward to both Dragon’s Kin and Dragonsblood. I have to ask this question though, I got to thinking that the media is ripe for a adaptation of the Pern to film or TV. After thinking more in depth, I realized that Pern was just too epic and in depth to make into a movie, and it’d have to be a series. I’d personally like to see it an animated series.

Anyway, I found out that your mother is currently in the process of making that happen, after a few failed attempts how does she fair? Good I hope. Optimistically I’d offer my input and help in the matter by suggesting that an animated series would be the most likely to suceed in my opinion and with your Young Adult approach to Dragon’s Kin I think you understand how much a younger audience is just ripe for this series.

I’d even had aspirations of converting the first few chapters of Dragonflight into the first few episodes and propose them to your mother. I’ve been told that it would be a bad idea and that it is very unlikely to happen, and I knew that from the start when it popped in my head. Although a theme song popped in my head that same night and I couldn’t help myself. I believe America’s Cartoon Network would specifically be interested in such a project. Also with Disney firing many of it’s animators maybe you could pick up a few of them for the project.

Overall, I was wondering if I was wasting my time in entertaining such wild dreams? If I am I will attempt to move on to my other writing projects and pray for your mother’s success. I apologize for the length of this letter but this idea has recently grown very dear to my heart and I had to let it all out or none of it. I thank you for your time and your writing. Keep it up, I anticipate every word you write.

Jerry

P.S. I plan to review Dragon’s Kin as soon as I can and put it up in my book review section on my website, I’ll let ya know when I’m finished.

Hi Jerry!

I’d have to say, speaking personally, that I’d think that a live action feature-length CGI trilogy starting with Dragonflight would have a better chance of bringing Pern to life than an animated series.

The very first option on Dragonflight was for an animated feature (back in 1984, if memory serves aright). Since then there was an option for an animated series (they were going to have an evil magician on the Red Star tossing down Threads), and several options for live action, both feature-length and TV series.

The drawback to animation, particularly cartoons, is that the media is just plain not capable of supporting the expression of truly intense emotions. I know, I actually have an animated screenplay to my credit and once saw part of it and what struck me most was how the deep and stirring lines I’d tried to give the characters just wouldn’t play in the media (the lines were something in the realm of an gruff military-type guy showing how much he cared for one of his proteges by saying, “Just make sure you come back.” and protege saying something equally gruff but emotive in response).

As I recall, at one point, none other than Anne McCaffrey and Diane Duane collaborated on one verison of a feature-length animated screenplay and even it didn’t work — because the media just won’t support the story. It’s too much like trying to explain the color of the rainbow to a blind man with a black-and-white photo.

Me, I’m thinking live action, feature-length epic film series, starting with Dragonflight, done with such the panache and pride that LOTR will fade into oblivion by comparison.

I sometimes go to movie theaters when the screens are still dark and imagine what it would look like — and, as far as my imagination is concerned, the first appearance of a Star Destroyer in the first Star Wars is nothing compared to the first time a dragon (Mnementh) pops into existence on the screen from between — followed in rapid succession by the rest of his wing. And when all the dragons arrive to fight Threads at the end of dragonflight — wow!

But making a film requires the dedicated efforts of hundreds of people and the dedication of tens of millions of dollars (a decent Dragonflight would cost around $90 million — which is a three-studio deal in today’s world) — and someone at the helm (producer) who has the same fervor as Peter Jackson brought to “The Lord of the Rings.”

Still, it can all start with a brilliant screenplay.

Anyway, that’s my opinion. And as I always say, “Opinions are like elbows — most people have at least two.”

I do hope you enjoy your re-read of all the Pern books.

Cheers,
Todd