In my previous blog I Kida promised a little present for the Abu Dhabi Media Network and I tend to be a person of my word. It started on Monday, I was thinking back to the movie of Little Lord Fauntleroy, based on a book by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I remember the 1980 version with Ricky Schroder and Sir Alec Guinness. Young Cedrics father was disowned because he married out of the aristocracy, the father had died years ago, but due to death in the family, his two older brothers mainly, Cedric is now the only heir to the title Earl of Dorincourt and he is sought out by Mr. Havisham, Dorincourt’s solicitor and a new life awaits him. But not to get to deep into the story. The setting could be converted to an islamic setting to some extent. If a person is not fully family, but in case of an accident the setting might change. I reckon that a ‘feel good’ movie of that kind might be welcome to the Islamic audience. As I am still a fan of Scott Ridley, I was thinking that the ‘new’ role replacing Sir Alec Guinness should be played by the Syrian actor Ghassan Massoud who made an excellent Saladin. Alexander Siddig (who played Imad) might make an excellent solicitor to Ghassan Massoud (basically he would become the new Mr. Havisham) Some adjustments might be made, because too much alike and it becomes plagiarism. The family might have fallen victim to an American (or Israeli) bombing (and with the current settings in Iran, such an accident might come across as very convincing. I reckon that the Abu Dhabi Media Network will have their own version of Cedric. I reckon that if the UAE is increasing its stamp on the western world a collection of feel good movies might have a much larger appeal than just Bangladesh, Pakistan and Indonesia. And to focus on the setting of an average person to be thrust into the world of palaces, sheikhs and wealth might turn a few heads too.
Little Lord Fauntleroy was also done in 1921 and 1936, but I never saw those. I initially saw the movie in the cinema and whilst that movie has the big setting in the Christmas dinner, this version might be around Eid al-Fitr or Eid al-Adha, which one I leave to the scriptwriters in Abu Dhabi. You can’t expect me to do it all and also, I am not Muslim, so I might get a few things wrong. But the setting of expansion for the Abu Dhabi Media Network is to go through the old masterworks and which works could be redone with Islamic paints and brushes. I am decently certain that Rudyard Kiplings Jungle book is out of the question, mostly because Rudyard based Mowgli on Arvind Krishna who is now working for IBM (small giggle from my side). I also reckon that Peter Pan is a miss for obvious reasons. But the idea to give Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes a rewrite is not out of the question. So consider that we are considering:
“the adventures of a man who, driven mad by reading too many American comic books and watching TV, as such he becomes a Djinn slayer and travel the cities as a aspiring demon slayer with help from a friend who is bound to keep him out of trouble. He calls himself Sbiristun the Djinn slayer and keeps on meeting a woman who he wants to impress, but she is an actual Djinn and sees Sbiristun as a fun escape from her immortality. So whilst she sends him on tours involving capers on reality and illusion interacting with madness and sanity and his friend does not see what see what he sees and this is where the madness starts.”
Well, that is all I have for now, perhaps the Abu Dhabi Media Network sees options in both settings. If they do, they are welcome to it. As such another blow to the mundane life by creativity, have a great day everyone. I see that Vancouver is still on yesterday and it is not even breakfast time there yet.
Lawrence van Rijn - Law Lord to be 