Scotsman.com: Outlander is Scotland's Game of Thrones

Check out this awesome article from Scotsman.com about Outlander on Starz next year.  They're calling it "Scotland's 'Game of Thrones'."  And they seem to be as stoked as we are that it's filming in Scotland.

Dang.  I'm thinking "Road Trip".  (With a little air travel mixed in.)  ;) 

Outlander Starz Series Update from Diana Gabaldon

This was posted on Diana's Facebook page in the wee hours of the AM.  It answers a ton of questions we discussed at MOP Chat last night.  She has nothing to do with the casting or writing of the Outlander series on Starz:

"OK, a slight correction: the production people tell me that the sixteen episodes are all for the _first_ season. (And if all goes well with that...they then might get a second season. This is kind of how television works, you know?)

Many thanks for your delight and enthusiasm! I'm sure with support from you, the show will do just fine.

As for the "oh, they'll RUIN it/oh,I can't stand to watch/oh, it'll be cheap and cheesy/oh, they're sure to mess up the characters/destroy the storyline, etc., etc., etc."...comments, you guys are of course welcome to your opinions, too--but feel free to curb your enthusiasm at any time.

I am NOT writing this show. I am not CASTING this show. I do not have CONTROL over this show. (I do have input, and the production people are very kind about asking my opinion on things. This does not mean they have a legal obligation to take it. )

You know why not? Because I don't want to. I'm a novelist, not a screen-writer. I'm a naturally solitary writer--I don't even have research assistants; my books are mine alone. Screen-writing, by contrast, is an intensely collaborative business.

Scripts go through dozens (literally) of iterations, being worked on by any number of people--then reworked by other people, over and over. A new director (for a show or an episode) can insist on a new direction or changes; an influential actor can ask for changes. Multiple writers means constant--and I do mean constant--collaboration.

I'm not a team player. (Ask anybody. ) AND I have books to write. Were I to be involved in a TV series beyond simple consulting, it would suck my soul, waste my life, prevent me ever writing another book, and be generally a Bad Idea. I'm not doing it.

I would also probably not be good at it, whereas I have a good deal of faith in the very experienced and talented people who _are_ doing it. I saw the pilot script and thought it was an amazingly good adaptation (by marked contrast to various film scripts I've seen over the years ).


So, you know....chill. Cross your fingers, hope for the best, and if you can't stand to watch, wait and read the reviews, and if it looks OK, you can get the DVD. "

I work with a film production company.  And as someone who has collaborated on script revisions, I can tell you that Diana is one thousand percent correct about what screenwriters do.  It's a never-ending process.  I helped my partner revise a script two years ago.  We went start to finish - word for painstaking word - multiple times...then went back over many scenes a zillion times.  And this was all before pre-production.  The script was then changed by producers during production.  Things were tweaked on set.  Now - long after we went into post-production - we are STILL changing scenes...deleting scenes...moving scenes around...adding scenes that had been cut.  Even changing music.  The film is "finished" (it's never really finished)...yet cutting just one word from one sentence can have a massive impact on the feel of a scene.

So basically...as I said last night...we all want to prepare ourselves for the fact that things are NOT going to be exactly as we read them.  

If you are happy this series is being adapted for TV...then sit back, strap in, hold on, and wait for the outcome.  If your expectations aren't unreachable, you might just be pleased.  

If you are NOT happy this series is being adapted for TV; don't watch.  It's that simple. 

But for the love of ALL that's holy in this world, let's not BITCH about it for the next year...and let's definitely not be rude/snotty/snarky to - or about - each other about it.  It is SO NOT WORTH IT.  The series is NOT going to be exactly like the book.  Hopefully close, as Diana said...but not exact. 

Outlander on Starz: The Ron Moore Writer's Room...Explained

What I'm finding interesting about this article is the mention of the Writers's Room and what these people have worked on in the past.  Take a look!

Diana Gabaldon: Author Breakfast Interview at BookExpo America

Neat interview with Diana Gabaldon at BookExpo America.  She talks about what writers have inspired her...and in what way.  That, alone, makes me giddy with glee.  I am always on the edge of my seat when she talks about writing.  What I wouldn't do to be able to take a class with DG as my instructor!

Diana Gabaldon Announces Starz Series at BookExpo America

Just in case you didn't get to see Diana make the announcement, here it is, in all its glory.

Scroll to 51:23 to see her speak (and try to find your happy place while Chris Matthews is trying to pronounce her name.)

LOL  It wasn't even that bad...but we're so protective as fans, aren't we?

Deadline Article about OUTLANDER on STARZ

Check out THIS very cool article about the upcoming Outlander series on Starz.

It's HAPPENING, Y'ALL.

Outlander on Starz in Spring 2014?!

From Nicole over at the Compuserve Books and Writers Community:

"Dear All, 

I just watched the live stream of BEA and Diana had some exicitn gnews to share: 

She said she has signed the contract to the TV series last night, they'll probably start filming in September this year (no, she hasn't any idea who will be cast) and the pilot will probably air in spring 2014." 

Um...wow.

Happy Memorial Day

Dear Claire, SHUT IT! Love, Tom

Just a man...and his Kindle (and his
Dairy Queen) on a Sunday afternoon.

OK so my hubster, Tom is halfway through Voyager...and just found out about Jamie marrying Leghair.  Claire left and is on the horse after their huge fight that Jenny put a stop to.

Although he's enjoying the book BIG time, this little situation (snicker) has done nothing to soften Tom's feelings about Claire!  Listen to what he said:

"Claire has the inability to see anybody else's opinion or understand their side of the argument because she knows, in her head, and in her heart, that she's right about everything.  She's so self-centered and arrogant.  She just can't imagine her being wrong.  She just can't imagine somebody else having an opinion that would explain the situation, because in her head, she's right...all the time.  Claire is never at fault.  She has started problems...she's gotten men killed...she got that ship burned down...and never, ever once did she ever sit down and assess blame to herself.  It's always someone else's fault."

YOWSA!

It's just so awesome to discuss different aspects of the series with new readers.  I fear Tom may never soften toward Claire...but there will be plenty of entertaining discussion along the way!

Outlander Chat Tonight

Outlander Chat, yo.  9PM Eastern.  BE THERE.  (please)  :)