A big screen adaptation of Greg Rucka’s Queen & Country is taking one step closer to reality now that screenwriter Ryan Condal has been hired to pen the script.
Condal is apparently a hot writer in Hollywood, landing a script on The Black List last year, a list which ranks the best unproduced scripts floating around town.
This is exciting news. I’d love to see a big screen movie franchise featuring Tara Chace. She is a fascinating character and Queen & Country is one of my favorite books from the last ten years. While it is primarily a drama, one thing that struck me as I reread the story with each new Definitive Edition came out was just how action packed the story is as well. It should make for a great series of movies, so I’ve got my fingers crossed.
For more on Queen & Country don’t miss the latest episode of Booksplode!
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Your booksplode episode is making me wanting the first trade. Always been intrigued by the series but never have been more interested in reading till now.
I’m not sure a first time writing is either good or bad news. Every writer needs a start somewhere; but has this guy ever read Q&C? Will he get the characters and will understand Rucka’s motivations. Matter of fact: Will Greg Rucka be involved with this in terms of writing? If Geoff Johns can get a job doing DC films then so can Rucka with his own work.
Still pretty excited about the news though
I really hope this is good. What I have read of this series has been excellent. I’m a bit concerned about Ryan Condal, as the guy seems to have done basically nothing (no wikipedia entry and imdb has nothing but this listed for him) I have ever seen or heard of. Conor’s note about him being a hot writer is heartening, but I’m not sure if his presence bodes well for the film.
I second Conor’s suggestion of the most recent Booksplode. It is an interesting discussion of this material.
this would make a phenomenal movie, i can’t wait for it to never come out
@TheNextChampion im sure if he’s been hired to write the screenplay, he’ll read the Queen and Country series. I doesn’t really matter to me whether the dude’s read prior to being hired on to script the movie, but im sure he’ll read the source material before sitting dowm to pen the movie, it’d be foolish not to
@mikegraham: I’m sure he’ll read it. But will he get it?
That is always the problem with bad comic book films. They get the plot and characters on a surface level. But when it comes to actually making a personality for them or making a complex plot; they usually fail at it.
Great news!
@TNC I’m sure he’ll have Rucka’s e-mail address.
@ato220: Emoticons will be used I’m sure. 🙂
"Nicole Kidman at one point was attached to the project"
Holy fuckin Christ!! Who did they have in mind for Crocker? Adam Sandler?
Good news though. Q&C is the first I recommend to curious non comic-reading friends and whenever anyone mentions they like spy thrillers
Plus, I’m a Londoner so be good to see some UK action for a change 🙂
Everybody’s gotta start somewhere! Good on ya, Ryan Condal!
Here’s a question someone, perhaps, more informed than myself can answer. Why do comic books need to have screen writers? You have all the dialogue you’d ever want, and then some, and all the shot layouts are already there. So…
I think Q&C could translate well to the screen…but I’m still more excited that we’re getting another novel (!)
@zombox – Those would be very short films.
Comic book dialogue is also very different from the kind of dialogue you’d want to hear in a film. It’s also nice for any adaptation, regardless of the medium, to be a little different from the source material.
Screenplays also shouldn’t include shot layouts. That’s someone else’s territory.
@Paul I understand needing to reword the dialogue. In comics you need extra words in a lot of places to explain concepts that can’t be shown easily in a still picture. That’s fine, but do you really need a whole new writer for that? I suspect if you ‘fill in the gaps’ between frames in the way movies fill in down time, they would be of similar length all in all. Transition shots, establishing shots and scenes and what not. Not my area of schooling, but it seems like minimal work would be involved.
@zombox – "scenes and what not" need to be written. Figuring out what goes where and when and for how long actually is a lot of work. Also consider that Q&C is structured as a comic broken up into issues and arcs. You need to translate that into a filmic three act structure.
The language of comics and the language of film are really very different in many respects.
i still need to pick these up…
Kate Beckensale would make an excellent Chase. Not just saying that because she’s attached to Whiteout. Strong female personality with a genuine British accent.
Hey, I’m in love with Kate Beckinsdale too, but she doesn’t have the depth for Chace. Only the accent.
I know one member of ifanboy who will be upset that American actors are trying to act British.
The name rhymes with ‘Tonya’ 🙂
I can imagine how the studio suits might look at this…
"Can we change the title to Stars and Stripes, have it be a male American lead, and have it entirely take place out in the field with no boring office scenes?"
I always thought Katee Sackhoff would be awesome as Tara. Tara Chace. Kara Thrace. Coincidence? I think not. 😉
Not sure how good her British accent would be, though.
I think Keeley Hawes would make a good Tara
Is Queen & Country any good?
@ChrisNeseman – Only if you like comic books and/or the St. Louis Cardinals.