Tag: Hulu

Book to series adaptation: ‘Shōgun’ by James Clavell

‘Shōgun’ by James Clavell has been adapted into a 10 episode series for FX. Photo: Amazon

If you are a fan of historical drama, this new series is worth checking out. Shōgun is airing on FX and streaming on Hulu and is based on the novel of the same name by James Clavell.

James Clavell was a bestselling author and unparalleled master of historical fiction best known for this epic Asian Saga novels. The son of a Royal Navy family, he was educated in Portsmouth. The Japanese captured him at the Fall of Singapore when he was a young artillery officer. It was on this experience that his bestselling novel “King Rat” was based. He maintained this oriental interest in his other great works: “Tai-Pan,” “Shōgun ,” “Noble House,” and “Gai Jin.” “Shōgun ” is the best selling classic epic novel of feudal Japan that captured the heart of a culture and the imagination of the world. It was previously adapted into a 1980 limited series and has now been adapted to television. The series premiered with the first two episodes on February 27 on Hulu and FX with new episodes of the 10-episode series then releasing weekly. (Amazon, 2024)

“Shōgun ” – After Englishman John Blackthorne is lost at sea, he awakens in a place few Europeans know of and even fewer have seen–Nippon. Thrust into the closed society that is seventeenth-century Japan, a land where the line between life and death is razor-thin, Blackthorne must negotiate not only a foreign people, with unknown customs and language, but also his own definitions of morality, truth, and freedom. As internal political strife and a clash of cultures lead to seemingly inevitable conflict, Blackthorne’s loyalty and strength of character are tested by both passion and loss, and he is torn between two worlds that will each be forever changed.

Powerful and engrossing, capturing both the rich pageantry and stark realities of life in feudal Japan, “Shōgun” is a critically acclaimed powerhouse. The heart-stopping, edge-of-your-seat action combines seamlessly with intricate historical detail and raw human emotion. Endlessly compelling, this sweeping saga captivated the world to become not only one of the best-selling novels of all time but also one of the highest-rated television miniseries, as well as inspiring a nationwide surge of interest in the culture of Japan. Shakespearean in both scope and depth, “Shōgun” provocative, absorbing, and endlessly fascinating, there is only one: Shōgun.

20th Digital Studio’s Bite Size Halloween on Hulu

20th Digital Studio’s Bite Size Halloween on Hulu brings 20 spooky shorts from diverse and emerging filmmakers. Photo: 20th Digital Studio, used with permission.

In celebration of Huluween, 20th Digital Studio’s Bite Size Halloween series of spooky shorts is back for a third season. Twenty new shorts from exciting emerging filmmakers premiere October 1 on Hulu, blending genres like horror, comedy, sci-fi, thriller, and more. (20th Digital Studio, 2022)

Shot in seven different countries, this season takes on topical issues such as racism, gender, parenthood, sexuality, and identity. Snatched features Tatiana Maslany (“She-Hulk: Attorney-at-Law”) in her first on-screen role with husband Brendan Hines (“Locke & Key”). Misha Osherovich (“Freaky”) stars as their son.
Other shorts feature familiar faces like Brigette Lundy-Paine (“Atypical”), Lin Shaye (“Insidious”), David Costabile (“Breaking Bad”), and former “Glow” co-stars Rebekka Johnson and singer-songwriter Kate Nash who co-wrote/directed/star in a short featuring Nash’s original music.

“As we launch the first feature films developed with our incredibly talented Bite Size Halloween filmmaker alums, we are thrilled to introduce the next wave of dynamic filmmaking talent and their ingenious short films. We take great pride in showcasing these vital, diverse voices and their very personal twists on horror, thriller and sci-fi.” – David Worthen Brooks, SVP – 20th Digital Studio

The goal of 20th Digital Studio’s short film programs is to continue to guide and finance the growth of these artists’ careers and to transition some of the shorts into longer features. The first two films developed in this way will premiere this month on Hulu: “Grimcutty” from John William Ross on October 10 and “Matriarch” from Ben Steiner on October 21. Shorts from past seasons have played at festivals such as SXSW, Sundance, Tribeca, Fantasia, and more.

20th Digital Studio’s focus on diversity and inclusion continues as prestigious filmmakers from the festival world are featured, including Nuhash Humayun (“Moshari,” SXSW Grand Jury Prize), Sam Max (“Chaperone,” Sundance), Michelle Krusiec (“Bite,” AFI DWW), Zoey Martinson (“Cupids,” Tribeca), and many more.

20th Digital Studio focuses on funding and producing award-winning short-form genre content together with up-and-coming filmmakers from the digital and film festival worlds. 20th Digital develops select shorts into longer form content, packaging new voices with established producers and offering opportunities for growth and representation; always with a goal to create innovative character narrative, voice-driven filmmaking with a social message, cultural impact and box-office or streaming success. Set up in 2008 as a nimble entrepreneurial group within Fox Filmed Entertainment, 20th Digital is now a part of Disney General Entertainment Content.

1664640990

  days

  hours  minutes  seconds

until

Bite Size Halloween premiere

Television adaptation: ‘The Old Man’ by Thomas Perry

The television adaptation of Thomas Perry’s ‘The Old Man’ is on FX and streaming on Hulu. Photo: amazon

Thomas Perry is the author of 23 novels including the Jane Whitefield series, “Death Benefits,” and “Pursuit,” the first recipient of the Gumshoe Award for best novel. He won the Edgar for “The Butcher’s Boy” and “Metzger’s Dog” was a New York Times Notable Book. The Independent Mystery Bookseller’s Association included “Vanishing Act” in its “100 Favorite Mysteries of the 20th Century” and “Nightlife” was a New York Times bestseller. “Metzger’s Dog” was voted one of NPR’s 100 Killer Thrillers–Best Thrillers Ever. His novel “The Old Man” is now an original series from FX starring Jeff Bridges, John Lithgow, and Amy Brenneman and revolves around a retired intelligence officer living off the grid who gets caught in “[a] harrowing hunt-and-hide adventure” (The New York Times). It consists of seven episodes and is available for streaming on Hulu. (amazon, 2022)

“The Old Man” – To all appearances, Dan Chase is a harmless retiree in Vermont with two big mutts and a grown daughter he keeps in touch with by phone. But most sixty-year-old widowers don’t have multiple driver’s licenses, savings stockpiled in banks across the country, or two Beretta Nanos stashed in the spare bedroom closet. Most have not spent decades on the run. Thirty-five years ago, as a young army intelligence hotshot, Chase was sent to Libya to covertly assist a rebel army. When the plan turned sour, Chase acted according to his conscience—and triggered consequences he never could have anticipated. To this day, someone still wants him dead. And just when he thought he was finally safe, Chase is confronted with the history he spent much of his life trying to escape.

I have not read the book so I cannot compare the book to the series, but after watching the first four episodes on Hulu, I want to see where it leads. I am not a big fan of serials because it just seems like a really long movie that takes forever to resolve and halfway through I tend to lose interest. In this case, the story of a retired intelligence officer drew me in. Admittedly, the pacing can be slow and the constant flashbacks can be tiring, but it does have its plot twists to keep it interesting. Will Harper eventually catch up to Chase? How many people will Chase have to kill to evade one contract killer after another? Good question, I guess I will have to watch the rest of the episodes to find out. All I know is that if anything happens to those dogs, I am definitely out. 

https://youtu.be/LL2lhM_kDPM

Television adaptation: ‘Nine Perfect Strangers’ by Liane Moriarty

The television adaptation of ‘Nine Perfect Strangers’ is available now on Hulu. Photo: google

Liane Moriarty is the Australian author of eight internationally best-selling novels: “Three Wishes,” “The Last Anniversary,” “What Alice Forgot,” “The Hypnotist’s Love Story,” “Nine Perfect Strangers,” and the number one The New York Times bestsellers: “The Husband’s Secret,” “Big Little Lies,” and “Truly Madly Guilty.” Her books have been translated into over forty languages and sold more than twenty million copies. “Big Little Lies” and “Truly Madly Guilty” both debuted at number one on The New York Times bestseller list – the first time ever by an Australian author. “Big Little Lies” was adapted into a multiple award-winning HBO series with a star-studded cast including Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon. Hulu adapted “Nine Perfect Strangers” into a limited series starring Nicole Kidman and Melissa McCarthy and is available as of August 18, 2021. (amazon, 2021)

“Nine Perfect Strangers” – Nine people gather at a remote health resort. Some are here to lose weight, some are here to get a reboot on life, some are here for reasons they cannot even admit to themselves. Amidst all the luxury and pampering, the mindfulness and meditation, they know these ten days might involve some real work. But none of them could imagine just how challenging the next ten days are going to be. Frances Welty, the formerly best-selling romantic novelist, arrives at Tranquillum House nursing a bad back, a broken heart, and an exquisitely painful paper cut. She is immediately intrigued by her fellow guests. Most of them do not look like they need a health resort at all. But the person that intrigues her most is the strange and charismatic owner/director of Tranquillum House. Could this person really have the answers Frances did not even know she was seeking? Should Frances put aside her doubts and immerse herself in everything Tranquillum House has to offer – or should she run while she still can? It is not long before every guest at Tranquillum House is asking the same question.

Television adaptation: ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ by Margaret Atwood

handmaidstale

Margaret Atwood is a Canadian poet, novelist, literary critic, essayist and environmental activist. Even though she has published several poetry books she is best known for her 1985 novel “The Handmaid’s Tale.” It is a dystopian novel set in a near-future New England in a totalitarian theocracy which has overthrown the United States government. Winner of the 1985 Governor General’s Award, it was also nominated for the Nebula Award, the Booker Prize and the Prometheus Award. Previous adaptations include the cinema, television, radio, opera and stage. Now it has been adapted into a television series on Hulu and will premiere on Wednesday April 29, 2017. It stars Elizabeth Moss as Offred the Handmaid and Samira Wiley as Moira, Offred’s college friend.

According to Amazon, “The Handmaid’s Tale” is set in the near future and describes life in what was once the United States and is now called the Republic of Gilead. The government is now a monotheocracy that has reacted to social unrest and a sharply declining birthrate by going back to the repressive intolerance of the original Puritans. Those in charge now make the rules according to the book of Genesis with bizarre consequences for its citizens. Environmental contamination had led to infertility so now young fertile women are assigned to the homes of the rich where they are supposed to have children for those men and their wives. It is told through the eyes of Offred, one of the unfortunate Handmaids, who remembers happier times when she was married with a daughter and her own name. Considered a satire, it can also be viewed as a dire warning.