“The Movie in Audio project is, simply put, to take the first trilogy of C.J. Cherryh‘s “Foreigner Universe” and turn it into three 6+ hour audio dramas, each complete with a full cast, total soundscape and original score.”
A great sci-fi book by Moby’s favorite author is getting the ‘Movie-in-Audio’ treatment! A novel of first contact, this one contains all the things CJ Cherryh is known for. Her ability to make Humans the aliens in a detailed world have won her many awards, including two Hugo Award wins.
This is great news for fans of Ms. Cherryh‘s work! It is always hard to imagine how some of her books would be filmed or such as she usually writes from the perspective of the aliens in her books and most people would not like 90% of a film having subtitles. No word yet if the Chanur Saga might be next, but one can hope! Most of the major casting is done, with C.J.’s approval of course, and the project really seems to be picking up steam. Also note that the adaptation rights appear to be for the first trilogy in the series, so if this one takes off we can hope for more of the series.
All of this is done through a contract with CJ Cherryh. She has final approval of the script, the actors in the major roles and several other aspects of the production. So you can be sure, whatever you’re listening to will be done with CJ’s blessings.”
Ms. Cherryh is a successful author of more than 60 books including two Hugo Award winners [Downbelow Station (1981) and Cyteen (1988)], and even has an asteroid named after her. Moby is a longtime fan of her work and news of this project really made my day to say the least. Audible has produced and released several books by C.J. in the last year (in regular audiobook format) including the Foreigner and Chanur series, and several others. Moby’s favorite of those now available on Audible is possibly the novel Cuckoo’s Egg, but it is hard to write about it without giving away spoilers. Anyways, for more information on the Movie in Audio project, try the links below.
You can visit the Movie in Audio Facebook page or the Tumblr page to get daily info and such. And Moby also found some great stuff at this fan site. It has a good primer on the series and explains the setting for the story pretty well, in case you are not familiar with the Foreigner Universe.
For an interview with C.J. about this project and how it got started, visit SFSignal or try C.J. Cherryh’s blog, Wave Without a Shore. And Moby recommends you head over to Sable Jak‘s site for much, much more info on the project. A huge thanks to Sable for making this all possible.
The project will be funded through a Kickstarter campaign once production nears.
Below is the press release:
Contact: Audio Cinema Entertainment, Inc.
email only at: mediaone@audiocei.com or foreigneraudio@gmail.com
Author C. J. Cherryh
Signs with
Audio Cinema Entertainment, Inc. (ACE)
For production of
A Movie in Audio
Of the “Foreigner Universe” book series
ACE, a California audio production company, has obtained the rights to produce a full-cast Movie in Audio, complete with original score and movie quality sound scape, on the first trilogy of Hugo Award winning author CJ Cherryh’s “Foreigner Universe” series of science fiction books.
Adapting the first book will be author, Sable Jak, a long-time fan of Cherryh’s and the person who pulled the principles together. Jak, herself, has won a few awards in the audio drama field, and will also direct the estimated six hour production.
At the helm of the audio design will be veteran sound designer, Tim Knofler.
Three of the actors who participated in the demo presented to Cherryh given the nod by Cherryh herself to play the roles in the full production.
Cast as the only human in the story, Bren Cameron, is horror artist and voice actor: Wednesday Wolf. Helen Hayes award winning actress Gin Hammond will bring the role of the Assassin’s Guild bodyguard Jago to life and the actress/singer E. J. Cater will provide the pivotal role of Ilisidi. A fourth main character has not yet been cast.
The projected budget for the production is in excess of $250,000. A funding campaign will be launched on the crowdfunding site: Kickstarter.
A number of elements remain to be finalized including recording location, remaining cast members, with production dates projected for 2013.
Updates will be posted on the CJ Cherryh Movie in Audio blog on Tumblr at: www.cjcherryhmovieinaudio.tumblr.com, Facebook. and through Audio Cinema Entertainment at: www.audiocei.com.
