They's doin it wrong!

[merrily]

I was working through catalogues today, and had to enter a listing for a movie tie-in: "Anne of Green Gables: A New Beginning" by Kevin Sullivan. I may have accidentally not ordered it. BECAUSE ()

1) it's a sequel, but not one of LMM's sequels
2) where Anne and Gilbert have two daughters and one adopted son
3) who is missing somewhere in World War One
4) and her father (not Matthew, but her actual father) didn't die of influenza, like Anne thought, but
5) is alive! somewhere!

The wrongness appalls me. It makes me want to call Sullivan and suggest he read fanfic (since he's writing it) in order to learn the protocol, such as: 1) declare your fanwork as fanwork, and 2) show canon some respect because 3) much of your audience loves the canon.

I have no problem whatsoever, on the other hand, with Budge Wilson's "Before Green Gables," the authorized prequel Penguin published this year. Budge respected the text: she read A of GG carefully and tried to extrapolate character from it. Before taking on the project, she spent time considering whether she should. Furthermore, she's honest enough to say that she's not sure LMM would have wanted her to take a crack at Anne.

I may not really want to read the book, but I think Budge did right by Anne.

Kevin Sullivan, however, can eat my shorts. Or my slate. Or my carrot-colored braids.

Comments

[sheafrotherdon.livejournal.com]

KS's first Anne film was magnificent, and the second pretty good, despite trying to mash together too many stories. BUT OH MY GOD THE THIRD. Where Gilbert goes to war in WWI. And Anne tries to find him. What? I HATED IT WITH SUCH A PASSION.

And now KS writes a book where they don't have their full cohort of children? Montgomery WROTE the WWI book, Kevin, and YOU ARE DOING IT WRONG.

*may feel a little passionately about Anne*

[merrilily.livejournal.com]

The good news is, he probably didn't write the book.

The bad news is, the book exists because Sullivan is making a movie sequel (triquel?) to the movie sequel you hated, and they're trying to merchandise the hell out of it.

I'm just not going to watch it. Look at me, not watching it. Or ordering the book. So there. *is ineffective in her protesting*

[sheafrotherdon.livejournal.com]

So wait, wait, wait - do her children fight in WWII? Not one? Did I read that wrong? And did Megan and Jonathan sign on to this?

[merrilily.livejournal.com]

No, my mistake -- it must be WWII. (Since according to First Awful Sequel, Gilbert participated in WWI.)

I am not sure if Megan & Jonathan are in it. The book cover has a child actor who is not Megan, but looks an awful lot like her on the cover (perhaps a very young Follows niece?).

[merrilily.livejournal.com]

Here's the IMDB listing (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1063034/). Nary a Jonathan Crombie or a Megan Follows to be found.