For the last couple of years, ever since the movie rights to Ringworld were sold, there have been rumors of a Ringworld Movie which has led to untold amounts of speculation about the cast, the characters and the special effects involved in making the movie.

This page has been created to hold information about the movie and rumours when they are known.

So far:

10th March 2003

One of the questions posed by the Slashdot.org interviews was:

10) Movie Jealousy? (by spun)

David Brin has been forthright concerning his jealousy over bad SF being made into movies while his work is not. With the exception of 'Forbidden Planet' I have yet to see a science fiction movie that draws me in the way a good Sci-Fi book does.

I also think that your works would make excellent movies. Brin's work would probably play well in Europe, where people seem to prefer a little more ambiguity in their movies. It probably wouldn't do well here. Now, I'm not saying your writing isn't of the same caliber as Brin's work, but it is a little more accesible to the common man, and therefore seems well suited to be made into a blockbuster that would do well in the states. My questions: 1.) Are you at all jealous that lesser talents get to have their work seen by millions on the silver screen? 2.) Have you been approached by any producers regarding screenplays of your work? 3.) Would you even want to have your works made into movies?

That said, I just have to say thank you for providing me with so much quality entertainment! I grew up reading your stories from the time I was ten. In my esteem, you are one of the best well rounded Sci Fi authors out there. Your work has great characters, fantastic settings, believable science, and lots of action. Thanks again.

Larry answered:

"Sure I'm jealous, and angry. I've waited too long to take my family to a movie made from my works, and now my mother's gotten to old to go. I'm glad to see Brin's "The Postman" on the big screen. I like his message. But I'd like to see Harry the Mailman, from "Lucifer's Hammer", up there too.

And sure I've sold rights and options, and written a Star Trek cartoon and sold an Outer Limits episode, but it's not the same as walking into a theater. Movies cost a lot more than options do.

Yes, I would like to see my works made into movies. All of them. Short stories as well as novels. Why not? A movie doesn't ruin a book; the book is still there, unchanged, and may even see a larger audience. See Vince Gerardis of Created By, my agent, if you've just won a lottery."

Read Larry's answers to the other most popular questions posted.

24th February 2003

After Larry visited Industrial Light and Magic, Nesssus emailed him to ask what went on:

Nesssus: I didn't realise that you would be attending ILM so soon, but if there was a standing invitation for me to go there, I would have jumped at the chance and it wouldn't have taken very long to have found the time either.
Larry: I delayed too long in making a chance to meet anyone. I lucked out in getting dinner companions Tuesday. After the show (TechTV, The Screen Savers, 6-7 minutes interview) I went off with another guest, a gaming entrepreneur, Chris Di Bona, and some of his crew.
Nesssus: What were your impressions of the Ranch itself?
Larry: Didn't get there this trip. The timing was crazy: I'd have had to skip the autographing.
Nesssus: Did you get a guided tour?
Larry: Yes. Most interesting.
Nesssus: Did you get to see any special effect works in progress whilst there, perhaps for Episode 3?
Larry: I was shown a montage and some trailers. The tour included some lecturing on special effect techniques.
Nesssus: Who attended your storytelling session?
Larry: Nobody I knew, except a guy who once wanted a novel for movie rights.
Nesssus: Did you meet with anyone famous whilst there?
Larry: No.
Nesssus: You mentioned in your letters to Carol that ILM had expressed interest in some of your short stories, was this discussed with you, and if so, what stories were they interested in?
Larry: Jeroen is the interested party, and it would be a little deal: more a training exercise than a movie project. He hadn't picked a story.

8th February 2003 - Larry Visits I.L.M.!!!!!!!

Information in his February letters to the site told us that Larry has been invited to speak the Skywalker Ranch, the Home of Industrial Light and Magic (makers of Star Wars). [how cool!!!!! Nesssus]

A guy at the Ranch is interested in some of Larry's short stories.

13th November 2001

The Albacon Trip Report relates Larry's experiences of flying following the events of September 11th, of visiting New York and the offices of his agent, and also comments briefly on the announcement he made at the Albacon Convention about the forthcoming Ringworld Movie. The article says:  

".....Having told Marilyn (Larry's wife - Nesssus) about the Mandell accord, I felt free to speak of it to the audience. It never occurred to me that I was speaking for the Internet, for someone who would garble the data....."
When Larry returned home to California after the convention several days later, he found a call waiting from his movie agent.
"....Call from Vince Gerardis, my TV/movie agent. I called back.  He's seen an announcement on a Hollywood web page. It derives from what I said during Saturday evening's interview. Vince is sure it'll shoot down any movie deal that might have been made.  Damn. I wasn't told to keep my mouth shut, but I also didn't realize I was talking for the Internet....."

Let us hope that the early-breaking news story did not sour the deal as Larry fears.

15th October 2001

9th October 2001
Dan Procopio, who attended the convention reported that Larry "was very excited and said, 'Imagine seeing a Pierson's Puppeteer coming at you on screen.' No other details about the movie were forthcoming, although Larry did talk about his ongoing projects including the fourth sequel to Ringworld, the forthcoming Ringworld's Child novel.
28th April 2001 29th December 2000
A first draft of the script has apparently been written, although Larry Niven has confirmed that he is not involved in the project personally. Yun-Fat Chow recently starred in the Oscar-winning Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and also with Jodie Foster in Anna and the King.  Yun-Fat has also recently starred in The Replacement Killers and The Corruptor.  Prior to these western films, Yun Fat Chow is the veteran of many Chinese and Cantonese films, as can be seen from his listing in the Internet Movie Database.Born in 1955, I personally think Yun-Fat may be too old to play the perpetually youthful appearance of Louis Wu, who according to the novel had the appearance of a 20-year old, even though he really was a wizened man of 200 (kept young and healthy by using the future-drug Boosterspice).  However Louis Wu was of an oriental descent, so at least the producers have kept that much true to the original novel.
6th November 2000
The Hollywood Reporter, states that Phil Tippett is to direct and co-produce the film with Robert Mandel and it will be action orientated like other movies he has recently been involved with such as the highly praised Starship Troopers.   According to the Internet Movie Database, some of Phil Tippett's other works include designing the deadly Bugs for Robert A Heinlein's Starship Troopers which he also co-produced, creating the Dragon in Dragonheart, he was also visual effects supervisor for My Favourite Martian and he was the dino supervisor for Jurassic Park.  Phil was associate producer of Robocop and assisted with the ED-209 sequence.  Although not exactly a claim to fame - he came out from behind the scenes at ILM (George Lucas's Industrial Light and Magic Inc.) and acted as an extra (behind an alien mask) in Star Wars, he also did  stop-motion imaging for ..... Howard the Duck!No production or release schedule is yet available about the movie project. (taken from the Known Space News page)
27th April 1997
QDE Entertainment obtained the movie rights to Ringworld and the movie was said to be in development. This site is a little sparse but Red Raider welcomes updates, so email him if you have any information. (See also Science Fiction Weekly's News of the Week, April 21 1997.