Pratchett's Hogfather Live-action Adaptation

Terry Pratchett's Hogfather, from the ridiculously popular fantasy series Discworld, has been made into a two part live-action film set to broadcast on Sky One December 17th and 18th.



Plot synopsis::

Spoiler:

In Discworld, it’s the night before Hogswatch. You know, that special night when the Hogfather delivers presents to the kiddies at the Hogswatch mid-winter festival in the medieval melting pot of Ankh-Morpork. What the Hogfather doesn't realize is that he's being watched by the Auditors—the Discworld’s grey-robed specters who audit not money but the entire universe and maintain the neat order of things. They think human beings are ridiculous; that they are ruining the perfect universe with their willful fantasies—fantasies that make humans, well... human. Now they’ve formulated a plan to destroy human belief so that there's not an atom of it left and the Discworld can finally be theirs.

They approach Lord Downey (David Warner, The Omen) the Head of The Assassins' Guild with a proposal: enlist the ruthless Mr. Teatime (Marc Warren, Hustle) to kill the Hogfather. A dire situation indeed when the Hogfather disappears, because if the presents aren’t delivered, all hope will be lost, and the sun will never rise again. While Death (voice of Ian Richardson, Bleak House), is summoned to fill the fat man’s shoes, a further plan to outwit the Auditors is underway. But who can stop them? Death’s adopted granddaughter and mild-mannered governess Susan Sto-Helit (Michelle Dockery, Fingersmith)? Mustrum Ridcully (Joss Ackland, Asylum), Head of the Unseen University? Ridcully’s motley band of wizards? Hex, the thinking engine? Someone had better act fast, or the Auditors' terrible vision for a hopeless world will become a dismal reality and could spell out the end of humanity as we know it.

Sir Ian Richardson is the voice of DEATH, which I feel is entirely appropriate. The film cost £6,000,000 and was shot/will be shown in HD.

I don't live in the UK, and I don't really watch TV that much anymore, and I'm not exactly in one of my Discworld-obsession modes at the moment. So maybe this is ancient news to most, but it's big news to me. Hogfather is one of my favorite Discworld novels, DEATH and Mr. Teatime being two of my favorite characters from the series.

Official Site
Photo gallery of the cast
Watch video clips and making-ofs.

ALSO, The 12 Days of Hogswatch Video countdown introduces the characters and universe of Discworld, hosted by DEATH!
Day One.
Day Two.
Day Three.
Day Four.
Day Five.
Day Six.
Day Seven.
Day Eight.
Day Nine.
Day Ten
Day Eleven
Day Twelve

Jam it back in, in the dark.

This isn't my favourite Discworld novel, or even close. Still, this will be the first thing I have watched on TV in a long, long time. I have no intention of allowing myself to miss this. Thank you very much for drawing my attention to this.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Damnation. This isn't gonna be broad cast in NA is it?

Pratchett is my favourite author, and although i haven't read Hogfather yet, i'm sure i'd love to see this. I'll have to dl it later.

How ya doing, buddy?

Why does Britain get all the good Christmas TV? First the Doctor Who Christmas special, now this.

I just found out about this the other day, when I saw the hardcover screenplay book at the book store. Can't WAIT to watch it. Hogfather was one of my favourite Discworld books, and it looks like it'll be an awesome adaptation. I'll keep my eye out for a torrent once it airs. Most of my friends are Discworld fans, so it'll give us a good evening of entertainment over Christmas.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Definitely watching this. Started reading the novel while bored during a free lesson and thought it was hysterical.

I was speaking idiomatically.

I wonder how they will handle Susan, with all her back story being from "Mort" and "Soul Music"...

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Cyrus XIII

I wonder how they will handle Susan, with all her back story being from "Mort" and "Soul Music"...

Probably just include it at a short montage sequence at the beginning. I mean, there's no way they could cover the whole backstory, so they will probably simplify it to just the daughter of Death's adopted daughter, and his apprentice.

FELIPE NO

Thanks for the information! Hogfather is a great Discworld novel, and I've got it signed by Mr Pratchett himself!

I've always thought the idea of making movies of the Discworld books is a bit iffy, but it should be exciting to see what they can make of it.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Sky One is starting a countdown, if you will: The 12 Days of Hogswatch. It's a little series of videos introducing people to the characters and universe of Discworld. Slightly cheesy, but entertaining all the same.
Hosted by DEATH! <3

I'll post the links to each day in the first post, and here as well.
Day One.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Amanda

Why does Britain get all the good Christmas TV? First the Doctor Who Christmas special, now this.

SERIOUSLY... We get the same yearly showing of "It's A Wonderful(ly old and black & white) Life" and they get a Pratchett novel.

Originally Posted by Arkhangelsk

Sky One is starting a countdown, if you will: The 12 Days of Hogswatch. It's a little series of videos introducing people to the characters and universe of Discworld. Slightly cheesy, but entertaining all the same.
Hosted by DEATH! <3

I'll post the links to each day in the first post, and here as well.
Day One.

OH! Awesome!

How ya doing, buddy?

Haha, just watched Day One. Gosh, it looks quite good doesn't it! The characters looks good so far, not as I had imagined them, but good!

Looking forward to this now.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

The 12 days videos are nice, even though I personally don't find them really interesting (I knew, for example, what Death would ask for at the end... I feel like one myself, to tell the truth). I got a kick out of the clips from the finished product, though! The previous Pratchett films (Soul Music and... err... I forgot the other one) had a horrible drawing style, so seeing a live-action production is great. It doesn't hurt that Hogfather is one of my favourites, either.

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Well, you have to admit that those animated versions were quite old. I've only watched Soul Music, and it was just...um...well. I could handle it because I'm a fairly big fan of the Discworld series, but I'm still overjoyed that this film will do one of the books proper justice.

Oh, by the way :: Day 2

I was speaking idiomatically.

Here's for days three and four (sorry, I skipped one. not that anyone noticed)
Day Three.
Day Four.

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Sweet. Loving these updates, Ark. Please do keep 'em coming.

How ya doing, buddy?

Oh, wow. I missed this thread for a long time.

Thanks for all those links, Arkh. Great stuff.

I'll have to grab a torrent after it airs.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I'm getting the dvd once it's out or I could try getting sky one in holland but we'll see, I need to see it with my dad though because he started me on the pratchett craze years ago

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Forgot to check this thread to answer...

I know that the cartoons are somewhat old now (well... I read about them first in about 1998, so they're not THAT old), and believe me, I rarely care about old character designs. No, the problem rather is that the animation of those character designs is so bloody amateurish... they almost change from one frame to another, if I remember correctly. I've watched other Cosgrove Hall cartoons, and they're not so badly drawn. It could also be the fact that Soul Music isn't my favourite Discworld book, too.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Okay, sorry for not updating on a regular basis (Tombstone pizza thing put a wrench in things as well...kept being banned )

Day Five.
Day Six.
Day Seven.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Here goes days 8 and 9::

Day Eight.
Day Nine.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

How do you feel about the characters so far?

I must say that I'm quite pleased. Most of them has been transferred to real life in the best way possible I think. Nobby Nobbs is someone who I always envisioned in a very 'cartoony' way, so he's not exactly as I imagined. Still good though.
I love Ridcully and Susan. Susan is a hottie!

Mr Teatime is the one I haven't really made up my mind about yet, but I think he will work out once I get used to him.

I was speaking idiomatically.

I'm pretty happy with the casting so far as well...and I was delighfully surprised by Teatime. After I read the novel I had tried drawing character sketches of him (since he was one of my favorite characters in Hogfather), and the way they've made him look is pretty darn close to how I was imagining him. And Susan is spot-on, no doubt about that.

And by the way: Day 10

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

It's the last two days:
Day Eleven
Day Twelve

And today's the premiere! Hogfather is tonight at 8pm in the UK. I hope somebody records it and uploads it to a BT tracker or something after it airs... that's how I got to watch all of the Master and Margarita when it was airing in Russia. They were super-effecient, getting the rip out onto the internet right after it showed on TV.

How ya doing, buddy?

Part 1 is up on the bay! I hope the download will be fast.

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I just finished part one, and I think it was done very well. There were some editing hiccups that were odd, but overall I thought so far it's been a very good adaptation. Death and Albert were making me giggle quite a bit; it makes me really want "Reaper Man" to be adapted into a live-action film.

I wonder how the 'uninitiated' into the Discworld universe fare while watching this... opinions?

Jam it back in, in the dark.