SCIFI.COM | Earthsea

Robert Halmi, Sr., the Emmy- and Peabody Award-winning executive producer of Legend of Earthsea, has offered to answer your questions about this coming-of-age epic-fantasy miniseries. Send your queries to rhs@www.scifi.com.

Nov. 10, 2004

How did this miniseries come to pass?

I've been a fan of A Wizard of Earthsea since I first read it in 1968, when it came out. Of course, at the time I think it was too ambitious to do a movie out of it, much less a miniseries. Today we can do it, as the technology is finally here to truly dazzle audiences and help show the scope of the world of Earthsea. Gulliver's Travels was a huge step forward and I think that CGI has just gotten better and better each year. There's nothing we cannot do with the technology, so now is the time for the Legend of Earthsea miniseries. The SCI FI Channel actually brought it to me and I was thrilled, because I've always wanted to adapt [the] Earthsea [books] and now was the time to do it.

Will you be true to the books in that the greatest magic wasn't a flashy light show but rather a few spoken words of power?

We will be true to the scope of the book, and that includes many things. For starters, Ursula wrote this world set around water, so we built sets on the water. And she wrote about huge temples in distant lands, so we built those, too. Basically, to really sell this world and build this world has been a major challenge, but I'm trying to be honest to the books; otherwise there's no point in doing it. As for the spoken words of power, we have a script in which Ged learns that he has the power within him, but what he chooses to do with that power will determine how he functions as a wizard. The power that one has to control one's own destiny is the greatest magic of all, and you will see Ged go through this in our miniseries.

Ursula K. Le Guin has been a favorite of mine for many years; is she involved in the writing or production?

Ursula provided a great blueprint for our miniseries with A Wizard of Earthsea and The Tombs of Atuan. We then got a very talented crew that made sure her vision was translated to the screen.

If there ever were a follow-up, would it include the books that came after the trilogy, Tehanu and The Other Wind (and, if not already included, the third book, The Farthest Shore)?

That is to be determined by the reaction to this miniseries, but the idea would be to continue the stories Ursula wrote. Originally we started pre-production with the concept that this miniseries would be based on the first three books, as an "Earthsea Trilogy." By focusing on the first two books in the series, we can both introduce a great story and leave audiences wanting more.

11.10.04	–	How did this miniseries come to pass?
11.10.04	–	Will you be true to the books in that the greatest magic wasn't a flashy light show but rather a few spoken words of power?
11.10.04	–	Is Ursula K. Le Guin involved in the writing or production?
11.10.04	–	Would a follow-up include the books that came after the trilogy?
07.20.04	–	How closely will the movie follow the books?
07.20.04	–	I've been reading the books in anticipation of the miniseries. Which books will the miniseries cover?
07.20.04	–	In the books, Ged and the Gontish people are dark-skinned. Why then make Ged blond and pale-skinned in the miniseries?