Back in 2011, HBO revealed the idea of adapting American Gods into a six-season TV series, with an average investment of $40 million per season of about 10-12 episodes, close to the level of "Game of Thrones" (there are also sources that "Game of Thrones" spent 6 million per episode).
Tom Hanks, who has always had a good working relationship with HBO, and his Playtone production company have supported the project... But before the contract was seen in black and white, all the "support" and "support" were just mirrors. The original author, Neil Gaiman, had several discussions with HBO executives about adapting American Gods and had written two versions of the script himself. Because he wanted to drastically revise the plot of the original book, he was rejected by HBO, so both versions of the script were aborted. He later collaborated on a third version of the script, which was close to the plot of the original book, and HBO appreciated it and called Neil Gaiman to express his support. Unexpectedly, HBO did not ask for the project (HBO's official statement is that "the script is not of good quality, they do not want to destroy a classic"). In 2014, FremantleMedia North America officially announced the purchase of the rights to the original television adaptation, hiring Neil Gaiman himself as the project planner and executive producer. Soon after, Starz announced a partnership with FremantleMedia North America to develop the project, which meant that the TV series version of American Gods was bound to eventually appear on the Starz tv network.
In 2015, the troubled project was finalized, with Starz skipping the test run to book 10 episodes of the show directly (later reduced to 8 episodes), with renowned producers Bryan Fuller and Michael Green involved in production, David Slade directing multiple episodes and also serving as executive producer, and Floria Sigismondi and Craig Zobel directing other episodes. FremantleMedia, a production company based on adaptations, has adapted its own copyrighted "The Tomorrow People" for CW, the French drama series "The Returned" for A&E, and the novel Basket Case for Spike. Compared with these projects, "American Gods" is undoubtedly more eye-catching. Since Starz has successfully adapted another set of popular novels in recent years, "Outlander", it is widely believed that Starz has the ability (and strength) to make the TV series version of "American Gods" well.
About the original
Published in 2001, American Gods has been translated into more than 30 languages and is widely circulated around the world. The story depicts an impending war, opposed by the "ancient gods" of biblical stories and myths and legends and the "American gods" representing the New World—the "American gods" originating from modern rituals and people's dependence on money, technology, media, celebrities and drugs, and their adherents are superficially gentle but vicious people. The protagonist, Shadow Moon, was a former criminal with a small deception and was sentenced to three years in prison for injury. After he got out of prison, he lost his family, wife, friends, and job, and everything in his life lost its color. One is called Mr. Wednesday. Wednesday's mysterious old man hired him as his bodyguard and let him do errands. Shadow Moon at first felt that there was no reason not to accept the pie falling from the sky, but he soon discovered that Mr. Wednesday was not an ordinary old man, but one of the ancient gods, Odin in Norse mythology and legend.
On a frantic adventure through the heart of the United States, they met many ancient gods from different parts of the world, most of them desolate at night. Because in the United States of this day and age, their followers have withered away, and the sacrifices have certainly been terminated for a long time, so they are quite weak and no longer different from other mortals. On its opposite side are the nascent American gods, who originated from modern rituals and people's dependence on money, technology, media, celebrities and drugs. Such as the god of television, the god of credit cards and the god of the Internet. The new gods are still jealous of the old gods and continue to force the old gods into dead ends. Mr. Wednesday wanted a decision and amassed strength for the impending war, but it was not an easy task. Neil Gaiman claims that the first chapter of American Gods was written on a train in 1999 on his way from Chicago to San Diego for an anime convention (a trip that took three days at the time).
The main character of the Ancient Gods faction
British actor Ricky Whittle from The 100 plays Shadow Moon . At the beginning of the play, he is a felon serving a sentence and is still a few days away from prison. Because of a tragedy, Shadow Moon returned home a few days early, but he no longer had a real home. He excelled at free-to-play movies and was as strong as a cow, so Starz referred to him as Dwayne Johnson in his official description. Shadow Moon can't tolerate stupid behavior and meaningless nonsense, and Mr. Wednesday has his own personality.
Ian McShane plays Mr. Wednesday, a shrewd and cunning and forever charming liar. He always uses counterintuitive wisdom and curious magic, as well as unimaginably large plans. He always had a bright and sincere smile on his face, but there was a cunning and false look in his eyes. He hired Shadow Moon as his bodyguard to accompany him through the United States. He tries to use his personal charm to recruit more people similar to Shadow Moon to prepare for the ultimate power battle.
Pablo Schreiber plays Mad Sweeney, a hapless leprechaun who has lost his charm, but he has a hard time understanding why this happens. He always put on the appearance of a big fight at any time, and never worried about eating and wearing when he worked for Mr. Wednesday.
Orlando Jones plays Mr. Nancy, the god of deception in ancient Africa, who is preferred to be called Anansi, or Annecy Van Spider. He is a very important character in West African mythology, synonymous with skill and eloquence, optimistic and humorous. He used deception and convincing stories to lure people into doing as he pleased. He was one of Mr. Wednesday's oldest confidants and was ready to conquer the New America and the New Gods. He wanted to put a big fire on and watch the whole world sink into flames.
Cloris Leachman plays the ancient Slavic goddess Zorya Vechernyaya, the eldest of the three goddesses who oversee the stars and constellations. They faithfully guard the glory that has been forgotten by modern people. They had become accustomed to the status of kings, but now they could only survive in a country that had completely forgotten them.
Peter Stormare plays Czernobog, the ancient Slavic god of darkness and evil, who reluctantly joins the impending war, but is wary of Mr. Wednesday's true motives at every turn. His weapon is a sledgehammer. He has a never-ending desire to "crush the heart".
Kristen Chenoweth plays Easter, the goddess of resurrection, an ancient god of free-thinking, uninhibited, almost hippie. When Shadow Moon sees that she is about to lose everything, she will reach out to him. Once seen as Ostara, the goddess of spring, Easter still loves Easter symbolized by jelly jelly jelly beans and bunny chocolate, which is her own holiday after all. She was almost unsteady in the world ruled by the new gods, and she was making a last-ditch effort.
Yetide Badaki plays Bilquis, the goddess of love, who draws on lust, love, and sexual perversion to gain energy. She longed to be adored, but her time was long gone. She was not dead-hearted, and she believed that the real world could offer her the same status. This character is only a small role in the original book, but it is important in this play. She has a very classic scene in the original book, which was retained in the show (and in the first episode).
Chris Obi plays Mr. Jaquel, the ancient Egyptian god of death, Anubis, who carefully guides mortal souls to judgment.
Mousa Kraish plays The Jinn, a flame beast. He understood the deepest desires hidden in the human heart, even better than the human beings themselves. Fearing that his life would be in danger in the impending war, he considered fleeing the United States.
Corbin Bernsen plays Vulcan, the Roman god of fire and forging. Although this is a new character that was not in the original book, the idea still came from Neil Gaiman himself. One day Neil Gaiman was passing by a small Alabama town and saw a statue of Vulcan. The town's main business is steelmaking, and locals told Neil Gaiman that accidents were frequent in a steel mill and many people were killed on the job. Steel mills find that paying insurance compensation is much less expensive than shutting down factories for overhauls, so they are happy to let such accidents happen again and again, rather than eliminating the cause of accidents at the source. So Neil Gaiman came up with the concept of "modern sacrifice" in his head, and the image of the Vulcan god came into being. Vulcan is one of Mr. Wednesday's oldest allies in the play, but he has created a comfortable life for himself and learned to draw energy from modern society. He used to be the "god of volcanoes", but now he is the "god of firearms", or "the god of guns", because "Americans are too obsessed with guns, and the topic of gun control is now very popular", "when you have a gun in your hand, it is equivalent to you having a mini volcano". When he heard about Mr. Wednesday's plan, his first reaction was to refuse.
Jeremy Davies plays Jesus. He was resurrected on the feast day of the resurrection goddess Ostara, so he generously shared Easter with this ancient god. Despite his "empathetic" influence, the Son of God was shocked and frustrated to learn that Ostara had a deep hatred for him buried in his heart.
The main character of the New God faction
Crispin Glover plays Mr. World, the central figure in the New God faction. He seemed to know everything and was a leader of the order. Sometimes his subordinates challenge him far more than his enemies. He had been closely monitoring the activities of the ancient gods, and now he found that the leader of the ancient gods, Mr. Wednesday, had posed a great threat to them.
Bruce Langley plays the Technical Boy, a key member of the New Gods camp, who spreads everything to the world about technology. He desperately wanted to prove himself, eager for respect and power. He tried to suppress his impulsiveness and irritability, but he was always very dangerous and unpredictable. He gains energy through people's obsession and worship of the Internet and is a formidable opponent of the Ancient Gods camp. Throughout Shadow Moon's journey, the Techno Boy constantly threatens him while tracking his every move. This character is one of the biggest changes to the original book, in the words of the producer, "computers and the Internet have changed dramatically from 2001 to 2016", "changing with each passing day", "technology and fashion have become inseparable", "change is inevitable". In order to conform to the modern characteristics, the appearance and costume of the technical boy will also be different from the original, "he feels different every time".
Gillian Anderson plays Media, an important member of the New Gods camp. The media goddess was born in the United States as the public image spokesperson and sales representative of the new god. She has been featured in a number of classic celebrities such as Lucille Ball, David Bowie, and Judy Garland. When people pay more attention to things on the screen, the more they worship stars, and the more interested they are in entertainment, the more vigorous her vitality becomes. In the information age, the so-called "screen" can be a traditional TV, a laptop, or a smartphone in people's hands – as long as there is something on it that people want to see. She was always a radiant orator, always in control. She is always ready to adapt the various news reports to make them move in the direction that is most beneficial to her.
Other important roles
Emily Browning plays Moon's wife, Laura Moon, nicknamed "puppy." When her husband was about to be released from prison, she was prepared early. But she would never have imagined that she would embark on an unexpected, thrilling journey. In the process, she had an epiphany about her marital relationship, giving her a second chance to correct her mistakes. One piece of news that should be told (and not a spoiler) is that Laura died at the beginning of the show... Emily Browning will also play Essie Tregowan, who played a key role in Sweeney's arrival in the United States. Emily Browning is the only actor in the show to play two roles.
Jonathan Tucker plays Low Key Lyesmith, Shadow Moon's former close friend in prison. Surprisingly, the prisoner was full of philosophy. He has a sharp voice, a super-fast speech, and a unique sense of humor. He seems to have a theory of everything. Before Shadow Moon gets out of prison and returns to the real world, he offers Shadow Moon some wise advice.
Dane Cook plays Robbie, Shadow Moon's best friend. While serving his sentence in Shadow Moon, Robbie promised to keep a job in a gym for him. Betty Gilpin plays Robbie's wife Audrey, who is friends with Shadow Moon's wife, Laura. When Shadow Moon is away, Robbie and Audrey often comfort the sad Laura. But according to the original book, Robbie is not a person who seems so good on the surface.
Demore Barnes plays The Guardian, Ibis, who guards all the stories (both historical and realistic) and rearranges and narrates them in his own unique way. His nostalgia does not prevent him from showing his witty and funny side. His true identity was the ancient Egyptian moon god Tot, "the master of knowledge.".
Omid Abtahi plays Salim, a gracious, sad, and exploited foreigner who is in a bitter love affair with his beloved girl. This character was a multi-episode character in the first season, and it is possible to automatically become a regular character in the second season (depending on the needs of the plot).
Jack, the hostess of "Jack's Crocodile Bar" in Beth Grant.
You also need to know about the show...
Whatever the differences between the ancient gods and the new gods, they will always have one thing in common: their energy comes from the worship of mortals.
The producers promised that the show would be faithful to the original, especially to the original character setting. They also stressed that the play will reshape the image of religion, reproduce the power of religion, and let people see the good side of religion. The story focuses on the "ancient gods" (the "new gods" are relatively small), which is actually the purpose.
The TV version will enrich some of the minor characters in the original book (some characters have little ink in the original book, but the show has a separate personal plot), especially the representatives of the female characters Laura and Bilgis. The show will add many characters that were not in the original book.
The original book is almost entirely from the perspective of Shadow Moon, and the TV drama version is not limited to this.
Because of the large changes, some of the plots of the TV series version will confuse fans.
The TV series will cover some of the hottest topics in The United States today: gun control, women's rights, racial division, homosexuality, and so on.
The show will be filmed in a number of American landmarks, including House on rock in Wisconsin and Rock City in Georgia.
The first season was reduced from 10 to 8 episodes, and the producers explained that the situation in the third episode was not ideal, so the content of the third and fourth episodes was merged; the show left a huge suspense in the eighth episode, which could be used as a season ending, and there was no need to delay another episode.
Ricky Whittle, who plays Shadow Moon, is black, but the producers emphasize that they didn't deliberately look for a black actor, they just felt that Ricky Whittle was suitable for the role.
The producers hinted that the show might approach sex scenes in the way of the movie Fight Club, in which most of the sex scenes were CG-animated. The technicians scanned Helena Bonham Carter and Brad Pitt's "multiple poses" beforehand, and then used digital technology for post-synthesis.
The original book is only one book, what if the show gets a second season renewal? Don't worry, Neil Gaiman himself is deeply involved in the show, and he will make sure that the following seasons "have enough stories to tell". What's more, he has already released his words: he is working on a second book, which is expected to be published as soon as 2018.
After HBO gave up developing the show, Starz took over American Gods. The script will be written by Bryan Fuller (Hero, Detective Spirit, Hannibal).
Big-budget American dramas like "American Gods" may be like "Westworld" and "True Detective", fans feel that after looking at it, what they have worked so hard to wait for is quite atmospheric, but also weird and obscure. However, watching the performance of the first episode will not make the complete audience scratch their heads, there is a sense of strangeness but it is acceptable.