The Sandman Movie Is Going To Be An Action-Packed Joyride, or Joseph Gordon Levitt Doesn't Watch Television

I have feelings and stuff

For those that don't know, actor and musician Joseph Gordon Levitt is adapting Neil Gaiman's Sandman for the big screen. It's likely no stretch to bet both Sandman and Gaiman fans are excited for this project since it has been in development hell for over a decade and the books have been one of Vertigo Comics biggest sellers for over two decades.

Still, the begged question of "why a movie and not a tv show" is even more present in a time where shows like Game of Thrones have become international successes. While movies are still big projects that gain popularity in many countries, Game of Thrones hit a level of popularity so high that its piracy is its own story. With creative sets, costumes with beautiful detail , very good acting, and visually astounding special effects and lush cinematography, Game of Thrones is pushing the boundaries of what to expect from television. And it's not alone. 

Before Game of Thrones, HBO, AMC and other channels produced shows like Breaking Bad, The Sopranos, The Tudors and many others that brought television audiences stories that were more often delivered through movies. With great plot lines, writing and acting, a show like True Detective attracts movie actors (Woody Harrelson, Matthew Mcconaughey, Collin Farrel, Rachel McAdams) to the small screen for quality roles. It also tells a whole story that could easily suffer the pitfalls of truncation which so often happens in film. With this renaissance of television goin on, it's confusing that Levitt would say the following while trying to explain why he's making Sandman into a movie:

I think a big screen adaptation is a better idea and here’s why. If you did the episodic version, I think it could very well end up as a not-as-good-version of what is already brilliant in the comics. But by reworking the material into a big movie, Gaiman’s brilliant characters and ideas get to take shape in a way they never have before. Also, I think Sandman deserves to look absolutely mind-blowingly awesome, just on a visual level, and as cinematic as some tv shows are becoming these days, they still can’t compete with big movies visually, just because they can’t afford to.

This isn't to say Sandman shouldn't be a movie. (I don't think it should be, but that's not what I'm getting at here). However, looking at a show like Game of Thrones, the budget averaged 6 million per episode in season 4, and 8 million in season 5. With ten episodes, a season costs 60 -80 million dollars. To put this into perspective, the new Terminator movie has an estimated budget of 155 million. The new Terminator movie costed just under twice as much as the last season of Game of Thrones. While Terminator Genysis isn't the adaptation of a comic book, Kick-Ass is, and it cost 30 million, half as much as season 4 of Game of Thrones. While the budgets of these two movies factor in a great deal of action and explosions, Sandman's source material has none of that. Sandman, like Game of Thrones, is a plot based epic that will need a nice amount of CGI. Unlike, Game of Throne, Sandman doesn't have action. For this reason, it seems hard to imagine that HBO "can't afford to" adapt Sandman. However, when reading his quote, it seems easy to imagine that either Levitt doesn't watch television, know much about arithmetic, or is turning Sandman into the Terminator.

Oh no he didn't!!!!!!