Butler's Script Sale of the Week...
January 28th, 2002
I can only imagine that the fantasy and war wells are drying up, what with the feeding frenzy the studios have had on these two genres recently. Still, this week saw the purchase of a least one project in each of those categories - THE SWORD IN THE STONE and Nic Cage's SECRET SANCTION , although the latter may have the potential to offer something different to the genre if it has the balls to forsake jingoism for honesty.
THREE DAY WEEKEND sounds like a pretty cool take on the ol' "end of the world" picture. Likewise, ILLUSION with it's FUGITIVE meets F/X premise could turn out to be a pretty decent popcorn flick.
I hope Dreamworks, who purchased the rights to BREAKUPS ARE THEIR BUSINESS turn this idea into the dark comedy that it is absolutely screaming out to be and not into the schmaltzy romantic comedy that gutless execs would most likely like to produce.
My pick this week is Paramount's acquisition of Jonathan Frazen's award winning novel, THE CORRECTIONS. I've heard so many great things about this book, but haven't yet read it. Now I have an excuse to get literary before the film adaptation comes out.
THE CORRECTIONS concerns the trials and tribulations of various members of a dysfunctional mid-western family, and in doing so manages to create a microcosm of modern American society. It's been described as tragic, funny, insightful, and above all, brilliant. Sounds like all the ingredients for a bad movie.
Yes, a bad movie. The above qualities in a novel do not necessarily translate to the screen. Indeed, especially with an expansive work such as Frazen's, trying to stick so much great stuff into two hours of celluloid can often sound the death knell for a film, regardless of the good intentions and talent of the creative forces behind the project.
Take the works of novelist John Irving, whose intimate portrayals of characters and society in print have yet to produce a satisfactory film adaptation. Even the overrated cinematic version of THE CIDER HOUSE RULES, penned by the author himself, doesn't stand up to it's literary seed.
Does this mean that the screen version of THE CORRECTIONS is destined to fail? No, of course not. What it does mean is that it's going to be an uphill battle for the filmmakers to retain the essence of Frazen's work. This can't be a hack job. This is going to require a lot of hard work.
The success of this film depends on the screenplay. British playwright/screenwriter David Hare (THE HOURS, 2001) has been given this difficult task. A Brit might seem a strange choice to adapt a novel of dysfunctional America, but distance often provides sharper perspective. What's more important is that although Hare has adapted a number of his own plays, he has only adapted one novel - 1993's DAMAGE - and the success of that adaptation is debatable.
I'm praying the filmmakers can pull this off. There's not yet any director or cast attached, but this is really in Hare's hands now. It's up to him to make it or break it.
I'm really hoping he can make it.
-- Edward Butler
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