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Ignatius J -- Movie Star

Discussion in 'Anything goes' started by Fenian_Bastard, Dec 15, 2006.

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  1. spnited

    spnited Active Member

    There are only two words you need to know to assure that this move will suck:

    WILL FERRELL!
     
    spnited, Dec 15, 2006
    #13
  2. 21

    21 Well-Known Member

    I wish they weren't making this movie at all.

    Can you picture the meetings? 'Work with me here...think Rainman-slash-Midnight Cowboy-slash-the second Batman movie....with some Aviator-dash-Pulp Fiction thing going on....And a big soundtrack, we're having sitdowns with Dave Matthews' people, he says he read the book in college and loved it...Li'l Kim wants in as well, that whole Fortuna thing....Working on a big deal for a line of those sick hats, with the earflaps....and something with Greyhound, isn't there some Greyhound bus thing in the book? Does anyone have a copy?'
     
    21, Dec 15, 2006
    #14
  3. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    Yeah, except that I got the sense that for Scott Kramer, who is the driving force that has kept the project alive for 26 years, it is personal. He basically pegged this thing before anyone even knew the book existed, so I'm guessing he has strong intention to remain true to it. You don't go all moby dick on something, and deal with 26 years of frustration, which is what it sounds like this has been, only to get it made and do something you know is Hollywood crap.

    I mean, that has certainly happened, but it sounds like this might be different.

    I think the bigger problem is that no matter how true they try to stay to the book, it can't possibly translate to a two-hour movie. It's a minor miracle that it translates itself to a book. The chances that they can create a movie that does the book justice are miniscule, because the satire and the characters are nuanced. By the time they start cutting stuff, adapting it to a screenplay and, god-forbid, inventing new plot, they will have already blown it.
     
    The Big Ragu, Dec 15, 2006
    #15
  4. Jones

    Jones Active Member

    If Hoffman does this, and if the movie is done right, it would have Oscar written all over it, or at least blown all over it like a fart.
     
    Jones, Dec 15, 2006
    #16
  5. Del_B_Vista

    Del_B_Vista Active Member

    Since I read it, I felt like I needed to re-read the book because it didn't quite do for me what it does for a lot of people. That said, I think the two-hour time constraint, even stretched to 150 minutes or something, just couldn't do justice.

    "Dune" is one of my all-time favorite books, but the movie didn't stand a chance in hell of ever being worth a damn. The far-better adaptation was the UK miniseries. I don't know if you could serialize "A Confederacy of Dunces" but I'd bet that's a better medium for such a book.
     
    Del_B_Vista, Dec 15, 2006
    #17
  6. Fenian_Bastard

    Fenian_Bastard Guest

     
    Fenian_Bastard, Dec 15, 2006
    #18
  7. 21

    21 Well-Known Member

    I think we should re-launch the SJ bookclub with this book. Anyone?
     
    21, Dec 15, 2006
    #19
  8. Fenian_Bastard

    Fenian_Bastard Guest

    If Janeane Garolfalo's not Myrna, they missed an opportunity there.
     
    Fenian_Bastard, Dec 15, 2006
    #20
  9. tommyp

    tommyp Member

    You know, I first read this book about seven/eight years ago at the recommendation of tens of people who said it was hilarious. I read it, parts were funny, others were just...not so. Perhaps I hadn't been to NO and couldn't relate. Perhaps my expectation was too high.

    But now I have been there ('00 Jazzfest), and reading the book once got rid of those anticipatory feelings, so I think I could give it another shot with a more open mind.
     
    tommyp, Dec 15, 2006
    #21
  10. The Big Ragu

    The Big Ragu Moderator Staff Member

    Janeane Garolfalo as Myrna is another really good call.

    This is kind of obscure, but when I was thinking of Ignatius J. Reilly on the big screen, the image I first got in my head was of the dude who played Ricky in Better Off Dead (I think he was also on that 80s sitcom, Head Of The Class).

    [​IMG]
     
    The Big Ragu, Dec 15, 2006
    #22
  11. Buck

    Buck Well-Known Member

    It's actually a good thing it has taken 26 years to get the movie going because now they have the technology for the chase scene and green-screen effects they need.
     
    Buck, Dec 15, 2006
    #23
  12. Del_B_Vista

    Del_B_Vista Active Member

    Nope, but I've always admired the passion of the Fremen. If drinking way too much beer would help me become the Kwisatz Haderach, I might qualify. Mad Magazine had a great spoof of "Dune" where Paul was tested by the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the long-legged bringer of death.
     
    Del_B_Vista, Dec 15, 2006
    #24
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