Here is a really illuminating entry on the Mysteries of Pittsburgh movie from someone who was an extra in the punk scene. After reading that, I'm actually glad I wasn't in Pittsburgh. Poor book getting all screwed up by a crappy movie! [It's not my favorite Chabon book--it's very first-novel-y--but still a good story and doesn't deserve to be screwed up by movie people trying to make a buck.]
If they fuck with Kavalier and Clay like that, I'll really be pissed.
On the plus side, the new Chabon book is finally coming out in May!
Why would you take out Arthur? He was arguably the most interesting character. That's weird. At least they are actually filming it in Pittsburgh.
ReplyDeleteI wholeheartedly agree with both comments.
ReplyDeleteThe fact that they wanted to give Paul Pope a substantial amount of control gives me great hope :) It shows they have great taste and are looking to make a movie with a distinctive aesthetic. Whether that translates over into screenwriting as well remains to be seen, but still. Hopes. ;)
ReplyDeleteI was very confused re: "Pinky" in Pittsburgh. Cecil Castellucci is friends with her and she lives in LA. But now I see that Pinky/Carolyn has moved to Pittsburgh. Got it.
ReplyDeleteI know! You should be the only Pinky!
ReplyDeleteI think she gets paid to blog so she supersedes me :-)
ReplyDelete(but she uses her real name too! not fair!)
heh - when I was on friendster I looked up "pinky" and there were MILLIONS OF THEM. i made friends with one just for the heck of it.
First of all, I consider myself THE #1 "Mysteries of Pittsburgh" fan, and somehow I only JUST learned about this film adaptation... which I've been waiting for since 1993 when I first read the book. And I am SO angry about it, I want to cry.
ReplyDeleteWho does this director/writer think he is, CHANGING the story? I read in article that he got into filmmaking so he could one day make this movie (because of his love for the book) and then he combines Arthur and Cleveland into ONE character! What the f***!? (And why is Peter Saarsgard playing the role when he's clearly 10 years too old?)
I checked out the official website and watched the behind the scenes footage. The director's wearing a Tigers cap and tossing a football around like some Total Jock. Doesn't look like a true “Mysteries” fan to me! (And his comment about "the gay sex comes later" slightly offended me. Not to mention the thought of Art Bechstein having sex with Cleveland...Dude, it would NEVER happen!)
All I can say is, I got my MFA in Dramatic Writing at Carnegie Mellon (right behind the REAL "Cloud Factory," where it doesn't look like they're actually shooting) just so I could one day adapt this wonderful novel into a film...Which is EXACTLY what I will do, once this so-called version miserably fails.
franQ, again--
ReplyDeleteafter reading pinky's comment about doing extra work on MOP (and her calling the director a "frat boy" which was my EXACT thought when i saw him on the official site) i'm SERIOUSLY considering organizing a boycott of this film
anyone wanna jump on board? email me: bechstein@yahoo.com