Thursday 13 January 2011

A trend in film, all the drafts kicking about and anything else that springs to mind.

First off, it's raining. Does anyone else find it hard to concentrate when you can hear the rain outside? It makes me just want to snuggle up and listen.

Second, I want you to listen to this, AKA my friend Olivia singing a self penned song. It's a bit avant-garde-folky and her voice is very reminiscent of Kate Bush, but it's very catchy so I hope you like it, because I do!

Anyway, what I actually came to talk about is the upcoming number of films that are being made, where the source material is the sort of "hipster" type books that get reblogged on the Tumblr machine all the time. Namely The Great Gatsby, On The Road and The Perks of Being a Wallflower.


Gatsby is the one of the films I think is going to be absolutely excellent. Directed by Baz Luhrmann -the master of hollow dedecance, aka Moulin Rouge and Rom+Jul - and starring Carey Mulligan, my secret girl crush and the perfect Daisy, and Leonardo DiCaprio, who is just a don, I genuinely am looking forward to this film. The Great Gatsby is genuinely one of my favourite pieces of literature ever...along with Romeo and Juliet, incidentally, and I seriously am not dreading this film adaptation. Which is pretty high praise coming from me, because I hate film adaptations.

In my opinion, On The Road (the film) can only get better. I found the book needlessly boring and repetitive, with an incessant emphasis on how boring life is...which of course made the book boring. I know that's the intention, and as social record it's great, but as a story? As entertainment? Not for me, thanks.
So really, the film can't lose out. Especially with Garrett Hedlund (fit) as Dean, and Sam Riley (cheekbones!) as Sal...oh, and a host of famous supporting actors, Kirsten Dunst, Viggo Mortensen, Amy Adams...and my secret crush Tom Sturridge. I'm immediately turned off when I see Kristen Stewart's name on the list, but having only seen her as Bella in the first Twilight film I guess I'm biased.
The problem is that a limitation to the text will be magnified a million times over on the big screen...the screenplay might have to be jazzed up a bit. But then it might lose the message underneath, so idk.


AND FINALLY

Fake poster by this person here

As you can see, it stars Logan Lerman as Charlie and Emma Watson as Sam, which is clearly going to attract a teens-to-twenties audience. I haven't read the book, but "In that moment, I swear we were infinite" sounds like such a lovely line that I can't wait to get around to it. And I have to soon, if I want to have read the book before the film comes out this year. I'm not quite sure whether it'll work in film format, though. It's quite hard to get across Charlie's mindset without words, from what I've heard. Anyway, I'm ambivalent about this one because I haven't read the book.

So there's my wordy, unecessary pre-film expectations review!

Other things of note:
- I just went into my edit posts section and I have about 30 unfinished posts going back to December 2008.
- I ought to put more pictures into my blog.
- I have two pieces of coursework, an extended essay and an oral exam to prepare for.
- Which involves reading nothing but strictly syllabus related for weeks.
- Which is very sad.

Anyway, will you guys be checking out any of these films at the theater? Have you read the books? 

See you soonies :)

Emma x

3 comments:

Jenna said...

I haven't read the books but I definitly want to see the Perks of Being a Wallflower, namely because Emma Watson is in it!!!!!!!! I did read a little bit of the Road (or maybe it was the Shack... oh well they were bother depressing) and you're right it was too boring.
Can't wait for these to come out!!

Finn said...

I didn't even know they were doing a film of The Perks of being a Wallflower! It's one of my all time favourite books. Don't have a clue how they're going to do it though...it's one of those books that is kind of indescribable.

alabee said...

Carey Mulligan in The Great Gastby?...Oh I am so excited! Thank you for informing me, I think I must live under a rock or something.