The Office of Letters and Light Blog

Everything Must Go

A few of us have written about movie adaptations on this blog—most recently Water For Elephants, which the office took a field trip to see last month. But, I am really intrigued when short stories get turned into movies. There are quite a few, including 2001: A Space Odyssey, Brokeback Mountain, and Minority Report. Check out a whole list here. And I wonder, how does a screenwriter expand a short story into a full-length movie?

I was thinking about this because of the new movie Everything Must Go, which is based on a Raymond Carver story. After watching the trailer, it seems that there have been a lot of drastic changes from the short story. (You can read the entire Carver story here.) The writer/director, Dan Rush, has apparently added additional characters and scenes, and the main character develops deeper relationships. The whole story runs about 2,100 words, so it makes sense that it would need to be expanded to work as a film. But it seems like it would be incredibly difficult to decide what to expand on without knowing the author’s  intent.

I’m looking forward to seeing this one, and figuring out how the story worked as a jumping-off point. What other short story-to-film adaptations have you seen? Which ones work, and why? Which ones definitely don’t?

Wanted: Knives, cunning, and a canapé or two

I don’t watch a lot of TV. Don’t get me wrong—I enjoy the tube as much as the next person. I just have a hard time planting myself for more then three minutes at a time (unless I’m in bed with my book).

So when I do flip on the TV, I usually do so with intention.  I can pretty much guarantee I am either watching sports or a cooking show. Not just any sports or cooking show, though. It’ll be baseball, soccer, or tennis; Top Chef, Iron Chef, or Mexico: One Plate at a Time. I’m fussy like that.

Lately, though, I’ve been despairing because the new season of Top Chef Masters is really not doing it for me. The new cast of judges is pretentious and petty, the challenges are absurd, and it’s painfully clear that the whole rodeo isn’t worth these talented chefs’ time or effort. (At least they are competing for charity. That is a saving grace—and an important one.)

I am five episodes in now and thinking I may need to trade this hour of programming for another. Seeing as I clearly have an affinity for competition-based reality programming, what would you recommend I watch instead?

My kitty thanks you for your input. (TV watching is the one time during the day that I am at home and sitting. He likes that.)

Photo by Flickr user John Loo

What We’re Watching: Terri

I decided to celebrate a successful end to Script Frenzy by attending a special screening at the San Francisco International Film Festival. My friend Azazel Jacob’s new film Terri was a festival favorite, and I was really looking forward to seeing it. Aza has a keen talent for taking a slice-of-life experience and transforming it into pure cinema. Thus, Aza’s new film Terri did not disappoint.

It’s a coming-of-age story about an awkward high school student (Jacob Wysocki) who wears pajamas to school and struggles to find a place among his fellow students. When Terri is dubbed an at-risk student, vice principal Mr. Fitzgerald (John C. Reilly) reaches out and the two of them form an unexpected friendship. 

The film is uncomfortable to watch at times. The absence of Terri’s parents, his ailing uncle, and his lack of friends—it’s a lonely portrait of a young, aimless, relentlessly teased, insecure teenager. Yet, the bond formed between Terri and Mr. Fitzgerald offers poignant, lighthearted, comedic moments that pump hope into Terri’s life. 

The movie is reminiscent of a John Hughes film minus the teen caricatures, bold soundtrack, and “The Brat Pack.” I really enjoyed Pretty in Pink, The Breakfast Club, and Sixteen Candles when I was growing up, but in some ways, I actually prefer Azazel’s take on those awkward teen years because of the film’s sincerity. Terri is due to be released in theaters in June, and was an Official Selection of the Sundance 2011 Film Festival.

Parenthood does Script Frenzy?

Anybody out there watch Parenthood? We’re big fans at my house: it’s got just the right combination of humor, drama, and Berkeley references to keep us occupied on Tuesday nights. (If you’re already a devotee, let’s just take a moment to privately acknowledge the nuttiness of the last few episodes. I was so stressed!)

Anyway, I’m bringing up the show here because it recently had a plot arc that was totally Script Frenzy-related. Sarah Braverman (Lauren Graham—but always Lorelai Gilmore in my book) stayed up all night writing a stage script. Frenzied, right? Since then, we’ve followed her as she revises (with the help of Richard Dreyfuss—always Mr. Holland in my book), finds a backer, and ultimately sees her play performed at a fictional local theater.

Now, is it a coincidence that the show takes place in Berkeley—OLL’s home base—and has aired this subplot during our favorite scriptwriting month? Maybe, but I’d prefer to think that we’ve just gotten our first major network shout-out. Now, can we get those Glee kids to start working on novels in November?

From bestseller to blockbuster: A NaNo-novel hits the big screen

With Script Frenzy underway, I have been thinking a lot about adaptations of novels to other media—like film!

To the best of my knowledge, Water for Elephants is the first of the 80-plus published NaNo-novels to be adapted into a movie. And what a worthy candidate for this milestone, too! Have you read it? You really should.

The first time I read Sara Gruen’s 1930s-era circus drama, I had never even heard of NaNoWriMo. Now, as NaNo’s Program Director, I am rereading the novel in anticipation of its April 22 major motion picture release.

I have to say, I am even more engrossed—and impressed—by this novel the second time around. Upon my first read, I was certainly a convert to this alternately rough and glamorous world that Gruen so masterfully creates. But now I can’t help but focus a little more on the fact that the kernel of this novel—the rough draft of the bestseller-to be—was written in a month.

Kudos to Sara, and to all published NaNo-novelists! I can’t wait to see which novel is the next to be made into a movie.

(I just finished Elizabeth Haynes’ page-turner Into the Darkest Corner, and I  confess I’ve already cast the movie in my head.)

Are you adapting your NaNo-novel during Script Frenzy? Tell us about it!

Confessions of a TV Junkie

I’m kind of a TV junkie. More to the point, I’m kind of an obsessive TV junkie. You may have been noticing, over the course of my posts on this blog, that I’m generally kind of an obsessive person in general. But while my slightly over-enthusiastic nature manifests itself in many places, it’s probably most obvious when it comes to television.

These days, my obsessiveness often turns to TV on DVD. Part of what makes me so obsessive is my complete inability to jump into a show partway through, so even when people tell me how great a new show is, if I can’t watch it from the beginning, I won’t watch it at all. This means I often come very late to the party and then show up ready to dance the night away when everyone else has started cleaning up.

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What We’re Watching: Le Samourai

I’ve been hit with a cold and I’m gearing up for Script Frenzy… so naturally I spent half the weekend on my couch watching movies. I happened to watch Le Samourai, a classic French noir film from 1967, and it was amazing. The movie follows loner hitman Jef Costello as he takes out an unknown club owner. There is one direct witness, and a handful of bystanders. Jef gets called in for questioning, things get tense, and it just goes from there. It’s a slow-paced, quiet, dark movie, and the cinematography is really outstanding. Highly recommended for the next time you’re stuck on the couch with a sore throat. (Or for when you’re perfectly healthy!)

Now I’m going to queue up my Netflix with a bunch more late ’60s French films, with the hopes of inspiring my script in April!

The OLL Oscar Pool

I’ve never been much of a gambler, but there is one bet I place every year: my annual Oscar Pool. I usually just pick whatever Roger Ebert tells me is going to win, but this year, having seen all of the Best Picture nominees*, I’m feeling a little more invested in the whole process. It’s much harder to pick when you’re actually basing it on your experience, not just Roger Ebert’s infinite wisdom.
 
Since the OLL is full of movie enthusiasts, we decided we’d run our own little pool so you could all weigh in to argue with us. We’re pretty much lacking a consensus in all categories except for animated feature and supporting actor, so this should create some healthy debate as well as some bragging rights come Monday morning.

Presented for your examination, here are the movies that (some of) the staff of the Office of Letters and Light think should win, and who will win. Whose side are you on? What are your picks?

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Weeping into popcorn and paperbacks

My whole life, I have cried in movies. When I was very small and still living in England, the BBC made a movie out of Raymond Briggs’ The Snowman, one of my family’s favourite books. I wasn’t quite two, but I cried so hard at the end of the movie that my mother’s shirt was completely drenched.

Pixar movies are the worst. I remember when Toy Story 2 came out, my friend and I went to see a matinee. It was us two university students and a theatre full of little kids, and while they laughed and enjoyed the whole movie, my friend and I were trying not to make too much of a scene as we bawled our eyes out. I blame Sarah McLachlan for the brunt of that one. When I saw Up, I cried so hard my 3D glasses got foggy.

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The Oscar Quest

After my friend and I saw Black Swan on Friday night, I convinced her that we had both seen enough of the Best Picture nominees that we might as well go for all ten. She is the easy-going type and went along with my scheme (such an obliging friend), and thus, our Oscar quest was born.

We aren’t going for every movie that’s been nominated for everything; time and budget are a deal-breaker on that one. (Not to mention a complete lack of desire to see Tron: Legacy.) But I like the idea of seeing the ten movies that were (somewhat arbitrarily) declared the best of 2010. I’ve never managed it before, not even when there were only five nominees, and since the general consensus seems to be that 2010 was a strong year for movies, it seemed like a good time to start.

Besides, it’s a good warm-up for Script Frenzy to go on a movie binge.

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Mike Birbiglia: My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend

This past weekend, I headed into San Francisco to see My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend, the new feature-length show by Mike Birbiglia. A traditional comedian for many years, Birbiglia has recently shifted his focus to (and found quite a bit of success with) a sustained, personal storytelling style. He’s honed those skills as a contributor to This American Life and The Moth, and through Sleepwalk With Me, an epic sleep-disorder tale that ran off-Broadway and is now available in book form.

My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend is a story, most simply, about love. It traces Birbiglia’s evolution in relationships, from cringe-inducing adolescent anecdotes to a hard-earned moment of clarity that begins and ends the show. His SF Sketchfest appearances—three performances in three days—were a ramp-up and work-through for an extended run in New York. The show isn’t quite done yet; it could use some tightening and better transitions into and out of the poignant beats. Still, it was clear that this is a special creation for Birbiglia. When talking about sleep, even one’s own, one can keep some degree of objective distance. But when talking seriously about love, vulnerability is inherent. Adding humor to this requires a balancing act—the domain of a skilled performer.

I was really impressed with the show as a “next step” for Mike Birbiglia, and I can’t wait to see it again in its finished form.