Saturday 17 September 2011

What's the B****y point (Film News - 17/09/11)

I have to ask because I spend all week with my nose to the ground, digesting press releases and sorting through the flotsam and jetsam of film news coverage all to discover there's naff all going on.

Sure I could mention the fascinating but far too young list of actors being considered for Steven Soderbergh's Man from U.N.C.L.E remake (don't get me wrong, I like Ryan Gosling and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as much as anyone but they're no Robert Vaughn). Or how about the latest star character actors queuing up to join Robert Redford's The Company you Keep, and I'm not complaining about getting a chance to see Stanley Tucci and Chris Cooper strut their stuff in a parable about politics and journalism, it just shouldn't be the biggest story I have, should it?

Indeed the only titbit that even vaguely caught my eye was Gus van Sant saying at Toronto that's he's still trying to adapt Tom Wolfe's Electric Kool-Aid Acid test for the big screen. This is the legendary drug-fuelled road trip Ken Kesey went on before writing One flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. That's great - and I do really want to see that at cinemas - but we've been talking about it since October 2008! Now I want more than talk.



Maybe I've just missed something. Maybe there's been loads of delightful news stories that have just passed me by. If you've read anything over the last 7 days that made you go "Hmmm.... That seems like a great idea for a movie." Please let me know in the comments. There must be something out there to raise some interest.

3 comments:

Colleen said...

Sorry, nothing to add in the interesting upcoming category. Reading your post though reminded me that I had an Man from U.N.C.L.E coloring book when I was a kid. Isn't that a strange show to make into a coloring book?

TomS said...

Ben, I'm sorry your conscientious search for interesting film news is coming up for naught.

I used to read the weekly Variety for news about films in development, about actors and directors, even the scuttlebut on awards. One day our local mega-bookstore suddenly stopped carying Variety...and then it closed.

And so now I rely on you!

Man From UNCLE might lose some charm in the updating....unless they plant tongue in cheek, for an Austin Powers-type sendup...Anyway, Ryan and Joseph are easy on the eyes...

I'd be up for a film version of the Kesey novel...it would need a director and cast who understands the spirit of that time...Maybe Van Sant is perfect?

Hope you find material that excites you more next week...

Runs Like A Gay said...

A Man from UNCLE colouring book sounds so cool - even if it is a little bizarre - I want one now and I'm 34.

OMG I've replaced Variety - that's a scary thought. You realise I'm very biased in my reporting, often missing out on very big stuff because I have no interest in watching it...

I really look forward to a van Sant EKAAT but it seems like all we're getting is the odd tease rather than any action.

This week was better for news but I long to go back to early summer where I could barely fit everything in.