Whenever Monsieur Redacteur, Donald, and I get together we always have interesting conversations. Usually about good writers and good books. When I mention that my celebrity husband and musical soulmate John Cusack is going to be playing Edgar Allen Poe, the conversation gets a little nuts and because I'm a very fast typer, I start typing notes.
John Cusack as Edgar Allen Poe? Donald isn't impressed with the casting choice. He thinks a young Alec Guiness would have been a suitable choice to play Poe in James McTeigue's The Raven, but Cusack not so much. I disagree. I think Cusack gives good Poe and he's literary enough to lead me to believe he has actually read some Poe.
There's no trailer yet for the Poe movie, but here are some other movies with a literary theme we came up with and some of our wine addled discussion.
Providence - The film I've been asked most often if I've seen it and have since missed every subsequent showing of this film whenever its been playing in some of the smaller movie theaters here in Paris. Next time though, I'm gonna make it. I can't find a trailer online, but here's the IMDB page.
Total Eclipse - David Thwelis plays Veraline to Leo's Rimbaud. It's a pretty intense film about the duo about their love that ended when Verlaine shot Rimbaud (who survived but the relationship did not).
Capote - The best according to Donald, mostly because of Philip Seymour Hoffman's brilliance. I agree that PSH is a genius, but haven't see the other movie.
Infamous - Haven't seen it. He thinks Sandra Bullock was in it. That doesn't actually dissuade me because I don't mind Sandra Bullock. I think she has a sense of humour. Turns out to be a film about Capote. The dialogue is also apparently "quite snappy" and the movie has a more "flamboyant" Truman.
That one with Michael Douglas - The Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon.
The Squid and the Whale
Decontructing Harry. One of the few Woody films I haven't seen. Defintely putting it on the list.
Factotum - Bukowski. "He writes about writing."
The Shining.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
We all say in unison.
Howl
Sense and Sensibility. Hugh Grant, Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, and Alan Rickman.
The Producers (The one with Gene Wilder.)
Naked Lunch. Is it about writing? "There's a typewriter on the poster." "I have trouble with Naked Lunch." (C'mon boys. Its Burroughs directed by Cronenberg. And yes it's about writing.)
Barton Fink. "Oh yeah nice one. Nice one," Donald says.
Permanent Midnight. Ben Stiller plays a crack addict. And apparently a writer. Yeah, Ben Stiller. By the guy who wrote Alf. Monsieur Redacteur and Donald find that really disturbing. We have to see it.
I want to see I Capture the Castle based on Dodie Smith's novel.
On the Road comes out this year. "At least it's not Franco again," Donald says. The guy from Tron is playing Cassidy.
American Splendor.
"Yeah, I suppose Fear and Loathing is about a writer, but not exactly about the craft," says Monsieur Redacteur.
Storytelling according to Monsieur Redacteur says is a weird movie but it's also good.
Now this might seem like a short list, but we stayed up pretty late talking. Not too late because we need to go to do stuff today (even though it's raining cats and dogs) and Donald is off on the next leg of his adventure (the last time he was off on a similar adventure he hitchhiked to Dover, took a ferry to Calais, slept in a French tavern, took a train to Paris, took a train to Zurich, flew from Zurich to Istanbul, and finally arrived in Shanghai. This time he's come from England again, will go to Normandie, and then fly to Shanghai before he sets out to wander around China for a month.
Donald calls chez Ama one of his many homes and everyone needs a home away from home. Hopefully one day I'll find a home of my own.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please leave a comment.