Cool News
CAT'S CRADLE written by Richard Kelly' Directed by Darren Aronofsky' Starring Leonardo DiCaprio'
Hey folks, Harry here, just got this from Eddie Punchclock, and I have to say this has me very excited. Richard Kelly is a genius. Darren Aronofsky is a genius. Leonardo DiCaprio is a really talented actor. And CAT'S CRADLE is genius. The only thing that gives me pause is that the original Vonnegut novel is filled with so many great "ideas" and "thoughts" that too often seem to be left behind when a great philosophical book, like CAT'S CRADLE is being brought to the screen. I've got faith that someone like Kelly could make the necessary "inventions" to actualize or give "form" to these ponderings which I think all that love Vonnegut's novel would love to see cinematically birthed by Aronofsky. Whatever... the brains behind this are the best.... Hell, if ya just popped their collective noodles and displayed them in bubbling petry dishes, I'd watch... Personally, I think Kelly's brain would grow tentacles and eat Aronofsky and DiCaprio's brains... but that's the shrooms talkin'
I wasn't sure if you had heard about this or not, but
in case you hadn't, this was too big to keep under my
hat.
Put this in your pipe and smoke it:
The word on the street is that Darren Aronofsky is set
to direct a film adaptation of the spectacular Kurt
Vonnegut, Jr. novel "Cat's Cradle." The screenplay
will be adapted by Richard Kelly.
News came from Variety back in May (though I just
today caught wind of it), it is reportedly going to be
produced by Leonardo DiCaprio's production shingle,
Appian Way.
A writer/director team such as this is one of the few
hopes that such a wonderful novel can have to be
adapted faithfully.
-Eddie Punchclock
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+ Expand All
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Oct 28, 2003 12:41:09 PM CST
Based on a Variety report from May? Way to stay topical there, f
by richardhellfan
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Kelly and Aronofsky should cook up something rather special.
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Oct 28, 2003 12:55:32 PM CST
Definitely old news... shit, was hoping for an update on this pr
by el duderino
The last thing I heard about this, and I forget how long ago this was, was Richard Kelly talking about how adapting this novel has been one of the hardest things he's ever had to do. And having read (and loved) Cat's Cradle, I'd have to agree with him that adapting Vonnegut's novel into a workable movie is certainly an unenviable task.
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Oct 28, 2003 12:56:45 PM CST
Definitely old news... shit, was hoping for an update on this pr
by el duderino
The last thing I heard about this, and I forget how long ago this was, was Richard Kelly talking about how adapting this novel has been one of the hardest things he's ever had to do. And having read (and loved) Cat's Cradle, I'd have to agree with him that adapting Vonnegut's novel into a workable movie is certainly an unenviable task.
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Oct 28, 2003 2:16:03 PM CST
If you put Leo in it, the masses will come and bitter walk away
by big bad clone
I'm not sure I even want a film adaptation of Cat Cradle. I love that book! I like Richard Kelly. I like Darren Afarosky (sp?). I like Leo (not in that way) but I hate his fans. Shit, I'm sure Brad Pitt would love to do this but I'd hate for the word of mouth on something that could be absolute genius to be "Dumb" and "I don't get it". BTW if they have to make a film, I'm okay with this team or Charlie Kaufman/Spike Jonze. Other than that just scrap it.
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seriously.
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These guys are biting off more than they can chew. They'll never get the tone right. Some things work in your head, some things just look stupid on a movie screen.
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Oct 28, 2003 5:08:24 PM CST
Wow, a new geek-dream-project from three wildly overrated people
by mosquito march
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With Bruce Willis as protagonist Dwaye Hoobler? I saw it in an out-of-the-way theater in NYC; I think the movie had about as limited a theatrical release as you can get without being considered direct-to-video. Well, the movie followed the book VERY closely; which ordinarily is good news, at least in theory. However, I'm sure it would also potentially alienation anyone who didn't read it. btw, I read "Breakfast of Champions" a few times, and as a major Vonnegut fan, I maintain that, contrary to popular opinion, it is NOT one of his better ones.
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Jesus Christ is that horrible. Cat's Cradle is one of my favorite books, and should not be a movie. I ussually don't say that type of thing. Movies based on books can be good, and are ussually not good, but either way I usually don't care if a book I like is made into a movie. This time I care, and think that they should stay away from Cat's Cradle, AND ESPECIALLY KEEP DICAPRIO AWAY. His last good performance was in What's Eating Gilbert Grape. He isn't very talented, especially not enough for something like Cat's Cradle.
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One of the biggest fags on the planet!
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While I'm very excited about watching another Darren Aronofsky film, I'm not sure if Leo's the right choice for the lead. Seriously, how does this kid keep getting work? As mentioned before he did do a good job in What's Eating Gilbert Grape? and Marvin's Room (and in this other film which name I can't remember.. Robert DeNiro played his abusive father in it), but everything post Titanic is questionable. I just didn't "believe" any of the character roles he's been playing recently. Although I agreed he's overrated, Aronofsky certainly is NOT. Pi and Requiem for a Dream were excellent films and I hope this one makes more money at the box-office than his previous two. If it's very successful, who knows.. maybe we'll get to see The Fountain someday after all! That would be cool.
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Really, i'd like some CONSTRUCTIVE criticism for a change. "He's a fag" and "He sucks" don't cut it. Why do you think he is so terrible? He turned in fantastic performances in "This Boy's Life", "What's Eating Gilbert Grape?", "Romeo & Juliet", and "Catch Me IF You Can". Don't hate him just because he has legions of young female fans. It's not his fault, well, maybe indirectly.
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"This Boys Life" is the film with deniro. I saw this film and it's pretty good. I didn't know who Dicapprio was at the time and it suppised me. If memory serves it's based on a Pat Conroy book.
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suprised. Sorry!
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"This Boys Life" is the film with deniro. I saw this film and it's pretty good. I didn't know who Dicapprio was at the time and it suppised me. If memory serves it's based on a Pat Conroy book.
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Interesting side note, Deniro's little girl in the movie is Eliza Dushku, I shit you not.
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007-11, your right.. constructive criticism would be nice. I bet Aronofsky can bring out the best in Leo and show that he has more range as an actor (just look at what he did with Marlon Wayans in Requiem). Maybe Leo's huge female fanbase has alienated him, however I still don't think he's proven himself as a top player just yet. He's popular yes.. but he's no Brando (but then again, who is?). Here's hope to a truimph performance. PS - This Boy's Life.. that's what it was.. great movie. Thanks.
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Oct 28, 2003 9:12:25 PM CST
not only is this old news, but this has already appeared on AICN
by frosteey
Check out this link:
http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=15268 -
The best Vonnegut book-to-film so far has been Mother Night.
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I'm a devout Vonnegut fan, but I'm skeptical about seeing Cats Cradle hit the screen. I love that book, and the tone may not easily translate well to screen...Vonnegut's pitch black humor and allegory may be taken the wrong way. But if there was anyone to make this film, its Aronofsky. Very talenetd indeed.(Imagine the talkback if McG had signed onto this project). Now was it just me or did I see an article on here a few months back about Aronofsky bringing Flicker to the screen, another very great novel. I would prefer him to do that one...it seems much more suited to his style from what I've seen in Pi and Requiem. Anyways, those are my ramblings.
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i have yet to see something of Richard Kelly's that surpasses Aronfsky's. Requiem and Pi are both disturbing classics, I thought Darko was odd and compellingly atmospheric, but that was that. Unless Kelly amazes me with something completely off-center and brilliant, then Aronfsky remains the bigger genius to me.
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Boy does that look shit!
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but cats cradle might be my favorite book. hilarious! so does anyone have any ideas who should play bokonon? this rocks. this could be an interesting film.
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decap really takes interesting roles. its not his fault he was elevated to teen pop status, thanks for that goes to mr. cameron for making a tearjerky film heavy on the sap (but as we all well know, camerons flicks are ALWAYS over the top.) even though he was young in basketball diaries, he still played it well. shitdamn, the guy can act. He's unfortunately got stigma attached to him now, and i'll bet duckets to dolares he never wished that would happen, but that he would be recognized for his acting skills.
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And it has nothing to do with the talent levels of the three principles. Cat's Cradle is simply unadaptable. Anyone complaining about the casting of DiCaprio has to understand that the producers are caught in a Catch-22 -- In order for the movie to get the budget it needs to do the story justice, it needs the presence of a major star, even though a faithful adaptation of the book calls for an unknown Everyman in the lead. If you've read Cat's Cradle, you know that the narrator plays a very passive role in the story, mostly simply observing the dozen or so peripheral characters as they unwittingly spin the plot into ridiculous proportions. He isn't even mentioned by name after the first page. In a big-budget star-driven Hollywood movie, a non-proactive protagonist is impossible. My guess is that this project will just die a quiet death and everyone involved will just move on, or the final product will bear little relationship to Vonnegut's brilliant novel, and be hated by everyone.
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if Kelly can turn Cat's Cradle into a cohesive film, I'd call him America's greatest screenwriter.
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I don't believe I've ever read a better novel. Vonnegut manages to nail every convention that exists in this book. The only way I see this working is through the following crazy idea. First, break it up into 2, 3, or maybe even 4 movies (that may be too many-who knows), in other words a mini-series on the big screen similiar to "The Godfather I and II or LLOR trilogy. Second, the most radical idea which no studio would ever go for, a constant narration as if the book is being read out loud. Filmaking has to be spinned on its head to make this masterpiece work. The only way to do this story and a subsequent film justice would be to make the audience experience it all, and the only way you can do that is through these to techniques. In other words one must see Cat's Cradle the book, not Cat's Cradle the Synopsis, otherwise it's all in vain, I don't care if Charlie Kaufman writes and David Fincher directs. I would just be a waste of talent, and the greatest modern story told. Peace OUT
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Leo DiCaprio as a midget? That sucks. Reading through the first few chapters again though...I could hear his voice narrating. That sucks too. Damn.
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Oct 28, 2003 11:54:21 PM CST
Decaprio a talented actor? More like a teen idol pretty boy...
by chien_sale
Harry never ceases to amaze me. In a weird crackpot way.
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You really can't bring a Vonnegut book to the screen successfully. I might be wrong. I have never read "Cat's Cradle" but Harry hits it on the nose. Vonnegut's book are full of ideas and thoughts, not narrative structure or anything that resembles it. Alan Rudouph made "Breakfast of Champions" a while back with Bruce Willis and that is absolutely God awful. He stayed true to the tone of the source but his books don't make good movies. Yes, it seems they have all the right elements in place but not even a genius can make a Vonnegut book work as a film.
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PI was interesting, but when REQUIEM FOR A DREAM rolled around, he proved himself to be a dog with one trick - the rapidly-edited drug montages - which really aren't all that original or interesting, anyway. And, I find his movies exceptionally inhuman. I don't think he has any love or even just empathy for any of his characters, and he delights in shoving the audience's face in their miseries. And, in REQUIEM, it's really all for no purpose. We as a society are very aware that drugs are bad. We know they can drive people into the depths of desperation and madness. We know they kill. So, what exactly did Aronofsky teach us by showing Jared Leto's arm decomposing while still attached to his body? What did we learn from the Jennifer Connelly dildo scene? Why, we learned that drugs are indeed bad! At the end of the day, REQUIEM is simply a brutal exercise in degradation and style, and most of the style was just rehashed visual gimmicks from PI. I don't care how beloved this guy is by the indie community - I think he still has a lot to prove. THE FOUNTAIN could have been interesting. I was sorry to see that one go down. But, CAT'S CRADLE? A combination of Aronofsky, Kelly, DiCaprio adapting Vonnegut sounds like a recipe for disaster. Too many overrated "geniuses" trying to adapt an unadaptable novel is bad news.
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Oct 29, 2003 2:03:35 AM CST
Puhhlease people-- why assume the film will have anything to do
by diskatopia
AS IF any money-men are going to put DiCaprio in a film and (SPOILERS) essentially have the planet and everyone on it destroyed at the end. Sure they are. Having him die popsicle-romantic in "Titanic" is one thing, having freakin' everyone die and the planet turn into a frozen wasteland in "Cat's Cradle" is another matter totally ... they'll look at "Requiem for a Dream"'s teeny-weenie gross and nix the novel's ending lickity-split. ... More likely it will be bowdlerized, bastardized, and b***f***ed worse than any novel to film mutation since Forrest Gump. I can hear the Suits now-- "that's nice Dare-baby, but can we have Leo make a leaping save at that ice69 at just the right moment? Then, for that deep brooding stuff you like so much, have Leo ponder what to do with it now that he has it, that would be the shizzle, huh?"
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...so named for German bacteriologist Julius R. Petri. Sorry. I'm not normally one of those people that corrects spelling like an asshole, but that bugged me. I'm really excited about this movie, since Donnie Darko and Requiem for a Dream were so visionary. These are definitely two guys who know unconventional storytelling.
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Damn, aren't you throwing around the word, "genius" pretty wildly.
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Donnie Darko was a Masterpeace!
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Mike Myers, Verne Troyer and Denise Richardson directed by Rob Reiner. That would rock!
Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha -
Pat Conroy? I don't think so. Tobias Wolff, folks. It's a memoir--his life with mom and stepdad.
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Pat Conroy? I don't think so. Tobias Wolff, folks. It's a memoir--his life with mom and stepdad.
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While I love (as much as one can possibly) Requiem, and even sometimes enjoy Leonardo DiCaprio, neither Arnofsky, nor Leo, can properly set the scathing, sarcastic tone of Cat's Cradle, which is my favorite book of all time. I think this is really the only Vonnegut book that can work well as a movie (with the only other exception possibly being God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater -- I hated the Slaughter-house-five movie) because I find it to be written the most cinematically by Vonnegut. The problem with Breakfast was that while it was a great interpretation of the book, it failed because the narrator is Vonnegut, not a character like in Cat's Cradle. Leo is not the John I ever imagined seeing in the book, but Bill Murray a la Lost in Translation would suffice. Hell, Guy Pierce, in any movie would work. Even Johny Depp. Brad Pitt. Ed Norton. Anyone else!
I do agree with the Kaufman/Jonze pairing, but fear that Kaufman's interpretation would stray from the book too much. I think they should bring in Fincher who's Fight Club sets the exact tone that the book of the same name exudes. That's it! Repair Brad Pitt, Edward Norton (he would be a kick ass Frank) and David Fincher. Do it...the movie would be fan-fucking-tastic!
I think I think the heart of the book is the scene when we hear about the disease that's plagued the islanders at the jungle hospital and that father/founder/lead doctor says to his son (who owns the hotel John stays at), "Son, someday this will all be yours."
I just hope this movie doesn't get fucked up, as the book is the reason I want to be a writer. I've always wanted to see this as a movie and pray that it'll be half as great as the book. -
That word is the next "awesome."
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"Richard Kelly talking about how adapting this novel has been one of the hardest things he's ever had to do".- Doesn't suprise me at all, seeing as how he can't even clearly interpret his own inane material.
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Requiem is vastly overrated and didn't bring anything to the debate on drugs. PLus watching it was a truly horrible experience that only a truly desensitised soul could enjoy. But I loved Darko and Pi was very good, so here's hoping this works. DiCaprio has some game, but it will be a long time before he lives down Titanic, and he has not really shown the goods since then, with the exception of Catch me if you can. That doesn't count though cause it was directed by Spielberg and therefore always destined for greatness.
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Chuck Palahniuk's work won't translate well to the big screen. Fight Club is just about my favorite book and unless they can get it right, don't make it at all! How could they POSSIBLY translate an imaginary person to the screen? I just don't see it.
And what's with Brad Pitt as Tyler Durden? He's just a pretty boy actor whom the teenie boppers love. I thought he sucked in Legends of the Fall! He's no GENIUS. Get a REAL actor like Tom Hanks to play Tyler Durden. And why Fincher? And who is this Chuck Palahnuik, with the dumb name? Fincher just likes movies about serial killers. I have read Fight Club; it is about fight clubs; Fincher has no experience directing movies about Fight Clubs. He sucks. He's over-rated. Chuck Palahnuik is even less than a genius than he is. Pitt is just going to do TV now that he has married Rachel; I read it in Entertainment Weekly in an article by Owen Gleiberman. Now there's a genius. Owen should write a book about fight clubs, have Ron Howard direct it and starring Ben Affleck with that super-sexy "triple threat" Jennifer Lopez as Marla.
Most of the posters on this thread should be castrated by three cops named Andrew, Kevin and Walker.
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