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Chuck to CHOKE Theater Goers?!?!?!
Hey folks, Harry here with the latest Chuck Palahniuk 'story'. Seems according to this unconfirmed rumor - We might be getting this brought to us soon. Although, for it not to be formally announced and allegedly set to start shooting this month... seems odd. Or maybe i just missed an announcement. Here ya go...
Hi Harry;
Long time reader, first time informer, yada yada. I interviewed Chuck Palahniuk last Monday in Vancouver, and he drop this doozy, I don't know if it's old news, but I can't recall reading it. His novel 'Choke' will start filming this March, with Susan Sarandon as the Mother and Ryan Gosling and Heath Ledger fighting for the lead. The team of 'Constantine' is behind this adaptation.
My opinion: Sure, Ledger is huge right now, but Gosling seems more appropriate for the character.
Cheers,
Call me Mancini.
For those unfamiliar with the novel, here's Amazon's breakdown of the novel:
Victor Mancini is a ruthless con artist. Victor Mancini is a med-school dropout who's taken a job playing an Irish indentured servant in a colonial-era theme park in order to help care for his Alzheimer's-afflicted mother. Victor Mancini is a sex addict. Victor Mancini is a direct descendant of Jesus Christ. All of these statements about the protagonist of Choke are more or less true. Welcome, once again, to the world of Chuck Palahniuk.
"Art never comes from happiness." So says Mancini's mother only a few pages into the novel. Given her own dicey and melodramatic style of parenting, you would think that her son's life would be chock-full of nothing but art. Alas, that's not the case. In the fine tradition of Oedipus, Stephen Dedalus, and Anthony Soprano, Victor hasn't quite reconciled his issues with his mother. Instead, he's trawling sexual-addiction recovery meetings for dates and purposely choking in restaurants for a few moments of attention. Longing for a hug, in other words, he's settling for the Heimlich.
Thematically, this is pretty familiar Palahniuk territory. It would be a pity to disclose the surprises of the plot, but suffice it to say that what we have here is a little bit of Tom Robbins's Another Roadside Attraction, a little bit of Don DeLillo's The Day Room, and, well, a little bit of Fight Club. Just as with Fight Club and the other two novels under Palahniuk's belt, we get a smattering of gloriously unflinching sound bites, including this skeptical bit on prayer chains: "A spiritual pyramid scheme. As if you can gang up on God. Bully him around."
Whether this is the novel that will break Palahniuk into the mainstream is hard to say. For a fourth book, in fact, the ratio of iffy, "dude"-intensive dialogue to interesting and insightful passages is a little higher than we might wish. In the end, though, the author's nerve and daring pull the whole thing off--just barely. And what's next for Victor Mancini's creator? Leave the last word to him, declaring as he does in the final pages: "Maybe it's our job to invent something better.... What it's going to be, I don't know." --Bob Michaels
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So this could be interesting.
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The list of actual films are that are genuinely anti-religion is so goddamn short. I'd say less than 1% of major Hollywood productions have been actively anti-religion. There may be some ambiguity or satirical elements in some films, but not every film has to be 100% pro-Jesus.
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It would rule.
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Discuss.
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Palahniuk has like 6 books out now.
I'm a fan and have read everyone of his books. Most I like, a couple I don't...and Choke is good but highly over rated.
Whether or not this news is true is hard to say. Palahniuks has had everyone of his books optioned since Fight Club came out and yet we've still not seen anything else even close to actually getting made.
I also agree with the person who said Gosling over Ledger. -
My vote is for Invisible Monsters. I think the story would translate great to the big screen.
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There have been several attempts to make it happen, and several big writers have attempted to come up with a good take on it. So far it just hasn't worked, and I don't foresee that changing. CHOKE is far frmo Palahniuk's best, by the way.
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chuck p. is great, but i've read all of his books ('cept the latest) and I dont think any of them would translate well. But that's just me, maybe if they did Monsters right and cast someone super hot, (but not Jessica Biel) and they'd have to get the payoff at the end right.
Choke was funny. Heath just aint the right guy for the job. Need someone to fit the "slacker" role better. Not a pretty-boy-of-the-moment type. And who's in talks to play his buddy that has the crankin it addiction? It should be someone who can do a comedic role w/o being to goofy...
Any suggestions? -
Two quick things: (1) Choke is actually my favorite Palahniuk novel. To those who hate it, whatever. (2) Maybe Hollywood wouldn't poke fun at Christians all the time if they would stop being so outraged about every thing that comes out. Look at the Oscars this year--almost all of the films nominated for Best Pic have irritated the Christians for one reason or another. The thing that kills me is how many Christians hide their fear of homosexuality by saying they're against Brokeback Mountain solely based on moral principles when they will then go and watch a movie where 50 people are shot with machine guns. How can it be said that homosexuality is more of a sin than killing people? You closed-minded morons bring it on yourselves. Sorry if the rest of us are smart enough to know that the earth is millions of years old and not thousands, and also that there is no way in hell that a man named Jonah lived inside the belly of a whale for more than 100 years. So stop bellyaching, Christians, and get back to work judging others, persecuting Christians, voting for the Bush administration, and watching your Judgment Day straight-to-video God movies starring Mr. T. Oh, I'm sorry. Did that seem like I was mocking you? See, you f*ckers take everything so damned personally!
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That was supposed to read "persecuting homosexuals" instead of "persecuting Christians." By all means feel free to persecute other Christians! :)
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Meant to say persecuting gays, not Christians. By all means persecute other Christians! :)
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This movie has been in develpoment for SO long. Finally some good is coming out of it. Of all the Palahniuuk books, Choke was my favorite. I love the idea of Ledger as Victor, but i as if i cant get the concept of Hal Sparks in the role. Point is...this is great news for Chuck fans.
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With talent like that behind it, I'm sure it'll be a masterpiece.
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But college students decided to annoint him the second coming of....some good writer.
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I was really hoping it was a new Chuck Norris movie.
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I thought this topic was going to be about Norris going berserk.
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LOL...you beat me to it.
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to take shots at the most religious folks of them all - duh black folk - dey looove dat Jesus praise God HALLELUJAH!!! ... and totally get a free pass. What was it that Jesse Jackson said about New Orleans ... ah yes "God is angry about the Bush presidency ... and sent Katrina to punish him"
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If the vast majority of Americans are religious, and Hollywood is in America, and the denizens of Hollywood are therefore Americans wouldn't it stand to reason that Hollywood is religious? And if so, why would Hollywood, religious as it is, attack religion as a matter of course?
To keep it real: I don't really believe that Hollywood is wholly religious or not. Nor do I think it's totally liberal,conservative, gay, straight etc etc
What I feel confident asserting it IS, is motivated by MONEY. That's all. I've never bought the notion that it's some kind of giant war-room full of scheming madfolk set on attacking anybody or anything...well...for the most part anyway.
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Word. This goofy delay in posts have us preaching to the choir. Hear hear.
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DIARY is actually Jack's Boring Pretentious Book. I thought Choke was fun. Not as good as Fight Club or Survivor, but fun.
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I haven't met a person yet who liked it...
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Is 'Survivor' being made already? I'd read that it was. That book is amazing.
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He's smart enought to know that the Earth is millions of years old!! MILLIONS! Wowie zowie!
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Um, Christians by and large believe that the world is far less than a million years old. Duh, do you even know what you're making fun of, dummy?
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Jonah was in the belly of a whale for three days: not 100 years. So who's the "moron" now? ("Did that seem like I was mocking you?")
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The vast majority of America voted for George Bush. The majority of Germans probably thought Hitler was a swell guy, too. Just because something is the majority doesn't make it right. Hell, look at the 2000 elections. The majority voted for one man and yet we ended up with another President. So look at that.
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...was a movie with a religious hero. The funny thing was, the most Christian character in the film was the Jewish girl. Good stuff. Teh Suk, you talk good sense. And _Choke_ wasn't as good as _Survivor_ (hmmm, his best?), but it blew doors off _Invisible Monsters_, which once you figured out the twist didn't have much under all that pancake makeup.I hear that _Haunted_ is crap.
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You did NOT just compare Bush to Hitler. I mean, I'm no fan, but come on. Really.
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Well, I've been hearing different interpretations of the Jonah LEGEND, but um, so you're saying that A MAN LIVING INSIDE A WHALE FOR EVEN THREE DAYS SEEMS PLAUSIBLE TO YOU? Well, my mother was a virgin, too, so I guess anything's possible. BTW, LAST TEMPTATION rules and THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST was pure shit.
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That's one of the worst books I've ever read in my life. The "twists" are moronic, most of the scenes, espcially the "sex on the ceiling" bit are nauseatingly ridiculous, and the characters couldn't be more cardboard than if they were Donald Sutherland and Jane Fonda at the end of STEELYARD BLUES.
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I'd like to see how mine and the one that airs films. As long as that wodnerful "rape" scene is in it and the line of "Oh, I was thinking of this OTHER rape" remain, I'll be pleased.Haunted and Invisible Monsters would be great to see on film in my opinion. Diary I was not crazy about and Lullaby had some really cheesy moments (sex while floating), but had a good tone to it.
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A LOT.
But its a love it or hate it movie.
I dont see this movie happening. Isn't Ledger saying he wants to take time off anyway? Also, I read Choke a few years ago. Can't remember much about it. To paraphrase Squid and the Whale:"Minor Chuck". But really I think it was his last one worth a damn. Lullaby was awful. His best was Invisible Monsters. The first half of Survivor has enough cool stuff for like three movies. Honestly Survivor has the best potential to be a film. But post 9-11 it will never happen. Monsters just seems like you could make it. But it would never be right. -
Were doing "Survivor?" Anyway, I think that "Lullaby" should be made with John C. Reilly as "Carl Streator". He would be perfect for the sad-sack, everyman that "Streator" needs to be. I have a friend whose ex-husband went to school with Reilly on the southside of Chicago, and they would hang with him when he came back from LA. I told her and told her to have him look into this damn book. Find out if anyone is attached, or had the option, or whatever. I don't think she ever relayed the message.
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This is the second most adaptable book of his after Fight Club. And Invisible Monsters always worries me as a movie, because it's a main character with most of her face shot off for the majority of the story. And felching. Lots of felching. But Choke is a very good book, probably the most reality-grounded of all of his work. And yes, I enjoyed Constantine for what it was, but I am pretty unfamiliar with Hellblazer, so that might be part of it. Stormare and Tilda as Satan and Gabriel, respectively, were aweomse.
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CHOKE being my favorite CP novel, it'll either never happen, or they'll fuck it up royally. WHY CAN'T SURVIVOR BE FILMED POST 9/11? just because it features a plane crash? lord, i hope we are not that oversensitive -
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...most movies with wholesome family values bore the shit out of me. And most religious tales. I thought Passion of the Christ was well-filmed but superficial, conceited and boring (And as a Jew who went to 12 years of Catholic school, I tend to like Jesus movies). The two Tyler Perry movies are offensively bland and dumb. I'd rather have a good, innovative and challenging story than something with family values. But not always. I love most family films (the creepy ones, like Polar Express and Willy Wonka, or the non-schmaltzy ones, like Sky High). I just don't always like being preached to. Pixar movies are family-friendly, but even their last one, The Incredibles, was remarkably violent and anarchistic, and had some strangely sexual moments. I just think that in a few years, the religious movies will go back to the straight-to-video block, and we'll continue demanding escapist films, something that won't always tie in directly to our lives.
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He suits the description very well, and would be much better than Ledger. Ledger would very much need to change if he was in this. I used to think Robert Downey Jr. would also be good as Victor. Casting of Denny will also be important (Phillip Seymour Hoffman?) It also better have voice over, or else tons of the fun elements of this will be lost.
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Only the first half is good. The second half is just a mess, and would be even more so on film.
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1. The Constantine folks are definately working on Survivor, not Choke.
2. Heath Ledger has announced that he's taking some time off before filming any more movies to be with his new kid.
And EW at Susan Sarandon. -
...but he really is just a frat boy version of Kurt Vonnegut.
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Granted this is the first and only book I have read by Chuck, shortly after watching Fight Club which I loved. I recall thinking, "this is boring the hell out of me but I must finish because this guy wrote Fight Club". Reads like a diary, probably was a diary. And if they make the film, it won't be the book, there is no story to tell.
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In EW or something. I definitely read it just like last week though.
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He always gets asked about that in interviews. He said something like 'A lot of screenplays died that day.' He's a pretty righteous dude. He lives up here in Portland (or at least he used to) and appears at Powell's books all the time. My ex-girlfriend had some kind of creative writing class with him and developed a crush. I always had fantasies that he was banging her in some exotic sex addict way in the bathroom like in Choke. Or was that Lullaby? They all run together in my head. I always hear rumors he's gay though.
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yah, those aren't rumors. chuck p is gay.
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should write some original screenplays since most of his books read like tony scott's movies are shot and edited and are so easily translated to screenplay format. i think haunted, with only a few of the writer's stories included, would make a good film in the right hands.
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what is that first sentence of my post even supposed to mean...chuck writes for people with short attention spans, i think is what i was trying to say, and that translates easily to film. jesus.
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Sure, some eggshell Christians might get up-in-arms about a adaptation dealing with sex-addicts, but usually people only get pissed at this kinda stuff because it's edgy and interesting and questions typical WASP morality. It's not so much that the religious hate these movies as much as it is that they hate hollywood. For whatever reason, they stopped supporting anything Hollywood did that was over a PG rating decades ago, and have only lukewarm support anyways - look back forty years and you can see solid religious themed films by smart people: the Ten Commandments, the brilliant Man for All Seasons, etc. Christianity exists these days on the basis of destroying anything interesting or controversial.
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But HL and Susan? Neither seems to fit. Anyway, I would love to see it regardless, but this sounds like bullshit.
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You think Brokeback was pushing it? Yeah, right.
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Jason Schwartzman. I can't see anyone else in it, frankly.
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Mar 02, 2006 12:35:16 AM CST
I agree with RezE11even: Survivor is also my favourite
by moviemaniac-7
The reason the Constantine guys didn't adapt that one is because of what happened on 9/11 (time to move on and make THAT movie) and the fact that Survivor is narrated from a plane about to crash. Ah well, we'll see that one someday even if I have to make it myself. Hope Gossling wins the part. Nothing wrong with Ledger - the man's makinig some interesting stuff right now - but Gossling has this twisted side in him. Could be an interesting film...
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If so, I am there dude!! But seriously, the cover of this book was way better than anything in it. And Constantine, how can they fuck that up so badly? The script was awful, I think every character said every other character's name every time they talked to them. How shit like that passes muster is beyond me.
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Now THAT would be worth an Oscar. I can hear the VO now: "Imagine a long blue hot dog casing filled with peanut butter. That's what your small intestine looks like..."
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1. If these are my choices... Gosling. 2. one of the only things I took from CHOKE was a heightened hypochondriac condition - with the main character telling all those medical conditions, I was convinced I had every disease he described. 3. Obviously CHOKE wasn't my favorite Chuck book... I really want to see SURVIVOR as a movie. 4. I do think a movie based on DIARY is pretty much unfilmable. 5. Somewhat ironically, I think a movie based on LULLABY (about the power of the written word) could be better than the book itself. 6. I could be full of shit - I read FIGHT CLUB before the movie was out, and thought "There's no way." And now, I fucking love that movie like a child of my own.
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I have to read Choke again, just a great fun book.
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Remember, there is no evolution...only a list of animals that Chuck Norris lets live.
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...Choke is a great book though.
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I'm *sure* you must have done loads of research into the field... but excuse me, I was just pointing out the humor in you saying "the rest of us are smart enough to know that the earth is millions of years old, not thousands." Because in your desperate attempt to insult and lump together Christians the world over, you forgot that researchers claim the Earth is Billions, not Millions of years old. It wasn't that hard to figure out... have you got it all straight now? Let me know if you need me to explain more.
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"Stranger than Fiction" is Chuck's exaggerated autobiography, and is far more interesting than his other books, not to knock them at all, but in all honesty, I would rather see Chuck's exaggerated autobiography than Ryan Gosling. Just saying.
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C_K is not actually wrong though. Billions contain millions. His numeracy may not be succinct or economical, but nor is it incorrect. Whereas the notion that the world is, at most, a few thousand years old, seems to be pure fantasy.
But I do agree that it is unfair to lump in all Christians together. It's just that, as a non-believer, it is often difficult not to become frustrated by the reductive and superstitious nonsense expounded by a very vocal and unfortunately highly influential Christian minority. Particularly when they often present themselves as speaking for the majority of Christians. -
Survivor, with some smart changes and stream-lining, could be great. But I'd love to see an original screenplay by him.
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That is all.
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OF JESUS. Christians felt obligated to see it, or felt that their faith was strengthened by seeing it. It was the equivalent of a giant collection plate at mass. They didn't flock to it because it had a good moral message, because it didn't. It was well-filmed, well-scored and SHALLOW. What was the message of that film? "Don't kill Jesus"? or maybe it was "you should be ashamed because you killed jesus"? Last night was a reairing of the Passion of the Christ episode of South Park, and the writers absolutely hit the nail on the head with that one.
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You're right, there is a thousand million in a billion. But I'm pretty sure he didn't mean 'the earth is thousands of millions old'. I don't say Bill Gates is worth thousands of dollars, even though technically he is. But now we're just being silly. ANYways. And seriously, thank you for recognizing there is a difference between Jerry Fallwell and the majority of people who are Christians.
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Absolutely, just the same as there is a differnce between logically challenging religious thought and outright disrespect. It's interesting, bringing it back to Chuck, as it's a tightrope he traverses rather well. He is controversial, sure, but not purely a senationalist.
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How perfect would Phillip Seymour Hoffman be as DENNY...the collector of rocks. Also Sarandon shouldn't have been cast as "the mommy", Perhaps Lyn Shaye...? I also think Billy Crudup would be perfect as Vinny Mancini...just my thoughts.
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IMHO
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you're right, the vast majority of people in this country are religious, and the vast majority of them do not attend church regularly. people don't appreciate being told how to believe, and asked to pay for the privilege. this is usually what is the subject of ridicule when religious figures are concerned. very few devout people are aware of the doctrines of their own religions, much less true to them. my third grader came home from school this past december and asked me why people "x-ed out christ". when i asked him what he meant, he told me he asked his teacher why some people spell christmas "xmas". she responded "because they want to x christ out of christmas". i explained to him, and later the teacher, whom i warned i would have suspended if she did anything like that again, that not only is the "x" an echo of the cross, it also is the first letter of the symbol for jesus christ in the greek "xp", which has been a symbol of christ since emperor constantine brought christianity to the roman empire. the point of that story is that people see ignorant and/or devious misuse of religion in their lives, it resonates. a movie needs to have drama for it to compel people, to have drama, you need conflict. when you see someone representing organized religion in a negative light, you almost always see a counterpoint. someone who is spiritual in a righteous way, even christlike, if not overtly associated with a particular religion or church. if moviegoing audiences wanted to see people being all gleeful and problem-free in jesus, we'd be on our fifth "7th heaven" movie AND the tv series would still be on the air. there is a reason that there is a seperate entertainment empire out there that makes christian tv, movies, and music - it's a niche group. hollywood won't play to niche groups unless they can make it controversial, because that will bring in extremists and moderates of all stripes. teh suck hit the bullseye. it's all about the bottom line.
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I wouldn't say that about any of his books. There's definitely stuff they might find offensive but even that is absurdist and handled with a sense of humor (Fight Club is NOT a call to arms for Nazis). Labeling them anti-christian is stretching it. I can't think of a really anti-christian movie. Even The Last Temptation of Christ and Dogma seemed to be about believers examining their faith rather than heretics trying to destroy it. People need to get over their conspiracy theories. You think there's any studio meetings where they're saying "What we need is a movie that will alienate the 90% of the country."
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Chuck Palahniuk is not a cult writer. The man publishes a novel once a year and the last four have debuted in the NY Times Top Ten Bestsellers List. Somw of you might be under the impression that reading Diary under your covers with a flashlight is akin to some Czechoslovakian Steel Worker daring to read the latest samizdat during the Reign of the Iron Fist, and if that makes you feel better about your parents buying you a new Playstation, then I say pull the covers tight and make sure you have extra batteries. -
i did not threaten to have the woman fired, i threatened to seek a suspension to make her realize how serious her transgression was and to prevent it from happening to any other child. there is a huge difference. the boy is 8, he was truly upset that people were out to hurt jesus by abbreviating! she needs to understand that religious rhetoric and moral judgments of ANY kind hasve no place in any public school. besides, why people choose to use xmas does not change the fact that it has a christian origin, contrary to the teacher's indication. she should have simply answered with the real reason "i don't know", or at the very least "it's an abbreviation". my point is that her kind of attitude is completely unprofessional and potentially was damaging to my child had i not known the truth. yes, i do think the geography professor also should have been suspended, but not fired, for likening bush to hitler in class. that type of value judgment is just as inappropriate for a public school setting. i think the teacher who had kids throw paperwads at the kid in the broncos jersey as an exercise in discrimination should have also been suspended. all these things do is teach bias, which is the exact opposite of the purpose of public education. when you get to college, that stuff is fair game, because students are much more likely to recognize a professor's opinion as such and have the tools to refute it and not just accept it as rote.
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...although writing your name down oddly makes me feel dirty. Dirrrrrrrrrrty...
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Why no Lullaby? Or Haunted, far better reads than Choke
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I just finished reading survivor and the book itself already reads like a filmscript.
If the movie rights havent been sold yet..I'm going to make a big effort to optain them.
This book should be put on film.
Feel free to share your thougts on this with me personally on msn.
zenoflow@hotmail.com
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