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Bradbury talks about FAHRENHEIT 451
Hey folks, Harry here. I had the honor about a year ago to moderate a panel with Mr Bradbury, Ray Harryhausen and Harlan Ellison... and so I'm familiar with some of Bradbury's stories about his adventures in Hollywood. Before I turn you over to this scooper, I'll tell you just one of them. Bradbury went into a meeting with an executive (I believe he said at Universal) to talk about one of his projects they were developing. The secretary tells Mr Bradbury that he can go in, and as Ray enters the room he notices the exec has his feet up on his desk and is deep in thought reading an issue of (I believe it was NEW YORKER though that maybe wrong) upside down. So Ray walks in the room... Takes a seat. The exec doesn't acknowledge his presence in the room... Ray waits a couple of seconds then says, "Amazing, I've never mastered the art of reading upside down!" To which the exec lowered the magazine and they began their meeting. And these folks are the people running Hollywood and talking with gods like Bradbury.... Sigh.... Here's the report...
I saw Ray Bradbury last night here in Boulder Colorado. He talked for
about an Hour and a half..
He spoke at great length about his friendship with Ray Harryhausen
and his struggles to become a writer. He also spoke of his adventures in
Hollywood and his love of movies. He also made mention of getting
screwed by Hollywood on more than one occasion.
Which brings us to the remake of Fahrenheit 451 by Mel Gibson. He
is not a happy man when it comes to that project He Said Mel Gibson did
a great job with Hamlet. So he has no problem with Mel Gibson himself.
But In a nutshell Ray Bradbury has been left completely out of the loop
on the project. The script has gone through 9 rewrites and the only one
he has seen was sent to him by a bookstore in Georgia.
Seems they somehow got a hold of a "appropriated" script and thought he
should see it.
He put off reading until he had the courage to look at it. He said
he read 30 pages until he came to a line where the Fire chief says, in
response to a question, "does a bear shit in the woods?".
Needless to say that wasn't in the book and it's not the way he writes.
Hopefully the people that are working on that film will come to their
senses and make that film the way it was written.
Over all Ray bradbury is a very passionate man. If you ever get a
chance to see him speak go. The most important thing he said was
"Whatever you do, Love it with all your Heart"
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I'm not too clear on the exact objections regarding the nature of this script. I assume it's a dumbing down issue. I guess in the end it will depend on what the men in suits think is being made: a) a memorable, potentially award-winning piece of work (in which case, involve the author and use their creativity and vision) or b) product (screw the author, what can we set fire to that will burn brightest?). This project has potential to be the former and fear of the masses knowing too much is still a relevant theme. This can be so much more than Mad Max 451.
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He's too smart for 'em, so they got to dummy it down. Yeah, turn F451 into a big action fest. Yeah, right. That'll work. Sure. Obviously Gibson was reading the book upside down too.
Simpsons scene:
If elected, I will demand a staple of the ABC's of science fiction - Asimov, Bester, Clarke!
What about Ray Bradbury?
(Scornfully) I'm aware of his work. -
"Does a bear shit in the woods?" Hmm. Wonder what hack screenwriter wrote that one. NINE drafts? If there was any justice left in Hollywood (ha!) they would let Bradbury adapt his own novel (just like he adapted SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES). Obviously that ain't gonna happen, so we get tripe like that original line of dialogue above. Same thing happened to Richard Matheson. In the 1960s and early 1970s the man was responsible for some of the best horror/suspense screenplays for movies and TV. Today? Richard who? Matheson should have adapted I AM LEGEND, it would have been much more faithful to the book than the script that's been on the Net for some time. Ah well. I guess if you're not a mainstream, bestselling author, you won't be allowed anywhere near writing a screenplay.
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First, I think Ray Bradbury is a creative genius. He's also an excellent marketer and to be a successful author, you have to market. Second, just because the script has allegedly gone through nine rewrites does not mean that Mel is going to use # nine, or #10, or # 15. He's looking for the best possible draft. Also, just because a person is a gifted fiction writer does NOT make him/her a good screenwriter. I've done both and they are very, very different. A writer at last year's Austin Film fest said that Kurt Vonnegut thought his play adaptation of one of his works was too close to its fiction origins and suggested that the adapter pretend that he (KV) had been dead ten years! Obviously, Kurt knew that authors sometimes get too attached to their words. I would also say that ANY published writer has the option of only selling the rights if he/she gets first opportunity to write the screenplay. But that's it. You can't expect fiction to translate verbatim onto film. It just won't work.
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I'm a great admirer of Mr. Bradbury's work, from way, way back. But let's face facts: There are 20 stories like this from every writer whose work has been optioned. He could write a draft himself and it would just end up being rewritten later on. Also, dialogue that is beautiful, poetic, eloquent on the printed page can sound stilted and bizarre coming out of the mouths of actors. (Not that I'm a big fan of the particular phrase invoked here.) We've already had one surreal, artsy adaptation of this particular story. I seriously doubt that anyone in LaLa Land is interested in bankrolling another such attempt. If this gets off the ground at all, it will be as a big-budget mainstream flick, with mainstream dialogue and mainstream actors, probably with some cool computer graphics thrown in. If you don't like that, fine. Rent the Truffaut version or make your own for cable access.
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Bradbury SOLD the rights. The property is no longer his. The same goes for any writer who sells the rights to his/her work.
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Interesting that Coming Attractions (see Harry's Link page) has Bradbury receiving several scripts drafts from Mel and having talked to him, too. Seems Ray runs hot and cold on his story.
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I know that the French director Francois Truffault did a version in the late 60's, but I cannot find a copy anywhere. I'm sure Truffault's version fits the book better than whatever Mel Gibson could do.
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I truly think Ray Bradbury should have a hand in this, know that when you've sold your rights away, they are sold for good, and wish Mel Gibson would step up to the plate and defend the work of this literary icon. Let me also qualify my view in saying that 'Something Wicked This Way Comes', a movie with ample involvement from the author, is an oft-overlooked Disney gem that strikes one as being very un-Disney (Good!). Having said that, I do understand the position of this "dumbing down" of the script. Bradbury, while an excellent science-fiction author, writes like a science-fiction author, often employing flowery, sometimes abstract language to punctuate himself. As enlightened as we all may be these days, we still are incapable of dealing with this and are more comfortable with, "Do bears s#!t in the woods?". The dialogue, while I've never heard a real human say it, is often less stilted and more ephemeral that what you'll find in s-f dialogue (except, perhaps, in Neil Gaiman and Douglas Adams' stuff). People can't relate to book dialogue even if it is the more superior specimin of construction. So, unfortunately, there is going to be compromise for mutual advantage. It's a terrible fact of "The Biz". I still think Gibson should throw a little weight around and get Bradbury on board for this. Just my penny deuce.
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Let us now forget Ray's first foray into hollywood. He was asked to work on the script for "The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms". He read it, and mentioned to the producer, "you know, this bit here is like a story I wrote called 'The Fog Horn'." The look on the producer's face was supposedly priceless. They had in fact STOLEN the scene almost verbatim from that story, written it into the script, forgotten where they got it, and asked the guy they stole it from to come in and punch the script up. As Tom Bosley used to say, "That's Hollywood".
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Can anyone EMail me with a synopsis of this story without any SPOILERS. I'd appreciate it.
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The book "Farenheit 451," by Ray Bradbury, is available at your local library or bookstore. But here's a short synopsis: it's the near future, books have been outlawed, and "firemen" are people who SET fires (by finding and burning books), not put them out. Our hero, Montag, is a fireman who comes to have doubts about his job.
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"Does a bear shit in the woods?"? Why does Hollywood still think that pathetic joke is funny? There's always some form of it in some big action film. Great, I can sense the originality in this project.
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Hey, I was also at DragonCon last year, and attended that "Masters of Fantasy" panel. Funny, at the time I had never even heard of AICN, and that was Harry moderating! Harry, you have an incredible memory, because I didn't remember Bradbury telling that story until you just did...I think I was to emotionally scarred by Harlan's attack on that poor women near the front that just wanted to ask her queston (even IF it was dumb, he didn't need to attack her like that!). It really is a small world. Hey, you gonna be a DragonCon this year?
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I LOVE Ray Bradbury--read everything he's written. Sad to say that I've read/seen films made from SCRIPTS he's written--I'm less impressed. The script for my favorite Bradbury book, "Something Wicked This Way Comes," was written by the man. Granted--Jack Clayton was probably NOT the right person to direct the film, but when I got ahold of the Bradbury script, I realized he didn't have THAT much to work with. The film has the right sets, costumes, photagraphy, and mood--it just doesn't have very good acting, primarily because the script was so poor. I'd disagree that Bradbury's poetic construction doesn't transfer well to screenplay--I just don't think he's the person to do it.
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Ray talks about this in an interview with The Onion last week. Check it out at http://www.theonion.com if you want to hear him talk about it in his own words.
Personally, I love Mel Gibson and everyone loves the story of Fahrenheit 451, I thought the British version from the late 60's was great, but I think a new generation would really benefit from checking out it's story. Especially in light of the new censorship craze after Littleton and Jonesborough. -
Come on people! Hollywood pays a lot of money for film rights. A hell of a lot more than, say a playwirght gets for a theatre production. Why? So they can make changes! I agree with Suz above, there's no point in bashing studio execs. Most who post here would prefer to toss writers on a pedestal and heap contempt upon studio execs. Be honest, no one sets out to make bad movies, execs, writers, directors, ANYONE involved wants a film to be the best it can be while making a return on an investment. It's not like Ray Bradbury can't afford to back a film, right? If Bradbury or anyone else is REALLY concerned about maintaining the integrity of their words, he'd PAY FOR THE MOVIE HIMSELF, doncha think? And why doesn't he? It's too big a financial risk, he doesn't want to participate in the often maddening process of COLLABORATION. Prose writers do not collaborate, unlike theatre, film or television writers, who have to work with actors, directors, producers and financial people. It's the way it is, folks. The cries of "Writer Good, Suits Bad!" is so tired. The world is made up of shades of grey, not absolute blacks and whites.
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bradbury is the best speaker i've ever seen. he is an inspiration. but his stories rarely translate well to the screen--which is quite common. bad books make good movies. bradbury said that 'writing screenplays won't teach you a damn thing about writing' and the reverse is true also. i'm sure mel will do everything to make his character likable and just one-of-the-guys (just how he fucked up 'payback'). someone as anti-intellectual as mel gibson should not be making a movie about people who love books.
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Off topic, but if you wanna hear a hilarious interview with Harlan "pompous blowhard" Ellison go to Nardwuar The Human Serviette's site WWW.NARDWUAR.COM and check out the Real Player section. This freak from Vancouver has made a career out of obnoxiously (and obsessively) interviewing celebrities. The BECK, TIMOTHY LEARY, SEAN LENNON and VAIN interviews are also pretty damn funny. This guy must have a record for phone interviewees hanging up on him. If you don't beleive me just listen to the ALICE COOPER "conversation" -- shortest interview in the history of mankind.
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Jun 24, 1999 7:58:11 PM CDT
Usually when an artist is screwed over by a financial person it'
by paragonian
Just like all those Behing the Music things on VH1 it shows the artist being stupid, self destructive and naive. They trust the wrong people and sign their lives away. It was funny reading about Oliver Stone trying to get Platoon made and trusting demons like Dino DeLaurentis and surprise, surprise, he gets screwed over. He had the money and writing assignments to greenlight half of Platoon himself but instead sat around smoking dope. Financial people can't trust artists and artists can't trust financial people. Democrats can't trust Republicans and Republicans can't trust Democrats. That's why nothing ever gets done. Get some smart with self control to take everything over, dammit.
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I saw Bradbury at the world premiere of "The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit," (which is a wonderful film with Ed James Olmos, and the type of movie which disney should focus on making) and he said he wasn't sure when anything was going to happen on that movie. But that was back in April 1998.
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the screenwriter who "composed" this dialogue becoming a director very soon!
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It was actually myself and my amigo, Prof. Mikerofone, from over at the Sleep Deprivation Institute. We read the script and knew that Uncle Ray needed to be warned, so we mailed it to him. And if you haven't read the screenplay, it was truly that bad. You could smell the toy tie-ins being cooked over an open fire. Regardless, I had opened he had forced open a channel of communication after he spoke directly with Mel--but alas, apparently it is not to be. I know nothing more. We can only pray, brethren and sistren.
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Let's see - HAMLET, a life-long love of opera, Icon production of art-house Wim Wender's M$H as well as Ray Bradbury's F451 and "THE PROFESSOR AND THE MADMAN" (which is the story of the two men who wrote the Oxford English Dictionary - yes, I can see that this qualifies Mel as --- oh brother! Angel, next I suppose you are going to say Mel is UGLY (!)
The way some people look at things, when F451 finally hits the silver screen, it will become a truimph for Ray Bradbury if all goes well, and if not, Mel will take all the hits.
As for Terry Hayes - he *did* write Road Warrior now didn't he? There are few movies that so well capture the mood of a genre. -
I don't mean to confuse anyone by stating facts and not slobbering misinformation but here are just a few more things about "Mr. Anti-Intellectual"
Gibson is associated with Circle of Friends, part of the American Paralysis Association and hosts the Rabbit Ears Radio program for Public Radio International. He has also donated his time to the literacy cause through the American Library Association.
Icon produced a short called Mel Gibson Goes to School during the time of HAMLET. It shows Mel going to various schools discussing Hamlet. He invites the young people to add their opinions and act out a few of the roles. There was never much publicity about this short and it was never for sale to the general public. It was only available to those people in the teaching profession at the time. He wasn't looking to make money - he wanted to increase young peoples awareness of Shakespeare.
Talent (first) and good looks make him a target for every wantabee and nevercouldbe that floats down the pike.
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