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THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER & CLAY May Yet Unfold In Live Action! And Animation?
Beaks here...
Two years ago, it appeared that Stephen Daldry was locked in to direct the long-awaited adaptation of Michael Chabon's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER & CLAY. His stars: Tobey Maguire as Sam Clay, Jamie Bell as Josef Kavalier and Natalie Portman as Rosa Saks.
Well, that didn't happen. In an April 2007 interview with DETAILS, Chabon, who also wrote the screenplay, lamented that "...it just completely went south for studio-politics kinds of reasons that I’m not privy to." Bummer.
But no project is ever completely dead in Hollywood. There's always the possibility of resurrection - especially when you've got the backing of a tenacious producer like Scott Rudin. With that in mind, I decided to ask Mr. Daldry at today's L.A. press junket for THE READER about the state of KAVALIER & CLAY. Here's what he had to say:
Mr. Beaks: I wanted to briefly touch on one project that's been of great interest to our readers: THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER & CLAY. You were attached to direct the film a few years ago.
Stephen Daldry: Indeed!
Beaks: It was one of those films that seemed to be constantly "in development". Then, in 2006, it was suddenly on the brink of production. And then... nothing. Michael Chabon has said the stall-out was a result of studio politics. What do you think? Is it something you could see yourself directing at some point?
Daldry: Oh, absolutely. It would be great. I sincerely hope Paramount picks it up at some point.
Beaks: So you're still technically "attached"?
Daldry: As far as I'm concerned, I am. (Laughs)
Beaks: Structurally, that's another story [like THE READER] that poses challenges in terms of whether you adopt a linear or non-linear approach.
Daldry: Also, how much you use the comic books and how much you don't. How much is animated? Do you use animation? How do you use animation in comic books? What's the difference between the two? That was one of our big discussions. I spent a lot of time with different animators exploring ways to animate comic books.
Beaks: You know, it could be that the book is finally ready to be filmed. We're just getting to the first major deconstructive "superhero" work with WATCHMEN. Perhaps KAVALIER & CLAY has benefited from the delay. Now that the comic book film is further along, people are more familiar with the history of the medium and its conventions.
Daldry: Maybe you're right. Maybe it's a good time to remind people who wrote them and who created them and why they were created. And how central they were to a generation of immigrants coming to the United States from Europe and what the superhero was originally speaking to and speaking about.
Had I been on my toes, I would've pressed Daldry on the style of animation and the degree to which that might get away from the more static, panel-based medium of comic books. Blending the pulpier elements of Chabon's story with the straightforward dramatic stuff will be quite a challenge (and I must say that I never considered animation). Then again, Daldry has just pulled off a half-erotic/half-tragic film about a love affair between a fifteen-year-old boy and a thirty-six-year-old former guard at Auschwitz. I'm very confident in his ability to manage tone.
Don't get your hopes up, but it is encouraging to know that Daldry is still quite enthusiastic about the material. Let's hope Rudin is, too.
I'll have my full interview with Daldry next week (in advance of THE READER's 12/10 limited release).
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And fixed the misspelling of the title.
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Wonder if they'd want it to look Fleischer studio style, or later Kirby-esque. I'd always thought that if they did do a live-action adaptation, that they should attach a Fleischer style Escapist cartoon at the beginning, anyway.
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Joseph Kavalier: Adrian Brody
Sammy Clay: David Krumholtz
Rosa Saks: Maggie Gyllenhaal
Tracy Bacon/The Escapist: Simon Baker -
Joseph Kavalier - Adrian Brody; Sammy Clay - David Krumholtz; Rosa Saks - Maggie Gyllenhaal; Tracy Bacon/The Escapist - Simon Baker
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no offense, but being an AICN staffer doesnt make it any less douchy for posting 'first'.
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Instant drop in quality.
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Losers should probably read The Reader.
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plays the gay guy in Chabon movies?
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Good lord I think we finally hit rock bottom
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...As always you will have to excise a lot of material. In the case of Kav and Clay, that will be a good thing, considering the first half is so very good, and the second half is embarassing rubbish. I wonder if anyone is still working on Carter Beats The Devil?
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Even though your post was pretty much indecipherable, I take it your angry at Rich Homosexual Athiest Liberals? OR, more amusing, your a pissed of paedophile angry that Hollywood wont make a celebratory movie on the founding of NAMBLA?
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Those were "tragic" and "romantic," and involved a grown man and under aged girl.
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manhattan.
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My brother loved it.
It is overly wordy in places. but it is waiting to be made into an epic film. I never finished the book. But the opening part of it took my breath away. -
Dec 02, 2008 10:04:08 AM CST
I have one complaint about this book and one thing that..
by emeraldboy
stopped me from finishing it. It is far too overly descriptive. Part one of the book is outstanding especially Joe Kalavier's arrival in New york after escaping prague is breathtaking.
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kavalier....martin starr....give the project to apatow....do not make this an animated movie
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Maybe ten years ago. Those peeps are too old now.
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Yeah, as much as I'd like to see Adrien Brody as Kavalier--he's who I imagined when I read the book for the first time recently--I do agree that he's too old now to play the character. I would like to suggest, though, that I think Shia LaBoeuf would be a good choice for Sam Clay. (I'm sure that will make me unpopular with a lot of folks here.) And after seeing Brick, I think Nora Zehetner would make a perfect Rosa.
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...just A: give it to a director who has a clear vision of how to adapt it (sounds like this guy fits that description) and then B: DON'T FUCK IT UP. Oh, and then C: ignore whatever test-market bullshit Paramount is shoveling at this project and GET IT MADE. Beaks (or whoever it was posted this) is right, this could be the perfect time for this movie to be made, I just hope they don't pigeonhole it into the same "dark" comic book tone as TDK and Watchmen. The book sure has dark and tragic moments in it, but the story is mostly about hope and redemption and perseverance, and that's what would make this movie really work.
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I was totally shocked to see Shia actually acting in Indy 4, so who knows, maybe he could stumble through Sam? But the people in the book age a number of years - I don't think he could be made up to age well enough.
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The ever versatile Carrot Top!
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I saw a company that was doing tests for this 2 years ago. The stuff I saw was pretty cool. I wasn't supposed to be looking at it but I was working with them on a project and I peeked. Since the movie was put on hold I don't think they even presented what they had done.
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Didn't Chabon learn anything from the Mysteries of Pittsburgh/Rawson Thurber disaster. Daldry has as about as much talent to direct this as Uwe Boll.
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