Cool News
Many a detail on THE ROAD, and a few photos too, from an Esquire writer who has seen it!!!
Hey everyone. Capone in Chicago here.
If you're able to pry yourself away from the cover pictorial on Megan Fox in the June issue of Esquire, you may also notice a little blurb next to her left elbow that says that some lucky bastard at that magazine has already seen the long-delayed THE ROAD, based on the book by Cormac McCarthy, directed by Australia's John Hillcoat (THE PROPOSITION), and starring Viggo Mortensen. I suppose that it's good news that the film finally got a 2009 release date; the bad news is that we have to wait until October 16. I guess means that the powers that be at Dimension think the film might have awards potential. I don't care; I just want to see the damn thing.
A web editor over at Esquire must have seen my interview with Mortensen from last October, and kindly sent along a link to Esquire's extensive write-up on THE ROAD, featuring a great deal of praise. I think their headline speaks volumes. According to Esquire, only about four media outlets have seen the full finished film as yet--I hate and envy you all.
Looks great from where I'm sitting. What do you think?
-- Capone
capone@aintitcoolmail.com
-
+ Expand All
-
I love this book and was waiting to hear something, i thought they had just forgotten about releasing the damn thing! Should be amazing..and fucking deppressing
-
really gay...gayer than george takeii
-
I really hope it lives up to the book. I fucking loved The Proposition, and this is great material, so I believe Hillcoat and Mortensen will pull out a winner. Hopeless Desperation FTW!
-
because it's so damn cheery. Seriously though, it's a great book.
Those photos are MONTHS old, by the way. -
...but won't. In fact I'm trying to forget the book as quickly and completely as possible (for now) so that I can be thoroughly horrified and crushed by the film.
-
...don't worry about what Saturday may bring...you have enough to worry about today. Like being a retard. A gay retard.
-
Goes to the moment in the Transformers 2 preview in which Fox is bent over fixing a motorcycle in jean shorts. I mean, don't get me wrong, I would bang her hard and long in preferably the sunlight... however, the shot was stupid and pandering. Man, I hate Bay.
-
THE ROAD is my most anticipated film for this year and I'm glad to see that they finally announced the October 16th release date. As a big fan of the book (and McCarthy), I'm really hoping that Hillcoat nailed this.
-
Can't wait for THE ROAD. Man, I loved this book.
-
I'm sure gay retards are a major interest to you - (a) Same sexual preference, (b) not intelligent enough to turn even you down.
-
this was supposed to drop right beside my birthday last year...i was so excited..then they dumped it to push the READER, which they felt had more award potential because the road was going to be so depressing and would turn away customers (NO- everyone who has READ the road -which is a TON when you add the fact it was on the oprah book club- no one GAVE A SHIT about the reader, awards or not) so then they said spring for the ROAD, but that's come and gone. so now october? jeezus.
-
...I'm a fan of the old (a), (b) construction. Your sharp comeback leads me to believe that you were just pretending to be small masturbating rodent who trembles in corners while fretting about ScriptGirl all week long.
-
is the best magazine for people who actually enjoy reading. Even if you're not a fan, this month's issue is loaded with film articles. There's also an article about Terminator by one of the best essayists alive. The subtitle to that article is "McG is not a douchebag and James Cameron is not Jesus Christ." Tell me you don't want to read that. Oh, and hot pics of Megan Fox. No, I don't work for Esquire. Yes, I would love it if I did.
-
Obviously a sign of my age but for me tattoos are a big turn-off. So if any of you young women out there are considering getting tattoos, I hope you keep in mind how much it will turn off pervy bald middle aged men, like me.
-
but she does need them- and her tits- to appeal to our nerd fetishes. it is a testament that she is even 'still in business'. i saw a couple of her reports and there really wasn't any meat in them. nothing i couldn't have read anywhere else that was NOT trying to turn me on to keep me interested. if i want glasses porn, there's a ton of free stuff on the net that won't try to kid itself about what it is. it won't dress itself up as a means to get me to pay attention to what little it has to say, get clicks or sponsorship.if you are hot for script girl, why don't you guys actually go outside and meet some of the truely unique and beautiful nerd girls down at the bookstore or your college. and get laid. because anyone watching scriptgirl is not getting laid.
-
I can imagine this is going to be good, however this is too dark for the general population. I want Blood Meridan with Seymour Hoffman as the judge.
-
but The Road does look pretty cool. The Proposition was a great litle flick.
-
the Dances with Wolves sequel The Holy Road for a second. Last I heard Viggo is set to star in that as well. I hope they make a movie based on the ice cream, Rocky Road and have Viggo star in it just so he could hit the "Road" movie tri-fecta!
-
This damn thing has been on the shelf for over a year. Bigger cock-tease then Script-Girl.
-
I'd rather see Blood Meridian. I know I'm practically the only one, but The Road is my least favorite McCarthy book.
-
http://tinyurl.com/72fnpo
-
Craving human flesh.
THE ROAD is the best novel I've read in years. I read it, long before Oprah "discovered" it, in one 4-hour sitting on a bleak, storming late-winter day, and I've re-read it several times.
I never associated it with zombies.
Charlize Theron and a marketing strategy that screams "disaster movie."
I had better stop paying any attention to pre-release info on this film as of yesterday.
"Books is books, and movies is movies," says the dullard, diminishing the potential of either. -
However I think that would be a tough sell to the studio's. To do it right you would almost have a Nc-17.
-
This looks awesome.
-
Fill in the blanks.
-
"You won't want to see this movie twice"
That's a bugger for repeat business through Blu Ray and DVD sales...
Is awesome but grim the order of the day? You have to be in the right state of mind to 'enjoy' films that are unremittingly harsh.
I've still never brought myself to watch IRREVERSIBLE - heard it's a quality film but when it comes to rental time I prefer to pick something that's likely to entertain rather than horrify. -
You should watch Irreversible for the extraordinary moment where a guy gets his head destroyed by a fire extinguisher.
-
It's no longer in Sir Ridley Scott's hands. It's now being written and directed by Todd Field (of IN THE BEDROOM and LITTLE CHILDREN fame).
-
Pls don't spam this tb with funny shit about SG. This movie deserves better than that.
ps. if you want to spam it with funny shit about Bale pls go ahead though. -
I disagree, kwisatzhaderach. In terms of theme, story, and message THE ROAD is by far more important. That being said, I'm really looking forward to AVATAR and I hope it's the gamechanger it's lauded to be. It will certainly be an important film in a visionary/technology sense.
-
Baby on a spit? They wont show that, right?
-
...and it is excellent. This coming from someone who has also read and loved the book twice. I got to see the unfinished cut over x-mas. The coolest thing about the movie is how well the scenes with the wife/mother (played heart-breakingly well by Charlize Theron) work. Especially considering she basically doesn't exist in the book. It's actually hard to imagine the book without her character, but I think her presence was essential to the movie. Glad to see it got an award-friendly release date. Deservingly so. Mr. Nice Gaius! Good to see your name up there. Have you seen Caprica yet? I hear it's solid.
-
COurtesy of Andrew Dominik.
-
May 12, 2009 12:04:44 PM CDT
Same day as Where The Wild Things Are
by i_am_not_the_droid_you_are_looking_for
Two of my Top 3 most anticipated of 2009 on one day? Bastards.
-
May 12, 2009 12:06:50 PM CDT
Yeah Capone..Esquire cares about your interview from last year
by glory_fades_immaxfischer
I'm sure they spent hours and hours digging that one up.
-
No Country for Old Wizards (c2008 ChrTh)
A Hobbit named Bilbo stumbles across a ring ... but is hunted by a relentless Gollum. Meanwhile, an old wizard named Gandalf is helpless to prevent the tragedy that is about befall all.
In Theatres this September -
and it sucks and that's why you don't want to see it twice. they've been audience testing it for a year now. lot's of cuts just for the hope that it might be watchable enough. people will want to slice their wrists after this movie.
-
You don't want to read this
Why not?
It's depressing as fuck.
You sure?
Yes. Ok?
Ok. -
Based on Cormac McCarthy book, good writer. Experimental terse prose style. Not for everyone. Grim story. Will director stay tru to book? Or will studio meddle? Will audience accept dark plot? Hard to say. Wait until October 16. Long wait.
-
Howdy! No, I have not yet seen CAPRICA but I do plan on checking it out when it hits the air. I've heard good things about it as well.
-
And I'm insanely jealous that you've already seen THE ROAD!
-
looking forward to this one, but then again im not.
-
I mean, I usually dabble in sci-fi and fantasy stuff, so my literary tastes aren't exactly stellar. . .but I found the Road to be one of the most difficult books to read through. Part of it's that the book conveys the grim desolation of a post-apocalyptic world almost too well; I find that I have to actually look up and take a few moments to compose myself after wading through the morose visual imagery.
I will say that The Road is probably one of the best portrayals of a post-apocalyptic world I've ever read, even beating out Stephen King's The Stand, which was already 10 kinds of disturbing and gruesome. Some of the stuff in The Road is just awful to read about--like a locked cellar with people chained to a wall, where their body parts can be harvested one at a time for food, since meat's become such a rare commodity.
I hope Viggo nails this movie though. It's always nice seeing Viggo--every movie he's been in has been decent at the least, and awesome at the most. -
There is no way in hell The Road is gonna be the most important movie of the year. It may take on historical significance in 20 or 30 years but Avatar has a much higher chance of hitting the cultural touchstone jackpot. Why? Because people don't want to feel so damn depressed all the time. If they want that they can turn on the news!
Which movies did well during the 30s? Fun escapist stuff like GWTW, Wizard of Oz, and blisteringly sharp but funny romance comedies. Fantasy stuff where everybody lives in a world of magic or wealth and nobody worries about how they're gonna pay the grocery bill. Look, purely as a novel The Road makes an emotional impact. It's not all that well written but it hits you like a brick. But people worried about finding a job and losing their house don't want to watch a father and son slog through a bleak post-apocalyptic wasteland where the biggest moral choice that faces them is whether to serve up fellow survivors in their sloppy joes. A movie that makes people want to slit their wrists is going to implode at the box office. Major, major misjudgment of what the viewing public needs and wants right now. -
May 12, 2009 12:27:18 PM CDT
If Its Even 1/2 As Good As The Book It'll Be A Masterpiece
by laserpants
MASTERPIECE.
-
The reason the book is so damn scary is that it's so damn plausible. I've never read or seen any end-of-the-world, post-apocalyptic fiction that seemed so real. I always thought they were holding it back due to the current conditions in the world. There definitely is that element of "will people really want to see this shit right now?" going on. I think they will. I also think there will be some heave awards consideration.
-
I really hope the movie does it it justice. What little I've seen looks great but I don't want to judge it without seeing it. I am excited though.... If it's even close to being as good an adaptation as NCFOM it'll fantastic.
-
Listening to the book leads me to the conclusion that we were hit by nukes or asteroids. No other explanation really works especially with how sudden it occurred.
-
CHILDREN OF MEN was pretty harrowing and plausible, buuuuut...
It also had some lighter moments, pulling Michael Caine's finger, etc to soften the mood. If THE ROAD is 100% bleakness (I haven't read the book) then it might turn off more viewers than it impresses? -
Gloomy as fuck, I wanted to blow my fucking brains out after it was done.
-
I really love this book and as tough it is to get through it'll open the door for an uncompromising Blood Meridian ... the crown jewel in Cormac's work.
-
...it's 99.9% bleakness.
The ending wasn't quite the soul crusher that I was preparing myself for as I worked my way to the last page. -
From beginning to end. The film starts out with some (again) heart-breakingly beautiful shots of everyday life, only to quickly thrust us into the world our two heros must endure. The beauty of these opening shots is difficult to watch. As difficult as anything else in the film. Just imagining losing all this. It's too much. I also came to the conclusion it was an asteroid that ended it all in the book, and I think I've read Cormac say that as well. All the scarier to not have it spelled out for us though. The film is in keeping with that.
-
The cause is never given in the book. (In fact, it's already a few years in the past.) Although, there are some vague clues that can be interpreted in various ways (i.e. low series of concussions and so forth). But I tend to agree with those who feel that it was an asteroid-type event that brings about the death of the world. I have also read where McCarthy has hinted at this while speaking with people at his favorite hangout, The Sante Fe Institute.
-
While reading The Road, I felt that McCarthy wasn't giving any real reasons why the world had collapsed because it was a slightly more 'meta' story then that. It's like the Romero zombies . . . there is no definitive 'cause' as given in the films, nor any interview that I'm aware of where Romero explains why the dead walk. It wouldn't further the story to know either.
-
...catastrophe. The story takes place years later...under the circumstances you wouldn't be sitting around wringing your hands about asteroids, or Pakistani nukes, or al-Qaeda or whatever. There's nothing to fix. Your job is to endure and live through one more day...or not.
-
...come back to life because of radiation from a space probe. Duh.
-
the idea of it being asteroids for that matter. Something I felt in the book was that we were somehow responsible for the massive destruction. Asteroids work though . . . unfair, cold, secular.
-
i was going on the loose and absurd NOTLD explanation, and i was agreeing with you. Don't take things so seriously, it'll make the days go by easier.
-
Christ they road GIANT DOGS! Who doesn't want to see knights riding giant dogs after a nuclear war?
-
Viggo looks great, but everytime someone calls a movie important (let alone most important) something in my brain turns off and i stop reading. Shitty article, could be a good movie though...
-
because of how bleak it is. As a father, knowing a man would go to any lengths to protect his child, this was a tough book to get through. The tension anytime they were seperated...
I hope that translates to screen. -
Just my take on the book, but I always kinda got the impression that is was a post-Nuclear Winter-type scenario. Constant cloud-cover / cold / ash everywhere / no plant or animal life? Kinda fits in with the mention of "distant concussions" as well, although I agree with those who've posted that it's one of the books major strengths that it's never truly explained.
-
If you know the cause, there is hope as there's probably some sanctuary somewhere (two words: Hartford, and Hope) or possibly a way in the future to reverse/undo the damage. The point of the book is perservering without hope. Explanations and causes would only be a detriment. Ok?
Ok -
LOVED the book and they had better make the movie in my head or I will be sorely disappointed
-
'the movie in my head' just makes me think of Homer Simpson and his performing monkeys.
-
Bale obviously. Only one man could trash the world like that and his name is Bale.
I say that he got pissed at Hurlbut during a day shot and trashed the sun. -
SPOILER: You can talk about the baby on a spit, but nothing is more disturbing than that fucking cellar. Basically a bunch of poor people people stored away for food, slowly eaten one limb at a time. And when they hide outside and hear the screams, Jesus.
That scene if shot right will be scarier than anything in TCM, Saw, Hostel, Halloween, Dawn of the Dead, or any horror movie ever made. If an Apocalypse like the one described in The Road ever happens, with my luck I will end up down in that cellar. Creepy as hell. -
If Bale had caused the Apocolypse, it would not have been so fucking DISTRACTING. He is more professional than that.
Also, it does not really matter what caused it. The only hope they have is what they can manufacture in their own minds. There is no reason to hope for a better tomorrow, but they are desperate to find one. -
Also, the baby-on-spit WILL be in the film as on IMDb there is a character called "The Babyeater".
Uh-huh. -
they never really state the age of the kid but it's assumed he's about 10 to 12 like in the movie (though with a limited education, making him more childlike).so i always wondered- what did the father and son do to survive the past decade while the kid was growing up? surely those were tougher years having to fend for a toddler or youngster? was there still some semblance of order when the kid was very very young and the world has just degraded to the state it is at the present in the book? 10 years is a long time for that kid to have not seen or experienced some of the little things that come as surprises to both of them...and i always found it odd that there were no more wreckages of cars other than the abandoned tractor trailer. everybody knows in times of panic, the highways would be filled with cars, and even some people who tried to off-road it and failed.
-
I mean, Mad Max could always eat a dingo if he got hungry ;-)
-
Actually Esquire wouldn't have to spend hours looking for my interview with Viggo, since it's one of the only ones he's given in the last year. Plus, when an editor from Esquire begins an email to you, "I know you spoke to Viggo Mortensen recently, and thought you might be interested in this article...", that kind of gives it away.
-
Why you got to feed the trolls? Let 'em starve and they'll go away. Ok?
Ok -
you may as well check out The Five Most Gratuitous Death Scenes in Film History. Man, I haven't seen Hard Ticket to Hawaii since I was 13 years old.Oh, and definitely looking forward to The Road, though early pics I saw some months back looked like a lot of broad daylight shots. I assume they're fixing all that in post-production. I could only picture perpetual bleak, dark grey skies with lots of ash flying around as I read the book.
-
First it describes the movie as an awe-inspiring masterpiece, then it takes you into the office of Bob Weinstein who makes it clear that he has no fucking clue what he has. He talks about it as a zombie action movie (only the "movie" part is accurate), then uses a trailer that adds an explanation for the apocalypse which is intentionally not in the book or movie.
When the trailer starts playing, fans of the book will think they ruined it. Then when the movie comes out people who saw the trailer will be pissed off. It's like telling someone they're gonna see STAR WARS and making them watch SOLARIS. -
Packed highways strewn with abandoned cars is a disaster movie cliche. No one actually knows how people will react in the wake of such disaster, it's all speculative, as is the survival of the father and son leading up to the present day in the book. None of that's really important to the theme. But I'd say whatever caused the apocalypse (I feel it was a natural cataclysm of some kind because of the grey ash everywhere - an asteroid, or Yellowstone blowing its top - not nuclear, but that's all up for grabs and also not important to the theme of the story) happened suddenly, giving people no time to panic, or get into their cars, let alone out to the highway. The suddenness of the cataclysm is implied by the thump described in one of the flashbacks with the wife. Something hit, and there was no time for people to react.
-
Sorry to be so ...self-promotionible.
The author of the article, Chiarella, is a cool dude, great writer, and worth digging up his other stuff.
I'm an acquaintance of his who clicks to this site a dozen times a day.
Wrote a piece for Esquire's website and wonder what you all think.
http://www.esquire.com/blogs/books/Matthew-Roland-Napkin-Fiction
Talkback the hell out of it. Rerip my old one. Or don't. It'd be fun to hear your opinions while I'm between shifts at the DQ and the morgue.
-
I was starting to get bummed out, looks like this might be a good one after all.
-
recently finished Border Trilogy. I feel like Road would have had a different context for me.
'Pretty Horses - oh, they'll take care of the kid....DEAD...crap.
Crossing - ok, I think he'll make it to the mountains with ..DEAD... crap. DEAD DEAD. crap. And he won't let his ... DEAD. crap.
Cities of the Plain - It's cool reading these guys in the same book. No! Stay away from the girl! DEAD. DEAD. crap.
Loved it all, though. -
The Road book was phenomenal. Probably one of the best books I've read in years. From the review it sounds like they got the feel of the book down as in bleak, dark, and totally fucked up. I was really happy to see the director of this film as the Proposition was just fucking brilliant and really had the style and feel of that this film needed. The proposition really captured the idea of family and wilderness, which is completely what the road is about. I could see weinstein fucking up the marketing, the weinstein company is a mere shadow of miramax. They don't know class if it slapped them across the face with a velvet clove.
-
yeah that was what i got from it- he didn't even know what he was talking about or what he owned- which is probably much of the reason he pushed the READER in the road's spot last year. to him, holocaust movie = awards, and 'apocalypse zombie people action film' = not.
that dickwad probably hasn't even seen any footage (other than picking a trailer) andonly knows the one sentance summation he ordered his assistant to distill the movie into. "um, well, Bob, it's an end of the world movie where people eat people". -
I've always thought that the unexplained catastrophe at the heart og The Road was a supervolcano since there are consant references to 'ash' throughout the book.Could be a nuclear thing though, but I kinda like the Yellowstone theory more...
-
...you really, really ought to. Utterly brilliant. Grim, sombre and relentless, but ultimately an uplifting tale of a man's love for his son and of hope shining on.Cried my fucking eyes out at the end, big wuss that I am.
-
I second looking up Chiarella's stuff. Also Tom Junod. Those guys can make anything interesting. And when they grapple bigger topics, they reach epic heights. I'm surprised some of their essays haven't been optioned.
-
This novel was well done, but was just unrelenting and depressing. I don't know how anyone could love it.
-
Awesome!
-
The book was brilliant. Nick Cave who is a bloody living legend is involved. I'm there. No need to trick me into watching it by making a misleading advertisement.
-
I loved the novel, so there.
-
You don't need lighter moments, look at Requiem for a Dream, Irreversible. These are stupendously powerful films that stay with you for life. I'm incredibly excited about this - the book is amazing, The Proposition was amazing, and something which hasn't been given due prominance is the contribution of Nick Cave - an absolute genius. If you haven't heard his stuff, do so NOW. I'm with Vern hoping that the Weinstein's dont fuck this one up.
-
I'm all for tackling the bigger subjects but 'comfort nipple of cinematic apocalypse'? Fuck off you po-faced wanker.
-
xbfLaqPi oDvUQC
-
YrJkkd SozEvo
Readers Talkback
User Login
Top Talkbacks
- Whitney Houston 1963 - 2012 -- 171 total posts 169 posts
- AVENGERS enemy revealed as pink boardgame pieces... You might suffer some form of elation... SPOILERS!!! -- 157 total posts 111 posts
- There's a STAR TREK video game that is going to lead into JJ's STAR TREK 2 apparently... -- 138 total posts 75 posts
- Here's The Red Band Trailer For Drafthouse Films' THE FP! -- 67 total posts 67 posts
- To Commemorate The 3D Release Of STAR WARS EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE, George Lucas Wants You To Know...Greedo Shoots First!! -- 479 total posts 62 posts
- New JUDGE DREDD post production footage pops up -- 59 total posts 59 posts
- Does ‘SNL’ Rhyme With ‘Deschanel’?? Learn Which SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE Vet Hosts After Sexy Zooey!! -- 62 total posts 59 posts
- HANNA's Saoirse Ronan to boss around seven little people -- 48 total posts 45 posts
- Friday Brings SWEEPS DAY NINE!! Gab Here About Tonight’s FRINGE!! Plus Einstein on TIM, Wiig On PORTLANDIA, MAHER, CLONE, GIFTED, GRIMM, SPARTACUS, SUPERNATURAL, GOLD RUSH And More!! -- 116 total posts 32 posts
- SPACE 2099!! -- 181 total posts 30 posts