Cool News
An Advance Look At THE BEACH
Hey folks... Harry here. Well, last night in Boston, Fox had a screening of Danny Boyle's Leonardo DiCaprio film THE BEACH. Now, it should be noted that the following review is filled with SPOILERS, and if you don't want those... Stay away from the review, but... Spooky M (the writer) really dislikes the movie. This is an extremely early test screening of the film, and Danny Boyle is a highly stylized filmmaker that is not for all tastes. That being said, Spooky M did love SHALLOW GRAVE and TRAINSPOTTING. He didn't care for A LIFE LESS ORDINARY, a film that I actually have a fond spot for. So... who knows. To me, Danny Boyle is a filmmaker that makes movies for individuals as opposed to marketable groups. As such opinions on his films vary wildly. I'm reserving any judgement on this one till I see it myself... But my expectations have been lowered.
Leo's latest is no day at "The Beach".
THE BEACH (20TH CENTURY FOX. 110 MIN. APPROX.)-* (Out of four stars)
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Virginie Ledoyen,Tilda Swinton and Robert Carlyle.
Written by John Hodge and Alex Garland
Directed by Danny Boyle.
An unfocused mess from start to finish full of credibility leaps that would make Superman go "whoa!", Leonardo DiCaprio's new film, "The
Beach", is for hardcore fans of the heartthrob only (read: teenage girls who will have to sneak in because it will be "R" rated). Directed by
Danny Boyle, who showed great promise with the one-two punch of "Shallow Grave" and "Trainspotting", "The Beach" will be one of those
times you stare blankly at a screen for 110 minutes and then say, "huh"?
The film opens in Thailand, where we meet a young man named Richard (Leo D.). He was on a trip through Asia with his girlfriend prior to the
opening of the film. Alas, he is single yet again as we meet her. No explination to the split other than "We didn't click". Anyway, Richard is
spending some time in Thailand and eventually gets bored. He meets some people in the hotel he is staying in. One of those people is a crazy
Scottish guy named Daffy (played by saving grace Robert Carlyle) who tells Richard of a paradise island, one that sounds wonderful but seems
to have a dark side to it (after all, Daffy truly lives up to his name.). The other people he meets are a young, attractive French couple that
Richard pals around with for a few hours. Later, Rich finds Daffy dead and also finds a map that can lead Richard to the island paradise. He
convinces the French couple to join him and off they go in search of Nirvana.
They get there, and find that in addition to beautiful vistas and all the dope one could ever hope for, there are some mean looking men with
machine guns protecting the dope. Instead of running back to the shore and swimming away from the island, the trio decides to stay. They
encounter a group of people living the idyllic lifestyle on the beach, led by a woman by the name of Sal (Tilda Swinton). The group invites the
three to stay. They do so, and that is where the troubles begin. Richard winds up falling in love with the French woman he arrived at the island
with (leaving her boyfriend high and dry), but also winds up screwing Sal when the two head to the mainland for supplies (happens all the time,
especially if you're Leo D.). To make matters even worse, two stoners Richard met prior to heading out to the island decide to come to the island
in search of ganja heaven. Outsiders are strictly forbidden on the island, not only by the community but by the men with the guns. Leo goes
bonkers, paradise goes to hell and one loses count as to how many tiles there really are on the ceiling of your local movie theater.
To start with, "The Beach" gives us a completely unsympathetic jerk for a lead character. We have no real clue as to why Richard would drop
all to live in this paradise. Is he running away from something? Did something so horrible happen to him that he had to run away, or was he just
bored? There is no motivation for him to leave his world behind to do this. If we are lead to believe that it is because his girlfriend jilted him,
then I have a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn. Besides being a jerk, Richard is a complete moron! Aside from not leaving the island at the first
sight of several mean-looking men with machine guns, he does these other wonders of human intelligence: after being warned by Sal's
boyfriend to keep it in his pants when they head to the mainland, Richard returns to the island and gloats his sexual conquest to the guy, a guy
who looks like he could squish Richard like a bug. Also, during his little bout with insanity, he heads into the drug farmer's den and points a
gun at one of them while they are sleeping, only to do nothing to them (he doesn't even steal a gun!). I have nothing against anti-heroes or
disillusioned main characters. But if they don't go anywhere in terms of character development, I could care less if he finds nirvana in Thailand
or in a bordello in Las Vegas. Did he learn anything from this journey? Perhaps, but writers John Hodge and Alex Garland don't bother to share
that with us.
Of course, Leo D.'s smug acting doesn't help much either. He was good in "This Boy's Life" and hell, he was even decent in "Titanic", but it
looks as though DiCaprio is starting to believe his own hype. He gets through the film on his looks and charm, something one doesn't need in a
tale that is supposed to be dark and daring. The one scene he does shine in is a completely off-the-wall section in which Richard goes bonkers
and starts to think he is living in a video game. It is so bizzare and over-the-top, one can't help but laugh, and his facial expressions are
priceless. As for the rest of the cast, Tilda Swinton plays Sal as if she is doing a dinner theater version of Cate Blanchett's "Elizabeth", Virginie
Ledoyen is gorgeous but vapid as the French love interest named Francoise. But Robert Carlyle does bring energy and humor to his
all-too-brief role as Daffy. Playing him as "Trainspotting" character Begbie's cousin, Carlyle's wacked performance makes me very excited to see
him in the upcoming James Bond film.
It felt all through the film that Danny Boyle was out of his league, like Neil Jordan is when he is given a big Hollywood budget. His directing is
very pedestrian. He obviously felt uncomfortable with the material and decided to go on autopilot here. That is too bad. His films have a unique
feel and look to them (yes, even the godawful "Life Less Ordinary") but this one had very little of that in either department. My advice to
Danny is to go back to making small films in Scotland. The ones you made there were fantastic. The climate obviously feeds your passion for
making quality films. Get away from the poison of the Hollywood money machine. It is no good for you. Get out while you can!
I can see why 20th Century Fox decided to move "The Beach" to sometime next year. Despite the presence of Leo D., it will not be an easy sell,
be it a good or bad film. I don't think editing the movie will help it either. Then again, it would make it shorter......
-
+ Expand All
-
It sounds to me like the director fell into the trap of automatically assuming that signing Leo D. means the movie will necessarily be a box-office smash. Does anyone remember "Last Action Hero"?
-
Aug 19, 1999 2:52:44 AM CDT
Return to the Blue Lagoon..c'mon you know you want Brooke or Mil
by ylifer9
I just finished The Beach by that Garland fellow. It'a nice piece for a young writer, but that's about it. However I could see how the movie COULD be utterly fantastic!! The book is basically Lord of the Flies plus Apocalypse Now. There's even "the horror, the horror" line. But this book is very much about skewered reality and what a paradise is supposed to be. ANYONE who has ever read the book I'm sure can't even picture LEO as Richard. Ewan should have been the guy! I don't know what the hell Boyle was thinking...Oh wait I guess he was in it for the money...Scottish sellouts unite.
Anyways, the book is a nice beach(so to speak) read, and it raises interesting questions for those of us that were raised thinking that paradise included brooke shields and coconuts. -
Alex Garlands book was very good. The main character was English, but as usual hollywood dumbs it down for American audiences. Get rid of the dark brooding atmosphere, chuck in a few jokes and cast Di Caprio. I'm disappointed in Boyle if this is what has happened. He should be careful that he doesn't become another 'Danny Cannon'. i.e a British director who completely submits to the studios, producing pap for the masses - it always backfires.
-
Alex Garlands book was very good. The main character was English, but as usual hollywood dumbs it down for American audiences. Get rid of the dark brooding atmosphere, chuck in a few jokes and cast Di Caprio. I'm disappointed in Boyle if this is what has happened. He should be careful that he doesn't become another 'Danny Cannon'. i.e a British director who completely submits to the studios, producing pap for the masses - it always backfires.
-
(that's a joke only the British will get) point one, Danny Boyle isn't Scottish, he's from Manchester, though producer MacDonald and writer Hodge are. Point two Danny cannon'S films were always shit, long before he went to Hollywood (see "Young Americans" and his TV movie "Play Dead" for evidence) *note this is also the case with Paul Anderson.
-
All I wanted to say is that it sounds to me like Harry's reviewer here has evidently never read the book of "the Beach". Now, admittedly, I have never seen the movie (obviously!), but the reviewer here sounds thoroughly confused by elements of the story which are crucial in the book. Before I start on this, I stress that there are a LOT of hardcore fans of the book..I have read it, but I'm not a fanatic, I'm simply interested to see the mutation that is necessary to translate a passable English novel into a mainstream American movie. Okay - my first question is as to whether Robert Carlyle's ghost pops up throughout the film as the voice of Leo's subconscious, as this would help us understand Leo's motivation/insanity, and without it, we would definitely leave the theatre confused. Secondly, just a couple of minutiae - the book focused on the sexual friction between Francoise and Leo's character, but they never consummate anything beyond a feverish kiss, which makes it all the more tense...to simply have them screwing on the sand would completely devalue Francoise as a character in the story. Also, I'm pretty sure that Leo's character went to the shore with Bugs, rather than that woman, and even if he had, would ANYONE in their right mind bed Tilda Swinton? (well, admittedly, he is supposed to go insane!)...I mean, have you guys seen Orlando? The other thing that bothers me about this movie is the transformation of the lead character from a Brit to a Yank, and i don't mean that in an offensive way - I can appreciate that the studios need a big hollywood movie star to sell interest, and I appreciate that Leo would probably end up sounding like Keanu in Coppola's Dracula if he tried to do an English accent, but it's simply that in the book, the character's entire believability is rooted in his incredibly domestic flashbacks to late 80's childhood in South London, and his obsessions with Airfix kits, and Space invaders..........I hate to be a stick in the mud, and I'm not entirely sure if this entire talkback doesn't just sound like a ramble, but if anyone out there can provide me with some answers, I'd be much obliged.
-
Everyone I know who's read 'The Beach' has come away with a bit of 'And so what?' feeling. Basically, the plot demands that you make huge leaps of logic anyway, so its not as if Danny Boyle's letting everyone down by turning in a movie where the audience thinks 'Oh, I wouldn't do that'. Cos that's what the book's like. And the follow up is gash as well.
-
The fucker's trying to copyright his own NAME for chrissakes. I'm thinking we, as a country, should persuade NASA to shoot this piss-ant into outer space.
-
I know Danny Cannon's never been any good. That was my point. He's always been a sell out.
Also check out The Tesseract, Garlands new book. It's a lot more sophisticated than the Beach, and made a haunting impression on me. -
Leo sucks Satan's cock. He's the antchrist, he's the shit on my shoe. He fucking sucks. And worstr of all, I used to like the bastard - Gilbert Grape, the Basketball DIaries, etc. But now that he has an ego the size of Marlon Brando, he thinks he's a stud. Has anyone seen the previews for this piece o crap? Leo, shirtless showing off hiz ten-year olds body, trying to look menacing. . . Please. My mom's more menacing than him. Leo exists for two reasons and two reasons only - to excite little girls and to be the Devil's handjob boy.
-
Okay, I read the script for this one and, while I haven't seen the movie or the book, the script was very good. In fiction, the point of having a motivationless protagonist is to fuse the character and the reader (or in this case the watcher). Richard wants paradise. We all want paradise. If Richard had been "my parents hate me" this "I got kicked out of college" that, it wouldn't be as relateable. By removing certain aspects of background, it isn't just him taking the journey but WE are taking the journey. Think about Apocalypse Now, a movie that has been brought up here. We don't know anything about Willard - his wife, his family, where he's from, why he's an army man (or Marines?). We just jump on the boat with him. His thoughts become our thoughts. We experience the trip with him. I think the character is very well written by Boyle. We know just as much as we need to know. It doesn't become melodrama. The things the reviewer didn't like about the farmers were moments of intoxication, when Richard is blasted off his mind. He doesn't steal the gun because he doesn't need to, because he is testing the limits of what he can do, which is basically what the script is about. This guy is intoxicated by the idea of something better, something greater. He's not going to let reality (guys with guns) ruin his paradise. Read it for yourself at http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Screen/5304/beach/script/script1_15.html
It's good stuff. The only thing I worry about is the pacing. A Life Less Ordinary was a road caper romantic comedy that should have been 80 miles a second but was a mile a minute. If Boyle returns to Trainspotting form, he'll be fine. -
I couldn't put this book down when I got it and I have read it 3 times since. Hopefully they can save this one before it becomes an embarassment to them all. I was really looking forward to seeing this played out on the big screen -Lord of the Flies for the Millenium. Oh well...
-
Not only do I feel you're a little out of line when you attempt to judge a bunch of people you've never met, but I think there is a genuine concern about DiCaprio. He was once a great actor, but recently he has been dominated by his ego, which is a problem with any actor. He is too young to maintain the kind of arrogance he has. And c'mon, let's be serious, he looks silly without his shirt on. But I fear he's going to fall into the trap that many young stars who achieve sudden fame. . . they feel that they no longer have to be in mainstream films because the last one they were in was a titanic hit (snicker), and thus they can leave it in the dust. DiCaprio isn't half the actor he thinks he is, and though he may be 10 times the actor I am, that doesn't make him the next big thing. So I think a lot of the hostility isn't directed towards any sort of post-pubescent grudge-bearing, but more towards the arrogance and ego of a young man. And, of course, there is that fact that Leo is the Prince of Darkness's secret whore.
-
Aug 19, 1999 9:48:51 AM CDT
a movie based on a book based on the lord of the flies cliff's n
by kevster
Alex Garland's book is a little like "Lord of the Flies" and a little like "Apocalypse Now" and a little like "On the Road" etc. Only without the nasty after-taste of any of those books. Anyway, it's got all of those influences and none of their bravado, none of their sharp, mordant wit, none of their "true"-ness for lack of a better made-up word, none of their horror. It's a boiled-down version of those sources, a "Frankenstein" of sorts stitched together as an episode of the Brady Bunch (remember the one where they went to Hawaii and got into trouble and Greg hit his head on the surfboard because he was cursed by a Hawaiian god?) lots of references to hemp (cool man!) and empty sex (cool man!) but reads like a book that was optioned for a movie before it was ever written, even if it wasn't. That is to say, cold, calculated, programmatic, and soulless. Can't wait for the movie.
-
Easy on leo there. As you said, he once was a great actor and he didn't just lose that ability overnight. He just needs to take a role that will challenge him. I admit his ego has been getting big as of late but the kid can still act and I don't think we should just dismiss him. When I first heard of this, the teaming of Leo and Danny Boyle seemed promising for Leo and I am still hoping this film is good despite the trailer.
-
Back in the early 80's, my then writing partner and I came up with the cheapest, most exploitable idea we could think of: Two newlweds on an island honeymoon run afoul of a group of gangsters using the island as a hideout (they used a deserted leper colony as their cover). Peer Oppenheimer made the film, drastically rewriting it to remove the hard edge we gave it. In all fairness to Peer, filming was interrupted by a civil war in the Phillipines and a lot of stuff was cobbled together years later with doubles and voice overs.
Now THE BEACH is upon us. I wish Leo and his crew better luck than we had... -
Leo supposedly turned down the role of Anakin Skywalker in Episode 2, cause he was disappointed with Phantom Menace, yet he stars in "The Beach", a movie which supposedly sucks. Weird.
-
Yeah Danny Cannon made Judge Dredd but its well known he was leaned on by Stallone however he then went on to make I Still Know which the more times I view on DVD the more I realize it is a terrible movie. However Young Americans is actually a good film which was way before the likes of shallow grave etc but never seems to get credit...also The Beach will probably suck but the teaser music is good
-
Carlyle is great in everything - even schlock like Ravenous, but, let's face it, the only memorable thing in Trainspotting was Ewan's trip through the toilet. Why should we expect a good movie from these filmmakers? As far as Leo bonking babes on the beach - as anyone who has travelled abroad knows, it is much easier to bonk babes while you're travelling abroad than when you're home. I don't know why - there's a certain magic freedom when one travels - it seems The Beach touches on that. Unfortunately, this movie sounds like a Gen X remake of Six Days,Seven Nights. Frankly, I'd rather see Blue Lagoon 3 starring Brooke Shields and Milla Jovovich as two girls stranded on a desert island who... well you know what I mean. Suddenly Lolo indeed! Hubba hubba.
-
I think a little too much has been
made of DiCaprio's star power since TITANIC. Everyone looked at
that film's success and jumped to
the conclusion that Leo
was its leading cause. Certainly
his presence was important, but it
was more the movie that made him
than the other way around. The otherwise inexplicable success of THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK notwithstanding, I don't think Leo
can be counted on to carry a film.
(Do girls even talk about him anymore? It seems they've all moved on to James Vanderbeek and
those other twats). As for his
ability- highly overrated. Like
Keanu, he seems Southern Californian even when he's doing an accent in full period dress. Unlike Keanu, he's too smug to be
forgiven for it. I'm sure he wanted to do a Danny Boyle film to
regain some indie-cred after TITANIC (Ditto with CELEBRITY and
his AMERICAN PSYCHO flirtations).
Can't wait to watch it bomb.
-
If there is one line that drives me crazy it is when someone says, "I liked the book better". What does that have to do with anything? A book and a movie are two different mediums. Comparing a book to a movie is like eating a piece of bacon and saying "I thought the pig was cuter." Why do I care enough to post this? Because I do not think the quality of a book has any bearing on the movie. A book can be great, mediocre or even unknown - it is just source material for the movie. The success of the movie lies in it's ADAPTATION. Example: Apocalypse Now was adapted from Conrad's Heart of Darkness. One is a movie, the other is a book. So what.
-
I haven't seen the film, so I can't judge whether it or any of the actors' performances are good or not. However, I feel the reviewer is biased agaist Leo DiCaprio & went into that cinema wanting to dislike the film. Why do I say this? a) contradictions in the review Leo's performance relies soley "on his CHARM & his looks" - yet the main character is described as a loathsome jerk - sorry where's the reliance on charm then? b) snide asides - the main character gets to sleep with 2 girls - as happens it would to Leo. This certainly seems prejudiced to me!
-
it really wasn't, you know - sure, it was a fast, involving read, but the pretentions to depth got a little dull after a while and the hype around it just got too overbearing. give alex garland time and he may produce something really cool (i haven't read the tesseract yet, but i hear it's OK). and lay off leo, for chrissake! would you rather have matthew lillard in every role? maybe paul walker? fuck no!!!
-
Leo = Anti-HarBinger
He is just about my arch nemesis and we will surely never meet. He is everything I am not and more. And yes I hate him for it. I did not see Titanic for just that reason. Quite unreasonable really. I can hear you all thinking "This guy must be the size of a house, never had a chick and a true POV". Not true. He just shits me because he is so damned popular and cute. Makes me sick. Thankfully my girlfriend does not think he 'is all that' or I think I would pass out. Carlyle is fantastic on the other hand. One of my favorites, so I may have to put my loathing aside just for the short entry. Question? Why the R rating?? Drug growing and sex on the beach?? Weekend at Bernies was that?? PG?? Dear god I hope Leo's shlong ain't showing or I am certainly not going. -
Hmmmm, sounds like this little production may be in a spot of trouble. Or not. Too early to tell, frankly, at this stage of the game. Just have to wait and see, I guess. And why do people keep repeating the rumor that Leo-chan has turned down a part in Ep. II? When those stories first appeared, the script hadn't even been finished yet! I'm not sure if it is now. And isn't he supposed to be a big Star Wars fan? If so, I doubt he'd turn down a chance to be Anakin Skywalker. Time will tell.
-
It's true. With his hideous man-child countenance, he also looks a bit like my mate Stumpy Bob, who in turn looks like Eddie Munster.
The Tesseract is also a pretty poor read. Don't beleive the hype, kids. If you do, you'll also think that 'Ecstasy' by Irvine Welsh is a gripping read as well. -
This pre-review of 'The Beach' should by rights have you worried, but hold on...pretty much everything the review is at task with harks from the original book itself, and blimey, dontcha know, that book is a MASSIVE MASSIVE MASSIVE hit. Ever since it was published in London a good two years ago, you haven't been able to get on a tube train without someone in the carriage being glued to it. Everyone I know has read it, and funnily enough, pretty much everyone except me loved it. Personally I thought 'Hang on, does no one else remember Lord of the Flies?' which did the whole thing with so much more significance and grace, but then hey, as soon as they said Danny Boy was making it into a movie, I knew he'd deliver a corker. The way they changed Irvine Welsh's despondant 'Trainspotting' was just something else. I've seen the trailer for The Beach and to say it tows the mainstream is just rot. There are clearly loads of flashy, spectacular visuals, as we've come to expect from the Boyle combo. Make no mistake, this will be a gigantic film, yes in part because of Leo's popularity, but moreso because EVERYONE, almost everyone, anyway, dreams of going to paradise, especially when they're teenagers/early twenties (and that's a massive market out there)...the reviewer bitches about why Leo would go there in the first place, but bloody hell, millions and millions of Western youths head out east either after school or college or at some stage. And those of us who can't go, doesn't necessarily mean we don't wish we could. If the dope element of the book is played out too, then that's gonna score even more with the yoofs of today. We're talking BIG BIG HIT, baby.
If the French chick seems vapid that's only because her character is in the book. It seems, from this overview, that the guys have been v.faithful to the text (save one spicy embellishment), which although trashy literature will convert into great cinema. And with Robert Carlyle on board as the enigmatic Mr Duck, hot of the furore of Christmas' World Is Not Enough hoopla, that's going to add to the draw. Thailand better get set for an invasion. Wherever our reviewer thinks he's coming from, he's missed the mass psyche...this film will score. I don't think there's anything else remotely as sure a thing out there in the field. -
Fair point, my man, but just cause somethings successful doesn't necessarily make it any good. People are reading The Beach out of curiosity which is all very well, but at the end of the day its not that good. The film's going to have problems because there's no likeable characters in it. You just don't feel motivated to give as much as a flying feck about Richard, Etienne, or heaven forfend, Sal.
Harry Potter - now there's a book thats going to make an amazing film. -
Okay, now all the ten year old girls are going to be thirteen or fourteen by the time this movie comes out. I'm sure their tastes have changed over to hearthrob Senior Ricarado Martin and whatever the cute guy in is in their in junior high's. Great books need great talent and Leo's has wayned. He's more annoying rather than interesting. Carlise on the other hand is more intriguing. That's a guy like I could watch all day. He changes his looks and absorbs the character he portrays. He'll outshine Leo in the longrun. Leo will be doing Roger Corman phillipino action flicks with Mr. T and Jenny McCarthy next! Oh, and stosslova- don't get the part of "Piggy" in "Lord of the Flies"( A classic film that is far above "The Beach". Those falling boulders hurt.
-
Ummm, granted, I'd have rather seen Ewan MacGregor in the Richard role, as was originally intended but...well...I am curious as to how changing the protagonist to an American "dumbs down" the character. Any ideas? Is there some subtext, uniquely British, that adds to Richard that is lost by his Americanization? Please fill me in. As is, it seems Leo's inclusion was mainly a marketing deal. He's a bigger draw, Danny sold out his boy Ewan for, theoretically, the "good" of his project. I ain't happy with it either, but I'm still trying to make sense of what you said...
-
It is amusing to listen to Brits screaming that the novel The Beach was a HUGE hit in England. As any creative artist (film, pop music or otherwise) will tell you, the definition of being a big hit is to make it in America. Rupert Everett and Hugh Grant made dozens of pictures in England, but needed success in the USA to become international stars (My Best Friend's Wedding and Four Weddings respectively). Sorry, but The Beach didn't even make in onto the radar here in the States. That said, aside from the needs of the marketting and publicity department, the success of a book makes little difference to the artistic success of a movie. And with Leo in the role, you're guaranteed a lot of press.
-
why are we so concerned that richard is american in the film? i read the book several times, loved it, went to see the set while i was in thailand last year (gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous) there's no reason why this film shouldn't be a laugh. thing is, Sal is also a major character in the book, and she's american - tilda swinton however is english. richards englishness is very important in the book, no denying it, but for the film you take what you get, and much of the tension between sal and richard(and they never never have sex, not even close - that IS a bit odd) comes from their differences in nationality and outlook. which of them is which, i think, is less important than that they are different. admittedly leo seems to be taking himself a bit too seriously these days but i've got better things to worry about. i'll see this film, probably while stoned, and i expect it'll be fun. and by the way, steevmack my man i should like to salute you. Harry Potter now there's a hero.
-
Aug 22, 1999 4:53:08 AM CDT
I liked the book, I like Boyle, so I am sure I will like the mov
by pitsymoon
However, those people who did not like the book, certainly will not enjoy The Beach. The review above criticizes many points that were originally in the book. It was a dark book, not something that everybody can like.
As a huge fan of Boyle and his creativity; I will not believe in any negative criticisms concerning this movie, until I see the movie myself. I am sure it will be great. A dark and fantastic book, a great director and a wonderful cast. It has to be huge, of course not fot those people who absolutely detest anything about LeoDicaprio. -
If you've read the book and liked it, why would you ruin the characters in your head by exposing your brain to the movie? Ever since Neil Jordan's complete desecration of IWTV I just cannot do it any more. And btw diablo, we had Space Invaders in the colonies too.
-
i had the privelege of interviewing Alex Garland in Australia where the book was also huge and to refute a few of the rumours:
he dosen't care that Richard was made an American, he says the nationalities of all the characters were completely interchangeable and not to exxpect the movie to be like the book because its not the book its the movie and was written by someone else. Secondly, Samthelion was right about a motiveless protaganist being in the same position as the reader aand that Richard is not a hero,but a regular guy who does stupid things, Thirdly, the book is not about utopias even though it is often read like that but about violence and the way that people can slip into fantasy worlds and 'hollywood versions' of life. Fianlly, Garland visited the set and they didn't trash the beach (i've been there myself before filming and there were huge piles of garbage everywhere they just cleaned it up). Finally The Beach wasn't a success in America because it wasn't sponsored by Oprah's Book Club and most Americans dont seem to read much anyway.
Readers Talkback
User Login
Top Talkbacks
- Whitney Houston 1963 - 2012 -- 419 total posts 209 posts
- WTF HOLLYWOOD: SOLARBABIES -- 131 total posts 129 posts
- Herc’s Seen Tonight’s Return Of THE WALKING DEAD!! Discuss Also DOWNTON ABBEY, FEAR FACTOR, PAN AM, ONCE, SIMPSONS, DYNAMITE, LUCK, SHAMELESS, BAIT CAR, THE GRAMMYS And More!! Sunday Is Sweeps Day 11!! -- 123 total posts 122 posts
- New JUDGE DREDD post production footage pops up -- 124 total posts 58 posts
- There's a STAR TREK video game that is going to lead into JJ's STAR TREK 2 apparently... -- 191 total posts 47 posts
- Avid Comic Reader Hercules Does Battle With Tedium During Kevin Smith’s COMIC BOOK MEN! -- 43 total posts 43 posts
- If the Behind the Scenes Pics of the Day drops her pen, pick it up, but don’t look at her legs or else it will be on your record. -- 60 total posts 42 posts
- I am The Behind the Scenes Pics of the Day! No, I’m the Behind the Scenes Pic of the Day! -- 27 total posts 27 posts
- To Commemorate The 3D Release Of STAR WARS EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE, George Lucas Wants You To Know...Greedo Shoots First!! -- 506 total posts 26 posts
- HANNA's Saoirse Ronan to boss around seven little people -- 77 total posts 24 posts