Cool News
Gus Van Sant & Bret Easton Ellis To Adapt THE GOLDEN SUICIDES!! But Will Gus Direct??
Merrick here...
Gus Van Sant and author Bret Easton Ellis 
are working on a film about the suicides of Theresa Duncan and Jeremy Blake. Their script will be based on a Vanity Fair piece by Nancy Jo Sales (read it HERE).
Duncan and Blake formed a popular couple on the downtown New York and Venice, Calif., art scenes. She was one of the first videogame designers for girls, and his "digital paintings" -- kaleidoscopic images shown on plasma screens -- established him as a rising star on the circuit.
The couple descended into a paranoid spiral when the artists developed a consuming belief that government and religious organizations were conspiring against them. She killed herself in 2007. Blake found her body on the floor of their bedroom, and walked into the Atlantic Ocean a week later, ending his life.
...according to THIS Variety piece.
At this time, Gus is only involved as a writer on the project - no word on whether he's looking to direct.
The couple descended into a paranoid spiral when the artists developed a consuming belief that government and religious organizations were conspiring against them. She killed herself in 2007. Blake found her body on the floor of their bedroom, and walked into the Atlantic Ocean a week later, ending his life.
-
+ Expand All
-
...professional. So is jumping off something high.Respect.
-
Legit.
-
...it's Less Than Zero.
I just saw the movie for the first time, after having read the book ages ago.
I'm surprised Ellis didn't demand that his name be taken out of the movie credits.
How the hell did they turn THAT book into a buddy movie?!?!?! -
*** DEAD SNOW is playing tonight and tomorrow at the Mayfair Theatre in Ottawa, Canada!!! ***
-
That's pretty stolid and baddass-ed. Talk about not wanting to bother anyone with your suicide. You just disappear. Well, I guess until you awash on shore. But still, that's very cool. And it could make for one incredibly beautiful piece of film.
-
Two pretentious yuppie "artists" off themselves so as not to further their pollution of the gene pool. Girl videogames and something the Apple Visualizer does with one button. Wow, what a tragic loss.
-
cast ben stiller and drew barrymore
-
Have obviously never had to deal with the fallout from one. Fuck you, you moronic pretentious fucknuts.
-
Oct 14, 2009 1:11:42 PM CDT
If your movie has a depressing premise you can't go wrong with G
by cmdx
-
Teenage suicide...Don't do it.
Ellis = professional. I agree heavily with the above poster who stated that Less Than Zero was an abomination as far as adaptations go. Rules of Attraction and, of course, American Psycho are tops. -
...but the guy did it like a man (or Virginia Woolf if I recall). Walking into the ocean gives you lots of time to change your mind. If you have been close to a suicide I'm sorry for your loss.
-
An abomination can be forgotten, relegated to the dustbin of cinematic history.
Rather, Less Than Zero is a MISSED OPPORTUNITY.
It's not like the structure of the book makes it unfilmable. A good writer/director team could make a great flick out of that book.
With all the shitty remakes out there, here's a property that RICHLY DESERVES a second chance.
Just keep the damned casting director away from the sets of every CW show. -
I kinda like the overall dreary (for the most part), hopeless tone of the flick. As you said, missed opportunity on a direct, accurate adaptation.
-
The greatest on-screen Mario died today. Capt. Lou Albano dead at 76.
-
It's a tough subject to introduce into a plot without driving the movie to a standstillProps to easton and sant i'm sure they will make a great film, i just hope they don't ask me to script advice. Not sure why walking into the ocean is seen as a manly way to off yourself, anyway your offing yourself its all a pretty sad way of dealing with things.. Just man up and hug it out, things will get better in the end, find a creative outlet, like i do when i write scripts
-
And take your worthless platitude with you. You state in your opening post 'respect' and 'professional'. Crow3711 stated 'badassery', 'solid' and 'that's very cool' so you obviously haven't read the talkback so far. You claiming you don't think it was 'cool' is semantics based on that. The only time suicide is acceptable as far as i'm concerned is where horrible, lingering disease or mental degeneration from things like Alzheimers enter the equation - anything else, as in the cases of those two idiots, is a fucking moronic act and devastating for the families involved. Anyone claiming it's cool in anyway has never experienced it, and is, on top of that, a fucking moron.
-
Where the fuck is the obit!!??
-
...a lot of suicide attempts (obviously not all) are cries for help or attention. This guy obviously wanted to be dead and got the job done. He wasn't fucking around.People commit suicide for all kinds of reasons...you list a few. I would include severe depression, mental illness, extreme sadness or tragic loss.I agree with you that every suicide (and death in general) is a tragedy. But I have a lot of sympathy for people who feel life has left them no options. Sympathy, and just a tiny, tiny bit of respect for the ability to follow through with such a tragic decision.
-
...off the Golden Gate Bridge. He said that a split second after his body cleared and his hands left the railing he realized that every problem in his fucked up life was fixable...Every problem except having just fucking jumped off the Golden fucking Gate Bridge...He broke a lot of bones. Most of them in fact.
-
It was going to be a big screen treatment of the "Golden Girls" making a suicide pact together. Now THAT would be a movie I'd go see.
-
Curious...how do they know that he simply walked into the Atlantic Ocean? Did someone see him do this?
-
...I remember hearing a comic do a routine about a guy who jumped from some very elevated point, hit the ground, bounced pretty high, and hit the ground again. And lived, true story, supposedly. Anyhoo, this story does sound fascinating; didn't know this couple at all.
-
...airplane. I wonder if they felt lucky or not. The human body is an amazing thing.
-
you know? i always wonder if one were to throw themselves off the golden gate bridge (extra points for using golden gate anecdote and the movie name, btw) if one would die or just dive in the water. in fact, i dont even know why one would die? drowning? cuz i always picture myself just diving in and swimming off to alcatraz or something :)
-
If you have even a flicker of respect for anyone committing suicide who ISN'T facing a long drawn out or painful terminal illness, then you're a moron. As to RedHorseVector, save the pathetic attempt at psychoanalyzing. I haven't personally been affected by it however my work takes me into direct contact with the immediate aftermath of it a lot. As such I'd say I'm qualified to talk on the matter when fucking idiots talk about the subject like it's remotely cool, whether you like that or not. Save the cuntspeak for your mother, I'm sure she's used to it.
-
It was Brad Renfro who died, not Devon Sawa. I just had lunch with devon in London twice last month. It could have been Marcus Halberstram.
-
...had jumped from an airplane, now that you mention it. And actually, now that I'm really thinking on it, the story wasn't about a suicide; it was about a guy whose parachute didn't open... But yes, the human body can prove far more resilient than we'd expect.
-
This couple got into 9-11 conspiracy theories and they were anti-scientology. Scientology really DID bad mouth and try to sabotage them. But they also became super paranoid and seemed to become self destructive. I wonder of the film will portray them as 100% nuts, or with at least a grain of truth in their belief that they did have real enemies?
-
...I'm pretty sure. When you jump from a great height onto water, it's like hitting solid cement. You're killed on impact... That is, if you do expire right away.
-
...if your job is some sort of grief counseling then get to fucking work asshole. Your lack of sympathy and understanding for the varieties of human unhappiness casts serious doubt on your qualifications.And if you are in the cleanup business I should think you would appreciate the relative lack of mess left by walking into the Atlantic.
-
...suicides off the Golden Gate Bridge (the suicide capital of America!) and attempts to reduce the number (I forget how many, but many per year...more than a hundred).Some people proposed a huge net under the bridge. That idea didn't fly as most people thought it would look aesthetically displeasing.Apparently a lot of people hit the concrete pylons that support the bridge. Hitting the water at that speed is almost as bad though and most die on impact. Those who survive the impact are usually knocked unconscious and promptly drown.Knowing is half the battle.
-
http://tinyurl.com/3gylx8
-
Here's me joining in: Kill yourselves. Oh, and whoever's got a golden stick up his ass yelling "I'm better than you because i know about suicide 'fallout' and shit"--fuck you too. And fuck whoever in your family/friend/dog decided to off him/herself. You are probably one of the reasons. Pretentious pricks.
Oh, and the movie sounds like it's going to waste 2 hours of your life (wow, that's irony). -
Sounds interesting. Van Sant will sneak a cock in there knowing him.
-
I always loved River Phoenix, and Keanu's coo' so when I received the criterion collection version of My Own Private Idaho for my bday in 2006 I was ecstatic. I only knew a little about the movie, that it was about River and Keanu as hustlers. So I mistakenly thought they were criminals or low level hoodlums in it. Boy was I wrong. I didn't know by hustlers they meant homos sucking cock for a living. And the fact that Keanu's character came from a rich life was even more disturbing. I got nothing against gay folks, I just don't wanna see any man on man action, or in the case of idaho; man on man on man. That's why I'll never see Brokeback Mounain I don't wanna see The Joker and Donnie Darko heating up the countryside with each other. Id rather see The Order if I wanna see Heath Ledger play something against type (a priest). Anyway, the only redeeming part of the criterion collection of Idaho is the conversation with one of the filmmakers and River's sister Rain.
-
My girlfriends having issues sleeping lately, instead of popping pills I'm trying to get her some Gus Van Sant films. She'll be sleeping like a baby within 15 minutes.
-
Try reading between the lines, muppet. Grief counselor? What are you on? Face it, asshole. You've come on a talkback making a comment initially about how you can 'respect' a fucking moronic decision by two delusional people to kill themselves - or is it just the 'walking into the Atlantic' imagery that appeals? You superficial fucking cretin. This bit I loved though - "And if you are in the cleanup business I should think you would appreciate the relative lack of mess left by walking into the Atlantic." Yeah, way to go, hilarious. I'm sure the family might disagree there, and no fucknut, I didn't mean physical clean-up. No I'm not a grief counselor, and no I'm not telling you my profession. All you need to know is I deal with the reality of this every fucking week it seems, not the 'fantasy imagery' you have such 'respect' for, so go fuck yourself and after you clean up that mess, go buy yourself a fucking clue.
-
...if I had known this guy I would have tried to talk him out of his last wet walk. But yes, with the limited information presented in the article, I do respect the balls involved in carrying out his decision. This is getting tedious.
-
A documentary film about suicides over one year at the Golden Gate.
-
this one seems a bit too grim...
-
I'm talking to you, smegma, you pretentious, self-centered yahoo. EVERYBODY DIES. Some people feel that taking control of their own is something they need to do. This has WAY more to do with them being trapped in their own serious shit than with anyone else's pain. It is the ultimate, selfish act... and this makes it interesting for artists and filmmakers to explore.
If you have a problem with that, people, maybe this movie- and this talkback, for that matter- just ain't for you.
-
The "kill yourself" comments... karma is a bitch. That is some nasty energy you're putting out there.
-
it could be very interesting. i'm down for anything involving ellis (if handled by the right people), van sant, or this crazy-ass plot. put 'em together and it could make for one very intriguing movie.
-
that is some crazy shit, not for the faint of heart, but very powerful. it's a really fascinating doc and nowhere near the "snuff film" label it has received. if that's the case, it was the classiest and most well-done snuff film i've ever seen.
-
Oct 14, 2009 7:13:41 PM CDT
Can see why this topic is hitting close to home for tbers
by jackrabbitslim
"The couple descended into a paranoid spiral when the artists developed a consuming belief that government and religious organizations were conspiring against them." Sounds disturbingly similar to some of the delusion-afflicted on here...
-
...I posted the link above. The article managed to be rivetingly (at least to me)informative about a topic you don't normally hear much about, sad, and funny.Supposedly suicides off the bridge average one per week and there's a betting pool on what day of the week the next one will fly. I wonder how Smegma would feel about that?
-
Oct 14, 2009 7:26:04 PM CDT
For the record - Less than Zero rips off of Vile Bodies
by jackrabbitslim
Evelyn Waugh wrote about the disaffection of the rich and priveleged 60 years previous without the transparent "I'm looking to shock you" antics. The opening line in the book (as I remember) was "People in LA are afraid to merge" That is damn near the definition of hamfisted.
-
...the ship Charles Darwin sailed on committed suicide by going into the washroom, sitting down in front of his shaving mirror...and cutting his throat with a straight razor.
That is balls of solid steel. A tragedy sure, but fuuuuck...how can you not respect that? -
Oct 14, 2009 7:45:18 PM CDT
2 other movies of "walking into the ocean" that affected me....
by future help
"the End" with Burt Renyolds...and "Galatica"...both totally different...both effective.
-
in another talkback.
-
Seriously, I hope that fraud gets kicked in the nuts by the goat he is fucking!!! Oh and FUCK Chief Redcock and kevin smith (he does not deserve to have his name capitalized)!
-
He worked extensively with Blake on Punch-Drunk Love, and it would be interesting to see if the personal connection could result in a PTA project with genuine emotional resonance.
-
Oct 14, 2009 9:54:05 PM CDT
Once again, AICN's most mysterious rivalry takes center stage!
by mr. nice gaius
Gus Van Rant vs. Chief Redcock!Who will win? Are they even really fighting!? Stay tuned fellow Talkbackers!
-
It's the most basic and profound of philosophical dilemmas. If we live in a meaningless universe than our decision about the nature and length of said existence is the only real power we have.
-
Remember suicide isn't cool. It's like drugs, only the people that do it are cool.
-
murder/suicides. Please just do the suicide part.
-
recommend watching it high, and having a couple of cold ones.
-
Man I have been waiting for the Golden Girls movie for 20 years. Will it even come Bea Arthur? Will it ever come?
No... I must admit to my soul, the answer is no. -
In the video game world, Roberta Williams ( co-founder of Sierra Online ) did more than Ms Duncan could have even dreamed of doing for video games and "girl" centric games. Ms Duncan probably owes her life to Roberta Williams... well, I guess since Duncan is dead she owes her former life to her.
-
Ok, "best" is a horrible word to use, but I couldn't think of a better word.
Anyhoo, the movie is Control. If you don't know the story going in, it hurts. If you do know the story going in it's even worse because you know the shit if coming and there's nothing you can do to stop it.
(I also liked the way 24 Hour Party People handled the same incident, but that's a different thing altogether.) -
Now THAT would be a good film, or even documentary. http://sickpicks.blogspot.com/
-
Yeah Control was pretty amazing, 24 Hour Party People was also very good. I also like Control because the director actually knew him.
-
Oct 15, 2009 2:57:05 PM CDT
Series7: The director of Control is a character in 24HourPartyPe
by royston lodge
How's that for a cinematic moebius loop?
-
Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus.
So are these two crazy fucks real people? The story tells to many personal facts about them in a desciptive sense, like the author adds things into the tale to enhance it the way a narrator might descibe someone. Things the writer could not have known about the couple unless they knew the, personally, things that have nothing at all to do with the story. -
Meth!!!! That explains everything. Metheads are so fucking nuts. They do it until they lose it all. They wind up scavaging for scrap metal to buy more meth. I have a friend that became s methhead, and he fucking scares the shit outta me. The whole compassion thing leaves pretty quick after you see what they are willing to do to stay sick.
-
she found a bunch of old guys to fuck her in the ass, she was looking for other girls to join her. People who knew them said they looked gaunt. It's meth, come on now. These two started smoking meth and they went nuts.
-
My opinion stands and frankly as I know it to be a heavily informed one, you can go and fuck yourself. If you feel sorry for people who kill themselves over anything less than terminal illness or lifelong physical pain, you're a moron and it's that thinking that leads people in otherwise transitory situation to think it's an acceptable solution. Plus dead is dead. Who else is there to feel sorry for apart from the devastated relatives? Oh, poor dead person who gave up over something completely solvable or ridiculous. Fuck off.
-
More terribly bored characters being terribly boring.
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