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Simon "127 HOURS" Beaufoy Adapting LA Werewolf Gang Novel, Danny Boyle To Direct?

Published at: Feb. 6, 2011, 7:37 a.m. CST

Nordling here.

 

Simon Beaufoy's script for 127 HOURS is pretty damn good considering that it takes place in one location 90% of the film's running time.  I'm sure that was the challenge for Danny Boyle to keep the film visually interesting and thrilling, but he wouldn't have been able to pull it off without Beaufoy.  Now it looks like Beaufoy's next project moves him from a single location to the sprawling city of Los Angeles, with an adaptation of Toby Barlow's gangland novel SHARP TEETH.  Except in this book, the gang is a bunch of lycanthropes.
 
Werewolf is a bit of a misnomer, as Barlow's gang turn into full-fledged dogs as opposed to wolves, but it's a full-fledged LA crime novel that on the surface seems like something slight, but Beaufoy insists it's something more, according to BBC America - "It's an adaptation of a book by a writer called Toby Barlow and it’s a very extraordinary mix of gangland Los Angeles, really, really rough — a lot of shootings — and the difference with this particular piece of work is that these gangs can shape-shift at will into packs of dogs."
 
So it's THE DOGFATHER then?  Hard to say.  I haven't read the book, but reading this review at New York Magazine makes the prose seem very punchy and direct, not unlike another novel adapted into a film by Danny Boyle called TRAINSPOTTING.  In fact, the plot seems like something right up his alley.  But will Boyle direct it?  According to Beaufoy, "If I write it well enough, he'll direct it."
 
Danny Boyle on a werewolf crime movie?  I like the idea of a mash-up of genres like that, and hope Beaufoy turns in that script good enough to lure Boyle in.  As of right now though, Beaufoy's working on the script, and he says, "If you get it wrong it's a disaster, and if you get it right it will be extraordinary."  Here's hoping he gets it right.
 
Nordling, out.

Readers Talkback

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  • Feb. 6, 2011, 7:38 a.m. CST

    Post 0

    by HEADGEEK

    My what SHARP TEETH you have, Danny Boyle!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb. 6, 2011, 7:53 a.m. CST

    ...LA Wolfens then

    by scrote

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb. 6, 2011, 7:55 a.m. CST

    Wasn't there a Supernatural episode like this?

    by CHRISTIAN_BALE_TRASHED_MY_LIGHTS

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb. 6, 2011, 8:01 a.m. CST

    More of an 'Epic' poem than a novel...

    by scrote

    I'd like to see Boyle tackle The Four Quartets after this...heh-heh...

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb. 6, 2011, 8:26 a.m. CST

    Sounds like Wolfen to me

    by D.Vader

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb. 6, 2011, 8:31 a.m. CST

    A new werewolf story

    by ForkTongue

    At least it sounds a little different. I just hope it's not the same theme disguised as a gang movie. Every other werewolf movie is the same theme. Newbie gets bit, turns into werewolf, kills some randoms, wakes up the next day surprised, figures out who the big bad wolf is, turns into werewolf, kills bad wolf, and dies at the end. Ho hum. Just like this video here... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQ3T_MgtBvo

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb. 6, 2011, 8:54 a.m. CST

    Yes ChristianBale "All dogs go to heaven."

    by SID 8.0

    They were shapeshifters, cousins to the werewolf.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb. 6, 2011, 9:17 a.m. CST

    gangbangers that turn into dogs.

    by phifty2

    It's a comedy right? Is Snoop in it. And people keep saying werewolves. They're dogs. Actually I would see this if there is a scene were some thug is busting caps then transforms in a toy poodle a pees on the guy he just killed. And they have to talk while in dog form.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb. 6, 2011, 9:28 a.m. CST

    will there be a hispanic chihuahua?

    by zom-bot.com

    voiced precociously by Cheech or george lopez?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb. 6, 2011, 9:31 a.m. CST

    No, it sounds NOTHING like Wolfen...

    by Messiahman

    Aside from the fact that it takes place in an urban environment. Wolfen was about hyper-intelligent wolves that have lived secretly alongside mankind for centuries. This is a crime novel about shape-changers. They have nothing in common.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb. 6, 2011, 9:44 a.m. CST

    I thought Wolfen was about shape-changers too?

    by D.Vader

    Granted, I haven't seen it since I was a child and even then I never saw all of it.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb. 6, 2011, 10:04 a.m. CST

    Nah, no shape-changers in WOLFEN.

    by Messiahman

    Just a hyper-intelligent canine race descended from wolves. Albert Finney discovers that they've been feeding on homeless transients and such. There was some Native American nonsense thrown in for good measure. It's not a bad film, but it kinda bogs down in the second half. I vaguely recall the book being better.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb. 6, 2011, 10:11 a.m. CST

    Actual information from someone who has read the book and interviewed the author

    by trashotron

    I've read the book and interviewed the author for NPR. I think this is a good match of tone and content. "Sharp Teeth" is called an "epic" because it is in fact written as an epic poem, in blank verse, with lots of hard-boiled mystery Homeric flourishes. There is humor, but no camp, period. Forget that, and Boyle doesn't really do camp either, so that makes sense. If done right, it will *seem* like a cinematic cross between Heat and The Wolfen, remembering of course that the movie The Wolfen has little to do with the book. (I wish they'd done Strieber's novel, instead of what showed up on screen.) "Sharp Teeth" truly has an epic crime novel feel, like Heat, and the "werewolves" shape-shift into large wolf-like dogs, not (as much as I love them) Rick Baker-like monsters. Here's a link to the book review: http://snipurl.com/1ze2op Here's a link to a long-form interview with the author: http://snipurl.com/1ze3wi Here's a link to the NPR piece about the book and author, which includes comments from his editor, a very famous and smart woman: http://snipurl.com/1ze4eg Sorry to inject facts and grammar into this discussion. I'd be shocked if it survives long.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb. 6, 2011, 10:29 a.m. CST

    Trashotron

    by scrote

    ...gives pause for thought: How come there isn't a dedicated book column on this site?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb. 6, 2011, 10:53 a.m. CST

    If Boyle is involved

    by maxjohnson1971

    I'll check it out. I mean, has he made a bad movie yet? And I don't mean a flawed movie or an okay movie. I mean a real stinker. I don't think so. He's pretty reliable in my book.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb. 6, 2011, 10:55 a.m. CST

    As I clash three bottles together on three fingers

    by theycallmemrtibbs

    FURRIERS! COME OUT TO PLAYAY! <p> FURRRIERS!!! COME OUT TO PLAYAYYY!!! <p> FURRIERRRRRRS!!!! COME OUT TO PLAAAYAYYYYYY!!!

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb. 6, 2011, noon CST

    As humans, the characters fight for control over

    by CreasyBear

    their seedy territories, engaging in cold-blooded machinations to further their gangland empires, ... but on the full moon, they transform into dogs, then just kinda forget all the human stuff, lying around, licking their own balls. These scenes will probably be shortened for the movie version.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb. 6, 2011, 1 p.m. CST

    So Beaufoy is Boyle's "go to" writer now?

    by The_Guy_Who_Invented_Coca_Cola

    Can we ever hope for more Boyle/Garland flicks?

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb. 6, 2011, 5:21 p.m. CST

    The Amazing Dobermans?

    by alan_poon

    Haven't seen that film since I was a nipper back in the late seventies.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb. 6, 2011, 5:23 p.m. CST

    The Doberman Gang?

    by alan_poon

    Haven't seen that since I was a wee yin either.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb. 6, 2011, 6:28 p.m. CST

    The book

    by Ben Addiction

    What made the book interesting was how the descriptions of the characters shifted subtly so that they seemed both human and dog simultaneously. Unfortunately, in a film you have to pick if you are going to show one or the other, so that will be lost. Then it's just a sorta lame gang thriller.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb. 6, 2011, 8:25 p.m. CST

    I'd rather see Sandman Slim as a movie

    by Happyfat73

    But then, it's more of an LA noir with angels and demons. Great book though.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb. 6, 2011, 10:05 p.m. CST

    You gotta have Snoop Dogg in this movie! It's perfect!

    by MrMysteryGuest

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb. 6, 2011, 11:04 p.m. CST

    Happyfat73 - Me too!

    by The_Floating_Skull_of_Robert_Loggia

    Sandman Slim was a GREAT read!! I read Sharp Teeth and, to be honest, the best thing about it is the fact that it's more of an epic poem than a proper novel. That and the book looks nice. Sandman Slim kicked all kinds of ass - Hellblazer meets Raymond Chandler. Groovy stuff.

    Reply to Talkback

  • Feb. 7, 2011, 2:34 a.m. CST

    Sharp Teeth

    by oldnik

    It would take a decent script to adapt this story, which is written in a very lyrical, flowing style. In anyone elses hands it would literally be a dogs dinner, but Simon Beaufoy will hopefully deliver, and Donny Boyle will take care of the visuals very well, he knows his stuff and can adapt to any genre. I hope this comes off, I'm drooling in anticipation!

    Reply to Talkback