Film Fanatics - Chat Thread II

I haven't heard of Gatz, but that does sound interesting. Yeah Fitzgerald's prose is essentially the main reason Gatsby's any good at all. Without significant narration, it's going to be nigh-impossible to see Nick Carraway as anything but a boring audience surrogate, or to understand exactly what about Jay Gatsby was so compelling to him (because honestly it's really easy to make him look like some sort of demanding, unreasonable stalker- some smartarse has tried this line every time I've studied the book in class). It's not an easy project, to be sure. I don't like Luhrmann for it but I don't know who I'd have instead. Fincher or a resurrected Kubrick, I suppose, but that's obvious.

Yeah, it's the kind of play I'd consider going to. If the theatre wasn't so prohibitively expensive.

I'm guessing you're an english student? I always feel a little stupid with books, it takes me so much longer to grasp subtext and motivations than with other things.

If I had to have someone do the film then I'd give David Mamet a big sack of money, tell him to write a script to make all the dialogue reflect the narration, and then have Roman Polanski direct it. Brad Pitt would play Gatsby and Jude Law would play Nick Carraway.

Is it just me, or does Daisy not seem to be portrayed as she is read in the novel?

Well, it's just a trailer, but she seems more emotional and attached to Gatsby than she does in the book. She's supposed to be attracted to him chiefly in terms of money and objects, but he seems to have her all a-quiver in this. But then again, there's that bit early on where she goes on about how the best thing a girl can be is superficial and pleasure-driven in that world, so maybe there's more emphasis on the person beneath the facade she puts up. I dunno. Again, huge overanalysis of a 2 and a half minute trailer, but that's all I've got to go on until December. Mulligan's good enough to nail Luhrmann's vision of Daisy, I'm just not sure she'll get Fitzgerald's.

Yeah, I know, but I'm still dubious about the whole Baz Luhrmann thing.
The "beautiful, little fool" quote?
I just hope it turns out good

I am, yes. I tend to apply my thought process with English lit to film and everything else (which is why I didn't do too well in my first year film class), which probably accounts for the pseudo-intellectual tone of a lot of my posts here.

(and he looks the spit of Robert Redford, who, for all the many, many faults of the 1974 film, was a pretty decent Gatsby, all told)

At least you have a justification for it. I'm consistently the only medic writing for my student newspaper, I feel like a traitor to the sciences.



I haven't seen that film, would you recommend it?

On a non-Gatsby aside, I've kind of decided on a recreational project for the summer when all my exams are out of the way: I'm tempted to try and watch every adaptation of Alice in Wonderland. I recently saw Disney and Burton's version and was curious if any others existed and there's a ridiculous amount - Wikipedia lists about 40 direct adaptations, and then there's a ton of inspired by films too.

I'm surprised you didn't break down when saying Transformers. I liked Shia LaBeouf in the Even Stevens TV show and as a secondary supporting character in the Constantine and I Robot films. It's the main spotlight that he does not seem suited to.

How the **** does the internet come up with these things?

I'm looking forward to it. Gives me an excuse to actually read the Great Gatsby instead of playing the video game.

I've gone on about not being a fan of his to the point where it'd be boring to continue. I hope it turns out well and I will watch it, but I have very low expectations.

Yep, that's the one. Christ I love that book.

and then there's a ton of inspired by films too

There's a video game? o.O

one of my favourites:

[video="youtube;R2BAeh8wZLI"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2BAeh8wZLI[/video]