Who knew Josh Radnor was an accomplished writer? The star of the CBS TV show “How I Met Your Mother” has taken a stab at writing HappyThankYouMorePlease, which is sure to be an indie crowd pleaser at Sundance this weekend. The Happy Thank You More Please script (PDF) is good. Even though it’s almost too smart and too cool to be poignant, it’s got enough grit and self-awareness not to be merely cute. Hopefully the final cut, directed by Radnor himself, will be just as good. It’s not often that a first-time writer-director can pull off a successful project. I’ve heard more than one development executive flatly refuse to consider a project, simply because it had a script’s writer also attached to direct.
From the Sundance website description:
Six New Yorkers juggle love, friendship, and the keenly challenging specter of adulthood. Sam Wexler is a struggling writer who’s having a particularly bad day. When a young boy gets separated from his family on the subway, Sam makes the questionable decision to bring the child back to his apartment and thus begins a rewarding, yet complicated, friendship. Sam’s life revolves around his friends—Annie, whose self-image keeps her from commitment; Charlie and Mary Catherine, a couple whose possible move to Los Angeles tests their relationship; and Mississippi, a cabaret singer who catches Sam’s eye.
There certainly are a lot of films set in New York City this year at Sundance. Of them all, I think this could be my favorite. For a list of the most anticipated films at Sundance 2010, see my post a few days ago.
Advertisements contain the only truths to be relied on in a newspaper. - Thomas Jefferson
Explosions, battles, and a climactic hand-to-hand fight between hero and villain: these are the obligatory thrills of the Tentpole Film. But sometimes, for some of us, the real thrills come from outside the theater and inside the box-office.
James Cameron has once again blown past all the competition. Except himself. AVATAR is already the runner-up best-performing box-office earner of all time. In five weeks the “action/adventure/sci-fi” has earned $1.4 billion internationally. The defending champ, Cameron’s TITANIC, earned a total of $1.8 billion. But that was 16 weeks of theater revenue. In its first five weeks TITANIC earned (only) $550 million. This means that, barring an upset, AVATAR will raise the bar by the time it is half way through its theatrical run and claim a definitive victory.
James Cameron, director of TITANIC, will have to drink the bitter cup of defeat and hand the laurels over to… himself. But will this film earn him the Oscar for Best Picture as TITANIC did in 1997? If the Golden Globes are any indication (which they often are), it is a distinct possibility.
Advertisements contain the only truths to be relied on in a newspaper. - Thomas Jefferson
At the pre-premiere of “Up in the Air” in Telluride, I asked Jason Reitman about the creative process of adapting “Up in the Air” from book to screenplay. Little did I know it would win a Golden Globe for “Best Screenplay” and be the talk of the town for Oscar nominations. But even more surprising to me is that in his constant round of promotion and interviews, Reitman has not mentioned the man that won the award with him: Sheldon Turner. Indeed, the “pie chart” of which he’s tweeted doesn’t even have a sliver of a slice for Turner.
Sell the sizzle, not the steak. When Reitman answered my question back in September, he gave his now familiar story – that he discovered Walter Kirn’s novel, “Up in the Air,” while perusing an independent book store several years ago. He said this is his most personal screenplay to date. It turns out, perhaps this cute story of the auteur director finding inspiration in an interesting novel is… just that, a story. The LA Times mentioned the contention behind the scenes (arbitrated by The Writer’s Guild and shielded from the public eye by Paramount, no doubt). Also, there’s the fact that the novel was being adapted by studios long before Jason was brought on board.
Jason Reitman "Up in the Air" Premiere Westwood Los Angeles 2009 photo by John Rhodes
When highly creative minds combine with great egos, the resulting actions can get messy. Perhaps we’ll never know who wrote which parts of “Up in the Air.” Jason Reitman needs to swallow his pride and give credit where it’s due.
However, without the tireless touring and cute (if not entirely true) stories about how the script came together, would “Up in the Air” have gathered the recognition thus far?
Advertisements contain the only truths to be relied on in a newspaper. - Thomas Jefferson
Recent Comments