RIP JD Salinger and Michael Chabon on John Carter of Mars
The first month of the new year is coming to a close with some sad news. Author JD Salinger has passed away at the age of 91. The author pretty much wrote the book on teen angst with The Catcher in the Rye which was the Bible of my teen years. With his passing has come the expected rumors about whether his unpublished work will see the light of day and if Hollywood will now make a movie of Catcher. I hope not. It is a book that no film will ever do justice to and should be left alone.
The other news bit is an interview between Edgar Rice Burroughs expert Richard Lupoff and author Michael Chabon posted on ERBZine. Chabon was brought on to rewrite the Andrew Stanton/Mark Andrews John Carter of Mars script and judging by his comments it looks like the usual "we have to make changes because the story won't work otherwise" malarky that most filmmakers spout. Of course (and yes this is cynical) coming from a man who endorsed the wholesale trashing of his own novel, The Mysteries of Pittsburgh, maybe its not too suprising that Chabon would believe that. You can decide for yourself if I'm being too harsh here-http://www.erbzine.com/mag30/3047.html Even though Mr Lupoff is alawys a joy to read.
Comments
For almost 15 years I dreamed of the day I'd see Arthur Lecomte and Phlox Lombardi battle it out for the love of Art Bechstein. Thanks to Rawson Marshall Thurber, we know how that turned out! I even went to Carnegie Mellon, right next to the famed Cloud Factory to get my MFA in Dramatic Writing so that one day, I could help bring MOP to life on the big screen. Once again, RMT ruined that dream! I actually have NOT seen the film, nor will I ever.
Would enjoy chatting with you more. Feel free to email: bechstein[at]yahoo[dot]com
PS -- I actually heard from the REAL Phlox. She didn't seem surprised to hear Chabon had sold out.