Posted by LSUKozemp at ac9e0e95.ipt.aol.com on September 09, 2001 at 23:32:47:
There is on-topic, Kevin-related material later on that makes this post appropriate, I swear.
I've been reading the stories that are coming out of the festival about it, and I have to say that I'm substantially less than thrilled.
I don't mind Johnny Depp playing Abberline, or even mind that an actress as truly atrocious as Heather Graham is in it.
(A bunch of fanboys are likely going to rise and take up arms now and probably call me a "fucking fag" or say that I "eat cock" or something similar because I dissed Heather Graham. To them, I say - go jerk off to Boogie Nights or Austin Powers 2, then watch an Emma Thompson movie and learn what a real fucking actress is SUPPOSED to be like. Now there's a beautiful woman equally adept at comedy and drama.)
No, the casting decisions I don't mind - in fact, I'm pretty thrilled at getting Robbie Coltrane as Godley and Ian Holm as Gull (I hope he bulked up a little, tho).
It's when I started reading about how Depp plays the "psychic, opium-addicted Inspector Abberline" and that Abberline's "psychic abilities as a seer are integral to the plot" that I started to get a little uneasy.
Where the fuck did THAT come from?
I'm not one of those wackos who insists that everything has to be exactly like the source material, but a huge departure like that seems awfully unnecessary. Christ, wasn't the original story creepy and scary and just fucking GOOD enough to make the way it was? I hear talk that there's a big "romantic" subplot in the movie as well, and while I remember that in the book Abberline and Mary knew and were fond of each other if this turns into jsut another excuse to show Heather Graham's tits I'm going to be really disappointed.
My Kevin-related thoughts -
I was thinking about how comics-to-movies is all the hot new thing, and I was wondering what other comics might make good "Kevin Smith movies."
Again, a bunch of fanboy idiots are going to rally and cry "any movie made by Kevin would be FUCKING AWESOME!!!!!!!!!" I honestly have to say that I don't know if I'd want to see, for instance, a $120 million Hulk movie directed by Kevin (good thing they got Ang Lee).
No, I'm talking what comic might make a real "Kevin" movie, as in written AND directed by. I can't really think of a single "mainstream" book that really fits the bill, unless maybe Gail's NIGHT NURSE turns out to be that sort of thing when it comes out. What comes to mind are some of the seriously character-driven indies like maybe LOVE AND ROCKETS or STRANGERS IN PARADISE. Those two, especially, I think Kev could make a great movie out of.
And, if he wanted to go the genre route (which might be interesting) I'd love to see a Kevin Smith-helmed film version of STRAY BULLETS (Jersey represent).
Thoughts, anyone?
JLK