Cinematical asks a good genre question -- one Braden might be especially interested in -- Who's in need of a Biopic?
"Big screen biopics will always be a Hollywood staple. They're a tricky genre to master, as they can end up mawkish Oscar bait, whitewashed fluff, fictional and fun, or grueling epics that leave no stone unturned. But at their best, they can entertain and educate without dangerous inaccuracies -- and anything that gets people digging into history or literature is fine by me.
I don't know what the committee process is for picking who gets a biopic and when, but it seems like there's a lot of individuals who are long overdue for the cinematic treatment. So, inspired by the news that Steve McQueen and Ernest Hemingway are getting theirs, I thought I'd pose the question to our readers.
I'll kick off the discussion with a few picks of my own. ... The feminist in me would love to see Mary Wollstonecraft get her due. Not only should young women be reminded that she existed, but isn't she just the kind of strong and complex woman sorely lacking in a He's Just Not That Into You world? ... Literary biopics often end up the fluffiest. My first pick would be Robert Graves, but it's a dangerous one -- I could see someone adapting his life into a lot of heaving sex and WWI trench scenes. Perhaps J.R.R. Tolkien and the Inklings would be safer?"
Okay, I'll bite.
Musically, I'd like Pete Seeger, Frank Zappa or Jimmy Hendrix. Historically, how about Emma Goldman? Arron Burr? Literary -- Ambrose Bierce (who? Check wikipedia - it would make a good movie). Entertainment -- Rod Serling, Dean Martin (or other Rat Packer), Richard Pryor or Bill Hicks, and Sam Fuller.
What do y'all think?
4 comments:
I sincerely hope J.R.R. Tolkien isn't subjected to a Hollywood biopic. I can already imagine the Miss Potter screenwriter attempting to fill Tolkien's afternoons at Pembroke with delightful visions of tiny hobbits and dragons come to life.
When it comes to biopics (especially entertainment ones) I've always felt that if the real person was especially charismatic and loved having a camera on him/her, then there's little use for a biopic - which is why I think all John Lennon/beatles bios are shit (although most are made for tv - or worse still made for mtv). Or Bob Dylan for that matter (in fact, they decided to change it up by having a slew of stars play him. I guess it takes 8 stars to have the charisma of one Bob Dylan). Or Charlie Chaplin... So I would immediately veto the likely future bios of say Madonna or Obama. (There have been exceptions to the rule. Downfall being the most obvious one that comes to mind.)
I think Frank Zappa would be a perfect candidate for a long overdue bio. He's not nearly as known as the big rock stars and yet not only is he very important and influential musically, but he also went up against the congressional hearings for 1st amendments rights - and you know how audiences love a good man against the government sequence. Of course, he never did drugs or drank, or beat anyone, so in that respect he's a little dull.
I find Jim's idea for Fuller inspired considering all he did. I would add Norman Mailer to that list. I like people that do things, and travel, and get political, and fail, and beat their wives and drink, and march... The Hemingways and Hustons. Not just a guy who wrote books or shot films. So I would add John Huston to that list probably. But Mailer is a better choice (as is Hemingway).
Historically - Fidel Castro (why always the obsession with Che?) or maybe Rommel (why not - they did Patton. As long as it's not like that Tom Cruise recent piece of shit. Plus - like Patton - Rommel has a certain tragedy to it).
Oh, and having just returned from NYC, of course - Boss Tweed!
I have to agree with Jimi Hendrix- If Biggie Smalls can have one, why can't Hendrix? As for other musicians, how about a grunge rocker, not named Kurt Cobain? With the exception of Cobain and his affiliates (his band, Nirvana and former Nirvana drummer and current Foo Fighters frontman, Dave Grohl), I fear the memory of grunge is rapidly declining in America. Towards the effect of countering that trend, I would love to see a biopic of Layne Staley (whose battle with drugs and depression was as tortuous as Cobain's, but lasted far longer) or, if we're aiming to be a little more uplifting, a film about Chris Cornell and his journey from Seattle's dark music scene to heading Casino Royal's soundtrack? I'd pay to see that. I have to agree with Frank Zappa as well.
As for literary figures, I remain convinced that a good Edgar Allan Poe film would turn out to be a sleeper hit. Also, a decently budgeted revamped version of the 1985 biopic of Yukio Mishima would undoubtedly be fascinating...
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