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Why director Frank Darabont says it's make-or-break time for his Fahrenheit 451 movie
Writer/director Frank Darabont has been talking about adapting Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 for at least a decade. He got sidetracked by writing gigs on Indiana Jones IV (not, according to him, what became Kingdom of the Crystal Skull) and Mission: Impossible III, as well as directing his own script of The Mist.
But at the Saturn Awards Wednesday night in Burbank, Calif., where he won an award for best DVD special edition release for The Mist, Darabont said it's make-or-break time for the film.
"Fahrenheit is the thing I'm trying to get up next, which is casting-dependent, so it's one of those," Darabont said in an exclusive interview. "I'm out to somebody at the moment, fingers crossed, because, boy, do I want to make that movie. I'm not giving up. I'll die in the traces before I don't make that movie."
This actor is of a clout that could get a medium-budget sci-fi film made, but losing him could be the final blow in a tumultuous development. "Yeah, it's not one of those movies that are vastly expensive by any contemporary standard, but money is still money, and it's of a price that requires somebody that will justify that investment," Darabont said, without identifying the actor. "This is definitely going to be more than [The Mist], so those other considerations do come into play."
Certainly Darabont could shop the script to other actors, but he has a personal deadline. "I promised myself that it would at least go into production while Ray Bradbury were still with us," Darabont said. "It's not like I think he's going to leave tomorrow, but he's not getting any younger. So I have an emotional commitment to wanting to get the wheels well and truly in motion while he's still here to enjoy that."
By oldschool at 2:31 AM ON 06/25/09
i wish him the best of luck. Farenheit 451 was the only book i enjoyed reading in high school.
By gorehound696 at 7:49 AM ON 06/25/09
i wish him the worst of luck in getting this YARM masde.do yourself a favor and read the book/then watch the film already out.
if this director cared that much about bradbury he would be making a new original film of a story never done to film before.
I HATE REMAKES
By Meezer at 9:51 AM ON 06/25/09
I wont watch this trash. The Mist? Very well done but the ending was absolute garbage. This idiot changed it with Stephen Kings approval and it was the dumbest thing I've ever seen. He won an award for a movie that made $25million? I can't imagine how bad he plans to mess this one up. Maybe he is after Tom Arnold and plans to set him on fire?
By Crozia at 1:37 PM ON 06/25/09
I think you're wrong, Meezer. The ending to The Mist was gut-wrenchingly painful, and truly wicked to watch. Even Stephen King wished he had written that, and said so in an interview. It's totally fits King's writing style. I felt spent after watching it.
If Darabont brings that attitude with him to F451, then it will deserve to be made. That's what dangerous scifi is all about, taking risks. And it will be a risk to do a Bradbury story right. I can't wait to see what's done with it. And I absolutely hate that Hollywood is so caught up in so many remakes.
By Al at 2:21 PM ON 06/25/09
I'd have to agree with Meezer. The ending was little more than an attempt at shock value for an otherwise great movie. It made the entire struggle of the characters throughout the movie pointless. The only way such an ending would have been acceptable is if it was offered as the only option left to them.
Have their car swarmed by creatures who are slowly peeling back the glass and "it" would be understandable. Make them try to go for help only to realize they have given the creatures a scent to follow leaving little choice, but spending an hour of movie time struggling to survive only to run out of gas and call it quits?
Sorry, Darrabont, You've made great adaptations before, but even with King's approval, the ending was a letdown.
If you get to do 451, I only hope you stick to the book rather than go for some shock value at the end.
By Ardee-El at 2:40 PM ON 06/25/09
You think what he might've said was "I'll die in the trenches"? That would at least make sense.
By sawtooth at 3:13 PM ON 06/25/09
"Traces" refers to a work horse plowing a field. To "die in the traces" means to work your heart out.
By Crozia at 7:28 PM ON 06/25/09
That's the point, Al. They were pointless deaths. That's what gives it that Twilight Zone/Stephen King finish. It'd be too easy if they were obviously surrounded by monsters. The anguish on his face when he realizes what was really coming through the mist is priceless. That's a slice of true raw human emotion. Something that is missing from so much of the dreck that Hollywood craps out every year.
Plus, watching The Mist in black & white gives it an even better creep factor. I don't normally gush about a movie, but I feel that this one actually deserves it.
By WillyB at 11:19 PM ON 06/25/09
I was very pleasantly surprised by "The Mist" - best King movie I"ve seen in many years.
But back to Bradbury, I think he's had a successful life as a sci-fi writer as far as getting to film. Always love "Ray Bradbury Presents"...beautifully human. Most of Bradbury's stuff succeeds simply. It's not $100 million budget stuff. It's sci-fi angle is usually setting but the story - at least those I love most - work on a basic human level. "The Kaleidoscope" comes to mind as a sci-fi setting, but "The Foghorn", "And the Sailor Come Home from the Sea" or "The Lake" are powerful and magical in a very non-scifi and low budget way.
I really enjoy Ray Bradbury's long fiction, but his genius is the short story and he has done pretty well by TV on that account.
By bobby12 at 11:45 PM ON 06/25/09
@Crozia
*possible Mist spoilers*
I think you miss Al's point. It's not about the pointlessness of the events, but about the fact that it was not believable. They gave up when it didn't seem as if they had yet any reason to abandon all hope.
If it was handled better, the ending would have been great.
By MetalPause at 11:03 AM ON 06/26/09
The Mist rocked. I agree that it was the best King adaption in years. F451 would be so awesome with the proper treatment. Bring on the robot dog, but don't go all Gort on us and make him 50ft tall, or turn him into a pack of a million dogs.
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MetalPause:
The Mist rocked. I agree that it was the best King adaption in years. F451 would be so awesome with the proper trea...More »