“Butterfly” for Miramax
Miramax Films has acquired Julian Schnabel‘s The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, a beautifully made, French-language film that inspires guilty thoughts of escape. Variety is reporting that the distributor paid “midway between $2 million and $3 million for North American rights.” People of taste will go, but Miramax has its work cut out.
JWW
For that price, they can afford to just work it in top 5 markets and then hit up the DVD dollars.
is jeff really at cannes or just looking out the window filled with ennui?
“is jeff really at cannes or just looking out the window filled with ennui?”
The window is filled with ennui?
(SPOILER)
I loved this book and was moved by it (it’s one of those “Look how much shit this guy has to deal with, so what’s your fucking excuse for wasting the life you have?” type things), but the reason why no one has been able to get it off the ground is that in the end it’s very much a one trick pony. Scott Hicks tried and gave up.
The single most inspiring thing about the story isn’t who the writer is or what he has to say, but what it took for him to do it. In case you happen to be one of the 5 people left who doesn’t know, Jean-Dominique Bauby was involved in an accident that left him fully paralyzed. He could only control his blinking – in only his left eye. The entire book was written by an assistant pointing at a chart of the alphabet and French accent marks. When the assistant would reach the one Bauby wanted, he would blink.
For each word, one blink at a time.
Of course, the chart was arranged by most commonly used letters and the assistant would start guessing once enough letters were visible. But still, not exactly the fastest way to write. Just a few sentences each day, which makes the book itself a marvel of the human drive to create.
Yet, that’s just about it. He had this great life (editor of the French Elle magazine) then nature zapped him with a stroke and it was all gone. To make matters worse for any filmmaker is the fact that only two days after the book was published, Bauby died just five days later so they have a Grade-A downer ending. It really depressed me to find that out either at the end of the book or later (can’t remember if it was included as an afterword).
TheJeff – I had one of those windows in New York. I think they come double-paned with your choice of gestalt: ennui, paranoia, rage, melancholy or just plain old sunny happy thoughts.
Jeff, did you see it? I can’t imagine it being anything but a complete downer.
Downers have a bad rep.*
*The sort of comment one makes when one is too tired/bored to do the job for which one is paid, resulting in looking for something unproductive to do for a few minutes.
i don’t know about you, but when i go to france i get my choice of window fills:
1)ennui
2)blase
3)merde
4)joie
In 1984, as I remember, the great example is the chocolate bar. The chocolate bar is shrunk from 10 ounces to five — and nothing is said about it. Then two ounces are added, so the chocolate bar is up to seven ounces — at which point it is bigger than your previous chocolate bar.
In 1984, as I remember, the great example is the chocolate bar. The chocolate bar is shrunk from 10 ounces to five — and nothing is said about it. Then two ounces are added, so the chocolate bar is up to seven ounces — at which point it is bigger than your previous chocolate bar.