Fred,
>If i want to read fiction, i'll steal it from a
crippled newsboy! (Is
>that hard-boiled enough?)
Man, that's just beautiful. I think I'm gonna cry. Bring back
Brennen!
>I enjoyed Out Of Sight; it may have been the only
character-driven summer
>movie. Didn't even mind the happy ending. But I
noticed many people had
>trouble with the flashbacks. Oh, well. Leonard doesn't
do well in film;
>a tough translation perhaps.
Hmmm....granted there are some turkeys (Stick, Touch, Cat
Chaser,some of
the Pay TV adaptations, etc), but I think Leonard's books
have provided the
source for a few pretty good flicks. I remember enjoying
Hombre, Mr.
Majesyk (honest!), 52 Pick-Up, and more recently I definitely
enjoyed Get
Shorty and Jackie Brown. The continuing interest in Hollywood
in Leonard's
books is finally paying off after a string of pretty lame
efforts.
>I have a thoretical question to ask. Over the last
weekend someone
>suggested that the American PI is a coyote figure:
marginalized,
>opportunistic, shifty, etc. Any thoughts?
Hmmm...from Lone Wolf to Coyote? I dunno, are they referring
to the genre
or the characters? Certainly such anti-hero eyes as Loren
Estleman's Ralph
Poteet fit the bill, but most P.I.s are more along the line
of resourceful
and relatively ethical, rather than opportunistic and shifty,
and some of
'em are downright Dudley Do-Rights. Who said it, and in what
context?
Duane,
>With people being slammed by so many disparate images
these days via
>advertising and music-video-influenced narrative
editing, it's a bit
>surprising to me that movie audiences have trouble
with flashbacks.
Actually, I just read a bit recently about how children's
IQ's have risen
gradually but consistently in North America over the last few
decades, and
one theory is that it's all the visual stimulation of films,
television,
videos, computers, electronic games. Now if we can just get
'em to read....
>Part of the reason Tarantino became a cinema darling,
despite whatever
>flaws his films exhibit, is his willingness to play
with storytelling
>structures and step away from the linear
model.
Good comment about film editing, and it's refreshing to hear
someone say
anything nice about Tarantino. Like a few other
up-and-comers, I think he
bears watching. So far, he's done three very different, but
equally
challenging films. It's interesting to watch the see-saw of
opinion about
him, before and after the success of Pulp Fiction. And, of
course, he's
such an opionated, over-the-top yahoo that he's become
something of a media
darling too.
Mario,
>This is true. But (Tarantino) is such a master of
distortion and
>exageration that
>he simply cannot let a good story tell itself (yes I
know). He has
>worked with very strong material deserving of more
thought and subtlety.
Well, who wrote Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction? I thought it
was
Tarantino. I wonder how Tarantino would go over on this list
if he were a
novelist.
John,
>the latter film, IMHO, while a bit overindulgent of
the actors, is underrated
>and quite restrained for Tarantino.
Then again, they were actors worth indulging. I think it's a
sign he's
developing his craft, rather than giving us Pulp Fiction 2,
3, 4, etc.
After Pulp Fiction, I think he realized he had to make a
"smaller" film.
Like I said, watch this guy. He may be a lover, but he ain't
no dancer.
>Anthony Dennison, who some may remember as Crime
Story's Ray Luca, holds the
>option on James Ellroy's Dick Contino's Blues, and has
penned his own
>adaptation. Dennison of course is interested in
portraying the musician, but
>says he'll step aside for the right production. 10
years ago, who'da thought
>Dennis Farina would become the bigger star?
Luca sounds about right for Contino. BTW, Farina will be
starring in a TV
show that spoofs the old 1950-60's swinging dicks P.I. like
Tony Rome and
Shell Scott. It's called Buddy Faro, and it sounds promising
(then again,
in July, all the new shows sound promising).
Frank,
>Kevin Smith on posting fiction: "But maybe we should
have someone ask every
>now and then. That was fun." I laughed right out loud
at that one. Thank
>you, Kevin.
Bippy!
**************************************************
Kevin Smith
The Thrilling Detective Web Site
http://www.colba.net/~kvnsmith/thrillingdetective/
It's summertime, and the living is cheesy...What are you
reading this summer?
Tell us in this month's P.I. Poll...
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