Sounds interesting, particularly item 3. I really hated the
"jokier tone."
Stephen Burridge
On 7/23/07, Channing <
filmtroll@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>
> I recently saw Payback the director's cut. It was an
improvement on the
> studio approved
> edit, but it still wasn't a wholly successful film.
In a short but
> excellent interview with
> Donald Westlake on the DVD, Westlake gave his
blessing to any of the
> changes Brian
> Helgland needed to make to tell the story better.
Westlake says that
> Helgland's script was
> too reverential to his book and in order to make a
better movie he could
> change whatever
> he needed to. Westlake also tells an anecdote where
he wishes he named
> Parker anything
> but "Parker" because he kept having to think up
original ways of writing
> "Parker parked the
> car."
>
> The three most obvious improvements:
>
> 1. No studio mandated Voice Over that explains
exactly what's going on.
> Yay!
> 2. They ditched the blue tinted cinematography for
more natural looking
> lighting.
> 3. They toned down the jokier tone to make it more
serious and more
> Parker-esque.
>
> That being said the movie is still flawed, but worth
a DVD rental, and
> also for the director's
> commentary on the studio changes and for the
Westlake interview.
>
> I think the closest film version to the Parker of
the books is Robert
> Duvall in The Outfit--
> A no nonsense professional thief with the gravitas
and acting chops of
> Duvall.
>
> Best wishes,
> Channing
>
>
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : 23 Jul 2007 EDT