Franco is now adapting The Sound and the Fury - As I Lay Dying (2013) Discussion

[–] Edward_de_Vere 10 years ago

Neither The Sound and the Fury nor As I Lay Dying lend themselves to film adaptation, because they consist almost entirely of interior monolog. Interior monolog and stream-of-consciousness make for great novels but poor film material.

I wish Franco had adapted Light in August, or faithful remakes of Intruder in the Dust or even Sanctuary, all of which have more external action and are more suitable for film material.

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[–] bradme 10 years ago

Plenty of films have been adapted from 1st person perspective novels. I must admit I haven't read As I Lay Dying, but having just seen the film I'd say it's pretty damn good in it's own right. It works as a film for sure, even if Franco had to change things (apparently a lot of it is actually lifted straight from the novel).

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[–] Edward_de_Vere 10 years ago

Plenty of films have been adapted from 1st person perspective novels

Yes, and such adaptations are rarely successful. Either they're stuck reciting a lot of monologue, which doesn't work well on the screen, or the films don't convey very much of the book's psychological content. This is especially true when you have Joyce or Faulkner-type stream of consciousness as opposed to straight first person narrative.

With this in mind, I guess Franco did as good a job as could have been done adapting the novel, though I could really do without the distracting and unsightly split frames.

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[–] csue-palmer-937-895589 9 years ago

I agree. "Light in August" is a good pick. Maybe Franco might to do that.

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[–] Ike_McAdoo 10 years ago

oh no oh no oh no oh no. this will all suck, he might as well do Absalom, Absalom! while he's at it. they can do whatever they want but I won't be watching it in any venue. ever.

I liked James Franco a lot but this is the kind of pretentious stunt that could actually make me dislike him.

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[–] surrealisttheatre 10 years ago

so very true, James Franco seems to be trying to see how many American writers he can devalue.No doubt there was a fine film to be found in the life of Hart Crane...His self conscious portrayal of Allen Ginsberg easily usurped by Daniel Radcliffe who's lack of guile served the character nicely...His next film about Bukowski virtually announces itself as banal..and now an ongoing and unnecessary desecration of Faulkner (please don't touch 'Light in August'}..I am looking forward to not seeing his adaptations of Ralph Ellison's 'The Invisible Man'.or perhaps a mirthless 'Confederacy of Dunces' almost pity John Kennedy Toole isn't alive to commit suicide a second time..or perhaps expand his vision..I would love to see what he doesnt do to Lezama Lima's 'Paradiso'

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[–] Ike_McAdoo 10 years ago

James Kennedy O'Toole might rise from the dead just to strangle Franco and commit suicide again if he tried to make a treatment of Confederacy of Dunces.

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[–] Hweat 10 years ago

Jesus wept!

I really wish he would just leave Faulkner's work alone. I'm not entirely against the idea of having his work adapted for cinema, but it should at least be at the hands of a director who has proven himself to be capable of handling such subject matter. For Franco, this is all to do with his ego and delusions of grandeur about being a serious artist with an appreciation for literature. Give me a *beep* break!

My week beats your year.

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[–] rjmart87 10 years ago

Agreed, I wish he would just leave literature out of his movies period. He has portrayed Hart Crane, CK Williams, Ginsberg, and now adapting two of Faulkner's works - enough is enough with this guy and his projects.

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[–] Fodera 10 years ago

So far 'Sound & Fury' is some of the sloppiest film making I've ever experienced (I've been in the film biz since '88).

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[–] 10 years ago

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[–] OldManWithDominoes 10 years ago

I'm afraid he's not going to stop it. He's in cahoots with Lee Caplin, the executor of the Faulkner Literary Estate, and who has a stranglehold on all representations of America's greatest writer. Caplin's aim was to do the entire Faulkner oeuvre, and his first partner was David Milch, who might have brought something worthwhile to the party. Unfortunately they fell out.

I can't begin to imagine what Franco's going to do with "The Sound and the Fury" or whether he's got the chutzpah to tackle Absalom.

What might be interesting is making one screenplay out of the two of them- after all they both have Quentin Compson at their heart, and the tales he hears in Absalom (and they are tales) are pertinent to his own abiding passion- his sister Candace.

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[–] magtroll 10 years ago

He is also playing Benji in the film, which makes me think he will go full retard.

I think it's great that people actually read Faulkner as he is a great writer, though his novels shouldn't be adapted so lightheartedly. Franco is someone who has found his love for literature quite late in the life and has the means and influence to make films from them. JAMES, there are a lot of us, dreamers and literary geeks, and we admire and dream about once writing something like this, but we don't try to make it our own somehow.

He likes lit, we get it, he doesn't need to show this to the whole world.

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[–] Edward_de_Vere 9 years ago

I think it's great that people actually read Faulkner as he is a great writer, though his novels shouldn't be adapted so lightheartedly. Franco is someone who has found his love for literature quite late in the life and has the means and influence to make films from them. JAMES, there are a lot of us, dreamers and literary geeks, and we admire and dream about once writing something like this, but we don't try to make it our own somehow.

Exactly.

Franco would have done better to use his influence and financial pull as a producer/executive producer. That would mean putting his ego aside and finding a more capable director to adapt the literature that he loves. It would probably also mean being told several times "Just because it's a great book doesn't mean that it can be adapted into a great or even good film, even in the hands of the best director, which you are not." The upside would be having some decent adaptations of those Faulkner novels that DO lend themselves well to film, as opposed to these rather superficial projects.

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[–] riversideriverside 9 years ago

John Kennedy Toole wrote Confederacy of Dunces.

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