August 6th, 2009
Screenwriter (and novelist) Budd Schulberg died Wednesday at the age of 95. He’s best known for writing ON THE WATERFRONT, including Brando’s “I coulda been a contender” speech, which ranks with the most famous bits of screenwriting in movie history. Here, on the off chance you’ve never seen it (or on the good chance you’d like to see it again) is that scene…
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But as great as ON THE WATERFRONT is — and don’t get me wrong, it’s plenty great — my favorite Schulberg movie is A FACE IN THE CROWD, also directed by Elia Kazan. Andy Griffith is mesmerizing delivering Schulberg’s fiery dialogue, including this bit…
Offscreen, Schulberg is best known for writing WHAT MAKES SAMMY RUN? the definitive Hollywood novel that, so far, has remained unfilmed. (Ben Stiller has been trying to bring it to the screen for years.) If you’re looking to pay tribute to a true Hollywood great — one who toiled behind the scenes — I’d highly recommend an ON THE WATERFRONT/FACE IN THE CROWD double feature. You’ll be entertained — and you’ll see just how talented Budd Schulberg was.
May 21st, 2009
Over at the Guardian’s TV Blog, writer Ben Child considers the possibility of screenwriter Charlie Kaufman — the genius behind ADAPTATION, BEING JOHN MALKOVICH, ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND and SYNECDOCHE, NY — creating a TV show, based on a quote Kaufman gave recently:
“I would want my own show. I like the idea of telling something over time. It might be a fun challenge. The movie business has changed, and with the stuff I do, it would be an interesting place to go.”
Trouble is, Kaufman’s movies, as great as they are, don’t aim for the same audience that devours episode after episode of AMERICAN IDOL, DANCING WITH THE STARS and other drek. Even critics who liked his latest movie, SYNECDOCHE (like me) admitted it’s pretty tough going and requires careful thought and attention to detail. And, as Child points out, even David Lynch, who had some success with TWIN PEAKS back in the early 1990s, wasn’t able to get ABC to turn his MULHOLLAND DR. pilot into a series. (Instead, Lynch turned it into one of the best movies of the last 10 years.)
I don’t know if it would succeed or not, but I do know that I’d watch every episode of a Charlie Kaufman TV series, no matter how strange it was. And besides, Kaufman does have some TV experience — he wrote episodes of NED AND STACEY, THE DANA CARVEY SHOW and Chris Elliot’s wonderfully weird Fox sitcom, GET A LIFE.Â
Read Child’s article here.
