Guillermo del Toro and Charlie almost adapted "Slaughterhouse Five" Print E-mail
Thursday, 15 November 2012

The Huffington Post has an interview with Guillermo del Toro, in which the director reveals he and Charlie were thinking about adapting Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five. It's near the end of the article:

You know, the one I'm most disappointed that it looks like it won't happen is your version of "Slaughterhouse-Five."
I will tell you, my idea was to get Charlie Kaufman to write it. And I spoke to Charlie Kaufman about it and we came up with an idea on how to approach it, which I thought was very, very interesting. But, it was right at the time I went and started "Pacific Rim." So the studio, they didn't want to invest in that project if it was not going to be my next movie. So, you know, it gradually cooled a little bit. But the exact take I proposed to Charlie Kaufman is the exact take I would do with the material.

I have to admit, I would have loved to have seen that combination with that material. It doesn't seem like an easy book to adapt.
No, but, then again, Charlie Kaufman is the guy doing it. How can I put it? The first "Slaughterhouse-Five" movie that was done was a really good movie, but it's about flashbacks and flash-forwards. And what is gorgeous about the book is that he becomes detached from time.

Right, time is all happening at a once.
The Tralfamadoians say, "Like we can see a mountain range. We can see the alive, we can see the dead, we can see ourselves at age five and we can see ourselves ancient. It makes no difference." It makes no difference. And that was the idea that we were talking about. We were talking about how it was going to be very experimental. But, you know, if I had the money to pay for any of these movies, I would do it. I would do it in a second.

So is that 100 percent dead?
No, no, no. It may still happen. But, I don't control the material. Let me put it this way: when I control the material, I never give up on a movie. I mean, "The Count of Monte Cristo" was 15 years. "Devil's Backbone" took me a decade or more. But, if I don't control the material, I have no say. It's a property of Universal. (Source)

I don't know if any film could do justice to the book (on the other hand, movies are not books and shouldn't really be compared to each other, eh), but this would've been really interesting, no?

Thanks to Nathaniel!

 

Comments  

 
# SeanBThe3rd 2012-11-17 07:15
I'm not sure Charlie needs to adapt Slaughterhouse Five. I mean it's a fantastic book and I love it, but I would much rather get something new from Charlie.
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# Sreehari 2012-11-22 01:27
Seriously, why does he need to adapt books? Having said that, his versions of "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" and "A scanner darkly" are delicious.. Confessions might just be my favorite Kaufman screenplay. Can't blame Clooney for not getting it..
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# Mick 2012-12-02 12:10
Adaptations and sequels are a lot easier to sell than original screenplays.
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# Mick 2012-12-02 12:12
On Confessions... It was well written, but the subject didn't interest me -- I think the same's true for most of the folks who didn't catch the film.
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# Sreehari 2012-11-25 02:55
Now that "Django Unchained" is up for release, have been catching some of Tarantino's interviews and his musings about film-making. What's interesting to note is that Tarantino's idea of putting himself and where he is in a moment in his life, into his screenplays, is the theory that Kaufman too supports. And yet their screenplays are so evidently different. I guess Tarantino's definition of "personal" relates to borrowing from the movies that have shaped him. While Kaufman borrows from life. And yet both of them are fierce proponents of the theory that movies ought to be "personal"..It's a fascinating contrast, set in the same cathedral of artistic integrity..
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# Elias Barton 2012-11-25 13:47
The word "almost" is the antichrist of this article, this concept, this hope. Despite the fact that Charlie doesn't need to attach himself to an older famous classic wild work... it seems like a perfect marriage. Still, I think something more contemporary and flowing through current veins would work better as far as recognition goes (like that should matter). Whatever choice Charlie makes next is the right one... even if it's the wrong one.
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# SeanBThe3rd 2012-12-06 12:57
Quoting Elias Barton:
...Whatever choice Charlie makes next is the right one... even if it's the wrong one.


Amen brother. Amen.
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# brent 2012-12-02 07:01
hey, can you do a list of charlie's upcoming projects for the website? like this http://fuckyeahbrielarson.tumblr.com/
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# Mick 2012-12-02 12:09
That's a good idea! I'll get onto it soonly. :-)
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# Mick 2012-12-18 09:31
(Update: I haven't done it. But I'm going to.)
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# Justin Park 2012-12-14 04:20
It's cool hearing how certain projects might be put on hold and then revisited. It goes to show that just because creative relationships are not bearing fruit today, doesn't mean they aren't still valuable.

http://www.vidaao.com/
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