What an eccentric pair these two will make. What's more, the film is based on a Stephen King novella, it features an original score by Philip Glass, and it is written and directed by David Koepp (writer on the first two Jurassic Parks, the first two Spider-Men, and Panic Room, among others -- he also wrote and directed Stir of Echoes, a Kevin Bacon-starring ghost story that was okay, as I recall, but it was released just a month or two after The Sixth Sense, and since it was clearly the lesser of the two movies, it didn't do so well) -- that's an interesting mix.
Anyway, I'll be seeing this film in a week or so, and since it is apparently based on a "novella" of King's, I am wondering if anyone knows where I can find it -- I assume it's in a compilation of some sort, the same way Stand By Me, The Shawshank Redemption and Apt Pupil were all based on "novellas" from King's book Different Seasons.
I note, too, that this is yet ANOTHER Stephen King story about a writer, following in the footsteps of The Shining and Misery (and even Stand By Me). What other examples are there, I wonder, of King stories in which the protagonist is also a novelist?
Full Version: secret window (depp and turturro, together!)
FYI:
It's in Four Past Midnight, originally called Secret Window, Secret Garden.
It's in Four Past Midnight, originally called Secret Window, Secret Garden.
In Bag of bones the main character is a bestseller author who suffers from writersblock.
SPOILER (IF MY WIFE IS RIGHT)
We watched the trailer for this film and while the cast intrigued me, my wife about two thirds-thru said "Multiple personality disorder." I said "What?" and She said "He's obviously created this character as a part of himself, we never see the turturro character in the same shot as anyone but Depp." She had two minutes of chopped up film to base her suspicions upon, but doggoneit, every time I see a commercial for the thing, I'm more convinced she's correct.
I hope she's wrong or I may have to order her to remain silent for all future previews.
Yea, right, like I can order her to do anything.
We watched the trailer for this film and while the cast intrigued me, my wife about two thirds-thru said "Multiple personality disorder." I said "What?" and She said "He's obviously created this character as a part of himself, we never see the turturro character in the same shot as anyone but Depp." She had two minutes of chopped up film to base her suspicions upon, but doggoneit, every time I see a commercial for the thing, I'm more convinced she's correct.
I hope she's wrong or I may have to order her to remain silent for all future previews.
Yea, right, like I can order her to do anything.
| QUOTE |
|
I note, too, that this is yet ANOTHER Stephen King story about a writer, following in the footsteps of The Shining and Misery (and even Stand By Me). What other examples are there, I wonder, of King stories in which the protagonist is also a novelist? |
"A story about about a writer is as bad as a song about a singer, a movie about a director, or a cake in the likeness of the chef."
-Rick Hill, Creative Writing Professor
Wasn't The Dark Half based on a Steven King story? That was a decent horror flick, and in retrospect, the previews for this film bear a striking resemblance to it.
Yes Jeffrey--except Dark Half involved Alexis Machine, who drove a gloss black Toronado and was way cool and way nasty--and I never bought Tim Hutton as way cool and nasty.
| QUOTE |
| \"A story about about a writer is as bad as a song about a singer, a movie about a director, or a cake in the likeness of the chef.\"
-Rick Hill, Creative Writing Professor |
Hey! Some of Godard's best films were about movie directors.
| QUOTE | ||
"A story about about a writer is as bad as a song about a singer, a movie about a director, or a cake in the likeness of the chef." -Rick Hill, Creative Writing Professor |
What about Adaptation?
Right! I'm not agreeing with the quote, just remembering it. Although, you'll remember even Adaptation notes the weakness of a writer writing himself into the script. And this is the postmodern era - self awareness covers over a multitude of sins. (This concept really annoys someone, I forget who - PTC or SDG, I usually like to remember to whom I am being a nuisance but alas...)
I'm finding out about art, for every rule about good art, there's a good way to break it.
I'm finding out about art, for every rule about good art, there's a good way to break it.
Judging from the trailer, it looks like a dog and a half, even with such a talented cast. It's been a while since John Turturro had a role that used his abilities in a way I'd consider effective.
I had Rick Hill for creative writing. I hated his class.
The trailer made me think of another Depp movie, The Ninth Gate, maybe just because of the similarly themed titles, but also because both were spooky, and because I got a feeling that Window would be similarly disappointing.
Of course, I could be wrong, but it's very difficult to do really good spookiness without becoming either pretentious or at some point anticlimactic--King's TV miniseries It is the classic example.
Of course, I could be wrong, but it's very difficult to do really good spookiness without becoming either pretentious or at some point anticlimactic--King's TV miniseries It is the classic example.
[quote]The trailer made me think of another Depp movie, The Ninth Gate, maybe just because of the similarly themed titles, but also because both were spooky, and because I got a feeling that Window would be similarly disappointing.[/quote]
And because he wore the same glasses.
And because he wore the same glasses.
[quote][quote]The trailer made me think of another Depp movie, The Ninth Gate, maybe just because of the similarly themed titles, but also because both were spooky, and because I got a feeling that Window would be similarly disappointing.[/quote]
And because he wore the same glasses.[/quote]
Ha! You're right! The glasses must have been the clue that my subconscious hit on. :roll:
And because he wore the same glasses.[/quote]
Ha! You're right! The glasses must have been the clue that my subconscious hit on. :roll:
Saw it last night. Lower your expectations and you should enjoy it well enough. Both Depp and Turturro give quirky and amusing characterizations. The story wants to be more of a "keep 'em guessing" mystery than it manages to be. The ending came as no surprise to me though others in the screening audience seemed pleasantly shocked.
The use of humor which Koepp laced through his script, primarily in some of Depp's lines, was much appreciated by me. Thankfully, it is not as spooky or creepy as it could have been. As a rule, I'm not a big fan of horror/terror films. This is more of a psychological thriller/mystery.
The use of humor which Koepp laced through his script, primarily in some of Depp's lines, was much appreciated by me. Thankfully, it is not as spooky or creepy as it could have been. As a rule, I'm not a big fan of horror/terror films. This is more of a psychological thriller/mystery.
Michael Elliott wrote:
: Saw it last night.
I also.
: Lower your expectations and you should enjoy it well enough. Both Depp
: and Turturro give quirky and amusing characterizations. The story wants
: to be more of a "keep 'em guessing" mystery than it manages to be. The
: ending came as no surprise to me though others in the screening
: audience seemed pleasantly shocked.
That sounds about right. I think I may have made a mistake by reading most of the novella during the afternoon, so close to the screening -- I wasn't quite enjoying the film for its own sake, but comparing and contrasting a whole bunch of little details. FWIW, I ran out of time about 20 pages before the end (which often happens to me when I try to read the book in advance, going back to Starship Troopers), so I didn't know exactly how the story would end, but I had certain suspicions that were reinforced by the way David Koepp begins his film. In the book, the very first words of the story are the words of the conversation between Depp and Turturro at the door, and you gradually unravel what the meaning of all this might be; but the film starts with the motel incident six months ago, thus establishing very clearly at the beginning what this whole thing is really about, and then, before the credits have finished, it uses this through-the-looking-glass effect that gives the gimmick away even more. Still, it was interesting to see how Koepp changed a few details to make the film LESS obvious than the novella (in the book, Tom Greenleaf says he saw SOMEbody by the side of the road, but in the film, he says he saw NObody there).
Other interesting detail: In the book, Depp has a cat named Bump, but in the film, it's a dog named Chico (played by "Himself", according to the credits). Hmmm.
Another curious change: In the book, Turturro's character rambles a bit about who he is and where he comes from, and Depp's character thinks to himself, "Yeah, this guy certainly knows how to talk, or tell a story, the way a writer does." Curiously, Turturro never delivers those lines in the film, which makes him more of a cipher -- it is difficult to buy him as an actual person.
: The use of humor which Koepp laced through his script, primarily in
: some of Depp's lines, was much appreciated by me.
Yeah, that was definitely Koepp's doing, not King's. See also the way Timothy Hutton keeps banging his fist on things -- Depp's character hates Hutton's in the novella, and makes disparaging remarks about his "blow-dried hair", but I never got the impression that Hutton's character really WAS as bad as Depp's character thought he was; the film, however, definitely encourages US to mock the guy, too. (Speaking of Koepp, the scene where a certain character starts talking to himself reminded me of the Green Goblin's conversation with the mirror in Spider-Man, which Koepp also wrote.) Oh, and there's a cute Hunter S. Thompson reference that I'm sure was all Depp's.
BTW, in his introduction to the novella, which was published in 1990, Stephen King says something about this being his last story about writers. Does anyone know if he kept his word on that? Has he written any new stories about writers since then?
: Saw it last night.
I also.
: Lower your expectations and you should enjoy it well enough. Both Depp
: and Turturro give quirky and amusing characterizations. The story wants
: to be more of a "keep 'em guessing" mystery than it manages to be. The
: ending came as no surprise to me though others in the screening
: audience seemed pleasantly shocked.
That sounds about right. I think I may have made a mistake by reading most of the novella during the afternoon, so close to the screening -- I wasn't quite enjoying the film for its own sake, but comparing and contrasting a whole bunch of little details. FWIW, I ran out of time about 20 pages before the end (which often happens to me when I try to read the book in advance, going back to Starship Troopers), so I didn't know exactly how the story would end, but I had certain suspicions that were reinforced by the way David Koepp begins his film. In the book, the very first words of the story are the words of the conversation between Depp and Turturro at the door, and you gradually unravel what the meaning of all this might be; but the film starts with the motel incident six months ago, thus establishing very clearly at the beginning what this whole thing is really about, and then, before the credits have finished, it uses this through-the-looking-glass effect that gives the gimmick away even more. Still, it was interesting to see how Koepp changed a few details to make the film LESS obvious than the novella (in the book, Tom Greenleaf says he saw SOMEbody by the side of the road, but in the film, he says he saw NObody there).
Other interesting detail: In the book, Depp has a cat named Bump, but in the film, it's a dog named Chico (played by "Himself", according to the credits). Hmmm.
Another curious change: In the book, Turturro's character rambles a bit about who he is and where he comes from, and Depp's character thinks to himself, "Yeah, this guy certainly knows how to talk, or tell a story, the way a writer does." Curiously, Turturro never delivers those lines in the film, which makes him more of a cipher -- it is difficult to buy him as an actual person.
: The use of humor which Koepp laced through his script, primarily in
: some of Depp's lines, was much appreciated by me.
Yeah, that was definitely Koepp's doing, not King's. See also the way Timothy Hutton keeps banging his fist on things -- Depp's character hates Hutton's in the novella, and makes disparaging remarks about his "blow-dried hair", but I never got the impression that Hutton's character really WAS as bad as Depp's character thought he was; the film, however, definitely encourages US to mock the guy, too. (Speaking of Koepp, the scene where a certain character starts talking to himself reminded me of the Green Goblin's conversation with the mirror in Spider-Man, which Koepp also wrote.) Oh, and there's a cute Hunter S. Thompson reference that I'm sure was all Depp's.
BTW, in his introduction to the novella, which was published in 1990, Stephen King says something about this being his last story about writers. Does anyone know if he kept his word on that? Has he written any new stories about writers since then?
Help! help! can anyone who has seen this film tell me where it takes place? In my review, I said the cabin is in Maine, but I came across an online review today which said that the film had moved the cabin to upstate New York (at least one of the film's big-city scenes, which MIGHT be set in NY, was actually just a phone conversation in the book); however, I also came across a review of the script (not the film, but the script!) which says the cabin is in Maine. Alas, the press notes don't specify -- they just say the movie was filmed in Quebec!
| QUOTE |
| Help! help! can anyone who has seen this film tell me where it takes place? |
Peter, I had the same question and could not find the answer. I avoided mention of it in my review altogether. I had the sense that they were implying an upstate NY location but knew the shooting took place in Canada. The setting of Tashmore Lake is fictional and I don't believe a state was ever mentioned, other than the Southern plates on Shooter's car. Now that I think of it, we did see the plates on Mort's car in the beginning of the film - at the motel (if I recall correctly) but I don't remember where they were from.
Michael Elliott wrote:
: Peter, I had the same question and could not find the answer.
Arrrrgh. You were my last hope. Ah well, thanks for letting me know.
: Now that I think of it, we did see the plates on Mort's car in the beginning
: of the film - at the motel (if I recall correctly) but I don't remember
: where they were from.
Of course, since Mort has (or had) TWO homes (the house and the cabin), even the license plates might not be conclusive.
: Peter, I had the same question and could not find the answer.
Arrrrgh. You were my last hope. Ah well, thanks for letting me know.
: Now that I think of it, we did see the plates on Mort's car in the beginning
: of the film - at the motel (if I recall correctly) but I don't remember
: where they were from.
Of course, since Mort has (or had) TWO homes (the house and the cabin), even the license plates might not be conclusive.
| QUOTE |
|
Of course, since Mort has (or had) TWO homes (the house and the cabin), even the license plates might not be conclusive. |
Except it was a day trip from the cabin to the house - had to be in order to do what was done.
Not a big deal movie, but diverting enough. Once I caught on that a fair amount of this was kind of a joke - on Depp's part, on the director's - I relaxed and had fun with it.
Some nifty camera tricks, too. That long shot near the beginning that moves in through the window, through the house, ends up on Depp. And how about the shot from downstairs looking up to the loft, then we zoom on the loft, then somehow we turn around and are looking down from the loft. Swank.
Yeah, Hunter Thompson. I giggled.
Some nifty camera tricks, too. That long shot near the beginning that moves in through the window, through the house, ends up on Depp. And how about the shot from downstairs looking up to the loft, then we zoom on the loft, then somehow we turn around and are looking down from the loft. Swank.
Yeah, Hunter Thompson. I giggled.
Let us just hope that, in the real world, when the body count gets high enough, people like Andy Griffith know enough to call in people like Columbo.
I mean, really. What's the big mystery? There's nothing "secret" about the second noun in Stephen King's title, the one dropped in the film title. If you circumambulate the house, you'll find it. There's no great leap in logic or insight required to think, hm, wonder if they might be in THERE.
Beyond that, the man living on a big frigging LAKE and all, you'd think they might want to dredge or search the lake bottom somehow, and find the car with the OTHER two bodies.
Sheesh.
I mean, really. What's the big mystery? There's nothing "secret" about the second noun in Stephen King's title, the one dropped in the film title. If you circumambulate the house, you'll find it. There's no great leap in logic or insight required to think, hm, wonder if they might be in THERE.
Beyond that, the man living on a big frigging LAKE and all, you'd think they might want to dredge or search the lake bottom somehow, and find the car with the OTHER two bodies.
Sheesh.
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