Read Mr Nice, in my top 10 books of all time - they managed to condense entire chapters, such as his time in Spanish jail waiting for deportation, into about 30 seconds of footage in the movie.
im the opposite, ive read Mr Nice,the book but not seen the film. me and the Mrs saw Howard speak down in Bournemouth years ago,it was a fascinating evening, he has lived an incredibly interesting life, had more than his fair share of knocks, yet didnt seem bitter and twisted by it all. is this how it came across in the film?
Yeah mate, he seemed unfazeable in the film, much like in real life from what I've seen of him. Edit: Here's the film - http://veehd.com/video/4578495_Mr-Nice-2010-R
Haha! What were you thinking of getting mate, the Ralph Steadman image of the hitchhiker with the micky mouse t-shirt?! Del Toro was great you are right - Dr. Gonzo is a very 'crude' man and he plays it perfectly! I love it when Dr Gonzo says to the hitchhiker - 'it's ok! Just admiring the shape of your skull'!! And for the guy's that haven't, read Mr Nice, it's awesome! Marching Powder (by Rusty Young I believe but don't hold me to that!) is another of that ilk that is a good read as well!
Fear and loathing is 1 trillion times better as a book. Same goes for Mr Nice. Two of my favourite books turned into average films.
Ralph Steadman! Yeah forgot his name nice one Gonna hunt me down one of these badboys now, sure to be a conversation starter please log in to view this image
That's the one!! I could be wrong but I think the tshirt that the micky mouse has on has a swastika on it?! Can't quite see on that image. It's something Banksy would do but 40 years ago! That's a good shout mate, all people who have read Fear and Loathing would recognise that!!
Think you're right about the swastika bud, rings a few bells in my addled mind... Tobey McGuire did that part justice aswell. Quite uncanny.
Haha! Sounds like you have been there done that! It's funny, I have a version of Fear and Loathing on dvd (Criterion Collection) that has a commentary with Hunter, Depp, Del Toro etc on it - when it gets to the hitchhiker part Hunter lays into Toby McGuire (and the bald cap he wore I think) and goes crazy saying he looked nothing like him, until someone points out to him how he is the spitting image of the illustration!! I know you don't like the film, but watching it with that commentary is awesome, apart from not being able to figure out lots of what he says Hunter is so funny and every now and then there is a crack, sniff and eeeeeeeeeeeek from him!
James Ellroy's books. Painful to read. Sentences too short. I loved L.A. Confidential (the movie) though.
It certainly does. It's a great book though, just very weird. He devotes whole chapters to the characters favourite singers Some books are too big to make into a single film. Sometimes it's better to serialise them on TV, as was done with Pillars of the Earth recently.
It's a dipshit comparison because they are different forms of entertainment. Books have a massive advantage in that they can be whatever length they want, they unfold much more slowly (hence the payoff feels better) and they allow you to create your own imagery. Most novels if adapted faithfully would require at least 10 hours of screentime to do justice to the book, that's just how it is.
Not quite in line with the OP's question but The Abyss by Orson Scott Card. A great author in his own right he was commissioned to write the book in conjunction with the making of the film. He was on set and interviewed the actors after each scene and included their thoughts/motivations into the book. Effectively if you watch the film, then read the book and then watch the film again you will understand far far more second time around because you now know what they were thinking as well as doing. The book also fleshes out the plot and backgrounds alot as well. Works really well!
