The Princess Died

[mothman]

William Goldman, author of The Princess Bride, screenwriter of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and All The President's Men, and author of Adventures In The Screen Trade and its first law of Hollywood ("Nobody Knows Anything"), has died aged 87.

[Shit Good Nose]

I did a thread in GB as I thought his death exceeded mere movies.

But so far it's been mainly jokes about Manuel, Lord of the Flies and superheroes.

Fail.

[Small Man Big Horse]

It's sad news, I loved Adventures In The Screentrade when I read it in my 20s, and The Princess Bride when I read it a few years ago, and of course his scripts were often amazing stuff, he'll be greatly missed.

[kngen]

RIP. Fantastic writer, and gave an early warning that Dustin Hoffman was a wrong 'un (more of an arsehole than a serial sexual abuser, but still very much at odds with the image he was cultivating at the time.)

I never did read his follow-up to Adventures in the Screen Trade, so I shall rectify that very soon. I should probably re-read AitST again too. I've been under the impression that Goldman wrote The Great Santini (probably mixing it up with The Great Waldo Pepper)  for years now, because Goldman talks about how great Robert Duvall is in it, and was wondering why it wasn't mentioned in his obits etc ... silly me.

[mothman]

I don't rate Which Lie Did I Tell? Most of his good films were covered in the first book.

[Shit Good Nose]

I don't rate Which Lie Did I Tell? Most of his good films were covered in the first book.

I like it a lot.  Obviously not as good as Adventures..., but still plenty of good stuff in it.

[Ballad of Ballard Berkley]

His Butch Cassidy screenplay is faultless. Not an ounce of flab, no extraneous notes, it's a fluidly-plotted, cracking yarn packed with witty dialogue and charming characterisation. A deceptively effortless piece of pure entertainment. 

Marathon Man is great too. I suppose you could argue that it's "just" a sophisticated pot-boiler, but there's no shame in that. It's gripping. Again, a stellar piece of entertainment.

Also, hats off to him for flatly denying the cynical rumour that he rewrote Good Will Hunting from scratch. The assumption that Damon and Affleck were incapable of writing such a good film always struck me as rank snobbery. Goldman read the script at Rob Reiner's request. He presumably offered a few uncredited notes, but always maintained that he had nothing to do with the finished article.

[Shaky]

The Princess Bride is the one time were I always go, "Ah, but the book is so much better," to people who haven't read it.

I mean, it really is.

[Shit Good Nose]

The Princess Bride is the one time were I always go, "Ah, but the book is so much better," to people who haven't read it.

I mean, it really is.

They're both brilliant in different ways and compliment one another in a way that yer Jawses and Godfathers (that is the books) of this world could never do in a million years.

Also cf. Catch-22.

[kngen]

The Princess Bride is the one time were I always go, "Ah, but the book is so much better," to people who haven't read it.

I mean, it really is.

Yep, as much as I enjoy the film, the replacement of the scabrous relationship between father and son 'in real life' with cutesy Wonder Years moppet and loving grandfather cheapens it so much that the cult status it enjoys seems more forced than genuine.

[Shit Good Nose]

the replacement of the scabrous relationship between father and son 'in real life' with cutesy Wonder Years moppet and loving grandfather

I think you need to rewatch it - it's not that schmaltzy.  Columbo repeatedly gets annoyed with Wonder Years' interruptions ("In my day television was called a book", "yes, you're very smart - shut up", "your vote of confidence is overwhelming", "keep your shirt on and let me read will ya?", etc) and Wonder Years repeatedly gets annoyed with Columbo for dancing around plot elements.

Plus I think it's far outgrown its initial cult status now - proper masterpiece.

[kngen]

I think you need to rewatch it - it's not that schmaltzy.  Columbo repeatedly gets annoyed with Wonder Years' interruptions ("In my day television was called a book", "yes, you're very smart - shut up", "your vote of confidence is overwhelming", "keep your shirt on and let me read will ya?", etc) and Wonder Years repeatedly gets annoyed with Columbo for dancing around plot elements.

Not enough for my dark heart, I'm afraid.

[kalowski]

I think you need to rewatch it - it's not that schmaltzy.  Columbo repeatedly gets annoyed with Wonder Years' interruptions ("In my day television was called a book", "yes, you're very smart - shut up", "your vote of confidence is overwhelming", "keep your shirt on and let me read will ya?", etc) and Wonder Years repeatedly gets annoyed with Columbo for dancing around plot elements.

Plus I think it's far outgrown its initial cult status now - proper masterpiece.

Not a single bad performance, perfect script and wonderful introduction for children to some of the greatest comedians who have ever lived.

[kngen]

Not a single bad performance, perfect script and wonderful introduction for children to some of the greatest comedians who have ever lived.

And obviously has huge emotional resonance for those that came to it cold, so I'm not going to carp any further. I can't think of any film that I've liked more than a book I already loved, so it's a pointless argument on my part, and seems unfair to single out TPB as it's definitely one of the better adaptations out there in any genre.

[Mister Six]

They're both brilliant in different ways and compliment one another in a way that yer Jawses and Godfathers (that is the books) of this world could never do in a million years.

Also cf. Catch-22.

Is the Catch-22 film good? The book is so magnificent and dense that I've never seen the point in it, nor how it could be pulled off.

[Shit Good Nose]

Is the Catch-22 film good? The book is so magnificent and dense that I've never seen the point in it, nor how it could be pulled off.

I think it's brilliant.  Again it compliments the book perfectly and, in my opinion, it's Mike Nicholls' best film.

[mothman]

The book is basically unfilmable, so the film is the best you could possibly get.

[Shaky]

Is the Catch-22 film good? The book is so magnificent and dense that I've never seen the point in it, nor how it could be pulled off.

It's worth it for the cast alone. Alan Arkin in particular is spot on as Yossarian.

[Shit Good Nose]

I think all of the cast are spot on - I now can't think of anyone else in those roles when I re-read the book.

Orson Welles also good comedy value.

[nedthemumbler]

I think all of the cast are spot on - I now can't think of anyone else in those roles when I re-read the book.

Orson Welles also good comedy value.

That's what I worry about : the mental images of so many happy rereadings being supplanted by the film version.  These things are precious.

I never want to watch the film of Papillon for example, having first read it at maybe 11 years old.  That is my childhood.

[Shit Good Nose]

Well, all I can say is you're missing out on two minor masterpieces, including Steve McQueen out-acting Dustin Hoffman.

[Nowhere Man]

It's come to my attention living in America (cue James Brown) that Peter Cook's "MAWWIAGE" line is the only thing Americans know him from, which is a bit sad but it's still a good film all the same.