REEL DEALS It may be staggeringly difficult for New Line to adapt Dave Eggers' memoir ''A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius'' to the screen (the studio has been sitting on it for more than a year), but if anyone can do it, it's probably producer Scott Rudin. The studio is negotiating with him to come aboard, hoping he'll be able to tackle Eggers' book the way he has other tricky literary properties, including ''Angela's Ashes,'' ''Wonder Boys,'' and ''A Civil Action'' -- none of which was a huge hit, but which did more justice to their sources than one would expect from a Hollywood adaptation. Here, the hard part of retelling Eggers' saga of how he raised his kid brother after their parents died will be finding an equivalent of the author's voice, which answered its own fear of oversentimentalizing the story by mocking itself, as in the semi-sarcastic title.
Universal is escalating its complaint that MGM is unfairly capitalizing on the success of Universal's ''The Fast and the Furious'' in ads for MGM's ''Rollerball'' into a lawsuit. The studio filed papers with the U.S. District Court asking for an injunction to get MGM to pull ads touting ''Rollerball'' as coming ''from the filmmakers that brought you 'The Fast and The Furious' and 'Die Hard.''' The reference is to John Pogue, one of ''Rollerball'''s two screenwriters who was a producer and uncredited screenwriter on ''F&F,'' a contribution Universal downplays as minimal Universal accuses MGM of false advertising and unfair competition. It also fears ''that they would be diluting our brand,'' said a Universal spokesman, meaning that, if ''Rollerball'' tanks (as its release postponement from last summer and its poor advance buzz on Ain't It Cool News suggest it may), it'll hurt the planned ''F&F'' sequel. MGM counters that Pogue's ''F&F'' work was significant enough to be mentioned in Universal's own press notes for the movie, so it's not misleading to mention the connection.
''F&F'' is facing flack of its own, now that it's a top-selling video, for setting a bad example with its depiction of street racing. ''We cannot stand idly by and watch the major film companies project irresponsible, dangerous driving in movies which creates the impression among youth that somehow this kind of behavior is cool,'' says Sebastian Giordano, CEO of Top Driver, a nationwide chain of driving schools. ''The entertainment industry must stop portraying dangerous driving in a positive light and we must begin holding them accountable for the attitudes they are fostering in our youth,'' says Giordano, who says that 60 percent of serious crashes involving young people are single-car accidents. In response, Top Driver is instituting its own ratings system, granting an ''S'' to movies that depict safe driving and a ''D'' for dangerous driving.
The ''F&F'' influence extends to New Line, which has just greenlit a movie called ''Highwaymen.'' It's a street racing movie with a horror twist, described as ''F&F'' meets ''Jeepers Creepers.'' Presumably, this one will also get a ''D'' rating.
You Might Also Like
- Book Review A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius | Megan Harlan
- Book News Dave Eggers career | Jennifer Reese
- Reel World Reel World | Rebecca Ascher-Walsh, Nancy Miller, William Keck
- Between the Lines Between the Lines
- Book News All about Dave Eggers | Clarissa Cruz
