Wow, JMS seems to be stepping up in the world

[viktor_haag]

While I was a confirmed watcher of B5, and have nearly all of it on DVD, I'm not a rabid fan of JMS. I find his dialog, in particular, mannered, stilted, and ringingly false in a way that just doesn't work (unlike, say, Mamet, who's dialog is mannered, stilted, and ringingly false, but in most cases does seem to work, for some reason). I guess that, to borrow an allegory from Le Guin, most of JMS' settings seem to inhabit Poughkeepsie, whereas, maybe Mamet's seem to really be set in Fairyland.

At any rate, I was of two minds about the new Eastwood flick, "Changeling", not being a tremendous fan of Angelina Jolie. But I really like Eastwood's quiet, measured helming.

Then, I find out that JMS has written the screenplay! ::boggle::

Ebert gives "Changeling" three and a half stars, and rhapsodizes about Eastwood's touches. Now I'm even more conflicted: am I willing to sit through JMS' often uncomfortable dialog coming out of Jolie's over-ripe lips in order to witness another of Eastwood's turns behind the camera? Why, oh why, couldn't he have cast Laura Linney in the Christine Collins role? ::sigh::

Comments

[sixteenbynine.livejournal.com]

I was honestly just as surprised as you to learn that. I had meant to see this ever since I found out Eastwood was behind the camera.

[thebitterguy]

I'm surprised that you were surprised. I thought everyone knew.

[sixteenbynine.livejournal.com]

I did in fact come late to that particular party, as it were. The way I found out was when the trailer unspooled and Eastwood's name appeared!

[thebitterguy]

I'm just deep in B5 fandom, I guess. I remember him announcing it far and wide after the final deal was announced.

I think "crowing" may be an appropriate term.

[doc-lemming.livejournal.com]

I'm just impressed that JMS has had a screenplay made.

As near as I can tell, you can go a whole career without actually doing that. John Rogers is special in that three of the scripts he's touched have gotten made (The Core, Catwoman, and Transformers...and he disclaims the second, saying there's only one line of his left in it).

[viktor-haag.livejournal.com]

Hrm. Given his other two scripts, I'm not sure that not being associated with "Catwoman" is all that remarkable. But I do agree there is an order of magnitude of crapitude between "Transformers" and "Catwoman"...

[madmanofprague.livejournal.com]

Which Transformers?

[doc-lemming.livejournal.com]

The Michael Bay live action one.

[madmanofprague.livejournal.com]

I wonder how much live action you need for a movie to still be considered live action...

[viktor-haag.livejournal.com]

I guess you need at least a few people to look wooden as they mawk at effects they can't see while they're standing front of that big green screen.

[sixteenbynine.livejournal.com]

...because as we all know, they're more than meets the eye.

::ducks::

I'M JUST AMAZED NO ONE ELSE MADE THAT JOKE

[sixteenbynine.livejournal.com]

... now I wonder what that "one line" was! :D