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Poster: lobster12 Date: Nov 10, 2009 8:16am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: hey Dire

For some reason I seem to remember that you are a Cormac Mccarthy fan. If so, have you read The Road? The film adaptation comes out this month

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Poster: Saint Owen Date: Nov 10, 2009 9:15am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: hey Dire

ya, they've been down in Big Sur working on this film fo the pass two years, but the fires f'd alot of stuff up.

It should be interesting anyhow.

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Poster: staggerleib Date: Nov 10, 2009 11:25am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: hey Dire

I do love it when we go out of the world of the Dead, and touch on some other arts. I'm a huge movie fan (but i'm trying to lose some weight), and in college, I was an english major. I've always loved to read, and try to spend as much time reading as I can.

One of the writers that I love is Cormac, among others. I've begun a reader of thrillers and mysteries, but my snobby attitudes to music extends to these more mundane categories.

I love:
Dennis Lehane
Stephen Hunter
Michael Connolly
David Wiltse
Barry Eisler
Daniel Silva
Lee Child
Jeffrey Deaver
and I would love some recommendations along these lines

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Poster: Cliff Hucker Date: Nov 10, 2009 8:24am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: hey Dire

I recomended The Road to Dire three years ago, I dont think he ever picked it up. He is quite preferential to Suttree, another extraordinary book, though I found it somewhat of a challenge to get any traction with until I was about halfway though.

The Road might be the most extraordinary book that I have ever read. I will be seeing the movie on the 25th, the day it is released. But I am already prepared to be dissapointed...

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Poster: Arbuthnot Date: Nov 10, 2009 4:08pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: hey Cliff

curious, why would you even bother watching a film of a novel that "might be the most extraordinary" book you've ever read? will you also be picking up the sure-to-be-released printing of the book with the actor's faces on the cover? why reduce something you found so profound to a Hollwood moment, a bunch of silly celebrity faces on the silver screen?

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Poster: Cliff Hucker Date: Nov 10, 2009 5:09pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: hey Cliff

Well Thomas, to answer your question; I will be going to see this movie with rather low expectations. My girlfriend enjoyed the book very much as well, and she enjoys going to the movies. So we will make a fun date out of it. Perhaps we will go to a great restaurant afterwards, one with a fireplace, eat red meat and enjoy a nice Cote Rotie? It should be an enjoyable evening even if the movie turns out to be disapointing. Should I not see the movie simply because the book was so profoundly good?

The last movie we saw was The Serious Man, which was a riot, and we had a ton of fun!

Just out of curiosity, have you read the book Thomas?

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Poster: Arbuthnot Date: Nov 10, 2009 6:59pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: hey Cliff

oh, if it's date w/the girlfriend, all rules are out the window!

no i have not read the book (i've heard great things about this author's writings), i may one day, although i am prone toward reading only works by authors who are dead, preferably long dead

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Poster: cush212 Date: Nov 10, 2009 7:30pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: hey Cliff

Hey T! It's been awhile, I'm thinkin'. Hope all is well with you and your dusty old books!!! Har, couldn't resist that!

;)

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Poster: bluedevil Date: Nov 10, 2009 4:21pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: hey Cliff

It can be apples and oranges. I happen to think One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a great film and a great novel. I understand Kesey's issues with watching the film, but I think they are both great. Sadly, Sometimes A Great Notion couldn't make the same leap nearly as well, but still worth it to watch Henry Fonda and Paul Newman take a crack at playing the Stamper men.

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Poster: Arbuthnot Date: Nov 10, 2009 5:00pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: hey Cliff

point taken BD, but just to clarify, i'm not saying there aren't great, even profound, film adaptations of literary works, there are of course; what i'm saying is, if a person comes across a book and labels their connection with it in the way Cliff did, then why taint that very rare (once or twice in a lifetime) literary experience by combining it with a lesser artform?

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Poster: bluedevil Date: Nov 10, 2009 5:12pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: hey Cliff

Clarification received, understood, and in agreement with the rationale underlying your original post.

That said, I'm curious to see how they tackle this project - because I don't see how in the hell they'll do it justice.

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Poster: bluedevil Date: Nov 10, 2009 8:34am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: hey Dire

I recently read The Road - picked it up one evening around 11ish as a go to sleep book and ended up breaking open a bottle of wine and staying up to finish it (Not long and pages fly by). I look forward to a film adaptation, but it will likely disappoint (although Viggo as the father seems like great choice - got to love a guy married to Exene from X and plays in a band with Buckethead).

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Poster: direwolf0701 Date: Nov 10, 2009 8:37am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: hey Dire

"The Road might be the most extraordinary book that I have ever read."


certainly within the top five i have read in many years. an incredible experience in language and mood.

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Poster: lobster12 Date: Nov 10, 2009 8:47am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: hey Dire

I have not read the book but word on the street has it that the character of "the Wife" is a expanded significantly for the film.

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Poster: direwolf0701 Date: Nov 10, 2009 9:03am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: hey Dire

i am not sure i am too pleased to hear that. there were just enough hints and a few "moments" describing her in the book before the apocalypse which kept her somewhat of a mysterious yet oddly redeeming figure

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Poster: direwolf0701 Date: Nov 10, 2009 8:31am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: hey Dire

good memory lobster :)

i am a HUGE McCarthy fan and am very much looking forward to the film. I think Vigo should be a great casting for the lead role. However, I am not holding out tons of hope for the movie to even come close to really "touching" the book - the book is extremely introspective and it is going to take some great cinematography to recreate the "pureness" of the everpresent black/gray/white landscape which permeates the book and really infiltrates the reader's mind. From what I have heard though, the movie does do a pretty good job with the recreation.

Then again, I was somewhat in the minority of McCarthy fans (i think) that really really enjoyed the movie adaptation of "No Country..." phenomenal book and film. incredibly well cast (other than a little hokiness from Woody H and a very severe toning down of the visual violence of the book)


Damn you!! I want the movie to come out NOW!!!! :)

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Poster: jerrys beard Date: Nov 10, 2009 9:06am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: hey Dire

Based on the above recommendations and your sterling reputations, I just ordered the book from amazon...looking forward to a outstanding read. Now...back to the shadows...and the ellipses.

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Poster: direwolf0701 Date: Nov 10, 2009 9:27am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: hey Dire

you wont regret it JB! Check out Outer Dark if you end up liking The Road. His most truly apocalyptic novel never mind being a tour de force of his literary descriptive power.

enjoy!!!

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Poster: cosmic charlie dupree Date: Nov 10, 2009 9:32am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: hey Dire

I just ordered the audiobook from Audible. This Forum has WAY too much influence on my life - it's downright embarassing!

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Poster: Cliff Hucker Date: Nov 10, 2009 8:56am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: hey Dire

I liked the movie "No Country" too, Javier Bardem was so creepy!

I also enjoyed Cormac's "The Crossing" very much as well...

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Poster: direwolf0701 Date: Nov 10, 2009 9:04am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: hey Dire

agreed - Bardem was THE perfect choice for that role. I was very pleased the Coen's kept some of the internal monologues intact and the dialogues were held very close to the original book. excellent job in screenplay.

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Poster: Saint Owen Date: Nov 10, 2009 10:18am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: hey Dire

Here's another, mine vanished for my book case, but it's from one of Kesey's class' in Eugene... check it out. http://www.bookfinder.com/dir/i/Demon_Box/0413405001/ Also his Jail Journal or Leary's jail theories are interesting as well.
This post was modified by SeaGlock on 2009-11-10 18:18:56

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Poster: bluedevil Date: Nov 10, 2009 10:44am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: hey Dire

I just re-read "The Day After Superman Died" last night; Kesey's bit about Neal Cassady's death. Devlin Deboree

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Poster: direwolf0701 Date: Nov 10, 2009 12:13pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: hey Dire

good call - read that one many moons ago while I was reading some Burroughs. very good read!

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Poster: robthewordsmith Date: Nov 10, 2009 12:47pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: hey Dire

Don't know if I'm coming in at the right place in this thread, or if it's been mentioned before, but I thought Tommy Lee Jones was absolutely pitch perfect as Sheriff Bell.

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Poster: direwolf0701 Date: Nov 10, 2009 1:14pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: hey Dire

100% agree with you. I thought Harrelson was the only weak casting in the film - not because I dislike him as an actor, but the role just was not for him at all.

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Poster: robthewordsmith Date: Nov 10, 2009 1:21pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: hey Dire

You'll probably think I'm nuts for not having done it before but I've very belatedly started reading the Border Trilogy - kind of been saving it for a rainy day or something - and my mind is being totally blown. I don't know of many other (any other?) writers who can capture such rich characterisation with such sparse language. Genius. Simply genius.

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Poster: lobster12 Date: Nov 10, 2009 8:50am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: hey Dire

It was supposed to be released at the end of October but they pushed it back for better Academy consideration. Anxious to read the book.

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Poster: direwolf0701 Date: Nov 10, 2009 9:01am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: hey Dire

you will NOT regret reading it. there are passages in there of such literary beauty, your mind will be amazed. Cormac is one hell of a "wordsmith" ;)

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Poster: Cliff Hucker Date: Nov 10, 2009 11:55am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: hey Dire

"They passed through the city at noon of the day following. He kept the pistol to hand on the folded tarp on top of the cart. He kept the boy close to his side. The city was mostly burned. No sign of life. Cars in the street caked with ash, everything covered with ash and dust. Fossil tracks in the dried sludge. A corpse in a doorway dried to leather. Grimacing at the day. He pulled the boy closer. Just remember that the things you put into your head are there forever, he said. You might want to think about that.

You forget some things, dont you?

Yes. You forget what you want to remember and you remember what you want to forget."

page 12

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Poster: direwolf0701 Date: Nov 10, 2009 12:19pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: hey Dire

GREAT quoting Cliff!!! pretty much sums up the entire "mood" of the novel.

"Fossil tracks in the dried sludge." Just a beautifully succinct image of walking along in a post-apocalyptic world.

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Poster: cush212 Date: Nov 10, 2009 12:23pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: hey Dire

You guysare just a little too highbrow around here... Doesn't anyone read "PenthouseForum"anymore???

:)

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Poster: direwolf0701 Date: Nov 10, 2009 12:39pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: hey Dire

Yo brother Jon!!! How is it going?? Long time my old friend. I hope life is treating you well :)

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Poster: cush212 Date: Nov 10, 2009 12:42pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: hey Dire

Hanging in there younger Brother... Things took a bit Of a downturn 2 weeks ago, quadruple whammy actually, but still have my health (cough, cough, cough) We will survive though!

Hope all is well with you, will try to catch upwith you via email soon, but have limited time online. Take my friend(s)!!!

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Poster: lobster12 Date: Nov 10, 2009 5:31pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: hey Dire

" I always thought these letters were made up until......"

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Poster: Cliff Hucker Date: Nov 10, 2009 9:00am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: hey Dire

I believe that the movie was scheduled to be released almost a year ago. I think that Wechsler may have been dissatified with it, hense the delay(s) (perhaps due to re-editing).

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Poster: Dudley Dead Date: Nov 10, 2009 10:50am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: hey Dire

I like the movie also . The book seemed to me at first , like a Cormac Mccarthy version of an Elmore Lenorad book, but then (spoiler alert ) when the "hero"...
What the movie misses , is the deeper philosophical currents .
I am curious to see how they will try to get the feel of "the Road" onto film .
It would seem to me liking trying to film Faulkner's "Sound and Fury" .
If Sam Peckinpah were alive, he could do justice to "Blood Meridian"...

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Poster: direwolf0701 Date: Nov 10, 2009 12:14pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: hey Dire

"If Sam Peckinpah were alive, he could do justice to "Blood Meridian"..."

i am not very familiar with Peckinpah (at least by name.) Tough book to make a movie out of, but I would LOVE to see an attempt! the Judge is one of the greatest alltime literary villains!!

agree with your feeling regarding the philosophical undercurrents being a bit absent from No Country. Would have been tough for the film makers. Pretty much the trouble with ANY of McCarthy's books. But they did a decent job with the rest of it. Absolutely loved the opening monologue byJones - great opening for a film.

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Poster: Dudley Dead Date: Nov 10, 2009 12:39pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: hey Dire

You might know his Westerns ,"The Wild Bunch", "Pat Garrett, & Billy the Kid" , were the ones I was thinking about . But even Sam Peckinpah might have winced at some of the INTENSE stuff in Blood Meridian . And yes I would love to see a great director try it .

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Poster: direwolf0701 Date: Nov 10, 2009 1:13pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: hey Dire

maybe get Tarantino to do a somewhat "quirky" version and not worry about the NC-17 rating it must garner to really work like the novel.

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Poster: William Tell Date: Nov 10, 2009 1:11pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: hey Dire

I think you are right, DD...

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Poster: SomeDarkHollow Date: Nov 10, 2009 9:02am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: hey Dire

Ah, but the big question is will they include the baby on the spit? The flick could go either way, but I, like you, thought they did a fine job w/ NCFOM and the casting was great (except for Woody, who did his best, but is no academy award threat).
Kind of like Planet of the Apes, but with good actors and an amazing book for inspiration. No offense to Mr. Heston, but I don't think "Damn Dirty Apes" would be appropriate for this post-apocalyptic fun-fest.

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Poster: direwolf0701 Date: Nov 10, 2009 9:26am
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: hey Dire

the cannibalism scene is supposed to be included. baby on the spit reminds me so much of Outer Dark - my favorite of McCarthy's works - talk about spiritually apocalyptic!!

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Poster: wineland Date: Nov 13, 2009 1:16pm
Forum: GratefulDead Subject: Re: hey Dire

I just downloaded it to my mp3 player for the commute. Thanks for the recommendation.