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pianocrash wrote:I admit that when I heard about Alexandre Aja directing this, I was excited, since his style was mostly flash and no brains. But Fincher? Is there such a thing as too much brains?

That's an odd statement. Burns has quite a few brains himself, and Black Hole without its satirical intelligence and emotional depth would be just another generic gross-out horror thing. I think Fincher is a good choice, especially given the brilliance of Zodiac which I really hope will turn out to represent a pivotal point in his career.

Two questions about a film version of Black Hole:

Does there really need to be a film version of this? (Yes, I know: This has never stopped Hollywood before.)

Is there any particular reason Guillermo del Toro isn't helming -- or at least producing -- this one?

ogygia avenue wrote:Is there any particular reason Guillermo del Toro isn't helming -- or at least producing -- this one?

He's already got too much on his plate?

Of course, so does Fincher.

Fletch F. Fletch wrote:He's already got too much on his plate?

This is fair. It seems like the studio's going with a straight genre director instead of seeking someone out who might have an interesting take on the material...

ogygia avenue wrote:

Fletch F. Fletch wrote:He's already got too much on his plate?

This is fair. It seems like the studio's going with a straight genre director instead of seeking someone out who might have an interesting take on the material...

Are you being facetious? Fincher is a genre hack while del Toro is somehow some genre transcending master filmmaker? I mean, Blade 2 and Hellboy were okay, but come on!

I only just read this thread closely enough to realise it *isn't* a remake of the Disney film.

Pity. That would have been great. Not nearly enough Hell-themed science fiction movies.
Even Event Horizon ended up being pretty good for a genre film. (Well, the best thing Paul W.S. Anderson ever made. I think you'll agree with me there)

ogygia avenue wrote:

Fletch F. Fletch wrote:He's already got too much on his plate?

This is fair. It seems like the studio's going with a straight genre director instead of seeking someone out who might have an interesting take on the material...

I know... Fight Club was such a formulaic genre film. What are they thinking?

Fletch F. Fletch wrote:I know... Fight Club was such a formulaic genre film. What are they thinking?

Did I use the word "formulaic" in the post, Fletch?

I posted that as I was walking out the door and should have thought it through before I posted it. What I mean to say is...I found Black Hole compelling because of the characters, and was able to keep reading past some of the more gross developments because I wanted to know what happened to the characters. Fincher's approach is too clinical for the subject matter, and the film would work best if a director with a stronger commitment to character and story were to helm it. (Del Toro was not the perfect illustration of this, but he came to mind as the kind of director that could do something interesting and unexpected with a film version of Black Hole.)

ogygia avenue wrote:Fincher's approach is too clinical for the subject matter, and the film would work best if a director with a stronger commitment to character and story were to helm it.

Okay, I get what you're saying here. Thanks for clarifying. It's true that Fincher is a very chilly director and not really concerned with character, but I do think he has a strong commitment to story, or at least to the technique of telling one.

ogygia avenue wrote:Fincher's approach is too clinical for the subject matter, and the film would work best if a director with a stronger commitment to character and story were to helm it. (Del Toro was not the perfect illustration of this, but he came to mind as the kind of director that could do something interesting and unexpected with a film version of Black Hole.)

The more I think about possible directors for Burns' work, the more my brain feels like a handful of mashed potatoes being thrown at a blackboard. I just know that whoever does end up doing it, even if it's not Fincher, that it will never be right or wrong enough when it comes to the source material. No amount of math could yield a high enough ratio of success in the theoretical D&D that is speculative thinking on the side of the fans, and the even more improbable amount of splitting past reputations in anticipation of future successes/failures is even less exciting. I just hope the damned thing is watchable, even if it's in the lame, hammer-over-the-head way that Pan's Labyrinth was. I still prefer Warren Beatty's adaptation of Dick Tracy, by the way, to, oh, I don't know, Tank Girl.

This is a given for any book to film transcription, I know, but Black Hole most especially defies the movie treatment. It's those panels, the linework, the use of color, and the expressionistic noir that makes the book so compelling. The book gives me chills, but I have a feeling the film would want terrors. (I'm thinking Ott here.) Granted, Watchmen and Cerebus would be tougher as films, but I don't know about Black Hole. I think it can be done given the atmosphere (Lynch comes to mind for the textures of night and mystery), but the book had it down because of length, inking, panels. See, I'm back to the comic! A comic is a comic and a movie is a movie, but I think Black Hole would work so much better as comic book. Call me a purist, but it's like turning a symphony into a film. How do you film feelings that a visual genius like Burns evokes with his still pictures? How do you film feelings that music evokes? I'll watch the movie, but for some reason this book as film just sits ill with me. Oh well - at least Burns got a chunk of change for it.

ogygia avenue wrote:I posted that as I was walking out the door and should have thought it through before I posted it. What I mean to say is...I found Black Hole compelling because of the characters, and was able to keep reading past some of the more gross developments because I wanted to know what happened to the characters. Fincher's approach is too clinical for the subject matter, and the film would work best if a director with a stronger commitment to character and story were to helm it.

I gotcha.

However, I think that Fincher proved with Zodiac that he can put a stronger emphasis on character and story. That film was all about the characters and the story. It really felt like a turning point for him (I hope) and if he does decide to do Black Hole maybe he will continue on in that vein. Hell, maybe that is what attracted him to the project in the first place.

Matt wrote:Okay, I get what you're saying here. Thanks for clarifying.

Anything to keep Drunk Sean Young from showing up at my door.

I saw Charles Burns give a Q&A session yesterday after a showing of the animated anthology film he contributed to, Peur(s) du noir. When asked about Black Hole, he basically said that he knew nothing about it yet, only that Fincher had been named as the director and that the project was still in development. It seems odd that he hasn't been pulled in for more involvement yet, I hope he will be once the project gets underway.

sevenarts wrote:It seems odd that he hasn't been pulled in for more involvement yet, I hope he will be once the project gets underway.

Not really - just ask Alan Moore.

For those who haven't read "Black Hole"...

MOD EDIT: ...buy a copy or check it out from the library.

The listing for Black Hole at IMDB has been wiped out and production information is now only available to IMDB Pro users. Is Fincher still attatched to this? I was incredibly intrigued by what I've read about this and it's a shame if its been scrapped/delayed.

According to IMDBPro, yes Fincher is still listed.

FSimeoni wrote:I don't know if there are any Ellis fans here but does anyone have any other info or opinions on casting/director? Del Toro doesn't seem like a good choice in my opinion. I don't know why.

Benicio doesn't seem like the type to carry off a pale, white, somewhat chubby dude.

flyonthewall2983 wrote:

FSimeoni wrote:I don't know if there are any Ellis fans here but does anyone have any other info or opinions on casting/director? Del Toro doesn't seem like a good choice in my opinion. I don't know why.

Benicio doesn't seem like the type to carry off a pale, white, somewhat chubby dude.

I think he meant Guillermo.

He carries off enough chubby dude for three men

Regardless of who is cast, I really hope this song is on the soundtrack.

This was posted on the film's IMDB message board:

David Slade directing.

ARTCOTIC: You have mentioned that you have a few new film projects in the works this year. Can you give us a few hints of what to expect next from you?

SLADE: Oh god, everything is so fluid like now, you know I am trying to maintain that "Mind Like Water" attitude, I am attached to direct and adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' book Lunar Park, which is an amazing project adapted by an amazing young writer called Lane Shaggit, what a burden that name, but still I digress, the strike we have been sitting fully financed with a great script and no actors. There are a couple of other things, a really political script which is also darker than anything I have ever read, and I am working on a Sci Fi that I am want to develop with Richard Taylor who runs Weta in New Zealand, we have talked about it a lot.

Neil Gaiman gives a mini-update on the status of the project and his lack of involvement in it.

Fletch F. Fletch wrote:Neil Gaiman gives a mini-update on the status of the project and his lack of involvement in it.

I may hold a minority opinion, but I think this can only be a good thing for the film.