Robert Altman
On the Tanner 88 DVD, Robert Altman says her worked for YEARS on this movie before being fired by Dino De Laurentiis.
What a damn shame, can you imagine an Altman version of this movie?
Actually, I can. EL Doctorow's screenplay for it appears in a book (by Doctorow) entitled "Three Screenplays." Check it out. The structure is amazing, and I'm particularly fond of the opening. Evelyn Nesbit, Harry Houdini and Emma Goldman all received plenty of screentime in that version.
You and I should talk more. I'm always excited to talk to other people intrigued by the possibilities for "Ragtime." One of these days, I'm going to convince HBO to adapt it as a miniseries.
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LOL, Working isn't bad, dexmex... but it probably demands more of singers than Ragtime. Ragtime's also a very age and race-specific musical. But in any case, I fully support your crew's efforts to stage Ragtime subversively! Hey, subversion is the spirit of the musical, isn't it? ;-)
shareI've got you on my friends list now, I had to change my username awhile ago when my email changed so I didn't get back to these boards for awhile. Sorry about disappearing for awhile. I look forward to communicating with you in the future.
Take care!
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=29663098
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Oh, too bad about that. I did Ragtime in 2006 in community theater and it was a lot of fun with many talented people. I don't think you could do Ragtime without people knowing because you have to get the rights to it first. By the way, wouldn't it be the director who decides what show to do, not the musical director?
shareI'd honestly like to see a remake of Ragtime, maybe on HBO where they could do it as a miniseries and fit in all of the characters. The original was good it just wasn't true to the book. Forgetting the characters they omitted they abbreviated Tateh's experiences.
shareWow, thats incredible...I had no idea there was actual published content available. I'll check it out as soon as possible and get back to you on this.
Jim
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Elizabeth McGovern shouldn't play a character in Ragtime at any point in the future. Sure, she got an Oscar nomination for playing Evelyn Nesbit in the 1981 film, but she didn't invest her performance with a compelling sense of what it was like to be a barefoot small town Pennsylvania window washer turned Manhattan chorus girl turned architect's mistress turned wife of a millionaire murderer with a penchant for dog whips turned vaudevillian turned silent film star. Yes, I know this isn't the easiest task, but surely the real Evelyn Nesbit didn't go through life without at least reflecting on what was happening to her. She wrote two autobiographies for Christ's sake, one at the beginning of her career in vaudeville!
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