Bonfire of the Vanities was one of the finest books ever written to reflect the social issues of a period and it was turned into one of the worst movies I've ever seen. I can understand how a writer with less stature could lose control over his work, but WOLFE???? Has he ever talked about this?
sharehildy-1 - Here's my response on another thread:
<<I just finished the book. Yes, the author did interview Tom Wolfe, but Wolfe distanced himself from the movie from day one -- not necessarily because of "artistic differences," but because he saw himself as having sold the rights, and that was that! The movie would be "something different" and it wasn't his place to kibbitz and he thought it would be impolite to deposit the check (he was paid $750,000 according to the book) and then criticize those who paid him.>>
Rita Kempley gives a great summary in the Washington Post of how the movie missed Wolfe's book completely:
<<<"Go home and be decent." Michael Cristofer, who wrote the screenplay, gives us a morality romp, not a comedy of errors. In Wolfe's story, all of New York was held accountable, but De Palma and Cristofer seem to blame the woes of the '80s mostly on the press, black rabble-rousers and women. As usual, the white male floats like fat to the top of the melting pot. . . If you want to see the masters of the universe chastened, see "Wall Street." This is a story of redeemed white guys.>>>
Clementine: I'm a vindictive little bitch, truth be told!
Nice one! Rita Kempley hits the nail on the head!
I just commented on another thread about how this film, and Less Than Zero, so utterly fail to live up to the moral standards of the books they are based on. I guess that 'establishment' films just cannot truly take on themes which really question or criticize the 'establishment.'
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