Brokeback Mountain: Our Community's Common Bond > Brokeback Mountain Open Forum
Comparison between '03 to '05 screenplay: would we still be discussing this film
opinionista:
Does anyone have more information about the 2003 version of the screenplay? I think the differences between that version and the one we saw on screen have to do with the circumstances the BBM project was under when that screenplay was written. For instance, who was the director attached at that moment? Was it Ang Lee? Also if Ossana and Schamus had some kind of negotiation with some studio and they cut down on the sex and kissing scenes to be able to sell it, and get the movie done. It'll be intersting to see how the movie industry's dirty business actually affects the content of films, not just Brokeback, but all films. I believe that BBM became a film only James Schamus took over Focus Pictures. Before that it was being tossed like a hot potato from producer to producer.
nakymaton:
--- Quote from: Front-Ranger on September 21, 2006, 04:19:06 pm ---Have you noticed that many topics turn eventually into "could they have lived happily ever after" discussions? That's one thing I can't get into. BBM is a tragedy, and that's part of what makes it so great. I can't understand why people would want to see a rose-colored milquetoast version of it. Am I a curmugeon or something??
--- End quote ---
No, I agree, I think it's the tragic aspect that makes the movie so powerful. That's why I'm hangin out on this forum and not writing or reading BBM fanfic... because, at some level, I think the story is so powerful because of the pain, and because I think both the story and the movie are perfect as they are. (Apologies to people who do read and write fanfic (Jeff!), because I know it always sounds like an insult when people don't read your stuff!)
But even though pain is powerful, it's still hard to take. Sometimes it feels like I'll finish going around the coffee pot someday and manage to find peace for Ennis and Jack, maybe, if I talk about them enough. And then I discover I've started off on another lap around the coffee pot again. Maybe the damn handle broke off when Jack died, or something.
Jeff Wrangler:
--- Quote from: nakymaton on September 21, 2006, 06:02:17 pm ---No, I agree, I think it's the tragic aspect that makes the movie so powerful. That's why I'm hangin out on this forum and not writing or reading BBM fanfic... because, at some level, I think the story is so powerful because of the pain, and because I think both the story and the movie are perfect as they are. (Apologies to people who do read and write fanfic (Jeff!), because I know it always sounds like an insult when people don't read your stuff!)
--- End quote ---
Thanks, but no apologies needed. I agree with you that it's the tragedy that makes this movie great, and I don't take fanfic that seriously, even my own. Fanfic isn't for everybody, and not all fanfics are for all fanfic fans. (For example, I can't abide the idea of the so-called "Moving-on Ennis" fics because to me an Ennis who "moves on" and finds another male lover is neither the Ennis of the film nor the Ennis of Annie Proulx's story; I just don't see it as in his nature.) My early "canon" fanfics were attempts to deal with the pain, and then I turned to writing "AU" stories because I can't live with the constant pain of the "reality" of two fictional characters who have become as much a part of me as the buddies I drink with on Saturday nights. So my "AU" stories are kind of like my own personal Brokeback morphine, I guess.
dly64:
--- Quote from: opinionista on September 21, 2006, 05:31:53 pm ---Does anyone have more information about the 2003 version of the screenplay? I think the differences between that version and the one we saw on screen have to do with the circumstances the BBM project was under when that screenplay was written. For instance, who was the director attached at that moment? Was it Ang Lee? Also if Ossana and Schamus had some kind of negotiation with some studio and they cut down on the sex and kissing scenes to be able to sell it, and get the movie done. It'll be intersting to see how the movie industry's dirty business actually affects the content of films, not just Brokeback, but all films. I believe that BBM became a film only James Schamus took over Focus Pictures. Before that it was being tossed like a hot potato from producer to producer.
--- End quote ---
I think you are making an interesting point. As I was writing this thread, I thought of that question, but put it on hold to see where the discussion led.
Gus Van Sant (of “Good Will Hunting” fame) was the first director who was going to direct the film. Did he have any influence over the 2003 screenplay? Possibly … it’s hard to know. I do believe, however, had Gus done the film, I wouldn’t be sitting here spending endless hours talking about the film.
The question becomes: how much influence did Ang have over the 2005 version? Although several months ago I would have said “some” … now I have to say that Ang had a great deal of input and clout. I am aware that Ang insisted on breaking up the motel scene into three different scenes (the motel, Alma and Ennis’ apartment, and the mountains). Additionally, Ennis’ line, “I can’t stand this any more, Jack …” (when Ennis collapses into Jack’s arms), was not in the screenplay. The symbolisms, more than anything (IMO), have the mark of Ang Lee all over it. I doubt that had Gus done the film, we would be discussing bookends, the meaning of numbers and sheep and clocks and windows, etc.
malina:
I don't think it sounds terrible. But.. no second tent scene?? No reunion scene except from Alma's pov? Obviously I'm very glad it evolved the way it did.
The '03 version sounds like a different movie, one I wouldn't be adverse to seeing, and I think it would still have a good deal of its power, but a parallel-universe bbm, not ours.
One detail I rather like: Ennis imagining Jack in the place of Earl. That feels quite accurate, really.
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