The World Beyond BetterMost > The Culture Tent
The James Franco Project Continues:What It’s Like To Be James Franco’s Professor
Front-Ranger:
I watched East of Eden tonight. James Dean reminded me so much of James Franco...it was uncanny!
oilgun:
--- Quote from: Front-Ranger on February 21, 2012, 12:27:19 am ---I watched East of Eden tonight. James Dean reminded me so much of James Franco...it was uncanny!
--- End quote ---
James Franco potrayed Dean in a TV(?) movie a while back. It was a break-through role for him.
He's been active on facebook lately. But not on Twitter.
Front-Ranger:
No kidding? I'll have to look for it. There's no way to keep up with all that man does!!
Front-Ranger:
--- Quote from: Front-Ranger on February 21, 2012, 12:27:19 am ---I watched East of Eden tonight. James Dean reminded me so much of James Franco...it was uncanny!
--- End quote ---
Since it was a Steinbeck story, maybe I should have said it was uncannery!! (sorry for my juvenile nerd humor!)
Speaking of Steinbeck, how did he bear the butchering of his story by Hollywood? I don't suppose there is any fear of spoilers in my next comments, since the movie came out in the 1950s! First of all, a major character named Lee who was involved in some of the main plot points, served as narrator, and provided the voice of wisdom in the book doesn't even appear anywhere in the movie!! (Me being named Lee, you can see how I'm a little upset by this) And Salinas appears to have been wrenched from the San Joaquin Valley of California and plopped down beside the sea! Also, the evil mother Kate turns into a benefactor for Caleb which makes it ridiculous when other characters show fear and revulsion towards her. I wonder if the butchering of Steinbeck's work (as well as that of Hemingway and Faulkner) is one of the reasons Proulx has been so wary of lending rights to her stories to be made into films.
Now I just consulted imdb, which says that Steinbeck was happy with the film! Primarily, I gather it was because Elia Kazan, the director, was a friend of his and because he thought James Dean was perfectly cast as Cal.
I also learned that Kazan had originally envisioned Marlon Brando and Montgomery Clift for the roles of Cal and his twin brother Aron. But they were in their 30s, too old to play teenagers. But Paul Newman, one year younger than Brando, made it to the final casting tests, being filmed with James Dean in a screen test that still exists. Julie Harris won the role of Abra, the sons' love interest, even though she was a decade older than she was supposed to be. Richard Davalos in his screen debut played the part of Aron. I wonder what if anything he did after that.
Front-Ranger:
--- Quote from: oilgun on February 21, 2012, 02:02:56 pm ---James Franco potrayed Dean in a TV(?) movie a while back. It was a break-through role for him.
--- End quote ---
You're right as usual, Gil. It was called just James Dean, was shown in 2001, and Franco won a Golden GLobe and Screen Actors Guild award for his performance! I'll have to seek that one out.
Meanwhile, there's a movie coming out this year about Dean's hidden gay life, I understand.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version