Bruce Willis always seemed like an everyday guy in his film roles, and I think that’s why so many of us accepted him as a cop in seemingly every other film he made. Hitting a couple of years before his third outing as John McClane, Willis played Pittsburgh police officer Tom Hardy. He’s after a…
Tag: screenplay
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) – William Kotzwinkle
So, I’ve been jonesing to re-read the 1985 paperback, E.T.: The Book of the Green Planet. I’ve had it since it came out, and have only read it once. I remember one scene in it, but that’s all I can recall. Since it and the original adaptation of the Melissa Matheson screenplay were written by…
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) – Robert Mulligan
The moment I finished Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel, I knew it was tome to check out the cinematic version, another hole in my viewing category. Gregory Peck headlines as Atticus, a role that garnered him an Academy Award. The film garnered two more wins, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Set/Art Dec. It received…
The Adjustment Bureau (2011) – George Nolfi
Matt Damon and Emily Blunt headline The Adjustment Bureau, which uses the short story The Adjustment Team by Philip K. Dick as it’s launching point. Nolfi not only directed but he wrote the screenplay as well, delivering an entertaining sci-romance. Damon is David Norris, a politician on track to be the next representative from New…
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (1981) – Episodes 1, 2, and 3
I feel that most of North America was introduced to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy when this version of the novel, adapted from the BBC radio broadcast, jumped the pond. I remember 1980, at Christmas the novel was under the Christmas Tree for me. I may have been a little young for it at…
Johnny Mnemonic (1995) – Robert Longo
William Gibson wrote the screenplay for Johnny Mnemonic based on one of his short stories, but you get the impression it changed a lot from what he had written to what ended up on the screen. A lot of the tech seems to be glossed over, and with an hour-and-a-half runtime, this film feels like…
Rambo III (1988) – Peter MacDonald
Sylvester Stallone’s third outing as Vietnam vet John Rambo came racing on the heels of the second film. Watching it now, it’s interesting to see how the political times have changed, as Rambo’s adventure takes him to Afghanistan this time. Living in the Far East, Rambo is found by his old CO, Trautman (Richard Crenna)…
Alien 3: The Unproduced First-Draft Screenplay by William Gibson (2021) – Pat Cadigan
Author Pat Cadigan takes William Gibson’s original script for Alien 3 and transforms it into a white knuckle thriller ride of a novel that gives us a glimpse at what could have been in the Alien film series. Fans know the convoluted story of how Alien 3 came to the screen, and that were countless…
A Few Good Men (1992) – Rob Reiner
Aaron Sorkin pens the screenplay for Rob Reiner’s A Few Good Men from his stageplay of the same name, and like the best of Sorkin’s writing, the film draws an amazing wealth of talent. When a Marine dies during an off the book disciplinary action while serving at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, the JAG corp…
Licence to Kill (1989) – John Gardner
James Bond returns this week in John Gardner’s adaptation of the 1989 film, Licence to Kill. This is probably the most disjointed of his novels as he tries to marry his version of the literary 007 to the big screen version, and it doesn’t always work. In fact, throughout the book Bond thinks he must…
The Mind Reels 