Dear reader, life is too short for crap books.

Monday, October 09, 2006

Suitable for Filming, But Not Filmed Yet

With the cost of living in Los Angeles being what it is, we are often forced to make our own fun here at the Potts/McCoy house. Sometimes we cook elaborate things or write or play Scrabble. And sometimes we have Craft Night.

Once, irritated by issues of co-opted "authenticity" in the art world, we invented an outsider artist named Caleb Doheny*. His seminal work, "Nehemiah 8:11," now serves as a book cover for my dictionary.

We also made a board game called Punk: The Game out of a cardboard box and some index cards. By role of the die, you become one of 6 punk band archetypes, and go on tour. Depending what cards you draw, you might get the clap, sell a bunch of t-shirts, or get in a fight with Richard Hell. Due to a completely unintentional, though seemingly genius, design flaw, it is almost impossible to finish the game with any money, although most players wind up in jail or the hospital at least once.

However, our traditional "quiet night at home" activity is the composition of the Top 5 list, a la High Fidelity. Last night's topic seemed semi-relevant for the blog, and since I'm between decent books right now, here's mine:

Top 5 Books That Should Be Adapted Into Film

5. the short stories of Tim Gautreaux (preferably done by Altman)
4. Triangle: The Fire That Changed America by David von Drehle
3. The Feast of Love by Charles Baxter
2. Ex Machina by Brian K. Vaughan
1. The Little Friend by Donna Tartt

Reading over this, I realize that the alleged "point" of this post did not exactly need the amount of lead-in I gave it. Still, I'm leaving it in. I hadn't thought about Punk: The Game in years, and now I kind of feel like playing it.
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* Caleb Doheny is a painter and collage artist from West Virginia. He began creating art after his wife, running off one night to meet her lover, drowned in the river. Ever since, he has woken up each morning and painted a picture of her before making up a cooler of ham sandwiches, which he drives up to logging sites and sells to lumberjacks. This is how he makes money to buy his art supplies. His canvases are paper bags. Doheny's admirers include Sean Penn, Jennifer Aniston, and JT LeRoy.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ahem. Madam Blogista done plagarized Tim Gatreaux from my list of last night. Allow me, then, to plop down the rest...

5. She-Hulk - Single Green Female/Superhuman Law
4. "A Bridge Too Fucking Far", which is an album by 68 Comeback, but the story of which would make a great movie.
3. Triangle (Scorsese should do it.)
2. Anything Breece D'J Pancake ever wrote, preferably in the style of Altman.
1. The Untidy Pilgrim - Everette Walker

Gwen said...

The only one I can think of is "the Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver. I also think "I, Lucifer" would make a mighty fine movie.

Jack said...

I, LUCIFER is in fact being made into movie soonish:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0444646/

As for my top five, these are just what come to mind at present. They would probably be different if you asked me tomorrow...

5. PREACHER by Garth Ennis & Steve Dillon - It doesn't get any more sacrilicious than this. Alex Cox should direct it.
4. THE FOOLS IN TOWN ARE ON OUR SIDE or almost any other novel by Ross Thomas -
3. THE ANUBIS GATES, THE DRAWING OF THE DARK, or THE STRESS OF HER REGARD all by Tim Powers - Can you imagine how cool a fantasy movie based on one of these books could be? No, you can't. Piss off.
2. THE USE OF WEAPONS by Iain M. Banks - Because I want to see a genuinely cool space opera movie in my lifetime.
1. CRYPTONOMICON by Neal Stephenson - I doubt if it could even be done, but goddamn would I like to see it.