User:TPoole/sandbox: Difference between revisions

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practice of one author adapting the work of another—the Book-into-the-Film. However, self- (or “auto-”) adaptation is rare, particularly in Hollywood with a writer of Mailer’s stature. For ''Tough Guys'', Mailer (with uncredited assistance from Robert Towne) translated his own novel into his own script and, finally—given his role as director—his own film.

Even well planned experiments yield unexpected results. Nowhere is the gulf between written word and live performance more evident than in Ryan

O’Neal’s infamous performance of Tim Madden, particularly when he learns

his wife has been unfaithful. Standing on a bluff at the ocean, he cries out to

himself: “Oh, Man! Oh, God! Oh, Man! Oh, God! Oh, Man! Oh, God! Oh, Man! Oh, God! Oh, Man! Oh, God!” On paper the words not only reveal the intensity of a moment, but they also operate on more than one level. These are two exclamations common to everyday speech. But together, repeated in alternation, their literal (and opposite) meanings come to the fore.

However, once enacted by Ryan O’Neal, the words seem detached from intentionality. Their impact is cumulative, and it is extremely memorable, but certainly not in a way that O’Neal appreciated. Touted for its awful acting, the scene has become a favorite “so bad it’s good” clip for the YouTube crowd. But rarely do viewers stop to ask whether any actor could have read those lines in accord with what passes for believability in Hollywood films. Many persons involved with ''Tough Guys'' urged Mailer to remove the scene,

but he would not budge. His cinematic laboratory not only recorded his experiments, but also required their dissemination.

@@ Line 249: / Line 249: @@
 practice of one author adapting the work of another—the Book-into-the-Film. However, self- (or “auto-”) adaptation is rare, particularly in Hollywood with a writer of Mailer’s stature. For ''Tough Guys'', Mailer (with uncredited assistance from Robert Towne) translated his own novel into his own script and, finally—given his role as director—his own film.
+Even well planned experiments yield unexpected results. Nowhere is the gulf between written word and live performance more evident than in Ryan
+O’Neal’s infamous performance of Tim Madden, particularly when he learns
+his wife has been unfaithful. Standing on a bluff at the ocean, he cries out to
+himself: “Oh, Man! Oh, God! Oh, Man! Oh, God! Oh, Man! Oh, God! Oh, Man! Oh, God! Oh, Man! Oh, God!” On paper the words not only reveal the intensity of a moment, but they also operate on more than one level. These are two exclamations common to everyday speech. But together, repeated in alternation, their literal (and opposite) meanings come to the fore.
+However, once enacted by Ryan O’Neal, the words seem detached from intentionality. Their impact is cumulative, and it is extremely memorable, but certainly not in a way that O’Neal appreciated. Touted for its awful acting, the scene has become a favorite “so bad it’s good” clip for the YouTube crowd. But rarely do viewers stop to ask whether any actor could have read those lines in accord with what passes for believability in Hollywood films. Many persons involved with ''Tough Guys'' urged Mailer to remove the scene,
+but he would not budge. His cinematic laboratory not only recorded his experiments, but also required their dissemination.