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Whistlingwoman
Newbie Poster
Username: Whistlingwoman
Post Number: 11
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 08, 2004 - 02:52 pm: | 
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It was announced today that preproduction has finally started on Their Eyes Were Watching God.
HARPO'S NEXT GIG: After more than two years in development, ABC and Oprah Winfrey ready to begin production on Their Eyes Were Watching God, a TV movie starring Halle Berry about a free-spirited black woman searching for happiness in 1920s Florida. The flick is an adaption of African-American writer Zora Neale Hurston's classic 1937 novel of the same name.
What are your thoughts? |
Chrishayden
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Chrishayden
Post Number: 110
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 08, 2004 - 03:11 pm: |
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Whistlingwoman:
I am the list's resident Oprah Basher--and I roll my eyes every time I hear about Halle taking a "serious" role (but hey, at least she is trying, and everybody starts out by wantin' to be) but I hope that they do a great job. It could be a landmark in tv like "The Piano Lesson".
Of course it is on tv and when something spends so long in development that is not a good sign--but we shall pray for them.
Who is directing, who is doing the script and what other cast members have been cast? |
Abm
Regular Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 29
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 08, 2004 - 03:42 pm: |
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Well, unlike Chris, I don't count myself an Oprah "Basher". But if I recall correctly, Oprah's last major cinematic production was an unpopular, near incomprehensible rendition of Toni Morrison's "Beloved". And actress Halle Berry is STILL searching for her first truly great performance (notwithstanding the Academy Award). Thus, I'd say the prospects for "Eyes" are none too promising.
I am curious as to why, other than having Oprah/Halle associated with this project, warrants this this movie even being made. Zora Neal Hurston was (is) a great American author. But outside the literary communities, little is know about her and her works. So I question how this project will be effectively marketed. Specifically, how will this movie be distributed? Cinema, TV, Cable/Dish, video/DVD? It would probably do best on Cable/Dish.
Chris, I agree rampant problems in the "development" stage of a movie often portends badtidings. Perhaps they were trying to make 'magic' where none could be wrought. |
Akaivyleaf
Newbie Poster
Username: Akaivyleaf
Post Number: 25
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 08, 2004 - 04:03 pm: |
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I have mixed feelings about seeing the movie on the screen in any format. I don't see this translating well to what Zora Neale Hurston was trying to accomplish when writing it. I guess I'm a great fan of the book and don't want to see it ruined. |
Chrishayden
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Chrishayden
Post Number: 111
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 08, 2004 - 04:20 pm: |
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Abm:
You don't remember my thread, "Oprah Winfrey, Enemy of God?"
Ah well. How soon they forget. Anyway I actually appreciated the Beloved movie because I was finally able to figure out what the book was about after seeing it.
I do think it was too long ( a problem with trying to cram everything in a book into a movie--folks should look at Coppola's adaptation of "The Godfather" to see how its done) and I do think Oprah should have let a better actress (than herself) play Sethe.
Halle Berry just ain't got the chops of a great actress the range the power the gravity--least she ain't showed 'em to me.
You know, now that you mention it I wonder why they are making this one into a movie. It ain't like everybody has been demanding it. Maybe because they feel it is a classic and it ought to be filmed. I just refreshed my recollection of the book and I don't think I'll be waiting with baited breath for it (I can just see all those rural Negroes, sweatin and shining like new money in the Southern heat, laughin and buck dancin'drinkin corn likker and makin love an talkin like Brer Rabbit--ugh!
I think I'll run out and rent me a New Jack City or Dolemite tape to flush the awful visions from my mind!
I'll bet it gets 4 or 5 Emmys! |
Whistlingwoman
Newbie Poster
Username: Whistlingwoman
Post Number: 12
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 08, 2004 - 05:09 pm: |
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This was posted at Hollywood Reporter. Includes casting info:
ABC, Harpo doing 'God's' work
After more than two years in development, ABC and Harpo Films are moving forward with production on "Their Eyes Were Watching God," the latest installment in the network's "Oprah Winfrey Presents" telefilm series. Quincy Jones has joined the project as an executive producer. Halle Berry stars. Michael Ealy, Tony winner Ruben Santiago-Hudson and Emmy winner Ruby Dee are set to co-star in "God," adapted from the 1937 novel by Zora Neale Hurston.
Also, the two years in development is normal in film development, doesn't always indicate script trouble, etc. Sometimes it's just as simple as a studio exec leaving and a new one coming aboard, or just as complicated as ten drafts of the script, fifteen writers and a reluctance to "greenlight" the project.
I'll post more as I get it. |
Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 218
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 08, 2004 - 05:59 pm: |
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Oprah also brought "The Wedding" by Dorothy West, another Harlem Renaissance writer to the TV screen a few years back. Halle played the lead in this,too, and did a fairly good job because the female lead wasn't a particularly compelling character. "Their Eyes Were Watching God" has come to be considered in the vanguard of feminist literature and I can see Halle in the lead because, again, the female protagonist shouldn't require a great acting stretch. |
Soulofaauthor
Newbie Poster
Username: Soulofaauthor
Post Number: 25
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 08, 2004 - 06:00 pm: |
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oh come on ya'll don't bash halle I think she did a great job playing alex haley's grandmother.Now monster's ball totally different story it sucked.But I cheered when halle and denzel won their oscar's it was long overdue for a African American to win.I use to read some of Oprah's book picks the only one I truly enjoyed was a lesson before dying a book I would never have read if it wasnt for her. |
Bookgirl
Veteran Poster
Username: Bookgirl
Post Number: 61
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 08, 2004 - 06:41 pm: |
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You know Cynique; I got a different vision from reading The Wedding than I got from the film.
The book for me was just so different than what was portrayed in the film. Maybe the actors just didn't bring to life what I thought the characters were like. What did you think?
Like akaivyleaf, I am almost afraid of what might happen to Their Eyes Were Watching God on the big screen. Sheesh! |
Lambd
Veteran Poster
Username: Lambd
Post Number: 61
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 08, 2004 - 06:51 pm: |
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I thought Halle did well as Dorothy Dandridge, too. She just hasn't gotten the right role, yet. She is trying very hard and she is going to surprise us all one day. I think she got the Oscar for Monster's Ball because they felt it was overdue for black women in general and Halle can easily fit in for all audiences..(majority of Black and White audiences)
Soulofaauthor, I got one hell of a time writing your username without putting an 'n' between the two 'a's. Did you see the movie ,"A Lesson Before Dying"? How does it compare to the book in your opinion? |
Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 225
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 08, 2004 - 09:08 pm: |
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The problem I had with "The Wedding", Bookgirl, was that it was written during the bland 1950s era, a contemporary book when it came out, but an outdated one in the years that followed,which is to say that, to me, it didn't withstand the passage of time. So the fact that I didn't especially relate to the book, diluted my sentiments about the movie. And, yes, I would agree that the movie didn't do the book justice. |
Soulofaauthor
Regular Poster
Username: Soulofaauthor
Post Number: 26
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 08, 2004 - 09:14 pm: |
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She sure did a good job in that role Lambd and I think she played the heck out of that role as a crack addict in new jack city.I mean I am not saying the girl is a Angela Bassett but she can hold her own. |
Blkmalereading
Regular Poster
Username: Blkmalereading
Post Number: 38
Registered: 02-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 08, 2004 - 10:34 pm: |
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I'm also afraid to see this one on film. Now Ruby Dee is certainly good for this role. She reads the hell out of the book on audio. But Halle? What part will she play? I just can't see it. So other than name recognition, I don't see it.
I enjoyed Beloved, both the book and the movie. I agree that they may of tried to put to much into the movie in one sitting. The movie and the book both play off of each other, I think reading the book helps with the movie and vis a versa.
I saw The Wedding and read the book and I may agree with Cynique, I can't remember either of them, just doesn't stick in my mind.
I'm sitting here thinking didn't they do "Their Eyes were Watching God' on TV before? Or was that Porgy and Bess? It was a PBS production and done in play version for TV kind of thing. It was actually pretty good. Now I need to refresh myself on the book. I think Ruby Dee was in this one and some one very unusual, I keep visualizing Stephanie Mills or someone like that. I need to refresh my memory. I only slightly recall enjoying it very much!
I just did a search and realize there are a few books by Zora that I haven't read. I didn't know she released a book in 1999. Well, not her but the publishing house. |
Lambd
Veteran Poster
Username: Lambd
Post Number: 63
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 08, 2004 - 10:56 pm: |
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I think she played a crack addict in Jungle Fever, too! You know, Halle Berry makes one hell of a crackhead.
Blkmalereading, I think you are thinking of Porgy and Bess. It was very good.
Angela Bassett should have gotten the Oscar for What's Love Got to Do With It. She played the hell out of that role. She played Tina better than Tina...her dancing was kinda stiff though.
If they had given it to Angela years ago, then they wouldn't have felt compelled to give it to Halle later. At any rate, I'm glad that some black actresses got some recognition. No matter how temporary. And you can't say enough about Denzel. You know, alot of people say I look like Denzel Washington...What do y'all think? Look close around the eyelids and the palms of my hands. Some serious resemblance, right? |
Soulofaauthor
Regular Poster
Username: Soulofaauthor
Post Number: 28
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 08, 2004 - 11:08 pm: |
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I have to say this that movie beloved was so long and drawn out I don't know if it was good or not I went to sleep on it.Shame of Oprah for putting me to sleep.Blkmale I think that was porky and bess also.Lol oh yes halle can play a crackhead a little to good.I agree Angela should have gotten that oscar and laurence should have also.But noone can deny Denzel the brother can act. |
Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 228
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 08, 2004 - 11:41 pm: |
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Presumably Halle will play the main character named Janie in "Their Eyes Were Watching God."
Janie was a beautiful young woman who came into her own in the course of going through 2 husbands and a young lover. I think this is a role Halle could handle. |
Soulofaauthor
Regular Poster
Username: Soulofaauthor
Post Number: 29
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 08, 2004 - 11:57 pm: |
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Lol Lambd I just read what you said up their earlier my husband says I know they can't stand the way you have that nickname and let me expain it when I was coming up with a name I said to my self a is the best so that's what I am trying to give this writing thing my best
.Hold up does that make sence? so I left the n out Ok ya'll speaking in my best country girl voice.Anyway I rarely like a movie after I have seen the book.And sence I loved that book a lesson before dying so much I have refused to see the movie.Hell I aint going to let no one mess that movie up for me.I am a cry baby when I read and that book still makes me cry now should I mess up that lol. |
Lambd
Veteran Poster
Username: Lambd
Post Number: 64
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, April 09, 2004 - 09:00 am: |
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Don't mess it up. The movie was alright, but I felt like it was too corny. If you all like dat about the damn book, you need to leave the movie alone. The book was better by far. |
Mike_e
Newbie Poster
Username: Mike_e
Post Number: 7
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, April 09, 2004 - 10:08 am: |
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There was a production on PBS with Ruby Dee back in the late 80's or early 90's of Hurston's stories & folktales. It was pretty good. I have it on tape; I will have to watch it again. I think George C. Wolfe was the director and writer of that piece. You are correct Blkmalereading, but I'm not sure if Their Eyes.... was included in that production. |
Augustuzziah
Newbie Poster
Username: Augustuzziah
Post Number: 4
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, April 09, 2004 - 10:35 am: |
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Too bad O.W. didn't stick with Dorothy West and do the 'The Living is Easy' - still it beats a blank - |
Abm
Regular Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 38
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, April 09, 2004 - 01:44 pm: |
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Maybe the relative anonymity of Thurston/books might aid the film. Since few are profoundly familiar with the character Halle will portray, few will can/will contrast her limited acting skills against Thurston artistic vision.
No Chris, I don’t recall your "Oprah Winfrey, Enemy of God?" thread. Though, if you hum a few bars, I’ll try to sing it (I know: Old joke.).
Lambd, I understand your support for Halle. But Berry is in the ‘bloom’ of what has already been nearly a 15-year acting career. If I agree with you that "She just hasn't gotten the right role, yet.", I must ask you when might I expect her magnum opus to come along. |
Lambd
Veteran Poster
Username: Lambd
Post Number: 65
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, April 09, 2004 - 02:49 pm: |
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The trouble with the message boards is you can never tell when sarcasm is intended.
Abm, when I said that, I was being sarcastic. I really don't expect to get any better than what we have already gotten from Ms. Berry....She still like dat doe! |
Soulofaauthor
Regular Poster
Username: Soulofaauthor
Post Number: 30
Registered: 03-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, April 09, 2004 - 10:26 pm: |
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Come on ya'll what's up with all the halle bashing? That girl has been threw a lot and she's a survivor.I also feel like that role hasn't come for her yet where she will show her(to not curse)her butt.Dang I said I rarely like a movie after I have seen the book lmao I'm new at this and ya'll will get to know me as the typo queen.I love Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis to me that's what a marriage should be like.I'm striving to one day have that.Anyway it's friday night I just did a 12 hour shift at work and I'm still on this PC what have you people did to me? |
Blkmalereading
Regular Poster
Username: Blkmalereading
Post Number: 40
Registered: 02-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, April 10, 2004 - 11:46 am: |
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Mike_e: Thanks for the second. I KNEW I vaguely remember seeing a Hurston piece on film. If you find out more info, could you post it. I would like to see if I could order my own copy of that. I do recall it was enjoyable.
ABM: I certainly think that "Their Eyes" has a large enough reading audience to take it out of the realm of relative anonymity. When a book has cliff notes....it's on another level of reading audiences. So all those high school and college kids who had to read this book and dig into the deeper meaning of each sentence will surely remember it. So we are also talking about a cross section of folks who've read this book, maybe that is why super billionaire Oprah thinks it might be a winner?
This could be good or bad for Halle. I just can't imagine her doing the heavy dialect that runs throughout that book. She even runs me crazy trying to do the 'home-girl' dialect in movies. She sometimes comes off as a white girl trying to do a Black girl, sounding like a white girl doing a Black girl. Or just sounding like a very Southern white girl. It doesn't always work for her. It's a shame that we have so many black female actors and everytime it comes to a role, I'm even guilty of immediately thinking of 2 or 3 names at the most. First we had Cicely, Angela and maybe now it's Halle. Whoopi even had a run in black and non-black films for awhile. |
Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 233
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, April 10, 2004 - 02:32 pm: |
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I notice most of the people bad-mouthing Halle are men. I think she'll do just fine as the lead in "Their Eyes Were Watching God." And, in order to appeal to a broad audience, it's very possible she will speak in a Southern accent rather than a black dialect. |
Thumper
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Thumper
Post Number: 83
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, April 10, 2004 - 05:24 pm: |
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Hello All,
Where is my ol' Grayhead when I need him?
First, I'm thrilled that Their Eyes Were Watching God is being made into a movie. I'm less than thrilled that Halle and Oprah is doing it. After what Oprah and her company did to The Wedding, she need not EVER make another movie based on a black book ever again in life, which was another Halle and Oprah collabration by the way. By miscasting The Wedding, the basis for the movie and the story was destroyed.
Second, I believe Halle has the acting chops to pull of Janie. She did a wonderful job as Dorothy Dandridge, and contrary to most of the opinions expressed on the board, I think she did a wonderful job in Monster's Ball. I will admit that the movie didn't make a lot of sense to me, especially that ending. I have seen worse. Lets face it, Halle is too old for the part. The book opens with Janie as a teenager and it ends with her in her early 30s, if I'm not mistaken. While Halle is still da bomb, 40 can't go into 16 or 18 years of age in nobody's math. Do they plan to film Janie's early years with vaseline and cheesecloth over the lens ala Doris Day, or what?
I love that book so much, I would hate to see it ruined. I know I'm in the minority, but I feel that the movie Beloved was very well done and stayed true to the novel. If the writing and directing stays true to the novel, I may give it a pass. But, I simply don't have the faith in Oprah to believe that she can pull it off. The book is perfect for a movie, though, if the writer and director knows what their doing. it should have been filmed for the big screen though. I can't see the hurricane being filmed properly or having the same impact on a TV screen, as it does in my imagination. The book may have been better left alone. And why don't Oprah film one of those white books that she loves so much? How can books that are so unworthy to be chosen for her book club be made into movies by her? Is that a contradiction or what? |
Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 236
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, April 10, 2004 - 06:28 pm: |
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Halle's skin is perfectly smooth and wrinkle-free. Plus, she has a "cute" innocent face. Without make-up, I think she could play a 17-year-old. BTW, I haven't seen the movie "Gothicka", but in the previews, Halle looked like she was doing some serious emoting. |
Thumper
AALBC .com Platinum Poster
Username: Thumper
Post Number: 87
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, April 10, 2004 - 06:37 pm: |
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Hello All,
Cynique: Halle looks her age and there is nothing wrong with a person looking their own age. But her age ain't 17, not walking or riding, now awake or asleep. She is who she is.
BTW, from the folks I know who seen Gothicka, they felt it was a really good movie. I can't wait to see it myself. I know when I went to buy the DVD, it had sold out of all the Wal Marts I went to, 4. |
Lambd
Veteran Poster
Username: Lambd
Post Number: 66
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Sunday, April 11, 2004 - 05:25 pm: |
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I saw Gothicka. It was a good movie and Halle was good in that part.
Thumper: I think the reason why Oprah does what she does with the black screenplays is to provide some opportunities that may not otherwise exist for blacks in the industry. Not only the actors but down the line to the grips and assistant grips and cameramen. Its a good thing that she does, even if she doesn't do such a great job. I think that she should continue trying. She has the means to do it so why not. She may get better at it as time goes on and learn from her mistakes. I'm going to support her and Halle, even though I don't think they are the best duo for the job. They are two black producers that are producing a way for our people in the entertainment industry. Let's wish them well and see if they do better this time. |
Akaivyleaf
Regular Poster
Username: Akaivyleaf
Post Number: 27
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 12, 2004 - 10:29 am: |
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Thumper I agree with your mention of Oprah bringing black books to the screen and not to her reading audience. I can't help but wonder if she is saying that we don't read and our attention spans are so short that we have to see a movie rather than read the book? Her book shows get more press than her movies. Every book she recommends heads to number one on the bestseller lists. They sell millions of copies and her audience of women (and men) who wait patiently for her next gold stamp, is continually growing. It is just not the same with her movies.
I am happy that she is doing "something" she is putting her money where her moouth is by promoting AA works. I would just prefer that she tap into her following by putting the book out there first. What is wrong with suggesting Their Eyes as her reading choice and then announcing that she's producing the movie after she's had her book club meeting on it?
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Lambd
Veteran Poster
Username: Lambd
Post Number: 68
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 12, 2004 - 12:17 pm: |
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I wonder who developed the screenplay for the movie. Maybe the story didn't grab her until after she read the screenplay. I'm not taking Oprah's side or knocking her. I'm just glad she is doing what she is doing. It seems that people are always saying that once someone makes it they never give back. Well, in this case, this is one of the ways she gives back, but I guess it isn't enough for everybody. |
Kc_trudiva
Newbie Poster
Username: Kc_trudiva
Post Number: 4
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 12, 2004 - 12:40 pm: |
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when it's mentioned that a movie is an adaptation of a book, doesn't that in a way compel an avid reader to want to read the book? that's if it hasn't already been read. me, personally, i always prefer the book to the movie; it gives more depth. just a thought.
akaivyleaf, thumper: i agree with your thinking it's a contradiction of sorts. let them get paid with book sales when the movie flops (e.g. beloved). |
Abm
Regular Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 47
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 12, 2004 - 12:58 pm: |
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I agree it’s better that SOMEONE has chosen to honor Thurston’s work. And I wish Oprah/Halle well. I hope they to succeed. But their track records, sadly, suggest otherwise. The only hope for this project to succeed is for Oprah to "check her ego at the door" (Quincy Jones) and leave the actual production duties to people who KNOW what they are doing. But Oprah is so ‘omnipotent’ these days, she might try to DIRECT the dang thing.
This ain’t a gender/sex thing (Cynique & YUKIO). We all know Berry is, at best, a middling actress. It ain’t even worth arguing about. I don’t know, there are certain actors, who never appear to be authentic, no matter what they do. Halle seems to be is one of those people.
But really, it ain’t even no need to sweat the criticism. Because Berry’s mediocrity certainly isn’t unique. (Tom Cruise’s next great acting job will be his first one.) Besides, everybody knows Hollywood stardom is at best 10% talent and 90% luck, grit, and whom you’ve screwed, stepped on & friends with.
I thought Gothika was an interesting movie...or at least an interesting concept. But I was not especially taken by Halle’s acting. It was the movies macabre storyline, not the Berry’s performance, that carried the movie. (And, REALLY. Halle Berry has a Oscar but Gothika co-stars Robert Downey Jr. and Charles S. Dutton do not? COME ON! Downey has forgotten [perhaps due to drugs] more about acting than Berry would be blessed to learned.)
Halle is STILL trying to surpass her cameo performance as the crack-addicted girlfriend of Sam L. Jackson’s character in Spike Lee’s Jungle Fever.
And again, I ask the question: Where's the market for this project? Because I don’t remember the last time a period piece about southern African American life earn much dough at the box office. Even Black moviegoers seem hardly interested in such. |
Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 239
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 12, 2004 - 01:17 pm: |
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If I'm not mistaken, "Their Eyes Were Watching God" will be a-made-for-TV movie. And it's not like it's going to be some great monumental epic. It's a simple story about simple folk who by the end of the book had learned some simple truths. I, for one, am willing to give both Halle and Oprah the benefit of the doubt. |
Kc_trudiva
Newbie Poster
Username: Kc_trudiva
Post Number: 6
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 12, 2004 - 01:46 pm: |
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how will they pull off the eatonville dialect? with subtitles? i had trouble reading it, so hearing it, i'm sure, will be comparable to listening to a jamaican speak their native patois...
props to oprah, halle and whomever gets a piece of the pie. i ain't mad at any of them. but like abm expressed, black movie goers are hardly interested in seeing southern AA life on film? perhaps if they added snoop dogg as tea cake? ahaha. just kidding. but it's a thought especially since he's been getting quite a few acting roles. and that's another story in itself.
ess |
Akaivyleaf
Regular Poster
Username: Akaivyleaf
Post Number: 28
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 12, 2004 - 01:56 pm: |
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Made for TV (or made for cable TV) is a whole lot different than the silver screen. In which case, why bother with doing it at all? What does it promote and what audience is it targeting? Unless your lucky enough to have a neilson rating box sitting atop your TV, this is doomed from the beginning. I would rather encourage people to read the book.
Speaking of made for TV/Cable did anyone see Redemption last night? The story of Stanley Williams, founder of the Crypts gang? Care to disuss I can start a separate thread. |
Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 242
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 12, 2004 - 02:01 pm: |
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Kc-trudiva, I'm inclined to think that the characters, rather than using dialect, will probably just speak in a southern drawl for the very reasons that you stated. |
Cynique
"Cyniquian" Level Poster
Username: Cynique
Post Number: 243
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 12, 2004 - 02:13 pm: |
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Apparently Oprah's production company is in the business of making movies specifically for the small screen, Akaivyleaf. And what they select for such projects are features like "Their Eyes Were Watching God" because these are movies that wouldn't turn a profit on the big screen. I'm not one to run to Oprah's defense but I a little taken aback that people would have such a problem with her making a movie out of Zora's book. |
Akaivyleaf
Regular Poster
Username: Akaivyleaf
Post Number: 31
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 12, 2004 - 02:22 pm: |
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I guess I'm such a fan of the book that I don't want to see it ruined and Oprah's track record isn't that good. I would much rather see her put her stamp on the book in her book club but that's my personal opinion.
Nothing against what she's tried to accomplish because I've seen everything she's produced but none of them get the acclaim her seal of approval lends toward books. |
Lambd
Veteran Poster
Username: Lambd
Post Number: 69
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 12, 2004 - 03:32 pm: |
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I doubt seriously if the movie will be that great, even though I will give them a chance and watch it any way. However, ruin the book? Not likely. A good book is going to be a good book, regardless of how many bad movies are adapted from it's screenplays. Besides, who cares how many people watch the movie. It aint gonna hurt Oprah none. And it damn sure aint gonna hurt the people that work on it. Like I said before, jobs for AA's in the industry are few and far between. I'm sure the caterer's and stage hands that get paid for working will not only be grateful, but will want to be called back for the next AA project. There is a certain amount of pride that goes into making a film, and I'm sure filmmakers want to do well and turn out quality works. However, good or bad, they are putting our brothers and sisters to work. |
Abm
Veteran Poster
Username: Abm
Post Number: 53
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 12, 2004 - 04:14 pm: |
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Akaivyleaf,
I share your concerns. But I’m sure Eye’s will survive whatever mistakes Oprah/Halle make.
Lambd,
You are ASSUMING that Black folks are primarily the ones who will get those jobs. Well, I have been behind the scenes at Harpo (and have even met Oprah). And, I’m telling you, if Oprah staffs her movie set like she does that of her TV show, you might be disappointed by the racial make-up of Eye’s production crew.
And if you are a STRAIGHT Black male...you can fergitaboutit! |
Lambd
Veteran Poster
Username: Lambd
Post Number: 70
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, April 12, 2004 - 07:46 pm: |
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Damn, thats deep! Can anyone else 'Harp' in? I hope Abm is pulling my leg. This can't be true. And it sho aint what I heard. If you are right, Abm, then I guess I gotta come up with a new name for the patron saint of negrotainment. I sho may a made a ass-out-u-and-me! Somebody stand up for Oprah and say it taint so! Abm, the fat lady aint sang yet! |
Mike_e
Newbie Poster
Username: Mike_e
Post Number: 8
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 15, 2004 - 11:55 am: |
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Blkmalereading:the production was on PBS American Playhouse series & was written by Ruby Dee. It was a teleplay of her off-Broadway show Zora Is My Name. It was adapted from her autobiography Dust Tracks On A Road and Of Mules and Men. It featured a pretty good cast-Lou Gossett, Flip Wilson, Lynn Whitfield, Roger Mosley, Beah Richards and others.
Suzan-Lori Parks is doing the script for Their Eyes Were Watching God. I was not impressed by The Wedding and have no high hopes for this adaptation. |
Kc_trudiva
Newbie Poster
Username: Kc_trudiva
Post Number: 18
Registered: 04-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 15, 2004 - 12:01 pm: |
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Suzan-Lori Parks doing a script for Their Eyes...? now that should be interesting. i think she would have a better chance of pulling it off than Oprah. especially after reading Getting Mother's Body and seeing her broadway play Topdog Underdog.
ess |
Akaivyleaf
Regular Poster
Username: Akaivyleaf
Post Number: 45
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 15, 2004 - 01:44 pm: |
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I think that Suzan-Lori Parks could do an effective job of writing the screen play as that is her background. The whole time I was reading Getting Mother's Body I envisioned silent movies or a stage Vaudeville type play. That is her thing! |
Bookgirl
Veteran Poster
Username: Bookgirl
Post Number: 67
Registered: 01-2004
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 15, 2004 - 08:43 pm: |
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I too was impressed with her Broadway play Topdog Underdog. She's a talented lady. Maybe this won't be so far a stretch after all.
But I do agree that it should garner more interest in Zora's work and that is a good thing.
Reading Zora Neale Hurston as a teenager (which is when I discovered her) was always a hard read for me. Later; I understood better the dialogue; as well as what she was trying to project. |
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