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'Lovely Bones' Shuts Down Over Creative Afterlife Differences
Posted by Seth at 9:15 AM on May 2, 2008
It was Ryan Gosling who was originally blamed for being the temperamental artiste gumming up the works on the set of Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones, but recent mumblings suggest it is the exacting director who is proving to be his own worst enemy: Production has reportedly temporarily shut down as Jackson battles with his art director over how to best depict the movie's version of Heaven. On top of that, Susan Sarandon has grumbled on the Speed Racer red carpet about how she was instructed to play her character. From Flicks.co.nz:
There's trouble in paradise. Our spies have reported that Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones has ceased filming due to a rift between the big man and his art director over the best way to depict Heaven. [...]
The Wellington crew are having a break while the creative differences are sorted.Meanwhile, at the Speed Racer premiere in London, Empire reports that Bones cast member Susan Sarandon has expressed dissatisfaction with her character. "I play the comic relief, an alcoholic grandmother - my first grandma - but she doesn't really seem like a real grandmother because she has a lot of hair and jewellery and nails and liquor. I don't think I ever talk without a cigarette and a drink in my hand."
"Peter Jackson is really a nice guy and very interesting. It was really a very different way of working. We had a good time, I'm really curious to see what it's like because he kept pushing me to be more and more extreme and sometimes that's when you make your big mistakes so I'm not sure how it will come off - it will be interesting to see it from the point of view of the audience."
Portraying Heaven on screen is a far dicier proposition than, say, the Fires of Mordor—all those feathers, fluff, and pearly gates threaten to tip your vision too easily into the Realm of the Cheesy Afterlife. (Just ask the guy who thought sticking Robin Williams in a Monet painting in What Dreams May Come was a good idea.) Still, we have high hopes for any Jackson film, and we only pray he doesn't use this production to indulge his more volatile creative instincts, pushing a tray of painstainkingly hand-sculpted femurs and ulnas into his prop master's face, screaming, "These bones aren't nearly lovely enough!" before storming off to his trailer.
- Scoop! Lovely Bones Hits A Snag [flicks.co.nz via slashfilm.com]
- Speed Racer Premiere Report [Empire Online]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
Benny
Posted 5:34 AM 2/5/08
I got a lovely bone.
..I'm so sorry guys.
Benny
OldTowneTavern
Posted 5:29 AM 2/5/08
@pureblarney: Her?
OldTowneTavern
OldTowneTavern
Posted 5:28 AM 2/5/08
Well, production issues aside, Peter Jackson is really slimming down. It seems the worse things get, the better he looks. Maybe, if the entire set catches fire, he'll end up on People's Sexiest Man Alive.
OldTowneTavern
pureblarney
Posted 5:27 AM 2/5/08
But she doesn't really seem like a real grandmother because she has a lot of hair and jewellery and nails and liquor.
This woman has clearly never seen an episode of Arrested Development.
pureblarney
FancyInk
Posted 5:15 AM 2/5/08
How soon we all forget Jackson's moving portrayal of heaven in "The Frighteners."
FancyInk
La Cieca
Posted 5:14 AM 2/5/08
"If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?"
"Hello, darlin'! I sure bet you didn't expect me to look just like Susan Sarandon with a lot of hair and jewellery and nails and liquor!"
La Cieca
PaisleyPajamas
Posted 5:03 AM 2/5/08
...I play the comic relief, an alcoholic grandmother - my first grandma...
I'm crying with you, Susan Sarandon.
PaisleyPajamas
Sweet Panda Love
Posted 4:58 AM 2/5/08
Maybe it was the tone of her voice, but Sarandon doesn't sound dissatisfied - she just sounds like she's accurately describing the character as written in the book.
That being said, I always thought this was a bizarro choice for Jackson, but he did such a fine job with "Heavenly Creatures" that I'm looking forward to seeing this, Gosling or no.
Sweet Panda Love
CourageousCoward
Posted 4:57 AM 2/5/08
"she doesn't really seem like a real grandmother because she has a lot of hair and jewellery (sic) and nails and liquor" - Well, Susan, maybe not where you come from. (See Spears, Lynne)
CourageousCoward
Sleepyhead
Posted 6:07 AM 2/5/08
@OldTowneTavern: STEVE HOLT!
Sleepyhead
PaisleyPajamas
Posted 6:06 AM 2/5/08
@juniperjenny: Nope, you are not the only one. I thought the first couple of chapters must have been the ones that hooked the lit agent, and the rest was done on a weekend bender of Ben & Jerry's and vodka. I thought it fell off the cliff after leading its lemming-like readers to it.
PaisleyPajamas
juniperjenny
Posted 5:57 AM 2/5/08
Am I the only person who thought "The Lovely Bones" was exactly like one of those trashy Christopher Pike books I used to read in middle school? Meaning not very good except for the creepy factor. Plus emotionally manipulative rather than moving. I'm a bad person. I'll shut up now.
juniperjenny
britneyspearstears
Posted 6:51 AM 2/5/08
@Sleepyhead: Nailed it!
britneyspearstears
SanFranBetsu
Posted 6:48 AM 2/5/08
This book was sentimental and contrived and lacks any satisfaction of closure. Why this book Peter?
SanFranBetsu
Benovite
Posted 6:48 AM 2/5/08
@nick_r: That's what I was wondering too. It's pretty "this movie doesn't seem like it'll translate to the big screen afterall" fishy.
Benovite
WGARefugee
Posted 6:43 AM 2/5/08
@PaisleyPajamas: I agree totally. I couldn't finish it. Opposite of my experience with The Time Traveler's Wife which I am so hoping Plan B does a great job with.
WGARefugee
Sweet Panda Love
Posted 6:40 AM 2/5/08
@Sleepyhead: *slow wink*
Sweet Panda Love
nick_r
Posted 6:35 AM 2/5/08
Shut down over creative differences with the art director?
We're talking about Peter freaking Jackson here. If God showed up on the set and disagreed with him, he could fire God. Why is the art director a problem?
nick_r
nick_r
Posted 7:02 AM 2/5/08
@britneyspearstears: ...I'll either tell him there's a cabin and take him, or tell him there's a cabin and then not take him. But the one thing I will NEVER do is not tell him there's a cabin and not take him!
nick_r
whitekidinflatbush
Posted 7:54 AM 2/5/08
@juniperjenny: Whisper of Death is still the most depressing book I have ever read. It was so existential! He died during rough foreplay in a barn! Remember Me was also pretty fucking sad.
In the book, wasn't the main characters "heaven" like a swing set outside of a high school? I can't imagine what all the fuss is about.
whitekidinflatbush
pureblarney
Posted 9:13 AM 2/5/08
@Sleepyhead: MR F!
pureblarney
Sleepyhead
Posted 8:48 AM 2/5/08
@nick_r: Has anyone in this family ever even seen a chicken?
Sleepyhead
nick_r
Posted 9:50 AM 2/5/08
@Sleepyhead: I shot my wad prematurely on what was supposed to be a dry run, and now I have a bit of a mess on my hands.
nick_r
moochia
Posted 11:20 AM 2/5/08
@juniperjenny: I'm with you! It has to be one of the most overrated books I've ever been suckered into reading.
You know there's something wrong when you start wanting to know more about what's happening with the antagonist. Half way through, I was all, "Hey! Can we get back to the rapist's story line?"
moochia
MrRewrite
Posted 11:41 AM 2/5/08
yep, lovely bones, got the politically-correct crowd juiced up. I mean HOW can you be against a book about a murdered girl who was raped and now tells you about it? Unless it's gratuitous drivel-crap. But of course it screamed 'film option' so off to the bookbinders!
MrRewrite
Omelas
Posted 3:31 PM 2/5/08
@nick_r: What a fun, sexy time for you!
Omelas
Little Mintz Sunshine
Posted 3:46 PM 2/5/08
"...a lot of hair and jewellery (sic) and nails and liquor. I don't think I ever talk without a cigarette and a drink in my hand."
Sounds like a slice o' heaven to me.
Little Mintz Sunshine
RubySubmarine
Posted 5:42 PM 2/5/08
@Omelas:
Excuse me, do these effectively hide my thunder?
RubySubmarine
regisgoat
Posted 11:04 PM 2/5/08
I wonder if the tanking of the weirdly similar The Life Before Her Eyes had anything to do with the pressure on the set? And why did the ordinarily astute Sarandon not realize her role was supposed to be Old Lucille Ball when she saw the script?
Heaven is a place where nothing ever happens, which is why it makes for bad movies...
regisgoat
nick_r
Posted 2:48 AM 3/5/08
@RubySubmarine: Tiny teddy!
nick_r