(TV) "CBGB" / It would take Masterpiece Theater

[leif joley <leifjoley@hotmail.com>]

> I am a member of the school of thought that the upcoming CBGB movie will be
> a total fiasco; with that many characters and only 100-120 minutes there's
> no way they could do CBGBs or any of its characters justice.  To do any
kind
> of a good (and interesting) treatment would require something like a 10
> episode Masterpiece Theater (PBS) deal with each Episode 2 hours.

Who could argue against this mature and insightful claim from Leo Casey? I
believe that what we could hope for is an interesting depiction of an era of
cultural importance. As the lead character is played by the truly great Alan
Rickman, don't count out the possibility that this will be *really*
entertaining. Liberties will be taken, as every film with a source other than
an original screenplay will. If there are a Verlaine and a Hell in the film,
at least Television will not be robbed of their significance to the founding
of CBGB's. Then we must admit that although they were instrumental in said
founding, and "Marquee Moon" later was a work of pure genius, they were not
the only ones that made the club matter, and today, they're less remembered
than many of the other acts that could be associated with CBGB's. Perhaps
that's only fair.

What could speak in favour of the project is that the director, Randall
Miller, until now unknown to me, may have a sincere interest in the subject.
This fellow's next film is reported to be another biopic, starring Aaron
Eckhart as Dennis Wilson. Say what you will about the Beach Boys, but a film
about this particular musician doesn't seem to have a broad appeal (and
Oscar-material weight) like the ones about Johnny Cash or Ray Charles.

In one of the articles I've read about "CBGB", I noticed that there's a clause
in some contract somewhere that states that when this flick is released, other
filmmakers are prevented to make another movie on the same theme for seven
years. So if Miller screws this up, it'll not be until 2020 that some other
director can get the story about Kristal and the club right.

Leif J, Sweden
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