Bukowski, directed by James Franco (2 Viewers)

So is this going to be Ham on Rye?

Strange that they would call it a bio-pic. But then maybe the idea of a novel that is based in parts in true events is harder to spin than "bio-pic"...

BIll
 
i thought nelson would make a good hank, but then i realized that franco is probably going cast himself as hank. ugh.
 
A film about Bukowski's childhood? Well, that's going to be a barrel of laughs. Kind of a This Boy's Life set in the 20s? Fun.
 
So is this going to be Ham on Rye?

Strange that they would call it a bio-pic. But then maybe the idea of a novel that is based in parts in true events is harder to spin than "bio-pic"///
Will it follow his semi-autographical book "Ham on Rye"?
No, it focuses on his childhood.

Hmm, I find the focus on the childhood interesting...
 
The miserable, suffering child film has already been made a hundred times. Bukowski wasn't Bukowski until he was 34 or 35 years old. Everything that happened before that is interesting (to us), and it made him who he was, but it's not a terribly unique or compelling story.

I guess I don't get it. But then I don't get a lot of movies (and music and books and television shows). I suppose THE ENTERTAINMENT MACHINE always needs fuel.
 
Pics from the set.
Looking a bit Hollywood-slick if you aks me...

http://www.wetpaint.com/pretty-litt...james-francos-bukowski-sexy-set-pics-photos#1

age.jpg


age2.jpg


age3.jpg
 
what the fuck would a rich hollywood pretty boy fag like james franco know about making a film on bukowski's life? he would have been one of the popular kids in the prom that bukowski was looking in at through the window, rather then the ugly outsider bukowski himself. the guy he has cast as bukowski looks nothing like hank. just another ego fuelled vanity project put together by a nepotist rich boys club. that said, at least he is showing an interest and shining a light on hanks work.
 
most of the actors were pretty boys potraying Hank, Barfly was outstanding, Factotum was ok, not that bad actually IMO, i hope this new project isn't the exception.
 
While Franco is pretty and he gets on my nerves on occasion, I don't really question his intentions. The projects he produces tend to be fringe and arty. A movie about Hart Crane as a pretty boy vanity project? Hardly. His Howl movie wasn't great, but it was interesting and he was a surprisingly convincing Ginsberg. And as un-handsome.

He may be guilty of having visions of grandeur and sees himself as the new Johnny Depp, but I'll take that over him thinking he's the new Ben Affleck. Or something. FYI, Casey Affleck is the shit.
 
what the fuck would a rich hollywood pretty boy fag like james franco know about making a film on bukowski's life? blah blah blah
In most circumstances I'd agree with you and while the finished product may end up off the mark. I'm hoping he pulls it off. It looks like that he's only directing, not acting. Also the kid playing 12 year old Buk is ugly enough to be believable.
 
that's true - if you're a fag, you obviously would know nothing about bukowski. bukowski's close friend and biographer certainly was no fag, that's for sure.
 
PD, you're missing the sarcasm. jordan is pointing out that Neeli Cherkovski (Buk's friend and biographer) is gay.
 
PhillyDave, no your not! and besides, being the bearer of the most beautiful and coolest avatar in the skool, using the Brad Pitt Paradox model (which I have studied extensively) everything else in here is just mere words.
 
"the Brad Pitt Paradox model" . Should I google that phrase? Life in general lately has clouded my mind a bit. Clarify please.
 
Hi, PD, no, just tried to give you a laugh, by saying you had the best avatar here, so it didn't really matter about being a goof ( which your not!) The Brad Pitt Thing is just a daft joke, (you probably have to be female to get it, too long to explain)
Anyway should have just went with this to make you laugh: hope you like David Brent and don't like cheesy love song videos, I can remember George Michael's probably being the worst.

 
Film should be interesting as a period piece. Franco is not untalented, though his renaissance man schtick rings a bit hollow. Thing that makes me believe is his casting TB Nelson as Senior. Great choice. If he can only score Mullinax to play Baldy, then we're talking classic.
 
I Haven't seen Hart Crane and am not all that familiar with his work (the poets) I will check both out some time. I actually quite liked Howl, although I'm not really acquainted with the whole beatnik scene, maybe I will get into it one day but so far I don't know much about it and haven't really been drawn to it. its on the to do list. I actually discovered Bukowski through Factotum and was a huge fan of the film and Matt Dillons performance. straight after I started reading the novels, the poetry, listening to the readings etc and tried watching the film again and it had sunk greatly from my original estimation. its still a great film but only really captures one or two elements of Bukowski so i was pretty disappointed. I think playing him is an incredibly complex task for any actor. as for calling franco a fag, where I come from it isn't a comment on homosexuality more someones personality. what I mean is James Franco doesn't scream bukowski to me on any level. he just comes across to me as a hipster beatnik wannabe with the money to buy the righs for ham on rye and the ego to believe he's the man to pull it off. He's just another pretentious rich kid who read and begs bukowski. he doesn't seem to have a lead a very painful existence but looks can be deceiving. he certainly understands success and popularity as a result of being good looking, which is the opposite of bukowski's experience. does he have the soul to bring buk's writing to life? I guess we'll find out. I have no idea wether he is a homosexual or not and I don't really care but he still strikes me as a fag, regardless of his sexuality. I think his intentions are good and he does have alot more artistic drive and integrity then most of the hollywood circles he probably mixes in and the film industry in general. I think he's a fairly good actor and seems an alright guy. it probably will be a decent flick. I'm just not sold on any of his decisions so far. but what I think doesn't really mean shit. I hope its good, without getting my hopes up. I'm expecting another one sided take on bukowski's persona. but we shall see, maybe this will succeed where others have failed. that said would anyone recommend barfly as worth watching? i heard mixed reviews but I'm def gonna check it out
 
Agreed. Also like this; mostly for the occasions when Bukowski is seen and heard, apologies for the Sesame Street style over commentary (well her voice reminded me of Sesame St)
 
I agree with mjp: The miserable, suffering child film has already been made a hundred times.

But I'm still wishing for the best, if for no other reason than it draws some attention back to Buk and book sales/prices begin to rise again.
 
So is this going to be Ham on Rye?

Strange that they would call it a bio-pic. But then maybe the idea of a novel that is based in parts in true events is harder to spin than "bio-pic"
Apparently, the film is being sourced not from Ham on Rye, but from an 'undisclosed biography' ...?

And Franco is currently filming his Charles Bukowski biopic, which he stresses is not based on the poet-writer’s thinly veiled autobiographical novel Ham on Rye, but is similarly concerned with Bukowski’s bleak Los Angeles boyhood, using an undisclosed biography as source material. Picking up on other favorite Franco themes of isolation and abuse, Bukowski’s upbringing was riddled with bullying from his classmates and beatings from his father, but Franco insists he will cleave to the wry, funny tone with which Bukowski tells his own sad stories. “The thing about Bukowski is that, as hard as his life was when he was a child and adult, it all turned into work, work that is harsh but humorous,” wrote Franco in his occasional rambling blog for Huffington Post. “He always casts himself as the loser, but in the end he is the winner because he turns his losses into art.”
(article from may 17th)
 
Wherever it's from, it isn't likely to be some unpublished thing we've never heard of. Nothing in the works that I know of that goes into Bukowski's childhood, so undisclosed is just a red herring. Or they made an agreement that doesn't allow the filmmaker to cite the source. It happens.
 
As you once wrote he didn't become Bukowski until he was 35. So unless you care about who he became, this film could be seen as a generic depression era tale of a shitty childhood. That being the case they can pull from many sources that are not Buk-centric.
Would the Motorcycle Diaries have been as interesting if the kid doesn't become Evel Knievel?
 
Wherever it's from, it isn't likely to be some unpublished thing we've never heard of. Nothing in the works that I know of that goes into Bukowski's childhood, so undisclosed is just a red herring. Or they made an agreement that doesn't allow the filmmaker to cite the source. It happens.
I agree with you, MJP; besides, Bukowski's childhood has been very well covered in his own works, not to mention the various biographies (which, in large part, culled their information from his own writings). Whether this film will fly or fail will depend upon the perspective, talent, and skill of the screenwriter, director, cast, and crew.
 
OMG! And I was so much hoping for a good movie.

Here's my one cent:
'HAM' is an excelent novel and well worth to be picturized.
While the number of pages that Sounes devoted to the same time that's covered by the novel is 12!
Trivial TWELVE PAGES will make the basis for a whole movie?!
 
Why would anyone want collection prices to go up?????
Then again was Basketball Diaries wasn't more than 12 pages long too-after that movie Carroll was making Ginsberg money-so there is hope.
HOR is an excellent novel. Thats enough for me. Watching someone else adapt alter embellish interpret those words may be entertaining but it will always fall short....It's like Tom Waits reading Bukowski-sure it may be cool but give me Buk reading Buk or Buk writing about Buk
 

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