Big-screen basics

In celebration of ‘The Rum Diary,’ here’s the inside scoop on six upcoming flicks adapted from American must-read novels

Friday, October 28, 2011

  • Image
The Rum Diary
Release date:
 Today
Starring: Johnny Depp, Aaron Eckhart,
Amber Heard

Based on the novel by Hunter S. Thompson, “The Rum Diary” loosely chronicles the author’s own experiences as a “vagrant journalist” working for an English-language newspaper in Puerto Rico. Originally written in the 1960s, “The Rum Diary” wasn’t published until 1998, when Thompson revisited the tale and deemed it “a good story.” 
SOURCE: charlierose.com

Dr. Seuss' The Lorax
Release date: March 2, 2012
Starring: Zac Efron, Danny DeVito, 
Betty White, Taylor Swift

In the 3-D Hollywood remake of Theodor Seuss Geisel’s 1971 kids book, Ted (Efron) searches for the Lorax to impress his dream girl (Swift). As the grumpy, tree-hugging, forest creature, DeVito brings “sharp humor, enormous heart and deep conscience” to the role, said Universal’s Chris Meledandri. That, and an uncanny resemblance. 
SOURCE: comingsoon.net

The Great Gatsby
Release date:
 Dec. 25, 2012
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, 
Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Gatsby” has been tackled before, but filmmaker Baz Luhrmann (“Australia,” “Moulin Rouge”) brings unprecedented sparkle to the project by commissioning Tiffany & Co. to furnish Mulligan’s frosting. “Our archives contain spectacular jewels from the 1920s,” said Tiffany’s Jon King. “This collaboration is a natural for us.”
SOURCES: theaustralian.comwwd.com

On the Road
Release date: To be determined, 2012
Starring: Garrett Hedlund, Sam Riley,
Kirsten Stewart, Kirsten Dunst

Jack Kerouac’s beat generation tale of two friends’ freewheeling adventure across America endured its own winding road to the silver screen. Though Kerouac originally envisioned Marlon Brando in the role of Dean Moriarty, Garrett Hedlund of “Country Strong” will be the first to portray the achingly handsome, chronically selfish, rebel.
SOURCE: latimesblogs.latimes.com

The Bell Jar

Release date: To be determined, 2012
Starring: Julia Stiles, Rose McGowan,
Virginia Madsen

Get this: In the opening scene of 1999’s “10 Things I Hate About You,” Stiles reads Sylvia Plath’s “The Bell Jar” in a not-so-subtle allusion to her character’s feminist tilt. Years later, the actress pursues the book’s rights in order to play Esther Greenwood, an editor suffering from depression, in the forthcoming remake.
SOURCE: sylviaplathinfo.blogspot.com

Fahrenheit 451
Release date: To be determined, 2012

“The Shawshank Redemption” director Frank Darabont remains committed to adapting Ray Bradbury’s 1953 novel about a book-burning America. “I am still trying, hoping, praying to get [it] made,” he said. “That’s the great love of my life.” And with Tom Sizemore supposedly attached, perhaps the flick will rehab his career.
SOURCE: youtube.com