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In Provence Juliet reads F.
Scott Fitzgerald’s short story, The Curious Case Of
Benjamin Button. Originally she was supposed to read
The Portrait of Dorian Gray, which I had read while
drafting the scenario for 80 Days. That was until I
had just completed 34 of the book’s 70 pages and a friend
sent me an article from Variety magazine. David Fincher,
director of Seven, was preparing to adapt The
Curious Case Of Benjamin Button. Fitzgerald's short
story is about of a guy who is born old and just keeps
getting younger.
He meets a young 30 year-old woman when he is 50, moves in
with her and of course continues to grow younger as she
ages. Essential difference: in the short story the character
is born old and grows younger in real time. He has the body
of an old man but lacks his life experience. In Fincher’s
film which was scheduled for 2006 (like 80 Days),
Brad Pitt was to play the role of the man and Cate Blanchett,
the young woman. A real Hollywood blockbuster which was
going to crush anything similar in its path and make us look
like a couple of unoriginal copycats! So not to be defeated,
I immediately went looking for Fitzgerald’s 20th century
piece on the internet and read it. With great relief I
realised that while there are many overlaps, our stories are
very different. Fortunately for us graphic novelists,
Fincher’s project looks like it will get of the ground in
2007, one year after 80 Days is released.
By the way, Juliet enjoyed The Curious Case Of Benjamin
Button and if you’re reading, David, Cate or Brad, you
can email us anytime... |
nicolasvadot.com
