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Guillermo del Toro Gets Charlie Kaufman to Pen 'Slaughterhouse Five'
by Ethan Anderton
July 8, 2013
Guillermo del Toro is one of those filmmakers who always has his hand in dozens of projects, and we're never sure which of them are going to end up getting off the ground. The most certain projects right now in del Toro's immediate future (along with the release of Pacific Rim this Friday) include FX's TV series adaptation of his vampire novel series that started with "The Strain" and also his new gothic horror film Crimson Peak. However, one other long gestating project might be on the verge of making some major progress and that's his adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's original story Slaughterhouse Five. More below!
The novel is told in first-person from the POV of Billy Pilgrim, who becomes 'unstuck in time' and experiences the events of his life in a seemingly random order, including a period spent on the alien planet of Tralfamadore… [and] his experiences during World War II." It's a passion project for del Toro who recently talked with The Daily Telegraph print edition (via The Playlist) saying, "I love the idea of the Trafalmadorians [the aliens of 'Slaughterhouse-Five'] -- to be 'unstuck in time,' where everything is happening at the same time. And that's what I want to do." The filmmaker has said this would be a more literal translation of the book than some might expect, and it sounds like he has the perfect screenrwriter in mind for this odd story.
At this time, the only thing holding the project back seems to be del Toro's schedule. He says, "The studio will make it when it”s my next movie, but how can I commit to it being my next movie until there's a screenplay? Charlie Kaufman is a very expensive writer!" Wait, what? The writer behind such films as Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is the one adapting Slaughterhouse-Five for Guillermo del Toro? This project needs to be done now! Del Toro doesn't seem to worried about getting it on schedule at some point saying, "I'll work it out." For everyone's sake, I hope that this project ends up coming together soon.
4 Comments
1
The novel's not first person or from the point of view of Billy Pilgrim.
Billy Pilgrim on Jul 8, 2013
2
Yikes.
Xerxexx on Jul 8, 2013
3
I actually enjoyed the novel and the film (the novel more). Be interesting to see how Kaufman adapts it.
Quanah on Jul 8, 2013
4
One of the greatest literary works of the 20th century, though it's definitely not what you would call 1st-person. Incidentally, I've always thought Eternal Sunshine reminded me of Slaughterhouse sans WWII - Kaufman is the perfect, indeed the only, writer for this project.
Wafffles on Jul 8, 2013
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