Would any of Douglas Coupland's novels make good movies?

[BrainGlutton]

Coupland is one of my favorite (mainstream-literary) writers. I've never seen a screen adaption of any of his novels. Do you think they would work, or are they too talky and highbrow? JPod, I think, has some scenes that would be funny on-screen.

[Hodge]

Speak of the devil . . . jPod.

2 episodes have already been broadcast and, apparently, it's getting decent reviews. I've recorded them but haven't had a chance to watch yet. I'll probably get around to it this weekend.

[JSexton]

Microserfs would be terrific, I think. Might not be topical enough anymore, though.

[JSexton]

And now that I follow the link, I see the jPod is essentially an updated Microserfs. Awesome.

[drm]

My favorite book of his is Hey Nostradamus! and I've been toying with the idea of trying to get the rights so I can take a crack at the screenplay (I really have no idea as to the status of the rights).

When I read the story I could see the movie in my head. There is some really great drama in there...

[chorpler]

Slight hijack, but I keep seeing Coupland's books at bookstores and the like (particularly jPod) and I've been wondering if I should try him out and see if his books are good. I wonder if they're available as unabridged audiobooks.

BrainGlutton, since you're the OP and I generally greatly respect your opinions, what do you like about his books?

[BrainGlutton]

Originally Posted by chorpler

BrainGlutton, since you're the OP and I generally greatly respect your opinions, what do you like about his books?

Well, I really, really grooved on Generation X -- it seemed to speak to me at that time in my life, and I'm one of that generational cohort -- so I just got into him. Every one of his books is funny (a bit overwrought at times the way he ostentatiously piles one cultural meme on another, but funny) and real and occasionally profound, even poetic. And his characters! Even the self-consciously shallow consumerist Tyler in Shampoo Planet is a guy to whom you can really relate, really understand.

[BrainGlutton]

Originally Posted by Hodge

Speak of the devil . . . jPod.

2 episodes have already been broadcast and, apparently, it's getting decent reviews. I've recorded them but haven't had a chance to watch yet. I'll probably get around to it this weekend.

CBC? Afraid I don't get it here. Anyway, I was asking about projects in the real world.

::d&r::

[araminty]

I think Miss Wyoming would make a great movie. It's got everything - fame, fortune, falls from grace, beautiful stars, Hollywood insiders...

[Shamozzle]

I'll revive this corpse, I hope nobody minds.

I just watched the first episode of jPod and you know what? It's actually pretty good. I didn't have high hopes as I read the book and my reaction was mediocre.

A real surprise is Alan Thicke. He is awesome in this, if you can believe. It's almost like he takes the whole thing as a big joke and he's just running with it. Pretty funny stuff.

If you are a Coupland fan, see if you can get your mitts on this.

[Shamozzle]

Oh for f**k sakes, I just read that it got canceled. That is weak.

Ok, nothing to see here, folks, Carry on.

[BurnMeUp]

jPod was ok, but the whole inserting himself into the story thing just rubbed me the wrong way for some reason. The literary version of breaking the 4th wall. I suppose some might say it was meant to be some sort of satire but I found that bit of the book and the mentions of "man it's like we're in a Douglas Coupland book" to just be tedious and irritating rather than funny.

I like a lot of his stuff but certain works of his just completely turn me off. Postcards from the Dead for example.

Related to the topic I almost think Girlfriend in a Coma could work as a movie (with a built in soundtrack). or the afrementioned Hey Nostradamus!

[Sampiro]

Originally Posted by BurnMeUp

jPod was ok, but the whole inserting himself into the story thing just rubbed me the wrong way for some reason.

I agree. It worked for Kurt Vonnegut in Breakfast of Champions, but it just doesn't work for most; sort of like how watching Tim Conway & Harvey Korman lose it during a Carol Burnett Show sketch is funnier than the sketch but when Jimmy Fallon and Horatio Sanz cracked up it seemed unprofessional.


Unrelated, my favorite part of Generation X was the definitions (veal fattening pen, extreme short term nostalgia, etc.). I'm not sure how you could work those in to a movie without it seeming too contrived or self conscious.

[BrainGlutton]

Originally Posted by BurnMeUp

Related to the topic I almost think Girlfriend in a Coma could work as a movie (with a built in soundtrack). or the afrementioned Hey Nostradamus!

Haven't read Hey, Nostradamus! yet. I don't think Girlfriend in a Coma would adapt well to the screen -- too magical-realist, and the denouement just isn't very, well, visual. Or cinematic. You know what I mean. Too talking-headsy.

Another vote for a Miss Wyoming film. The plotline is tight enough to work as a script, the dream sequences are easily filmable.

Still hoping to see a Generation X film one of these days, even though it would be a much greater challenge to film.

[BrainGlutton]

Originally Posted by Sampiro

Unrelated, my favorite part of Generation X was the definitions (veal fattening pen, extreme short term nostalgia, etc.). I'm not sure how you could work those in to a movie without it seeming too contrived or self conscious.

My second-favorite part was all those cool little stories, some true-within-the-book, some imaginary, that the main characters tell each other, or themselves, but are unrelated to the main plot insofar as there is one. But working those in would be an even greater challenge.

[Sampiro]

Originally Posted by BrainGlutton

My second-favorite part was all those cool little stories, some true-within-the-book, some imaginary, that the main characters tell each other, or themselves, but are unrelated to the main plot insofar as there is one. But working those in would be an even greater challenge.

What's the name of the 1970s suburban asteroid? Texlahoma or something like that- one of the best parts of the book.

[Zjestika]

Originally Posted by BurnMeUp

jPod was ok, but the whole inserting himself into the story thing just rubbed me the wrong way for some reason. The literary version of breaking the 4th wall. I suppose some might say it was meant to be some sort of satire but I found that bit of the book and the mentions of "man it's like we're in a Douglas Coupland book" to just be tedious and irritating rather than funny.

I think that was the first line, and the last I read in that book. You have to work up to that kind of thing, y'know?

As a teenager I loved Microserfs and my brother and I had long discussions about who would be in it if it were made into a movie. Ultimately we decided that we would not be satisfied with anyone; we felt we "knew" the characters too well to see them as anyone but what we saw in our heads. I reread the book a few years ago and found it irritating, though. Coupland is an author for a certain time in one's life, I believe.