Anybody know anything about Glitteratti and the Glamorama movie? I know it's a bit early (I think the earliest release date I've heard is this summer) but I just finished reading Glamorama and am a bit curious.
La Dolce VictorSource: Jeffery Wells
Roger Avary's GLITTERATI is a kind of dramatic documentary about a European debauch enjoyed last September and October by RULES OF ATTRACTION costar Kip Pardue. Or rather, technically speaking, by Pardue's character, Victor Johnson, since Pardue stayed more or less in character during filming.
The footage was initially intended to be used for a brief episode in RULES. It became that and, for my money, is easily the single coolest portion.
Now, however, Avary has decided to expand the 70 hours of footage he captured of Pardue running around Europe and getting down with various women into a feature-length docudrama. Avary is about halfway into the editing, and is hoping to put the finished product into theatres before it goes to DVD sometime next year. I was shown two or three clips and found them ... well, a lot more than fascinating
Avary followed the 26-year-old actor around in all these cities with two video cameras -- the larger and more professional-level Sony DP 150 and a smaller Sony PC 9.
Every woman Pardue met and hooked up with signed a release obtained by producer Greg Shapiro with an understanding the footage being shot was for inclusion in a feature film. And according to Avary, they all went for it hook, line and sinker, even to the point of making out with Pardue and, to some extent (I'm not sure how explicit the footage will be in the end), having sex with him on camera.
There's a great moment, for example, inside a car in Paris when a dishy Romanian model is talking with her New York City boyfriend on her cell phone, with Pardue sitting next to her and stroking her hair. The boyfriend is apparently feeling jealous and anxiety-ridden about the 9.11 tragedy (which had happened only recently when this sequence was taped), and wants her to join him as soon as she can. She tells him not to be so intense and possessive, that she's feeling "a little suffocated," but assures him he has nothing to worry about, fidelity-wise.
"She was just totally lying," says Avary. "She gave Kip a blowjob right after this."
I didn't see enough footage to be able to tell if Avary pays as much attention to the European scenery and tourist sights as he did the women, but the thing captures the way Europe can look and smell and sound to a touring, hang-it-all youth who's constantly distracted or on the move.
The look of GLITTERATI on Avary's Macintosh flat-panel screen was awesome as well. The video footage seemed to have the texture of film, except for those odd moments when sunlight would hit somebody's face and that portion of the image would briefly white-out. The footage seemed more textured than what video usually delivers, and yet like something other than film --it's some kind of hybrid. If only digital video could look this good on a big screen (pixellation is always visible when you blow things up), the whole video-to-film thing would be a much more tantalizing option.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0390051/Roger Avary Adapting 'Glamorama' To FilmRoger Avary, who was responsible for bringing The Rules of Attraction to film is now working his way thru an adaptation of Glamorama for the big screen. Roger has some tidbits about the process in his website FAQ:
"GLAMORAMA"
Q: You say you're working on adapting it for the screen. Do you intend to direct it as well?
A: Yes. I feel comfortable within the world of Bret Easton Ellis -- it's a world I understand. I also feel that he's one of the best writers today, certainly one of my favorite. I'm very lucky to be drawing from his intensly rich source material.
Q: Will the characters from "The Rules of Attraction" who make appearances in "Glamorama" be played by the same actors (if you have your way)?
A: Yes...and no.
Q: How the hell are you going to condense that book into a couple hours?
A: The same way you condense any book. First you absorb the entirety of theme and device, then you destroy, then you rebuild a new form with the spirit of the original.
Q: Do you know B.E.E., and how does he feel about you taking on two of his books?
A: I've met Bret on several occasions, and love him. My understanding is that he's happy with me so far. I believe he really liked "The Rules of Attraction" and is supportive of my adapting "Glamorama". http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0339073/
