Thoughts on The Giver script
Aug. 7th, 2005 03:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
crienseltMy thoughts on the script for The Giver. Spoilers for the book and movie.
Recently I was given a chance to read a copy of the script for the movie version of Lois Lowry's The Giver (Or at least the script as it existed in Dec 2004, which was the date printed on its spine.) I didn't have long to read it, and I don't remember nearly as much about it as I should, but here are my thoughts. Most of things I made a mental note about were the things that annoyed me, which really weren't to terribly great in number. I was mostly okay with the script. It seemed to stick pretty close to book: the first scene involves the jet flying overhead, then cuts to Jonas and his family at breakfast, then to Jonas and Asher on their way to school. Asher and Jonas come across a construction site - a bridge - which they explore in spite of the signs forbidding trespassing. As a result they are late for school. There’s a scene in the class room. Then a cut to Jonas and his family sharing their feelings. And on the movie goes.
Asher is pretty much as he is in the book. He plays a larger role in the movie in that he helps Jonas escape in the end. They switch bikes or something and he leads the search party/police in the opposite direction of Jonas. The whole escape scenario is a bit different. Jonas makes his break directly from the Giver’s. The Giver isn’t really in favor of Jonas leaving, but doesn't stop him from going. He just doesn't really help him either. I can't remember exactly how the authorities start chasing Jonas. I think they might see him wandering around late at night in one of their surveillance cameras, and a chase ensues. (Were there cameras in the book? They're everywhere in the script. There's a huge "Big Brother" feel.)
Other than his apathetic attitude toward Jonas’ flight, the Giver is basically the same character wise. He's described as old and looking much like the man on the picture of latest editions of the book, which to me was a relief b/c I feared they were going to have Jeff Bridges play him. (For the life of me, I cannot figure out Jeff's involvement w/ the movie; I know only that he has one and whether or not the movie was made seemed to depend on him... Producing maybe?) But the Giver’s description didn't really sound like anything Mr. Bridges could play, though I suppose there is always make-up. Anyway, a lot of the memories are a bit different. Color is discovered when Giver sends Jonas and himself (That's right, the Giver goes w/ Jonas on several of the "memory trips") to Italy and they eat Spaghetti. (Jonas has already seen red as with Fiona’s hair prior to this.) The war scene is of WWI, and in one scene Jonas goes to a movie theater and various movie clips are shown. He’s supposed to be like a teenage boy on a date, if I remember correctly. There’s a clip of the Romeo and Juliet that stared Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes to show love and kissing, which to me was totally random. I mean, why that movie? I’m sure the AFI has some sort of “best on screen kisses of all time” list, and I doubt that kiss is number one. My only guess would be the guy just wanted to portray love via Romeo and Juliet… I suppose it really doesn’t matter. Additionally, the Giver has a secret basement filled with all kinds of crap from our pop culture like coke bottles and a ’67 Chevrolet.
There's less of the Houses of the Old. Larissa is used to give some back story on Rosemary and increase the mystery of her. I can’t remember how the whole Rosemary thing played out in the book, but in the movie Jonas is alone in the Giver’s room for some reason or another and he hits some button and a hologram of a girl pops up and starts saying random things and pausing in between lines. Then later Jonas walks in on the Giver talking to this hologram, answering her during the pauses. He (Jonas) overhears an entire conversation between Rosemary’s hologram and the Giver, and at the end of it, the Giver explains everything to Jonas.
The biggest change to the movie is Fiona. Going in, I knew that odds are they’d expand the whole Jonas/Fiona thing, and they do. Fiona flirts big time with Jonas, and the “stirrings” scene involving the two of them is in. When he knows he’s planning to leave, and having been inspired by Leo and Claire, Jonas like throws Fiona up against the wall and kisses the hell out of her, which to me just felt out of place. Fiona’s more involved with the mystery of Rosemary in general, and I’d say she’s the third most important character in the script. And it’s never specified that Fiona knows the truth about “releasing” people. Most horrifying of all, the last scene of the movie goes to Fiona. Y’see, it shows Jonas coming to sled and going down the hill and then it cuts to a montage of the people back in the community in color and reacting to having emotions. Asher starts cracking up in class, for example. The last specified shot is of Fiona falling back into a field of flowers and laughing.
Everything else is basically the same: the ceremony, Gabe, the scene involving Jonas’ Father killing the infant. The movie sounds like it will start out as being a bit beige, and then color will start to appear and then, toward the end, the world will be fully colored. (Think Pleasantville.) The script itself was like 120-some pages. I don’t know how long movie scripts usually are but that should give you a good idea of the length. Sorta.
I don't know how much will be changed by the time the movie's actually made. Since they don't have a director yet, anything could probably happen. The script I read, like I said, was dated Dec. 2004. It came from the agency that represents the guy who adapted the script, CAA (Creative Artists...something. Associates maybe? Never can remember.)
Recently I was given a chance to read a copy of the script for the movie version of Lois Lowry's The Giver (Or at least the script as it existed in Dec 2004, which was the date printed on its spine.) I didn't have long to read it, and I don't remember nearly as much about it as I should, but here are my thoughts. Most of things I made a mental note about were the things that annoyed me, which really weren't to terribly great in number. I was mostly okay with the script. It seemed to stick pretty close to book: the first scene involves the jet flying overhead, then cuts to Jonas and his family at breakfast, then to Jonas and Asher on their way to school. Asher and Jonas come across a construction site - a bridge - which they explore in spite of the signs forbidding trespassing. As a result they are late for school. There’s a scene in the class room. Then a cut to Jonas and his family sharing their feelings. And on the movie goes.
Asher is pretty much as he is in the book. He plays a larger role in the movie in that he helps Jonas escape in the end. They switch bikes or something and he leads the search party/police in the opposite direction of Jonas. The whole escape scenario is a bit different. Jonas makes his break directly from the Giver’s. The Giver isn’t really in favor of Jonas leaving, but doesn't stop him from going. He just doesn't really help him either. I can't remember exactly how the authorities start chasing Jonas. I think they might see him wandering around late at night in one of their surveillance cameras, and a chase ensues. (Were there cameras in the book? They're everywhere in the script. There's a huge "Big Brother" feel.)
Other than his apathetic attitude toward Jonas’ flight, the Giver is basically the same character wise. He's described as old and looking much like the man on the picture of latest editions of the book, which to me was a relief b/c I feared they were going to have Jeff Bridges play him. (For the life of me, I cannot figure out Jeff's involvement w/ the movie; I know only that he has one and whether or not the movie was made seemed to depend on him... Producing maybe?) But the Giver’s description didn't really sound like anything Mr. Bridges could play, though I suppose there is always make-up. Anyway, a lot of the memories are a bit different. Color is discovered when Giver sends Jonas and himself (That's right, the Giver goes w/ Jonas on several of the "memory trips") to Italy and they eat Spaghetti. (Jonas has already seen red as with Fiona’s hair prior to this.) The war scene is of WWI, and in one scene Jonas goes to a movie theater and various movie clips are shown. He’s supposed to be like a teenage boy on a date, if I remember correctly. There’s a clip of the Romeo and Juliet that stared Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes to show love and kissing, which to me was totally random. I mean, why that movie? I’m sure the AFI has some sort of “best on screen kisses of all time” list, and I doubt that kiss is number one. My only guess would be the guy just wanted to portray love via Romeo and Juliet… I suppose it really doesn’t matter. Additionally, the Giver has a secret basement filled with all kinds of crap from our pop culture like coke bottles and a ’67 Chevrolet.
There's less of the Houses of the Old. Larissa is used to give some back story on Rosemary and increase the mystery of her. I can’t remember how the whole Rosemary thing played out in the book, but in the movie Jonas is alone in the Giver’s room for some reason or another and he hits some button and a hologram of a girl pops up and starts saying random things and pausing in between lines. Then later Jonas walks in on the Giver talking to this hologram, answering her during the pauses. He (Jonas) overhears an entire conversation between Rosemary’s hologram and the Giver, and at the end of it, the Giver explains everything to Jonas.
The biggest change to the movie is Fiona. Going in, I knew that odds are they’d expand the whole Jonas/Fiona thing, and they do. Fiona flirts big time with Jonas, and the “stirrings” scene involving the two of them is in. When he knows he’s planning to leave, and having been inspired by Leo and Claire, Jonas like throws Fiona up against the wall and kisses the hell out of her, which to me just felt out of place. Fiona’s more involved with the mystery of Rosemary in general, and I’d say she’s the third most important character in the script. And it’s never specified that Fiona knows the truth about “releasing” people. Most horrifying of all, the last scene of the movie goes to Fiona. Y’see, it shows Jonas coming to sled and going down the hill and then it cuts to a montage of the people back in the community in color and reacting to having emotions. Asher starts cracking up in class, for example. The last specified shot is of Fiona falling back into a field of flowers and laughing.
Everything else is basically the same: the ceremony, Gabe, the scene involving Jonas’ Father killing the infant. The movie sounds like it will start out as being a bit beige, and then color will start to appear and then, toward the end, the world will be fully colored. (Think Pleasantville.) The script itself was like 120-some pages. I don’t know how long movie scripts usually are but that should give you a good idea of the length. Sorta.
I don't know how much will be changed by the time the movie's actually made. Since they don't have a director yet, anything could probably happen. The script I read, like I said, was dated Dec. 2004. It came from the agency that represents the guy who adapted the script, CAA (Creative Artists...something. Associates maybe? Never can remember.)
