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Broadway Goes to Hollywood
| Article
# : |
10300 |
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Section : |
The Arts
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| Issue
Date : |
12 / 1986 |
1,584 Words |
| Author
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Tom O''Brien
Tom O'Brien, who has taught Shakespeare, is a writer living in
Washington, D.C.
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This fall and winter, moviegoers are asking one question: Where have all the plays come from?
From September to February, five distinguished recent American plays have been or will be released as films: Extremities, 'night Mother, Children of a Lesser God, Crimes of the Heart, and Brighton Beach Memoirs. In addition, David Mamet's American Buffalo and Glengarry Glen Ross will be released later in 1987.
Among the plays are three recent Pulitzer-prize winners and several of the most literate productions from leading regional theaters in the country. In addition, imports like Duet for One, Verdi's Otello, and 84 Charing Cross Road will also be seen, reflecting the taste of American distributors for "quality" films.
The film industry, in short, has gotten serious, and every moviegoer tired of endlessly cloned films for adolescents is asking why.
No single answer emerges, least of all an invasion of the literary muses into Hollywood. The timing of the releases seems accidental or at most a reflection of the vibrancy of contemporary stage.
Only one star, Sissy Spacek, is involved in more than one film. No studio is handling more than two, although independent producer Burt Sugarman originated the adaptations of three (Extremities, Children, and Crimes). But Sugarman sees the releases as merely "coincidental."
To some observers, the adaptations are, even at
... (1995 of 9423 Characters)
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