Proving that one can make a movie out of almost any kind of book, Variety reported that Paramount Pictures has acquired the rights to the Leanne Shapton photo book Important Artifacts and Personal Property From the Collection of Lenore Doolan and Harold Morris, Including Books, Street Fashion and Jewelry which will star Brad Pitt and Natalie Portman.
The book details the rise and fall of the relationship between Pitt and Portman’s characters, a photographer in his 40s and a New York City food columnist in her late 20s, through the gifts and objects they acquired and gave to each other and which are now up for auction at the end of their relationship. It’s a terribly clever conceit and one that I’m pretty familiar with as I’m still not done auctioning off the toys I started collecting during my first relationship which started almost a decade ago.
The movie, however… I don’t know if even the uber-intelligent Portman co-producing with Pitt under their respective production houses will be be able to replicate the wonderous charm of being able to slowly watch the love affair unfold and then watch its demise as you do in the book. And if they tack on a cheesy Hollywood ending…? I think I’d have to hurl or cry.
shma says:
I’m holding out for “Oxford English Dictionary”, starring Jason Statham.
MO says:
Jason Statham in the OED? I’d definitely watch that!
Faye says:
“uber-intelligent Portman”
Is that sarcasm? I don’t mean to suggest otherwise, so I’m just curious what you’re basing that on, sarcasm or not.
Trisha Lynn says:
@Faye: She has a psych degree from Harvard, has studied French, Japanese, German, and Arabic, and has been published in scientific journals. Wouldn’t you say that’s being “uber-intelligent”?