Jul 31 03. Adaptation out on DVD :: The DVD of Adaptation is out. This DVD contains just the movie, but Susan tells me that there's another DVD coming out in a few months that will have all sorts of special features on it.     Mar 30 03. Static :: Now that the Oscars are over, news concerning the movie is nearly non-existent, and the DVD is due out at the end of May, the time has come to put this weblog to rest. I'd like to thank Susan for letting me do this here; it was fun.

Here are a few of my favorite posts from the past 6 months:

Susan says Adapation is "amazing"
Deleted scenes
Behind the scenes pictures
Artist renderings
The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle and how it relates to reporting
Adding to the pile
Spoof?
New Yorker review

You may also read back through the archives:

March 2003
February 2003
January 2003
December 2002
November 2002
October 2002
September 2002

or pick up the book on which the movie was based: The Orchid Thief.

And don't miss Susan's latest exploits here on susanorlean.com and in The New Yorker.

    Mar 24 03. Well, crap. :: Somehow, Charlie and Donald missed out on an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for pretty much the most talked-about screenplay ever. Meryl and Cage didn't win either.     Mar 23 03. Cooper gets the Oscar :: Chris Cooper just won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. He gave a very nice speech, saying that working with Streep on this movie was like making good jazz.     Mar 11 03. DVD with special features :: Just got a note from Susan about the Adaptation DVD. There will be a DVD released at some point with special features on it (in addition to this DVD, I would assume); she's working on a couple of them herself.     Mar 10 03. For the fans :: A couple of discussion groups pertaining to Adaptation have popped up on Yahoo! Groups. The Adaptation group deals with the movie in general while fans of Adaptation's dearly-departed co-writer Donald Kaufman can join The Original Donald Kaufman Fan Club.     Mar 09 03. The original and still champion :: Susan has posted the original article that she wrote for the New Yorker on John Laroche. Orchid Fever begat The Orchid Thief begat Adaptation begat this weblog. Got it?     Mar 02 03. Adaptation DVD :: Steve brings word that Adaptation will be out on DVD (cover art) on May 20th. Sounds like there won't be any special features on the disc because it will be part of Columbia's SuperBit collection:

"These are DVDs that devote the entire data capacity to accommodate higher video bit rates and two surround sound options, the highly regarded DTS 5.1 and de facto standard Dolby Digital 5.1. By omitting bonus materials, running audio commentaries, other audio (Dolby Digital 2.0) and language (e.g., French or Spanish) soundtracks, extra data capacity is freed up for the higher video bit rate, DTS 5.1 and Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound tracks."

This is disappointing as Adaptation is a movie that cries out for bonus materials (and an odd choice because Adaptation doesn't seem like the type of film that needs a higher-than-normal quality picture or sound). Hopefully a regular version with extras will be out around then or soon after.

    Feb 27 03. Hurray for Donald! :: Charlie and Donald (!) won the BAFTA (British Academy Film & Television Awards) for best adapted screenplay. The boys were unable to make it to the awards ceremony in London, so Meryl Streep stepped in and read a fax on their behalf, misreading it in saying "I would like to spank director Spike Jonze."

Word is that Kaufman also tried to spank George Clooney, director of Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, for which Kaufman wrote the screenplay.

(Thanks Jen and Steve)

    Feb 27 03. Cage in Back Row :: A British radio program entitled Back Row recently interviewed Nicolas Cage about his role in Adaptation. An information page is here on which you can find the RealAudio stream of the broadcast. (Thanks Stu)     Feb 27 03. Much ado about screenplays :: The NY Times has a piece on the muddled screenplay situation at the Oscars this year:

"Some academy voters think at least two nominees for best original screenplay — Gangs of New York and My Big Fat Greek Wedding — are better described as adapted screenplays. And one of the adapted scripts — for Adaptation, of all things — strikes many as being more original than any of the original screenplays."

(Thanks Jen and Steve)

    Feb 27 03. Silver Bear :: Adaptation received A Silver Bear as the overall runner up at the Berlin Film Festival. (Thanks Susan)     Feb 14 03. Meryl interview in WSJ :: The Wall Street Journal has an interview with Meryl Streep about life, movies, and her Oscar nomination:

"What we do now is withhold films from most of America, which is shocking. And what do we withhold? The best films. If you live somewhere 30 miles out in mall-land, you can't see all the great movies. Same with the rest of the world: We export the crap. And then we wonder why everybody hates us and has a distorted picture of what Americans are. We should export the best movies we make."

Streep has been nominated for more Oscars than anyone else in history, a record 13. (Thx to Steve for the link.)

    Feb 11 03. Oscar nominations :: The Academy Award nominations have been announced. Adaptation received 4 nominations: Streep, Cooper, Cage, and Kaufman for Best Adpated Screenplay.     Feb 09 03. Academy Award nominations :: The nominations for the Academy Awards will be announced on Tuesday. Prediction: nominations for Cooper, Cage, and Kaufman, but no Streep and no Best Picture. (Just a gut feeling...no reason really.)     Jan 31 03. To the polls! :: Vote for Adaptation in IMDB Best of 2002 poll. Vote early, vote often.     Jan 31 03. BAFTA nominees :: The British Academy of Film and Television Art has announced their awards as well. Adaptation's formidable foursome are up for awards: Cage, Cooper, Streep, and Kaufman.     Jan 31 03. SAG award nominees announced :: The Screen Actors Guild has announced the nominees for their 2003 awards. Cage is nominated for best actor, Chris Cooper for best supporting actor, and the cast of Adaptation for outstand performance by a cast.

You may be wondering "Where is Meryl?" Word is that a "low-level employee" (now ex-employee, one might imagine) at Sony submitted Streep's name to be considered as best actress for Adaptation instead of best supporting actress as they intended. As a result, "The Hours" Meryl and "Adaptation" Meryl cancelled each other out in the best actress category and hence no nomination at all. Reading what I have about Streep, I think Sony & Miramax probably care more about this than she does.

    Jan 27 03. The Hours :: An early scene in The Hours has Meryl Streep's character standing next to a big bunch of orchids. I wonder if that was accidental or an intentional wink to movie fans re: her role in Adaptation?     Jan 27 03. Confessions.... :: The Kaufman Bros. (or Charlie at least) have another movie out these days. The Kaufman-penned, Clooney-directed Confessions of a Dangerous Mind opened recently to pretty good reviews. It's the story of Chuck Barris, game show host and secret agent. I have yet to see it, but I'm looking forward to it.