Hey folks, Harry here. I forwarded this review to Moriarty for comment since I'm scared of spoilers falling across my eyes on this... Kubrick's last film. This is not a review of the film, but rather a fascinating book that... I'll buy AFTER I see the movie, but you might want to pick up sooner. Moriarty should be finishing his piece on this book tomorrow. Do take note that there ARE SPOILERS below....
It's in your bookstores now. A book about Stanley Kubrick that you cannot pass up under any circumstances.
It's written by the man who spent two years working on the screenplay for EYES WIDE SHUT with Mr. Kubrick. It's an incredible look at the creative process that went into making the film. It's also chock full of spoilers so watch out.
Frederic Raphael's memoir of his time working with Stanley Kubrick is wonderful. Anyone who writes scripts should read it. Anyone who loves Mr. Kubrick's work should read it. Everyone should read it.
Here's a few interesting tid bits to spark your interest...
SPOILERS AHEAD
1) Kubrick toyed with the idea of using KIM BASINGER and ALEC BALDWIN in the leads!
2) Cruise and Kidman don't play shrinks. Cruise plays a doctor and Kidman (in the early drafts of the script) plays a painter.
3) Cruise is in every scene of the film. Kidman is in it quite less.
4) Don't expect a film dripping with pornographic images. The movie is an erotic suspense thriller as only Stanley Kubrick could make it. It involves Cruise's character being drawn into an underground sex circuit called THE FREE after he and Kidman begin revealing their dreams of sleeping with other people to each other.
Spoilers aside, I was really moved by this book. Raphael paints a picture of Kubrick that is simultaneously exasperating and endearing. Their endless phone conversations are reprinted here word for word. The book ends, of course, with Kubrick's death. I read the last page with heartbreak. Once you read this book you'll really have a better understanding of Mr. Kubrick and why the day he died was such an incredible loss for cinema.
Bravo. Dish out the twelve bucks and buy the book. For a record of a director's last film, taking you from conception to shooting script, it's worth tons more.
As Always,
THE SCRUBBING BUBBLE
