Hey folks, Harry here with an introduction of a top notch pair of dynamic duos... The Babbit Brothers. I'm sure you are all familiar with these pair. They're about as cool as they come... and being that cool they've decided to become secret agents here at AICN. Charlie has the full gold spy badge, but Raymond's is merely gold-hued rubber... lest he hurt himself. The film and script they are discussing is one that was all set to go, but then some sort of calamity with financing fell through and this pair decided enough was enough. (I know these two personally and know they are on the straight and narrow, as they've been good friends of mine for about 2 years now, I believe Raymond is currently the guy that does those estimates for EXHIBITOR RELATIONS... damn he's good)
Charlie and Raymond Babbitt here.
"Yeah, Charlie's my brother. Definitely my brother."
Yes, Ray, the readers know that.
"Ten minutes to Kotch, but first we talk about Pumpkin. Pumpkin script is good...K-Mart Sucks."
That's right Ray, Adam Larson Broder's script to Pumpkin is good. For those of you out there who have no idea what Ray and I are talking about let me shed some light for you.
"Exactly 107 pages."
Right again, Ray. Now why don't you go watch Wheel of Fortune while I explain to these nice folks what Pumpkin is all about?
"Definitely 107 pages."
RAY! Knock it off. Your starting to upset me and believe me, you've never SEEN me upset.
"Pretty Boy's copping a 'tude. What you got Bee-otch? Whatcha got?"
That's it, it's back to the Institution for you!
"AHHHHHH AHHHH AHHHHHH AHHHHH AHHHH!!!!"
It was a joke, Ray. It was a joke. Stop hitting yourself.
"Ha ha ha ha ha. Charlie Babbit made a joke. Ha ha ha ha ha."
Yes, ahem...where was I? -- That's right, PUMPKIN. This is a little script that was handed to Ray the other day. He had me read it to him one night and I must say this was an enjoyable romp. It's basic premise may be off putting to some, but intriguing to others. It's about a "perfect" UCLA sorority girl who falls in love with a mentally handicap Special Olympian that she and her fellow sisters are sponsoring.
It's an unusual take on the whole "Beauty and the Beast" story. The thing that makes this script stand apart from drivel like THE THEORY OF FLIGHT and THE OTHER SISTER is the script's wit and charm. Behind a sometimes sappy love affair lies a dark, twisted black comedy about popularity and and the ends a Mother would go to to hang on to her son.
CAROLYN is "Miss Perfect USA" a rich bitch from Pasadena who has never experienced anything awkward or bad in her life...that is, until she meets PUMPKIN -- a mentally handicapped gent with soulful eyes and a heart of gold. Call it Kismet, but for some reason these two lost souls fall in love. Dealing with these unusual romantic notions and the ostrazation of her friends and family, Carolyn must figure out what's right for her and the one she loves.
While this soul searching is going on, Pumpkin's Mother is none too pleased in her son's changing sensibilities. For the first time in his sheltered life he's becoming his own man. This, of course, is very disturbing to his overbearing mother. He's sick of being treated like a poster child...a "cause" in which she can toss around and show off to so-called friends and colleagues. She realizes what an empty shell of a woman she will become if she let's her prize trophy live a life of his own.
From what I discovered, PUMPKIN was all set-up and ready to shoot. BRILLSTEIN-GREY was going to finance, Effie Brown and Kevin Fox were producing, the writer -- Adam Larson Broder -- and Anthony Abrahms were sharing directing chores, and the beautiful, talented, rising actress, GRETCHEN MOL, was set to star as the ditzy CAROLYN. Mol, as some of you may recall, was the female lead in the underrated ROUNDERS and the sci-fi flick, THE 13TH FLOOR. She can next be seen on the big screen starring as MARION DAVIS in Tim Robbin's controversial THE CRADLE WILL ROCK, coming out in December.
What I don't understand is how a project like this could crumble. It has a good script, a talented actress attached to star and it wouldn't cost more than one of those cars I sell. What's the deal here? Was it creative differences? Was it financing? Did the budget come up short? I WANT THE TRUTH, but more importantly I'd like to see this film get made! It's movies like this that make my brother Ray seem more acceptable to the Average Joe. You gotta help ME help YOU! If it's financially related, Ray and I will go to Vegas to win you the bucks.
"Yeah, counting cards. Definitely...definitely counting cards."
That's right, Ray! We'll show them the money!
"Show them the money!"
SHOW THEM THE MONEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!
With all the crap guys like Stallone and Cruise make you would think a few dollars would trickle down to help a good little script like PUMPKIN see the light of day. Tell the good people what you think about the script, Ray.
"K-Mart sucks!"
But PUMPKIN does not. So, you people over at Brillstein-Grey listen to Ray -- don't buy from K-Mart and make this movie. Hell, even Ray would miss People's Court to go see this.
Am I making myself clear?
"Crystal...definitely crystal."
