A graduate of Nukem High sent in their view on APT PUPIL, suffice to say... He LOVED IT!!! No surprise. The bummer? The rumor that SONY is going to delay this till September. Noooooooooooooooooooooo. I don't want to wait that long. I'm going to POP if I don't see this film soon. Or until I get Ottman's score on CD. This is intolerable. I'm dying for a listen and a viewing. Oh well, "All good things to those who wait..." GOD I HATE THAT SAYING!!!!
I've been a daily fan of your site for almost a year now and although, on occasion, I have thought about sending you some juicy info, I have, until now, restrained myself.
From reading your site, I know that you hold a certain fascination for all things Singer, in particular, the upcoming "X-Men" project and his latest film "Apt Pupil". While I am unable to give you anything on "X-Men" at the moment, I DID have the good fortune to see the finished version of "Apt Pupil" this past Friday evening.
Lemme start by stating this plainly and up front: THIS IS FAR AND AWAY THE BEST MOVIE I HAVE SEEN IN THE LAST YEAR AND, QUITE POSSIBLY, THE BEST STEPHEN KING MOVIE ADAPTATION YET! (it's a tough call, seeing as "Shawshank Redemption" and "Stand By Me" rank among my all-time favorite films, period).
I don't want to give too much away, but the screenplay DOES deviate a bit from the novella, especially towards the end. For folks who are big fans of the novella, this adapted ending might be a bit oft-putting, but judging from the reaction of the people I watched the film with who HADN'T read the novella, the ending was both intriguing and satisfying.
Ian McKellan is PERFECT as Denker/Dussander. You feel both hatred and compassion for him as his life is turned upside down by young Todd Bowden (Brad Renfro). Renfro does a fantastic job with the role of Todd Bowden. Holding one's own against McKellan is one thing, but Renfro is totally captivating as the whip smart high schooler who discovers his very own Nazi and the pitfalls of true evil.
BUT....
...the technical acievements of this film are ASTOUNDING. Singer's direction is crisp and dynamic, belying a great deal of thought regarding the visual and emotional presentation of the material. This is the first movie I have seen in a LONG time that actually demonstrates deliberate thought and intention behind the direction. Bryan Singer emerges as a MAJOR talent with this picture. The cinematography by Newton Thomas Sigel (who shot "Usual Suspects" and the recent suckfest "Fallen") is both stunningly beautiful and creepily atmospheric.
I have to admit that after seeing this film, I have a new industry hero...JOHN OTTMAN. As composer, editor AND associate producer, he is truly a cinematic triple threat. The score to this film is BREATHTAKING - best feature score I've heard in years. Some creepy shit. Look for it all over trailers in the coming years. Likewise, his editing is tight and meaningful - some of the visual juxtapositions in this film are just....shit, I have run out of superlatives.
In any case, anyone worrying that this film was being held up because it sucks, I can dispel those rumours definatively. Let's hope that Sony/Tri-Star yanks their heads out of there asses and doesn't wait till SEPTEMBER to release this film. (That's the latest release plan). Sony is gonna need a critical hit soon judging from WILD THINGS (which I saw last night and which unequivocably SUCKS AND SUCKS HARD - but that's another story).
Oh, one last thing. The infamous "shower scene"? I don't see what the fuss is about - no noticeable nudity (other than Renfro's butt.) The scene is TRULY creepy though (keep an eye out for the water burn, one of DOZENS of cool visual details that Singer has peppered this film with).
Ok that's all.
P.S. - an added little factoid - the teacher's voiceover in the opening scene is none other than Academy Award winning screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie in a nice little vocal cameo.
Then I found the following letter sitting on my bed when I came home from supper. I guess that's a hell of a lot better than Keyser (the guy who signed the letter) waiting to snuff me when I came home. He provides info on Singer, X-Men, John Ottman projects and more. Hopefully Keyser will be keeping us up to date on the wonderful world of them wacky 'suspects' people.
I work VERY closely with Singer and Ottman and I can assure you Elizabeth Hurley IS NOT being cast in X-Men due to one little factor.. Bryan does not like Elizabeth Hurley as an actress at all!!! As far as Spacey is concerned...that is still undecided.
Another X-Men tidbit- John is hoping that this will be the LAST Singer picture he has to score and edit at the same time. John is hoping to train a new editor so that he can focus on scoring films only.
A web-site is currently being worked on with all the info you'd ever want to know about John and his movie madness... I'll let ya know when it's up.
Other news, "Incognito" is out in stores now (John's new score). "Incognito" stars Jason Patric and was directed by John Badham. He is also finishing "GOODBYE,LOVER" a new film directed by Roland Jaffe (Killing Fields, The Mission).
More Ottman news.... John is currently in talks with HBO to direct his first feature which Bryan would produce. Being pitched as the Gene Rodenberry Story but fans will know it from the book "Inside Star Trek: The Real Story". This film would start after X-Men which is currently scheduled to shoot in November. John really wants Beau Bridges to play Gene.
We, "The Usual Supects Group", read your site and really get a kick out of the mis-information that is posted. I'll keep you updated as more concrete info is confirmed.
You can call me Keyser.
