Wechsler Travels Down Cormac McCarthy's Road

Having read the book, I think this has a lot of potential. The cannibal angle is really downplayed in the book, so don't expect WotW or DotD here. This is basically a book about a father and son on a dead planet starving to death. I just hope they don't feel the need to add more characters or cannibals to make it more interesting.

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I've read the book. (I've read all of his books.) Like most McCarthy books, this one would have to be changed dramatically to make it film friendly. No Country for Old Men is probably McCarthy's most adaptable book, and luckily, the Coens are probably the most literate (American) directors out there. The Road is more psychology than plot, though there are parellels to Huckleberry Finn that are hard to miss, and that doesn't always make for blockbuster material. It takes a great actor to capture the emotional depth of a McCarthy character, and there were no great actors in the adaptation of All the Pretty Horses.

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This novel is very compact and very emotional, I think it will make a good movie. Since it is a father and son hiding from theives and resource competitors, there will be enough action to please risk-junkies and enough caregiving to please homebodies. Although some of the fathers tough love and actions may be difficult for mainstream, since the producers are trading huge box office for large dvd rentals...they should be able to allow the characters and plot to stay fairly true to the book.

It's ironic that there are dozens and dozens of human eating zombie movies, yet the cannibalism in this story might frighten off big studios. Some of the situations in the book are tragic and unpleasant, slaves and captives for sex and food sources is not a pleasant feild for building themes of "self interest versus doing the right thing" in a movie...but I think it will be accomplished.

The novel isn't very long and reads very quickly, if you have children, Cinematical, or enjoy puzzle solving and adventure stories, I think you will really take some powerful emotional leaps reading this novel.

I would describe it more as Terminator2 meets Castaway (with a tiny bit of Dawn of the Dead thrown in).

Thanks for the good news about the film being produced
Cheers,
Candy

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Aestheticly a film version of The Road has great potential, I picture a wasteland early Felinni feel like his 1954 film with the same title (La Strada). The level of human depravity juxtaposed with the difficulties of maintaining some sort of moral integrity would be especially intriguing if it could be elucidated through film and not so much dialogue. Its tough to find an artist/director these days so really, I have my doubts; however, I can be hired cheeply.

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I just finished reading the book today and wow was it horrifying! I couldn't put it down. You begin to feel dreadfuly connected to the man and the boy as they travel along the road, terrified of who or what they may encounter next.
It would take a very talented screenwriter and director to translate the emotional horror of the book into a film.
It's the kind of book that now that I'm done reading it I want to write Mr. McCarthy and ask him all sorts of questions about the characters and how they got in the situation that they were in. Great book I really recommend it.

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Rolled the dice, indeed. While the book has a stark cinematic quality, it might be more akin to "A Boy and His Dog" for book-to-film comparisons. As to budgetary concerns, it shouldn't require any top-name stars, especially since there are basically two characters, one of whom is a 10-year-old boy. (There might be a third character, if you can cast a rickety shopping cart full of blankets and canned food in a cameo.) As to the cannibal angle, there's not a single fava bean in sight. But there are mentions of infants roasting on a spit and legless people held captive in a basement for later consumption.

Let's just hope this makes the local movieplex and not Iron Chef.

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I read it last sunday and I just read it again this sunday. I think a cinematic adaptation would need to be true to the plot line and the style of narration. A dismal viewing of extinction. With a glimpse into the lives of two people trying in desparation to hang on. Whilst maintaining a sputter of humanity. Just don't add needless gore to the already bone chilling encounters and don't sweeten up the better times either. Remember, that although the ending has a positive tone, survival could mean prolonging the the terrors

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I'm a long-time Cormac fan and have read most of his works. I believe he will join the ranks as one of America's great authors along with Melville, Faulkner et.al. I don't believe his works translate easily to film because of their metaphors, underlying meanings etc. They enjoy the same problem as Melville's Moby Dick in that the basic story can be filmed but the real meaning and messages would likely be lost. My favorites: Blood Meridian, The Road and the Border Trilogy.

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This was the first Cormac McCarthy I´ve read; I couldn´t put it down; it made me a huge fan; now reading No Country For Old Men, which is also addicting. If they can capture the incredible tension and anxiety that fills the book the Road in the movie, and capture some of those searing images (the cellar with the human captives; the cellar with the cans; the Red army; the ¨long shear of light and series of low concussions¨¨; if they can make the images of the book translate to film, while keeping the emotional tone......

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I've been a fan of McCarthy's books years and "The Road" is up there with Blood Meridian and Suttree. Having said that, I believe a movie of Road would only make since if it stays true to the plot; has a great actor for the father and is filmed in black and white. This is a grey dead world and color would only ruin the story.

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No no no, black and white would not do -

It needs to be in color.

Bleak, gray colors, mostly.

But color all the same.

A non-blue ocean isn't a big deal if it's in black and white.

The motif of 'red' as being the new 'green' in that world would fall by the wayside. The coke, the apples, etc.

It will need a great cinematographer and a hell of a production designer to create that world of gray and ash while still making it visually interesting.

And it will take a director who realizes that the suspense of it comes from what's not seen as much from what is - sound design will be huge here.

And finding a prepubescent boy will be the most difficult thing in terms of the cast.

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Yes, I agree that filming it in color is necessary. But it must be a very tainted and saturated tone, to create the bleakness of the world. And like you mentioned, certain colors would stand out with importance, like the cans of coke, the non-blue ocean, and the blood that the father coughs up.

And finding a boy to play this role would be extremely difficult. As for the father though, I think Adrian Brody would be perfect...

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This book would be a lot more filmable than something like Blood Meridian. In short, it is a great read. Just the way the boy says "okay" to his dad is heartbreaking. The catch will be creating a world of ash. Highways covered in ash. Rivers flooded with ash. SPOILER: There aren't too many truly disturbing scenes in the book: maybe the one with the guy that is shot by the dad, and the basement full of naked people. Otherwise, this is truly a father and son tale, with a constant feel of dread and desolation, and that is the angle the movie should take.

Who could be cast though? Not sure about the kid, but I'd imagine someone truly believable as a dad is critical. It would probably be impossible, but Tom Hanks would be amazing in the role.

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Hanks would be too old and too much of a known-face. Brody would work, as would Jim Caviezel or possibly hugh Jackman.

Someone manly yet sensitive, with dark hair and darkish features who could get very thin.

There Are quite a few disturbing images: a headless newborn on a spit and bodies burnt into the asphalt. A man who's been struck by lightning.

etc.

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Just finished the book and because of the scale, the only way to do it on limited budget would be much the same way they shot "300". Virtual sets and all (there are no shadows as all the light is diffused by ash and this can only be accomplished in studio.) Visually, the look is closer to some of the paintings of ED RUSCHA the flaring blacks, the sky that never brightens. Even though there is a strong sense of silence (the squeaking shopping cart being an exception along with wind through bare trees) I think a subtle use of PAT METHENY GROUP over some of the dreams(esp. DISTANCE and IF I COULD) would bring the final heart-rending tears. Sure there could be hooror show sound design and there probably will be, but the book is so much more than horror...right?

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