Allen GInsberg Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Let's just get the important part out first -- Variety reports that Jon Hamm, the man who looks like a cartoon pilot, has joined the cast of Howl. Commence girly shrieking, gaze at the photo to your left, sink into your chair with a grin on your face. It's cool. I did it too.

All right, now that's over with. Howl is already generating a lot of buzz, all of which should keep it from disappearing into indie obscurity. Not only does it center on a notorious moment of literary history, but its collected a heck of an ensemble cast -- James Franco (who is playing Allen Ginsberg), Paul Rudd, Mary-Louise Parker, David Strathairn, Jeff Daniels, Bob Balaban, Treat Williams and Alessandro Nivola are all on board. (Check out Peter Martin's piece to see who plays whom.)

Hamm has landed a very meaty part in the Ginsberg story -- he'll play the famous defense attorney Jake Ehrlich. Ehrlich was actually the attorney for Lawrence Ferlinghetti who had published Howl stateside as the owner of City Lights Bookstore. He faced a $500 fine and a 6 month sentence for daring to publishing Ginsberg's poem, and gained the services of Ehrlich thanks to the ACLU. Ehrlich took the case pro-bono, and later wrote an account of the trial titled Howl of the Censor, and was the inspiration for the television series "Perry Mason."

All joking and gushing aside, it's wonderful to see Hamm get to use his acting chops outside of Mad Men and Keanu Reeves. Now if some studio executive would watch that Lex Luthor video and make the obvious DC choice ...

I'm torn. Part of me is baffled by this casting announcement, while the other part wants to cry out: "Sweet!"

Variety reports that Jesse Eisenberg, the indie cutie from films like Roger Dodger and The Education of Charlie Banks, has been tapped to play poet Allen Ginsberg in Kill Your Darlings. This is that project that Christine Vachon is producing (written by Austin Bunn and director John Krokidas), which follows the story of Lucien Carr, and how he murdered William Burrough's childhood friend David Kammerer after a supposed unwanted sexual advance and physical attack.

Along with Eisenberg, it seems that Chris Evans, believe it or not, is set to play Jack Kerouac, and Ben Whishaw will take care of Carr. But Eisenberg ... he's become such the indie boy over these last handful of years that it'll be hard to imagine him donning the glasses and becoming a Beat icon. But hey, if Cate Blanchett can play Bob Dylan...

To help you figure out your take on the casting, I've given you a comparison above. The black and white shot of Carr, Kerouac, Ginsberg, and Burroughs was taken in 1944, the year this all went down. With three set, are you happy with the choices? And who would you pick for Mr. Burroughs? I'm getting Stephen Dorff, Corin Nemec flashes, but that only would've worked in the '90s.

When it comes to cinematic resumes, few women have a roster as impressive and alluring as Christine Vachon. She's been behind some really great films over the last few decades, as well as some irresistible cult doozies. There are more challenging films like Kids, Safe, and Happiness, as well as the hard-hitting and wonderful Far From Heaven. But then there's her impressive array of biopics -- I Shot Andy Warhol, Boys Don't Cry, Party Monster, The Notorious Bettie Page, Infamous, I'm Not There. ...

Basically, this producer has got a solid hold on the film world of modern icons and newsmakers, and now she's adding one more. Variety reports that she's optioned John Krokidas (who will direct) and Austin Bunn's spec called Kill Your Darlings -- a biopic thriller about Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac, and William Burroughs. Why a thriller? This is about the infamous 1944 murder. Now this isn't that William Tell mess in 1951, but rather the story of Lucien Carr -- one of the Beats who murdered Burroughs' childhood friend David Kammerer. As the story goes, Kammerer had been pursuing Carr for a while, and met his death after a sexual advance and physical attack.

Vachon's involvement bodes well for the piece, but it will come down to who is cast in these iconic roles. Any ideas?

Obscenity! The '50s! Legal drama! Book-length poems! OK, that last one is part of what distinguishes the upcoming Howl, in which James Franco will star as legendary beatnik writer Allen Ginsberg. The film revolves around the court trial that took place after Howl was published in 1956 -- and promptly banned for obscenity. Mary-Louise Parker, Paul Rudd, Jeff Daniels, David Straithairn, and Alan Alda have just been added to the cast, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

All will play fictional versions of real-life characters. On the side of the prosecution (boo! hiss!), indie darling / TV star Parker will play radio personality Gail Potter, the reliably venal Daniels will embody Professor David Kirk, and the firm and steady Staithairn will be prosecuting attorney Ralph McIntosh. In behalf of the defense (yay! cheer!), Paul Rudd will play literary critic (?!) Luther Nichols. Calm and fair as always, I'm sure, Alda will play Judge Clayton Horn.

Documentarians Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman will make their narrative debut and the film is all theirs: they are writing, producing, and directing. Epstein made the terrific doc The Times of Harvey Milk and the pair made Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt. Gus van Sant is serving as executive producer, and Coen crony Carter Burwell is set to provide an original score. I hope that Epstein and Friedman can pull off the transition to narrative film and give us an incendiary picture; the elements are all in place, and the time is right.