Somehow, I managed to miss Everything's Gone Green when it played at Toronto last year, and then we missed it again in its American debut at SWSW last month. It's nothing personal -- fests (with the exception of Telluride, which is small and oh-so-intimate) tend to have schedules so packed with films, there's no way we can possibly see everything, and it's so hard from the catalog descriptions to figure out what's worth seeing (Note to indie filmmakers: This is why, if your film is showing a fest you know we'll be covering, you should drop a line in the comments or email me personally at kim(at)cinematical(Idot)com to let us now about your film! Several filmmakers did that when I announced I was going to be at AFI Dallas, and as a result I saw their films!).

Anyhow, I missed catching Everything's Gone Green, but lucky for me (and you!) the film is about to be get a limited release. The film, which boasts the first screenplay written by Douglas Coupland (Generation X) is about a 20-something slacker, Ryan, who falls into a money-laundering scam involving his job writing about lottery winners. It sounds amusing, and I'm guessing, since the website for the film jokes about the irony of the film being released on "4/20" that there's a subplot involving the smoking of much marijuana, which should certainly give the film added appeal for its target demographic, not to mention the entire Pacific Northwest, where the film will show in abundance.

You can go to the film's website to find out more about the film and when and where it's playing near you; in the meantime, you can watch an exclusive clip of the film right here.

Although Paulo Costanzo seems to be relegated to side-car, roomie roles in the U.S. -- he was Josh Hartnett's womanizing roommate Ryan in 40 Days and 40 Nights, as well as Joey Tribbiani's nephew on that ill-fated Friends spin-off -- he's doing a bit better in Canada. After A Problem with Fear in 2003, the Canadian actor is the star of writer Douglas Coupland's first fictional feature, Everything's Gone Green. The film is now gearing up for release this month on April 20th, and Matt Bradshaw recently linked to a trailer for the film.

But when are trailers enough these days? If recent media habits are any indication, trailers are just the previews before more clips, photos and news bits to satiate anxious fans, rather than the lone tease to the upcoming picture. To continue the anticipation for Paul Fox's Green film, CHUD got a brief clip of scene in which Ryan (Costanzo playing another "Ryan") discovers his parent's grow-op in their basement, and it is aptly titled: "Nobody Likes a Narc." If you're a fan of Coupland's, you'll definitely see ties to his other work, even in this short scene, which is a bit reminiscent of jPod. The clip is a whole switcheroo on moral outrage and drugs -- while Ryan is flabbergasted over his parent's marijuana-growing antics and warns that they could be sent to jail, his father says that he's being melodramatic. Of course, he says this as the couple calmly spray their beloved plants while Ryan tries to come to terms with what he's seeing. It's cute, and I wonder if this will help Costanzo grab some more leading roles.

Douglas Coupland is obsessed with pop culture. It inspires everything he creates. Beyond popularizing the term Generation X, the Canadian novelist has used his unique characters -- from a one-handed astronaut to a teen, Christian ghost -- to explore, delight and document the crazy pop world we live in. His passion transcends the written word -- Souvenir of Canada was not only a popular book about his views of Canadian life, but it was also turned into a surprisingly funny documentary about his scheme to transform a run-of-the-mill house into a piece of historic art. The author followed that up by penning the script for Everything's Gone Green, a comedy about a money laundering slacker, and a novel, jPod.

His latest work, which is also his longest, has now been turned into a short film that can be found in its entirety on Showcase.ca, a website for one of Canada's more arty and provacative channels. While it is no short cinematic feat, it is a tolerable diversion that could also win you a copy of the book, if you sign up for Showcase's newsletter. How did the filmmakers turn the long book into a short film? Basically, they took out all of the plot and left a small sliver of romance. The novel is Coupland's fluff, which he admitted to last year at a book signing: "It was written to be nothing more than a fun book;" so, take away the Chinese mafia, happy heroin addicts and ballroom dancers and the point is really lost. That being said, some quirk still remains -- such as the ways Ethan and his co-worker slide into their jPod workspace. I wonder what Dougie thinks about the adaptation ...

[via Twitch]

**Douglas Coupland was the poster boy for the slacker movement in the early 90's - his novel Shampoo Planet was the handbook for over-educated and under stimulated "Generation X'ers" (a term he popularized). For better or for worse, Coupland was forever tied into the iconography of the 90's -- flannel, Nirvana, and coffee houses. Coupland has become a bit of a Canadian Icon in the last few years through his Souvenir of Canada project -- a series of coffee table books that are his take on the Canadian identity.

Variety has reported that Shoreline Entertainment has picked up Douglas Coupland's Everything's Gone Green for distribution. This is Coupland's first attempt at a screenplay and the film was directed by Paul Fox and stars Paulo Costanzo (Road Trip). Constanzo plays the typical Coupland protagonist who stumbles into a money-laundering scheme only to find himself way out of his depth -- not to mention the usual moral struggles that come from any self respecting middle class criminal. The film has already premiered at the Toronto Film Festival and was pretty well received. The soundtrack is also getting a big release with music by popular Canadian "indie bands".

Having never been a big fan of Coupland's novels, the thought of a Coupland screenplay doesn't seem that much of an improvement -- all that apathy kind of leaves me cold. On the plus side, the man has an encyclopedic knowledge of humorous pop culture, so he just might be able to pull it off.

**Editor's note: This post was edited by the author in response to a user comment correcting an error. Jessica noted the change in the comments, rather than indicating the change with an asterik and adding an editorial footnote, which is our editorial standard. She also, as Chris noted, removed what she felt were abusive comments directed at her by the reader who left them. While we do delete comments that are abusive, harassing, or overly obscene, it is not Cinematical's editorial policy to ever edit a reader's comments because they disagree with us, call us out for errors, etc.

Jessica is new to the team, she's learning, and she wasn't clear on our policy regarding editing and deletion of comments. She has since been informed of what our editorial standards are. As managing editor, it is my responsibility to ensure that our writers know our editorial policies, so clearly this was my fault. Thanks, Chris, for calling us out on it; it's absolutely not our policy to censor our readers because we disagree with what they say. Please accept my personal apologies for all the confusion. - Kim Voynar