Folks can badmouth Twitter all they want, but there's a REASON that I follow almost a hundred accounts. Nuggets of info abound, and it's nice to have a semi-constant stream of bite-sized weirdness coming into my day.
Bite-sized weirdness like the fact that Sion Sono (director of J-Horror notables "Suicide Circle" and "Noriko's Dinner Table") is directing an English-language cinematic adaptation of the true crime book "Lords of Chaos" (which each and every one of you NEED to purchase ASAP if it's not already in your library) starring Jackson Rathbone (who plays one of the suspiciously hairless man-boy vampires in "Twilight") as murderous Norwegian black metaller Varg "Count Grishnackh" Vikernes.
I didn't believe it either, till I found a couple of articles:
I finally found the thing that put me at a loss for words. There's just so much so fiercely bizarre about this that my head is spinning. In fairness to the film's concept, the story of Vikernes' murder of musician Øystein "Euronymous" Aarseth, another member of the Norwegian black metal underground, is colorful as all get-out, with its Satanic trappings, church arson, and far-out ideologies. But with statements from producer Stuart Pollok referring to the book's "fun portrayal of Norway" as if fatal stabbings and national socialism should be included in the country's tourist pamphlets, I'm going to hold off on my endorsement or lack thereof till I hear more info on this project.
20 comments:
Hmm... Sounds like it could turn into a two hour episode of "Metalocalypse" :-)
'fun portrayal of Norway?' i hope they don't play it for laughs. the stuff in that book was nothing like Dethklok.
i'm not a huge fan of the music but the book was interesting throughout and really hard to put down at times. not a lot of "fun' was going on but if done right it could be a good (if not great) movie.
Really, this is too weird NOT to see. I remember forcing the Costuminatrix Spouse to read the book, one of the few things he thanked me for. It's going to be seriously interesting to see what they do with it.
*head spinning*
YES! Hope this fulfills it's promise and doesn't come out too cheap-looking or "wacky".
While on some level I know that a comedic version of this would be an abomination, I have to say that some Hollywoodized effort to make a wacky comedy about murderous deathmetal rockers could be, in and of itself, so disastrous as to be worth seeing.
This might be win-win.
GTFO!
How bizarre...awesomely bizarre.
Oh, and what the fuck is a Costuminatrix Spouse? Oh wait...she's The Costuminatrix and she has a spouse...sorry, I was confused for a half a sec there.
GTFO! What an awesome idea!
And uh, what the fuck's a Costuminatrix Spouse?! Oh wait, I see...she's The Costuminatrix and she's married.
For a second there I thought I had my next Fetish Friday's post...guess I'll stick with my Ass Smoothies idea.
Vikernes is now a free man. He was paroled earlier this year after serving roughly 16 years in jail for slaying Euronymous...A lax Norwegian judicial system???
@Mr Canacorn: um, no, not really a fetish, unless you make costumes and you're married. Not sure what the confusion was there, but thanks for attributing nefariousness to me, such as it was ;-D
Norway can't afford to keep its high security prisons open, which I'm guessing is why Varg got his parole -- he just got denied six months ago, so something must have changed fairly recently. This has been in production forever, with Hans Fjellestad originally directing the script written by Ryan Page, Adam Parfrey (who wrote the book, which is absolutely worth reading) and him, but I guess Hans dropped out and Sion Sono stepped in and worked some more on the script. This screams trainwreck to me, but who knows -- it's gotta be better than Herzog's reboot of Bad Lt.
I think it's a story that could work well as a (black) comedy if done right. Europeans tend to make fun of Norway's strong nationalism, restrictive society ("the last police state in Europe") and sense of self-importance all the time and if the stroy is treated as an extension of this, it could work extremely well as a comedy.
Oooh... I hadn't even thought of the possible "Metalocalypse" connection, Darius and wiec?...! Maybe that cartoon's popularity is why this is being put into what looks like Actual Production (finally, as DB points out). And--let the internet record show--Skwisgaar is one foxy-lookin' cartoon character. Just sayin'.
Costuminatrix--I'm pretty much with you. When/if this flick comes out, that time is already spent! It'll probably have a drinking game built right in (every time someone references TRUE BLACK METAL, swig!).
Rebecca, my reaction was similar, only with "explodes" instead of "spinning" :)
Joan--indeed. Cheapness would be the greatest sin, though Sono's other work is pretty slick-looking. Let's hope his freaky style carries over in a US-funded production...!
CRwM, I like the cut of your jib, sir. You may very well be on to something--a fabulous disaster of this magnitude would be well worth watching.
Mr. Canacorn, stick around long and I'm sure someone here will reveal something lurid for you to capitalize upon for a superb FF post. Keep your eyes peeled...! The Costuminatrix is all business--fabulous, costumety, tutu business, baby ;)
Metalhead, the ways of the world's justice/prison systems are strange and inscrutable. Perhaps they figure the constant press coverage Vikernes has gotten is damn close to prison-level supervision?
db--I noticed during my exploratory Googlings that talk of the film adaptation started sometime in 2005. It's always hard to tell with this kind of thing whether it's going to bear fruit, but I'm not gonna lie--I am super-curious to see what kind of dementedness arises from this combination of weirdness!
Anon--you point out some interesting nuances that could flavor the story. I know I'll be waiting and watching this as it develops--the potential for a genuinely strange film is entirely too high to ignore!
as a serious Heavy Metal fan, fuck this movie. I hate black metal anyway, but I hate more how it has become en vogue as of the last 5 years or so. Listen to it for fucks' sake. No matter how many churches they burn down, how many pointlessly racist lyrics they write, or how many gay people they MURDER, it doesn't change the fact that black metal is basically garbage and only wishes it were as good as the first 5 years of Judas Priests recording career. I refuse to see this film. It's bound to be sensationalist bandwagon crap.
Whoa!! They're making a movie of this book? WOW.
As you may know, my dear Tenebrous, I'm an old metalhead myself...going back to my radio days and beyond. Some of the Scandinavian Death Metal was musically interesting (some...not all), but the lyrics were eye-rolling and over-the-top. It's knee-slapping funny (that's where Dethklok comes in), until you realize they take this stuff WAAAY too seriously. Yikes!!!
Never-the-less, I would be interested in seeing what they do with the film...for all the reasons you already pointed out. Any idea on the time table yet? Keep us posted!
Takes a LOT to really freak me out but I first read that book back when it first came out (I was managing a bookstore and so got to see all the cool stuff first) and it TOTALLY freaked me out! A movie? Hmmm....
John, I hear you on the lack-of-appeal of black metal. It's a little far-out for my tastes (which is... erm... saying something).
Cranky I am SO with you regarding the whole "it's all fun and games till someone gets stabbed to death" thing. I mean, it's one thing to allude to the occult and darker episodes in history, but once the gang violence comes in, I am SO gone.
Booksteve, you're so right about the scary nature of the book! It's a well-researched bit of freakiness.
Just checked, it was '98 when it came out.
Fuck this movie. The book was trash. There is no way that it can do Euronymous or Dead any justice. I expect to see Twilight faggots running around wearing Mayhem and Burzum shirts shortly after its release, fuck them along with the inevitable cocksuckers that watch this movie and instantly turn into "Trve Blak Mehtul" faggots.
"fun portrayal of Norway"
????
I'm speechless.
That book was a bit of a rough read -- fascinating, certainly, but the subject matter made it tough for me. True crime stuff freaks me out much more than anything anyone can make up.
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