The Essentials is a series of feature articles focusing on the big-screen contributions of one individual, whether behind the scenes or on camera. Selections are evaluated for their critical and financial success, significance to the individual’s career and representation of the breadth of his or her talents.
Tuskmay not have lit the box office on fire since hitting U.S. theaters last month, but if there’s one thing the entertainment world knows, it’s that writer/director Kevin Smith may be down, but he’s never out. Over the past 20 years, Smith has delivered has shaped his career with one daring film after another, including a recent turn towards the macabre. With recent news that his long-awaited sequel Clerks III is finally set to begin filming next June (and the Table’s blatant appreciation of Smith himself already clear), let’s take a look back at the man’s five most unforgettable films: Continue reading The Essentials: Kevin Smith→
The bookshelf has historically been one of the first places Hollywood has turned to for inspiration. Early classics like Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz are just two examples of screenwriters turning popular books into award-winning box office hits, and of course, this trend is as popular as ever, with literary adaptations often considered automatic Oscar bait and franchises like The Hunger Games among the highest-grossing films in recent years. Yet, even with the increasingly high-volume of published works being mined for film ideas, an intriguing trend is developing. Continue reading Should Novelists Adapt Their Own Books into Films?→
Every once in a while, a novel becomes the kind of ubiquitous bestseller that seems to permeate the public consciousness in a big way. Sometimes, this is due to its broad genre appeal (The Hunger Games) or the fact that the writing falls into that ever-popular so-bad-it’s-it’s-good category (looking at you, Fifty Shades of Grey). In the case of Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl, it was the complex plot-twisty narrative that captured the attention of readers everywhere. So, naturally that existing fanbase was cautiously intrigued when a film version by acclaimed director David Fincher (Seven, Fight Club) was announced.
