XLrator Media has released today – in limited theaters, VOD and iTunes – the highly anticipated The Scribbler, an adaptation of the 2006 popular graphic novel by Daniel Schaffer.
Schaffer, who also penned the screenplay, caught up with Bloody Disgusting to discuss his favorite graphic novel adaptations, which include The Crow to Ghost World.
“The Scribbler follows Suki (Katie Cassidy), a young woman confronting her destructive mental illness using “The Siamese Burn,” an experimental machine designed to eliminate multiple personalities. The closer Suki comes to being “cured,” she’s haunted by a thought… what if the last unwanted identity turns out to be her?”
Dan Schaffer’s 5 Favorite Graphic Novel Adaptations:
1. GHOST WORLD. This is my favourite adaptation of any graphic novel because it captures perfectly the melancholic vibe that runs through the blue toned art and deceptively simple panel spacing of Dan Clowes’ book. The characters move through a desolate, directionless limbo between their pasts and their futures and this is expertly translated to the screen by way of a brilliant soundtrack and lead actors who perform with a kind of permanent thousand-yard-stare, like they want to look to the future but can’t see past the moment. I don’t know if it was a wonderful accident or all by design but, either way, it’s a great adaptation.
2. THE CROW. The film’s still great even though it’s looking a bit dated now. O’Barr’s book has a purity that you don’t find in any mainstream comic and, in a rare case of Hollywood integrity, the filmmakers seemed to respect that. Here’s a guy with a pen exorcising his demons, coming to terms with loss, and somehow producing this wonderful story. The film could have ignored all that but, for the most part, it preserved the book’s soul and, through Brandon Lee’s perfectly tuned performance, ended up being much more than the sum of its parts, just like the comic.
3. OLD BOY. If Park Chan-wook is filming your graphic novel adaptation then you’ve struck gold! He’s one of the cleverest filmmakers on the planet and OLD BOY in particular is not only a remarkable film for any genre, it’s also a lesson in complex, intelligent and committed filmmaking that all directors could learn from.
4. A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE. Cronenberg changed a handful of details from the John Wagner/Vince Locke graphic novel in his adaptation but he’s always been pretty respectful of his source material – COSMOPOLIS is virtually word for word from Delillo’s novel and NAKED LUNCH is, well, that was unfilmable but he still managed to do something remarkable by getting inside Burroughs’ head. Cronenberg’s a smart guy so if he’s got his fingers all over your work you know that you’re in safe hands and the result going to be something intelligent and not a dumb mess of movie clichés.
5. DREDD. I grew up reading 2000AD, it’s why I got into comics. This film is on the list even though I hated it the first time I saw it. I thought it was a by-the-numbers, two dimensional, video game movie with no soul. But it got stuck in my head so I watched it again to find out why and ended up pulling a complete U-turn. Second time around I thought it was a genius piece of slick, simple, linear storytelling. And I’ve watched it a couple more times since then so figure that out. The two leads were perfect and Lena Headey always rocks. Somebody make a sequel.
