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Subject: Percy-L: Literary, Religious, Scientific, and Philosophical Discussion on Walker Percy

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  • From: RHONDA MCDONNELL <rhonda_mcdonnell AT msn.com>
  • To: "Percy-L: Literary, Religious, Scientific, and Philosophical Discussion" <percy-l AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [percy-l] Percy and the movies and such
  • Date: Sun, 6 Nov 2022 04:51:42 +0000

David and all,
I once tried to write a Lancelot script during my PhD studies. It wasn’t very good as a movie—I think I erred by being overly faithful to the book. However, it was a fun exercise, and Nikki Barranger was kind enough to give it a read for me. I agree that it could work well—with the right writer!

The state of the humanities sure ain’t what it used to be. Maybe that’s as it should be though it doesn’t feel like it. Now students can take courses on things like game narrative—I can’t figure how you’d prepare for it —perhaps a group gaming session? 

Ah I grow old, I grow old ….

Rhonda 

Sent from my iPhone

On Nov 5, 2022, at 10:43 PM, Beck, David A <dabeck AT iupui.edu> wrote:


Rhonda, et al,

I know the book club. 🙂 We live in a different time. I'm not sure what can be taught and what can't be taught, in the age of super-sensitivity. Next year will be my final year in academia. I loved it from the beginning, but, like most instructors in the humanities, I'm glad to get out, though sad at the same time. Everything has changed, including the lack of lit courses to teach. I used to teach Percy, but our lit courses have been narrowed to so few that I can't teach Percy or lit again.

But, on topic, I always thought, given a creative director and script writer, Lancelot could make a great movie, with flashbacks from his cell.

-David

David Beck
Senior Lecturer

English Department

Indiana University and Purdue University at Indianapolis

425 University Boulevard,
CA 343-E
Indianapolis, IN 46202
317-278-2550

From: Percy-L <percy-l-bounces+dabeck=iupui.edu AT lists.ibiblio.org> on behalf of RHONDA MCDONNELL <rhonda_mcdonnell AT msn.com>
Sent: Saturday, November 5, 2022 10:13 PM
To: Percy-L: Literary, Religious, Scientific, and Philosophical Discussion <percy-l AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: [External] [percy-l] Percy and the movies and such
 
This message was sent from a non-IU address. Please exercise caution when clicking links or opening attachments from external sources.

Always good to see the list having some activity!!

Regarding The Second Coming, I fear the best of it will be lost in a film translation. I’ve always been a bit unsettled at the age gap between Will and Allie, and I wonder if that wouldn’t be accentuated while the spiritual element would be lost entirely? We’ll just have to wait and see I suppose. We’ve yet to see Percy make it to screen. 

I agree with Janet that Thanatos might be an easier translation to screen, though I suspect the child abuse would need to be downplayed. I suspect though that the Nazi connection wouldn’t make it at all. As for any other aspects, I see the worst of science and social machinations  combined in Van Dorn and Comeaux—none of which needs be political in my estimation.

However, I have always held the view that literature is conversation between reader and text. There is certainly room for varying interpretations of any text, and the times do influence how we see a text. Percy was pretty liberal in his day, but during the pandemic I was in a book club that read Love in the Ruins, and the younger folks in the group were offended at Percy’s language. They saw him as something of a racist and couldn’t get past it. 

I guess this is all to say that whatever Percy intended, how the reader takes his meaning is partly up to the reader. 

My best to all,

Rhonda

Sent from my iPhone

On Nov 5, 2022, at 4:45 PM, Michael Larson <larsonovic AT gmail.com> wrote:


Karl, two questions: 1) Do you think Percy was enamored of scientism? 2) What do you think he was after in Thanatos?   

Mike Larson

On Sat, Nov 5, 2022 at 1:07 PM <percy-l-request AT lists.ibiblio.org> wrote:
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Today's Topics:

   1. Re:  Adaptation of Walker Percy Novel ?The Second Coming? -
      Aaron Magnani (Producer) (Karl M. Terrell)


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Sat, 5 Nov 2022 18:00:15 +0000
From: "Karl M. Terrell" <kterrell AT stokeswagner.com>
To: "janetcantor37 AT yahoo.com" <janetcantor37 AT yahoo.com>, "Percy-L:
        Literary, Religious, Scientific, and Philosophical Discussion"
        <percy-l AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Subject: Re: [percy-l]  Adaptation of Walker Percy Novel ?The Second
        Coming? - Aaron Magnani (Producer)
Message-ID: <39157957-C2B6-4313-8605-333FF77E7A63 AT stokeswagner.com" target="_blank">39157957-C2B6-4313-8605-333FF77E7A63 AT stokeswagner.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"


I would hope, though, that any moviemaker of Thanatos would not cheaply politicize it as a critique of liberalism (either in the broad classic sense or under the ?liberal? label in American politics), or as an endorsement of the current right-wing?s fetishistic misunderstanding of expertise based on real science.

Percy was after something altogether different.

Karl Terrell

Sent from my iPhone

On Nov 5, 2022, at 11:16 AM, janetcantor37--- via Percy-L <percy-l AT lists.ibiblio.org> wrote:

?
I would like to see any good adaptation of any Percy novel.

I think the easiest for adaptation would be The Thanatos Syndrome.

It is wild enough to illustrate today's choices about how our authorities handled Covid and vaccinations, and about how the ruling class imposes its ideas of what is going on in the planet and casually ruins our lives and our economy as they go about it. Look how the novel matches how do gooders who think they know what is best for everyone else often forget that others' personal freedom and happiness must not be ignored while they are "helping" the world.

There is also that plot about Nazis in the novel that comes from Percy's own pivotal experience of seeing some Nazi Youth when he was a young boy and being viscerally changed by that and never forgetting that scary feeling. There is so much talk about Nazis these days, even that subplot is relevant.

A side comment: Percy hated the Nazis and used that subplot in an attempt to give the reader the same terror he understood about tyranny and how it can become normalcy so easily. He was balancing that against the "good intentions" of those who were wrongheadedly giving the happy juice to everyone to bring peace and calm into the world. Yet someone in my book group, a very intelligent woman read that and hated the book because she didn't like the way Percy was minimizing and mocking the Holocaust. She missed Percy's point completely.

Another woman there made the pithiest comment on the novel. "Just because we are able to do something does not always mean we should do it."

I think The Thanatos Syndrome could be a perfect novel to adapt today.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if movie makers could at last see that these novels were prescient and could entertain us yet give us all food for thought.

I wonder if any adaptation of The Second Coming could be successful. It isa strange story, but if it could be pulled off, it could be magical.

Janet Cantor

On Saturday, November 5, 2022, 10:38:07 AM EDT, Henry P. Mills III <wppdirector AT gmail.com> wrote:


Dear Percy-L:

Members may be interested in this news of a future Percy novel film. Is the Second Coming more adaptive to the big screen than the Moviegoer?

I wonder what novel members of the community think would be best suited for a feature-length film? It?d be interesting to hear the community?s responses.  Is Second Coming the most likely one?

Best wishes,
Henry Mills


----
Aaron Magnani Developing Film Adaptation Of Walker Percy Novel ?The Second Coming?; Peter Arneson Set As Screenwriter

Aaron Magnani has optioned screen rights to Walker Percy?s New York Times bestseller The Second Coming, with plans to develop the novel for film. He?s currently in search of a director for the adaptation and will produce via under his Aaron Magnani Productions banner. Peter Arneson adapted the script and will executive produce.

The story centers on a wealthy, suicidal widower who searches for proof of God but finds much more when he meets a young woman fugitive from a mental hospital. Influenced by the real-life suicides of Percy?s father and grandfather and suspected suicide of his mother, the plot combines comedy, tragedy and romance, with themes of alienation and redemption.

?This story is very relatable to the world we have been living in,? said Magnani. ?And the adaptation is as much a director?s piece as an actor?s piece and incredible character study.?


Continue reading at ?
<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__deadline.com_2022_03_aaron-2Dmagnani-2Ddeveloping-2Dwalker-2Dpercy-2Dnovel-2Dthe-2Dsecond-2Dcoming-2Dfor-2Dfilm-2D1234981570_&d=DwMFaQ&c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&r=MPqL-JqzKEP1_tqQMCtzQEIJ8sNv19st3TM2Q1X2TCU&m=NfRmwuJFpTwU96M_kHBZIprVT28QDbtyAHvd2i3UwYM&s=1qadhJskth97vBvr70Mu1f4spzt4xLyxk7iBkXhd4cA&e=>https://deadline.com/2022/03/aaron-magnani-developing-walker-percy-novel-the-second-coming-for-film-1234981570/<https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__deadline.com_2022_03_aaron-2Dmagnani-2Ddeveloping-2Dwalker-2Dpercy-2Dnovel-2Dthe-2Dsecond-2Dcoming-2Dfor-2Dfilm-2D1234981570_&d=DwQFaQ&c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&r=MPqL-JqzKEP1_tqQMCtzQEIJ8sNv19st3TM2Q1X2TCU&m=NfRmwuJFpTwU96M_kHBZIprVT28QDbtyAHvd2i3UwYM&s=1qadhJskth97vBvr70Mu1f4spzt4xLyxk7iBkXhd4cA&e=>



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