of "There's Always a Sun" far surpasses other films based on Irving's novels.
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Charlize Theron's performance in the film was completely unexpected. ——The behind-the- scenes production of
"Philadelphia Daily News" " There's Always a Bright Sun" was adapted from the best-selling book of the same name published by American author John Irving in 1985. Many media praised the book as Irving's most successful work. To make it into a movie, Owen has gone through 13 years of hard work. Director Philip Bossas was the first to work with Owen to adapt the script, and the script was taking shape in Paul Newman's living room shortly after the novel came out, with Delrey Lindo also participating. Just when everyone was complacent, Bossas unexpectedly contracted a terminal illness, and the filming plan was forced to stop. Owen recalled: "Philip died of cancer at the age of 41. During the long period of cooperation, we have become close friends. His untimely death almost broke me. For a long time, I think 'There's Always a Hot Sun' has missed the big screen."
Thankfully, "There's Always a Sun" doesn't lack a loyal following, including producer Richard N. Gladstein, who hopes to turn the novel into a movie. He said: "I am deeply attracted by the choices and human nature that the characters have to face, the world they live in, the concept of family, how to get along with family, the responsibility and importance of love and friendship, the issue of race and abortion. Fascinating topic, and the Dickensian way of storytelling also fascinates me. Although the story takes place in the 1930s and 1940s, the dilemmas faced by the characters in the book are still common today, so I am obsessed with the idea of adapting the novel. For a long time, even if the movie is only half as long as the novel, the emotional content in it is enough to benefit the audience." Gladstein traveled to Vermont to meet with Irving, and the two hit it off immediately to find a director. In the end, they locked on Lesser Hallstrom, who directed "The Dogface Years" and "A Different Sky". Atypical families, complex, wonderful and ever-changing first loves and sexual awakenings, loyalty and betrayal, and meticulous portrayals of eccentric characters are all inherent in Holstrom and Irving's work, and, in addition, The Years of Dogface and The novel "There's Always a Bright Sun" was published in 1985. Holström has a long history with the film, Owen recalls: "It's a coincidence that Lasse Holström was the best man in our eyes when Philip Bossas was alive. , Philip and I both liked "The Years of the Dog Face", but he had a lot of film appointments at the time, so we had to give up, and years later, when I heard that Lesser had agreed to direct the film, I was really excited."
Owen's script was thorough . Altering the compact novel, he removed excessive characters and subplots, shortened the time span, and added new content. Gladstein said: "John didn't think at the beginning of writing that the whole story of the novel could be presented on the big screen, and we were adapting the film from the story of the novel, not making the novel into a film. This is not a TV series, if We had 8 hours, so it's a no-brainer to shoot the whole novel, but it's a movie, so we had to choose."
Tidbits
John Irving had wanted his son Colin Irving to play Wally in the film, But the filming took more than ten years, and Colin Owen's age was no longer suitable for the role. In the end, he played the role of Major Winslow.
· Michael Winterbottom was the candidate to direct the film, but he later withdrew due to the delay in filming of the film.
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