Maybe the Moon

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    Philip

Dear Philip ,
    I actually woke this morning thinking about those diaries, so I guess it’s time I told you I think you’re onto something big. The idea of this tiny, ambitious, infuriating, lovable woman who is both enslaved and ennobled by an icon of popular culture is one that seems completely fresh to me. At the same time, it’s old-fashioned and highly moral in the best sort of Dickensian way. There is, as well, a liberal feminist subtext that suits me to a T, as you no doubt recognized when you sent it to me .
    I presume you’ll want to fictionalize the story, so we’re dealing more in terms of a modern parable than a docudrama. This would give us the freedom to play and explore our themes more fully without the attendant legal hassles. (It’s fascinating to consider what Mr. Woods might become in this new version. An interplanetary creature? A troll who lives under a bridge?) In any event, the fact that you’re holding a mirror to your own life’s work, much as Fellini did in 8 1/2, won’t be lost on anyone in the critical establishment .
    The trick will be to keep our heroine fully human, to position the audience at her level, on her side through it all, without resorting heavily to low-level camera angles. (Not that you would, my love.) I hardly need tell you that such an off-the-wall character, particularly a central one, has to be set amid familiar and reassuring points of reference, so that the audience will accept her into their hearts with the same matter-of-factness with which Jeremy accepted Mr. Woods. To this end, here are a few thoughts :
    How wed are we to Cady’s romantic life? The sex scenes made me extremely uncomfortable, and I can assure you I won’t be the only woman who’ll feel that way, however priggish that makes me sound. It seems to me the real relationship in the diaries is between Cady and Renee, two women held hostage by their own bodies for entirely different reasons. That’s where the crux of the drama lies, that’s what we should build on. If I were God here, the central romantic relationship would be between Reneeand Neil. I felt there was potential for that all along, and I would find it far more intriguing (and moving, ultimately) if Cady were acting as a sort of witty mediator between the full-sized lovers. We don’t want to know who she fucks. We really don’t .
    The interracial component is interesting but risky, only because it could make the film issue-heavy and dissipate its ultimate effectiveness. There’s a fine line, I believe, between breaking ground and digging a pit. We have enough obstacles as it is. Besides, if Renee is to be our love interest, I doubt seriously she’d end up with a black boyfriend; it just doesn’t fit the character, airhead Valley Girl that she is. We already know that she sees herself as Melanie Griffith, so why not go with that and find her a Don Johnson? Or a Richard Gere? Or a Jeff Bridges? He could still be Cady’s accompanist, and we’d avoid the potentially offensive stereotype of the black piano player. Or maybe the boyfriend could be that technician. What do you think ?
    As to Callum’s private life (the reason I’m not faxing this), it’s obvious we have to abandon that strand completely. I can hear the lawyers right now, and that business in the park just lends a sordid air to a story that’s fundamentally innocent. I’m sure you feel the same, given your affection for Callum. There’s hardly room for it, anyway, if we intend to beef up the relationship between Cady and Renee. We could still see her in one scene with a gay friend (perhaps one a little less strident) as a way of adding color and showing Cady’s tolerance. I think that would be nice, as long as it doesn’t overwhelm us. Balance is everything .
    Incidentally, I don’t agree at all that you come off as a heavy. In my reading of it you’re just the natural scapegoat of Cady’s self-delusion, her need to believe at all costs. Maybe she was really as talented as she thinks she was—I can’t begin to tell from the diaries—but I doubt it seriously. What that fact will offer to the right actress in terms of tragic nuance is thrilling to think about .
    Casting will be a challenge, to put it mildly, though it will certainly offer a rich publicity angle. Our actress will obviously have to be taller than Cady, unless we decide to make her Yugoslavian. (Small joke.) Taller would be fine, really, maybe even easier to sell in the long run.