DIRECTOR LARRY CHARLES GIVES ANOTHER UPDATE ON MOTLEY CRUE’S THE DIRT MOVIE
So who watched the debate last night? Pretty early on I decided I was gonna take a bong rip every time Sarah Palin used the word “maverick,” and about 120 seconds later I was higher than I’ve ever been, which is saying something. So… thanks Sarah Palin!
Speaking of mavericks, you should all know who Larry Charles is – and not just because he has a fantastic beard. He was/is an executive producer and writer for such shows as Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Entourage, has directed the Borat feature film (And the Bill Maher-hosted documentary Religulous, which just opened today. I haven’t seen it yet but I hear it’s as hilarious as Borat and twice as incendiary.). Charles was also slated to helm the feature film version of The Dirt, the autobiography of mavericks Motley Crüe – but now Charles says that ain’t happening. That’s old news, but Charles’ insight into why the movie isn’t getting made right now is actually pretty fuckin’ cool. He tells Coming Soon:
“…Motley Crüe is a crappy band but [author and maverick Neil Strauss] wrote a really epic book about them. It’s really fascinating. What’s good about it is how hardcore it is. They’ve killed people, they’ve hurt people, they’ve crippled people, they’ve done all kinds of crazy things. You’d have to show that for real and I think there was a little bit of reticence [on the part of the studio] about doing that ultimately. But for me, I would do it if it could be done the proper way. If it’s going to be sanitized then they don’t need me to do it. They could find somebody else to do that.”
It’s great to see that Charles “gets it,” as the saying goes, and he speaks to the heart of the problem with screenwriter Rich Wilkes’ (that maverick of xXx and Jerky Boys infamy) adaption of the source material: it’s tame and one-dimensional, like that terrible VH1 made-for-TV Def Leppard biopic.
Hopefully someone will have the balls to let Charles make this movie the way it should be made. In the meantime, we’re better off with it never getting made at all.
-AR
