Friday, November 11, 2011

Will Someone Please Remake "Breakfast at Tiffany's"?

Don't misunderstand. I like the 1961 film version of Truman Capote's novella Breakfast at Tiffany's. Audrey Hepburn made it memorable, with able assistance from Givenchy and Henry Mancini.

But the film, now 50 years old, is a slick, sanitized, and rather soulless version of Capote's bittersweet original. It turns Capote's delicate chamber music piece into an overblown orchestral performance. Holly Golightly is basically a hooker, a fact the film all but ignores. Her neighbor in the novella is a closeted gay man (and a thinly veiled version of Capote). In the movie, the character morphs into a strapping, handsome, hetero George Peppard, in order to give Audrey Hepburn a plausible love interest and to have a kissing-in-the-rain-with-a-cat scene at the end. The Patricia Neal character doesn't exist in the book at all (thankfully). And don't even get me started on the film's ridiculously racist depiction of a Japanese photographer (Mickey Rooney). I doubt Rooney's performance was funny 50 years ago, much less today.

Emma Stone
Years ago, Capote was quoted as saying he wished someone would do a remake with Jodie Foster as Holly Golightly. If you read the book, you can see the wisdom of Capote's choice. Foster would have been a terrific Golightly, capturing the character's backwater-Southern origins as well as her adopted big-city sophistication.

Unfortunately, Foster is a bit too old to play Golightly today. If someone were to remake Breakfast at Tiffany's now, I could see Emma Stone in the role. She's got that rough-and-tumble, edgy quality. And her work in this summer's The Help shows she can do Southern.

Who would you cast as Holly Golightly in a remake? And do you think the book deserves an updated film version?

16 comments:

  1. I love Emma Stone. She'd be awesome!

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  2. Kim Kardashian!

    OK, maybe not. We'd never see those Tiffany diamonds again......

    Emma Stone was outstanding in Easy A, excellent at biting humor. I'm a big fan of Kate Winslet. Would like to see her in that role. And yes, I think it should be remade truer to the novel.

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  3. I have forever been a fan of Breakfast at Tiffany's the Movie. But I have never sat down and read the book. I think I am now inspired to go do that! Hope it doesn't ruin the movie for me ;)!


    Ashland

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  4. Hmm, I read the novella a few years ago for the first time ever. I enjoyed it. I've never seen the movie. But I do know Emma Stone, and I think she'd do OK, although there may be someone else that could pull it off, but I'll have to think on it. ;)

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  5. I love Capote. They need to make more of his stories into movies.

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  6. I think you are the smartest man Ever! I agree 100 %!!! That is one of my all time favorite movies! I just read the novella and I agree it needs to be redone RIGHT! I also agree that Emma Stone would be a great choice, although there is someone else that would make a wonderful Holly Golightly I just can't put my finger on her name : )

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  7. Amy Adams I think could do justice in a remake. She did a good job in "Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day". Old hollywood sure liked to put gauze over riskay or questionable subjects and of course had to follow code.

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  8. I love the original but agree whole heartedly with you. It needs a fresh face.

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  9. I like the idea of Emma Stone with short hair.

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  10. I was discusing this w/ the bf last night & his first comment was Emma Stone & then at the same time we said Norah Jones :-)

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  11. I like the idea of Emma Stone, but I think Natalie Portman would be perfect.

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  12. Classic need not be tampered with please. !!!

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  13. I just read the novella and was googling for a remake, found your post. I agree, it could be fabulous as a period piece with it's true grit in place. I had a conversation last night about it before reading this, absolutely Emma Stone. Already daydreaming about the rest of the cast, so far I have Billy Bob Thornton as Doc Golightly.

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  14. I would love to see a remake, possibly with Ryan Gosling as Nick Varjacks character and a reunion with emma stone would be nice, they had awesome chemistry in Crazy, Stupid, Love...I can even see michele williams(after playing marylin she would be perfect for this role) or Keira Knightly( because she is one of my favorite actresses...Halle Berry too...I know she is African American but she played the hell out of dorothy dandridge and Dandridge was tortured like holly.

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  15. emma stone would be great. I would love to see this movie updated

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  16. Mila kunis. I've seen many photos of her pulling off the original look of Audrey Hepburn and I think she'd be true to the original small and petite.

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