Lemme preface by saying if I sound condescending, I apologize in advance. I don't intend it that way. I do a lot of writing in my (admittedly limited) spare time, and have done a lot of reading up on Mary Sues so as to avoid writing one. It can be a losing venture, as they are notoriously EASY to write, as I've found over the years.Tiff wrote:...Where on earth did you get the inclination that Mary Sues are loved by all? Most people cannot STAND Mary Sues. WTF?Queen Of Hearts wrote: Last time I cheeked, Mary sues where loved bye all, kthnx)
Bad person or not, her music is decent.
and good for you, but not everybody has to share your opinion.
I think what QoH is referring to when saying Mary Sues are "loved by all" is in reference to the storyline. In a story with a Mary Sue (hereby abbreviated as M.S. throughout this post), all of the characters absolutely ADORE our little Miss M.S., even down to glossing over whatever (admittedly) miniscule faults she might possess. Even the villains are begrudgingly admiring of her beauty and charms. When she is attacked by a villain, she can sway them with merely a bit of fighting and a few words (OK, Ai does do this to one villain, but the villain isn't turned due to her charms, but rather her own conflicted feelings in addition to Ai's words).
Anyway, it may just be me being incredibly philosophical, but I didn't find Ai to be Sue-ish at all. To me, a Sue makes no real contribution to the storyline she's partaking in, and often derails it miserably. For me, however, Ai had a purpose (under a tag for possible spoilers):
[spoiler]I think that Ai teaches us that even one person can make a difference in the world. Sure her power to either sow hate and discord or create love and compassion is a borderline-Sue ability, think of how it might apply in the real world. How many times have you looked at the state the world is in and asked yourself, "I'm just one person, what can I do to help anything?" To me, she's the embodiment of what one person truly could do if they stepped up and practiced what they preached.[/spoiler]
But all of that's just me, and I'm off on a very OT tangent. Tends to happen when it's a subject I have more than a passing interest in. Bad Princess, no cookie for me! Apologies to Tiff and everyone else. Back on topic, I go...
On the topic of Courtney Love putting out a Kurt Cobain movie, I honestly don't see it as such a strange thing for her. It seems to me that she finds some semblance of normalcy in the spotlight (possibly much like Britney Spears with her antics for the paparazzi. Annoying to us, sure, but it seems "normal" to her). I mean, look at her since his death, since she went on to a solo career...she's recorded an album and gotten herself into a hell of a lot of trouble. I don't see her as a money-grubbing bitch, but rather, someone who identifies the spotlight as "normal", regardless of how she attains it.
On the film itself, it will be impossible to please everyone. You'll have the "purists" who want Cobain portrayed exactly as he was in life, you'll have the "entertainists", who would rather be entertained than be educated about him, and you'll have a lot of people in between. I think if it's healthy doses of realism and entertainment, they can pull it off without too many problems.
I think the biggest snafu, however, will be in the portrayal of Kurt himself. Nobody (not even Courtney, who was his wife) knows him perfectly, since we all have different sides to ourselves that we show to different people. She might feel she knows him best, but in truth, the only one who knew him was Kurt Cobain, and we really can't rely on him for help. Hence why I think using healthy amounts of both realism and entertainment will benefit a project like this.
I've seen a number of biopics over the years -Malcolm X, Schindler's List, and Gandhi being my favorites- and seen what makes them so successful. They don't treat the individual's life like a history lesson or documentary, since many movie audiences don't necessarily enjoy perfectly accurate biographies that lack action or drama. Rather, the films are created mostly with historical facts, with a bit of Hollywoodization thrown in to make them entertaining to audiences.
So long as they don't totally corrupt Cobain's personality, I could see a movie about him being pretty successful.
EDIT: OMG! This went way longer than I meant it to! Apologies for length.