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Adaptation sensation >> Adrian Lyne on Lolita,Clinton and Her inbred Majesty by MATTHEW HAYS
The film, of course, is his adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov's landmark novel Lolita, the classic tale of inter-generational obsession. And when Lyne embarked on the project some eight years ago, the bad news began and seemingly hasn't stopped since. First, there were the inevitable comparisons to demigod director Stanley Kubrick, whose 1962 adaptation of the same book strayed from its source material but remains a clever film. Critics charged Lyne was too lightweight to handle such lofty material (this was, after all, the same director behind such bubblegum movies as Fatal Attraction, Indecent Proposal and yes, even Flashdance). Costs of the film catapulted out of control, pushing the final price tag over the $50-million mark. Then Lyne couldn't find anyone in North America who would distribute the film. Hoping Lolita would garner favourable reviews in Europe, he released it there. But the film got dragged through the mud, with critics arguing that Lyne had simply not captured the spirit of the book. TV to the rescue Then Lyne managed a single-screening sale to Showtime, the U.S. cable network. Response was overwhelming and helped him to land a deal with a North American distributor, which will in turn secure the film's place for Oscar consideration (for all its problems, Jeremy Irons' performance in the lead is undeniably fascinating and could well lead to a nomination). "I knew it would be difficult," Lyne says now about the whole Lolita ordeal. "But I had no idea it would be this difficult. The climate has changed in the past few years in America, though I can't speak for Canada. It has changed enormously since I started work on the movie. It's crazy because, in the end, it's a classic novel, one of the great books of the 20th century and in the end I wanted to make a film that reflected that novel." Lyne gives an understandably ambivalent response when asked the $50-million question: does he regret ever starting the Lolita thing? "Not really so much now, because it's over. And it will come out in theatres. In a way, I feel just a bit gratified about that. I certainly wouldn't want to go through it again. I worked with four writers. I worked with Harold Pinter and David Mamet. It was difficult to do, to translate it to the screen--it's five or six acts as opposed to just three." Lyne contests the idea that the movie has been a critical disaster. "Actually, it's been polarized. Recently, I've had some good reviews from The New York Times, Time and Newsweek, thank God. I think for a while people weren't reviewing the movie, they were reviewing me. They were expecting 9 1/2 Weeks, you know, acres of flesh. Which isn't what it is. "The numbers were very good on Showtime. I got great e-mails from people who watched. People who'd been molested as children and felt that the movie had helped them. And that was very gratifying too." The nastiest moments came when Lyne had to ponder exactly what might legally play in Peoria and what wouldn't. A lawyer sat through the editing process with Lyne, advising the filmmaker about what could stay and what couldn't. "Several sex shots done with a body double had to be removed," Lyne reports. "But I don't think it affected the movie too badly." Clintonphile Lyne does indeed find the timing of Lolita's North American landing ironic, opening last Friday in major U.S. cities, a mere four days after Clinton's four-hour testimony tape screened on international television. "I'm fascinated and intrigued by that Clinton stuff. I watched most of his testimony. It's shamelessly political. It's crazy what he did--madness. But the idea of somebody's relationship being examined like that--everyone in the world thinks that's nuts." Lyne doesn't quite know what he'll do next. "I'm looking at a few different things. It's a tough act to follow. The novel is simply brilliant. Everything feels two-dimensional after Lolita." Does Lyne, who says he's particularly proud of Irons' performance, think the actor has ruined his chances for knighthood by making a film as controversial as Lolita? "What an interesting question. I think he's a shoo-in for it later in life. I hate that sort of thing. I left London in '79 in large part because of that nonsense. I live in France now." Where they give Jerry Lewis medals? "At least they don't have to get down on their knee in front of that inbred woman." Lolita opens Friday, October 2
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Adrian Lyne lives up to his reputation as an articulate and thoughtful interview. But make no mistake: he sounds exhausted. This is one of the last interviews he's giving before he leaves the continent and returns to Europe. He's been granting interviews to everyone, in the desperate hope of bolstering the box-office chances of his latest film.