MCT DirectChristopher Buckley, a famed American political satirist who has written several pieces for The New Yorker, several respected novels and has served as a former managing editor for Esquire Magazine, is speaking at the Assembly Series today at 11 a.m.
What Buckley is perhaps most known for, though, is “Thank You for Smoking: The Novel,” which was adapted into a Golden Globe nominated and critically acclaimed film in 2006 starring Aaron Eckhart, Maria Bello, Katie Holmes and Cameron Bright. The movie, about a satirical look at the tobacco industry, grossed $24 million in the U.S. box office.
Hannah Sharp, a sophomore, thought the movie was quite entertaining and dealt well with irony.
“[The movie] did a good job with satire and irony. It pointed out the negatives and the complete lack of morals [the main character] had in promoting a product,” she said.
Richard Chapman, a senior lecturer in screenwriting who has written for shows and movies such as “Simon and Simon,” “My Fellow Americans” and “Live from Baghdad,” helped to write one of the first drafts for the movie “Thank You for Smoking.” Consequently, he has known Buckley since the first days when he and his partner wrote the first draft of the script back in 1995. After reading Buckley’s novel in preparation for writing the screenplay, Chapman was impressed and said that it was the most fun he had ever had while adapting a screenplay.
“His writing was so sharp, funny, knowing, and intelligent that it was a dream assignment to adapt the first draft of that novel,” said Chapman.
“We naturally warmed up to the material right away because it dealt with the politics of marketing, lobbyists and many issues that were ripe for satirical treatment,” he said.
In fact, the way the book was written was so ripe for the cinema that Chapman was able to take a lot of the dialogue from the book word for word.
“The dialogue is very savvy and hits the mark for a screenwriter. [This was] an advantage in adaptation because you could take the actual dialogue and edit it down to fit the economical needs of the screenplay,” he said.
This kept the movie fairly close to the book, which does not always happen when a novel is adapted into a movie.
Though Jason Reitman’s screenplay was the one finally used when the movie was released in 2006, Chapman was pleased with the finished product and remarked that the movie, which was originally slated to be a big-budget studio vehicle, had been changed into a smart, high-toned intelligent comedy on a smaller-scale budget.
“The movie is interesting, funny and character-oriented. A lot of original potential from the novel was delivered. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and found it well-directed. It had a good sense of humor, as will as some laugh-out-loud moments,” he said.
In addition to admiring “Thank You for Smoking: The Novel,” Chapman praised Buckley’s ability to be original and fresh.
“Anytime you see his byline in The New Yorker, you’re in for a treat. [Buckley] cannot be pigeonholed. If you start reading his pieces, you will see that he is his own man and an independent thinker,” he said.