Coens heading for Alaska

email this story
read comments (17)
post a comment

A Chandler-esque noir in the vein of Miller's Crossing, The Yiddish Policeman's Union will be the next Coen brothers film to be shot. (The comedic Burn After Reading is in the can and coming out later this year.) Based on the Michael Chabon novel and set in an imaginary Alaska that's "been turned into a homeland for Jewish refugees displaced after the second world war, following the collapse of Israel, etc. A Guardian story about the project claims that the book's plot suggests that the "murder victim may well have been the Messiah."

Conflicting messages<< previous | next >>Tracking Titles

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on February 12, 2008 at 1:26 PM

comment #1

BurmaShave says ...

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS.

Posted by BurmaShave at February 12, 2008 1:35 PM

comment #2

wayne76 says ...

This was a great book. Perfect fit for the Coens.

Posted by wayne76 at February 12, 2008 1:43 PM

comment #3

Sean says ...

I'm pretty sure A Serious Man is next. Low-budget, shot in the Twin Cities.

Posted by Sean at February 12, 2008 1:46 PM

comment #4

MikeSchaeferSF says ...

Be funny if YPC gets filmed before Kavalier & Clay, which is in development hell.

Posted by MikeSchaeferSF at February 12, 2008 1:52 PM

comment #5

Monument says ...

I loved the book, I can't think of anyone better than the Coen's to produce it. Fantastic news.

Posted by Monument at February 12, 2008 1:52 PM

comment #6

MikeSchaeferSF says ...

oops, make that YPU.

Posted by MikeSchaeferSF at February 12, 2008 1:56 PM

comment #7

Stephe96 says ...

Am I the only one out here who thinks the Coen Brothers are vastly overrated? I mean, as far as I can tell most of their movies consist of goofy looking people who talk funny. It was pretty funny in "Raising Arizona" and "Fargo," but for me a little of that stuff goes a long way. And "Miller's Crossing?" My God, the entire movie plays as if each actor is simply trying to 'outcool' each other with snappy, nearly-indecipherable Chandleresque tough-guy dialog. "So take your flunky and dangle"
"Hey Tom, what's the rumpus?" and "What is this, the high hat?" Yikes. After five minutes of that stuff I wanna scream!

Anyway, I realize I'm probably in the vast minority with this opinion, but is there anyone else out there who agrees with me? Hello? (taps microphone) Is this thing on? Hello?

Posted by Stephe96 at February 12, 2008 4:01 PM

comment #8

ksmith says ...

Yes, Stephe, you are the only one.

Very much looking forward to this one.

Posted by ksmith at February 12, 2008 4:07 PM

comment #9

Stephe96 says ...

ksmith,

Well, I hope I don't sound like I'm picking a fight or anything; because I'm not. I'm just curious if the love for the Coens is as universal as it would appear to be. I'm also not trying to imply that they make terrible films...I just think they're a bit overrated, that's all.

By the way, I'm witholding judgement on "No Country for Old Men" because, even though I did see it ( and didn't really like it much), I happened to see it in a theater with a terrible sound system. And many rave reviews I've read point out the amazing sound design of the film. Go figure. So I'm certainly going to give that one another chance when it comes out on DVD.

Posted by Stephe96 at February 12, 2008 4:40 PM

comment #10

PastePotPete says ...

This is a perfect pairing of talent and property, imo.

And Stephe, you're not the only to think the Coens are overrated, you're just the only one THIS year. People have forgotten their near universal disdain/disappointment with the Coens after their poor run with The Ladykillers and Intolerable Cruelty.

Posted by PastePotPete at February 12, 2008 5:13 PM

comment #11

Breedlove says ...

Coens are complete geniuses...this book was pretty good. Not great. To my mind Chabon has been trying too hard to write the Great American Novel. I preferred the simplicity of Wonder Boys to Yiddish Policeman's Union and Kavalier and Clay, both of which were entertaining and had lots of pretty sentences but...were a bit busy and cutesy and...too high concept for me.

Having said that, this sounds great. I am confident the film will improve on the book. I guess the Coens figure NCFOM worked so well that they will adapt another recent popular novel.

Very curious to hear casting...Clooney doesn't exactly scream "Jewish." Sean Penn might work and he should know his way around Alaska pretty well. And please cast Francis McDormand as the wife. Or maybe Toni Collette.

Posted by Breedlove at February 12, 2008 6:18 PM

comment #12

Dave says ...

Coens *are* overrated. But NCFOM was absolutely brilliant.

How do I square that? Easy-- they don't walk on water, and people gush far too much over their movies. It's like hearing Woody Allen fans rave about every single one of his movies like they're a work of art, when 90% of them suck hard. It makes it harder to appreciate when a rare gem shines through, like Match Point.

Now, I'd rather see a Coen Bros movie than a Woody Allen movie anyday, but until NCFOM came along, I wouldn't count a single one of their films as among my 100 best.

But NCFOM is brilliant.

Posted by Dave at February 12, 2008 6:42 PM

comment #13

Gordie Lachance says ...

"just curious if the love for the Coens is as universal as it would appear"

If by 'universal love' you mean the few hundred thousand Americans out of 300 million that would pay to see any of their films blind, then....uh.....yeah.

Can't wait for this. Love Chabon. I hope Rudin buys up every significant American novel for the next 20 years and gives it to the Coens.

As far as the overrated/underrated thing goes, I just listen to what everyone else is saying and then say the opposite. It makes me seem so hip and cutting edge.

Posted by Gordie Lachance at February 12, 2008 7:50 PM

comment #14

T. S. Idiot says ...

Love Chabon. Have read all the novels and stories, except for the second half of YPU. Stopped when I realized I was continuing merely out of a sense of duty. A nifty story and significant themes are there, but MC so overwrites that they are suffocated by his style. So I look forward to the Coen interpretation. No doubt they will find and distill the novel's essence. Kavalier and Clay is the greatest American novel of the past twenty years, but I'm not sure it's filmable.

Posted by T. S. Idiot at February 13, 2008 5:47 AM

comment #15

Breedlove says ...

Oh man, I can think of so many novels in the past 20 years that kick Kavaliar's ass. The Corrections, Never Let Me Go...hell Wonder Boys is much better.

Posted by Breedlove at February 13, 2008 9:31 AM

comment #16