GENRE: Victorian Ghost Story / Tale of the Macabre
PREMISE: A photographer goes to New York City with the hopes of beginning a collection that’ll focus on loneliness. But New York City is one weird place. Screaming Vietnam Vets. A creepy kid selling puppies. Some man follow him. He’s staying temporarily at his friend’s apartment. He thought it’d be empty, but a woman’s living there. And the two begin a very torrid love affair. But there’s one catch, the woman’s a ghost. And so are all the weird folk. Furthermore, the woman’s ex is out to harm the two because murderous jealousy keeps him from fading into a ghost. And the woman is attached to the photographer. There’s a chase through an apartment building which houses the memories of the photographer and his lover. And ultimately (I’m going to ruin this because odds are the script will never be filmed) the photographer is a ghost too.
ABOUT: This thing sort of got knocked out of the running by the onslaught of ghost stories that came out in the mid to late 90’s (The Sixth Sense, Stir of Echoes, etc). And that’s really a shame because with a director who could have picked up on the dark, moody tone of Manhattan Ghost Story, this would have been a better ghost tale than any of them. The script is actually an adaptation of a novel by T.M. Wright (who has written a ton of horror novels and won a Bram Stoker award) by Ron Bass and sold for $2 million. Manhattan Ghost Story went into Development Hell and has had Sharon Stone and Julia Roberts attached at various times to act, and Wayne Wang (Because of Winn-Dixie, Maid in Manhattan) to direct.
WRITERS: Novel by T.M. Wright, Script by Ron Bass (who has done a ton of stuff…Rain Man, Step Mom, Waiting to Exhale, My Best Friend's Wedding, and the similar in tone, What Dreams May Come)
I read this script about two months ago. And, I didn’t review Manhattan Ghost Story then because I had no idea what I’d say about the story. Now, I’m still not sure. But I think that’s part of the script’s charm. Like Blade Runner or Return of the Jedi, it may not be perfect (shoot, maybe not even close). But Manhattan Ghost Story is dark, sleek and incredibly rich in tone. It’s not scary, it’s eerie. And if you don’t really understand the difference, this script will divide them for you. If it had been scary, I wouldn’t have included it in this week’s Ghost theme.
The story is very slow and plodding. A 120 plus page script. And that always means stuff could have been trimmed. It’s hard because the protagonist doesn’t really have a ready goal or objective until he falls in love with this ghost woman a good chunk through the script which means you’re forced to slow down and really ponder on what lines and dialogue mean. Now in an actual film, the director can find ways to cheat this until the story kicks in. But on the page, this means a very, very slow lead in.
Actually, I’ll be entirely honest, there’s some interesting stuff in the middle. A man in love with a ghost woman, which is kind of like Ghost in reverse. But okay, I’ll play your game. Then a jealous ghost boyfriend who focuses on the woman to prevent from “fading” out into oblivion. (Which is really convoluted, and I didn’t buy it. It’s a technique mainly just to put a bad guy in this thing and make him threatening).
But the real golden part to Manhattan Ghost Story, which elevates it to brilliant comes in the last 30 pages when the photographer is chased through a building which alters itself in terms of time and space dimensions to reveal images from his (and his lover’s) past. I am absolutely in love with any script that can utilize an apartment building in a way we haven’t seen them before (and as someone who has spent so much time in them during the last few years, I guess this is what I get). So that’s great and I’ll give high ratings any day of the week for that. I wish somebody would either film this script, or steal this idea, just to utilize this element.
But that’s Manhattan Ghost Story for you. A few brilliant ideas. A slow moving plot until the end. A couple characters I couldn’t get behind because the thing is so plodding. And a ghost story that isn’t really a ghost story because it’s not scary. This is a good script that with some punching up could have very well been amazing.
Scooby Doo (Complete Crap)
Atilla (Poor, Few Redeeming Qualities)
[X] - Wedding Crashers (Mediocre)
Hot Rod (Good)
Definitely Maybe (Pretty Darn Good)
What I Learned: Maximize locations. Not only does it save budget, if you can maximize a location odds are you're using it in an original way. And, odds are also you've thought of something original to watch on screen. The idea of an apartment building that houses different memories of the past is one such example. Of course, intergrating this idea into your film is a whole other challenge. But, that's a whole other what I learned section.
Isla Prospect: I'd like to see Isla for once in a non-chick flick romance like Ghost Story. Now I'm not saying this is the film, but I'm saying it'd a good genre to get some props in as opposed to this goofy Cookie Queen / Wedding Crashers streak she's currently on.
Script Link: I have a copy and will email it to you if interested.
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