Prolific writer/producer David E. Kelley is adapting Tom Wolfe’s seminal 1987 novel Bonfire Of The Vanities as a series for Apple TV. The Batman director Matt Reeves is attached to direct.
Wolfe’s novel was famously – or perhaps that should be infamously – previously adapted into the 1990 movie of the same name by director Brian DePalma. The production was famously troubled, going through a number of script drafts both before and during filming. Ultimately, the released film – which starred Tom Hanks, Melanie Griffiths and Bruce Willis – was not a hit with critics and audiences stayed away from it in droves. Journalist Julie Salamon would write the definitive history of the film’s production, The Devil’s Candy.
But even before DePalma’s attempt crashed and burned, many thought that The Bonfire Of The Vanities was an unfilmable novel. And if you are trying to boil down the film’s complex web and plot lines and themes into a two-hour or so runtime, then yes, it could very well be unadaptable in that form. But given a larger running time over multiple episodes of a television series, the story might have the room it needs to breath. As to whether or not the book’s sharp skewering of the 1980s Manhattan society scene, media culture and race relations can still be made relatable is another issue. We will see if Kelley and Reeves can do that should the series go forward into production.
