Thinky Thoughts

[deelaundry]

Been thinking a lot about "My Fathers' Son" lately.

1) "Got to Be More Careful" (on YT here) is most definitely on the soundtrack, if not the theme song.

(Sample lyrics: Got to be more careful with all your don’t’s and do’s; Be on your best behavior, watch your p’s and q’s. Got to be more careful when you’re chatting on the phone; You don’t know who’s listening And what they got going on.)

2) I wrote "My Fathers' Son" thinking that House was operating from an outdated perspective on homophobia, seeing a world we don't live in any more. But when an American major-party presidential nominee thinks children are better off in orphanages than with gay parents, maybe not entirely.

3) I think I've figured out how I'd adapt it for the screen. The frame for it would be the sessions Jack has with the counselor. The first "flashback" scene would be at Pop & Elaine's wedding, with "House" explaining to one of Elaine's family members his friendship with "Wilson" and relationship to Jack. More flashback scenes to follow, as Jack discusses more and more of his life. It'd be half to two-thirds of the way through the movie before Jack would reveal to the counselor that his father's best friend had also been his father's partner.

I'm thinking Haley Joel Osment for Jack. (Perhaps with some lifts in his shoes.)

Comments

[purridot.livejournal.com]

Film version -- a resounding yes! But I would probably be bawling from the opening credits.

It'd be half to two-thirds of the way through the movie before Jack would reveal to the counselor that his father's best friend had also been his father's partner.

Would we know from the beginning that House is Jack's biological father?

[hannahrorlove.livejournal.com]

You could really play around with the idea of flashbacks and narration - sort of like The Mistake only taken to another, deeper level.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Would we know from the beginning that House is Jack's biological father?

Yep. That would be part of what "House" explains to the family member, framing it as part of what a great guy "Wilson" is.

New elements in the movie:
- The time Jack catches his fathers having sex (though he doesn't realize that's what it is)
- The two men were in a band together in college! Hee.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

The movie would all be about hiding and revealing. Several of the flashbacks would be replayed, but with a different angle of POV or continuing on longer, which would give a completely different feel. Some short scenes might be replayed with no extra material -- only the audience's changed perspective based on what they know now that they didn't before.

[nightdog-barks.livejournal.com]

*nods*

That's what I was thinking -- a voice-over narration by Jack at certain points in the film could be very interesting.

[daisylily.livejournal.com]

That sounds fascinating - especially the flashback idea - and I'd definitely watch it (although I'd have to take a whole box of kleenex with me).

Who would you cast as House and Wilson? I think that Hugh Laurie and Robert Sean Leonard might be good. Possibly. XD

(And re #2 - I didn't know that McCain has an adopted Bangladeshi daughter; it makes his comments even more ridiculous and judgmental!)

[purridot.livejournal.com]

Another nosy question just occurred to me: why is Jack at the therapist's? Exploring his fathers' elaborate deception is the answer, but what is the burning *question* at the beginning of the movie that needs an answer? I've been reading all these books on the "heroic journey" and I wonder what Jack's would be :-) I could make up my own answer but I'd rather hear it from the expert!

Also: additional DVD scenes = <3

[hibernia1.livejournal.com]

McCain is a f*cking moron. *deep calming breaths*

And I can TOTALLY see a movie made out of My Father's Son!! *bounces* Can I be in it? I want to be in it!

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Jack is at the therapist's due to his guilt over Elaine's illness, which has just tipped over into delusional. He's convinced that he caused her illness, which of course is impossible.

Do you remember in the story, when Jack is in college, he goes to counseling for six months, in the room he calls "The Stall"? That's it. (Although, the timing changes a bit, and Elaine dies just before Jack ends his therapy sessions.)

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

There are also a few scenes that are "secondhand" scenes, Jack telling a story that's been told to him. Things that happened before he was born, and what happened when his Pop was beaten up. I'm not sure how the argument scene gets in there, yet. Hmm.

The stories are also told out of chronological order, which adds another interesting element.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

I don't even want to say who I'm thinking will be cast. It's... ridiculous-sounding. Will email you. : )

[warmdarkwoman.livejournal.com]

Me too! I want to be a nurse that flirts incessantly with Wilson. Or the nurse-with-attitude who takes no guff from House.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

McCain is... GAH! Can't even talk about it more; his attitude just pisses me off too much.

Hee, it'll have a cast of thousands, I think. As I told, purridot in the adapatation, there'll be a band. We could all be concert-goers!

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

You want to be Nurse Brenda?

Hee hee hee. ♥ You're in!

[hibernia1.livejournal.com]

Cool!!

[suiciderunner.livejournal.com]

"- The time Jack catches his fathers having sex (though he doesn't realize that's what it is)"

Goodness, I want that as a fic. SO MUCH.

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Original version or movie version? Original is smuttier but slightly angstier; movie version is tamer and funnier.

[suiciderunner.livejournal.com]

Both of course. But the book is ALWAYS better than the movie.

[daisylily.livejournal.com]

Hi! Did you get the email I sent you? (About my op)

[deelaundry.livejournal.com]

Just wrote back -- very sorry for the delay. : (