Kubrick’s Aryan Papers To Finally Go Before Cameras?
One of the film related highlights at this year’s Edinburgh festival is an exhibition calledUnfolding the Aryan Papers, revealing the research carried out byStanley Kubrickin preparation for filming an adaptation of the novelWar Time Lies. Ahead of the exhibition opening, word has come that a new attempt to realize the film version,The Aryan Papers, could be on the cards.
In the last few decades of his life, Stanley Kubrick built up an ever deepening reputation as a reclusive, eccentric obsessive who spent vast amounts of time and resources in the elaborate planning of his feature films, a number of which were never ultimately realized. This was at least partly deserved, as amply illustrated by the vast legacy of archived research material that Kubrick has left behind. For more on the research files in general, I’d recommend Jon Ronson’s superb documentaryKubrick’s Boxes, for a more specific study of The Aryan Papers, hopping on a plane to Edinburgh should sort you out a treat.
Kubrick’s brother-in-lawJan Harlanappears to have been acting as the executor of Kubrick’s cultural legacy. He was one of the producers responsible for Spielberg’sAI– and it was Spielberg’sAI, not at all Kubrick’s – and now it looks like Harlan seems keen on resurrectingThe Aryan Paperstoo.
The Timesdiscuss the distinct possibility of the film being kick-started again:
Of course he would.
The film was apparently scrapped shortly ahead of production because Kubrick and Warner Bros. agreed “that it would be a mistake to release it as audiences would not take to a second film focusing on the same subject” asSchindler’s List.
They’re definitely right that there’s space for a film like this now, but I’d argue there was room for another (or even several more) ahead, alongside or in the wake ofSchindler’s Listtoo. I can’t see that, for example,The Pianistsuffered at all from any comparisons to Spielberg’s film.
Don’t be surprised to see this film move into active redevelopment sometime soon. Do be surprised if the production actually employs the dense, complex screenplay Kubrick had crafted. Ang Lee does sound like a likely director, too… or Paul Thomas Anderson maybe?
