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Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. You’ll be extremely alarmed to learn that two-time Golden Globe winner Jim Carrey stars as Count Olaf, an outrageously diabolical actor and master of disguise who is determined to swindle the Baudelaire orphans out of their family fortune in “Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events.”
This is the story of the Bauedelaires, three young orphans, Violet, Klaus and Sunny, looking for a new home, who are taken in by a series of odd relatives and other people, including Lemony Snicket, who narrates the film, and starting with the cunning and dastardly Count Olaf, who hopes to snatch their inheritance from them. Violet is the oldest of the Baudelaires at 14, and is their brave and fast-thinking leader. The only boy is middle child Klaus, 12, who is intensely intelligent and obsessed with words. The youngest is infant Sunny, who speaks in a language only her siblings can understand, and she has a tendency to, bite…
Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events is a 2004 American dark comedy film directed by Brad Silberling. It is a film adaptation of A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket, covering the first three novels The Bad Beginning, The Reptile Room, and The Wide Window. The film stars Jim Carrey, Liam Aiken, Emily Browning, Timothy Spall, Catherine O’Hara, Billy Connolly, Cedric the Entertainer, Luis Guzmán, Jennifer Coolidge and Meryl Streep, as well as Jude Law as the voice of Lemony Snicket.
Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events grossed $118.6 million in the United States and Canada and $90.4 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $209.1 million, against a budget of $140 million. The film was released in the United States and Canada on December 17, 2004 on 4,400 screens at 3,620 theaters, earning $30.1 million in its opening weekend and finishing first at the box office. In its second weekend the film fell to second behind Meet the Fockers, grossing $12.6 million. It was the highest-grossing film under the Nickelodeon Movies banner until being surpassed by The Last Airbender.
The Startling Story
From the fairytales of the Brothers Grimm, to Victorian-era moralistic fables, to the twisted works of Roald Dahl, there is a long tradition in children’s literature of absurdly awful things happening to perfectly nice children. The eleven books written and narrated by the mysterious Lemony Snicket – whom some accuse of being the same person as 34-year-old author Daniel Handler – take that tradition to new heights…and drop it off a cliff. In a perplexing sign of the state of children and evil Counts today, Mr. Snicket’s novels have won widespread critical praise and popular acclaim.
They were the first books to knock the Harry Potter series off the top of the New York Times children’s bestseller list, and since then, the books in the series have been on that list for more than 600 weeks combined. With rave reviews from respected publications including the New York Times, Entertainment Weekly and U.S. News and World Report, Mr. Snicket’s books have sold more than 27 million copies worldwide – in spite of the author’s repeated pleas to “read something else!”
Now, a major motion picture adaptation directed by Brad Silberling and featuring a distressingly talented cast that includes Jim Carrey and Meryl Streep is darkening theaters. The film employs the same subversive humor, peril, whimsy, imagination, heartfelt emotion, quirky style and man-eating leeches that make Mr. Snicket’s books so unique.
“I begged them not to do it. I begged them not to get a good director. I begged them not to cast anyone talented. I begged them not to base the movie on any of my books, and they chose three of them!” exclaims Mr. Snicket, speaking from an undisclosed hole in the ground or luxury mansion. “My last hope is that hordes of volunteers will read this quote, buy every movie ticket available, and then not go see the film.”
“Lemony Snicket is one of the most original voices out there,” says Mr. Carrey, ignoring Mr. Snicket’s feelings entirely. “His demented little journey into these kids’ lives is both wonderful and frightening.”
Ms. Streep, whose daughter was “wild about the project,” couldn’t pass up the opportunity to be in the film. “What’s so appealing about the story is that it shows how independent kids can be,” observes Ms. Streep. “It plays out their fantasies of being completely responsible for themselves, and in the case of the Baudelaire children, being smarter than any adult in the room.” The actress did not comment, however, on the fact that one of the children in the film is forced to dress as a camel, albeit briefly.
Actor Jude Law, who voices Lemony Snicket, learned about Mr. Snicket’s books when his son excitedly brought one of them home from school, despite the fact that no one appeared to be chasing him.
“The Lemony Snicket books attract the attention of both children and their parents in a very unique way,” observes Mr. Law, who says that his narrator, though faceless, has an emotional attachment to the children and watches them from afar. “Unlike most literature aimed at young people, this series has a rather sinister quality to it, which people of all ages seem to find intriguing.”
Sinister is a word which here probably means “Count Olaf,” a terrible villain and a worse actor played by Mr. Carrey. Time and again, the children are forced to rely on their own keen intelligence and unique talents to escape Olaf’s clutches. Some believe Count Olaf is a source of great comic relief. Others believe he smells odd and has only one eyebrow. Still others think he is one of the most frightening movie villains since Joan Crawford.
To director Brad Silberling, the books give children credit for having a sense of humor, and they don’t play down to anyone. He says that’s how he approached directing the film. “The books are rebellious; they take chances, and so does the movie.” It should be noted, however, that Mr. Silberling is not the one taking the chance when a stunt child is required to hang from a cliff.
Building on the theme that adults often don’t listen to children when many times they should, the story, according to Mr. Silberling, is one of survival and perseverance. It reinforces the power that kids can have when they rely on their own ingenuity – especially in a world that can be unfamiliar, unkind and filled with itchy clothing.
“Lemony Snicket’s world is a collision of tenses, which manages to marry computers and cobblestones, and these kids have to use their wits in this very odd environment,” observes Mr. Silberling. “It’s just a wonderful story with a texture that can feel like it’s part of another time, but technologically it’s very contemporary and so are the issues it explores.” Such issues may include community-based justice, hook-handed henchpersons and refrigerators.
Executive producer Julia Pistor, who is also the senior vice president of Nickelodeon Movies, remembers when the team at Nick Movies first discovered Lemony Snicket in 1999, shortly before The Bad Beginning, The Reptile Room and The Wide Window – the first three installments of the series, and the books upon which the film is based – were published.
“We read the books in manuscript form and snapped up the rights as fast as we could because we loved the slyly subversive humor,” recalls Ms. Pistor. “It was completely new to children’s literature and the story of these remarkable children constantly outwitting the adults fit perfectly within the Nickelodeon oeuvre.” Oeuvre is a word which here probably means either “goat cheese omelet” or “body of work,” depending on how it is pronounced.
Producer Walter F. Parkes notes that the film is not only an adventure story about three clever siblings, but also the story of Lemony Snicket himself, who relates to each of the characters – young and old – in very specific ways.
“In fact,” says Mr. Parkes, “by the end of the film you have a sense that Lemony is going to follow everyone’s lives because their stories must continue to be told.” Mr. Parkes then put on a pair of dark glasses and a fake mustache, saying it was entirely possible Mr. Snicket was following him, too.
Producer Laurie MacDonald agrees, adding that she had never read children’s books that were so sophisticated and funny, and simultaneously had something important to say. “Despite its irreverent comic tone, the movie, like the books, deals with survival,” observes Ms. MacDonald. “The fact is, the Baudelaire children seem to actually know how to overcome all their misfortunes with their resourcefulness, while the adults remain rather blind to all that’s going on around them.” Ms. MacDonald then bumped into an angry mob while attempting to exit the room.
Yet another person convincingly disguised as a producer of the film, Jim Van Wyck agrees, adding, “This is a wonderfully intelligent and unpredictable story founded on the strength of family and the resiliency of children.”
Executive producer Ms. Pistor concludes that the ingenuity of the Baudelaire children is nothing short of inspirational. “This film doesn’t insult the intelligence of kids, it celebrates it,” says Ms. Pistor, who was prompted by a suspicious 12-year-old “assistant.” “I just love how the Baudelaires can see right through Count Olaf and outsmart him every time.”
Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
Directed by: Brad Silberling
Starring: Jim Carrey, Meryl Streep, Emily Browning, Kara Hoffman, Shelby Hoffman, Liam Aiken, Jude Law, Timothy Spall, Catherine O’Hara, Billy Connolly, Jennifer Coolidge, Jane Adams
Screenplay by: Daniel Handler, Robert Gordon
Production Design by: Rick Heinrichs
Cinematography by: Emmanuel Lubezki
Film Editing by: Michael Kahn
Costume Design by: Colleen Atwood
Set Decoration by: Cheryl Carasik
Art Direction by: John Dexter, Tony Fanning, William Hawkins, Martin Whist
Music by: Thomas Newman
MPAA Rating: PG for thematic elements, scary situations and brief language.
Distributed by: Paramount Pictures
Release Date: December 17, 2004
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