Cormac McCarthy: A Blood Meridian Movie is Possible

Posted by Robin Ruinsky (robin@filmschoolrejects.com) on November 16, 2009 Share

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Novelist Cormac McCarthy is no stranger to seeing his literary vision adapted to film.  All the Pretty Horses and No Country for Old Men were both made into films. The adaptation by the Coen Brothers of No Country for Old Men was a box office and critical success garnering multiple Oscar nominations.

McCarthy’s latest novel to be filmed is the Pulitzer Prize winning The Road, starring Viggo Mortensen. It opens November 25 the day before Thanksgiving Day. Not bad timing when you consider how much you’ll be thankful for after seeing this dark post apocalyptic tale about survival and hope.

McCarthy gave an in depth interview to the Wall Street Journal where he discussed The Road, his life, work and what it’s like seeing his books made into films. McCarthy was asked about the feasibility of a film version of his dark, bloody Western Blood Meridian.

WSJ: People have said Blood Meridian is unfilmable because of the sheer darkness and violence of the story.

CM: That’s all crap. The fact that’s it’s a bleak and bloody story has nothing to do with whether or not you can put it on the screen. That’s not the issue. The issue is it would be very difficult to do and would require someone with a bountiful imagination and a lot of balls. But the payoff could be extraordinary.

Blood Meridian: Or the Evening Redness in the West is an intense, violent book about the Glanton Gang who hunted down and murdered members of the Yuma tribe 1849-1850. The book’s narrator is a teen who falls in with the gang. It was McCarthy’s fifth novel and his first set in the American West.

For more on Cormac McCarthy read the excellent interview at The Wall Street Journal.

Who do you think has the balls to adapt McCarthy’s  novel Blood Meridian: Or the Evening Redness in the West?

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  • Charlie
    I'm very pleased to hear that Cormac is advocating the making of a film of Blood Meridian, challenging as it would be.

    May I point out to the author of the report above a couple of errors regarding the book, however. The Kid is not the narrator (there is no character narrator, except a bizarre, nameless "I" on the first page). The Glanton Gang were principally Apache Hunters, and their assault on the Yumas was merely in the last days of their lengthy campaign of destruction and scalp-hunting.
  • Raoul
    Leaked screenplay summary for Blood Meridian:

    After a series of mishaps and a few bad choices, "the kid" and his wacky friend Toadvine are forced to join Glanton's gang against their will. Although the kid deplores the gang's thuggish characters, he is intrigued by Glanton's tough but beautiful daughter Selma who is along for the expedition. One day, Selma is accidentally washed down a raging river. The kid embarks on a daring whitewater rescue, saving her in the nick of time but suffering an injury in the process. Just when they think things can't get any worse, they are captured by the same indian tribe that Glanton's gang is planning to attack. Although they have heard terrible rumors about the tribe's brutality, it becomes clear that these rumors are not true. As the indians nurse the kid back to health, he and Selma learn to appreciate the customs and kindness of the indians. When they return to the gang, they are unable to convince them not to attack (it is revealed that the tribe has a lot of gold which is the real reason the gang is after them). The kid and Selma embark on a daring plan to disrupt the attack while Toadvine races to secure the assistance of a friendly US cavalry captain and his company of troops. In the end, the gang's attack is thwarted and most of its members are captured by the US cavalry. Glanton's most evil henchman, Judge Holden, falls from a cliff in slow motion to a rocky death following one of the film's most intense action sequences. Glanton apologizes to his daughter as he is led away, and Selma promises to visit him in prison. Toadvine hooks up with a gorgeous indian girl, while the kid and Selma are married in Yuma and live happily ever after.
  • Charlie
    Superb pastiche! Great work there.
  • Last I heard, Tommy Lee Jones was writing an adaptation. I guess I am out of the damn loop.
  • Yeah, someone should tell Cormac, and the WSJ, that Blood Meridian is in development.
  • Brian
    Yeah, according to imdb, Todd Field has this project, but I'm sure that could change.

    Obviously I haven't seen the road yet, but Hillcoat has the McCarthy feel down in The Proposition. Hopefully the Road works out well too.
  • Osiris3657
    I've read that Todd Field, director of Little Children, is adapting Blood Meridian and it will come out in 2011.
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