“The Picasso Summer” Adaptation

By:Rachel Reid

For my film adaptation, I want to keep the plot the exact same. However, I want George’s mental stability to be changed, and I would change the last scene. He does tell his wife about his encounter with Picasso, in fact, he comes running into the restaurant in his bathing suit rambling about his encounter with Picasso. He’s screaming and shouting, and the staff have to restrain him. Emergency services are called, and he is taken to the closest hospital and then transported back to the States. After he is diagnosed, his wife comes to visit him and his condition only worsens, eventually, George won’t even recognize his wife. The story is really a memory, as George is in a mental institution. It is the present day, and Picasso is dead. His wife divorced him years ago and sent him to the institution. When his eyes shut in the story, he opens them to find himself in an institution.

The film will start with George’s eyes closing in the restaurant, and transition the setting to the hospital, so it seems like one continuous shot. I will use a wide angle to pan the room, where George is having convulsions, and is screaming while he gets medicated by the workers. The watchers will see the nurses talking about George’s condition, and how they are sorry for him. After this scene, I will use visual edits for a flashback effect, of the moments from their trip.  I would start with eye-level angles while Goerge and Alice are talking. While they’re talking I will use a dutch angle to focus on all of George’s tics. Once George swims and walks alone I will use a high camera angle to show the beach and make George seem small. When George is watching Picasso I would use a high camera again, to make George smaller than Picasso, as well as a dutch angle to show George’s tics. I will use a low camera angle for Picasso, to make him much larger than Geroge. After George watches Picasso, he does run back to the hotel, with suspenseful music playing, and a wide camera angle. While Alice and George are eating dinner I would use an eye-level angle while they’re talking, and a Dutch angle to show George fidgeting. George is clearly agitated, and as Alice begins to question him, he starts to lose it. Then George is restrained by the staff and his eyes closed, which will make a loop of the movie. 

This version would completely change the meaning of the original story. Instead of Picasso being George’s idol, he is an escape from reality. George was an average man, with an average life, except he had schizophrenia. He was undiagnosed until he and his wife took the trip, and she realized something was wrong with him when he came running into the restaurant, rambling about Picasso. When George is heavily sedated his mind goes back to the trip. 

 

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3 Responses to “The Picasso Summer” Adaptation

  1. harkovichmi says:

    I really like this adaptation of Picasso Summer. As Rachel mentions, it completely gives the story another meaning. In the original story, George is in silent awe as he sees his idol draw in the sand, and almost wants to keep this a secret between him and Picasso. But in Rachel’s adaptation, this encounter is totally fake, and instead George has a mental disorder; I agree that this angle makes George’s encounter (dream) with Picasso seem like an escape from reality. George also seems to be more obsessed with Picasso to the point that his wife is worried about his health and she brings him to an institute. I really like in this adaptation how camera angles were mentioned, which really showed great thought and creativity.

  2. mckoykn says:

    I am genuinely interested in your perspective on “The Picasso Summer” in a live adaptation. I love the idea of George Smith having a parasocial relationship with Picasso to the extent of him using his existence and work of art as a form of “escapism.” This is just a personal thing, but as a psych major, I love films that viewers can deeply analyze psychologically, and this concept is perfect for that.

  3. stapletonms says:

    I think that your adaptation of “The Picasso Summer” is very interesting. I agree that this idea would completely change the meaning of the story and change how the viewer sees George’s character. Rather than seeing Picasso and having a beautiful experience, this moment changed the rest of his life. I also like the way that you would film the movie. The different camera angles you described would make the film very interesting to watch.

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