Appreciation of Literature and Film 2

The short story I chose to adapt into a film would be “Wunderkind”. I propose that “Wunderkind” be made into a short film that encapsulates the essence of the original story but with more stylistic elements. I will pull from renowned shows like “Fleabag” and “The Bear”. These two shows both exemplify a character who is realizing their flaws and coming to terms that they aren’t as perfect as they once believed they were. Some stylistic elements I would include from Fleabag are, breaking the fourth wall. We will get to see certain scenes where “Bienchen” breaks down and as the audience we will get to feel her burnout. Our beloved wunderkind will speak directly to the camera at multiple points doing the film. Similar to how in the book, the narrator shows us all of her internal thoughts. The audience has a chance to visualize what’s going on inside of her head and understand her thought process throughout her whole day. Similar to how “Carmy” from The Bear loses himself in his cooking and he can see how successful he is, but his past catches up to him and he loses his outlet and becomes something detrimental instead of something constructive and helpful like it used to be.

A significant change I would make to the characters of the story would be that Heime would be a girl. I believe that changing the gender makes the relationship they have more dynamic. Now the audience has no choice but to recognize France’s flaws on a level playing field and they can’t say it was because Heime was a boy. I propose that Heime be called Heidi and they would be childhood friends who would attend this music school together. This music school would be like Juilliard on steroids. Their friendship would turn bitter because of their jealousy towards each other and their performances. I think this change would be significant because then we could get “Bienchen” to be purposefully back-stabbed by Heidi so that she would finally be the favorite instead of her. This change will be effective because it will show the confusion and anxiety that Frances felt after their joint concert, as well as highlight her debilitating anxiety about continuing to perform.

I would make this a life action film, as I feel getting to see real actors and actresses on screen would be beneficial and helpful when conveying the main points of the story. I plan on changing the setting for the film. Instead of being filmed in the Bilderbach’s house, the film would take place in a world-renowned music school, where “wunderkinds” from all around the world would learn how to be better than they have ever been. Similar to the story, Frances would have a complicated relationship with Mr.Bilderbach, who almost becomes a father-like figure for her. Their relationship will progress throughout the film and he will coach her not only through the piano sheet music, but all the emotions she encounters when she realizes she is no longer good enough to play. This relationship will be filmed so that both of them will always be in frame together, this will be done to express not only their close relationship but also how Frances feels that Mr. Bilderbach looms over her.

Some important scenes from the story that I would include in the short film would be as follows, the big concert, the breakfast scene with her dad, the piano scene where Mr.Bilderbach had to sit behind her, and the last important scene that I would include would be Frances running out of the house. These scenes I feel really make up the story as a whole and give you a very interesting look into the mind of Frances.

The camera angle below would be used for Frances and Mr.Bilderbach, because I think its important that the audience sees the energy that transfers between them when they are in a room together. Frances conveying frustration, while Mr.Bilderbach conveys help and a shoulder to cry on.

I have musical score drafts, as well as potential casting for the film.

Bienchen “Frances”: Emma Stone.Emma Stone has a sort of strange personality that I think fits extremely well with Frances’ character and accentuates her “clumsy” and “overgrown” feeling. Hiedi: Emma Watson. Has a sort of elegance that you would find with any prodigy musician. She’s classy and put together and would make the perfect companion and competition for Frances. Mr: Lafowitz: Joaquin Phoenix. He was who I envisioned Mr. Lafowitz to be in my head. He wouldn’t play a major role in the film but he would be a witiness to Frances breaking down. Mr and Mrs. Bilderbach: Kathy Bates and Harrison Ford. Both classic actors who are really good at playing diverse roles. Harrison Ford is father-like yet intimidating and I think that he would intimidate Frances in the music world while also being her biggest supporter. While Kathy Bates would play his wife perfectly, her relationship with Frances wouldn’t be as defined in the movie but Frances would look to Mrs. Bilderbach for comfort after the concert and when things got bad. Frances’ dad: Mac MacGuff, in any movie I’ve seen him in he is playing a father so I figured he would do well in the role as Frances’ father.

Music Ideas: Sorochintsky Fair Gopack: For when she arrives at music school, this encapsulates the excitement of continuing music while also getting the lay of the land. Rush E for when she was reading the comments from her last performance. This is me trying: Taylor Swift would play, as there is one particular line that works really well. “I was so ahead of the curve, the curve became a sphere.” this song would play when we were hearing Frances’ thoughts (as told by the narrator in the story).

I did not use generative AI to conceptualize or write this pitch.

by Delaney Gladson

In my adaptation of Wunderkind by Carson McCullers, the story, rather than taking place in the 1930s, will be a contemporary piece set in modern times. I think it would be interesting to see how Frances copes with her insecurity when it stems from comparing herself to Heime and the attention he gets on social media rather than through the newspapers; I also think that making this story contemporary could provide interesting commentary on children’s self-esteem in the social media age. I also chose to make the story modern because I believe that will allow audiences to relate more to the context of the story. Not everyone has experienced the same fall from grace as Frances has, but almost everyone has experienced the woes of self-doubt caused by comparison to others online. As for the way the movie looks, I plan to do a few different things with the cinematography. When we see scenes of Frances before she became less confident, when she is playing at her best, they will tinted with warm lighting to indicate the fondness she feels for these memories and the security she felt in her abilities at this time. The present scenes, where Frances doesn’t trust her skills as much, will be coldly lit to show that Frances has begun to disassociate with her talent. For camera work, at the present times when Frances is playing the piano, I would like to include a lot of close-up shots of her. I think that splitting the time Frances spends on the piano between shots of her and shots of her hands playing the piano. Never showing her being one with the piano in the present directly reflects her mindset while she is playing the piano. As far as directorial style goes, this film would be inspired by Greta Gerwig and Sofia Coppola and the way that they portray womanhood. Gerwig and Coppola use their direction and dialogue to paint a sympathetic yet strong picture of young women in their films. These women have real problems and worries, are unapologetically full of emotion, and are strong and resilient. This is how I see Frances. I think Frances has a lot of complex feelings going on in her mind, especially as she goes through puberty. Towards the end, we see that Frances is smart enough to know when to walk away. We do not know if she will try and continue her piano career or if she is going to leave it behind, but for that moment, she becomes a child. Speaking of the ending, I would like to leave it there. I like that every reader has their own interpretation of what happens to Frances after she leaves the studio. I think that it doesn’t really matter whether or not she picks piano back up; I think that what matters is the journey Frances took in her own mind, coming to terms with her current situation. For actors, I see Stanley Tucci as Mister Bilderback and a young Elle Fanning for Frances. I think that turning this short story into a film could reach a wide audience and tell an incredible, touching story.

Wunderkind would be a great short story to retell in a film. I feel as if the meaning could be conveyed even more strongly in a film compared to the short story.

I think one way that this short story can be changed is making the main character, Frances, a male. With this change, any stereotype about young girls cannot be placed onto the true meaning of the story: the burden of expectations while growing up. Often, women are expected to be too fragile or sensitive. As the producer, I would not want these stereotypes placed onto Frances and her loss of confidence to be perceived as just a girl thing. Although she does face emotional times, I don’t want the true meaning to be lost. Changing the main character’s gender would also allow the audience to perceive Heime’s character solely for comparison. Heime serves as a character whom Frances compares herself to. Her insecurity and doubt of ability elevates the emotional tension within the story. Gender roles could also be placed in this situation because Frances could perceive that he is excelling because he is a boy. This idea could be wiped out with the change of gender for Frances’ character. I want the plot to highlight the idea of comparison and how this influences the expectations of growing up. This is a regular occurrence in every child emerging adulthood. 

I want the music in the movie to have an aggressive build up leading towards Frances’ breaking point to amplify the emotion that she feels. I feel like once she has that breaking point in front of everyone, the music should go quiet. The silence will allow the audience to truly focus on the moment. The moment will take focus without the distraction of background noise. 

As far as camera angles, I want the camera to show some characters at a lower angle than Frances. I want the film to show Heime at a lower angle than Frances whenever they are interacting, to show that Frances sees Heime as better than her. As the audience looks up at Heime, this sense of intimidation will present itself, which circles back to the way she compares herself to him. Also, showing her piano teacher at a lower angle will show how Frances looks up to him, both physically and as a mentor. Leading up to Frances’ breakdown, I think the camera should have a close up of her to truly see the emotions on her face and highlight the importance of what she is feeling. When Frances walks out of the building, the angle of the camera could be slightly tilted to show the imbalance she is feeling in her life.

I think live action would be important to use rather than the use of animation. Animation is a more child-like way of telling a story. With the use of real people, it will emphasize the real-world that Frances’ is navigating. It would also make it more relatable since, of course, the audience is in the real world. 

I did not use generative AI to conceptualize or write this pitch.