Is the soul an organ? The new film Cold Souls somewhat treats it at such, to the point of giving it a physical manifestation. The soul of “Paul Giamatti” (played by Paul Giamatti), for instance, resembles a chickpea. And in the film, a great Charlie Kaufman-esque comedy from filmmaker Sophia Barthes, souls are traded, trafficked and stolen, just like kidneys and livers. After Paul puts his soul in storage, it’s nabbed and brought to Russia for the benefit of a young actress who thinks the essence of a famous American actor will improve her craft.
The lesson here is that you shouldn’t store your soul, no matter how much of a burden it may be, particularly if you’re a celebrity or of a profession where your soul might be in high demand on the black market. The movies have long informed us of other ways we might lose an organ, intentionally or not, so if you wish to keep all your insides inside, take heed of the following five methods:
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Set in alternate-universe present day versions of frozen-over Russia and the Manhattan theatrical intelligensia (the latter resembling something Charlie Kaufman might have come up with, minus the self-deprecating suspicion of success that leads him to mock the careerist stars of Needleman in a Haystack), Sophie Barthes‘ very strong first feature Cold Souls stars Paul Giamatti as an actor named Paul Giamatti, a movie star struggling to get into the character of Uncle Vanya on the stage. His agent points him to an article in the New Yorker about an extraction and cold storage facility for souls on Roosevelt Island. At the end of his rope, Paul goes through the procedure, but find that soulless, his performance is even worse — imagine Vanya as interpreted by a handsy William Shatner. It’s when Giamatti attempts to get back his original soul (shaped, in one of the film’s best running jokes, like a chick pea) that he discovers that the pristine New York clinic where he had the procedure is a front for a roiling Russian soul black market, and with the help of an attractive female soul mule (Dina Korzun), embarks on a journey to St. Petersberg.
In an interview at the Sundance Film Festival last week, Barthes discussed reading Jung, dreaming about Woody Allen, and why she hopes Putin doesn’t read film blogs.
So why would Paul Giamatti’s soul look like a chickpea?
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Entertainment Weekly’s cover story is peek at pre-production on W, Oliver Stone’s much-discussed George W. Bush biopic. That’s Josh Brolin above, in makeup for the lead role. In the story, we learn:
- That script that seemed too parodic to be true was apparently at least two drafts away from the shooting script.
- Bush historian Robert Draper on that early script: “[I]t just misses the guy…You come away with an even more hyperbolized caricature of Bush the Cowboy President than is already out there.”
- Dick Cheney had yet to be cast by the time the EW story went to press, but Stone is reportedly considering Paul Giamatti. Which would be AWESOME.
- In the effort to produce this thing quickly and cheaply (the projected release date for this yet-to-be made film has now inched up to October[!]), Stone is taking advantage of Louisiana’s massive tax breaks, presumably using The Bayou State as a stand in for Texas, D.C. and Yale.
- Speaking of that improbable release date: Stone’s producers are said to be “planning to run TV spots opposite McCain’s ads this fall.”
- Stone on W’s jokiness: “This movie can be funnier because Bush is funny. He’s awkward and goofy and makes faces all the time. He’s not your average president. So let’s have some fun with it. What are they going to do? ‘Discredit’ me again?’
