According to Variety, the “Half Nelson” team of Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden (“Nelson,” which starred Ryan Gosling as a crack-addicted highschool teacher who befriends his student, was a 2006 Playlist fave) have scored a deal with Miramax to adapt the 2005 Marisha Pessl novel, “Special Topics in Calamity Physics.” Ryan will direct and Boden will executive produce alongside Miramax’s Scott Rudin (an extremely successful, apparently ruthless producer who allegedly has had anywhere between 120-250 assistants in the span of about four years)
A Washington Post review said the premise of Pessl’s book revolved around a “self-absorbed scholar and a young girl [who] crisscross America by car, flitting through college towns where they endure ill-advised sexual encounters, heartache and a potent dose of popular culture.”
“Half Nelson” was such a left field indie-hit (it scooped up a couple ISP awards and earned Gosling an Oscar nomination), the duo are practically the toast of the town now and have a slew of projects to juggle. Before they even get to ‘Calamity Physics,’ the pair will co-direct “Sugar,” a baseball drama about a Dominican prospect who heads to the U.S. with Major League dreams. They are also set to adapt the Mirimax (how convenient) teen depression novel, “It’s Kind of A Funny Story.”
As we’ve blathered on many times before, Broken Social Scene music was liberally incorporated into “Half Nelson” (about 12 songs mostly culled from their first, mainly-instrumental record, Feel Good Lost) and two songs by K.C. Accidental (a truncated, pre-Broken group whose core was Kevin Drew and Do Make Say Think‘s Charles Spearin). The song, “Someone’s Theme,” is not on any of their albums, and could be a song written exclusively for the film (which was rumored to happen), but it could also be alternate title for “Her Disappearing Theme.”
While the movie utilized tons of BSS, the soundtrack only represented three, fairly well-known songs (aside from, “Da da da da” from Bee Hives), so we decided to post some other BSS songs not on the soundtrack disc.
Download: Broken Social Scene – “Passport Radio”
Download: K.C. Accidental – “Save The Last Breath”
Download: Broken Social Scene – “Mossbreaker”
Download: Rosey Grier – “It’s Alright To Cry” (“Half Nelson” soundtrack)
In sort-of related internet news, the R.Kelly, Broken Social Scene mash up of “Flirt” (from Kelly’s recently released Double Up), and BSS’s ” 7/4 Shoreline,” has been making the rounds and it’s surprisingly respectable.
Download: R.Kelly Vs. Broken Social Scene – “Flirt Shoreline”