GHOST WORLD: A SCREENPLAY

By: Andrew Hershberger
Date: Wednesday, September 26, 2001

Daniel Clowes is a master of the melancholy. His comic book serial, GHOST WORLD, collected together in the graphic novel of the same name, is one of the most truly sublime downers I've ever had the pleasure to read. You'll find yourself trying to shake that baby off, unsuccessfully, for months. When I heard that this favorite was going to be turned into a major motion picture, well, I just didn't think they'd be able to do the comic justice; to myself, I was right. A more comical, less intelligent Enid; a more upbeat, secure Rebecca; an almost non-existent Josh; no tumor girl; two new charactersone, Seymour, a continuation of an idea in the original comic; the other, Roberta, completely new; a sappier, toned-down ending; the de-emphasis of Rebecca and Enid's relationship for Enid and Seymour's relationship; and more that I can't think of right now. All of these changes made, for this viewer,GHOST WORLD: THE MOTION PICTURE a kinder, gentler, crappier experience. Still, it's a classic example of the source material interfering with the enjoyment of the offspring. Mainly, GHOST WORLD is a really good movie, just not the phenomenal experience of reading the graphic novel.

Reading GHOST WORLD: A SCREENPLAY, you can see that up until the 11th hour the film was to be more in line with the book, for here you have thirty plus pages of material not used in the final film. These bits include a more poignant ending that really ties up Enid and Rebecca's relationship; more scenes with Josh; the Josh, Enid, Rebecca love triangle subplot; and a less glorious outlook for Seymour. The script dumbs down Enidno longer building her vocabulary in hopes to attend Strathmore, now having to take an art class to make up for a failing grade (perhaps the producers weren't sure Thora Birch, or anybody for that matter, could handle the pronunciation of lachrymose)from the start and makes Rebecca a bit more sure of herself, plus both characters are now more "wisecrack'n" and less somber.

It's been said that Clowes and Zwigoff never wanted to keep entirely true to the comic book, so these little changes are to be expected and certainly make the film a bit more palatable to the average viewer. Besides, there is no way the majestic single comic panels conveying isolation, and other things not so morose, could be transferred to the big screen with similar impact this side of LA JETEE. The story alterations would have been a lot more severe had Clowes and Zwigoff not been able to maintain the sense that characters like Enid and Rebecca were "real," that you've met these types, while not quite as streamlined, many times in life. Clowes and Zwigoff, while it seems bowing to box office pressure, still inject a strong element of the comic/pathetic tone that made the original text so enduring. Plus you'd be hard pressed to find another cinematic offering that so deftly handles the transition from the adolescent world (High School) to the adult (post-graduation) and the many changes that occur.


While many people might consider reading a screenplay a wasteafter all they can just watch it onscreenGHOST WORLD: A SCREENPLAY offers a rare glance, when read alongside GHOST WORLD and viewing the picture, of the transition from one medium to the next. For people interested in such creative processes, it is a priceless thing to be able to see what Clowes and Zwigoff maintained from the original, what they originally were going to maintain, and the final result.

GHOST WORLD: A SCREENPLAY includes several behind the scenes slides, a new GHOST WORLD bit, introductions by Terry Zwigoff and Daniel Clowes (both very interesting), annotations to the script (by Daniel Clowes and others) that reveal inspirations and why some names were changed, Terry Zwigoff's essay "About the Music" where he discusses why he chose certain tunes, a brief essay on Sophie Crumb (the artist who did Enid's sketchbook in the film), and credits. These extras, as many do, provide more detailed glances into the creative process.

GHOST WORLD: A SCREENPLAY

Grade: A-

Author(s): Daniel Clowes, Terry Zwigoff

Publisher:  Fantagraphics Books, Inc.

Price: $16.95