7 unproduced screenplays by famous intellectuals

From Elif Batuman at Salon.com…

Every March, the Believer magazine publishes its annual Film Issue. This year’s number features — among other things — the complete budget, line by line, of a $15,000 feature film; Brian T. Edwards on watching “Shrek” in Tehran; specious life advice from comedian Julie Klausner; and a DVD of rare, beautiful and funny short films from the Yugoslavian Black Wave. In the excerpt below, Elif Batuman (whose wonderful new book, “The Possessed: Adventures With Russian Books and the People Who Read Them,” was recently published by FSG) unearths seven never-produced screenplays penned by famous intellectuals. More…