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Dear Colleagues,
Four years ago (in the archives, 23 Jan. and 26 Jan. 2005), during the
writing of a book on Scottish filmmaker Donald Cammell, I contacted this
list regarding the possible existence of a letter written by Nabokov to
Cammell about Cammell's proposed screen adaptation of PALE FIRE. (The
book
was published in 2006 as Donald Cammell: A Life on the Wild Side, FAB
Press,
UK.)
Although too late for inclusion in my book, I'm happy to report that
David
Cammell, the director's brother, recently unearthed the letter and so I
thought I'd post it here for those interested in reading it (and I
assume
most of you are), since it has yet to see publication. David has given
me
permission to post it here. It's a very short letter, but very
interesting
as it corroborates what Cammell averred for years, that Nabokov praised
his
ideas for a screenplay adaptation of PALE FIRE. Dated July 30, 1971,
written
from the Montreux-Palace Hotel, Montreux, Switzerland, Nabokov says he
is
"absolutely delighted" with Cammell's "artistic approach."
Curiously, the copy of the screenplay I have (actually, it's more of a
treatment than a formal screenplay, although parts are written in
screenplay
form) is dated March 1974. Although Nabokov suggests a possible
meeting, I
don't believe the two ever met, as Cammell's then girlfriend, Myriam
Gibril
(now living in Paris), never mentioned any such meeting to me during our
many conversations.
I am attaching the letter as a pdf file to this post; if you have
trouble
opening it, write me direct and I'll send it to you. My email is
umlands@unk.edu.
Sam Umland