Monday, 30 May 2011

A Westlake Addendum: Donald E. Westlake Cameo in The Ax (Le couperet)

I hadn't planned on posting owt today, merely preparing tomorrow's post on that SF magazine I mentioned. But then the ever-vigilant Matthew Asprey popped up in the comments on this post from September of last year on Donald E. Westlake's 1997 novel The Ax. And since his comment was on a Westlake tip, and it's Westlake who I've been blogging about all week, I could hardly look a gift horse in the mouth. Matt, it seems, had been happily watching – and enjoying – Costa-Gravas's 2005 movie adaptation of The Ax – alias Le couperet, a film I wasn't even aware existed – when at the twenty-two minute mark he spied this literary reprobate hoving into view:


Yep, that's Donald E. Westlake himself, making a brief cameo in the French film adaptation of his novel. As Matt notes, "He just happened to be in France, I guess." Full marks to Matt for his eagle eye, and many thanks to him for allowing me to post the pic.

Right then. After that little Bank Holiday treat, it's on to that final science fiction magazine...

3 comments:

  1. Great movie. Strangely different in atmosphere than the book and yet captures the spirit almost perfectly. I caught his cameo here and was super psyched until my wife had to tell me to stop going on about it as the movie was still running.

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  2. Ha! Nothin' worse than watching a movie with a verbose nerd. Actually, come to think of it, there is: watching a movie with my sister. She's got the attention span of a gnat. Last movie I went to see with her was Back to the Future II. Never again. Even her kids won't go to the flicks with her these days, she asks them so many questions during the film.

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  3. Nick, can you email me at twelvemilereef@yahoo.com? Don't have your address, and I have a question about the rare Westlake Adios, Scheherazade.

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