History Trivia / AConfederacyOfDunces

** In 1982, Creator/HaroldRamis was to write and direct an adaptation starring Creator/JohnBelushi as Ignatius and Richard Pryor as Burma Jones, but Belushi's death prevented this. Later, Creator/JohnCandy and Creator/ChrisFarley were touted for the lead, but both of them also died at an early age, leading many to ascribe a curse to the role of Ignatius. [[note]] Belushi, Candy, and Farley were each also cast in the lead role of the still-unmade film ''Atuk'' before their deaths.[[/note]]

** The book itself went through this. The manuscript was finished by the mid-sixties, but Toole's attempts to get it published were consistently rejected, with most editors claiming [[ItWillNeverCatchOn they didn't get it, or that the book was pointless or didn't have a coherent plot]]. After Toole's suicide, his mother took it upon herself to get the novel published, and struggled with it for 11 years. When it was finally released in 1980, [[VindicatedByHistory it won the Pulitzer the following year.]]

** ''Literature/HowNotToWriteANovel'' opens by mentioning ''A Confederacy of Dunces'', and how an unpublished author might cite its case to claim their own work is a hidden gem that they just haven't been lucky with, then says that the difference between the two is that ''Dunces'' actually happened to be a masterpiece that was only waiting to be shared, while this unpublished author's manuscript really can't count on that gamble and probably needs improvement.

** ''Literature/HowNotToWriteANovel'' opens by mentioning ''A Confederacy of Dunces'', and how an unpublished author might cite its case to claim their own work is a hidden gem that they just haven't been lucky with. It also mentions that the difference between the two is that ''Dunces'' actually happened to be a masterpiece that was only waiting to be shared, and this unpublished author's manuscript really can't count on that gamble and probably needs improvement.

* DevelopmentHell: TheFilmOfTheBook, production of which seems to be cursed. Every popular fat comedian since 1980 has been attached to play Ignatius and all of them (Creator/JohnBelushi, Creator/JohnCandy, Creator/{{Divine}}, Creator/ChrisFarley) died before the latest attempt of the movie got out of pre-production. So in the early 2000's the producers of the most recent version decided to avoid the whole "fat comedian" thing and got tall and gangly Creator/WillFerrell to play Ignatius (with prospectively some fat makeup) and Creator/LilyTomlin (then later Anne Meara), Mos Def, Creator/PaulRudd and Creator/AlanCumming in supporting roles. Things were going well for this version's eventual production, but then the head of the Louisiana State Film Commission was murdered. Then [[FromBadToWorse Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans]]. While the film still hasn't been made, Creator/NickOfferman starred as Ignatius in a stage version that was widely praised and had a run on Broadway in 2016.

** In 1982, Creator/HaroldRamis was to write and direct an adaptation, starring Creator/JohnBelushi as Ignatius and Richard Pryor as Burma Jones, but Belushi's death prevented this. Later, Creator/JohnCandy and Creator/ChrisFarley were touted for the lead, but both of them also died at an early age, leading many to ascribe a curse to the role of Ignatius.[[note]]Belushi, Candy and Farley were each also cast in the lead role of the the still-unmade film ''Atuk'' before their deaths.[[/note]]

* DiedDuringProduction: John Kennedy Toole's suicide ensured that there would be no follow-up.

* AuthorExistenceFailure: John Kennedy Toole's suicide ensured that there would be no follow-up.

* DevelopmentHell: TheFilmOfTheBook, production of which seems to be cursed. Every popular fat comedian since 1980 has been attached to play Ignatius and all of them (Creator/JohnBelushi, Creator/JohnCandy, Creator/{{Divine}}, Creator/ChrisFarley) died before the latest attempt of the movie got out of pre-production. So in the early 2000's the producers of the most recent version decided to avoid the whole "fat comedian" thing and got tall and gangly Creator/WillFerrell to play Ignatius (with prospectively some fat makeup) and Creator/LilyTomlin (then later Anne Meara), Mos Def, Creator/PaulRudd and Creator/AlanCumming in supporting roles. Things were going well for this version's eventual production, but then the head of the Louisiana State Film Commission was murdered. Then [[FromBadToWorse Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans]]. And that seems to be the end of the attempts to make the film for now.
** Though recently Creator/NickOfferman starred as Ignatius in a stage version that was widely praised and had a run on Broadway in 2016.

** In 1982, Creator/HaroldRamis was to write and direct an adaptation, starring Creator/JohnBelushi as Ignatius and Richard Pryor as Burma Jones, but Belushi's death prevented this. Later, Creator/JohnCandy and Creator/ChrisFarley were touted for the lead, but both of them also died at an early age, leading many to ascribe a curse to the role of Ignatius.

** A version adapted by Creator/StevenSoderbergh and Scott Kramer, and slated to be directed by David Gordon Green, was scheduled for release in 2005. The film was to star Creator/WillFerrell as Ignatius, Creator/LilyTomlin as Irene, Anne Meara as Irene, Creator/PaulRudd as Officer Mancuso, Kristen Johnston as Lana Lee, Mos Def as Burma Jones, Rosie Perez as Darlene, Olympia Dukakis as Santa Battaglia and Miss Trixie, Natasha Lyonne as Myrna, Creator/AlanCumming as Dorian Greene, Creator/JohnShea as Gonzales, Creator/JesseEisenberg as George, John Conlon as Claude Robichaux, Jace Alexander as Bartender Ben, Celia Weston as Miss Annie, Miss Inez & Mrs. Levy, and Creator/DanHedaya as Mr. Levy. Various reasons are cited as to why this version has yet to be filmed including disorganization and lack of interest at Paramount Pictures, the head of the Louisiana State Film Commission being murdered, and the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans. When asked why the film was never made, Ferrell has said it is a "mystery".

* CoversAlwaysLie: The image of Ignatius with a bird on his head which appears on the softcover edition. It must depict the scene late in the book in which [[spoiler:Darlene's cockatoo attacks Ignatius because it wants his earring]]. But the picture doesn't show him in his pirate outfit, which is an intrinsic part of the action of the scene.[[note]]There are also two ''much'' pickier objections to the picture: The bird is yellow even though, as a rose cockatoo, it should be pink and grey. And it is pecking at Ignatius's right ear even though, when he wears his earring, he wears it on the left.[[/note]] In a way this makes sense: the image does nothing to spoil either the humor or the carefully-constructed confluence of subplots in the scene. But then, why choose that scene for the cover at all?
* DevelopmentHell: TheFilmOfTheBook, production of which seems to be cursed. Every popular fat comedian since 1980 has been attached to play Ignatius and all of them (John Belushi, John Candy, Divine, Chris Farley) died before the latest attempt of the movie got out of pre-production. So in the early 2000's the producers of the most recent version decided to avoid the whole "fat comedian" thing and got tall and gangly Will Ferrell to play Ignatius (with prospectively some fat makeup) and Lily Tomlin (then later Anne Meara), Mos Def, Paul Rudd and Alan Cumming in supporting roles. Things were going well for this version's eventual production, but then the head of the Louisiana State Film Commission was murdered. Then [[FromBadToWorse Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans]]. And that seems to be the end of the attempts to make the film for now.
** Though recently Creator/NickOfferman starred as Ignatius in a stage version that was widely praised and is set for a run on Broadway in 2016.
** The book itself went through this. The manuscript was finished by the mid-sixties, but Toole's attempts to get it published were consistently rejected, with most editors claiming [[ItWillNeverCatchOn they didn't get it, or that the book was pointless or didn't have a coherent plot]]. After Toole's suicide, his mother took it upon herself to get the novel published, and struggled with it for 11 years. When it was finally released in 1980, [[VindicatedByHistory it won the Pulitzer the following year.]]

** The book itself went through this. The manuscript was finished by the mid-sixties, but Toole's attempts to get it published were consistently rejected, with most editors claiming [[ItWillNeverCatchOn they didn't get it, or that the book was pointless or didn't have a coherent plot]]. After it was finally published in 1980, [[VindicatedByHistory it won the Pulitzer the following year.]]

** Though recently NickOfferman starred as Ignatius in a stage version that was widely praised and is set for a run on Broadway in 2016.

** Though recently NickOfferman starred as Ignatius in a stage version that was widely praised and is set for a run on Broadway in 2016.

* DevelopmentHell: TheFilmOfTheBook, production of which seems to be cursed. Every popular fat comedian since 1980 has been attached to play Ignatius and all of them (John Belushi, John Candy, Chris Farley) died before the latest attempt of the movie got out of pre-production. So in the early 2000's the producers of the most recent version decided to avoid the whole "fat comedian" thing and got tall and gangly Will Ferrell to play Ignatius (with prospectively some fat makeup) and Lily Tomlin (then later Anne Meara), Mos Def, Paul Rudd and Alan Cumming in supporting roles. Things were going well for this version's eventual production, but then the head of the Louisiana State Film Commission was murdered. Then [[FromBadToWorse Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans]]. And that seems to be the end of the attempts to make the film for now.

* DevelopmentHell: TheFilmOfTheBook, production of which seems to be cursed. Every popular fat comedian since 1980 has been attached to play Ignatius and all of them (John Belushi, John Candy, Chris Farley) died before the latest attempt of the movie got out of pre-production. So in the early 2000's the producers of the most recent version decided to avoid the whole "fat comedian" thing and got tall and gangly Will Ferrell to play Ignatius (with prospectively some fat makeup) and Lily Tomlin (then later Anne Meara), Mos Def, Paul Rudd and Alan Cumming in supporting roles. Things were going well for this version's eventual production, but then the head of the Louisiana State Film Commission was murdered. Then [[FromBadToWorse Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans]]. And that seems to be the end of the attempts to make the film for now.