Lights, Camera, Action: Chicken Soup for the Soul Headed for the Big Screen

Grab your sunglasses and roll out the red carpet!

Amy Newmark, Chicken Soup for the Soul series publisher and editor, notified contributors today that Chicken Soup for the Soul is being made into a feature film with a Hollywood studio.

According to Newmark's press release, "Alcon Entertainment, the creative studio behind The Blind Side, Dolphin Tale, P.S. I Love You, and many other hits, is set to finance and produce the film, along with The Kerner Entertainment Company and its principal Jordan Kerner, the genius behind The Smurfs 1&2, Charlotte's Web, George of the Jungle, Fried Green Tomatoes, and many others.

"Brandon Camp, who wrote Love Happens, will write the screenplay, which is inspired by our books. Warner Bros will release the film. One of the Executive Producers of the film will be Ben Haber, who executive produced The Smurfs and Across the Universe."

To read more about this exciting project, here's a link to an article in the LA Times.

The Great Gatsby Movie: Outrageous, Stunning, Entertaining -- and Long

Ever since I saw the movie trailer for “The Great Gatsby” a few months ago, I’ve been looking forward to the movie’s release. Fitzgerald's book is an American classic, still taught in schools. In fact, last year my granddaughter read it as part of a English Literature class, and I re-read it too.

I vaguely remember watching the 1970s movie version with Robert Redford and Mia Farrow, so I wasn’t sure what to expect with this latest remake.

My three words to describe the 2013 version of "The Great Gatsby" are: outrageous, stunning and entertaining.

 

If I had to add three more, they would be: a bit long.

The music is an odd mix of Jazz and hip-hop, which surprisingly fits with the grab-on-to-the-latest-fad mood of the era. The over-the-top party scenes convey the manic nature of Gatsby and the outrageous time in America’s history.

The stunning visual effects recapture the era of the 1920s. The architecture and set decorations of the Buchanan and Gatsby mansions are vivid and lovely; a stark contrast to the poor working-class New York neighborhoods. The car scenes and dance scenes are dizzying. But I love the Flapper and Jazz-Age costumes and suspect there might be a revival of the 1920s style of dress in fashion circles.

Leonardo DiCaprio is dashing and quite convincing as Jay Gatsby, mixing an aura of mystery with a need for acceptance and love. At times, however, his attire brought to mind commercials for Ralph Lauren and Channel No. 5. Maybe that was the intent.

 

While I wondered why an American actor couldn’t be cast for the role of Daisy Buchanan, Carey Mulligan did not disappoint. Her combination of doe-eyed admiration and wild-eyed mania brings her character to life. Toby Maguire, playing the role of Daisy's cousin, the alcoholic and impressionable Nick Carraway, has outgrown his Spiderman persona.

While “The Great Gatsby” is entertaining, at almost two and one-half hours long, I found myself wondering when it would end—although that could’ve been because I drank a large beverage during the movie and the water scene at the end made me want to rush out and use the restroom.  

 

I was glad that I stayed to watch the final scene and hear the memorable last line of Fitzgerald’s acclaimed novel, "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past."

 

One measure of a movie’s entertainment value is if I would pay to see it again.

 

The answer is: Yes, I would.

A Few Words About "The Words"

Last Friday morning my sister Kathleen and I went to watch the movie “The Words.”  Our husbands chose not to go with us; hers watched golf on TV while mine went to Aldi’s to grocery shop.  Of the twenty or so viewers at the late morning showing I saw only one man with a woman who appeared to be his wife.  So, from my finite and unscientific observation, this film appeals mostly to women.

I have been looking forward to this movie ever since I saw its trailer. The idea of a lost manuscript being discovered is fascinating, as is a movie about the passion writers have for words, and the power of words to create and destroy. Oh, and I think Jeremy Irons is a gifted actor.

In the movie, Clay Hammond (Dennis Quaid) reads from his bestselling novel “The Words,” to adoring fans, including one dedicated groupie who wants the inside scoop after hours.

In Clay’s novel “The Words,” Rory Jansen, (Bradley Cooper) is a fair writer who wants to be great. Rory struggles financially and creatively. He is supported financially by his father and emotionally by Dora, played by Zoe Salanda.  Dora loves Rory for many reasons, one of which is his blue eyes, which are filmed up close numerous times. 

Eventually, Rory and Dora get married. While in Paris on their honeymoon he discovers an aged briefcase on a tall shelf in an antique shop. Dora buys the briefcase for him as a wedding gift.   

After they return home he still can’t get published and toils at his entry-level job at a publishing company. While rejection slips mount, he discovers a faded and smudged manuscript tucked into a sleeve of the briefcase. After reading the manuscript he is blown away by the genius of it and retypes the manuscript, just to get a feel for the power of the unknown author’s words. Eventually the manuscript finds its way into print and is met with critical and financial success.

Then one day on his way to a reading Rory meets a shabbily dressed old man, played by Jeremy Irons. The old man claims the work as his own, which he wrote in post World War II while he was living in Paris.

Now Rory is faced with an ethical dilemma.  Does he confess that the manuscript is not his? What will be the fallout if he does?

As Rory comes to grips with his inner turmoil, the scenes switch from Rory’s life to the old man’s life as a young man (Ben Barnes) and to Clay’s life as a successful and rich novelist.

I found the flashbacks to Paris in post World War II the most enjoyable and moving. Jeremy Irons’ portrayal of the old man, although a small role, shows that in acting, as in writing, less is more. Oh, and I love the fact that the old man is a real writer who always carries a pen close to his heart, even when he is working in a garden shop.

The moral of the story is that in the end, the choice a writer has to make is between fiction and life. Also, if there is any justice in the world, the plagiarist will suffer greatly because "there's more than one way to take a life."

Although parts of the movie were less than stellar, overall I enjoyed it and would watch it again, if only for the lovely scenes in Paris and the wonderful acting of Jeremy Irons.   

I rate it three pens out of five.

Fall is in the Air, "The Conspirator" and Mary Surratt

Yesterday was rainy. We needed the rain, but it came down in buckets. I'm not complaining; I just got a bit soggy running errands.

Last night it got downright cold. Good weather for chili and hot chocolate--but not together.

In weather like this I am inspired to read and write. 

I also like to watch movies when there's a chill in the air. Last night, after the grandkiddos went to bed, I watched "The Conspirator." The film is about the trial of Mary Surratt, a Southern woman accused of conspiring and harboring John Wilkes Booth and others who plotted to assassinate President Lincoln.

After the movie I found myself up into the wee hours doing research on Mary Surratt. I thought she would be a great character for a story.

How about you? Does cooler weather affect your writing?

THE HELP by Kathryn Stockett At Movie Theaters Today!

About a year ago, one of my writing friends (Becky Povich) raved during our critique group session about a book she'd read. She was so enthusiastic about the book she brought it the following week and said, "You've got to read this."

I did, and I'm thankful to Becky for loaning me her copy of THE HELP by Kathryn Stockett. After I finished it she passed it on to another woman in our group. Becky is so generous!

Back to the book. As a writer, Kathryn Stockett's journey to publication is inspiring. It took her five years to write the book. She received more than 45 rejections from agents before having her novel published by Amy Einhorn Books in 2009.

THE HELP has been translated into 40 languages, has sold more than three million copies, and has been on the New York Times bestseller list for two years.

Talk about an inspiration!

A few of our critique group members have talked about the book, and just about everyone in both Bunco groups I belong to--my old neighborhood one and the one I sub for with my former co-workers--have talked about reading the book and planning to see the movie.

I mistakenly thought the movie opened last Friday, and my sister and I were set to go until I looked at the movie schedule and discovered it doesn't open until today. So, I plan to see THE HELP in the next day or so.

If you haven't read THE HELP, here's a link to a synopsis of the story. If you see the movie, please let me know what you think.

The Blind Side - Uplifting and Entertaining

Today in St. Peters, MO: Partly sunny, high 60 degrees.

Saturday evening I did something I hadn't done in a long time--went out to dinner and a movie.

Walt and Michael were out at our country place deer hunting, so Cari and I went with one of her friends and her friend's mother to see The Blind Side. Good thing we got the the show early because there wasn't an empty seat in the house, which was filled with people of all ages and races.

The Blind Side movie is based on a true story about Michael Oher, a homeless African-American teenager from a broken home, who eventually becomes a professional football player for the Baltimore Ravens. Because of his large size everyone calls him "Big Mike," which he does not like. He is bounced through foster care until the Touys, an affluent family who owns a string of Taco Bells, take him in, and his life turns around--but not without difficulty.

Quinton Aaron plays the role of Michael Oher. Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw play Leigh Ann and Sean Touhy. Kathy Bates plays "Miss Sue," who is a delight. Sandra Bullock is convincing and moving as Leigh Ann, who stands up for her new "son." Her other son, the actor who played SJ, is definitely a scene stealer and gave a lot of comic relief.

The actors who played parts of folks living on "the other side of the tracks" in Memphis, are very realistic in their roles. Adriane Lenox shows sorrow, shame, and love as Michael's birth mother. The actors who play the "thugs" show menace and hostility--even vulnerability. The actor who plays the football quarterback who dropped out of school and joined a gang gave an especially moving performance.

I found The Blind Side to have the right balance of being heartwarming, uplifting, and entertaining. The ending came off as a bit schmaltzy, but schmaltz is good in small doses. At our theater, when the movie was finished, just about everyone remained in their seats to watch the final clips and read about the true-life Michael Oher.

Oh, and neither Walt nor Michael got a deer this weekend. But while they were out in the woods hunting for deer, I saw a large doe romp across Mid Rivers Mall Drive onto the campus of St. Charles Community College as I drove home from Target on Sunday afternoon. Fortunately, traffic stopped in both directions to let the deer cross the road.