BEING FLYNN – Not just more bull

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Michelle Langston

Memoirs are a funny thing, both in the written form and on the big screen. Between controversies over the truthfulness of past high-profile memoirs, or the resulting reader and critic fatigue of an over-crowded marketplace, writing a memoir and actually getting it to the big screen is a very, very tricky thing. That’s why it is nice to see author Nick Flynn’s inspiring memoir, “Another Bulls*!t Night in Suck City,” make it to the big screen.

BEING FLYNN,based on Nick Flynn’s 2004 memoir, “Another Bulls*!t Night in Suck City,” opened last week in limited release, but expands this Friday, March 16 in theatres across the U.S. Academy Award-nominated writer-director Paul Weitz (ABOUT A BOY) directs this portrait of fathers and sons. The film follows Nick Flynn (Paul Dano of LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, THERE WILL BE BLOOD) who is shocked to have his eccentric and long-absent father, Jonathan (two-time Academy Award winner Robert De Niro) reach out to him unexpectedly, when their paths cross in a homeless shelter where the younger Flynn volunteers. Still feeling the loss of his mother (played in flashbacks by Julianne Moore), and in the midst of starting a new relationship with Denise (JUNO’s Olivia Thirlby), the last person Nick wants to see is his father. Slowly, Nick comes to realize he has been given the chance to make a real future not only for himself, but for his struggling father too.

Moviegoers are saying this is one of De Niro’s best performances in years. Get a look at the film in the trailer below, and also check out this really nice interview from NPR with the film’s director, Paul Weitz, and Nicky Flynn, who talk to Fresh Air’s Dave Davies about the themes of the film.

84th Annual Academy Award Nominees Ripe with Books to Screen Adaptations

Posted on February 8, 2012 by Michelle Langston

Book lovers had a lot to celebrate with the announcement of the 84th Annual Academy Award nominees! Three of the Best Actor nominees, as well as ALL five of the Best Actress nominees are for performances from films based on books. Among the nine films nominated for Best Picture, six of the films were based on books!

HUGO – Based on the book The Invention of Hugo Cabret, by Brian Selznick.
Under the skilled direction of Martin Scorsese, this Caldecott-winning children’s book is a wonderful “love letter” to the power of film and film-making.

THE DESCENDANTS – Based on the book The Descendants, by Kaui Hart Hemmings.

Hemming’s book about the journey of a man and his two daughters after his wife is involved in an serious accident made for an Oscar-worthy film under the direction of Alexander Payne.

MONEYBALL – Based on the book Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, by Michael Lewis.

Oakland A’s manager Billy Beane recreates his baseball team…on a budget. The book, and film, give hope and inspiration to the all those out there trying to do battle with opponents with much deeper pockets. Directed by Bennett Miller and starring Brad Pitt and Johnah Hill.

EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE – Based on the book Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, by Jonathan Safran Foer.

Stephen Daldry directs Tom Hanks, Sandra Bullock, Max Von Sydow and Thomas Horn in the film adaptation of Foer’s book about a 9 year-old boy trying to uncover clues about his father death in the World Trade Center on September 11.

WAR HORSE – Based on the book War Horse, by Michael Morpurgo.

When his horse is sold to the Army, a young man enlists in World War I in hopes of being reunited with his beloved animal. Directed by Steven Spielberg, the film is based on Morpurgo’s children’s book.

THE HELP – Based on the book The Help, by Kathryn Stockett.

On the New York Times Bestseller list longer than any book since The Da Vinci Code, Stockett’s inspirational story about the unlikely friendships that are formed around a secret writing project in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960′s South. Directed by Tate Taylor. The ensemble cast includes: Octavia Spencer, Viola Davis, Emma Stone, Bryce Dallas Howeard, Jessica Chastain and Sissy Spacek.

Woody Allen’s MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, Terrence Malick’s TREE OF LIFE and Michel Hazanavicius’ THE ARTIST round out the nine films nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture. Out of the nine films, who do you predict to win the Oscar?

(The 84th Annual Academy Awards air on ABC, February 26 at 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST.)

The Future of Us

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Jodi Lustig

It was time for me to find a new Young Adult novel. I had taken a break after reading the Uglies series, partly because I wanted to feel a little bit like a grown-up. Partly because after reading the Scott Westerfeld series (too) soon after finishing The Hunger Games, I was dystopia-ed out. But mainly, because of the holidays and, well — life — I wanted to be reading books I could actually put down. (Apparently, relatives do not like to believe they are less interesting than our imaginary friends.) Also, there was the whole ‘Good will towards man’ thing butting up against too many all-too-convincing totalitarian futures.

So after taking respite in the past and in food, which are pretty much interchangeable and equally pleasurable amongst my people, I decided to see what the Young Adult universe had to offer in the new year.

What I found in The Future of Us was a pleasure on many more levels than I expected. The premise alone is addictive — teens in 1996 accidentally stumble upon posts from their fifteen-years-older selves on this crazy thing called facebook. But as any fan of speculative fiction will tell you, a fabulous premise does not a satisfying execution bring …

Happily, The Future of Us delivers. Emma and Josh, two teens whose otherwise idyllic friendship has been temporarily derailed by the mixed-messaged and confounding hormonal booby traps we like to believe get cleared up in older age, discover that the AOL CD-ROM Josh’s mom is more than happy to pass along to Emma somehow gives them a glimpse into their future lives.

Emma and Josh alternate chapters written by two acclaimed YA authors, Carolyn Mackler and Jay Asher. But what could have come across as an amusing writing exercise is given real weight and heft by these two. Mackler and Asher know that life can be plenty perilous without a televised fight to the death or state-sanctioned aesthetic upgrade. (Not that the novels that go there aren’t absolutely mind-boggling; still, it’s good to remember that the comparatively humdrum little things always mean a lot, as well.) Some may wonder why Emma and Josh don’t cash in on what is to us so obviously the wave of the future. Others may feel that the teens are infuriatingly short-sighted, but I think that’s part of the novel’s charm. Knowledge is only as good as our ability to process it. How many of us at 16 could have fixed the problems that our thirty-something-year old selves couldn’t for the life of us get our heads around?

Put this in the un-put-downable column and snuggle up!

Books to Screen: One of the most anticipated films of 2011, David Fincher’s “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Michelle Langston

One of the best cinematic gifts I will probably get this Christmas will be sitting in a theatre watching David Fincher’s book to screen adaptation of the first book in Stieg Larsson’s wildly successful Millennium Trilogy, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.”

Yeah, yeah…I know I’ve posted about this film before, but I just couldn’t resist another post. This is just one of those films for me, one where all the right elements are in place to make one hell of a movie. David Fincher directing, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross handling the music, and the cast! Oh my goodness, the cast! Daniel Craig as Mikael Blomkvist, Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander, Christopher Plummer as Henrik Vanger, Stellan Skarsgard as Martin Vanger, Robin Wright as Erika Vanger and Joely Richardson as Anita Vanger.

Larsson’s first book is a labyrinth of lies, murder, corruption, family secrets and inner demons that surround the 40 year-old mysterious disappearance of a young girl. Mikael Blomkvist (Daniel Craig) is a financial reporter who is left broken and shamed after being convicted in a court of law of libel. Hired by a wealthy industrialist, Henrik Vanger (Academy Award® nominee Christopher Plummer), to get to the bottom of the long-ago disappearance of his beloved niece, Harriet, Blomkvist heads to a remote island on the frozen Swedish coast, unaware of what awaits him.

At the same time, Lisbeth Salander (Rooney Mara), an unusual but ingenious investigator with Milton Security, is hired to do a background check on Blomkvist, a job that ultimately leads to her joining him in his investigation. Lisbeth is a young woman who has gone to great lengths to shield herself from a world that has repeatedly betrayed her, but her computer hacking skills and single-minded focus become an invaluable resource to Blomkvist. Salander and Blomkvist form a fragile strand of trust as they are pulled into the center of a brutal crime world.

In all three books, Larsson pulls from his background in investigative journalism to create a fictional, yet all too real world of social and political corruption and moral ambiguity. The original title of Larsson’s “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” was “Men Who Hate Women,” but was later scrapped for a more “publishing friendly” title. The book is not only an exploration of crimes committed against women and those that commit those crimes, but also of what it means to be victimized, versus living as a victim….and the seething need to be avenged.

While you probably will not have time to finish off the first book before the film opens in theaters next week, I highly recommend you set aside some time to read all three. So, while we wait for the film to hit theatres, I’m leaving you with a gallery of “eye candy.” Just a little something to tide you over until opening day, which by the way, is now one day earlier than anticipated! Instead of having to wait until December 21, you’ll be able to see the film in theatres on December 20! Keep in mind, this film is definitely “Rated R.”

Happy Holidays to all you Bookend Babes out there! My wish for you is that your holidays are filled with lots of fun, family, friends…and hopefully, time for you to enjoy a great book, or a movie on the big screen!

Books to Screen: The Descendants

Posted on November 9, 2011 by Michelle Langston

Book End Babes, I have one word for you. Clooney.

Do I have your attention? I thought so!

George Clooney is back on the big screen in THE DESCENDANTS, which is adapted from the book by Kaui Hart Hemmings. The film is a family dramedy, directed by Alexander Payne, the creator of the Oscar-winning film SIDEWAYS, and is set to open in select cities on November 16, and then will expand to other cities.

Set in Hawaii, THE DESCENDANTS is a sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic journey for Matt King (George Clooney). Matt is an indifferent husband and uninvolved father of two girls, who is forced to take a hard look at his past and make decisions about his future after his wife is involved in a serious boating accident off the coast of Waikiki. The event leads to an effort at reconciliation with his daughters while struggles to decide whether to sell the family land that has been handed down for generations from Hawaiian royalty and missionaries.

The buzz right now on the film is terrific, with critics already talking about a best picture nomination, and a best actor nomination for Clooney. Check out the trailer below, and then mark your calendar to set a date to watch this film. Not sure when it will open in your city? Just keep checking for opening dates on on the film’s website HERE.