tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87519332024-03-13T20:55:55.032-07:00Romancing the TomeKimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12601528600962393020noreply@blogger.comBlogger858125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8751933.post-42984958719476916192013-03-04T10:02:00.000-08:002013-03-04T10:02:00.359-08:00We're on Tumblr!Dear Readers,<br />
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We hope you'll visit us <a href="http://twistedlit.tumblr.com/">on Tumblr</a>. --Kim & Amy Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12601528600962393020noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8751933.post-44798983721614759412013-01-24T11:42:00.000-08:002013-01-24T11:49:02.192-08:00A Spotify Playlist for Our Twisted Lit SeriesWith Shakespeare as the inspiration for our novels, you might expect “Ren-Fair” lute muzak to factor into the equation. (Don’t worry, it didn’t.) Instead, the soundtrack essential to our writing process lent mood and kept us grounded in the present for our contemporized tales. Here are some of the songs that galvanized us as we worked on the first two books in our Twisted Lit series. (<a href="http://open.spotify.com/user/kimdaskew/playlist/4XStJyO4c7sr5yEHFbbUjS">Go to the Spotifiy playlist</a>.) <br />
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“Grace,” Jeff Buckley <br />
<i>“Parting is such sweet sorrow.” --Romeo and Juliet. </i>Skye Kingston, the heroine of <i>Exposure</i> (our modern interpretation of Macbeth), has a Jeff Buckley poster hanging on the wall in her bedroom. That’s the superficial connection, but there’s a subtler one: Buckley was inspired to write this hauntingly gorgeous song by a tearful farewell with a girlfriend at an airport. Skye also has to say goodbye to the guy she loves, possibly forever, before she boards a flight from Anchorage, Alaska, where the book is set.<br />
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“Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic,” The Police<i> </i><br />
<i>“We are such stuff as dreams are made on.” --The Tempest. </i>Miranda Prospero, our heroine in Tempestuous is, of course, a combination of <i>The Tempest</i>’s Miranda and her father Prospero, the deposed king and sorcerer. While our Miranda isn’t a true magician, she certainly casts a spell with her charming, sometimes manipulative, behavior. And the opening bars of this song are pure pop magic as far as we’re concerned. If we had a desert island tune, this would be it.<br />
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<i>Elevator to the Gallows Soundtrack</i>, Miles Davis<br />
<i>Murder most foul.” --Hamlet. </i>Miles Davis helped set the mood while we worked on a pivotal après-murder scene in<i> Exposure</i>. Davis wrote this moody, tension-filled score for the ’58 Loius Malle film <i>Ascenseur pour l'échafaud</i>, a chilling, stylish noir about a man who commits murder for love. <br />
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“Simple Twist of Fate” Bob Dylan<br />
<i>“Out, damned spot.” --Macbeth. </i>In <i>Exposure</i>, Skye listens to Dylan’s aptly titled album <i>Blood on the Tracks</i>. As in Macbeth, a spot of blood turns out to be the visual evidence of profound guilt. And by one such “simple twist of fate,” our heroine becomes a party (possibly even an accessory) to it all.<br />
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“Snow and Lights,” Explosions in the Sky<br />
<i>“May the winds blow till they have waken'd death!” --Othello</i>. This acoustic track would be perfect to accompany Miranda and crew’s forays around the mall, where they’re trapped all night during an epic blizzard. Like all of Explosions’ best songs, “Snow and Lights” takes you along on a journey. This one ends with explosive drums, like those played by Tempestuous character Chad Mathers, drummer for our fictional band, The Drunk Butlers.<br />
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Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12601528600962393020noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8751933.post-45608446823008708482013-01-23T11:02:00.000-08:002013-01-23T11:07:39.963-08:00Romeo and Juliet (1936) <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The other night I had the great privilege to watch George Cukor's <i>Romeo and Juliet</i> with a former ballerina and choreographer who danced in the movie for her first Hollywood job when she was just fourteen. She later served as assistant choreographer on <i>White Christmas</i>, among her many other film credits. Seventy-six years later, she's still going strong as a popular ballet teacher in Santa Monica.<br />
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Cukor's film stars silver screen legends Leslie Howard as Romeo, Norma Shearer as Juliet, Basil Rathbone as Tybalt, and John Barrymore as Mercutio. Frankly, Mercutio has always been my favorite role in the circa 1594 play--I'm sure many of you would agree--and even perhaps a foreshadowing of Hamlet (whose role was written later, most likely in 1600-1601). John Barrymore definitely seemed too old for the part of Mercutio, but he goes for it with admirable gusto. He wasn't the only one: Howard was a practically ancient Romeo at 43 to Shearer's 34 year-old Juliet. <br />
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I recently re-watched Zeffirelli's 1968 adaptation for the gazillionth time, so it was interesting to compare the two movies. The most obvious difference would be that Zeffirelli took a completely different tack, going for a less-stylized, more "realistic" look and feel--though it's really unfair to compare the two films since movie-making had evolved so much in the years between the two films. Zeffirelli hired young unknowns for the roles of Romeo and Juliet (after first offering the role of Romeo to Paul McCartney). John McEnery is brilliant as Mercutio, and it's hard for me to imagine a more perfect Juliet than Olivia Hussey. <br />
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I was curious to see William Strunk Jr. of Strunk and White's <i>Elements of Style</i> listed in the 1936 film's credits as Literary Consultant.<i> </i>Irving Thalberg, the producer, told Strunk, "Your job is to protect
Shakespeare from us." (Source: <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0028203/trivia">IMDB</a>) <br />
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If you're interested, do visit the film's <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0028203">IMDB page</a> for lots of interesting trivia. --<i>Kim</i>Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12601528600962393020noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8751933.post-66047325350091509882013-01-08T09:58:00.000-08:002013-01-08T09:58:00.278-08:00Celebrating the Lost Art of Letter-Writing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
My handwriting is ungodly, and the U.S. Postal Service doesn't approve of my red sealing wax (it mucks up the machinery apparently), nevertheless, there's something about writing an old-fashioned letter that makes one feel so very proper and refined in a "Jane Austen heroine" sort of way. I feel as though I should be relaying scandalous gossip or turning down a suitor most delicately. </div>
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Alas, most of the stamped missives I send are directed to the DWP and phone company, but in honor of Universal Letter Writing Week, I thought I'd share some of my favorite epistolary novels and their film adaptations.</div>
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<i>Dangerous Liasons</i><br />
There have been a number of film adaptations of de Laclos's tale of ruthless games of the heart, most notably, the 1998 version starring Glenn Close as Marquise de Mertueil and John Malkovich as Vicomte de Valmont. This clip alone is filled with priceless quotes.<br />
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<i>The Color Purple</i><br />
I'm always confused when I remember that Spielberg's adaptation of Alice Walker's Pulitzer-Prize-winning novel didn't win any Oscars. It's hard to believe, really, but at least we'll always have Oprah's "All my life..." speech. (You go, girl.)<br />
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<i>The Moonstone</i><br />
Greg Wise (swoon!) and Keeley Hawes star in a late ’90s version of Wilkie Collins's tome, considered to be the first "detective novel" in the English language.<br />
<span id="goog_460629326"></span><span id="goog_460629327"></span><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pRrFSdehjMg/UN3wt79XjgI/AAAAAAAAFTM/tIxMJgyavSY/s1600/moonstone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pRrFSdehjMg/UN3wt79XjgI/AAAAAAAAFTM/tIxMJgyavSY/s1600/moonstone.jpg" style="cursor: move;" /></a><br />
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<i>Frankenstein</i><br />
We all know and love Boris Karloff as Mary Shelley's famous monster in the 1931 film, but it's hard to top the all-star cast (Kenneth Branaugh, Helena Bonham Carter, Tom Hulce, Ian Holm and Aidan Quinn) in this 1994 adaptation, which features none other than Robert DeNiro as the monster. Alas, the film didn't quite pass muster with most critics, as this clip (and Branaugh's ridiculous mullet) might help exhibit:<br />
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<i>The Tenent of Wildfell Hall</i><br />
Toby Stephens (who, as an aside, I loved as Rochester in <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0780362/">this version of Jane Eyre</a>) and Rupert Graves star in this TV miniseries, which I'm bummed to have missed. It's based on the novel by that <i>other</i> Bronte sister, Anne, and is considered "the most shocking" of the Bronte clan's collected works. The entire story is framed as a letter from a man to his brother-in-law, relaying the tale of how he came to meet his wife. This clip makes me all melty inside:<br />
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<i>Where'd You Go, Bernadette</i><br />
Annapurna Pictures has snagged the movie rights for this book by Maria Semple, which tells the story (through correspondence) of an outlandish (but troubled) woman who goes missing and the teenage daughter who attempts to track her down. According to imdb, it's slated for a 2015 release. I (Amy) just read the novel over the holidays and loved it, so am excited for this one.<br />
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<br />Amy Helmeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06892477763017820297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8751933.post-49117846800906751432013-01-03T11:49:00.000-08:002013-01-05T14:28:06.372-08:00"What is a 'Week END?'"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<i>...she could freeze a room with a look, orate in a perfectly timed silence,
break your heart by simply squaring her shoulders or settling her
shawl.</i><br />
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I love that sentence from <a href="http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-critics-notebook-maggie-smith-20130103,0,605389.story">a recent profile of Dame Maggie Smith in the <i>Los Angeles Times.</i></a><i> </i><br />
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The article reminded me that Smith starred in a movie I'm very fond of: <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0064840/"><i>The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie</i></a> based on the novel by<i> </i>Muriel Spark. If you've never watched this 1969 film, I'd call it a cross between <i>Auntie Mame </i>and <i>Dead Poets Society,</i> with Smith playing the audaciously eyebrow-raising teacher at an all-girls boarding school in Edinburgh. The film is actually much darker than this trailer from the time period (gotta love the narrator on this one) would lead you to believe.<br />
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Very much looking forward to seeing what snort-worthy snide remarks the Dowager Countess has for us on this season of Downton Abbey, which kicks off on Sunday night. To whet your appetite, here's a compilation of some of "Cousin Violet's" most memorable quips from previous seasons:<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/TVMtffzbAwk?rel=0" width="560"></iframe><br />Amy Helmeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06892477763017820297noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8751933.post-79059358153996071972013-01-02T10:17:00.000-08:002013-01-02T10:17:22.597-08:00Ready to Get Your Wassail On?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Twelfth Night. Yes,<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelfth_Night"> it's the title of a Shakespeare play</a>, but it's also a legit holiday that rolls around this weekend (there's apparently <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/4126725/Christmas-ends-in-confusion-over-when-Twelfth-Night-falls.html">some debate</a> over whether the Twelfth Night falls on Jan. 5 or 6, which is problematic in that you may reap bad mojo if you leave your holiday decor up past Twelfth Night). From what I can glean, it's basically a festival to celebrate the Epiphany (in Christianity), to mark the end of the 12 Days of Christmas, and generally, to give people a religious excuse to eat, drink, and be merry for just a few more days into the New Year.<br />
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I was trolling <i>ye olde</i> Wikipedia looking for info, fully intent on writing up a little primer, when I came across <a href="http://www.sarahmeden.com/2010/01/twelfth-night.html">author Sarah M. Eden's informative blog post about it. </a><br />
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She summed up all the nitty gritty far better than I, an oblivious Yankee, ever could. Bottom line, I'm all for any holiday that manages to milk a few more days of holiday indulgence, though with all that king cake and mulled wine, it seems certain to mess with many people's healthy New Year's Resolutions.Amy Helmeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06892477763017820297noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8751933.post-28351467053049446122012-12-31T10:19:00.000-08:002012-12-31T10:19:15.000-08:00Chris Askew on Withnail and I My sister, Chris, recently watched <a href="http://romancingthetome.blogspot.com/2012/09/shakespeare-in-withnail-i.html">Romancing the Tome favorite <i>Withnail and I</i></a> for the first time. Here are her thoughts on this cult flick, which happens to be a perfect accompaniment to any mid-winter <i>ennui</i> one might be feeling. --<i>Kim</i> <br />
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When I sat down to write this little love letter for <i>Withnail and I,</i> it
was, of course, mandatory to quote at least a few of those wonderfully
memorable lines. The trouble came when trying to settle on which ones to
use. It's all so brilliantly written. Line after line of hilarious,
witty, and unique dialogue. When Uncle Monty discusses his fondness for
(ahem...) gardening: "I think the carrot infinitely more fascinating
than the geranium. The
carrot has mystery. Flowers are essentially tarts. Prostitutes for the
bees." I cracked up when Withnail and Marwood approached the farmer
in a desperate attempt to obtain food and warmth after they've come to
the country cottage completely unprepared "We've come on holiday by
mistake!" "We're not from London!" but although I laughed from beginning
to end, the film is as heartbreaking as it is funny. Along with all the
wit and fun is a moving coming-of-age story about outgrowing a
lifestyle
and outgrowing a friendship. We see throughout the film that Withnail is
a self-serving coward "It's you he wants! Offer yourself to him!," but
we like him still. We are laughing and loving
watching Withnail drink the lighter fluid and the both of them digging
in the sink:<br />
"Something's floating up!!" <br /> "What is it?"<br />
"It's MATTER!"<br />
We are laughing and loving it but we know it can't last. We know their
lifestyle is robbing them of ever fulfilling their hopes and dreams...
and it is clear that although Marwood is prepared to take the risk of
leaving the comfortably familiar
for the challenges of the unknown when he takes a job in Manchester,
Withnail will stay behind, continue to deteriorate and very likely lose
what little of a life he has left. And so it is bittersweet when we
watch them say goodbye knowing somehow that they will never see one
another again. In reality, that is exactly what happened to the
writer/director Bruce Robinson and his Camden flatmate and close friend <span>Vivian
MacKerrell who was indeed the inspiration for Withnail. The two parted
ways when Robinson realized he had to end their friendship or he
wouldn't survive to tell the tale. Apparently the lighter fluid scene
was based on a very real incident which left MacKerrell blind for days! --<i>Chris Askew</i></span>Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12601528600962393020noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8751933.post-87569010523463089212012-12-27T14:46:00.000-08:002012-12-27T15:04:26.275-08:00Little Women's New Year's Eve for Introverts <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In <b>Chapter 3: The Laurence Boy</b>, Jo officially meets Laurie for the first time at a New Year's Eve party at the home of Meg's friend Sallie Gardner, where Jo is hiding behind a curtain. Best wishes for a Happy New Year to you all! --<i>Kim</i> <br />
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<i>Meg knew Sallie and was at her ease very soon, but Jo, who didn't
care much for girls or girlish gossip, stood about, with her back
carefully against the wall, and felt as much out of place as a colt in a
flower garden. Half a dozen jovial lads were talking about skates in
another part of the room, and she longed to go and join them, for
skating was one of the joys of her life. She telegraphed her wish to
Meg, but the eyebrows went up so alarmingly that she dared not stir. No
one came to talk to her, and one by one the group dwindled away till
she was left alone. She could not roam about and amuse herself, for the
burned breadth would show, so she stared at people rather forlornly
till the dancing began. Meg was asked at once, and the tight slippers
tripped about so briskly that none would have guessed the pain their
wearer suffered smilingly. Jo saw a big red headed youth approaching
her corner, and fearing he meant to engage her, she slipped into a
curtained recess, intending to peep and enjoy herself in peace.
Unfortunately, another bashful person had chosen the same refuge, for,
as the curtain fell behind her, she found herself face to face with the
'Laurence boy'. </i><a href="http://www.enotes.com/little-women-text/chapter-3---laurence-boy">Keep reading.</a> Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12601528600962393020noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8751933.post-38244736288104772502012-12-21T06:00:00.000-08:002012-12-21T06:00:11.958-08:00The Leopard & Sofia Coppola’s Redemption by Robert Fay<i>To celebrate the launch of </i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tempestuous-Twisted-Lit-Kim-Askew/dp/1440552649/ref=bxgy_cc_b_text_b">Tempestuous</a><i>, the first book in our Twisted Lit series, we'<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">re</span> featuring guest bloggers all week. Today's guest is writer <a href="http://robertfay.com/">Robert Fay</a> who recently completed his memoir and is a monthly contributor to <a href="http://www.full-stop.net/">Full Stop Magazine</a>. (He's also responsible for introducing me to Javier Marias's superb trilogy </i>Your Face Tomorrow<i>.) Thanks so much, Robert, for helping us </i><i><span class="st"><i>fête our book launch</i></span>! --Kim</i><br />
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Francis Ford Coppola has apparently become nostalgic for his big-studio 1970s self. <a href="http://www.flavorwire.com/353084/francis-ford-coppola-readying-new-york-based-epic-spanning-five-decades">News reports indicate</a> he plans to mothball his art-house sensibility and begin working on a big-budget generational saga set in New York. Now, as much I love Coppola’s small, personal films—his 2009 film <i>Tetro</i> is a minor classic—I miss the man who could work with the competing star power of Pacino, Brando, Keaton, Duvall, and Cann, all-the-while telling a grand, sweeping story of America during the first half of the 20th century. <br />
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I have a particular fondness for the scenes in <i>The Godfather </i>where Michael Corleone is exiled to rural Sicily. The heat and parched hills of Sicily—the cacti, bougainvillea, and ancient vendettas—contrast brilliantly with wintery 1940s New York with its post-war cheer and burgeoning materialism. I love the scene where Michael strolls along a rutted stone path with his new love Appolonia, and a few paces behind them is half the village, chaperoning them, as Michael seems to time travel back to traditional, Catholic Sicily where his father and ancestors lived and died for centuries. <br />
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If I was the secret <a href="http://www.flavorwire.com/353084/francis-ford-coppola-readying-new-york-based-epic-spanning-five-decades">film investor with “infinite money”</a> as Coppola describes this mysterious individual, I would persuade Coppola that the generational saga he needed to make was not to be set in New York, but back in Sicily. I’d tell him he had to make a movie based on the novel <i>The Leopard</i> by Giuseppe di Lampedusa (1958).<i> The Leopard</i> is the only novel Giuseppe di Lampedusa ever wrote, but few writers have ever written as sublime a book. The novel is set in the 1860s in both Palermo and rural Sicily, where we witnesses the festering decay of an old aristocratic family from the perspective of the patriarch, the Prince of Salina, Fabrizio Corbera. Amid the background chaos of Italian independence movements and wars, the seemingly eternal world and influence of the European aristocracy begins to crumble before the face of modernity. <br />
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Coppola, being the student of film history that he is, would remind me that <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XV0HABR6rHU"><i>The Leopard</i> had been filmed</a> in 1963 with Burt Lancaster as the Prince. I would reply, “Yes Francis, that’s true. But you’ve been away from the real Hollywood far too long. It’s all remakes these days. Get this: they made a <i>Spider Man</i> movie in 2002: and then they remade it—AGAIN—this year! Look Francis, no one except you, and maybe that film geek Martin Scorsese will recall the original <i>Leopard</i>. So let’s do it.” I’m not sure if Coppola would buy that line of reasoning, but then again, I’d be the one with the suitcases full of cash.<br />
<br />
Once I had Coppola’s attention, I’d explain that we had to cast the movie a little differently than Luchino Visconti did back in the 1960s. Casting an A-list leading-man type like Burt Lancaster was fine during the Kennedy Administration, but in our self-conscious age, we need a little more irony and snarikiness in our protagonists. I’d push for casting funnyman Bill Murray in the lead. Not any Bill Murray mind you, but specifically the deflated CEO Murray of <i>Rushmore</i> fame. “Francis listen,” I’d say “In a modern American context, what is the difference between the head of a bankrupt aristocratic family, and the semi-depressed chief executive of a steel mill?” But I wouldn’t wait for him to answer. I’d immediately move straight on to my real agenda: the full-blown redemption of his daughter Sofia Coppola’s acting legacy. <br />
<br />
In 1990 Sofia Coppola appeared in <i>The Godfather III</i>. She was 18 and had never studied acting, but the film press decided to ridicule her performance without mercy. I’d advise him to cast Sofia in his remake of <i>The Leopard</i>. I’d explain to Coppola that this was their opportunity to strike back at the hacks who laughed at her when she was an unknown. “Don’t make a big deal out of it Francis,” I’d say. “Perhaps write her in as Maria Stella, the Prince’s wife. Just give her a few lines and let the critics stew on how brilliant she is now: how she was nominated for an Oscar as best director, how she is beautiful and chic beyond belief, and that she had the good sense to settle in Paris and marry the lead singer of Phoenix.” <br />
<br />
Francis, being the sweet soul he is, would initially object: “It sounds petty. I don’t know, she has nothing to prove to anyone.” I’d nod sympathetically, but then I’d add: “But an on-screen fall requires something of cinematic redemption, wouldn’t you agree Francis?” And that’s how I’d get him. That’s how I’d sink the hook in real good.<br />
<br />
“And <i>The Leopard</i> is fundamentally about redemption as I recall,” Coppola would blurt out, babbling now a mile-a-minute as if he were back on the set of <i>Apocalypse Now</i>, rapping with Dennis Hopper. I’d slap him on the back and I’d say, “Francis, let’s knock back a few espressos and start drafting a script, what do you say?” And so my work will have been done: another soul won for the enduring greatness of <i>The Leopard</i>—hallelujah. --<i>Robert Fay</i><br />
<i> </i>Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12601528600962393020noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8751933.post-75993814218164798982012-12-20T06:00:00.000-08:002012-12-20T06:00:15.631-08:00Edward Champion on Ironweed <i>To celebrate the launch of </i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tempestuous-Twisted-Lit-Kim-Askew/dp/1440552649/ref=bxgy_cc_b_text_b">Tempestuous</a><i>, the first book in our Twisted Lit series, we'<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">re</span> featuring guest bloggers all week. Today's guest is the inimitable Edward Champion of </i><i><i><a href="http://www.edrants.com/">Return of the Reluctant</a></i> and <a href="http://www.edrants.com/segundo/">The Bat Segundo Show</a>, the celebrated literary podcast on which he's interviewed Martin Amis, Kate Christensen, David Mitchell, Michelle Richmond, China Mieville, and Joyce Carol Oates, to name but a few. Thanks so much, Ed, for stopping! </i><br />
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It's criminal enough that the great William Kennedy doesn't
get talked up nearly as often as he should by the highfalutin dopes who ignore
regular Joes for the dry literary dregs in the tea room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even so, I've always wondered why nobody
mentions the 1987 film adaptation of <i>Ironweed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>I've been just as guilty as the next guy
in ignoring this flick for such questionable allure as Eric Roberts's <i>oeuvre</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(You'll have to corner me in a bar to learn
just how many times I've seen the <i>Best of the Best </i>movies.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So when Kim asked me to gab wise about
literary flicks in a guest post, I decided to take it on.</div>
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The book is a tough and taut portrait of the invisible souls
who seek shelter from a cold world while holding as hard as they can to their
fragile dollars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They try to redeem
their failed lives through singing and toiling and laughing and drinking, but
they are as dead to genteel eyes as the souls buried beneath the ground at
Saint Agnes Cemetery.</div>
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The movie sounds like a golden trumpet on paper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Get Bill Kennedy to adapt his plucky
masterpiece.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Have Jack Nicholson star as
gritty drifter Francis Phelan, with Meryl Streep as his sidekick Helen, and the
prestige picture would sail its way into a peninsula of golden statues. (It
came within spitting distance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nicholson
and Streep were both nominated for Oscars.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
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There was just one problem: <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8751933" name="firstHeading"></a><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Héctor Babenco was a fairly toothless
director.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe Babenco could not grasp
the rough feel of American transicence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Perhaps he was intimidated by his star power.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is too fixated on the new high-speed film
stocks of the time for the night scenes and his awkward Steadicam shuffles
don't make this film crackle with the vital life Kennedy established in his
screenplay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nicholson delivers an early
grief-stricken monologue kneeling before a grave, but without Kennedy's prose
capturing the cemetery's souls receiving his words.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Babenco doesn't know how to block Nicholson's
niceties with a soft touch, and the moment feels needlessly inert, as does another
pivotal scene in which Helen sings at a bar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Nor does Francis
lose “two thirds of a right index finger with a cleaver,” which neuters
Kennedy's efforts to present the savage truths of the street.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And don't get me started on the way Babenco
handles the dead people who haunt Francis, who are all dressed in white and are
photographed in that chalky and stitled manner that was a visual cliche in
low-budget television anthology series during that decade.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For those who like to track the careers of minor
actors, <i>Ironweed </i>contains some oddball casting: a young Nathan Lane cast
as the scab Francis killed years before, a pre-<i>Roseanne </i>Michael O'Keefe
as Billy Phelan, and Tom Waits as Francis's fellow laborer, Rudy.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">On the other
hand, there's energy in the 1901 trolley strike that recalls John Sayles's deft
hand in <i>Matewan</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And if Rosskam
does not quite sprout to life with his judgmental modifiers (“tidy,”
“impatient,” “insensitive”) as Francis toils for him, he is given some heart
and heft by character actor Hy Anzell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It's astonishing to recall that there was once a time in which movies
about the homeless and labor were actually bankrolled and released.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These days, our hefty films involve the
anticlimactic novelty of Bill Murray as Roosevelt and Spielberg establishing a
preprogrammed reaction in which all leave the theater with the same
conclusion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">Ironweed </span></i><span lang="EN" style="mso-ansi-language: EN;">reminded me of Fielder Cook's surprisingly
edgy 1986 adaptation of Saul Bellow's <i>Seize the Day</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You know pretty early on that it's not going
to work and that the director is overcompensating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yet there's a bare minimum in which the
scripts are trying to make the source material come alive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Presumably, it was this life that attracted
stars like Jack Nicholson and Robin Williams.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Did hacky directors tend to become attached to the low-key literary
adaptations of the 1980s because the producers couldn't find any other people
to direct them?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was certainly a weird
and soulless decade, but you have to hand it to American cinema: there were
more heartfelt efforts back then to realize literature than today. --<i>Edward Champion</i></span></div>
Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12601528600962393020noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8751933.post-32246025490986716312012-12-19T08:00:00.000-08:002012-12-19T08:00:00.132-08:00Top Five Adaptations Starring Katharine Hepburn by Nicki Richesin<style>
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</style> <i>To celebrate the launch of </i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tempestuous-Twisted-Lit-Kim-Askew/dp/1440552649/ref=bxgy_cc_b_text_b">Tempestuous</a><i>, the first book in our Twisted Lit series, we'<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">re</span> featuring guest bloggers all week. Today's guest is my dearest friend </i><i><i><a href="http://nickirichesin.com/">Nicki Richesin</a>,</i> a talented writer, editor, and anthologist. (She's also the fairy godmother who introduced us to Merit Press's Editor-in-Chief, Jackie Mitchard!) <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";">--Kim</span></i><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6A4jwgrpbjA/UNEaT0AoFTI/AAAAAAAAB6s/unMdeRKTCa4/s1600/katharine_hepburn-62163949_large1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6A4jwgrpbjA/UNEaT0AoFTI/AAAAAAAAB6s/unMdeRKTCa4/s1600/katharine_hepburn-62163949_large1.jpg" height="237" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It’s hard to believe Katharine Hepburn died almost ten years
ago. It often astonishes me that the media continues to refer to her glamorous sensibility.
Flip through almost any fashion magazine and you’ll find a reference to some
young starlet pronounced the new Katharine Hepburn. Her uniform, a classic suit
with wide trousers was considered risqué in her day, but her remarkable style
led the Council of Fashion Designers of America to award her a Lifetime
Achievement Award in 1986. Kate was named the top female screen legend of the
20<sup>th</sup> century by the American Film Institute in 1999. I grew up
admiring her and watching her movies again and again hoping some of her magic
would rub off on me. For me, these five films demonstrate her incredible range
over many decades and how her indomitable personality could shine through every
role she assumed. </span><br />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Little
Women </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">(1933 RKO) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kate was a natural as the headstrong Jo March in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Little Women</i>. Her most cherished ally George
Cukor directed her as the feisty daughter who sacrificed her one beauty (a long
wig in the film) to help her injured father return home from the Civil War.
With her New England upbringing, she perfectly embodied a young girl who would
leave her cozy transcendentalist family to create a new life for herself in New
York.</span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
Philadelphia Story </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">(1940 M-G-M)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After a string of flops, Hepburn was labeled “box-office
poison” and returned to her family home in Connecticut. Never one to give up, she
triumphed once again on the stage in a high society farce called <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Philadelphia Story</i> written expressly
for her. She bought the rights from playwright Philip Barry, returned to
Hollywood to star as the lead and the film went on to break box office records.
With her co-star Cary Grant, she made a number of winning romantic comedies
including <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bringing Up Baby</i> and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Holiday.</i> In this scene, she toys with
Jimmy Stewart. It’s yare…<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
African Queen </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">(1951 Romulus Films)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kate traveled to the Belgian Congo to film <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The African Queen</i> with Humphrey Bogart.
She played a straitlaced missionary, who convinces Bogey, as a scallywag sea
captain, to ambush an enemy WWI warship in his boat the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">African Queen</i>. While on safari, Kate was almost stampeded by a herd
of elephants, attacked by an army of ants, and saw hippos and crocodiles
swimming in the Ruiki River. Despite the intense heat, sickness, and having to
haul the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">African Queen</i> from the
bottom of the river after it sank, she was so thrilled by it all she wrote a
book about their wild jungle adventures entitled <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Making of the African Queen</i>.</span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The
Lion in Winter </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">(1968 Haworth Productions)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Although she believed awards were “a bunch of hooey,” she
was nominated for twelve and collected a record four Academy Awards for Acting,
more than in any other actor. Kate’s most brilliant film roles came to her much
later in her life. She won a third award for her portrayal of Eleanor of
Aquitaine in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Lion in Winter</i> with
Peter O’Toole as Henry II and a young Anthony Hopkins as Richard.</span></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On
Golden Pond </span></i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">(1981 IPC Films)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">At the age of 73, Kate won her fourth and final Academy
Award for her portrayal of Ethel Thayer in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">On
Golden Pond</i>. Her co-star Henry Fonda also won for his performance as her crotchety
husband suffering with dementia. Together they made screen magic as an elderly
couple spending one last summer at their vacation cottage in Maine. She
memorably said to him in her trademark quavering voice, “You’re my knight in
shining armor!” Here’s that famous scene:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Kate’s philosophy handed down from her bold suffragette mother
always remained, “Don’t give in. Fight for your future. Women are just as good
as men. Make your own trail. Don’t moan. Think positively.” After her death in
Old Saybrook on June 29, 2003, they dimmed the lights on Broadway in her honor.</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> --Nicki
Richesin</span></i></div>
Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12601528600962393020noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8751933.post-42929897279302826992012-12-18T08:36:00.000-08:002012-12-18T08:36:58.597-08:00Small Demons' Richard Nash Connects the Dots<i>To celebrate the launch of </i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tempestuous-Twisted-Lit-Kim-Askew/dp/1440552649/ref=bxgy_cc_b_text_b">Tempestuous</a><i>, the first book in our Twisted Lit series, we'll be featuring guest bloggers all week. Today's guest is indie publishing entrepreneur Richard Nash, VP of Content and Community over at one of our favorite bookish sites, <a href="https://www.smalldemons.com/">Small Demons</a>. Thank you for stopping by, Richard! </i><br />
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The film <a href="https://www.smalldemons.com/things/films/Sunset_Boulevard_%281950%29"><i>Sunset Boulevard</i></a> is mentioned in 87 books.</div>
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When we talk about the new culture discovery website Small Demons
at which I now work, the CEO Valla Vakili and I both like to offer some
broader cultural context. Before talking about what it is we do, we talk
about what it is we see others doing, about the kind of engagement with
culture we see out there in the world. We see a project like <a href="http://infiniteatlas.com/" target="_blank">Infinite Atlas</a>, which identifies on a Google Map every location mentioned in David Foster Wallace's <i>Infinite Jest</i>. We see the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSs4Qqcmd5-FnjMsvLtXyEl53pjF7ae1e" target="_blank">YouTube playlist</a> of every song referenced in Neil Gaiman's <i>American Gods</i>. We see <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=cosplay&hl=en&tbo=d&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=-F7PUNGBIai_0QG934GwDg&sqi=2&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAA&biw=1272&bih=567" target="_blank">cosplay</a>. And we see Romancing the Tome, connecting books and movies before there was even a YouTube to offer clips.<br />
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So
we see a world where people want to be active and eclectic participants
in their culture, to flit in the space of a day from oak to pine to ash
to redwood regardless of which is a song, which is a book, which is a
movie. <a href="http://smalldemons.com/" target="_blank">Small Demons</a> is
of, by, and for people who live their lives immersed in the romance of
story and character and voice and event and we're honored this week to
be part of the celebrations for a book inspired by a play on a site
about movies inspired by books to talk about a website inspired by all
of it… </div>
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And after you're done buying Kim and Amy's book, come check out their <a href="https://www.smalldemons.com/users/home/kim_askew" target="_blank">Small Demons Collections</a> of things that inspired their books. --<i>Richard Nash</i><i><br /></i></div>
Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12601528600962393020noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8751933.post-2877920585877573682012-12-17T12:02:00.004-08:002012-12-17T12:03:25.755-08:00Shakespeare Retold, #Twitter Style Amy and I had fun retelling Shakespeare's greatest plays in 140 characters or less for <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amy-helmes/to-tweet-or-not-to-tweet-_b_2302107.html?utm_hp_ref=tw">Huffington Post Books</a>. --<i>Kim</i>Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12601528600962393020noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8751933.post-42086987204903285232012-12-17T09:36:00.001-08:002012-12-17T09:45:39.514-08:00Three, The One That Gets Away by Lauren Cerand<i>To celebrate tomorrow's pub date of </i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tempestuous-Twisted-Lit-Kim-Askew/dp/1440552649/ref=bxgy_cc_b_text_b">Tempestuous</a><i>, the first book in our Twisted Lit series, we'll be featuring guest bloggers all week. Our first guest is genius publicist Lauren Cerand, whose elegant blog, <a href="http://luxlotus.com/">Lux Lotus</a>, has long been a source of inspiration. --Kim</i><br />
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<span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">After I read James Salter’s <i>A Sport
and a Pastime</i>, the novel of an erotic, short-lived affair between a
carefree Yale dropout and a French shop clerk in 1950s provincial France, I
embarked on the course that I am sure that so many of his readers have, to
devour every word the man has ever written. This led to me to his wonderful
memoir, <i>Burning the Days</i>, which touches on his career in film. His first
and only directing project was the adaptation of a story, “Then We Were Three,”
by Irwin Shaw into <i>Three</i>, a 1969 film starring Charlotte Rampling, Robie
Porter, and Sam Waterston. I have only seen (incredibly stylish) stills and
despite some dissatisfaction with the project on his part, and an easily
searchable online trail of admiration and mystique that never actually leads to
the film itself, am perplexed that it doesn’t seem to be available anywhere,
and was not ever issued as a DVD. As for Salter, <i>Three</i> may have had its
silver lining, in that it inspired <a href="http://theamericanscholar.org/dawn-of-a-literary-friendship/">a lifelong friendship</a> with another writer that began with a fanletter. I’m
sure I’d have one to send, too.<i> - Lauren Cerand</i></span></div>
<i></i>Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12601528600962393020noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8751933.post-36305628380276464242012-12-11T07:00:00.000-08:002012-12-11T09:21:03.957-08:00The Book Trailer for Our Twisted Lit SeriesWho doesn't love adorable toddlers lisping lines from Shakespeare? Here's the new trailer for our Twisted Lit series. Thanks to all the little ones (and their parents) who collaborated with us on this!<br />
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<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ecxzoxeBffs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12601528600962393020noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8751933.post-56301362274814427822012-12-10T15:51:00.001-08:002012-12-10T15:53:26.750-08:00Our Fave Links This Week: Stephanie LaCava, Largehearted Boy, and Ada LovelaceWe've been busy doing interviews and writing guest posts in anticipation of next week's pub date for <i>Tempestuous</i>, the first book in our Twisted Lit series. It's left little time to write an actual post to kickoff the week, so I thought I'd do a quick rundown of my favorite of-the-moment links. --<i>Kim</i><br />
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<b>A Stylish Book Adaptation</b><br />
Street style pinup girl Stephanie LaCava's hotly anticipated memoir <i>An Extraordinary Theory of Objects</i> launched last week. To coincide with the launch, Marc Jacobs's Bookmarc is selling a <a href="http://www.vogue.com/vogue-daily/article/objects-of-my-affection-marc-jacobss-bookmarc-limited-edition-accessories/#1">limited edition collection of accessories</a> inspired by the book. <br />
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<b>A Largehearted List of Favorite 2012 Novels</b><br />
Books and music are equally fascinating to generous blogger David Gutowski (known more widely as Largehearted Boy). I have yet to read anything on his list of <a href="http://www.largeheartedboy.com/blog/archive/2012/12/favorite_novels_5.html">favorite 2012 novels</a>, but I will now. <br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HWcdVv1ABHU/UMZzrsvGisI/AAAAAAAAB5Q/5H25HWY5A08/s1600/badgirls.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HWcdVv1ABHU/UMZzrsvGisI/AAAAAAAAB5Q/5H25HWY5A08/s1600/badgirls.jpg" height="223" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Bad Girls Are the Best</b><br />
Celebrate Ada Lovelace's birthday with Graphic Designer Ann Shen's zine <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/90411585/bad-girls-throughout-history-zine">Bad Girls Throughout History</a>, which includes Nellie Bly, Marie Antoinette, and Ada Lovelace (Lord Byron's daughter and the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ada_Lovelace">world's first computer programmer</a>). (Ann, also my friend and colleague, has designed a <a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/109264600/bad-girls-throughout-history-postcards">postcard collection</a>, too.) <br />
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Congrats to all the YA authors featured in Atlantic Monthly's "<a href="http://www.theatlanticwire.com/entertainment/2012/12/best-young-adult-books-2012/59641/">Y.A./Middle Grade Book Awards, 2012 Edition</a>." Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12601528600962393020noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8751933.post-69504311425017794782012-12-05T07:00:00.000-08:002012-12-05T15:08:23.576-08:00To the Castle Born: Royal Babies Get Their Due (Date)With all the word atwitter (literally) over Will and Kate's baby news, it seemed as good a time as any to reflect on a few of our favorite films honoring young royal families. These are just a smattering: let us know your faves!<br />
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0962736/combined"><b>Young Victoria</b></a>:
So many stories of royal families are depressing. Loveless marriages, babies stashed in towers... How refreshing to see a monarch who actually had a happy family life, for as long as it lasted.<br />
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<a href="http://www.sonypictures.com/homevideo/marieantoinette/"><b>Marie Antoinette</b></a>:
It's hard to forget the birthing scene in this movie. The queen delivered her child in front of a standing-room only audience of looky-loos. They were on hand to make sure the baby presented was the genuine article, so to speak. We assume Kate will get a tad more, uh, privacy.<br />
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0864761/combined"><b>The Duchess</b></a>: Lady Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, faced an impossible choice: Give up her lovechild, the product of an affair, or surrender any future interaction with her older children. Heartbreaking! (Incidentally, Georgiana is an ancestor of Prince William's mother, Diana, through the Spencer lineage.)<br />
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0349747/combined">The Lost Prince</a>: This film tells the bittersweet story of Prince John, the youngest child of George V and Queen Mary, who, because of epilepsy and a developmental disorder, was kept apart from the rest of the family and out of the public eye. (He was raised primarily by a nanny, played in the film by Gina McKee.)<br />
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<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0462488/combined"><b>The Princes in the Tower:</b></a> Not every royal baby has it lucky. Ask young Edward V and Richard, sons of Edward IV. They were confined to the Tower of London after their father's death by Richard III, who presumably had them murdered. Okay, (sigh) let's move on to more happy stories!... <br />
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<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleeping_Beauty_%281959_film%29"><b>Sleeping Beauty</b></a>: ...An animated movie should do the trick! Princess Aurora was cursed by Maleficent at birth to prick her needle on a spinning wheel at the age of 16. Three fairies and a handsome prince helped undo the spell, and they all lived happily ever after...here's wishing the same for England's expected bundle of joy!
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<br />Amy Helmeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06892477763017820297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8751933.post-41344281395123010022012-12-04T07:00:00.000-08:002012-12-04T07:00:00.241-08:00Our Holiday Gift Guide for Book Lovers We thought we'd share some our favorite holiday gift giving ideas for the bibliophiles on your list. Enjoy! --Kim & Amy <br />
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<b>Will In the World: Shakespeare’s Britain Poster</b><br />
This <a href="http://www.folger.edu/store/sd4/product/shakespeares-britian-poster-1762.cfm">gorgeous map</a> (tested and approved by Kim) has all the Great Britain hot spots mentioned in The Bard’s plays, from Macbeth’s Scottish castle to the various battlefields and abbeys. <br />
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<b>The Write Stuff: Love Text Print Tights</b><br />
Fashionable bookworms are sure to warm to these unique <a href="http://www.trendylegs.com/shop/love-text-print-tights-grey-black/">literary tights</a> featuring text pulled from wikipedia and printed in a romantic scripted font. <br />
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<b>A Red Letter Day: J Herbin Rouge Caroubier Red Dip Pen and Calligraphy Ink </b><br />
If you know a writer who prefers a fountain pen and paper to a laptop and mouse, look no further than the original “<a href="http://www.thewritingpenstore.com/p-382-j-herbin-rouge-caroubier-red-dip-pen-and-fountain-pen-ink-30ml.aspx">Jewel of Ink</a>” created by M. Herbin in Paris, circa 1700.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iUPjbvkx5pk/UL1hEjPFXtI/AAAAAAAAB4A/9594kFXU67s/s1600/nyrb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iUPjbvkx5pk/UL1hEjPFXtI/AAAAAAAAB4A/9594kFXU67s/s1600/nyrb.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b>Join the Club: The NYRB Classics Book of the Month Club</b><br />
This is a bit of splurge at $150 for a year or $85 for six months, but the serious book lover on your list will adore you indefinitely (or at least for as long as they <a href="http://www.nybooks.com/books/imprints/classics/the-nyrb-book-club/">receive a monthly title</a> hand selected by New York Review of Book editors). Plus, the giver receives a copy of <i>The Invention of Morel </i>by Adolfo Bioy Casares.<br />
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<b>A Date with Downton: The Downton Abbey Calendar</b><br />
Is your bff/mother/sister/aunt counting down the days to the Season 3 premiere? If so, they should be doing it on the official <a href="http://www.shoppbs.org/product/index.jsp?productId=13262322&cp=13133725.3913830.12223053&ab=GiftCenter2012MASTFans&parentPage=family">PBS Downton Abbey 2013 calendar</a>. <br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iWGP5YPAqD0/UL1ig96i7lI/AAAAAAAAB4Q/NPeOwbsfLvA/s1600/casanova.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iWGP5YPAqD0/UL1ig96i7lI/AAAAAAAAB4Q/NPeOwbsfLvA/s1600/casanova.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b>Flames of Inspiration: Jardins d’Ecrivains Candles</b><br />
Described on their website as “candles to be used for reading or writing,” <a href="http://www.jardinsdecrivains.com/">these gorgeous luminaries</a> are named after and inspired by famous writers like Colette, Tolstoy, Sand, Kipling and Casanova. (They also have bath products named for Edith Wharton!)<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zF4R9tOut00/UL1kGVOxeSI/AAAAAAAAB4Y/vO2jhVnrs-M/s1600/CapriPromo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zF4R9tOut00/UL1kGVOxeSI/AAAAAAAAB4Y/vO2jhVnrs-M/s1600/CapriPromo.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b>Pen to Paper: Pineider Stationery</b><br />
This luxury <a href="http://www.pineider.com/chisiamo.pag">Florentine stationer</a> has been providing paper products for European bourgeoisie for centuries and was the epistolary product of choice for such writers as Stendhal, Byron, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and Charles Dickens.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3cr8NYB-INk/UL1ka2FxzVI/AAAAAAAAB4g/XcAL_FuiP84/s1600/cuff.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3cr8NYB-INk/UL1ka2FxzVI/AAAAAAAAB4g/XcAL_FuiP84/s1600/cuff.jpg" height="318" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Bookish Bling: Jezebel Charms</b><br />
One of our favorite Etsy shops for unique and <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/JezebelCharms">beautiful literary jewelry</a>. We especially love the brass cuffs that can are simultaneously elegant and funky.<br />
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<b>Altruistic Apparel for the Lit-Minded: Out Of Print</b><br />
For each of these <a href="http://outofprintclothing.com/shop/">cool literary tees</a> sold, a book is donated to a community in need through the company’s partnership with Books For Africa. Sizes available in women’s, men’s and children’s (as young as two).<br />
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<b>Book Decoy: Leanne Shapton Wooden Block Books</b><br />
We all know book covers are works of art, but Shapton, an artist and graphic novelist, takes that theory quite literally with <a href="http://www.leanneshapton.com/wbs.html">her painted, hand-lettered books</a> on novel-sized pieces of wood. On sale at <a href="http://www.johnderian.com/">John Derrion Company</a>, in New York.Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12601528600962393020noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8751933.post-39361966477720896502012-12-03T10:32:00.000-08:002012-12-03T10:32:04.700-08:00Hoping to See Cheerful Weather for the Wedding<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-q8bCpwUHXX4/ULzvpSFKo5I/AAAAAAAAB3U/2JBEvy0PAeU/s1600/Cheerful-Weather-For-The-Wedding_19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-q8bCpwUHXX4/ULzvpSFKo5I/AAAAAAAAB3U/2JBEvy0PAeU/s1600/Cheerful-Weather-For-The-Wedding_19.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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This adaptation of Julia Strachey's <i>Cheerful Weather for the Wedding</i> looks absolutely divine, and I love the interview with the film's screenwriter over at <a href="http://abloomsburylife.blogspot.com/2012/11/from-paper-to-film-cheerful-weather-for.html">A Bloomsbury Life</a>. I have yet to read the novel, but it's definitely going on my list. --<i>Kim</i><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/2Tyhvd6t75A" width="560"></iframe>Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12601528600962393020noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8751933.post-70627117299562314862012-11-30T13:07:00.002-08:002012-11-30T15:58:30.511-08:00Role Playing with A Familiar Beast <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Earlier this week, I noted this sentence in Hilton Als's <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/theatre/2012/10/22/121022crth_theatre_als">recent <i>New Yorker</i> theatre review</a>: "'<span class="st">Cyrano de Bergerac' is a big play that wears its importance lightly; its title character has been a paradigm for many of the conflicted, self-effacing yet principled heroes of our own time</span>." It's been tumbling around in my head alongside <a href="http://www.paniogianopoulos.com/2012/11/05/a-familiar-beast/"><i>A Familiar Beast</i></a>, the wonderfully taut new novella by Panio Gianopoulos, which has me asking: What constitutes a romantic hero in our time? Does a society (or a generation) get the heroes and heroines it deserves? Do overblown expectations of perfection in relationships, continually fed by advertising and subliminally destructive rom coms, require so much of men to satisfy a search for the romantic hero--<i>and</i> defy expectations of betrayal--that they are often doomed to fail from the get go? And then I wonder how much if any of these problems will dissipate with Generation Y; this in spite of the continued Disneyfication of our society. These are questions I don't know the answers to, and they require more time and reflection than this blog post allows for. But I do heartily recommend<i> A Familiar Beast</i>, so without further ado, here are my picks for a book-to-film adaptation: <i>You Can Count on Me</i> and <i>Margaret</i>'s Kenneth Lonergan to direct, Mark Ruffalo as Marcus who is running away from a failed marriage, Jeremy Renner as his deer hunting friend Edgar, with Greta Gerwig and Rutina Wesley as the two women they meet in a pathetic attempt at a night on the town. Can't you see it picking up an Indie Spirit award for Best Film? --<i>Kim</i>Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12601528600962393020noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8751933.post-65247908120382457942012-11-28T13:35:00.000-08:002012-11-28T13:39:26.982-08:00After Karenina: Amy's Take<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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When this movie concluded, I wanted to walk back to the projection booth and re-start the whole thing. I could have easily spent another two hours and ten minutes watching this elegant masterpiece all over again. Confession: For about the first 15 minutes of the movie, I kept thinking to myself, "I hate this." The uber-stylized rendition made it initially hard to immerse myself in a story I know practically like the back of my hand. Then suddenly, a magic switch flipped in my head and I was thoroughly bowled over. Director Joe Wright is kind of a genius, and this movie — the imagery, the painstaking attention to detail, the perfect use of symbolism — proved as much. Keira Knightley as Anna was enthralling and ironically her onetime "lover" Matthew MacFadyen (<i>Pride & Prejudice</i>) plays her slightly buffoonish brother, Oblonsky, which was a very surreal change-up. My only quibbles with the movie come with the two men in Anna's life. I know I'm very likely to be in the minority on this, but Aaron Taylor as Vronsky was just wrong, wrong, wrong. Casting him for this role was an insult to dashing men the world over, and as such, I found it very hard to understand why Anna was throwing away everything for this cheezy-looking-and-acting Lothario. In that sense, I guess I identified with Karenin, who clearly felt the same way. Speaking of, Jude Law didn't sit quite right with me as Anna's kind-but-cold husband, Karenin. (He didn't seem distant or problematic <i>enough </i>to make the scandalous affair believable, but that's just me.) Levin and Kitty = ADORABLE. Their love story is always feel-good, and this case proved no exception. I wish I'd connected more with the main love story, but for the sheer innovation and clever conceit of staging the entire production in an old theater, this film is a must-see. (Incidentally, here's<a href="http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/oscars/la-en-on-location-anna-karenina-20121115,0,5459901.story"> an interesting interview in the <i>L.A. Times</i></a> with Joe Wright explaining his interesting rationale for doing so.)Amy Helmeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06892477763017820297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8751933.post-16623538345539782802012-11-28T11:35:00.000-08:002012-11-28T11:36:14.848-08:00After Karenina: Kim's Take <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Swoon factor: 5/5. Visual: 5/5. Casting<b>: </b>4/5. From start to finish, I was utterly enchanted by this gorgeous adaptation of Tolstoy's novel. The casting was just fab (although I suppose I wondered for a moment why Keira gets <i>all</i> the great roles in British productions. Oh well...) As my friend Jessica remarked afterward, "That was a<i> Downton Abbey</i> reunion," thanks to all the cast members from DA who appeared in the film (including Lady Mary Crawley as Anna's truest friend, Princess Myagkaya). It was great to see Ruth Wilson from <i>Luther</i>. She was<b> </b>perfect as the gossipy Princess Betsy. (BTW: I had to look up all the character's names before writing this post, so don't give me any special props for throwing down names as though I could actually keep track of them.) During the movie I was all #teamVronsky, but I thought better of it later and switched to #teamLevin. Which perfectly segues into my #1 takeaway (<span style="color: red;">SPOILER ALERT</span>!): Thank god women living in this time and place don't have to throw themselves under a train for choosing to love the wrong man (more than once sometimes) or, for that matter, making any mistakes in love. (As a sensitive soul with passion to spare, I've certainly made my fair share, so I would've been in BIG trouble had I lived among nineteenth century Russian aristocracy... but oh, those gowns and that decor!) I plan on trying to see this movie again while it's in theaters.<b> Stay tuned for Amy's take on the film.</b>Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12601528600962393020noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8751933.post-85281162326757149452012-11-28T10:17:00.001-08:002012-11-28T10:20:48.000-08:00Kim's Yo Ho Ho Hot Toddy Recipe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://romancingthetome.blogspot.com/2012/11/whereabouts-ioan-gruffudd.html">Speaking of <i>Horatio Hornblower</i></a> (which we are <i>always</i> doing around here--it's part of our blog's <span class="st"><i>raison d'être</i></span>), I thought I'd share a hot toddy recipe for those chilly winter evenings spent snuggled under a Pendleton blanket re-watching <a href="http://movies.netflix.com/WiMovie/Horatio_Hornblower/60030527?locale=en-US">old episodes of our favorite series</a>. <br />
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<b>Recipe:</b> Add 1/4 cup of appropriately seaworthy rum (like <a href="http://www.finewinehouse.com/the-kraken-black-spiced-caribbean-rum-750ml.html?utm_source=VersaFeed&utm_medium=WineFeed_amazon&utm_content=The+Kraken+Black+Spiced+Caribbean+Rum+750ml&utm_campaign=product_ads">Kraken</a>, pictured above) and 1/4 water to a small pot. Squeeze in a tablespoon of honey and about a teaspoon of lemon. Peel or grate some lemon rind, and add that in too. Mix it up and heat on the stovetop. Makes 1 serving. Enjoy! <br />
<br />Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12601528600962393020noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8751933.post-16974645459484771292012-11-27T10:23:00.000-08:002012-11-27T10:24:31.217-08:00Whereabouts: Ioan Gruffudd<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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In our last <a href="http://romancingthetome.blogspot.com/2009/11/whereabouts-ioan-gruffudd.html">Ioan "Whereabouts</a>," the Horatio Hornblower hottie and Royal Academy alum was set to star in a biopic of the <i>Wind in the Willows</i> author. A quick glance at his IMDB page reveals... <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0344435/">nothing much</a>. He appears to be playing the dad in some children's adventure movie. This is a travesty. Someone (<a href="http://romancingthetome.blogspot.com/2006/07/damn-your-impudence-sir-ae-sinks.html">A&E</a>?!), somewhere (BBC?!), please step in and give our dreamboat (pun intended) Welshman the juicy role he deserves. He should at least be guest starring on <i>Doctor Who</i>! --KimKimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12601528600962393020noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8751933.post-7026518615788899902012-11-19T11:29:00.000-08:002012-11-19T11:30:31.593-08:00Turner Classics "Great Adaptations" Viewing GuideWe're a little late to this one (I don't have cable), but Turner Classics is featuring 24 hours of "Great Adaptations" all month long. There are still plenty of must-sees in the two weeks remaining. Our top picks:<br />
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<b>Monday/Tuesday, 19th-20th</b><i><b> </b></i><br />
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<i>Doctor Zhivago</i> (1965), 8 p.m. EST<br />
This is the classic adaptation of Boris Pasternak's novel about a married physician and poet (played by a smoldering Omar Sharif) during the Bolshevik Revolution who falls in love with the wife (played by Julie Christie) of a political activist.<br />
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<i>Anna Karenina</i> (1948), 11:30 p.m. EST<br />
This is the version of Tolstoy's novel with Vivien Leigh in the titular role. See Amy's <a href="http://romancingthetome.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-many-faces-of-anna-karenina.html">overview of all the Anna Karenina adaptations</a> here. <br />
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<i>The Hunchback of Notre Dame</i> (1939), 1:30 a.m. EST<br />
Charles Laughton stars in this adaptation of Victor Hugo's novel. According to IMDB: "At a cost of $1.8 million, this was one of the most expensive films ever
made by RKO Pictures. The Notre Dame replica alone cost $250,000."<br />
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<i>The Brothers Karamazov</i> (1958), 11 a.m. EST <br />
Yul Brenner is eldest brother Dmitri Karamazov in the adaptation of Dostoevsky's epic novel. It also marks the debut of living legend William Shatner.<br />
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<b>Wednesday/Thursday, 21st-22nd</b><br />
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Yes, <i>To Kill a Mockingbird</i>, <i>Gone with the Wind</i>, and <i>The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter</i> are absolutely must-sees, but you already knew that! We're going to point out two other choices that I can't wait to watch with my little niece: <br />
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<i>Anne of Green Gables</i> (1934), 8:45 a.m. (22nd)<br />
We must've read this book a gazillion times, and how often do we thank our lucky stars that we've found kindred spirits like adopted orphan Anne found Diana?<br />
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<i>Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm</i> (1938), 10:15 a.m.<br />
I fell asleep with this book under my pillow when I was five. Shirley Temple is Rebecca in this ultra-sweet version of the book. <br />
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<b>Monday/Tuesday, 26th-27th</b><br />
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Yes, you might want to watch all the forties-era adaptations of <i>Pride and Prejudice</i>,<i> Jane Eyre</i>, and <i>Great Expectations</i>, but we're going to recommend an '80s classic: <br />
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<i>A Room with a View </i>(1985), 2:00 a.m.<br />
This Merchant Ivory production starring Julian Sands, Helena Bonham Carter, Maggie Smith, and Judi Dench is one of our most favorite adaptations ever. We watch it <i>and</i> read E.M. Forster's novel at least once a year.<br />
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You can see the full schedule <a href="http://www.tcm.com//schedule/monthly.html">here</a>. <br />
<br />Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12601528600962393020noreply@blogger.com0