The first trailer for Markus Zuzak’s ‘The Book Thief‘ was released to the internet today. The book, a phenomenal YA story following the life of Liesel Meminger in Germany during the Holocaust, has earned heaps of praise and awards since its release in 2006. Downton Abbey vet Brian Percival is at the helm of the adaptation to direct and it is also very cool to see Geoffrey Rush in the cast, since he is usually amazing in whatever he does. Although I do find it odd that this trailer appears to suggest that the movie has removed the “story as narrated by Death” angle, which I thought was a fairly pivotal part of the book. This trailer seems to imply that Liesel herself has taken over the narration duties, but we shall see if that is true or not. ‘The Book Thief’ is currently slotted for an awards season November 15, 2013 release.
Monthly Archives: August 2013
RIP Elmore Leonard
It was really sad to hear that Elmore Leonard passed away today. I regard him as one of the true masters of crime writing, especially in terms of populating his novels with memorable character. Much like the Coen brothers, he just had a knack for crafting nuanced, quirky individuals that jumped off the page. It doesn’t hurt that he completely redefined crime fiction and had a writing career that spanned sixty years either (Did you know he even wrote the short story that the original 3:10 to Yuma was based on?). I’m certainly glad Justified is getting its just due on television as it is a testament to his ability to create riveting and involving stories. Raylan Givens has to be one of my favorite characters of all time and when all is said and done, I think Leonard’s creations will stand the test of time. RIP, Elmore. (nytimes)
August Begins With A Pegg/Frost/Wright Hosted ‘Shaun Of The Dead’/’Hot Fuzz’ Double Feature
August has been a solid month already, especially since it began with a double feature of Shaun of the Dead/Hot Fuzz hosted by stars Nick Frost, Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright. I’ve been a huge fan of their Cornetto trilogy since I saw Shaun of the Dead way back when. I really hold those two movies along with their TV show Spaced, in very high regard. I’ve always admired their approach to comedy, which they describe as a valentine to the movies that they draw from and clearly admire. This is the reason that their films stand above the slew of parody films like the Scary Movies and stand more as loving homages to the genres they tackle.
So, needless to say, it was a blast to see them in person when they hosted the screening at the Music Box Theater here in Chicago to promote their new film The World’s End. They regaled us with some funny stories, including what they would do in a real zombie Apocalypse and why the extras on the set of Shaun of the Dead thought it was going straight to video.
Also, my week ended with signing with a literary agent (I am now repped by Kaylee Davis and very excited about that) and shaking James Cromwell‘s hand (he seems to be more Farmer Hoggett than American Horror Story in real life). So, yeah, August has been very cool so far. Let us see what the rest of the month holds.
This Week’s Writing Links: George R.R. Martin Talks Song Of Fire And Ice
This week’s writing links include George R.R. Martin answering Game of Thrones questions, a possible Fight Club graphic novel sequel on the way, AV Club’s best books of the year so far and a new trailer for Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity.
It’s interesting to hear Martin talk candidly about his ultra popular books, especially describing the inception of the series when he thought it might be a novella. It goes without saying that it would have been history’s longest novella (although truthfully novellas stops being novellas around 50,000 words). Martin also talks about how seeing some of his characters being brought to life on television has fleshed them out in a way they never were on the page. In other news, links!
Links:
– George R.R. Martin Answers Tough Questions About Song of Fire and Ice (io9)
– Fight Club Gets A Sequel As A Graphic Novel (yahoo)
– New Literary Agent Alert: Beth Campbell of Bookends LLC (writersdigest)
– 10 Literary Authors You Didn’t Know Wrote Science Fiction (flavorwire)
– Stephen King Talks E-Books (youtube)
– How To Write The Perfect Query Letter (writersdigest)
– Interview With Peter Clines of Ex-Heroes (guidetoliteraryagents)
– Riddick Motion Comic (facebook)
– Best Books of 2013 So Far (avclub)
– 11 Debut Novels We Love (kirkusreview)
– New Trailer For Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity (comingsoon)
– Writers Market 2014 (digestshop)
– Doris Lessing And The Perils of the Pseudonyms (newyorker)
– X-Men: Days of Future Past Comic-Con Panel (imdb)
– 47 Ronin Trailer (youtube)