I know that many of us want to chill out and soak up all the rays that these last few days of summer have to offer but,as for myself,I'm eagerly looking forward to hunkering down with the crisp,cool days of autumn and a cup of hot chocolate. A great way to get into that mindset is to look over some of the upcoming film releases this fall that are also some potentially great adaptations of bestselling and well loved books. A sweet two for one deal,if you ask me.
THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES
Sue Monk Kidd's sleeper hit of a debut novel will be on screen this October,starring Dakota Fanning as Lily,a young girl in the South of 1964 fleeing from an abusive father with Rosaleen(Jennifer Hudson),her only friend and house keeper for the family.
The two of them take refuge at the home of three bee keeping sisters(Queen Latifah,Alicia Keyes and Sophie Okonedo)who make an unusual type of honey and have a connection with Lily's deceased mother.
This trailer is really more of a clip from the film and a quiet one at that,which is a good way to catch a preview audience's attention and give them something to think about while they're settling in with their snacks. Nice to see some subtlety in movie marketing for once:
NICK & NORAH'S INFINITE PLAYLIST
The celebrated YA novel by Michael Levithan and Rachel Cohn also arrives in October,with Michael Cera and Kat Denning as the title couple who have a musical meet cute one night in Manhattan as they seek out a secret show by their favorite legendary band.
I've heard nothing but great things about the book and the movie appears to be a fun and funky little romcom with some decent music on the soundtrack,so it may be worth checking out on Date Night:
HOW TO LOSE FRIENDS & ALIENATE PEOPLE
A slightly more mature comedy,Toby Young's memoir of his days at Vanity Fair is given a fictional tweak in the film version due out in October(a big month for book to film releases,isn't it?). Simon Pegg plays Sidney Young,the bumbling fish out of water in the shark infested pool of the NYC magazine world,with the likes of Kristen Dunst and Jeff Bridges to contend with.
Since I find Simon Pegg hilarious in just about anything,this sounds like a winner to me,plus it gives me an excuse to finally read the book,which was buried in one of my ancient TBR piles. Probably won't the only one wanting to catch up with this bad boy,I'm sure:
MIRACLE AT ST. ANNA
James McBride's debut novel had a mixed reception,especially since it followed up his amazing memoir,The Color of Water. With this film version of Miracle at St. Anna,the book may get a fresh audience and some better appreciation for it's story of a group of WWII soldiers who become separated from their unit and wind up protecting a small village in Italy to save a young boy's life.
The stars of the film include Derek Luke,James Gandolfini,Joseph Gordon-Levitt and John Turturro and yes,this is the movie that Spike Lee was promoting when he started up that feud with Clint Eastwood(a totally ridiculous PR stunt,in my opinion). Hopefully,that quibble is now put to rest so that film fans can take the time to watch what looks to be an intriguing film coming out at the end of September:
WHAT JUST HAPPENED
Robert De Niro stars in this Hollywood insider movie,based on Art Linson's memoir,that looks at the ever growing unsteady balance between a film producer's work and life,with Sean Penn,Robin Pen Wright,Catherine Keener and Bruce Willis playing himself.
This may appeal more to folks who like hearing all about the backstage,reel vs. real life stuff about movie makers but since I dig that groove every now and then,there should be plenty of others who will want to see this movie with me(another October release-is this a conspiracy or just really odd timing?):
MARLEY & ME
Dog lovers will be happy to see this movie version of John Grogan's popular literary tribute to his beloved pooch in their cinema stockings this Christmas. Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston play the Grogans,who try their best to keep up with the lively and lovable Marley.(Sorry,but there isn't an official movie poster just yet,so this book cover will have to do).
What I do like about this trailer is that even with big names like Wilson and Aniston,it is made clear that the dog is really the star of the show. Nice touch with the background music,also,clicking into the good Olympics vibe this year:
So,all of you reading groups out there,get ready to have a field trip! Even if you and your friends have read these books already,chances are that some of the gang will want an excuse to reread them. Plus,doesn't a book chat go along better with popcorn and candy on the side? Have some happy reading and viewing,folks!
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