nomadreader

Well, loyal readers, you've made it to the fourth installment of my literary analysis of Entertainment Weekly 's fall move preview. Welcome to December, when the Oscar race heats up. This year, there will be ten (rather than the usual five) films up for Best Picture. It was hard to see five films before the Oscar telecast, but ten will be nearly impossible. It's more important than ever to be well read on the books being turned into films this awards season. Bring on December. The highlight film for December is Peter Jackson's film, The Lovely Bones , Alice Sebold's breakthrough novel of the same name. I read The Lovely Bones years ago, and I loved it. I can't imagine how it will translate to film, but if anyone can do it, my faith is in Peter Jackson. The cast also gives me hope. Saoirse Armstrong (will someone please tell me h0w to pronounce her name?) stars with Stanley Tucci (as her neighbor and rapist), Mark Wahlberg (!) plays her father, Rachel Weisz ...

Welcome to part three of my literary (and often pop cultural) fall movie preview. I take all of the films featured in Entertainment Weekly's fall movie preview and tell you which ones are based on books. We can't all drop our lives everytime a new movie hits the theaters, but I can at least usually say, "I haven't seen it yet, but I did read the book." November begins with a bang: Nine , written by Anthony Minghella , directed by Rob Marshall, and starring the pickiest (in a good way) actor in the business, Daniel Day-Lewis, as well as Marion Cotillard , Penelope Cruz, Nicole Kidman , Judi Dench , Sophia Loren, Kate Hudson, and Fergie . It's based on the 1982 Broadway musical of the same name, which was based on the Fellini classic 8 1/2 . I love movie musicals, but I really love good ones. I need to rewatch 8 1/2 , which I last saw in a film class in college. Plan around Thanksgiving now, folks. Fantastic Mr. Fox - Wes Anderson made a stop-motion-animatio...

Welcome to part two of my literary (and sometimes pop cultural) analysis of Entertainment Weekly 's Fall Move Preview. The fall movie calendar is so full, I'm detailing the literary origins of fall movies one month at a time. Sadly, October starts with bad news. The featured movie, Scorsese's sure to be a hit Shutter Island has been pushed back to early 2010 because the studio can't afford to publicize it. There were rumors about competing for an Oscar, but sadly, Oscar campaigns cost money, and the studio is short. Shutter Island is based on the book by Dennis Lehane and stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Kingsley, Mark Ruffalo and Michelle Williams. I am in the minority of those who though the film version of Mystic River was underwhelming, so I will be first in line to read Shutter Island before I see the movie. I'm glad I have an extra six months. Amelia - I have always had a fascination with Amelia Earhart. She's a famous, mysterious woman from my beloved...

I had so much fun doing a literary take on Entertainment Weekly's summer movie preview, I'm tackling the task again for the fall movie preview. I only saw one movie in the theater this summer, Julie & Julia, and the impetus was more about spending a hot afternoon in air conditioning than my own urgency to see it. I love movies, but at almost $10 each, I usually wait for dvd . Because I rarely make it to the theater, I love to stay current by at least reading the books being made into movies before the movies come out. If you're like me, read on, and you too will be able to answer "not yet, but I read the book" when the inevitable question arises, "have you seen [this movie] yet"? Sidenote : I'm sure someone is keeping track of the number of covers devoted to Twilight , both books and movies, but it seems to be passing excessive and reaching ridiculous. September: Jennifer's Body - the new film written by Diablo Cody. It's not based on ...