John Landis`s Favourite Monsters!

DK Publishing has put together a fabulous interview with John Landis, a revered film director, where he discusses all his favourite monsters in the history of cinema, just in time for Halloween! Of course, Mr. Landis has some esteemed experience in the horror genre, directing both the classic film An American Werewolf in London, and Michael Jackson`s `Thriller` music video, after Jackson saw the movie and was incredibly impressed. His list includes Frankenstein, King Kong, The Creature From the Black Lagoon, and other celebrated monsters in the history of film, coupled with insights both from Mr. Landis`s childhood memories and behind-the-scenes knowledge of how these films and their characters were brought to life on the big screen. Isn`t it so cool to learn where legendary creators take their inspiration from?

To read the full article, click the link here

Munsch on the stage!

Robert Munsch has illuminated the imaginations of Canadian children for years, and now he's alive not only on the page, but also on the stage! Munschtime, playing at the Toronto Young People's Theatre until May 14th, brings to life many of Munsch's classic titles in an exciting new format. Castmembers spoke to Tom Power on Q about the charm of Munsch's stories and the fun of the new production. This is a wonderful new way for kids and adults alike to revel in the magic of Munsch!

On Film Adaptations. . .

Jonathan Coe, who is curating the upcoming From Page to Screen Film Festival in Bridport, pens this article in The Guardian about film adaptations that have worked, and those that haven't. Among the films he discusses (and that will be screened) is Barney's Version.  I have to agree with him about why it didn't entirely work as a film. You can read the full article here.

Little Red Riding Hood

We just released a gorgeous illustrated version of Little Red Riding Hood on our Harper Design list. The book features the unabridged Brothers Grimm text paired with haunting illustrations by artist Daniel Egnéus. Check out this interview with the artist on he got his inspiration for his work:



A movie version of Red Riding Hood, with a werewolf twist opens March 11th. The movie stars Gary Oldman and Amanda Seyfriend, and is directed by Catherine Hardwicke of Twilight movie fame.

It's About Time. . .

It's Friday, there's another snowstorm coming this evening - we all could use a little of this.  It's a quick clip of Colin Firth accepting his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Enjoy.

And if you haven't yet seen The King's Speech - go this weekend!

Word & Film Website. . .

Last night, I finally got around to seeing the film of Never Let Me Go, based of course on Kazuo Ishiguro's chilling novel.  I thought it was a beautiful film, very moving and faithful to the book and with some terrific performances by Carey Mulligan and new "it boy" Andrew Garfield in particular.  You can read an interesting interview with Garfield here on Word & Film, a new website that Random House has set up to explore the connections between books and film.  Worth checking out from time to time if you are a film buff.  For instance, you can also see the movie trailer here for the upcoming version of Jane Eyre starring Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender.

Busman's Holiday Part II. . .

Of course another wonderful way to engage with words and language is to take in some live theatre which London always has in abundance. I love this city's theatre scene - without fail, I know at least some of my favourite British actors are always guaranteed to be somewhere on stage in the West End, and it's very easy to get tickets outside of peak tourist season.  So I saw a very sexy and superbly acted production of Noel Coward's Design For Living at the Old Vic, and then a hilarious Yes, Prime Minister at the Gielgud starring the wonderful David Haig (Bernard from Four Weddings and a Funeral) who I've seen several times on stage and always love. Simon Russell Beale is another favourite actor of mine (so terrific as Widmerpool in the 1997 mini-series of  Anthony Powell's A Dance to the Music of Time); I'll go to see him in anything, no questions asked.  He was starring in Ira Levin's Death Trap at the Noel Coward Theatre, a fun comic thriller spoofing country house murder mysteries, involving an egotistical and desperate playwright and plagiarist.

I'll also see anything at the Royal Court which is always doing daring productions and launching the careers of new playwrights, and I caught Nick Payne's new play Wanderlust which contrasted the challenges that couples face in their sex lives at different ages.  What I love about this theatre is that when you buy the program you are actually getting the full text of the play and at a much reduced cost than buying the book later in a bookshop.

But the best, the absolute BEST, was discovering that father and son acting duo Timothy and Samuel West were reviving their production of Caryl Churchill's A Number. Oh, I love, love this play and got to see it performed in a terrific space - the old Menier Chocolate Factory which has been converted into a theatre and restaurant.  If you enjoyed reading Kazuo Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go, or like dystopian fiction, this is a very good companion piece. Salter is confronted by his grown-up son who has just discovered that not only has he been cloned, but that he might not even be the original. Then two other unexpected encounters occur. Samuel West (you'll know him best as Leonard Bast - he who dies from a falling bookcase - in Merchant and Ivory's 1992 movie Howard's End; he also gave a wonderful performance as Anthony Blunt in the mini-series Cambridge Spies) plays all three of the sons and to see an actual father and son tackle these roles was truly marvellous.

Literary Adaptations And Other Films from TIFF. . .

I'm still coming down from the adrenaline rush that was this year's Toronto International Film Festival. I saw a lot of terrific films. Two in particular were adaptations of bestselling books and hopefully they will both get North American distribution because they definitely are worth seeing.

Sarah's Key, based on the novel by Tatiana de Rosnay, stars Kristin Scott Thomas as Julia, an American journalist who starts to investigate the Paris apartment her in-laws have owned ever since August, 1942, just weeks after the French rounded up thousands of Jews into the Vel’ d’Hiv, where they lived in horrific conditions before being sent to the death camps. When Julia finds out that Sarah, one of the children who lived in the apartment, might have survived the Holocaust, she sets out on a quest to find her, uncovering painful secrets and revelations about the past, that cause her to make some tough decisions about her own life. It's a harrowing story and film but extremely well done and the acting was wonderful, especially by Mélusine Mayance, who plays the ten year old Sarah. Being the cynical book rep that I am, whenever I see an adaptation, I immediately think - will this sell the book? This has already been a worldwide success, but yes, if the movie comes out in North America, it will sell a ton of books; while it's fiction, it is certainly based on real events, and the director, Gilles Paquet-Brenner, who came out for a Q & A after the film, said he tried to stay very close to the novel's multiple and complex plotlines.  It was a very powerful film, not a dry eye in the audience afterwards; I loved it.

I also saw the adaptation of Haruki Murakami's Norwegian Wood and boy, were the Murakami fans out in full force for the screening.

King Colin. . .

It was a big thrill after yesterday's TIFF screening of Colin Firth's new film The King's Speech, when the director Tom Hooper, Firth and Geoffrey Rush came out to do a Q & A for the audience (which gave the film a deserved standing ovation).   The film focuses on the relationship between George VI and his Australian speech therapist, played by Rush, who is trying to cure him of a lifelong stammer.  The script was wonderful, the acting absolutely fantastic (both Firth and Rush deserve Oscar nods) and there's a great supporting cast including Helena Bonham-Carter, Claire Bloom and Derek Jacobi. 

If you are currently reading the Booker short-listed novel C by Tom McCarthy, which explores the early scientific experiments with radio, this movie will be of particular interest. In the 1930s, Hitler and Mussolini were using radio broadcasts to great effect; it was the key way to get your message to the masses and the film explores the very private struggle of this man who so desperately wanted to do his duty - made more imperative by his brother's abdication - amidst the fears of being publicly humiliated.

Toronto Film Festival Fever. . .

I'm feeling rather chuffed with myself.

After a frustrating four and a half hours, I finally got my hands on tickets for twenty films at this year's Toronto Film Festival. I'm packing them in, but I'm very excited about the variety. As an avid traveler and reader of literature in translation, I equally enjoy foreign films and I love the secret thrill I get when one art form references another.  I'm seeing films from France, India, Japan, Brazil, Germany, China, Hong Kong, Uruguay, Spain, Portugal, Turkey (Istanbul is this year's spotlight city) as well as a smattering of Canadian, American and British films. I generally eschew the more mainstream, Hollywood films that will be out in theatres over the next few months (although I always make an exception for Colin Firth -I've got a ticket to The King's Speech ), and most of the literary adaptations at this year's fest - Never Let Me Go, Barney's Version, Tamara Drewe - fall into that category.  But one never knows with foreign films whether they will ever get a North American distribution deal, so I made sure to nab a ticket to  Tran Anh Hung's adaptation of Haruki Murakami's novel Norwegian Wood.  I've read some Murakami, but not that one although I'll try to remedy that before the screening.

We'll also get a chance to finally see TIFF's new home, the Bell Lightbox building. Apparently it's going to contain a bookstore which I'm excited to check out. It would be so wonderful if it not only featured books on film but also had a great selection of international literature.  Meanwhile, the city is getting ready for the buzz and the celebrities. My favourite part of the whole experience is just chatting to other film buffs in the line-ups - most of whom usually have a book in their hand as well.

To Kill A Mockingbird 50th Anniversary

I wanted to chime in about the upcoming celebrations for the 50th anniversary of To Kill A Mockingbird.

In addition to the event at the Toronto Reference July 8th that Maylin mentioned in her post yesterday, HarperCollins Canada and the Toronto Entertainment District, in partnership with TIFF, are presenting a free outdoor screening of the Oscar-winning film.

It will be held at Metro Square (King St West between Simcoe St & John St) on Wednesday July 7th at 9:00 p.m. Click here for more information!

What Happens When Book Reps Go To See A Movie Like Sex and the City 2. . .

. . . instead of looking at the clothes or the shoes or maybe the guys, (okay, maybe Aidan) - we look instead at the books. Well you can't help it when you sell all of them (I didn't stick around through all the credits to see if Random House got an acknowledgement). But in case you're curious:

Samantha's bible for dealing with menopause is Suzanne Somers' Breakthrough.
Miranda's guide to the customs of the Middle East is Kuperard's UAE - Culture Smart!

When Carrie can't get to sleep, she's reading Nancy Mitford's The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate.

And Charlotte? Well, I didn't quite catch any glimpse of the book on the kitchen counter, but I'll bet the recipe for those cupcakes she was making came from this.

Eaarth Day Part II. . .

One of the consequences of having destroyed enough of our planet to warrant a new name, argues Bill McKibbon in his new book Eaarth, is that we will have to start thinking more locally in terms of food and energy. You can also add entertainment to this list and tonight I saw the perfect example of how art can go global without leaving the carbon footprints.

I went to see the National Theatre of London's production of Alan Bennett's new play The Habit of Art, as it was screened live to hundreds of movie theatres around the world. What a terrific idea this is - and it completely works on a big screen. You are still seeing a live performance in a packed house, with some of the best actors in the world (and close-up so you can see every nuance and twitch in their faces), and you don't have to wait years until the play finally hits your city. And it was a terrific and immensely enjoyable production set during a play rehearsal of an imagined meeting between an elderly W.H. Auden and Benjamin Britten, years after they worked on a failed opera together. The acting was superb, the writing witty and insightful about poetry, music, and of course the theatre, and I didn't have to get on a plane. Just before the play began, the audience was treated to some snippets of a documentary that will be airing in Britain in the fall about the friendship between these two artists. They quoted from a poem of Auden's that completely circles back to Bill McKibben. It's called "Doggerel by a Senior Citizen" and its first stanza goes like this:

Our earth in 1969
Is not the planet I call mine
The world, I mean, that gives me strength
To hold off chaos at arm's length.

I'll be reading some more Auden tonight and I'll be buying myself a copy of Bennett's play very soon. The next live performance in this series will be shown on June 28th when the National Theatre's production of Dion Boucicault's London Assurance will be filmed. This stars one of my all time favourite British actors Simon Russell Beale, along with Fiona Shaw and Richard Briers. I can't wait.

The Last Year of Tolstoy. . .

On the weekend I went to see the movie adaptation of Jay Parini's novel The Last Station, directed by Michael Hoffman and starring the amazing Helen Mirren, James McAvoy and Christopher Plummer who plays Leo Tolstoy in the last year of his life. At a time when Google and copyright are constantly in the news, and heartfelt tributes to J.D Salinger abound, this story about the battle of Sophia Tolstoy to keep posthumous control of her husband's copyright seemed very prescient. I'm a sucker for movies about writers and though the story was a bit slight and a tad too long, it's still a lovely film to look at and spend some time with. There are great performances from all the leads especially Mirren who gives the indomitable and feisty Sophia all the passion and determination she deserves. After all, this was a woman who not only bore Tolstoy thirteen children but handcopied War and Peace six times! You can see why she was so adamant about keeping the royalties for her family. Do make a point of staying seated through the credits as you'll see some archival footage of Tolstoy and other characters from the film.

Sophia was an avid photographer and if this film piques your interest in her work and life, do check out a collection of her photographs, diaries and writings as explored in Leah Bendavid-Val's book Song Without Words.

In fashion. . .

This fall has seen the release of a couple of movies about the fashion industry, from the stylish and historical Coco Avant Chanel to The September Issue, a documentary about Vogue's largest issue, which is fascinating not so much for what we don't learn about Anna Wintour, as an inside look into some of the tough and quick decisions that take place while putting together the magazine (you'll also feel better knowing that even movie stars have really bad hair days).

But for something completely different, creative and powerful, check out Sally Potter's new film, Rage, now out on DVD. I've been a huge fan of hers ever since she adapted Virginia Woolf's Orlando, and I can also highly recommend her movie Yes - an unusual contemporary love story starring Joan Allen, in which all the characters speak in rhyming couplets. Potter just doesn't make films like anyone else and Rage is no exception. The movie is a series of documentary style "interviews" with various characters all involved with one particular fashion designer preparing to put on his big show. There's everyone from the designer himself, his models, his financial backer, his bodyguard, a pizza delivery boy recruited suddenly for the runway, and the manager of the factory where the clothes are made. Tragedy suddenly strikes the show (which is never shown on film) and the characters, including a Shakespeare-quoting cop, all react in different ways. The two standout performances are from two of my favourite actors. Judi Dench is excellent as a tough and bitchy fashion critic. There is a moment when she hears and has to react to something terrible happening offstage and the close-up on her face is just terrific.

Then there's Jude Law pictured here, who plays Minx - a narcissist terribly concerned with his/her beauty. The way his character switches from a tough, seductive model playing to the camera - oh, those piercing eyes - to someone feeling very vulnerable and scared is a pretty impressive bit of acting and certainly unlike anything he's done before. I loved it.

Paris 1919: The Documentary. . .

If you are a fan of Margaret Macmillan's bestselling book Paris 1919, or a history buff fascinated by the historical details surrounding the end of the First World War and the Treaty of Versailles, then you'll want to check out the NFB's documentary based on the book. Starting next week it will be screening in a number of Canadian cities (in many cases at the libraries). You can find the full schedule here. Some of the Deweys will be in Ottawa next week - we're looking forward to catching it there.

The Boys are Back. . .

So here are some tips for surviving a film festival. Always carry a good book (lots of reading time in the line-ups), manage the fluid intakes wisely because there isn't always time to head to the washroom, and always, always, make conversation with the strangers standing in line around you, because you never know when you'll meet someone who knows someone who knows someone else who can get you within ten feet of this, beautiful, beautiful man!

Yes, I know - and all I could come up with was this blurry photo. Well, wouldn't your hands shake too?

Oh, and the movie? Not bad either. The Boys Are Back is directed by Scott Hicks (Shine, Snow Falling on Cedars) and is based on the book by Simon Carr. Clive Owen plays Joe, a top sports writer, whose wife suddenly dies of cancer leaving him grief-stricken and suddenly the only parent to their six year old son. Then his older son from a previous marriage - also dealing with parental issues - arrives for a visit. I normally roll my eyes at stories of men suddenly discovering that taking care of children is difficult, time-absorbing and involves a change in lifestyle; I've just known too many who have chosen to walk away from their responsibilities instead. But the script is quite good and not overly sentimental and Joe makes plenty of serious mistakes over and over again until it all finally sinks in. The acting is great, as are the shots of Australia. It'll hit all the right buttons, but thankfully it's not as riddled with cliche as movies in this genre tend to be. And it's nice to see Owen in a different type of role. Mind you, it's just nice to see him.

NYRB Challenge #2 & #3: In which I go to the dogs (and the movies too!). . .

Let me start by saying that I've never been a dog owner. I classify dogs in the same category as cars and kids; I can understand the appeal, but for me - too much work and worry. This hasn't stopped me though from thoroughly enjoying these two short canine tales, both of which were published in 1956 but couldn't be more different in style and content.

My NYRB Challenge Book #2 is the very funny memoir My Dog Tulip by British writer J.R. Ackerley, which I picked up both because I had a ticket to the new animated film screening at TIFF, and I couldn't help laughing at the E.M. Forster quote on the back: "It is the biography of the New Dog - a creature comparable to the New Woman that disturbed our grandparents."

Tulip is a young Alsatian that Ackerley acquires when he is in his fifties and she completely changes his life, despite the fact that she is badly behaved, barks at everyone, and has very unpredictable bowel movements (the chapter simply titled "Liquids and Solids" is Ackerley's comic account of dealing with the latter in this era before "poop and scoop" laws). However the two absolutely adore each other and the reader can't help but smile at Ackerley's determination to make Tulip happy by ensuring that she experiences all that a female dog should - namely sex and pregnancy. Two thirds of the book follows his many frustrating attempts to find Tulip a proper mate; who knew how complicated canine sex was? But the deed is finally done and there is a very touching scene when Ackerley watches throughout the night as Tulip gives birth to her puppies (though you'll be shocked by what happens next). Even if you are completely indifferent to dogs, the strength of this memoir is definitely the writing which will charm and surprise with its candor whether Ackerley is describing the inexhaustible and unsuccessful wooing on the part of Tulip's suitors - many of them too small to do anything about it - to the heartfelt gratitude he feels when they both relieve themselves in the park and Tulip makes a point of sprinkling her own urine on his: "I feel that if ever there were differences between us, they are washed out now," he writes. "I feel a proper dog." (Must be a guy thing). He is also very good at describing dog owners to comic effect. My favourite quote shows the strong and beautiful bond between the two: "Tulip never let me down. She is nothing if not consistent. She knows where to draw the line, and it is always in the same place, a circle around us both."

I saw the animated film of My Dog Tulip last night. It's directed by Paul Fierlinger who is also the main animator along with his wife Sandra Fierlinger. He draws the images and she paints them. He was at the screening and in the Q & A that followed he explained how the images were created. The entire movie was hand-drawn but using a computer software program that allows the process to be paperless. He draws the frames on a computer slate and later the colours are painted in. It still took two and a half years to complete. I enjoyed the film; the style of animation (which is far more sophisticated than it initially looks - lots of interesting things happening the in the background) works well with the basic simplicity of the story, and Fierlinger has stayed very close to the book (95% of the narration is taken directly from it). Christopher Plummer is a marvellous choice for the voice of the crusty and cynical Ackerley. There are many sexual references and jokes, but these are rendered in an non-explicit, almost cartoonish style - while not a children's film specifically, I don't think it will unduly disturb any kid 12 and up. You can see clips and the trailer at the movie's website located here.

Niki: The Story of a Dog by Tibor Déry, translated by George Szirtes, is a very different breed of dog story and #3 in my NYRB Challenge, picked up because I was fascinated that it was published in the same year as the Ackerley and seemed an ideal pairing. This is a novel set in Hungary after the Second World War, amidst the fears and violence of ongoing political unrest. Niki is a scrappy little terrier who is adopted by the Ancsas, a couple who have lost their son in the war. When the husband gets a new job in Budapest, they move from the country to a tiny flat and things start to fall apart. Niki is not an urban dog and has a hard time adjusting. Mr. Ansca gets shifted to a number of jobs for which he is highly overqualified and then one day he doesn't come home and no one knows why. His wife is left to fend for herself and with little money, she has to question whether or not to keep the dog which is now viewed by a suspicious and hungry society as a luxury item. But Niki is the only thing she has left, and so she strives to provide as much love and happiness as she can for the inconsolable dog who is missing her master. This sad novel explores the difficulties of true communication between dogs and humans. This incomprehensibility is played for laughs in My Dog Tulip, but here, Niki stands in for the Hungarian citizens - they too can't understand why people suddenly disappear with no explanation given or how long this state of suspension will last. It takes a physical and mental toll:

The bitch neither cried, nor argued, nor protested, nor demanded explanations; and it was impossible to convince her. She simply resigned herself to her fate in silence. This silence, which resembled the ultimate silence of a prisoner broken in body and soul, was, for Mrs. Ancsa, like a violent protest at the nature of existence itself.

I was oddly touched by both books which of course were as much about the owners of Tulip and Niki, and their own quests to fight loneliness and connect emotionally with the world. Dog lovers will find their own personal touchstones within these pages, but any rendition of a relationship has a universal appeal and relevance to all humans - even those not attached to a leash.

What's wrong with this Picture?. . .

Well Colin Firth was a no-show. No reason was given, but if I were to hazard a guess, I'd think perhaps it's because he actually saw his movie. Oh dear, oh dear. Let me just put it this way. If you haven't read the book and you like horror movies, you might enjoy this. If you have read and loved the book and aren't too keen on blood and maggots, then you might want to give Dorian Gray a pass and perhaps rent director Oliver Parker's other Wilde movies - The Importance of Being Earnest and An Ideal Husband, both of which are fine adaptations.

The highlight of the night occured while I was in the long line-up snaking along the side of Roy Thompson Hall. We caught a fleeting glimpse of George Clooney coming out the back entrance after his movie screening.

The rest of this weekend is devoted to independent films from Britain, Germany, Denmark, New Zealand and France, which is fine with me. I think I've had enough of Hollywood for the moment.

Toronto Film Frenzy. . .

The city is all abuzz; The Toronto International Film Festival started yesterday and people are having so much fun rushing around the city from film to film. Never mind the celebrity watching, just people watching is fascinating. TIFF always means long lineups but they are filled with real film buffs; half the fun is having spirited conversations with the people around you. I'm going to be cramming 17 films into eight days - it began wonderfully last night with Pedro Almodovar's new film Broken Embraces. Absolutely terrific - make sure you catch this when it opens in theatres. It's the story of a blind filmmaker named Harry Caine, his agent, her son, and Caine's lover played by the stunningly beautiful Penelope Cruz who has never looked (or acted) better. Some of the stunning images had me gasping at their beauty. As it's the story of a filmmaker there are lots of references to other directors - there's a bit of a Hitchcock feel to some scenes, and definitely more than a couple of nods to Louis Malle's films, in particular Elevator to the Gallows and Damage.

Unfortunately due to scheduling and availability of tickets, I'm not seeing any Canadian films. But I will be picking up a copy of the just published Toronto On Film by Geoff Pevere et al. It'll be freshing to read about movies where Toronto plays Toronto and not just as a stand-in for an American city. The University of Toronto Press also has a great new Canadian Cinema Series where each volume focuses on a specific film. Earlier in the year I was at the launch of Denys Arcand's Le Déclin de l'empire américain and Les Invasions barbares by André Loiselle that was accompanied by a screening of the first film, which I hadn't seen in ages. I've subsequently bought it and its sequel on DVD and I never get tired of watching this group of funny, selfish, egotistical and yet loving group of friends as they navigate the emotional and intellectual challenges of life. Makes a great double bill for the weekend - and no line-ups!

Tonight - Colin Firth and Dorian Gray.