Our fun September meeting

As my last act as host of the September meeting of the Lazy Woman's Book Club, I thought I would write a short summary of our meeting on Sunday. Four of us met up at Peregrine espresso and chatted about "The Jane Austen Book Club."

We spent time trying to figure out which characters were supposed to be Austen characters. Obviously, Jocelyn and Grigg played out the Elizabeth and Darcy story from "Pride and Prejudice." Jocelyn also seem to be a little bit like Emma Woodhouse in that she was constantly trying to matchmake. Allegra seemed very like Marianne from "Sense and Sensibility." Bernadette subbed in for the many kind but overly talkative characters that the protagonists had to despise before learning to value.

We also discussed the movie that was made based on the book. Jenny was the only person who had seen it and said that a lot of the story had been left out. I don't really know if I want to see it now, since I would probably be sad to see the story gutted.

We spent time chatting about the difficulties involved in Angie's hunt for a reasonably priced yet lovely wedding dress. That was a lot of fun, and I'm not just saying that because I got to use my new toy to look at various dresses she had tried on at store Web sites.

The host and book for the October meeting is still unknown. Volunteers should contact Angie.

An open casting call

I love books. I might love movies more. (What?) This morning my blog reader informed me of this little tidbit: Fox 2000 beat out Warner Bros., Paramount and Universal to adapt one of our past books, Water for Elephants, into a movie.

Fun! Francis Lawrence is signed to direct; the interesting thing is that he last did I Am Legend. Makes me curious to see what he does with this book. Can you imagine some post-apocalyptic circus? Hee.

So. Your picks for the cast? I'm sticking with Ryan Gosling as the lead. I think he could still pull off the young-man-on-a-journey-of-self-discovery look.

The girl? Maybe Rachel McAdams. That could be because I love them together. Keira Knightley if she can pull off the American accent? What about the girl's moody, volatile hubby?

OR. What about the worst casting choices? Shia! Lindsey Lohan!

Who are your choices?

'Jane Austen Book Club' for September

Hi everyone. No, I haven't been to an actual meeting except for last week's tea time. Yes, I have decided my first meeting will be one I host. (:

I'm going to guess that many of us have read the Austen novels and hope that people are interested in "The Jane Austen Book Club" by Karen Joy Fowler, available in paperback: http://www.amazon.com/Jane-Austen-Book-Club-Novel/dp/0452286530

It's supposed to be a charming, sad, silly book in the vein of Ms. Austen's novels. The Evite has gone out. The suggested date and time for the meeting is Sunday, September 14 at 2 pm. Coffee/tea/bakery place is yet to be determined, and I'll happily take any suggestions.

'Shock' and Ew

Well, our experiment with Movie Month was a bust. I blame August. And the terrible screenplay and/or direction of the chosen flick, "Bottle Shock." There was potential in the subject matter (in fact, another movie, titled "Judgement of Paris" and based on a book of the same name, is being made on the topic), but it had too much pointless love triangle and not enough awesome Alan Rickman. (I saw the movie early because I had a conflict with the planned show time. Grr.)

So, I consider my canceling the screening a public service, but I'm sorry for all the last-minute plan changes. Melissa, Catherine and I met up for the non-after-movie gathering, though, and had a great time discussing the latest in literature, performing arts and politics. Kidding! I pretty much just yammered about my engagement and wedding stuff the whole time. Hey, I hadn't seen these gals in ages, so I think it was okay in this case. ;)

A Letter From the Director

I knew there was a time when my parents were no longer ashamed to serve California wine to their dinner guests, when it actually became chic to do so. I had no idea what happened to cause that change. And so, when I was first told this story of how a group of California farmers took on the exalted French wines and bested them, I was intrigued. Maybe there was a movie in this.

Here was an underdog story that wasn’t about sports or war. And when I flew up to Chateau Montelena, the vineyard we focus on, and met with Jim and Bo Barrett, I realized what rich characters I had before me. The story of a lawyer who risked everything in the pursuit of an artistic dream (to make fine hand-crafted wine) is what initially hooked me into wanting to make Bottle Shock. I had directed studio movies and some TV before I convinced Jody (my wife and partner) to mortgage our house so we could make a movie we felt passionate about. That movie, our first indie, was called Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing & Charm School. Bottle Shock is the heir to that choice.

I am drawn to stories of passion or risk. Stories about men or women who realize they only have one shot at this experience that is life and who set forth into an unknown in pursuit of a dream—or a dream of a dream. Jim Barrett was one of those men and I admire the choices he made and the journey he chose. It was an honor to work in his shadow.

With Bottle Shock, I was also intrigued by the story of a little blind tasting that lit the spark that ignited the enological fire that burnt down the cronyistic forest that triggered the creative earthquake that upset the status quo and opened the world to new pioneers of viniculture and viticulture around the globe. In the film, Alan Rickman quotes Galileo: “Wine is sunlight held together by water.” Alan, Bill Pullman, Chris Pine, Rachael Taylor, Freddy Rodriguez, Dennis Farina and Eliza Dushku are my sunlight, each perfectly capturing the moment and making me look like a better director than I am. And Michael Ozier’s cinematography makes every image captivating, from the intimacy of a bedroom mirror to the lush fields of grapes sweeping by. Brilliant cinematography in the service of Craig Stearns’ magical production design puts us in the ‘70s in both Napa and France. Mark Adler’s luminous score ties the story together and gives a musical heart to the film. My collaborator, my partner, my wife, Jody Savin, is the rudder. She was the one who compiled the hundreds of pages of source material and shaped them into what became the shooting draft of the script. This is my creative family with whom I continue to collaborate on upcoming projects and future pursuits.

Best, Randall Miller, director

Let's Go to the Movies!

Here are some possibilities for our next meeting, the laziest one yet. We're keeping the books closed and headed to the movie theater. The idea is to see a flick together, then gab about it (and anything else) afterward. Any of these appeal to you? Know of another film we should see?

Brick Lane
Nazneen’s life is turned upside down at the tender age of 17. Forced into an arranged marriage to an older man, she exchanges her Bangladeshi village home for a block of flats in London’s East End. In this new world, pining for her home and her sister, she struggles to make sense of her existence — and to do her duty to her husband. Based on the novel by Monica Ali.
We could read the book down the road to compare and contrast.

Brideshead Revisited
This heartbreaking romantic epic, based on Evelyn Waugh's classic novel, tells an evocative story of forbidden love and the loss of innocence in the pre-WWII era. In the film, Charles Ryder (Matthew Goode) becomes entranced with the noble Marchmain family, first through the charming and provocative Sebastian Marchmain (Ben Whishaw), and then his sophisticated sister, Julia (Hayley Atwell).
Also stars Emma Thompson. Not sure why this recap doesn't mention that. Also? Matthew Goode = hott.

American Teen
This heartbreaking and hilarious Sundance Film Festival hit follows the lives of four teenagers—a jock, the popular girl, the artsy girl and the geek—in one small town in Indiana through their senior year of high school. With extraordinary intimacy and a great deal of humor, the film captures the pressures of growing up—pressures that come from one's peers, one's parents, and not least, oneself.
I saw the trailer for this. Looked pretty good!


Man on Wire
On August 7, 1974 a young Frenchman named Philippe Petit stepped out on a wire illegally rigged between New York's twin towers, then the world's tallest buildings. After nearly an hour dancing on the wire, he was arrested, taken for psychological evaluation and brought to jail. James Marsh's documentary brings Petit's extraordinary adventure to life through the testimony of Philippe himself, and some of the co-conspirators who helped him create the unique and magnificent spectacle that became known as "the artistic crime of the century."
What's up with French people and scaling buildings?

Bottle Shock
In 1976, a small American winery sent shock waves through the industry by besting the exalted French wines in a blind tasting, putting California wines on the map for good. Novice vintner Jim Barrett (Bill Pullman) risked everything to realize his dream of creating the perfect hand-crafted California Chardonnay. Meanwhile in Paris, struggling wine seller Steven Spurrier (Alan Rickman) came up with an idea for a publicity stunt to help his floundering shop. Little did Spurrier and Barrett realize they were about to change the history of wine forever. A dramatic comedy, co-starring Chris Pine, Rachael Taylor, Freddy Rodriguez, Eliza Dushku and Dennis Farina.
Not a documentary. With Faith from "Buffy"!

So Whattaya Wanna See?

Thought I'd put up a posting where everybody can give their opinion on what movie we should watch. My top choice is Bottle Shock. You?