FALL and WINTER FILMS — READ THE BOOKS FIRST!
Famous actors, renowned directors, best-selling authors, and popular books… Studios and production companies are gearing up for their big fall releases. Grab the books before seeing the movies! Look for these films in your local movie theatres and ask for the books at your local branch library! THE FAMILY(Based on The Family by Tonino Benacquista)Starring Robert […]
SCOTT and ZELDA — ECHOES OF THE JAZZ AGE
During his lifetime, The Great Gatsby brought F. Scott Fitzgerald only $8397.00 in royalties. Today the book is a staple in high school and university English classrooms and is widely regarded as one of the greatest 20th century American novels. On June 10, 2009, a first edition copy sold for $180,000.00 […]
April 15, 1912 – TITANIC SINKS IN NORTH ATLANTIC!
It was the largest and most luxurious ocean liner of its time. Captained by Edward J. Smith, the RMS Titanic left Southhampton, England, for New York City on April 10, 1912. Four days later, at 11:40 pm on April 14th, the ship struck on iceberg in the North Atlantic, south of Newfoundland, Canada. In the […]
Minnesota’s Own – JUDY GARLAND !
Eighty-nine years ago today, Frances Gumm was born in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. In 1935, she signed a seven-year contract with MGM, the biggest motion picture studio in Hollywood. In 1939, she shot to international stardom as Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz”. Frances Gumm was better known as JUDY GARLAND. It was a rough and […]
82nd ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS
On the evening of March 7, 2010, the 82nd annual Academy Awards were presented at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was officially organized on May 4, 1927, but the first “Oscars” were not awarded until May 16, 1929. That evening, in the ballroom of the Hollywood Roosevelt […]
THE ROAD to Cormac McCarthy
When No Country For Old Men won the Best Picture Academy Award in 2007 I told myself, “I must read Cormac McCarthy.” I didn’t get around to it, however, until recently. I knew that All the Pretty Horses, volume one of “The Border Trilogy”, had received both the 1992 National Book Award and the National […]
A short story and a movie
I went to see the movie “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” this afternoon. Cold January days on which the temperature barely edges above zero (and we won’t even talk about the wind child) allow me the guilty pleasure of foregoing all the work I could catch up on and heading for a movie theater. […]