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Book Review: “Giving Good Hollywood” by Chris Culler

Posted in Books, Reviews on April 20, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Giving Good Hollywood by Chris Culler

About a month ago a good friend sent me a book that was self-published by a friend of hers because she thought I would like it. How RIGHT she was! The book is entitled “Giving Good Hollywood” and it was written by Chris Culler, who works as a story analyst for a major film studio.

Now just based on the title alone one would have to wonder just what the book is about. But, with a quick read of the back cover you discover it is a fictional look at how movies are made in Hollywood. It is also about how some of the folks working in Hollywood still want to make “good” movies. The basic premise of the book is about “having the courage of your ambition” without “inevitably losing your soul.”

Here is a brief synopsis of the book:

Natalie Saladay is back in Hollywood, and now she wants it all: The power to make good movies. The love of a good man. And she’ll risk just about anything in order to “give good Hollywood.”

The descriptors at Amazon and Shopping.com (where the book can be purchased) also reveal this about “Giving Good Hollywood”:

In this satirical romance novel of Hollywood, unabashedly ambitious, recently divorced Natalie Saladay is a studio “reader” whose job is to cull through scripts and books in search of that perfect movie. Natalie knows that the “show” and “business” of filmmaking are synonymous, but her boss, the beautiful, ruthless and equally ambitious executive Mona Pearl, dismisses Natalie’s preference for character-driven screenplays as “movies for nobody.” Soon studio intrigue and a tragic film location accident galvanize Natalie into rekindling a hot romance with charismatic producer Benny Gallo, the man she swore she never wanted to see again. Conflicted about the powerful producer and big-time heartbreaker, Natalie nonetheless persuades Benny into producing a soulful “little independent-that-could” film set in Central Coast wine country. Mona, on the other hand, is staking her reputation on the studio’s big budget special effects-action “tentpole” picture. The entire film business appears in upheaval, but Benny Gallo urges Natalie to trust her own ambition, even as he serves to benefit from her “giving good Hollywood.” Is he the devil bargaining for her soul? Her Svengali? Or is he “the man who got away?” As the glitz and glamour of awards season approaches along with the release dates for both radically different movies, as the rivalry between the two women reaches a fever pitch, Natalie realizes she may indeed be risking her soul and even the love of the man she’s always wanted — all for giving good Hollywood.

From the moment I opened the book and began reading the first few pages I was transported into a world that, for me, is merely “down the street” [since I live in Los Angeles] and I chuckled at the descriptions of the characters (as they resemble people I have met or seen in the City of Angels since I arrived here in 2000).

As I moved through chapter after chapter, I was captivated by author Chris Culler’s style of writing and the ease with which she tells a story. Whether you are familiar with how the business of making movies is done or simply want to have a fun book to read “Giving Good Hollywood” is certainly worth the cover charge.

You can find “Giving Good Hollywood” here and here.

Thankfully, Chris has another book called “101 Ways Your Mother Said You Could Die,” which is a “liar’s memoir” coming out soon. And, I for one can’t wait to read it!

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Third Richard Castle Book Cover Art Released

Posted in Books, Breaking News, Geekdom, Television on April 8, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Heat Rises by Richard Castle

Thanks to the good folks at CastleTV.net, you can see the cover art (see picture to left) for the third Richard Castle (the character played by Nathan Fillion in the ABC hit series Castle) novel based on Nikki Heat.

The book is called Heat Rises and it will be released in September.

But you can pre-order your copy here.

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Books Being Made Into Films

Posted in Books, Geekdom, Movies on February 10, 2011| 2 Comments »

With both book franchises turned mega-huge box office film franchises The Twilight Saga and Harry Potter coming to an end roughly within the next year or so, the major studios are frantically looking for the next big thing. That one series of books that can be adapted into the next major box office success, giving their home studio the golden ticket to worldwide fame and fortune. But which book series will it be?

I have spent the last couple of months collecting a list of books (those that are both published and yet-to-be-published) for which their movie rights have been purchased by various movie studios or high profile individuals within the entertainment industry. What follows below are just some of these books. They appear in no particular order:

The Hunger Games Trilogy

One of the red-hot franchises right now is The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. This trilogy consists of the following books: The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay. Much has been written about these best-selling books and the movies that will be made of them; as well as all the talk about who will be cast in the pivotal roles of Katniss Everdeen, her games partner Peeta, her best friend Gale and her media-savvy mentor Effie. The first film is expected to be released in March of 2012 with casting of the main roles yet to be announced.

The trilogy takes place in an unidentified future time period after the destruction of North America, in a nation known as Panem, which used to consist of a rich Capitol, located somewhere in the Rocky Mountains, and thirteen surrounding, poorer districts which cater to the Capitol’s needs. As punishment for a previous rebellion against the Capitol wherein the thirteenth district was supposedly destroyed, every year one boy and one girl from each of the remaining twelve districts, between the ages of twelve and eighteen, are selected by lottery and forced to participate in the “Hunger Games.” The Games are a televised event where the participants, called “tributes,” must fight to the death in a dangerous outdoor arena until only one remains. The winning tribute and his/her corresponding district is then rewarded handsomely. It is required viewing for everyone in the districts.

The Millennium Trilogy

Then there is the Millennium trilogy of books by the late Stieg Larsson that have already become a worldwide phenomenon, spawning movies that have been a sensation all throughout Europe with the American film version of the first book – The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo – currently in production and expected to hit theatres in December of this year. The other two books – The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest are expected to follow suit and will, undoubtedly, garner as much attention and box office revenue as their Swedish predecessors. These books follow the tragic and disastrous lives of disgraced journalist Mikael Blomqvist and accused murderer Lisbeth Salander.

I Am Number Four

Meanwhile, on February 18 the box office movie I Am Number Four, based on the book by Pittacus Lore (aka authors Jobie Hughes and James Frey), will open in the theatres. It is part of a six-picture deal that is anticipated to explode given its handsome leading man – British actor Alex Pettyfer and its beautiful leading lady Dianna Agron from the FOX series Glee. If the first movie performs as expected, this could be the start of another huge, money-making franchise.

The book series, known as The Lorien Legacies, is about nine infant aliens, who closely resemble humans, flee their home planet, Lorien, to hide on Earth. An invading species, the Mogadorians, have destroyed their planet, and followed them to Earth to hunt them down. Each of the nine aliens is given a guardian and will develop superhuman powers as they become adults. They are each assigned a number. These last children of Lorien can be killed only in the sequence of their numbers. Numbers One, Two, and Three have been killed so far.

Firelight

Over at Mandalay Pictures is the film adaptation of the Sophie Jordan young-adult fantasy novel called Firelight. The story follows Jacinda, a young girl who is a “draki,” a descendant of dragons who can morph into human form, and who is ordained to marry another of her kind. When the girl’s mother moves the family to live among humans for safety reasons, Jacinda puts her family at risk when she falls for a member of a secret dragon-hunting society.

Shiver

Writer Nick Pustay is set to do the adaptation of Firelight as well as the adaptation of the teen werewolf romance tale called Shiver for Unique Features. Shiver, written by Maggie Stiefvater, is about 17-year old Grace, who loves the peace and tranquility of the woods behind her home. It is here during the cold winter months that she gets to see her wolf—the one with the yellow eyes. Grace is sure that he saved her from an attack by other wolves when she was nine. Over the ensuing years he has returned each season, watching her with those haunting eyes as if longing for something to happen. When a teen is killed by wolves, a hunting party decides to retaliate. Grace races through the woods and discovers a wounded boy shivering on her back porch. One look at his yellow eyes and she knows that this is her wolf in human form. Fate has finally brought Sam and Grace together, and as their love grows and intensifies, so does the reality of what awaits them. It is only a matter of time before the winter cold changes him back into a wolf, and this time he might stay that way forever.

Disney/Offspring Entertainment has purchased the rights to the book called Marked, written by first-time writer Allie Condie. Marked is part of BreathlessReads.com – a series of books that includes The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller, The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff, Nightshade by Andrea Creamer and Sapphique by Catherine Fisher.

Matched

The story behind Marked is this: In the Society, Officials decide who you love, where you work and when you die. Cassia has always trusted their choices. It’s hardly any price to pay for a long life, the perfect job, the ideal mate. So when her best friend appears on the Matching screen, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is the one… until she sees another face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. Now Cassia is faced with impossible choices: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she’s known and a path no one else has ever dared follow — between perfection and passion.

Incarceron

Speaking of Catherine Fisher, her book Incarceron – the predecessor to the above referenced Sapphique – is being adapted into a film that will star Taylor Lautner (from the Twilight franchise) and, according to rumor, may also star Emma Watson (from the Harry Potter franchise) [bringing us full circle, so to speak]. The storyline behind the book and film is about a sealed and isolated prison world created hundreds of years ago as a controlled environment called Incarceron. The inhabitants are subject to the will of the prison, and the brutality and rivalry of its violent inhabitants. The story focuses on 17-year-old Finn who sets out to escape the prison with the warden’s daughter Claudia by his side.

As for the books that have been picked up for a film adaptation that haven’t even been published yet, they include:

Ready Player One

Warner Bros. has bought the film rights to the Ernie Cline book called Ready Player One, which will be released in August of this year. The plot is set around a teenager named Wade Watts, who escapes his bleak surrounds by logging in to the Oasis, a globally networked virtual utopia where users can lead idyllic alternate lives. When the game’s eccentric billionaire creator dies, he offers up his vast fortune as the grand prize in an elaborate treasure hunt. Watts is pitted against powerful corporate foes and ruthless competitors who’ll do anything, in the Oasis and in the real world, to reach the treasure first.

Here Lies Bridget

The teen novel Here Lies Bridget by college student Paige Harbison was just released last month and the film rights were bought by Galagos Entertainment. The story of the novel is about Bridget Duke, the uncontested ruler of her school and the meanest girl with the biggest secret: insecurities. And when new girl Anna Judge arrives, things start to fall apart for Bridget: friends don’t worship as attentively, teachers don’t fall for her wide-eyed “who me?” look, expulsion looms ahead and the one boy she’s always loved—Liam Ward—can barely even look at her anymore. When a desperate Bridget drives too fast and crashes her car, she ends up in limbo, facing everyone she’s wronged and walking a few uncomfortable miles in their shoes. Now she has only one chance to make a last impression. Though she might end up dead, she has one last shot at redemption and the chance to right the wrongs she’s inflicted on the people who mean the most to her.

The studio that brought the Twilight franchise to life – Summit Entertainment – has bought the film rights to the debut novel by Erin Morgenstern called The Night Circus. The book will hit bookshelves in September of this year (therefore no cover art is available yet). The story behind this book is set at the turn of the nineteenth century, centering around two young magicians who are pawns in an age-old rivalry between their mercurial, illusionist fathers, and the enchanted circus where their competition (and romance) plays out, leaving the fates of everyone involved–from creators and performers to patrons–hanging in the balance.

Again, the above are just some of the books that are being adapted into film. It will be interesting to see how these adaptations turn out; especially to learn if they will become box office smashes or disasters. Do you have a book you would like to see made into a film? Or do any of the above strike your fancy? Or would you rather not see any of the books to films listed above for whatever reason? Please share.

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My Observations on the World of Entertainment for 2010

Posted in Books, Convention/Event, Messages, Movies, Television, Year End Round Up on December 28, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Hey All,

I have been doing these year-end round-ups for well over 5 years now and much like critics and bloggers, who make their best of and worst of for the television season, I compile my lists in much the same way. The difference with my lists is that I don’t just cover television. I focus on a wide range of categories such as ratings, movies, events and much more. Of course, since I am primarily a couch potato at heart, I cover a lot of television for both of the TV seasons from this calendar year (2009-2010 and 2010-2011).

But, before I delve into all the sections of this year’s round-up, I have to share a few selfish goals for which I set for myself this year. Each year I aim to read at least 30 books, see at least 30 movies, attend as many television-related events as I can afford and am able to fit into my schedule and, of course, watch approximately 25 hours (if not more) of programming each week.

BOOKS: In terms of reading 30 books this year, I got through about 25 this year, including a number of Jane Austen themed books (all of which were very fun reads), a Nora Roberts trilogy as well as a Jeaniene Frost trilogy and “The Host” by Stephenie Meyer (among others). I know that reading an actual paperback book seems to be a lost art now-a-days especially with Kindles all the rage, but it is a worthwhile hobby.

MOVIES: In this year’s round-up, I have an entire section devoted to the movies that were released this year; but again, I’m being a bit selfish in saying that I surpassed my goal by being able to see 35 movies by the end of the year.

EVENTS: I have lived in California now for over 10 years (I still can’t believe that it has been that long) and have been very fortunate to attend a lot of amazing TV-related events over that time. This year, like many years before, I attended a lot of events at the Paley Center for Media, including their annual Paley Fest. This year I was in the audience for the following Paley Fest events: Lost, NCIS, The Vampire Diaries, FlashForward and Glee. The other Paley Center panels for which I was able to attend this year included the 100th episode of How I Met Your Mother, Castle, White Collar, Psych, Lone Star, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, the Hart to Hart Reunion and a 2nd Psych panel that this time also featured some of the cast of Twin Peaks, who were making a special appearance in an episode of Psych as well as the Paley Center’s annual Fall Preview Parties.

As usual, I also attended Comic Con in July, the annual UCLA Book Fair in April as well as a Supernatural convention coordinated by Creation Entertainment in March. In addition, I attended some new events like the Writer’s Guild Salute to Melissa Rosenberg, the writer of the Twilight movie franchise; a Drop Dead Diva season premiere event and an appearance by the cast of Pretty Little Liars, which included a reading by the book’s author Sara Shepard and a special screening of the mid-season premiere of Caprica.

But now, without further ado, here are my highlights for 2010 (UPDATE: one new section will be posted each hour until lunch time over the course of the next few days). I do apologize in advance for any omissions, spelling errors or oversights I may have made, but I don’t apologize for any of the choices I have made.

One last thing: Please let me know what you thought of the past year in entertainment and any thoughts you have on my year-end round-up, as I would love to hear your thoughts.

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Byte-Sized Television

Posted in Books, Web Series on November 17, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Are you an aspiring filmmaker? Or perhaps you are already involved in the industry and looking for a new outlet. Well, the forthcoming new book Byte-Sized Television: Create Your Own TV Series on The Internet by Ross Brown just might be able to help you with your creative vision.

Inside the pages of this book Brown “demystifies the exciting world of Web TV, reveals the best Internet TV programs and shows you how to create your own series”.

“Gone are the days when you had to scramble for the rare chance to pitch your show to a studio exec; and no longer do you need studio backing for distribution. On the Internet, with dozens of hosting sites open to all, there are no gatekeepers to tell you why you can’t do what you know you can and virtually no limits to the size of the audience. Maybe that’s why The Cohen Brothers, Jerry Zucker and other respected filmmakers are now creating content for the Web. In Byte-Sized Television you will learn how to join their ranks.”

Here are some of the areas of discussion:

* The Internet TV series’ that you should be watching and learning from;

* How writing for Internet TV differs from writing for broadcast TV;

* How Internet TV is removing the gatekeepers to creative expression and why this is great for both amateurs and professional writers and filmmakers;

* How to write a series character that will make people want to return to your show;

* The pilot and beyond: Everything you need to know to write and produce Webisodes;

* What you need to know about marketing and publicizing your Internet TV series;

* A primer on the best Web sites to host your series;

* The lowdown on what equipment you’ll need.

Ross Brown began his writing career on NBC’s award-winning comedy series The Cosby Show. He went on to write and produce such hit TV shows as The Facts of Life, Who’s the Boss? and Step by Step. He has created prime time series for ABC, CBS, and the WB. His play Hindsight received two staged readings at the Pasadena Playhouse in July 2007. He is an Assistant Professor of Film and Media Arts at Chapman University in Orange, CA, where he developed a series of cutting-edge courses on creating TV series for the Internet.

You can visit his website here.

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Anticipation Builds for Twilight: Eclipse

Posted in Books, Movies, Music on June 17, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Twilight: Eclipse

As any “Twi-hard” can tell you, the next installment in the Twilight franchise will be released in theatres on June 30. Anticipation has been growing for Twilight: Eclipse, especially among fans of this teenage-angst love fest revolving around vampires, (were)wolves and a certain girl named Bella, since its predecessor Twilight: New Moon completed its run in theatres.

The film’s soundtrack was released on June 2 and includs songs from bands and/or singers such as The Bravery, Sia, Metric and Band of Horses among others. Not surprisingly, the band Muse – who happens to be a favorite of Twilight author Stephenie Meyer – is featured prominently on the soundtrack. The band has actually been featured in all three of the movies.

The musical score for the film will be available on June 29, obviously just in time for the movie’s opening day. The composer is none other than three-time Academy Award nominee Howard Shore, the man behind the music featured in movies such as The Lord of the Rings trilogies, The Silence of the Lambs, Mrs. Doubtfire and Philadelphia [among others].

Whether you are a fan of the book series, the genre (vampires and the like) or a fan of music, there will be something to like in the soundtrack, the musical score and/or the movie – Twilight: Eclipse.

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