The author that brought Forrest Gump to life has died, aged 77, in Alabama. He is fondly remembered for his literary accomplishments and talents.
Tag: Tom Hanks
5 Movies for Quarantine Based on Books
Finding yourself in front of the TV a lot these days? If you can’t think of what to watch next, here are some bookish suggestions for every member of the family. These titles are classics; heard, watched, and referenced so many times that I bet you didn’t know they were originally based on books! So after you watch them again, read up!
It is impossible to forget Robin Williams in this family favorite. However, six years before Mrs. Doubtfire hit the big screen in 1993, teens in the UK were reading Anne Fine’s 1987 novel Madame Doubtfire. Fine’s story about a crossdressing nanny working for a family with divorced parents was well received. In fact, within a year of publication Madame Doubtfire was shortlisted for a number of awards, including the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize, the Observer Teenage Fiction Prize, and the Whitbread Children’s Book Award.
This feel-good favorite starring Tom Hanks was originally adapted from Winston Groom’s novel of the same name. Simple and truthful, Winston’s Gump who “can’t think things no good” was beautifully played by Hanks eight years later in the Academy Award winning film. The 228-page novel was not fully covered in the movie, and if you don’t read the book you’ll miss out on Gump’s NASA career, his brief stint with island-dwelling cannibals, and a companion orangutan named Sue. The movie “took some rough edges off,” admits Winston, but both are spectacular works.
Eyes Wide Shut
Starring real-life couple at the time Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, this risqué fantasy film may be better viewed after the kids go to sleep. Eyes Wide Shut was Stanley Kubrick’s last film, thematically inspired by Austrian writer Arthur Schnitzler’s Novella Traumnovelle or Dream Story. Fun fact, all of Stanley Kubrick’s films after Lolita are literary adaptations!
This Academy Award nominee was based on a Stephen King novella entitled “Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption” from his 1982 collection Different Seasons. King’s story is entirely narrated by the character Red, who would later be played by the one and only Morgan Freeman. If you’ve forgotten the plot, here’s a refresher (*spoiler alert*). Banker Andy Dufresne has been wrongly convicted for the murder of his wife and her lover, and sentenced to a double life sentence at Shawshank State Penitentiary. Former geologist, Andy uses rock hammer over the next 28 years to dig a tunnel out of his cell wall and escape!
Enough drama, Shrek is our last cinematic masterpiece on the list. We are so grateful to author William Stieg for bringing us this family favorite story from his 1990 children’s book. The movie helped establish DreamWorks as a prime competitor to Disney and Pixar in 2001, but it was indeed Stieg who taught us all our greatest childhood lesson: ogres are like onions, ogres have layers.
Feature Image Via Caledonlibrary.com
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Patti Smith, Janelle Monáe, Better Oblivion Community Center Among Artists Donating to Nick Hornby & Dave Eggers Charity Auction
A fundraiser organized by award-winning authors Nick Hornby and Dave Eggers—which benefits international youth writing and activism centers— starts up tonight, April 22nd.
Image Via Kingston University
Nick Hornby and Dave Eggers are pretty famous people, as you’re probably aware Nick Hornby wrote Fever Pitch, which got loosely adapted into a film of the same name, as well as the film that gave Nicholas Hoult his start, About a Boy.
Image Via Bigspeak
Dave Eggers wrote A Hologram for a King, a small novel which became a finalist for the National Book Award and also got a film adaptation (which stared Tom Hanks!) They must be as persuasive as they are great at writing, because they got a few fairly amazing people on board.
Image Via Setlist.fm
As an aside, in case you’re not music savvy, a setlist is a list of what the musician is going to play for that night – literally their ‘set’. So if you have a musician’s setlist, then you have a piece of history that the musician depended on.
I hear you asking…”Why are you going on about setlists?”
Image Via Pitchfork
The reason is simple – setlists from Patti Smith, The Who, Wilco, Sigur Ros, Steely Dan, Dixie Chicks, Nine Inch Nails, Mitski, Jim James, Rush, The Pretenders, Shakey Graves, Better Oblivion Community Center, Toro Y Moi and so so many more musicians are going on auction for Hornby’ and Eggers’ fundraiser!
As Paste Magazine writes, “Ever wished you could turn back the clock for a chance at one of R.E.M’s setlists, like the one from their first major tour in 1989, signed by all four original members? What about a Death Cab for Cutie setlist from their Transatlanticism 15th anniversary show in Chicago? Or maybe Janelle Monae’s 2019 Coachella setlist?”
It’s a tempting question. Plus, the money is going to a good place.
Image Via Paste Magazine
Pitchfork quotes Nick Hornby, author of Fever Pitch, as saying…
“…this is a way to satisfy your music-geek side without aggravating your favorite musicians”
and Paste Magazine quotes Dave Eggers, author of Where the Wild Things are, as saying…
“We’re hoping to raise about $50,000….That will have a powerful impact on more than 150 student writers at the Ministry of Stories and writing centers worldwide.”
Wow!
These pieces of music history is going to help writers and readers of all shapes and sizes. Want to buy anything? Check it out here!
Featured Image Via Alternative Press
Tom Hanks to Produce ‘In the Garden of Beasts’ Adaptation
The director of Darkest Hour, the film that earned Gary Oldman his first Academy Award, has sett his sights on another World War II story. The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Joe Wright is in talks to direct an adaptation of Erik Larson’s In The Garden of Beasts, with Tom Hanks to produce.
Image Via Amazon
This nonfiction book tells the story of William Dodd, who served as the United States Ambassador to Germany during Hitler’s rise in the 1930s. The book also examines Dodd’s family, particularly his daughter Martha who had an affair with Gestapo head Rudolf Diels. Larson chronicles the Dodd family as they slowly begin to realize the horrors and brutality of Nazi Germany.
An adaptation of this novel had been shopped around Hollywood for a while. Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman are set to produce the film through their Playtone production company. Though Hanks was rumored to star in the lead role at certain points, it is unknown if this will go ahead.
Some of Joe Wright’s other film hit adaptations include Pride and Prejudice, Atonement and Anna Karenina.
Featured Image Via Amazon and IMDb
Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson to Star in Shakespeare’s ‘Henry IV’
Tom Hanks will star alongside his wife Rita Wilson in the Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles’ production of Shakespeare’s play Henry IV. The show will run for twenty-four performances between June 5th and July 1st 2018 and will take place at the Japanese Garden on the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs campus. Hanks will play Sir John Falstaff.
Parts 1 and 2 of Shakespeare’s play will be brought to the stage by Tony Award-winning director Daniel Sullivan. According to Variety, “2,000 tickets will be reserved for active and retired members of the military.”
Shakespeare’s play follows the reign of King Henry IV, and Sullivan’s version will focus on the story of Hanks’ Falstaff and the young Prince Hal who grows up to become King.
The Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles’s 25th Annual Simply Shakespeare benefit honored Hanks and Wilson, as they have been sponsors for twenty-six years.
Last year, Hanks released his first book of short stories, Uncommon Type
Via Giphy
Featured Image Via The Independent
