Books on the Big Screen: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Posted by Dana on 05.03.2010 at 2:15 pm

Most of the time when I write about a book being made into a movie I am comparing Hollywood’s interpretation to the author’s.  This time it’s a little different.  THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO has been made into a movie, but not in Hollywood.  The movie, which is in theaters now, is Swedish (as of course was the book) and it’s a whole different ballgame than the Hollywood razzle dazzle.

The movie is long and a bit graphic, but that’s not the part that’s so un-Hollywood. It’s the casting that was really different from how Hollywood does it. The characters actually look the way they are described in the book. Like real people. They’re not Hollywood buff. No one appeared to have any Botox in their foreheads and there were attractive women that were actually over 40 and looked it. Yay for Sweden. Hollywood should take a lesson.

In addition to that, it’s a really good movie. Very true to the book, wonderfully acted and directed. Of course, Hollywood also has the rights so it should be interesting to see how the American version differs not just from the book, but from this Swedish film adaptation. Stay tuned… Read more…

6 Comments » | Tagged Books on the Big Screen, Dear John, eat pray love, The Blind Side, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Last Song

The Oscars: Dresses, Weird Humor & Books, Yes Books

Posted by Dana on 03.08.2010 at 6:13 pm

Did you watch the Oscars last night?  I swore I wasn’t interested.  Didn’t care.  Wasn’t going to waste my time.  And then I put it on.  Just for a minute.  And I was sucked in.  Argh.

I will admit that I’m not sure how long I would’ve stuck with it if it weren’t for the joys of Tivo, but as it stood I managed about 1.5 hours before I gave up and went to bed.

I saw the fabulous opening number where Neal Patrick Harris danced about in a sparkly black jacket and sang about Botox, Twilight and Julia Child.

Then on to the comic stylings of Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin who essentially roasted all the nominees and some random audience members while the camera panned to a dark spot where James Cameron was and to an angry, sulky looking George Clooney.  I think maybe that was some kind of joke – but if so my response was not to ROFL or even to LOL – it was more of a hmmm?? – not even really a haha.

Thanks to a blue Ben Stiller, some strange line flubs and the inability of many of the women to manage their dresses while walking, the awkward humor continued.

And then there was the fashion.  I won’t do a full red carpet run down, but I will say this…what was up with Sarah Jessica Parker’s hair?  And was that England, France or Zoe Saldana’s underpants on display when she tottered up to the mic?

But on with the show…as is often the case…many of the year’s notable and Oscar worthy movies are adapted from our favorite books.  This year was no exception.

Congrats to:

• Sandra Bullock – Best Actress – The Blind Side – Adapted from the Michael Lewis book of the same name.
• Mo’Nique – Best Actress in a Supporting Role – Precious – Adapted from Push by Sapphire
  (This one got the award for Best Adapted Screenplay too)
• Jeff Bridges – Best Actor  – Crazy Heart – Adapted from the debut novel of the same name by Thomas Cobb.  (This one got Best Original Song, too).

And oooh almost – but nice try to:

• Matt Damon – nominated for Invictus, based on the book by John Carlin
• Stanley Tucci – nominated for The Lovely Bones, based on the book by Alice Sebold
• Meryl Streep – for Julie and Julia, based on the book by Julie Powell

They’re all winners in my book – and as you can see there’s lots of books in the winners!

1 Comment » | Tagged Books on the Big Screen, Crazy Heart, Invictus, Jeff Bridges, Julie and Julia, Oscars, Sandra Bullock, Sarah Jessica Parker, The Blind Side, Twilight, Underpants, Zoe Saldana