Movie: Trailer for The Hunger Games

Harry Potter

Waves of Harry Potter nostalgia are washing over me this weekend. This lovely article "How J. K. Rowling and Harry Potter Saved Reading" By Norman Lebrecht in the Wall Street Journal today tributes the school library for introducing the book to his family.

My family experience traces the phenomenon to the school library. Our youngest daughter brought home a copy around year four, when she was 9. Her elder sisters commandeered it and insisted that the parents read as well. What Ms. Rowling achieved—long before Warner Bros. adapted her work into films, the last of which will be released next week—was a children-led read-in that crossed all age barriers, uniting families in a primal fireside act of sharing an unfolding story, page by page.

I remember that summer when I started reading Sorceror's Stone with entling no. 3. After two afternoons of reading aloud, together, she took the book upstairs and finished it on her own and pronounced it a grand read. I credit JK Rowling with her reading fluency to this day.

I was very fortunate at the start of my school librarian career. My first year as a school librarian saw the stampede for books about the Titanic, thanks to the movie. At that point we only had Exploring the Titanic by Robert D. Ballard and a picture book biography about Molly Brown, Heroine of the Titanic by Elaine Landau.  Publishers soon got up to speed. (I remember the almost mele at the Little Brown booth for Inside the Titanic.)

Then there was Harry, wonderful Harry. I met a former student, not long ago, who recalled that I handed him a copy of the first book and he became a reader from that day forward. Rowling's books made every librarian look good as children clamored for the books.

As I look forward to the final film chapter of Harry's story on Friday I am reminded of how exciting it was to anticipate the very first movie along with my students. Seeing photo stills of Hogwarts with the floating candles in the great hall was thrilling. As the end of his film journey is at hand, I am cheered to see the books still being checked out by a new generation of readers in school libraries today. I am so happy the my family and I were there for the first grand ride.

Movie: The Hunger Games

And the role of Katniss Everdeen goes to...Jennifer Lawrence (not Hailee Stienfeld from True Grit)

Interesting discussion of the casting controversy at ScreenRant.

Frankly, the fact that Lawrence won the part over another Oscar-caliber actress is the best indication for the movie yet. Clearly, this was a hot project in Hollywood, and it seems like Gary Ross and his team have the best and brightest at their disposable to make a really special film. If I was a Hunger Games fan, I would just sit back and wait for the magic to happen.

Author, Suzanne Collins, has added her approval in a letter to Hunger Game fans.

In her remarkable audition piece, I watched Jennifer embody every essential quality necessary to play Katniss. I saw a girl who has the potential rage to send an arrow into the Gamemakers and the protectiveness to make Rue her ally. Who has conquered both Peeta and Gale’s hearts even though she’s done her best to wall herself off emotionally from anything that would lead to romance. Most of all, I believed that this was a girl who could hold out that handful of berries and incite the beaten down districts of Panem to rebel. I think that was the essential question for me. Could she believably inspire a rebellion? Did she project the strength, defiance and intellect you would need to follow her into certain war? For me, she did.

Scholastic Hunger Games site

Fansites
Hunger Games Trilogy Fansite
Mockingjay.net

Movie: The Lightning Thief

A little more of The Lightening Thief. Thank you, entling no. 3.

Movie: Alice in Wonderland

Clever entling no. 1 pointed me in the direction of this un-embeddable official trailer to Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. I had not seen it yet.

The trailer was released in June (2009.)

Also, more art and images at:
First look: What a weird 'Wonderland' Burton's made
By Susan Wloszczyna, USA TODAY



...and speaking of Helena Bonham Carter

Books to the Screen

Coming soon, hopefully, to an American television screen:
Enid (Telegraph.co.uk)
Helena Bonham Carter will play Enid Blyton in an upcoming biopic of the writer's life.

I note that Matthew Macfadyen and Denis Lawson (!!!!Wedge Antilles!!!!) will play her two husbands.

Be still my heart.

This BBC4 Trailer will NOT play on this side of the pond. A lashing of ginger beer, anyone?


Then Matthew Macfadyen led me to...

The Pillars of the Earth(IMDB) announced

Rufus Sewell is Tom Builder and Matthew Macfadyen is Prior Philip!

Pillars of the Earth website