Sunday, January 10, 2010

SUNDAY SALON AND A NEW FEATURE FOR MY BLOG


Good morning!  This week was a little bit better on the reading front. I finished The Pearl, and what a gem (ha ha!), and I have been reading a fantastic book called "Authentic Happiness" by Martin Seligman.   This is a great read by a hilarious Psychologist.  He has spent the last 30 years studying what happiness really means and how we can truly get it, all the while struggling with it himself.  One of the things I am going to do for my blog is cover other kinds of reading that I often do, a bit of self-help stuff, and I am also going to review knitting books and cookbooks! 

Today I am going to spend some quality time with Wolf Hall.  I love this one, but have not had some serious time with it.  I am also still reading A Lion Among Men, and I'll chip away at that one too.


Here is another new thing I'll be doing with my blog in the near future.  Some of you may or may not know that I work in the film business.  I have been a third assistant director for 14 years in Alberta, and my husband is a camera assistant.  This is how we have supported our family for all of these years, we do nothing else work-wise.  It occurred to me when I worked on my last movie, that it might be neat to do an insiders view on films that are adapted from books.  The last show I did was adapted from a book called, "Angels Crest" by Leslie Schwartz (working title of film "Waska").  Because it was a low budget feature I figured it would be filled with no name actors, but was thrilled to find out that I was working with Mira Sorvino, Jeremy Piven, Elizabeth McGovern, Kate Walsh and Thomas Dekker.  I had worked with Jeremy's Dad years ago on Jack Bull, so it was neat to chat with him about it.  I am going to read the book, and then compare it to the script and then share some insights into the shooting of the movie as well. 


Another thing you might be interested in is that a friend and collegue of mine was the first assistant director on the mini-series for Ken Follet's "Pillars of the Earth".  He returned from Europe last month, and I am going to ask him if he would agree to do a vlog interview so we can get all of the scoop about the filming of the show before anyone else!  It took 8 months of shooting and many countries, so I am sure he has a story or two he would be willing to share!


Other examples of books to films that I can provide an inside peek at were The Assassination of Jesse James by Ron Hansen which I was 3rd AD on in 2005.  Ron was present on set through most of the filming and even had a cameo in the film!  I have read the book, and the script was an EXCELLENT example of an adaptation, but the film itself was not as good as I had hoped.  I am also planning on vlog interviewing other people I know in the industry who would be interesting in sharing some of their experiences filming some of the books to film in our province, and in BC as well. 




Hopefully you will all enjoy this new feature as I begin implementing it in the weeks to come!  I will entitle these features "Books to Film: An Inside Peek" And then the name of the project. 

Here is a little promo about the stars and films that have been shot here over the years! 




Have a WONDERFUL Sunday!

11 Blabs:

Mary (Bookfan) said...

I had no idea Pillars was being filmed! I wonder when and where we'll be able to see it on television.
Great post, Lisa. Have a good week!

Katy said...

Lisa, I'm looking forward to your new feature! :)

Lisa said...

Hey Mary! I have emailed Phil to see what the release date is. He should have the info.

And thanks, Katy! Hope you like what the result is! :0)

Kathy SF said...

Hi there!

How interesting if you could do a feature on the first asst. director of 'Pillars' because I am a fan of Matthew Macfadyen, who will star as Prior Philip in this mini series in 2010!

We have been discussing much about this produciton since it began last summer and are highly anticipating it. Anyway, it would be very enlightening to read the thoughts of the first asst. director's take. Thanks for sharing!;-)

Sincerely,
Kathy SF
Editor
Matthew Macfadyen News @Topix.com

Jenn (Books At Midnight) said...

Woah, the meme sounds awesome! Can't wait. :D

Cipriano said...

Thank you for that notice about the Pillars mini-series.
It remains one of the best books I have ever read, for sure. I would love to see the cinematic version of such a terrific tale.

Anonymous said...

This is fantastic! Thanks for the heads-up!

Anonymous said...

I love the idea of the new feature.

Aarti said...

That sounds like such a fun new feature! I look forward to seeing more of it.

Svea Love said...

so excited about the upcoming mini series for Pillars of the Earth!

http://muse-in-the-fog.blogspot.com/

(Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea said...

I hope to read Wolf Hall soon as well. That cover on Angel's Crest looks so pretty, I'd be curious to hear what you think of the book.

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