Dr. Seuss

I cannot believe I almost missed Dr. Seuss' birthday. What kind of movie/book blogger would I be without paying tribute to the man who brought us How the Grinch Stole Christmas which in turn brought us the wonderful How the Grinch Stole Christmas, starring Jim Carrey and that girl who grew up to be a Gossip Girl skank.

And Horton Hears a Who, which brought us the super funny Horton Hears a Who, starring Jim Carrey, Carol Burnett and Steve Carrell.

Or The Cat in the Hat, which brought us the semi-amusing The Cat in the Hat, starring an overrated Mike Meyers, an underrated Alec Baldwin, a kid related to Abigail Breslin and Dakota Fanning.

And, lastly, with a film adaptation set for a spring release next year, The Lorax. Starring Danny Devito, Zac Efron, Betty White and Ed Helms, it sounds pretty dang good.

Doomsday

OK, Fantasy Casters, the day has come. I knew it would, I just didn't know it would come so soon.

I have run out of books to cast.

Temporarily, anyway. I have been reading like crazy- I always am- but apparently everything I have read since April 15th of this year (I checked my reading list on GoodReads.com just to be sure) has either a) been made into a movie already b) I have already created my fantasy cast for it or c) is not movie material. And by "not movie material," I mean these are political rants or parenting books. I promise... they are NOT movie material.

So, here we are. And now we're going to play a little game. I want to know two things from you, my dearest of dear readers:

1) What character casting do you feel was spot on, totally perfect, impossible to improve upon? The book was wonderful, the movie was awesome, and this one character was what made it all come together for you.

2) The opposite: What character casting do you feel was the definition of wrong? So terrible, it was like nails on a chalkboard to you?

I've blogged about my favorite (several times, because I'm cool like that): Severus Snape played by Alan Rickman. Seriously, Rickman is the man. Can we start a petition to get the man an Oscar already? The shifty eyes, the duplicity, the unnerving habit of convincing you that he is truly evil. Awesome. 

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For my pick as the worst screen adaptation of a book character, I'm going to have to go with: Robert Redford as Jay Gatsby. He's supposed to be in his 20s, Redford is closer to 40. And this isn't one of those situations where I think older actors bring something to the table that a younger actor can't, this is one of those situations where a respectable man looked a fool because he was playing such a youthful, shallow character. No bueno.

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So tell me: your picks for best and worst. I'll even post some of your ideas (giving you credit and a link, natch) next week. Because I seriously doubt my book situation will improve significantly during the next three days.

And on that note, I'm now looking for guest bloggers. Be willing to write about books, movies or books and movies. Leave a comment, or email me at BlogManager at Live dot Com.

Please post your ideas in the comments- whether you agree with me or not!

Blogging Award

Listen up, everybody. This is the day that will live in infamy: I have received my first blogging award. The super-funny Jess over at It is a big deal, it is to me! gave me this award. If you haven't read her blog, you ought to. Other than sharing an unhealthy love for the TV show Friends, she also makes fun of Justin Bieber and has a weekly Face Punch feature. Hilarious.


Anyway, here is the award she has given me:

How cool is that? An awesome blog award. It's not even like "Semi-interesting Blog" or "Reading your blog is more fun than doing the dishes", which, to be honest is the bulk of the blogging world.


As always, this award comes with some strings. I'm supposed to list seven things about myself. Tricky business since my blog isn't really about me. What's a girl to do? I want to accept the award, but this is not the place for my personal information... I know!


Here they are: my votes for the 7 best book-to-movie adaptations. Because, really when you know what kind of books and movies a girl loves, you know everything there is to know about her, right? ;)


1. The Count of Monte Cristo based on The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Vengeance, long-suffering love, betrayal- what's not to love? While the story itself is considered a timeless classic, there is something magical in the way Jim Caviezel brings it all to life. This one is a go-to for my husband and I; there just aren't a lot of movies that satisfy the need for action, drama and romance. Plus, although the Jacapo character was a very minor piece of the novel that was dramatically expanded for the film, I think Luis Guzman was hilarious in this.

2. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe based on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
I remember the first time I saw a trailer for this movie. This was before my blogging days, so movie rumors were still pretty low on my radar. I had heard that Disney was making these movies, but didn't know much about it. There I was, sitting in the theater to see Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, when a wardrobe appeared on the screen. I almost peed my pants. The old BBC versions were some of my favorite movies as a kid, and I absolutely loved these books. Prince Caspian was fantastic, and I am super excited for Dawn Treader, but, nothing will ever top the allegorical story of the first.

 3. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince based on Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K Rowling
For a die-hard Harry Potter nerd, one of these films needed to make the list. This is the best one. Sorcerer's Stone and Chamber of Secrets were aimed at a very young audience, Prisoner of Azkabanwas so badly chopped that it doesn't hardly make sense. Goblet of Fire and Order of the Phoenix were excellent, but so compressed that I just can't love them the same way I love the books. Half Blood Prince was a shorter novel, and thus more of it made it to the screen. This is the first time the director really explored anything beyond the Harry-Voldemort problem, and it was cute, funny and thrilling.

Seriously, who else cannot wait for the last two films?




4. The Bourne Identity based on The Bourne Identity by Robert Ludlam
This one is an odd choice, because the book is not a favorite of mine. I actually read the first and never read any of the sequels, that's how little it spoke to me. But the movie- oh, the movie! This reinvented the spy film genre and turned James Bond into a sorry has-been. While we were living in Texas, my husband and I shelled out for a babysitter exactly two times. To see Harry Potter and Jason Bourne.

5. Jurassic Park based on Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
This is another one of those rare moments when the movie is better than the book. Not that the book wasn't good- it was. It just wasn't as good as the movie. The movie did a brilliant job of condensing without changing the overarching story, and let's be honest, the fact that the special effects were the most cutting edge of their time has a little bit to do with this choice. Was anybody else terrified of dark kitchens and rainstorms after this? No? Just me? Good to know.

6. The Lord of the Rings trilogy based on The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R Tolkein
Yes. I count these as one film, because they were created as such. Peter Jackson filmed one ginormous, 13 hour movie and then chopped it into 3 equal chunks. That was still too much film, so he chopped those chunks down into 3 hour movies. And that is how the LOTR trilogy was born. The genius behind this approach created the most seamless set of sequels ever to grace the silver screen (sort of the exact opposite of The Twilight Saga).

7. Fight Club based on Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
 You don't talk about Fight Club.

Thank you, Jess. Your awesomeness humbles me, and I am grateful for the award.


On a related note, if anybody wanted to nominate me for a Blog Oscar, I wouldn't turn it down ;) Just saying.



Images: Google Images