Topic: THE NON-WEAK WEEK (Read 21656 times)

DERBRUCER · « **Reply #150 on:** June 21, 2004, 05:34:47 PM »

PITTY THE WRITER TIME

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John Irving's Mad-Dash Rewrite
Monday, June 21, 2004
By Roger Friedman

(Extracted from FoxLite):

We've all got to leave the great writer John Irving alone for the next few months.

Everyone. That means you. Let me explain.

Coming to movie theaters on July 14 is "The Door in the Floor," an excellent film version of the novelist's bestseller "A Widow for One Year." Sort of.
"Door" is an adaptation of just the first half of the novel, not the whole thing. That's OK, because that part of the book is the most memorable for most readers.
…
Irving, who won an Oscar for best adapted screenplay a couple of years ago for the wonderful film version of "The Cider House Rules," couldn't be happier about "Door in the Floor." But he's got some other things to work on.

Scheduled for next year is publication of this important writer's next novel, "Until I Find You."
…
But wait: Irving told me last week at a dinner following a screening of "Door in the Floor" that a huge curve ball has been pitched into his career — and he threw it himself.

"I turned in the book to Random House," Irving said. "They loved it and paid me a great deal of money. The novel was scheduled to come out. It took me five years to write it. And then, 28 days ago, I woke up and realized it was all wrong."

The result is that Irving, who writes in longhand on yellow legal pads and not on a word processor or even a typewriter (you may remember those), is rewriting every single word of "Until I Find You" from a first-person perspective to a third-person one.

And he's got to do it fast. For Random House to make its summer 2005 publication date, Irving must turn in the new version by this Christmas at the latest.

Whew! Can he do it? Undoubtedly. But what a thing to put yourself through, I said.

"It means, first of all, the book will be shorter," he said. The current manuscript-page count is around 1,000. By changing to third person, and shedding the "I," less will have to be explained, so the novel should shed some weight.

der Brucer (so make up your mind, already!)

Robin · « **Reply #151 on:** June 21, 2004, 05:36:34 PM »

Quote from: Ben on June 21, 2004, 05:14:32 PM

I was also very lucky to have a good dentist (I forget what the specialty is called).

He was probably an Orthodontist.

Robin · « **Reply #152 on:** June 21, 2004, 05:44:41 PM »

Quote from: bk on June 21, 2004, 05:14:29 PM

Just had a REALLY long and lovely chat with our very own Miss Cindy Williams. Also, used up some store credit and got advance copies of new DVDs such as Robert Wise's The Set Up, Joseph H. Lewis' brilliant film noir, Gun Crazy, the new SE of Blazing Saddles and best of all the new Dame Edna DVD.

Are you trying to make me jealous? Well, whether or not it was intentional, you suceeded.

So, what's Cindy up to these days? I suppose we'll be brought up to speed in tomorrow's notes, so mebbe that's a silly question.

The last time I saw her on TV, she was on the Today show, reminiscing about Laverne and Shirley with Penny Marshall, and saying that the last season or two of the show, when the girls moved to Hollywood was pretty much a washout. Gotta agree with that.

Oh, and my one of my best friends in High School was madly in love with Cindy Williams.

DERBRUCER · « **Reply #153 on:** June 21, 2004, 05:45:44 PM »

Quote from: Ben on June 21, 2004, 05:14:32 PM

JRand, come back (I feel like Brandon De Wilde in Shane).

Let's hope JRand is a better listener than Alan Ladd.

Robin · « **Reply #154 on:** June 21, 2004, 05:46:05 PM »

Gosh, I feel Godhood coming on. Which I find very strange, considering that I'm a crotchety ol' atheist and all.

Robin · « **Reply #155 on:** June 21, 2004, 05:46:57 PM »

Quote from: DERBRUCER on June 21, 2004, 05:45:44 PM

Let's hope JRand is a better listener than Alan Ladd.

I'm sure he's taller.

Robin · « **Reply #156 on:** June 21, 2004, 05:58:18 PM »

And one for Mahler.

(Taller? Mahler! It rhymes!)

MBarnum · « **Reply #157 on:** June 21, 2004, 06:16:49 PM »

I love Cindy Williams! She should join HHW!

Hey, do any DRs tape Queer as Folk? My favorite modern day actor, Matt Battaglia, has been appearing on it the last few episodes, evidently! I don't have Showtime so I haven't seen the show (other then a couple of episodes from about 3 seasons ago) and would love to see his episodes. Be happy to reimburse for the tapes and postage if anyone caught those and/or any upcoming episodes with Matt in them (he plays a football player who is having an affair with Emmett).

bk · « **Reply #158 on:** June 21, 2004, 06:18:41 PM »

Cindy just did a guest shot on one of those Law and Order spinoff things, in which I hear she was excellent. Other than that, she's always got a lot of irons in the fire and we've been talking for a year about doing something together.

Robin · « **Reply #159 on:** June 21, 2004, 06:39:41 PM »

Quote from: MBarnum on June 21, 2004, 06:16:49 PM

Hey, do any DRs tape Queer as Folk? My favorite modern day actor, Matt Battaglia, has been appearing on it the last few episodes, evidently!

I don't tape it, but I never ever miss an episode. I agree with other HHWers that it's not very well-written, but I still like the show a lot, because it's essentially a trashy soap opera, with plenty of sex guys (and dolls!) squarely aimed at a gay/lesbian audience. I sure which this had been on TV instead of Dallas when I was a wee lad.

JoseSPiano · « **Reply #160 on:** June 21, 2004, 06:43:30 PM »

Quote from: MBarnum on June 21, 2004, 06:16:49 PM

I love Cindy Williams! She should join HHW!

Hey, do any DRs tape Queer as Folk? My favorite modern day actor, Matt Battaglia, has been appearing on it the last few episodes, evidently! I don't have Showtime so I haven't seen the show (other then a couple of episodes from about 3 seasons ago) and would love to see his episodes. Be happy to reimburse for the tapes and postage if anyone caught those and/or any upcoming episodes with Matt in them (he plays a football player who is having an affair with Emmett).

Well, I have that "On Demand" feature, and since I usually re-watch the episodes... Just PM me, and I'm sure I can get them taped for you.

-I've always like Matt Battaglia too. He's playing quite the character to say the least on QAF right now. His story line started last week, and, is apparently, supposed to go on for a few more episodes. I just hope that they continue to show "more" of him like they did last night.

JoseSPiano · « **Reply #161 on:** June 21, 2004, 06:46:30 PM »

-And I'm back from my walk and dinner... -I kind of "grazed" from store to store... Picked up somethings at the grocery store... Picked up something at 7-11... Picked up something at the frozen yogurt shop (marshmallow cream(!) flavor). Kind of a variation on a progressive dinner, I guess. And I'm feeling better too, so that's good.

S. Woody White · « **Reply #162 on:** June 21, 2004, 06:56:31 PM »

Quote from: Jennifer on June 21, 2004, 10:10:41 AM

For any of you interested in the next season of The Amazing Race (IMO, one of the absolute best reality shows), the team listings are up:

http://www.cbs.com/primetime/amazing_race5

This is really a great show. There are 11 teams of 2 and they race around the world. You get to see amazing places, interesting relationships, and cool activities. Very fun show.

I'd call it the best of the reality gameshows. What sets it apart is watching the teams of two work through the problems together. Plus, the relationships usually show how diverse we are, as people. I'd much rather watch Amazing Race over any of the other games being broadcast these days.

td · « **Reply #163 on:** June 21, 2004, 06:59:19 PM »

Interesting TOD!

I'm not afraid to admit it, when I graduated from High School oh, so many, many years ago, I weighed in at a startling 329 pounds! There are photos in the yearbook in which I am the first THREE people in the front row!
When I started college the following September, I had already taken off thirty pounds; but it wasn't until the winter break that I really took the weight loss seriously and went down to an even more startling 135 lbs. . .gosh, it was nice to have a 29 inch waist, but, being six-foot-two, and having shaggy hair, I looked more like a heroin addict than a weight conscious individual.
I pretty much stayed in the 135/145 lb area for quite a while - my waist line never went above 34 inches in those days. . . .
Now, I still stand six-foot-two, I weigh in at 185/195 lbs; and my waist has settled in (in my 40's) to 38 inches.

MBarnum · « **Reply #164 on:** June 21, 2004, 07:07:38 PM »

Quote from: JoseSPiano on June 21, 2004, 06:43:30 PM

Well, I have that "On Demand" feature, and since I usually re-watch the episodes... Just PM me, and I'm sure I can get them taped for you.

-I've always like Matt Battaglia too. He's playing quite the character to say the least on QAF right now. His story line started last week, and, is apparently, supposed to go on for a few more episodes. I just hope that they continue to show "more" of him like they did last night.

Thank you Jose, you are a wonderful human being! And you have a PM from me!

I have been a fan of Matt Battaglia's for years. He has been on Friends (as a fireman that one of the gals dates), he took over the lead role for two made for cable UNIVERSAL SOLDIER films, and he was in the infamous cult movie SHOWGIRLS among many other shows and movies.

S. Woody White · « **Reply #165 on:** June 21, 2004, 07:07:48 PM »

Quote from: William E. Lurie on June 21, 2004, 11:30:15 AM

...And for several years, the program that started off the NBC morning lineup was DING DONG SCHOOL with Miss Francis (actually Dr. Francis Horowitz). It was very low key... Miss Francis was sort of a female Mister Rogers except she didn't change into a sweater and sneakers.

The mental image of Miss Francis doing a strip-tease in front of all us young-uns is terrifying, indeed!

S. Woody White · « **Reply #166 on:** June 21, 2004, 07:14:04 PM »

Quote from: MBarnum on June 21, 2004, 12:15:24 PM

..and if Salem were to fall into a sink-hole taking the entire populace with it the Portland stations (there are no Salem TV stations any more) would only mention it in passing...if at all! LOL!

So been there, done that. When der B and I were living in Long Beach (a city which is larger than Atlanta, BTW), we were lucky to get any coverage at all from the Los Angeles television stations. And, of course, there were no Long Beach stations, because neighboring LA had everything "covered."

S. Woody White · « **Reply #167 on:** June 21, 2004, 07:29:39 PM »

Quote from: DERBRUCER on June 21, 2004, 05:34:47 PM

PITTY THE WRITER TIME
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Pitty? And you pick on our dear BK?

Oh, the shame, the shame.

S. Woody White · « **Reply #168 on:** June 21, 2004, 07:32:53 PM »

Time to go fix dinner. Poached chicken ~~tits~~ breasts, broccoli, and we haven't had grits for a while, I think with diced onion and bell pepper would be nice.

Panni · « **Reply #169 on:** June 21, 2004, 08:33:06 PM »

I've had a very strange day - for no particular reason - it just felt strange. And now I'm having a strange night.

Ann · « **Reply #170 on:** June 21, 2004, 08:49:28 PM »

Good evening all
I had a simply marevelous day today playing with the kids in their new kiddie pool. No better way to beat the heat, I feel.
Weight...well, I've always been on the heavy side of things. I peaked at about 220 about a year and a half ago...yeah, I'm 5'10", so that was pretty damn big. But now I'm down to about 185 and still shrinking, so things are good.

JoseSPiano · « **Reply #171 on:** June 21, 2004, 09:02:24 PM »

Good Evening!

Not much to add in regards to my earlier posts. However, I'm not so much the grumpy Gus I was earlier. It just turned out to be one of those days where various people and various situations kept me in "waiting mode" for most of the afternoon. Very frustrating to say the least. I also found out that my school's theatre department - which I've done plenty of work for over the past 15 years - started their summer seminar tonight. And it's a musical theatre seminar this summer. And I wasn't contacted about it - and "they" know I'm back for the summer and that I wanted to teach if anything came up. So, that kind of smarted, felt a bit slighted when I saw the registration table. Ah, well... what can you do...

Well, you come back home. You log on to HHW, and you share and vent... and smile.

Thanks.

Much better now.

Matt H. · « **Reply #172 on:** June 21, 2004, 09:18:50 PM »

I've had two root canals: the first when I was in rehearsal for A CHORUS LINE (the second time) and the second when I was in rehearsal for FOREVER PLAID. In both cases, I went to rehearsal that night with no ill effects and to work the next morning. I really found them less painful than having a cavity filled.

Matt H. · « **Reply #173 on:** June 21, 2004, 09:26:16 PM »

DR MBarnum, I also have the QUEER AS FOLK episodes if there is any problem with DR Jose's getting them to you.

Matt has been on the last two weeks, but someone told me that storyline will end with next week's episode. Unhappy me because I thought this plot had real potential. The ESPN dramatic series PLAYMAKERS featured exactly the same scenario last year with a gay football player getting himself engaged to a woman, and it, too, lasted just three episodes. I was hoping this would go into much more depth with the potential of the player living two separate lives, but it looks like that's not how it's going to go.

How ironic that the FRIENDS episode where Matt Battaglia played the fireman was also the episode where Robert Gant played the school teacher, both men dating Phoebe. Robert Gant, of course, is now a regular on QUEER AS FOLK.

Matt H. · « **Reply #174 on:** June 21, 2004, 09:29:35 PM »

The Meryl Streep AFI tribute was a nice overview of her film career, but I was SO disappointed that one of my favorite Streep movies wasn't mentioned (one two second clip from it was shown in a climactic montage) - THE RIVER WILD.

Panni · « **Reply #175 on:** June 21, 2004, 09:38:22 PM »

I'm now watching the Streep tribute and just saw the "choice" scene from SOPHIE'S CHOICE. Which totally did me in. There was a reason I avoided that movie and should not have watched that scene! I read the book, but that was somehow different because I could control it. In a movie - esp. with someone like Streep - you're dragged along whether you want to go on the ride or not. Well, as Jose said, venting has made me feel better.

Panni · « **Reply #176 on:** June 21, 2004, 09:51:38 PM »

God! Tracey Ullman is funny! She just did a bit on the Streep tribute which had me on the floor. I'm sure it was all improv. ("You're in your early fifties... As we all know, a simply marrrrrvelous time for actresses...")

Noel · « **Reply #177 on:** June 21, 2004, 09:59:02 PM »

The capper to our trip to a previously undisclosed location was our lovely lunch with Mr. BK himself. A better dining companion cannot be found.

I was generally interested (before watching it) in others' opinions as to whether the 60 Minutes interview with my senator's husband was worth watching. I certainly didn't get offended by someone's characterization of him as "that impeached idiot" even though it wasn't an answer to my question about the interview. Even now, I'm not certain anyone was offended; I'm only certain that people disappeared. And too quickly for anyone to (agreeably) change the subject.

With our return to New York comes a return to having enough Internet time for me to read these posts once again. Looking forward to catching up with you all.

Panni · « **Reply #178 on:** June 21, 2004, 10:19:47 PM »

Shirley MacLaine looks quite strange. I think I'm having a Tony Awards-like party of one. Commenting on what I'm watching...

JoseSPiano · « **Reply #179 on:** June 21, 2004, 10:25:59 PM »

Well, I'm heading off to "DreamLand" now - as opposed to "NapLand" which I felt like I was in for most of the day...

Goodnight, and Thank You. (ah, an Evita reference...)

OOHHHH!!!!! HEY!?!??!?! Did we hear from our Dear Esteemed BK about his high weight, low weight and numbers of pounds lost? Hmmm....

News:

Author Topic: THE NON-WEAK WEEK (Read 21656 times)

MBarnum

MBarnum