The Passionistas

Last week Chuck D went off on one while describing his disgust for the music industry and this week, fellow blogger, Wendi B Writes talked about the demise of the industry and frankly how boring it is. However, it is not just the music business that seems to be dying a slow and painful death the film industry is not looking any better either. There is a famous saying that there are only ten original scripts in Hollywood which are recycled year in year out  and add that to practically every book and vintage TV series being turned into a movie then this all adds up to a creatively dire film scene. Despite all this nothing gets my goat than an actor, writer or singer (or all three)  who decides to embark on a passion project. A passion project is a book or TV show that an actor or writer falls in love with, snaps up the rights quickly and then appoints themselves as producer or director. This means that they have a say on the casting and the script and pretty much everything else. It is beautiful to see a person fulfilling their potential and getting out of their comfort zone but when is too much too much? The danger with passion projects is that they too often turn into an act of vanity and cause the person in charge to lose all sense of reason.

Take Terry McMillan, the film adaptation of Waiting to Exhale was superb but sadly her second adaptation, How Stella Got Her Groove Back was not. Why? Well simply because Forest Whitaker directed the film and exercised his critical eye to edit out all the crap but with How Stella Got Her Groove Back, Terry McMillan was a bit more involved and let's say her passion led her astray and what we ended up with was a self indulgent movie that overstayed it's time. My most memorable passion moment was having to endure Drew Barrymore in Charlies Angels. Now I like Drew and I admire her for the way she has rebuilt her career since her drinking and drug days. But seriously do you really think she would have got that role in Charlie"s Angels if she did not own the rights to the film which she produced under Flower Films  - her production company? The same air of delusions of grandeur applies to Queen Latifah. in Just Wright (read a review of the film). She plays Leslie Wright who is the best friend of Morgan played by Paula Patton, a sexy basketball groupie who has her eye on NBA star Scott McKnight played by Common. When Scott is injured Morgan runs out on him and Leslie and Scott get closer. Then Morgan comes back leaving Scott to choose between the two ladies. Guess who wins? Yep, Leslie does which led to a lot of laughter in the cinema because in real life we all know that would have never happened. But hey when you are the joint owner of the production company behind the film then your character can end up with any guy you damm well please.

Passion projects don"t just have to be carried out by actors, those behind the screen can be just as lethal. Brad Pitt was so in love with the memoirs of Elizabeth Gilbert that he decided that he had to turn the blockbuster Eat, Pray, Love into a film (read the review here). No surprise there as a lot of successful books have been made into films (some more better than others) but to me Pitt got too ahead of himself by persuading Julia Roberts to play the lead role. I have not got round to reading Eat, Pray, Love but a lot of people have told me how great the book is and what an impact it made on their lives. This film really had the potential to be a really insightful and moving piece of work but what we ended up with was a glorified, pretentious chick flick trying to be all deep. The main problem with the film was the lead character - a film like that needed an actress who could throw herself into the role and let it take over her. To me Julia Roberts was all wrong because the movie became all about her and not the message that was being conveyed. However there are times when passion projects can be very successful hence Charlize Theron with the mega hit film, Monster which she co-produced and earned herself a Golden Globe and Oscar in the process. Sometimes passion projects do work but you need to keep your head in tact. The next passion project that I have my eye on is Getting Rid of Matthew by Jennifer Aniston. The book was written by Jane Fallon and is about a PR lady who in embroiled in a love affair with a married man. Jennifer bought the rights of the book two years ago and is producing it with her Kristin Hahn with whom she has set up a production company with. Watch this space.

The picture at the top is of Drew Barrymore at her offices of her production company, Flower Films.

Review: He's Just Not That Into You

Someone described He's Just Not Into You as all the lost scenes from Sex and the City merged into one. I think that is a bit of a cheap shot. What it is is a tale of twenty and thirty-somethings who are at critical stages in their lives. Gigi played by Ginnifer Goodwin is a sweet hearted lady who is searching for the love of her life but in her search to do so misreads all the signals. She is befriended by cynic Alex played by Justin Long who begins to advise her on the traits of men and utters those immortal words; He's Just Not Into You. Janine played by Jennifer Connelly who is Gigi's best friend is married to Ben played by Bradley Cooper and are going through a rough patch which results in him developing a relationship with Anna who is played by Scarlett Johansson. Meanwhile Anna is having an on and off thing with Conor played by Kevin Connolly who is quite clearly crazy about her but sadly for him it is not mutual. Anna finds herself confiding in Mary played by Drew Barrymore who is also looking for love and has joined the online dating scene. Then there is Beth played by Jennifer Aniston and Neil played by Ben Affleck who have been together for seven years but Neil is in no hurry to pop the question.

After seeing the trailer I was really looking forward to seeing this film but despite the hype of the book I was not sure what to expect. I was not disappointed because the film proved to be even better than I expected. All the ingredients for a great film were there; wonderful believable characters, a great script and funny dialogue. Yes the ending was a bit inevitable but trust me there are some surprises along the way. The relationship between Gigi and Alex is superb and very entertaining to watch. I have never heard of Justin Long (according to Wikipedia, he is the guy in those Apple ads) and I have no idea who Gennifer Goodwin is but they really make this film the wonderful piece of work it is. The film borrows from the scenarios from the book such as; why has he not called you? Why is he not sleeping with you? Why he has not asked you to marry him and uses them as a basis for the outline of the plot. You would think that a movie with quite a lot of characters and entwined plots would end up being a tad bit cramped but director, Ken Kwapis does a great job of keeping things on track.

He's Just Not That Into You

Do you remember that episode of Sex and the City when Burger gave Miranda a few tips on guys? She'd been out on a date but the guy had not called her and Miranda who is an astute and savvy woman could not work out why. Burger nailed it in six simple words; he's just not that into you. There it was, one sentence that would go on to set millions of women free. Then some clever dickey bird (or two to be precise) decided to put it all in a book. Greg Behrendt (who briefly worked as a writer on S&TC) and Liz Tuccillo gave us He's Just Not That Into You, a book that would act as a guide to women about men and dating. The book is divided into chapters and set out in a Q&A format and every dating scenario that you could imagine is covered. Here are a few:

1. He is afraid to get hurt
2. He does not want to ruin the friendship
3. Maybe he is intimidated by me
4. He did not call because he lost his phone, got run over, was caught in a tropical rain forest etc....

The answer is the same - He is just not that into you!

This book was published in 2004 and became a New York Times Bestseller and was featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

So like all successful books, Hollywood just had to turn it into a movie and with such a catchy title how could it not be. The culprit this time is Drew Barrymore who has bought the rights to the film. As well as starring in it she has a stellar cast of Jennifer Aniston, Ginnifer Goodwin, Scarlet Johansson, Jennifer Connelly and Ben Affleck. The film focuses on four couples in their twenties and thirties where one partner is more into the other person. I am sure I am not the only one who will admit that the book really did strike a cord with me and it really gives you an insight into the way men behave. The film trailer looks hilarious and had me in stitches and I can definitely say it is on my 'got to see' list.

He's Just Not That Into You is released in February 2009.

Chick Noir

Since its inception chick lit has often come in for a bit of a bashing. Many people dismiss it as fluffy, vapid, disposable and even badly written works of fiction. I will be the first to put my hand up and agree that a lot of books in this genre are not worth the pretty paper that they are printed on but on the flip side there are some very good books out there. Authors such as Jane Green, Sophie Kinsella, Louise Bagshawe, Mike Gayle, Robyn Sisman and Lisa Jewell turn in amazing stories and serve chick lit well. There is a new modern fiction category on the block; chick noir which is post modern chick lit with an edge. This differs from chick lit which is all about getting the guy and living happy ever after while chick noir is much more dark and features single women who grow to be happy in their own skin and not obsessive about being married. The pioneer of this exciting genre is Jane Fallon, author of Getting Rid of Matthew and Got You Back. Fallon's talents do not just lie in fiction, she is an established TV producer and has worked on fantastic shows like EastEnders, This Life and Teachers which are infamous for their portrayal of strong women.

Both Fallon's books, Getting Rid of Matthew and Got You Back cover the tales of infidelity and unravels the lives of the wife and the mistress. Getting Rid of Matthew was released last year and secured itself on Richard & Judy's summer read and went to become a bestseller. I am sure that the eye catching cover with a lady in a pencil skirt and stilettos cannot have hurt. However there is no denying that Getting Rid of Matthew is a great piece of fiction. The book tells the story of Helen whose lover, Matthew turns up on her doorstep and announces that he has left his wife. From there you expect the story to take the conventional approach of focusing on the couple and their trials and tribulations but remember that this is not chick lit but chick noir and that calls for a few twists and turns. Hence the entrance of Matthew's wife, Sophie who is picking up the pieces of her broken marriage. Then there is the small matter of Helen deciding that Matthew and her are not right together and hatches a plan to return him to his wife.

Fallon manages to turn Helen who some people would define as a self centred cow into a very sympathetic character. Compelling and extremely funny are the words I would use to describe this book as the writer takes you through the story with style as well as a lot of substance. It is so good that a certain Jennifer Aniston has acquired the rights for her production company, Plan C with plans to turn it into a film. Fallon's new book, Got You Back offers more of the same with two women; wife and mistress colluding to plot the down fall of husband James who has been leading two separate lives. So just as women are leading their lives as they please on TV shows such as Sex and the City and films like The Women, it seems that we have now reached that place in books.

To find out more about Jane Fallon, check out an article in The Guardian here.