Tampa Film Fan

i want to read…

…Movie Crazy by Leonard Maltin

this week’s hot list

Here are a few things I like this week:

• Filmmaker Peter Jackson has purchased the movie rights to Alice Sebold’s novel The Lovely Bones.
• Awake in the Dark — a collection of 38 years’ worth of reviews, essays, interviews and profiles by Roger Ebert
• Forbidden Hollywood Collection, Volume 1
• Essential Art House:50 Years of Janus Films DVD set — Antonioni, Bergman, Fellini, Hitchcock, Kurosawa, Truffaut and more.  If only I had an extra $850 to spend on myself.
• It looks like I don’t have to say goodbye to Fox’s TV show Standoff just yet
• Receptionist Pam from The Office has a MySpace page

discussion of the flamingo rising at the beach theatre in st. pete november 11

On November 11 (today!), the St. Pete Beach Library is hosting a discussion of Larry Baker’s The Flamingo Rising, led by Margo Hammond and Steve Persall of the St. Pete Times, at the Beach Theatre, 315 Corey Avenue, St. Pete Beach, at 10 a.m.  This discussion is free and open to the public.

The Flamingo Rising is a movie-related fictional book and the 2006 Read Around Pinellas title.  The Beach Theatre is the perfect location, because like the movie theater in Baker’s book, it’s located next door to a funeral home.  St. Pete Times book editor Margo Hammond has championed this book since it was published in 1998.  Film critic Steve Persall brings a unique twist to the discussion, since his father was a movie theater manager and his uncle was a funeral director.

Visit www.tblc.org/spb for more info.

the constant gardner is october’s books to movies choice at new port richey public library

John le Carre’s The Constant Gardener is October’s Books to Movies feature at the New Port Richey Public Library. Read the book, then see the movie. Light refreshments will be served. The screening will take place on Monday, October 17th at 5 p.m. Call 727-841-4547 ext. 288 for details.

(from WMNF’s website)

bram stoker awards announced

Apparently, a lot of horror awards come out during the summer….

The Horror Writers Association has announced the 2004 Bram Stoker Awards winners (named after Bram Stoker, author of Dracula):

For best screenplay there was a tie: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind by Charlie Kaufman, Michel Gondry and Pierre Bismuth; and Shaun of the Dead by Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright.

international horror guild award nominations announced

The International Horror Guild Award nominations, for best literature, film and TV from 2004 in the realm of horror and dark fantasy, have been announced. The nominated films are: Hellboy, The Machinist, The Passion of the Christ, and Shaun of the Dead. The nominated TV series are: Carnivale, Charmed, Kingdom Hospital, and Lost. Winners will be announced at the World Fantasy Convention on November 3.

I have to admit, I find it very disturbing that The Passion of the Christ was included on this list. I’m glad to see The Machinist get recognized. That movie was extremely disturbing, absolutely brilliant and had one of the best “ohmygosh” endings ever. Plus, the ending wrapped everything up in a way that made sense. I hate forced endings that leave alot unexplained.

bruce campbell book signing and film screening august 18

Bruce Campbell (from the Evil Dead series, like I have to explain who he is) will be at the Tampa Theatre on August 18 at 6 p.m. to sign copies of his new book Make Love* (*the Bruce Campbell Way). Books will be available for purchase and signing at the event and through Inkwood Books.

At 9 p.m. on August 18, Tampa Theatre will screen Campbell’s new movie Man With the Screaming Brain. Event tickets are $10.

harry potter mania

In case you haven’t heard (and if that’s the case, where have you been?), the new J.K. Rowling book Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince is being released at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, July 16.

The Hudson Regional (Pasco County) Library is hosting “All Aboard the Hogwarts Express” July 15 starting at 8 p.m. This family event will include snacks, games, crafts and a performance by a magician. They will give away 12 copies of the book at 12:01 a.m. Registration and Pasco County library cards are required.

On July 25, the Hudson Regional Library presents “Read the Book, See the Movie” where the film Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban will be shown and children will have the chance to answer trivia about the book.

Inkwood Books is having a Harry Potter Party at 11 p.m. July 15 at Lotus Room Yoga Studio. Dress as your favorite character, and bring canned goods and gently used books for donation to Metropolitan Ministries.

Listen to The Morning Show With Chadd and Kristi on 94.9 this week for your chance to win a copy of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.

The St. Pete Times talks about the Harry Potter parties at Borders Books & Music at the Clearwater Mall and at Barnes & Noble in Clearwater.

On the Potterparties.com website, I counted 2 Brandon events, 3 in Lakeland, 2 in Clearwater, 2 for St. Pete and 5 for Tampa.

Oh, and just in case you’ve forgotten, the movie Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire comes out this November.

in the good ole summertime part 2 (books)

What’s on your summer reading list? Here’s what’s stacked in my “To Read” pile:

The Great Movie Comedians by Leonard Maltin — I bought this at a used book store years ago and haven’t gotten around to reading it yet. You don’t hear much about Maltin these days…

Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon — I’m rereading the Outlander series to get ready for the new book in September.

Magnificient Obsession by Lloyd C. Douglas — I bought this for a quarter at a thrift shop in April. I’m curious to see how well the Rock Hudson-Jane Wyman movie did at translating the book to the screen.

American Cinema, American Culture by John Belton — this is The Husband’s textbook from a class he had at USF last semester. As soon as the semester was over, I declared ownership.

The Handy Religion Answer Book by Dr. John Renard — a very good overview of Christianity, Judaism, Islam and Buddhism in an easy Q-and-A format.

See Jane Score by Rachel Gibson and An Offer From A Gentleman by Julia Quinn — every few years I get in the mood for a romance novel, which I don’t read on a regular basis. The used book shop owner recommended one modern and one historical romance, so I figured I’d try them both.

If you don’t have a summer reading list of your own, you can always see what various writers are planning to read this summer. Or check out NPR’s recommendations. Or look at USA Today’s list of 5 books being made into movies this summer.

reading and viewing and blogging, oh my

What a great day I’ve had! Instead of getting up early and going to the grocery store (which was the original plan), I laid in bed for two hours finishing Fatal by Michael Palmer. Palmer writes medical thrillers that are slightly formulaic, but fast-paced, interesting and entertaining. Each book explores a different medical/ethical issue (i.e., euthansia, infertility research), so I always come away with a fresh perspective or new knowledge. The backdrop of Fatal is childhood vaccinations, which result in death, deformity or disease for a small percentage of children. Finishing a good book is a great way to kick off a Saturday.

The Husband and I decided to be couch potatoes today, so after showering, I put on clean pajamas and got back into bed. We ordered pizza, since there wasn’t much to eat in the house (reading having replaced my grocery store trip). We were too lazy to go to the video store, so we looked through our DVD collection and picked The Last of the Mohicans. There were a few new scenes in the director’s cut DVD that I hadn’t seen before, which is always fun. Other than that, we watched a few episodes of Season Four of The X-Files, which we’re slowly working our way through, disc by disc, as they arrive from Netflix.

In between bouts of stuffing my face with pizza and watching TV, I worked adding TV and book links here. If you know of any good film, TV, book, or Florida links or blogs that I should know about, please email me at tampafilmfan(at)aol.com and let me know.