MOVIE SUNDAY - Lights, Camera, Action! My Week with Marilyn

My Week With Marilyn, is the  adaptation of two memoirs by British director/producer Colin Clark, who started his film career as a gofer on The Prince And The Showgirl, directed by and starring Laurence Olivier, and co-produced by and starring Marilyn Monroe. 

The film captures the conflicts between Sir Laurence and Marilyn Monroe, the shy immature woman who struggles with the fact that the only thing men see is her beauty.  Unfortunately, for some that was true, but in this film, Colin is portrayed as her savior.  The guy who understands her and defends her to the end. 

The book takes a serious look at her life on the silver screen.  It shows us Marilyn the adult, very beautiful but frolicking in the fields like a school girl whose insecurities are very real.  She has abandonment issues and even asks why everyone leaves her.

At this point in her career,  her addiction to sleeping pills and alcohol is well underway. At thirty, she's already been married three times, and she's still using her sensuality to lure men into her arms despite her claims that it bothers her.   Perhaps, her attention getting tactics are just that.  She's habitually late for the set and pushes everyone's buttons.  Robert Portal, who plays David Orlon as the director has offered advice to Sir Laurence telling him to roll with the punches when it comes to Marilyn and things will be fine.  Although he tries, he ultimately blows up.  But that pushes Marilyn over the edge because she's already convinced they don't like her.   Marilyn retaliates by taking too many pills and doesn't show up on the set the next day.  Control anyone?  She's got the control!  

The primary difference between the film and Clark’s books is that the books portray his personality much more, than in the movie.   Colin, is only 23 when he prevailed upon Olivier, who happened to be an old friend of his rich, well-connected parents, but to make his connection in the industry, he's willing to do what it takes. 

In the book,  his diary is full of the energy and arrogance of what could be classified as a sheltered, well-educated, full-of-himself twentysomething just starting his career.  And he seemingly judges everyone around him as the know-nothing goons and slackers. 

As you sit and watch this onscreen adaption, it quickly becomes apparent that Marilyn is overwhelmed.  She's not an actress and she's afraid of the camera, although she's the first to pose when she sees one.  But her posing is mostly related to her sexuality.  She doesn't like the fact that that is all that anyone ever sees: her beauty.  Yet, she's the first to flaunt it.

Quotes from Clark's book:

I have been watching MM very closely. She is really like a lovely child. Whatever possessed her to become an actress? I suppose it was some sort of clichéd idea about Hollywood. In America pretty blondes with buxom figures often think that they are meant to be film stars. Or perhaps it was some man who found that the quickest way into her pants was to promise that he could get her into movies.

Clark isn’t usually so catty, but he is utterly confident he has all the answers that have somehow escaped everyone else. For instance, only he sees that Olivier and Monroe have both picked the wrong part for themselves: Monroe has come to England because she thinks she’ll be taken seriously by working with one of the most celebrated stage actors of her time, but her role is a fluffy, giddy, manipulative chorus girl, too much like her past roles. Olivier, meanwhile, wants to be seen as a Monroe-level superstar and hopes some of her glamour and youth will rub off on him, but he’s playing a stiff, stuffy role in the stagiest way possible. And Clark certainly has nothing nice to say about Monroe’s new husband, Arthur Miller:

AM went off to Paris today, which may explain why MM was in such bad shape yesterday… AM seems big-headed, insensitive and super-selfish. I never saw him look tenderly at MM, only with what looks like a sort of boasting self-satisfaction. What bad luck on MM. Why couldn’t she have found what she really needs—someone sympathetic to support her? She doesn’t move around with those sort of people I suppose.

On screen, his character is a fresh-faced, nice young man, who's a personality-free cipher and experiencing the blush of a first love. More specifically, he’s experiencing it with one of the era’s biggest celebrities, a lush and lovely, vulnerable, wounded superstar who briefly turns the full intensity of her personality and her sexual wiles on him as she attempts to use him for comfort in an unfamiliar, uncomfortable setting. It’s heady stuff, but it’s much headier in the film, where Clark is so innocent and ingénue-like that he basically stands as a relatable symbol for youthful naïveté, the kind of character who only exists in the realm of nostalgia. As Eddie Redmayne plays him in the film—with a big, self-effacing smile and tender eyes—he’s meant to present no resistance as viewers put themselves in his place in order to feel what it would be like to be young and in love again. And in love with a glamorous movie star, at that.

Contrast this with some of Clark’s actual diary entries about Monroe:

• “AM certainly doesn’t behave like America’s most eminent intellectual. More like an overgrown schoolboy. But MM has a very appealing aura, even if physically she is not my type. A bit too exaggerated… her figure—and especially her bust—is fantastic but a little on the plump side. Problems—too much fakery: peroxide hair, dead white make-up, heavy lipstick, but that is her image.”
• “When MM did arrive [for a screen test] we all got a shock—except Whitey [her makeup man], I suppose. She looked absolutely frightful. No make-up, just a skirt, a tight blouse, head scarf and dark glasses. Nasty complexion, a lot of facial hair, shapeless figure and, when the glasses came off, a very vague look in her eye. No wonder she is so insecure.”
• “…the process of acting is very frightening for her. She needs [drama coach Paula Strasberg] a few feet away and Lee [Strasberg] at the end of a phone to reassure her. But there is no easy formula, no short cut. I suspect that there have been quite a few ‘Paulas’ in the past, and all of them will ultimately fail because they are substitutes for a training which is just not there.”
• “The trouble is that MM simply cries out for someone to control her, and no one can resist trying to do so. She dumps her problems in Paula’s lap, and then while the wretched woman is trying to sort them out, MM goes and dumps them on someone else, and they start working on them, and so on.”
• “A girl like that really needs her mum… but I’m told her mum is in a bin.”
• “Even seeing MM in the nude had left me cold—well not exactly cold, to be honest, but not in love.”

Despite these entries, it doesn't stop him from falling for her as she begins to lean on him more and more. And it isn't as though he hasn't been warned about her powers.  

I thought the acting was superb and every time Michelle Williams appears on the screen, we see a strong resemblance to Marilyn--and her mannerisms confirm that fact.  Colin is played by Eddie Redmayne, and Kenneth Branagh is cast as Sir Laurence himself.  All in all, I give this movie 4 thumbs up and I think it's worth seeing.

Lights, Camera, Action! DOUBLE JEOPARDY

For the gazillionith time, I watched Double Jeopardy, a 1999 movie starring Ashley Judd and Tommy Lee Jones.  I really loved this movie, but it might be because I'm a huge fan of Ashley Judd's.   While researching, I was surprised to learn that I'm one of the few people who did enjoy the movie.  I'd really love to hear what you thought of it.

The story is about Libby Parsons.  During the opening scene it quickly becomes apparent these two are deeply in love and she's the consummate wife to Nick and mother to Mattie.


Libby, an avid sailor receives a thoughtful surprise from Nick when he borrows a friend's yacht for the weekend.  They have a wonderfully, magical night and memorable toss in the sack . . . that is until Libby wakes up to an empty bed and she's covered in blood.  Panicked, she calls out to her husband and stumbles out onto the blood-drenched deck of the sailboat in the middle of night calling her husband's name. They are in the middle of nowhere with no sight of land anywhere.  She sees a knife rolling on the deck and picks it up with her bare hands.  One would think with all that we know about evidence today, picking up the knife would be the last thing she'd do.  I'm wondering if the writer was trying to convey that she was afraid the perpetrator might still be hiding somewhere on the yacht.  Now our eyes are forced to take a closer look at the deck and it's covered in blood with a gap in the guardrail where she believes her husband was abducted.  We wonder why she doesn't radio for help, but it doesn't matter because seconds later the coast guards appear and flash the light on her.  They see she's holding the knife, and bring her back to shore to start the investigation. We know Libby is innocent because that's all we see.

When she's questioned, she tells the police they were drinking.  The case goes to trial with Angela, the nanny, and Mattie by Libby's side the entire time.  While the jury is out and the three of them are waiting for the verdict, things aren't looking good, and Libby asks Angela to adopt Mattie.  Angela reluctantly agrees.  After all is said and done, Libby is found guilty.  The prosecution has convinced the jury she did it to collect the $2 million life insurance policy, which is a total surprise to her.  She didn't know he had a life insurance policy for that much, nor did she know they were in debt.

When the monthly visits from Angela, who brings Mattie to see his mother stop abruptly, Libby is upset but can't seem to find her.  Angela seems to have vanished.  Through many channels, Libby tracks her down and calls.  Angela gives her all kinds of excuses and says she had planned a visit this weekend.  Angry, Libby demands to speak to her son.  While they're talking, guess who walks into the house?  Yep, you've got it--dear ole Dad, Nick Parsons in the flesh, and Mattie calls out to him.  Not knowing he's talking to his mother on the phone, Nick responds until Angela mouths Libby's name.  Libby shouts into the phone, Nick? But Nick grabs the phone and slams down the receiver.  The scene shifts to Libby's extensive exercise routine which includes running, and we know something is about to happen. 

This is when she makes a connection with a former attorney inmate who tells Libby about the 5th Amendment which states you can't be charged twice for the same crime.

After spending six years in prison, she's counseled by this inmate who tells her how to play the game for her parole hearing.  And even though she did not kill her husband, for purposes of getting out of jail, she admits that she did. The Board releases her and she's then transferred to a work study program under the supervision of Travis Lehman, Tommy Lee Jones, as her parole officer.  Lehman has had his own set of issues with alcohol and losing his own family, so he's already developed a strong connection with Libby.  Libby is late for curfew one night and we know it's because she's on the run to prove her innocence and get her son back. 

While she's finding out all the details, she tracks down Nick in New Orleans, he's running a fancy Inn.  Libby has a gun and she's going to kill this man unless he tells her where her son is.  Nick, up to his old tricks, feeds her lies and jerks her around.  Something she's had more than her share of.  Travis tracks down Nick through his famous art piece on the wall and they talk.  Nick pulls a gun on Travis, but Libby comes to his rescue and shoots Nick, but not before she finds out where her son is.  

And then we come to the heart-warming conclusion to the saga when mother and son are reunited at his private school.  The scene shifts to a soccer field.  Libby asks the coach which one of the boys is her Mattie.  She waits for their break and calls out to him.  Mattie's looking puzzled when he turns around.  He reluctantly goes to her.  She's now down on her knees talking to him and asks if he remembers her.  He nods that he does and tells her they'd told him she was dead.  Mother and son embrace and you know this will be a lifetime of happiness.

I love happy endings, don't you?

How Do You Choose a Title for your Book?

Aahhhhhh, naming a piece of fiction. It sounds so simple, doesn't it? Not necessarily.  Giving your baby a name is not like giving your baby a name, if you know what I mean.  While we'd like to mold our children into being happy-go-lucky, well-educated scholars, their name doesn't really tell your friends and family what that child is going to be like as he develops.  Sure, we could name the child after he grows up, but be prepared to call him 'hey you' which will probably stick for the rest of his life.

Fortunately, in fiction, we're free to choose the title after we've molded the characters and story before sending it out to the readers.

In theory, naming a fiction should be a breeze, perhaps even a bit of fun. But that's not always the case, and some writers might even rationalize that it's not the title that matters, as much as the substance of the story. I totally disagree with this.  Title matters!

The title is our novel's first impression to the reader. While people make a first impression with appearance, wardrobe, body language, facial expression—some of which is controllable, some of which is not—a story has only its title to tell the reader what it's about. This is no small element.

It should go without saying that the title should somehow interact with the story. How it interacts, though, is something every writer should be thinking about. A title, by its mere existence, can create expectations, associations, and connections. Mary Gaitskill's collection of stories Bad Behavior might make us think the stories are going to explore just that—bad behavior. To some extent they do, but the collection also explores the value judgment of “bad” through the actions of the characters. The title of Russell Banks's novel The Sweet Hereafter might make some think of aftermath, others, heaven. The novel goes on to explore a town's reaction to the loss of their children in a bus crash. It's not “sweet” in quite the way we might anticipate, but the word works nonetheless.

From the moment we read a title, we are formulating ideas and making connections, bringing about meaning. The fiction can go on to satisfy those things that come to mind, or dispel them. Expectations can be met or not. Neither is inherently right or wrong, but it's important to be aware of the associations that come with a title and how your story follows through on those associations.

Lorrie Moore's title Who Will Run Frog Hospital? gives us a glimpse of the sort of absurd, dry humor that we see in the novel itself. Nelson Algren's title The Man With the Golden Arm  brings up associations of grandness and idolization that are both satisfied and dashed in the novel. The man with the golden arm is Frankie Machine, a fantastic card dealer, who can't get out from under his addiction and guilt. His golden arm makes him admired by some, but in the end, it’s useless.

Shirley Jackson's title "The Lottery" names the event the townspeople enact annually in that short story. The name brings up associations both in line with the story (the lottery of a draft) and out of line (the games of chance that bring fortune.) Cynthia Ozick's title "The Shawl" might make us think of grandmothers, or comforting warmth. While the shawl in the story does represent comfort, it is not a protective comfort. As the soldier throws the young girl against the electric fence in a concentration camp, it is the shawl that saves the mother from crying out and losing her own life. It is not a satisfying comfort—this scream, unexpressed.

What do your titles say about your fictions?

BALANCE ACROSS THE PAGE

I started helping other authors with their novels in 2008 so I have seen many manuscripts. One of the biggest issues that stands out to me is the imbalance of the essential scene elements. For example: many writers will put a huge chunk of description and then follow that description with several lines of dialogue with no blocking. Such as the following from Midnight Secrets with parts deleted to use as an example:

The white letters spelling out “For Sale” glistened in the morning sunlight, causing Allison

to jerk the wheel quickly to avoid the corner stop sign. What the hell was going on? She pulled to

a stop into a parking spot and yanked her cell out of the center console. Why hadn’t anyone told

her the diner was going up for sale?

“Perry, why is there a for sale sign at the restaurant? Tell me it’s a practical joke,” she boomed

in the phone as soon as her boss answered.

“No joke, Allison. I can’t afford to run it anymore. It’s not bringing in enough income for

me to keep it open.”

“But I made some improvements. People bought stuff off the new menu to take home.” 

“It’s not enough. I’m sorry.”

“What the hell am I going to do? There aren’t any jobs here and working in the restaurant is

the only experience I have.” 

When we read the above passage without any description and actions to the scene, we are left with one big question: What is Allison doing? We don't get much insight on Allison based on this small exchange of dialogue she has with her boss. The problem with this kind of writing is that the readers can't "see" what is happening. They only know what is revealed through the dialogue. If I had left this scene this way the reader probably would've put the book down. To fix the scene it needs some of her internal dialogue and action.

Here is the actual scene:


The white letters spelling out “For Sale” glistened in the morning sunlight, causing Allison
to jerk the wheel quickly to avoid the corner stop sign. What the hell was going on? She pulled to
a stop into a parking spot and yanked her cell out of the center console. Why hadn’t anyone told
her the diner was going up for sale?


“Perry, why is there a for sale sign at the restaurant? Tell me it’s a practical joke,” she boomed
in the phone as soon as her boss answered.


“No joke, Allison. I can’t afford to run it anymore. It’s not bringing in enough income for
me to keep it open.”


Allison crossed her fingers as if she’d turned into a kid and hoped for some good luck. She
took a deep breath and slowly let it out. Here it goes. “But I made some improvements. People
bought stuff off the new menu to take home.” Okay, so it had just been the Carsons, but did Perry
need to know that part of it?


“It’s not enough. I’m sorry.”


“What the hell am I going to do? There aren’t any jobs here and working in the restaurant is
the only experience I have.” She slammed her hands onto the steering wheel. She’d probably have
to move the kids out of Wilson, something she didn’t want to do. New schools, work, neighbors,
and life. It was out of the question. Not only did the kids love it here in Wilson, but she did as well.
Even if her childhood had been a bit rough.

See the difference? In the fake scene, you learned that Allison's job is in jeopardy because her boss needs to sell the place. In the real scene you learned that Allison lives in a small town, working at the restaurant is her only job experience, she is a mother, she'd most likely have to move if the restaurant is sold, and that she is really angry. A few paragraphs of the story paints an ugly picture of a serious situation for Allison.

So how can you tell if your page has all of the elements needed? I suggest printing off your manuscript. Yep, on real paper! Don't use the computer for this technique. You need 4 colors of highlighters. On each page highlight the different elements with a designated color. For example: all of the dialogue will be pink, all the description blue, all of the emotion green, and all of the action will be orange. Go through the page with your highlighters. Do you have mostly orange? You might want to throw in some dialogue or description to help balance out the page. Some scenes will have more colors than others, but you should try to have it as equal as possible.

Thanks for stopping by. Want to find out what happens with Allison in Midnight Secrets? You can find the kindle version at http://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Secrets-ebook/dp/B004GHN46U/ref=pd_rhf_gw_p_t_3 

******* Wendy Ely********

 

Go for a swim in the waves of passion and romance with a book by Wendy Ely

www.wendyely.blogspot.com

 

Movie Sunday - Lights, Camera, Action!! - Twilight - Breaking Dawn - Part 1

I'm not a fan of the fantasy genre--especially Vampires, but I wanted to see what all the hype was about this series and chose Breaking Dawn - Part 1.   I'll admit, I did not read the book, but I did see the movie, and had someone familiar with the series fill in the blanks.  As you'll recall from past posts, I typically write about movies and books I love.  I use lots of adjectives to describe what I consider outstanding films and books, so I thought I'd give you my view on something I didn't like.

Okay, so let's begin.  Wow!  Sorry folks, but that's not a good wow, that's an I can't believe I sat through the entire movie kind of wow!  Ack! 

So let's talk about the movie versus the book.  Differences?  Only descriptive and silly stuff like scenes with Jacob, Rosalie and Alice from blonde jokes to throwing a metal bowl of food at the back of her head to make her angry because now she has food in her hair, to numbing Bella's headache caused by the baby.  None of this happens in the movie.

It opens with Jacob storming out of his house furious about something and then we find out why when he tosses the wedding invitation to Bella and Edward's wedding to the ground.  He then turns into a wolf and takes off into the woods.

Scene switches to the awkward Bella getting lessons on how to walk in high heels for her wedding.  The night before the wedding, she dreams of walking down the aisle, the lawn chairs are filled with family and friends, they kiss and she turns around and there's a pile of dead guests that Edward has apparently polished off because he's got blood dripping from his mouth.

The day of the wedding goes off without her falling or tripping.  Jacob does not attend, but after the reception Edward tells her he has a surprise for her and Jacob suddenly appears.

Then we're off for the Honeymoon and we see the newlyweds in the throes of making love so fiercely that Edward breaks the bed.  The next morning, Edward sees bruises all over Bella and refuses to touch her again.  However, that no longer matters because fourteen days later, Bella knows she's pregnant.  Edward is angry because this baby is killing her and Jacob vows to kill him if she dies.  Now, we're in the throes of watching really gory stuff. Bella is dying.  The family wants to abort the child but Bella won't hear of it. We are told the baby is growing at a rapid rate because he's eating his mother alive, but she'd rather die than give up her baby who she's already named Renesmee.

Someone suggests Bella drink blood to replenish what the baby has taken from her.  Now that her color is beginning to return from drinking blood, a taste which she loves, we now see Edward shifting his hatred to love for the baby and Jacob feels betrayed and storms out of the house.  His wonderful Bella, who did not want to become a vampire until after the wedding, is carrying a child half human, half immortal. But now, the blood supply is gone and the pack decides to search for more, but as luck would have it, Bella goes into labor.  The most gruesome, painful scene ensues and the baby is extracted and covered in blood, not the normal fluid from a human's womb.  I was almost expecting the vampires to lick the kid clean, but thank God they stopped short of that.  But now, Bella is dead and no matter how much CPR Edward does, nothing brings Bella back. 

Jacob is ready to keep his promise to kill Edward, but decides he'd rather have him suffer with guilt for the rest of his life.  Edward goes back inside and he can't believe she's gone and suddenly thinks biting her in several places might save her life by turning her into a vampire.  He waits, but nothing happens.  But we know something is happening because we can see that the transformation is taking place inside her. While her body is healing itself, she has past flashes of memories from her childhood to present day, and then wella, the final drop of blood turns white and Bella opens her eyes.
 
From the reviews I've read, it appears as though I've chosen the worst of the series.  It's totally obvious Stephanie Meyers does not have children.  If she did, I think she'd have a different view of childbirth because that whole scenario about her pregnancy and ultimately the birth of the immortal child is scary to the core. If you've ever watched the movie Psycho, you know what I'm talking about.  There isn't a day that doesn't go by when I don't think about someone stabbing me in the shower.  Regardless of how mature you think your daughters are, they too will think of the gruesome, bloody scene when Bella gives birth and dies.

I wasn't blown away by the acting either.  Besides being beautiful and having handsome, strong-muscled men playing the parts, this was like a school play and I was totally disappointed in the storyline.  I realize I'm in the minority here, but this series did nothing for me.