Book Then Movie - The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald

The Great Gatsby by American author F. Scott Fitzgerald is now a box office hit Directed by Baz Luhrmann. A all star cast has come forward to be apart of this historic film based off one on the best novels ever written. First is Leonardo DiCaprio as Gatsby, then Tobey Maguire, and one of the best young actress out there, Carey Mulligan, make this production of a classic pice of literature into a big box office smash. Luhrmann was the Director that brought the world Romeo + Juliet in 1996,  also staring DiCaprio. This movie will be in the theater for a long time. So one will have time to flip through the book and then get to the Cinema. This is not only a must read for every New Yorker, but all Americans and book lovers. It not only shows us the American Jazz Age, it shows us just how good a pice of writing can be.

Here is a Book Review from the back log on NYC You Are Here of F. Scott Fitzgerald's the Great Gatsby --

This great work of Twentieth Century American Fiction was not so well known in Fitzgerald's life time. The first printing that came out in 1925 was over 20,000 copies and sold out. The second printing (3,000) sat on the shelves of a warehouse for 15 years. Only after the news of his death did the last of the second printing finely sell. His novel is not just a social history, but is a pleasure to read. The Jazz Age, that great party before the depression. This is what is represented with the bigger then life characters in the Great Gatsby. The twenties was a time of bootleggers, flappers, and self made men. Fitzgerald knew how full and just how empty these characters lives could be. "The Jazz Age, it was an age of miracles, it was an age of art, it was an age of excess, and it was an age of satire." Gatsby is the man of the Jazz Age. He Has "some heightened sensitivity to the promises of life...an extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic readiness." This is a story about life, love and money from the 20's. It is also a story about New York, Long Island and how even back then young people flocked here to be where the actions is. The narrator Nick Carraway comes from the Midwest to find himself before being married. His story is told by reconstructing events in Gatsby's life from his own prospective. This Tall Tale is not just Gatsby's, or Nicks, but it becomes yours as you form your own prospective. "I was within and without, simultaneously enchanted and repelled by the inexhaustible variety of life." Nick lives next door to Gatsby on Long Island. On the Island rich people have big parties, nice cars, and huge estates. In contrast some of the story goes on inside Manhattan, in small apartments, city streets and train stations. Nick's NYC is a big bustling place full of surprises. The whole book has a dark feeling that is heightened when in the city and lifted, if only slightly, within the excess of Long Island. But this is a vale, a fake cover for people that want to run from not through life's twist and turns. A must read for any New Yorker.

Book Then Movie: On the Road by Jack Kerouac

Here we have the classic book of the Beat Generation. In this short read Kerouac invites us into the world of Neal Cassady, Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg. This little soft cover even introduces the reader to the great William Burroughs. We meet these great men before the height of their individual glory. The reader meets Cassady before he is the driver of Ken Kesey's Bus and leader of the Merry Pranksters in the 60's (The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test-Tom Wolfe) and Ginsberg before Howl. The Old Bull Lee in this book even shows us Burroughs with his wife before the gun shot that made Naked Lunch. This story of the road and what one can find on it, is the first book of its kind. It has been an influence on all kinds of popular culture from the 60's, 70's and on to today. The amount of people that state it as a lighting rod that changed their ways of thinking about life and growing up are to many to mention here. Kerouac took the notes he had from the Road and after receiving a thousand-word rambling letter from Neal Cassady wrote the scroll that later became the book. This scroll was a long one page fury of words, with no paragraphs or even punctuation. Jack used what he called the "Essentials of Spontaneous Prose" to write one of the books that changed the way generations would look at literature and writing. This is what good films are made of, but if one does not read the words first they will miss what these men were meant to teach us.

 "To be beat is to be at the bottom of your personality, looking up.” - John Clellon Holmes 1958, Esquire magazine

  ‘You know, this is a really beat generation’ ... More than mere weariness, it implies the feeling of having been used, of being raw. It involves a sort of nakedness of mind, and ultimately, of soul: a feeling of being reduced to the bedrock of consciousness. In short, it means being undramatically pushed up against the wall of oneself.” - Jack Kerouac 1952, New York Times Sunday Magazine

Book Then Movie: The Rum Diary

This book was not one that was a big success for Hunter S. Thompson. He said in an interview on Public Television that it had "bounced about seven times." The letters of rejection keep on coming and he let it lie. He only came back to his story made up from the chatter of reporters at San Juan Star in 1960, because "it's got a romantic notion." Then it was finally published in 1998. This "story" of a American journalist who takes a freelance job in Puerto Rico in the 1950s is written with the reflections of a much older man. This tone was set by Thompson only being 22 when he went down to Puerto Rico with thoughts of writing for the newspaper only to get denied. He spent his time getting drunk and getting the "real" story from the other American drifters on the island at the time. This book is about the Hunter before...Before the 60's and 70's. Before Loathing, and the Campaign Trail. This is a younger Thompson. One just starting his way with words. The public had to read it after getting to know the Gonzo Journalist. The public will have to do the same for the Movie. The Johnny Deep character from "Fear and Loathing" is Hunter S. Thompson for some people. Those people will have to get to know the other Thompson, the one that came before.

Book Then Movie: The Road

You think we have problems now just Wait till the end of civilization is upon us. With all these movies about the "end of days" it's hard to look forward to the future, but remember you never know what the future can bring. The Road by Cormac McCarthy is a short little narrative about the day to day hardships of a man and his son after the would has turned to "ash." Without any chapters the small journal like entries are followed by some dialogue between the two wonders. Lots of Danger out there on the road but you have to travel south as the winters are getting longer, darker, and colder. This book was almost to easy to finish. (read in three sittings) The movie looks good with a good director and a a fitting cast, but you don't want to feel like you missed out when someone says, "you should have read the Book first."

Book Then Movie: Where the Wild Things Are

This wonderful children's picture book is from the early '60's and is loved around the world. Written by Maurice Sendak it has sold 19 million copies. Maurice came up with the "Things" when at his family's home in Brooklyn. Using his aunts and uncles for the likeness and names of the monsters. This book is about the imagination of a little boy and how it helps him understand his emotions. With little text Maurice uses mostly pictures to tell the story line. In the book Max, the young boy, is sent to his room for acting up. From there his mind takes over and he goes on an adventure to the land of the Wild Things. A book not short on critical acclaim being held high right after its original release. Even then they new that the story has a balance of complex thinking and simplicity. Manohla Dargis noted that "there are different ways to read the wild things, and probably as many ways to ruin this delicate story of a solitary child liberated by his imagination." If you have not read this book go into a bookstore and read it through once or twice. Please glance at this children's book before you see this movie.

Time Travelers Wife- Book Then Movie

My mom gave me this little book because I like Science fiction. It was not only the fastest read but impressed me a avid Sci-Fi reader. Now there is a movie coming out and I wished more people had read the book. The story of a man who time travels with no way to predict it. Jumping back and forth through peoples lives, living his life in scattered fragments. Written by American author Audrey Niffenegger. A must read.....hopefully before you see the movie.