Rowling Makes Under-the-Radar Return

Written by Jon Williams

The literary world was abuzz this weekend with the news that the book The Cuckoo’s Calling, ostensibly written by debut author “Robert Galbraith,” was in fact written by none other than Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling.

Rowling made her own debut in 1997 with the publication of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. That was the beginning of a seven-book series detailing the exploits of the boy wizard and his friends as they fought the evil Voldemort in his quest for power and immortality. The books were both a critical and commercial success; Forbes magazine declared Rowling the first person to become a billionaire by writing books. The books also spawned eight film adaptations.

The final Harry Potter book was published in 2007, leaving a question of where Rowling’s writing career would go from there. That question was answered in 2012 with the release of The Casual Vacancy, her first novel aimed at adults. It focuses on the fictional English town of Pagford, which is thrown into chaos by the death of one of its council members. The novel is set to be adapted into a television series for the BBC, to begin airing in 2014.

After the success of Harry Potter, the hype for The Casual Vacancy was enormous. It sold well, but responses were mixed, with critics noting the complete thematic departure from her children’s series—Potter focused on friendship and love, whereas The Casual Vacancy portrayed situations that were dire and bleak. Many felt there was no way Rowling could publish anything without it being compared to the cultural phenomenon that was Harry Potter.

It was partially for that reason that Rowling took on a pseudonym to publish her latest work, which was published in April. She had previously expressed a desire to write a crime novel, and leaving her own name off of it allowed it to stand on its own. The plan worked, with the book drawing strong reviews from such sources as Publishers Weekly and Library Journal. The publisher has since announced that a second book in the series will be published next summer, and that Rowling will continue to write them as Robert Galbraith.

Since it was confirmed on Sunday that Rowling is indeed the author of The Cuckoo’s Calling, sales of the book have exploded, and demand is sure to remain strong. Be sure to have plenty of copies on your shelves for patrons when the audio version comes available in September.

A Message in a Bottle

Written by Kyle Slagley

Every so often, you come across a story in the news that sounds just like a Lifetime movie or a novel by Nicholas Sparks, and this week I read just such a story. The story began in 2002 when an eight-year-old girl named Sidonie threw a glass bottle into the water off Long Island with a note inside it that said, “Be excellent to yourself, dude!” along with the family phone number.

Fast forward to December 2012; the bottle was found by a cleanup crew pulling debris from Hurricane Sandy out of the Atlantic near Patchogue, New York. A crewmember excitedly called the phone number, only to discover that Sidonie had died in 2010. In the end, the cleanup crew returned the note and bottle to Sidonie’s grieving mother, Mimi, who managed to find some closure from the incident.

The message is, of course, (almost) a quote from Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, and is quite the mantra for a young girl of eight. It also got me thinking about movies in which letters are crucial to the plot. The first of which would be Message in a Bottle, in which Robin Wright finds a letter tossed into the sea and tracks down the author, a widower shipbuilder played by Kevin Costner.

The next film that came to mind was You’ve Got Mail, in which rival bookstore owners Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan unknowingly fall in love via email. This film is also a nostalgic throwback to the days when you logged on to AOL via the dial-up modem and hoped to hear the cheerful little voice announcing the arrival of email.

In The Lake House, the typical pen-pal love story gets a little bit of a shakeup in that Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock both occupy the same house, albeit at different points in time. Because they live about a year apart, they have to get creative if they want to meet in person.

The last title I’ll mention is Letters to Juliet, in which Amanda Seyfried plays an American tourist in Italy who goes on a hunt for the lovers mentioned in a letter written to the fictional Juliet Capulet from Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet. Interestingly enough, though the film is fictional, the thousands of letters written to Juliet each year are entirely real, as are the ‘Secretaries of Juliet’ who answer each and every one.

Do you have a favourite movie about letter-writing that isn’t on this list? Let us know in the comments.

Jay-Z Returns with Magna Carta Holy Grail

Written by Jon Williams

Earlier this week saw the release of the latest album from rap legend Jay-Z. Magna Carta Holy Grail, the first release from Jay-Z since 2009’s The Blueprint 3, features guest appearances from a number of hip-hop and R&B superstars, including his wife Beyonce, plus Justin Timberlake, Frank Ocean, and more. The album had been rumoured since 2010, but the actual announcement didn’t come until a commercial during Game 5 of the NBA Finals on June 16.

Of course, Jay-Z hasn’t been idle in the four years since his last album. In 2010 he collaborated with Kanye West on the acclaimed Watch the Throne album, which the pair is reportedly planning to follow up. Then, earlier this year, he served as musical director for the film adaptation of The Great Gatsby, and served as producer for the soundtrack, which features a variety of musical styles.

Jay got his start in 1995 with the release of Reasonable Doubt. This followed years of toil and effort to make a name for himself, which culminated with the formation of his own record label, Roc-A-Fella. The album was well received, eventually being listed at #248 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. He followed that up with In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 in 1997, and Vol. 2…Hard Knock Life (currently out of print) catapulted him to superstardom, winning a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album.

Five more albums followed between 1998 and 2003, the last of which was The Black Album. After a “Fade to Black” concert in November of 2003, Jay-Z announced that he was retired. It soon became apparent, though, that it would be an active retirement, as a number of side projects soon commenced, including Unfinished Business, a second album of collaborations with R. Kelly.

In any case, the retirement only lasted until 2006, when Jay-Z returned with Kingdom Come. He had lost little of his game in the meantime, with his comeback album being certified multiplatinum and earning a Grammy nomination. In 2007 he released American Gangster, a concept album inspired by the film of the same name directed by Ridley Scott and starring Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington.

Now it looks like Jay-Z is back to stay, which is great news for rap fans everywhere. For a full list of Jay-Z albums available from CVS Midwest Tape, SmartBrowse ‘Jay-Z’ on our homepage.

New Batman Waiting in the Wings

Written by Jon Williams

The makers of the upcoming Justice League movie have announced that Christian Bale will not star as Batman. His run will come to an end after three ultra-successful films: Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises. The latter two are #4 and #8, respectively, on the list of highest-grossing films.

Of course, #3 on that list is Marvel’s The Avengers, which is about a team of superheroes including Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor, and Captain America. Justice League, currently scheduled for a 2015 release, is DC Comics’ answer to Marvel’s team, with their super lineup said to include Superman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, and Green Lantern, in addition to Batman. It’s unknown if Henry Cavill will reprise his role from Man of Steel, or Ryan Reynolds from Green Lantern, although both seem likely.

Whoever dons Batman’s cape and utility belt for Justice League will be stepping into a rich tradition. The superhero was first portrayed by the little-known actor Lewis Wilson in 1943’s Batman serial. That was followed up with another serial, Batman and Robin, in 1949, which starred Robert Lowrey. In 1966, Adam West took over in a Batman TV series that led to a theatrical film after the first season.

When that series went off the air in 1968, that was it for Batman for twenty years. Then Tim Burton brought him back in a big way in a 1988 film starring Michael Keaton, who would also return for the 1992 sequel. After Keaton, Val Kilmer and George Clooney played Batman once each before Bale took over in 2005. And of course, the character has also had any number of animated adventures in addition to these live-action versions.

SmartBrowse ‘Batman’ on our website for a complete listing of what CVS Midwest Tape has to offer relating to the Caped Crusader, including film scores and even audiobooks in addition to DVDs and Blu-rays. In the meantime, feel free to use the comments section to let us know who you think would make a great Batman.

Into the Woods Coming to the Silver Screen

Written by Kyle Slagley

There has long been a crossover between Hollywood and Broadway—whether it be actors like Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Lane, Hugh Jackman, or most recently Tom Hanks jumping from the stage to the screen, or directors like Sam Mendes who flit from behind the curtain to behind the camera. Stories themselves also transcend mediums and anyone who knows anything about theatre can also rattle off a half a dozen shows that are also movies: Sound of Music, Lion King, Big Fish, Legally Blonde, Chicago, and yes, even Shrek.

Although it got very mixed reviews from critics and theatregoers—which are pretty much the same thing since theatre fans are some of the most critical people I know—the box office success of Les Miserables has more than likely opened the floodgates from a steady trickle to what will be a full-out tsunami of shows turned movies and movies turned shows.

One that I am looking forward to in particular is the Christmas 2014 release of Into the Woods, which looks to have a powerhouse Hollywood cast lined up. The show takes the storylines from Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood, and Rapunzel and weaves them all together using original characters The Baker and his wife, who are pitted against a witch. I mean, you can’t have a good fairy tale without a witch, right?

So far, casting reports are that the following stars are in some stage of negotiation: Johnny Depp playing the Wolf, Chris Pine and Jake Gyllenhaal as the princes of Rapunzel and Cinderella, Emily Blunt as The Baker’s Wife, James Corden as The Baker, Meryl Streep as The Witch, and Anna Kendrick as Cinderella. Quite the lineup if you ask me! Also, Rob Marshall, who directed the Oscar-winning film Chicago, is slated to direct.

It seems to me that films like this—ones that take a very well-known musical with a hyper-devoted following and put it on screen—usually appeal to only one audience, either the film crowd or the theatre crowd, but rarely both. In order to make money at the box office, filmmakers are now padding the cast with Hollywood A-listers. It seems to me that this will further entice moviegoers to see it, but in the long run as the trend continues, it will alienate the theatre crowd. Though there is obviously a lot more money in getting movie buffs to the movies than getting theatre buffs to the movies.

It remains to be seen how much of the original Stephen Sondheim music from the stage production makes it into the film, or how much the actors will sing. Rest assured, though, that if the film makes money (and with a cast like that, it will), it’s only a matter of time before we see Russell Brand taking on the role of Rum Tum Tugger.

Canada Day for Movie Lovers

In honour of Canada Day coming up on Monday, check out this great map of Canada made up of images filmed in our great nation! (Click the image for a larger version.)

Yukon: The Big Year
Northwest Territories: Arctic Air
Nunavut: Ice Pilots
British Columbia: Twilight
Alberta: Unforgiven
Saskatchewan: Goon
Ontario: Cosmopolis
Quebec: Bon Cop Bad Cop
Newfoundland and Labrador: The Republic of Doyle
Prince Edward Island: Anne of Green Gables
Nova Scotia: Amelia
New Brunswick: Still Mine

In Memoriam: Richard Matheson

Written by Jon Williams

Well-known American writer Richard Matheson passed away on Monday. He was 87.

Matheson was a screenwriter and author of novels and short stories in the horror, fantasy, and science fiction genres. He was most recognized for his 1954 vampire novel I Am Legend. He also wrote the notable novels Hell House, What Dreams May Come, and A Stir of Echoes, among others.

I Am Legend, about a lone human survivor of a pandemic that has turned the populace into bloodthirsty vampires, has been adapted into a movie three separate times: The Last Man on Earth starring Vincent Price (1964), The Omega Man with Charlton Heston (1971), and I Am Legend with Will Smith (2007). Interestingly, it also influenced the development of zombie films, as it served as the inspiration for Night of the Living Dead, which has been a major influence on the horror genre. Matheson himself influenced many horror writers in his own right, among them Stephen King, Joe Hill, and Anne Rice. King and Hill teamed up to write the story “Throttle” in homage to Matheson’s story “Duel”; the two stories can be found together in an audio compilation entitled Road Rage.

In addition to his acclaimed novels and short stories, Matheson also wrote and adapted stories for film and television.  He wrote several episodes of the classic TV series The Twilight Zone, as well as the classic Star Trek episode “The Enemy Within,” in which a transporter malfunction creates an evil manifestation of Captain Kirk. He adapted his own novels into the films The Incredible Shrinking Man, The Legend of Hell House, and Somewhere in Time, while What Dreams May Come came to the silver screen as well. More recently, the movies The Box and Real Steel were based on short stories by Matheson.

Matheson’s most recent novel, Other Kingdoms, was published in 2011. His voice will surely be missed by the genres he worked in and heavily influenced. For a full list of Richard Matheson audiobooks offered by CVS Midwest Tape, click here.