Final Episode

active creators and making things. Uh. And so you definitely can can keep hearing us and and seeing us and seeing things that we've made uh together from now on. Uh. So, before we before we dive into this episode, which we'll just talking in general about adaptations, let's go around, Jennifer, Where can the good people find you if they want to read more stuff from you? Oh, you can find me on Twitter at Jen Ashley Wright, or you can find me on the internet at Ashley Wright dot com.

And um, I have a book coming out this spring called She Kills Me about female assassins and serial killers through history. So it is a very fun and bloody good time that sounds delightful Tianne. What about you? Um. You can find me only on Instagram at Hank Tina. You can see some of my stand upon Comedy Central Digital and I'll just if you follow me, I'll just be making silly VIDs every now and then and that's it.

I love him. I'm a fan. Thank you love a silly did Melissa, Melissa plug your plug your stuff, plug your handles. You can find me on Instagram at Melissa Hunter. You can find me on Twitter at high Melissa Hunter because smalls Saunder is too common, um. And otherwise I'm just you know, working on TV shows and movies and if you want to watch Adult Wednesday Adams, that's the thing that I made a lot ago that people like watching watch. And that's about it. Karama, how about you.

I'm still floored by the fact that I didn't realize Melissa changed her Twitter handle, Like I just was there and I didn't see it happen. You know, what was it before Melissa FTW? It just fells a little two thousand nine, which is when I made it, Like no one knew when ft W meant anymore. And then I changed it, and then they took away my verification because I changed my handles. Did you get it? Did you

get it back? No? I haven't gotten it back. I don't know how how this letter about the fact that Melissa is no longer verified, also write a letter about the fact that I have never been verified at Karama Drama.

In case you were wondering that sounds verify that ship. Uh. Well for me, my name was also taken everywhere, so I am Danish Swartz with three z s, and then my website is Danish Swartz dot com dot com, but the first one is spelled out d T. I thought it was cute and then I realized it took like an extra sentence to explain to people. But yeah, but if you want me talking more podcasts, I have a podcast called Noble Blood where I talk about history. That's

that's fun. Uh, it's very different from this. But with all of that out of the way, I just want to say, it's been such a pleasure getting to know you all so much better in Quarantine and having this to look forward to to talk about books because we've done this all entirely virtually. Yeah, we were talking about whether virtual works for like Dana and I were in the writer's room together and whether writer's room could work. It's like, oh yeah, but you don't get to become

friends with those people. And then I realized I became friends with Jennifer Tian and Crama all on Zoom in this podcast, and I feel very grateful for that. It feels amazing that we have never met in real life or pretty faces in my hand one day. Yes, because it's holding each other's faces in your hands. Yeah, I just want to directly into your mouth, making a hand barrier.

I also think it's so special that, like it was very you know, speaking personally, but for me, our very first recording, it was like instant chemistry between all of us, Like it felt so easy and so fun. So Dana, applause to you for putting this group of women together. I feel like my criteria was nice people who I like, who are easy and fun to talk to, and here

you all worked out. If you worked do lovely. I only like you should have thrown, you know, one person who you hated, just to make it a little tent, a little drama. Well, it's like that. It's like that episode of I Love New York where New York is like I got boreds who I ruined lunch intentionally, like what a talk a little flavor in there, which is

like something crazy just for fun. One thing that I was reflecting on that I'm really grateful for and I hope listeners will followed along our as well, is like I didn't have any motivation at the beginning of the quarantine to do anything, let alone read books very regularly. I was just you know, doom scrolling and all of that. And I think having this to come back to week after week and reading with a group of people who I really connect with, I honestly can't believe. What did

we read? Seven books? Yeah, that's a lot of books, Like that's way more I think I would have read probably one if I'm being honest, throughout the quarantine. So I'm very grateful for that, and I think I hope the listeners have been too. I feel the exact same way.

It like got me back into I go through like reading phases, and it got me back into a phase of reading, like was like getting and getting through books like I was in a bad habit of just like giving up finishing books, like having to power through because we had a group to be accountable, meant that like sometimes I really liked a book that I would have

given up on. Sometimes it's okay to give up anyway. Yes, um, I do not go through reading phrases, and all I did during quarantine was read like a few books every week. So um. But what I never get to do is talk about books in depth with people who have also read them at the same time. And it was so lovely to be reading and thinking. Not just I enjoyed this part, but like, oh boy, I can't wait to hear what Melissa is going to say about this part

or I'm so glad. Everybody else in book Club also has a lot of questions about Wally Lamb's book his entire life. Jennifer, are you Are you off Twitter? How do you have the time and energy to do that? She doesn't have Twitter? One? Not having Twitter on my phone is the best thing you can do for your sanity? Are you not on your computer all day? Though? No? Um no. I used to go out to lunch every day and I would just sit for an hour and read a book over lunch. So um. Not like some

play special. You can do it at chapolte or a diner, which is what I like to do. But um, yeah. So you know, now I still didn't have lunch at home, and I still just read a book over lunch. It's so good at routine, you know, it's very good at routine. My routine is wake up, scroll on my phone for an hour in bed, then scroll for the rest of the day on my computer on my couch. Yeah. That's yeah, very to be able to throw in bother my mom

into that routine. I just like stroll over to the room and I'm like, hey, mom, Mom, like, is the plural of Branzino brand Zini? I don't know. She doesn't. She looks at me, like, what's wrong with you? It's Italian. It feels like it should be. Um well, speaking of Italian, and that to segue two, I know this much as true. We read a bunch of books that I'm going to recite, and I want to know if anyone has like stand

out favorite we read normal people. I know this much as true, Lovecraft, Country, they hate you, give Brave New World, Rebecca and v for Vendetta, seven full books, any standout favorite? Wait, So just to clarify, just to ask a Branzino Branzini question for Claria, So do you want to know which book was her favorite, which adaptation was our favorite, or which overall book and film slash screen adaptation was I guess.

I guess it's an open, open question. You can you can be specific to, like my mother answers here, Yeah, heart, I do. I think the favorite book that I read and Chroma was going to hate this is Rebecca. I really felt like there was something about it. It was one of those books where once I got it took me a little bit to get into, but once I got into her world, I just kept looking forward to the time when I got to go back to it.

And I feel like, that's what you love in a book, you know, or that's what I love when I get into a book. Um, and I really even though you know there were weird parts in it and the ending is frustrating, it feels like there's I don't know something about the way that was written, and it was a book. It was one of those books that I would have given up on had it not been for this book club. So that's what I'm grateful for. I think my two

favorite would be Rebecca and also loved Craft Country. The book. I didn't love the adaptation where I got it was be a little too like sci fi horror for me, Like I don't love like blood and Gore, um, but the book wasn't quite as much and I really liked reading it. I loved I loved love Craft Country, and I enjoyed the adaptation just because like seeing all those actors on screen is just a delight and seeing all those like it was just so great to see all

of them. And my favorite adaptation was the Rebecca Netflix one because I absolutely loved tearing it to shreds, like love that's so much, what a blast, Like That's the thing I love about our book club, Like throughout the pandemic, we're all doing the same thing. So like when I jump on phone calls with my friends and they're like, what do you what are you up to? What are

you doing, I'm like the same thing. But book Club to me was like my opportunity to gossip, Like it was my like gossip cathartic like talk about talk some ship on like bad yellow suits and like we got we got to gossip about fictional character. And it's the stakes are so low in that you don't hurt an you want feelings. Really yeah, it's kind it's kind it's generous kind gossip. You get to judge people. I feel like that's a little generous of all to say it's

generous gossip. I think that it's just like a primarily victimless crime if you're got fake people. My favorite, my okay, so I'm gonna do my sort of oh that that doesn't surprise me favorite, and then my h i'dn't expect that favorite. So my unsurprising favorite was The Hate You Give. I really enjoyed that book. I'm glad I finally got the opportunity to read it because I've been saying I should read this book, I should read this book. And

I really enjoyed talking with Andrew Thomas. I thought she was incredible. That was what a gift that we got to spend that time with her and got to hear from her directly. And then I'm like, what a cool, normal smart person she wanted. She was a very cool, normal smart person. And my surprise favorite was I know

this much is true honesty. The end was not perfect in terms of that you got that casino money, but I also will say I love that I predicted that he was white presenting person with a father that was a person of color and you guys were like really, and I was like yes, and I just felt it through the page. I was like, I see you. You you're with me. I see you. And then I was right.

But no, I really enjoyed the crafting of that story and watching how like he was building this story with all these like little minute details that I was like, Oh, well, that's a dumb thing. Why do you include that? And then a hundred pages later, I was like, oh, ship,

that was so important. Yeah, I actually I really agree with you in the in the sense that like reading a book that's like a thousand plus pages, you like get really attached to living in it, and there there is like a craft involved in like building that world, and like, even though I didn't always agree with like the plot decisions, I thought it was like a really readable book and it was like it was really fun and like you know, solving the mysteries and then like

going back to Italy and hearing the stories, like I did have fun reading that. It was it was an adventure and I was like, oh, I'm totally along for this ride with the guy who maybe had sex with this monkey had sex with he think I think he just loved it like a good pet. Did you guys see did you guys watch the Netflix documentary My Octopus Teacher? Yes, was he did that octo? I mean there was definitely touches maybe or or after it was like some you know,

it helped him later, you know, when he's alone. Though, really love the octave in that though. It was great. But I have not seen this and now I will not see it because it sounds very good. It's really good, and there's nothing he does that's inappropriate. I just said, like, you really love this octopus, and he really really loves this octopus. There are a lot of different ways to show love. Yeah. Indeed, And just to be clear, Gen, none of us are saying that we agree with you.

That guy definitely hooked up with the monkey. The monkey was they didn't have sex, but the monkey touched his penis, and you kind of made it that could just happen. He could just be an accident that wasn't in the book. Was intentionally in the book. For it was just an uncomp triple moment. Yeah, he was like it was an accident. He dressed his penis on like a banana, completely unintentional. Jennifer did did Your favorite favorite might have been I

love that adaptation. I so rarely read graphic novels. It's one that I remember loving as a teenager, and it was so nice to revisit it now. Frankly, after Trump did not win re election, so I think it would have been a little bit too grim to read it if Trump had been realerted. So reading it knowing that we are heading into um not Trump being precedent makes it a lot more palatable. I think you're absolutely right. I really did enjoy you for Vandanna. I would say

my favorite adaptation was Normal People. I feel like I was so surprised, just so surprised by how good it was, because you feel like in that kind of story that is so internal like and everything is so unsaid that it's like, there's no way this is either going to turn into like a really obnoxious team soap or it's going to be really boring, and it was neither. It was really just so beautifully done. That was the only one I did not watch, but I did. I did

purchase a gold chain. I know that that is. I didn't watch it, but I got the chain. You can still watch it, though, I would say I thought that sometimes like I was watching around Hulu and like sometimes I couldn't tell when they came back from the car commercial. Yeah, I said that. That's that was my full sense of it. Like I did like it, but the tone to me was a little sleepy. I'm still a little salty that it was not a period piece of the early two I didn't love it. I was just impressed by it.

I think I definitely slept through half of it. It was early quarantine. It was like, this is a nice nap show, which I think my endorsement. You get wrapped in like a weighted blanket. I just got a weighted blanket. Oh, I never even get Yeah. I love They're really good. They're really good for naps. Okay, maybe I need one. I think my favorite adaptation was V for Vendetta because like Turning, I think they plucked the right stuff and they made it like a more cohesive story, like you

have to make changes Turning anything let him shake. They did a good job. They made it emotionally affecting, and they pulled out, like I thought, the main message to make it an effective to our film. Yes, and I think some of the parts that they got rid of like the computer being in loud with the Chancellor. We're okay, parts to get rid of and some of like the weird stuff with women that I didn't love and the

satisfying ending that we wanted to see, like loved that adaptation. Yeah, any regrets for stuff that we didn't get to Yes, Um, I am so sad that we didn't get to finish Fingersmith because I love it already. And just watch The Handmaid and if you haven't seen it, it's just so worth watching. It's so beautiful. It's um, it's truly spectacular adaptation. Oh yeah, I'm finished. I'm definitely doing this whole round as if we have podcast episodes on it, and then

I'm going to watch the movie. Yeah. Yeah, I'm just reading it. I'm really enjoying it. And I had like so many ideas. I was like, oh, during the summer, we should do summer blockbusters, so like we should do graft Park would have been fun. And also Holes. I will to great adaptation. It's genuinely a great adaptation. I think if you haven't read Holes, you should read it. The kid is in the movie, yes she is. Yeah,

the Shila buff Sigourney Weaver John Voight. That's amazing cast the guy Pendleton, A Pendleton, the guy who played mirror Face in Watchman. Yes, you know what I'm talking about. That they're their troop leader. Oh okay, okay, okay, yeah, yeah, yeah he's there. Jerk face. Yeah, child prison, it's child prison. I was really looking forward to our idea of reading

Emma and watching Emma. Emma and cluelists. Yeah, I love them, and I've seen Clueless ten thousand times, but I haven't read Emma since I was like eleven and thought it was like, I'm smart, I'm reading. I mean, you should still do it. I mean I might. I actually also might. Have you seen the most recent one? Yeah, I liked it. I've seen zero Emma's and I've read zero Emma's. You

haven't seen Clueless. No, I've seen zero Emma's. Please, I've seen. Actually, for a second, I got very upset because my therapist told me she had never seen Clueless, and I was like, I don't know if I can continue to see you. You have to end as the relationship. It was a while ago. I've moved through it. I have that Clueless is available to watch on Netflix. A couple of times. But she'll get to it when she gets to it,

and that's me growing Jeremy my fance. I had not seen Clueless, and at the beginning of our relationship, I made him watch it, and I feel like I made it really unenjoyable for him because it was one of those things where I was just like staring at him, staring at the movie while every joke blended and like mouthing every word. So it wasn't exactly the experience he probably wanted, but I made in my like I guess

this is also an adaptation. I made even watch Paddington and then we watched both Paddington's in a row because I loved Are They Sweet? Paddington two is a masterpiece, great truly in his finest role. What are you on the wrong side of the internet if you're not hearing good stuff about She's watch Paddington one and then Paddington too. Junk. It's for real, it's very time of years. It's a joy okay, ok It's like you know, the term is higgy higgy hua okuga. It's a very movie. It's pronounced

juga huga. It's a very good movie. Makes it feel good. It's like, Okay, I was going to say both, yes, that's it's like, and thenby sweater and a big cup of tea in a movie. I'll do that. I god to watch Paddington and then and then text back now and a half of your like. I have not seen Paddington either, but I have heard only good things about Paddingtons. Okay, we'll watch Paddington. This, I'm true. I am truly blown away by this. I have to look. I just didn't

know that we felt strongly about live action. What are those movies called c G but that they're not c G. I They're all people except Paddington's. Paddington is made of what computers? I don't feel strongly about c G I animals. I feel strongly about Paddington. I promise. I do not care for baby movies. Um normally I would not car c G. I bear because this movie is cleverly for babies. I saw it on a plane to I will watch it anytime. It just on television. Wow, it has a

ninety eight percent. I'm blown people. It's just like it knows what it is and it doesn't really well as parasite. Something something I've enjoyed about this experience was getting to know all of you, especially Jennifer, because you are one of the most fascinating people I've ever met. Just what you said about baby movies just now reminded me that you were not allowed to watch animated films as a child,

so you only watch Turner Corsic movies. Yeah, and now you know, as we think about having a child, we have to think about whether or not we will incorporate baby movies into their lifestyle. Okay, but like the Lion King is Hamlet, so excuse you, that's that's a good point. I think there was baby movies and family movies, Adrian's movies, movies that don't have like swear words like baby I or whatever, just like shapes on a screen. A baby

wouldn't understand Paddington? Do you think about the screen? Are the pick are? Do you not watch Pixar movies? I've seen. I've seen up Um, which is Heartbreak. Have you seen Have you seen Rattitui? No? I haven't seen Actually I don't. Yeah. I made I made Ian watch Ratitude because he had never seen it, and it's like maybe my favorite Pixar movie. Also, not like Rodents, because that's my solid reason for not watching any it makes you like the rodent. I don't

think it will, I think it will. I think I think by the end of it, will I think that they should run a restaurant. Yes, yes, yes, give it a chance. Also Coco, if you wanna. I haven't wanted to remember seeing it in the theater and I needed to like the whole credits to recover and I was still crying at the end. Should we start another podcast where we talk about movies? You know? I want to start a podcast that's just talking to Jen about baby movies.

It should just be called baby movies. Honestly, I think we have another podcast right here radio. The hardest I ever cried in a Pixar movie. Has everyone seen Moan? Or? Can I spoil it? I'm not gonna Okay, I will not spoil it. No spoilers, but I know when you cried the climactic song when everyone is sailing together, that doesn't spoil anything, including her grandma. I cried harder than I've ever cried. Everything she doesn't know about context means nothing.

I mean, surprised through the movie, She's going to be like, wait a second, don't ruin it for me, okay, so whatever, but that makes me weep like a like a like yeah, like I should be. It's not the scene I thought you were talking about. We'll talk about okay. It's like happy. It's like happy cry, happy tears. Okay, I mean I'll watch it. Haddington two is also happy Tears. Yeah. I think he's trying to make us watch baby movies and

baby movies incorporated. We need to do this. It is boss baby, part of the baby, not a movie that is a capitalist nightmare, a bad movie premise. Did you know there's a girl boss baby coming up? Is it called hashtag girl boss baby? Girl is a girl boss baby? That's where I'm calling it, girl boss baby? Oh what is it really call? Like, I don't know there to Okay, that's what it should be called. That movie I watched The Hell had a Lady Baby. So away from like

the book side and more to the movie side. Does anyone have like a favorite adaptation, because I was thinking, like, there's very few like book movies that are better than the book, and I would say I think Fight Club the movie is better than the book. And then sticking with uh, I think American Psycho of the movie is better than the I think because because and then I would also say in the David Fincher zone, I think Gone Girl and the movie Gone Girl are exactly equal.

They just keep it. Um. I would rather read the book Gone Girl because I think how much of that is about getting inside that character's head head, And it's just a little bit easier to do when you're reading her diaries and they give you the voice over though that's like, I mean, you don't get like the magic trick of the book, which is amazing. But I think they did as good of an adaptation as is possible to not be a book. I haven't read Gone Girl,

so here's my Gone Girl thing. I bought the audiobook Gone Girl to listen to when I was going to sleep, which is not a good idea. Yeah, yeah, it gets a little harry there, don't do that. A little spoking odd opinion on Gone Girl, But something I feel very strongly about. I think she should have just stayed with Neil Patrick Harris. He had a really nice house. He seemed to love her very much. Oh my God, to travel and Jennifer you lad with He had a really

nice house. That's it. It's a thing. It was very nice and he wanted to travel to Grease, but he was supposed and play scramb Up, which was but very specific but all really nice things. So nice he was. She was really controlling of her weight and her hair, and he need wanted her to like she did an insane color because like it was restubled that he was like, it seems like you went through some stuff. Here are

some nice clothes on something else to move away from this. So, something that I have a strong opinion on in a book to movie adaptation is that the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants truly should have been four separate movies, not to movies, and they really messed up the trajectory of those characters by trying to jam the three sequels into one movie. Yes an opinion. How do you feel about

the the actors for each character? Uh So I think that yes, for b for bridget Um, What's your face Plantation? Wedding Lively, Blake Gladly, Thank you. Blake Gladly was a good casting for that. America for Era was great casting. I don't know how I feel about Amber Tamblin. I feel like medium about Amber Tamblin as Tibby, and I also feel kind of medium about Alessis ladell Is Lena, but I also feel like was a boring character to me.

It was always very Carmen and Bridget heavy. I think she's no one, but she's sort of perfect for Lena because Lena is supposed to be like just so pretty and boring. Yeah, and she's very pretty and kind of boring. Oh and coasts, yes, oh yeah, coasts. I mean I feem boring because I just said it. But I think the best adaptation of any book I've ever read is Clueless. Like I just think it's one of the best movies

of all time. I think Elis is an amazing film, and it's really a smart way to bring I feel like there's been a lot of attempts that like modernizing classics, like so much Shakespeare, and it just feels like always so hack and this was just felt like such a true, uh way to kind of take that status and materialist materialism of like Victorian England and make it into laudern Beverly Hills. I love it. That's another theme we could have done Shakespeare adaptations. She's the Man's man. Can I

do a hot take? That's sort of a weird choice. Yeah. I think one of the best adaptations where the movie is so much better than the book is Hunger Games Part two Catching Fire. Oh yeah, I agree with that. I think that's a hot take. Okay, well, yeah, the Hunger but the Hunger Games books, the first one is really good, and I think that Catching Fire is the best book of the series. And I also think Catching Fire is the best film of the series. But I do agree that the film version is better than the

book version. I think that there's a step down from the first book to Catching Fire, but anthetic and not a huge step, but just I like the first one better and then I st stuff down and then I think the next one is bad. Um, but the movies, I think the first one is is good and then the second one is great, and then they fall off a cliff. It's not really funny TikTok about how Hunger Games Part two Catching Fire is a real like poke fun at pro life people thing because they get really

upset that they're going to set can I spoil? Sorry? Yeah, alright, So they get upset that they're going to send Catnus into the child's murder ring because she's the only child. Yeah, remember the fact that she's a child and you murder her or have her murder other children. She was going into the child murder ring also, did you guys. I think one of the best adaptation of like a book bringing out the best adaptation could be was Greta Gerwig's

Little Women. Um. I love it. Um. I think I have a fondness for the Winona writer Christian Bale one because I feel like that's the one I grew up with and every generation gets there all little more. But I think what this one is, So this one was so genius because it's like that one already exists. So this one is almost like in conversation with that one, and I think it adds and continues the cultural conversation. Yeah. No,

I think the ending of the Grete Gerwig one is beautiful. Um. And really really I think it had a purpose to it, you know, And it felt like I was talking about with clueless. I. I had another one that I just thought of, um, murder, the Sydney Lumett Murder on the Orient Express from the seventies she wrote, and I was like, why, Well, I just grew up like reading a lot of Agatha Christie. I was really into it, and so I watched all of these movies when I was a kid, and like,

the New Murder in their express is very bad. But the Sydney Lament one is there's some kind of magic in that movie that just makes it so exciting, even if you know the end, which is a big twist at the end. Uh Man. I highly recommend it if you can find it. We just watched it recently. That's what made me think of it. Watch that seems also like a cozy like fall winter movie, very cozy. Yeah, Murder that one training in the seventies. It has like so many stars in it. Wait, let me find it.

It has Ingrid Bergman, Albert Finney, Jacqueline Bissette, Sean Connery, Anthony Perkins, Vanessa Redgrave. It's like, yeah, the new one in theaters and it was bad, so bad. So there's the thing I have to say about the New One. The billboards for it had a television color scheme, and

that confused me. Say more about that when so so billboards I've noticed for television shows tend to have specific colors that show up more often and like more stylistic things that are like this is TV and it's like very like blue like think of the Euphoria ads, like that's very television and the Murder on the Orient Express ads looked like TV ads And I was very confused when I found out it was a movie because it

just looked like a TV show based on the ads. Okay, that might be any thing that might mean be like my little rain Man moment where I'm like, yeah, this looks like TV. No, I get it. I don't Karama. I'm gonna throw one more adaptation out there that I think, like does that smart thing of like not trying to be literal with the text, but like have like a take on it. Um. It just came out so I actually saw it because I went to like a drive in. It came out in England. It's um a David Copperfield

adaptation with dev Patel love so good. I loved it. So it was written by Armando Yannucci who didn't like and the thick of it. It's called The Personal History of David Copperfield and it's like a very true to the spirit of the book David Copperfield with like all just like British comedy actors. And I found it delightful,

and I think Dev Patel is so winning. Uh. And at the ending they do, like if you've read the book, they do a thing that is like very smart, sort of like a little wom anyway, But overall it's just like it's a rump wrong. It's a wrong British wrong, British romp. See it if you can as my recommendation. All right, I'm just gonna share my screen for a second because I feel like I need to vindicate myself.

All right, So look at the Riverdale advertisement. Ye a TV show show Tvori left, that's still more like Prestige, okay, Bates Motel. Also it's also TV. And now I want you to look at Murder on the Orient Express the feature films like TV you got it looks exactly like Bates Motel. See that screen chair was just three TV posters in a row. And then I didn't see a spread of data that was two those two Also, Karama, how did you think of those shows? Like you came

up with three shows to look at it? I just know what billboards are supposed to look like for various kind of like how I feel like a lot of Amazon show marketing looks like it's it's like selling insurance or something like, Yeah, I see that. I see that. Yeah, Like what was that one about it? Like I do not get this. I mean, I'm just I'm just trying to find overbuttled it right now. What's the Amazon show?

I thought that show with like Fred Armison and like maybe my Rudolph like holding hands, looked like it was like a life insurance like terrific. Um. I heard that. Great, It's really really good. Um. Every episode has a very dramatic twist at the end and M yeah, yeah, watch it. I don't want to spoil and to thing about it for you, but it's worth watching. I like twists. Yeah.

My favorite movie adaptation is a Giant by Edna Ferber made into This is a Criterion collection fun movie, A fun, good time movie with Rock Hudson and Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean, who is did you watch it as a babe? Who's method acting the way nobody else in the movie is because he is acting in the way that the other people in this movie will learn how to act ten years from now. So James Dean is dwelling on a lot of personal experience and Elizabeth Taylor and Rock

Hudson are looking beautiful and saying their lines to each other. Meanwhile, James is like throwing his body against a wall. So I've never read or seen this movie. What can you say, like at it's fascinating. It's about a woman marrying um, a Texan man, Rock Hudson, who owns acres and acres of land in Texas, And it's about the patriarchy failing and it being completely fine. Um if you wanted to do like Gone with the Wind, but with progressive politics.

It is a three hour movie with beautiful costumes and like a lot of grasping of faces. Way I want to address Gone with the Wind with progressive politics. Is that possible? Yes? Uh? Yeah, because a lot of it has to do with the fact that Rock Hudson is racist at the beginning of the movie and less racist is there. No, No, it's ties to nineteen fifties, but no, there's a very heavy message on the movie that the best people are the Hispanic people working the ranch and uh,

and they are being incredibly unfair to them. For like,

that's good message for people to have. Yeah, And at the end of the whole fear is that Rock Hudson will lose like his masculine power and his ranch, and by the end of the movie, like one of his children has become a doctor for LORI income families, and his daughter has gone off to l A to be a movie star and she's a big weirdo and it's great and um and Rock Hudson has this half a Hispanic grandchild now and it's all okay and everybody's happy. He sells the ranch and they moved to a normal house.

It's called Giant. It's called Giant. Yeah. I like that he sells the ranch and there I can't remember if they sell the ranch or not. I know that somebody like makes a big offer for the ranch and they're gonna sell it. And and yeah, all of these masculine fears that kind of define the movie and that Elizabeth Taylor fights against for most of the movie end up not really being things that were worth bearing. And it's nice and I love it so yeah good, I'm gonna

check it out. Don't expect it to be perfect by do look like a movie or TV? Oh, it looks very much like a movie. Karama as a as a kid, my like first sort of taste for adaptations was Royal Doll Movies, and I loved I didn't love Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, but I loved for me, Yeah, as

a kid, this is one of my favorite books. And then the movie I was like, this is this is such a wonderful, Like it's so funny Danny DeVito and who is Marl Wilson is so funny, so funny, and also like Miss Honey, her beautiful cottage with all the flowers. Every time I like wear glasses, I try to think that I look like Miss Honey, and I absolutely do not. She's perfect. I also fantastic. Mr. Fox is a very good.

Adamson adaptation is very lovely. I think those tend those like lend themselves to good adaptations because they lend themselves to strong filmmakers with strong visions, you know, and they're also so visual, like he had those illustrations by Quentin Blake that were always like really fun visual images that communicate well to screen. Yeah, that's a good one, Tian.

I know, I'm just thinking about youth. I want to talk about like what makes a good adaptation, Because Tian, you brought up Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which has a couple of adaptations. I would say, I don't know.

I kind of like Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory as a film better than Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, just because it feels like it's more leaning towards the book as as opposed to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which leans more toward a Tim Burton aesthetic, which is except that he doesn't like black people. But you know that's he said black people don't fit his aesthetic. Just think anybody was unaware that. Yeah, But also yeah, I mean it kind of seems like he doesn't have black

people in it. I thought you were saying black people don't. Yeah, so I've just decided to like bring up some terrible beauty like Tim Burton movies and realizing, oh, yeah, no black black people, No, he doesn't. The thing that black people have noticed for a long time, Black people like myself loved him Burton, and he hast the palest white people. He does have the people people He's like, if I get white people, they're gonna be white, none of that

han nonsense, literally painted white. But Charlie, the Charlie and the Chocolate factory. The book, initially Charlie was supposed to be black, which I think is also in the book. The Umpa Loompa's are black. I don't like that. I don't like they just start slaves. They're just who get paid in chocolate. I'm gonna also say Roal Doll had very bad politics and also he's not great on the record.

Hated you. I don't think he liked anyone honestly, but he literally said vaccinated because he had a child die of measles. Well good, but also I did, but he fired you know, he fought in World War Two for the British, which like, okay, thank you, right side, But then he said, uh, he's like, well, you know, I hate Hitler as much as everyone, but you know, you gotta it's something with the Jews. If even a stinker like Hitler hates even a stinker like Hitler hates them,

so it must be something about the logic. Yeah, yeah, I'm gonna get the exact quote is the wrong logic though, Like, if Hitler is a stinker, then why are you like, but he's got he's got the right idea on this one group of people. All right, do you want the really bad. Quote. Yes, and and the past. There is a trait in the Jewish character that does provoke animosity. Maybe it's a lack of generosity towards non Jews. I mean there's always a reason why Auntie, anything crops up anywhere.

Even a stinker like Hitler didn't just pick on them for no reason. God. I mean, if you and I were in a line moving towards what we knew our gas chambers, I'd rather have a go taking out one of the guards with me. But the Jews were submissive that holy okay, not great, not great? Okay, Sorry I brought him up. No. I love Rodel and I grew

up like reading all of his books. And I also think that a theme on this podcast that we've had to reckon with is like books that we love by people who are not great, and like how because like I am Jewish and I read that, and I'm like, that's awful, but it's not gonna undo like me being nine and like reading Matilda and loving it. Yeah, it's like with J. K. Rowling, it's you know, you read those We read those books before we knew what her views are, and you know, it's hard to unloved those books.

You know, you cannot support her, but it's it's so complicated when you are already a fan of something. I'm gonna be real honestly, only like one Harry Potter movie is the third. It's the best one. It's the best one. It's the best. It's also I went on my first date on that movie. I don't know if he would say it was a date, but I say it was a date. Yeah, to date if you went to it's a date. Yeah, you know what you know a movie I went to see on my first date and it

was uh, and I got my first kiss afterward. And it was also an adaptation uh, The Boy and the Stripe Pajamas. It was like in our town there's like an art theater and it really like only played like one or two movies at the time, and so like neither of us like really knew what we were going into. There wasn't like a wide variety of at home. The boy on the from the movie and you could not kiss after after were like from listeners at home who don't know what the Boy in the Stripe of Jamas

is about. It's about the Holocaust, real Holocaust film I'm a Jewish person. That's not like still but he's still kissed. He's still kissed. He did. We bonded over, we went through it together, and that the other side was he also Jewish. Yeah, that makes it a little best. We didn't like make out during the movie. We watched the movie and then like sat with it for a while

and then he kissed me afterward. My first day was also an adaptation Hunting of Heelhouse, which, oh, the black and white movie from the sixties, No correl, No, the one was Katherine say to Jones where she wears hie boots, and I thought it was the coolest thing I had ever looking up as a twelve year old. I didn't mean that you went and saw it the week it came out. You do seem like the type of teenager who would have gone to see like a revival. Yeah,

everybody went to see revivals, right, Yeah? No, I thought, yeah, like in theaters. I remember seeing et in theaters when I was a kid. Because No, I went in saw slum Dog Millionaire the weekend it came out, and I was like, that's good ship, and that's the type of teenager I was. Dog Millionaire it's a fun movie. Guys. Great. I mean it was not a date. I was like ten,

but it was. I thought it was a date. Uh. And it was for Romeo and Juliette the Leonardo Caaprio one Romeo plus Julian, which is also a great adaptation. I would, I would argue, but it was with uh this boy that at the time he was he was just like become every girl's girlfriend for like a week in school, but he was gay and none of us knew that except their parents. Yeah. We uh we we both watched it, and I feel like we both fell in love with Leonardo capital movie. But I and I

was very upset that he didn't kissed me afterward. But I was also like that, so it's probably fine. Wait your parents let you go alone. I think they sat in the I think his parents sat in the back. Yeah, pretty rach. My first day was in sick my sixth grade boyfriend. Uh. We went and saw Rugrats movie, which is so dorky and so very a baby movie. We

it was a baby movie. I I think that Romeo plus Juliet gives a good I think, like what makes a good adaptation for me that like adds to the text, it's like a style element that like someone is bringing something to it that's not literal, Like if you guys saw the stop motion animated Coraline. Yes, like I heard. I love the book and the movie is really good because I feel like it adds a new like visual

twist to it, like back to Romeo plus Juliet. Something that I really like about that adaptation is somewhere where I think it technically diverges from the text but actually adds a lot at the end. If you have not seen or read Romeo and Juliet, I'm going to ruin it,

don't you know, don't Yeah, yeah, yeah, there's a prolog. Yes, there's a prologue, but uh, there's the moment where Romeo has taken his like little Poisony poison because he's like, oh sad, my girl's dead, and except you know, sixteen hundreds, oh my girl lififts dead and then juliett wakes up. In the text, she technically wakes up after he's already dead, but in this they have a moment where they're together

before he's going to die. He takes it right as she's waking up, so she saw him take the poison. She's like, oh ship, and he's like, oh ship, and then they have that moment and then she uses her dagger, which in that stylistic, stylized version with Boss Lerman, whose movies I generally don't like because they make me physically nauseated, um like just the zooming and physically actually a lot of uses the gun which is called a dagger to

kill herself. And I think that's a really interesting choice to have them have that moment together where they both know that he's going to die. Yeah, he dies and jokes and John Legozamo is great in that movie. And who was the actor that played um what, what's his name? I don't remember his name, but I knew exactly because he's great. He was in Lost right, Yes, yes, well I feel like that isn't You can't get any more classic than Shakespeare overall, For me, this has just been

a delight. Thank you to the listeners who have joined us on this journey, and thank you truly to all of you who you know came on this adventure. It's been a highlight of my quarantine all the time. Yeah, uh so find us on social media, listen to things that we make in the future, and I can't wait till I can smoosh your faces in person, breathe right into your mouth. All right, everyone, stay safe out there, and uh, keep reading. Is that a good send off?

All right? Keep reading so you can be smug when the adaptation comes out and you can say the book was better. Yes, that's perfect. That's our show for the week. Thank you so much for listening. I'm Danis Schwartz and you can find me on Twitter at Danish Schwartz with three z s. You can follow Jennifer Wright at jen Ashley Wright Karama, donqua is at Karama Drama, Melissa Hunter is at Melissa f t W and Tan Tran is smart enough to have gotten off Twitter, but she is

on Insta at Hank Tina. Our executive producer is Christopher Hessiotis and we're produced and edited by Mike Johns. Special thanks to David Wasserman. Popcorn Book Club is a production of I Heart Radio.