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The Death of Captain Miller in Saving Private Ryan
Today marks the 72ndyear the allies stormed the beaches of Normandy in the name of freedom. At the end of the movie Saving Private Ryan, Tom Hanks’ character (Captain John Miller) tells Private Ryan (played by Matt Damon) to ‘earn this’ before he perishes. It was quite an emotional scene charging Ryan to carry a tremendous load in the decades that followed his life. But carry he did, and because of Captain Miller and his battalion’s sacrifice to find and save Private Ryan, generations of Ryans would flourish. I think of the depth of that sacrifice, and the letting go of what could have been. My own grandfather (deceased since 1968) was the only survivor of his battalion in World War One at Vimy Ridge. And I often wonder if he felt any guilt at being the last man standing. I certainly hope not or I wouldn’t be here now. Thank you, Grandpa.
My mother managed to survive World War Two while living in Hertfordshire, England. The war started when she was ten, and ended five years later in her mid-teens. Some of her stories have brought tears to my eyes, and her own just by remembering certain events and incidents. One such time, mom was telling me about when the Germans invaded France, and scores of British men and women raced across the English Channel to rescue as many French people as they could in whatever boats they owned. Another memory is simpler, yet so profound. Mom wanted to go to the movie theatre with her friend to see Bambi, but my grandmother told her no for some reason. The same movie theatre got bombed that day with many casualties, including my mom’s friend. Thank you, Grandma.
Many times my mother would go to school, and there would be empty seats where students once sat. Back then, there was no grief counselling, so the children would have to ‘deal with it’ as my mother would say, and move on. Bomb shelters were a part of life, but my grandmother tried to make a game of it for her three daughters to ease their fears. That horrific war certainly brought out the resilience and stamina in people, as they had to live their lives as normally as possible.
The next book in my young adult time travel series called The Last Timekeepers and the Dark Secret will take place during World War Two. Fittingly, it will be released October 17th, less than a month before Remembrance Day (November 11th). During my research, I learned a lot about what the people of that era endured and how they coped in such adversity. It was so humbling to read what the survivors had to do to keep moving forward with purpose, and to be as resilient as possible. I want to express my eternal gratitude to ALL the veterans of ALL the wars for keeping the peace, giving us our freedom, and making the world a safer place to live. Although evil still slithers around the globe and makes its ugly presence known from time-to-time, I truly believe that good people will always out-weigh the bad people. If you don’t agree, take it from somebody who’s been there:
In spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart. ~ Anne Frank
This D-Day, don’t forget to thank or hug a veteran. They’ve certainly earned it.
0 Comments on Remembering D-Day and those who survived World War Two… as of 1/1/1900
Universal Pictures unveiled a first look video for the Jason Bourne movie during the Super Bowl. The video embedded above offers glimpses of Matt Damon taking on the the titular role.
According to Variety, other members of the cast include Julia Stiles, Alicia Vikander, and Tommy Lee Jones. The story for this film adaptation comes from the thriller book series written by Robert Ludlum and Eric Van Lustbader.
USA Today reports that Paul Greengrass served as the director for this adaptation project. The theatrical release date has been scheduled for July 29. (via The A.V. Club)
The audiobook edition of The Martian has drawn 100,000 fan ratings on the Audible website. The company released this audiobook back in March 2013.
Here’s more from the press release: “In addition to the 100,000 people who positively ‘rated’ the audiobook, it also enjoys a superb 4.8 out of 5-star average, and has had a continuous presence at the top of Audible.com’s bestsellers list. The Martian’s achievements demonstrate the burgeoning global popularity of audiobooks and their ascent as a rival to other entertainment mediums like books, television, and film.”
The Martian by Andy Weir has a fabulous back story. Initially published chapter by chapter and made available for free on the author’s website, readers soon fell in love with the story. First, they asked him to make it available as an ebook, so they could enjoy it on their e-readers rather than having to read it […]
20th Century Fox has unveiled a new trailer for The Martian. The story for this film adaptation came from Andy Weir’s popular science fiction novel. According to Deadline.com, filmmaker Drew Goddard adapted the book for the screenplay.
The video embedded above offers glimpses of Matt Damon in the lead role of Mark Watney. Other members of the cast include Jessica Chastain, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jeff Daniels, Donald Glover, Kate Mara, and Kristen Wiig. The theatrical release date has been set for November 25th. (via Wired.com)
Have you seen the movie Interstellar? Director Christopher Nolan (pictured, via) wrote a comic to reveal a back story for two characters: Dr. Mann (played by Oscar winner Matt Damon) and his robot SKIPP.
Wired posted “Absolute Zero” in its entirety on the magazine’s website. The 7 page comic will also appear in the print edition; Nolan is serving as the guest editor for this issue which focuses on themes of time, space, and multiple dimensions. Animator Sean Gordon Murphy created the artwork for this project.
Here’s more about the comic book: “Before Cooper left his daughter to find humanity a new home in space, there were the Lazarus missions. Led by Dr. Mann, this was NASA’s first attempt to locate a hospitable exoplanet. So what happened to Mann on the other side of the wormhole? We teamed Christopher Nolan with award-winning comic-book artist Sean Gordon Murphy to tell Mann’s story.” (via The Hollywood Reporter)
The trailer for The Bourne Legacy has been released, an adaptation of a novel by Eric Van Lustbader based on a series created by Robert Ludlum.
We’ve embedded the trailer above–what do you think?
While Matt Damon starred in the last three movies in the series, Jeremy Renner plays the lead in the new movie. The adaptation has been a trending topic on Twitter this afternoon as fans grapple with the idea of a Bourne film without Matt Damon. You can read some of those comments below…
The trailer for The Bourne Legacy has been released, an adaptation of a novel by Eric Van Lustbader based on a series created by Robert Ludlum.
We’ve embedded the trailer above–what do you think?
While Matt Damon starred in the last three movies in the series, Jeremy Renner plays the lead in the new movie. The adaptation has been a trending topic on Twitter this afternoon as fans grapple with the idea of a Bourne film without Matt Damon. You can read some of those comments below…
The trailer for The Bourne Legacy has been released, an adaptation of a novel by Eric Van Lustbader based on a series created by Robert Ludlum.
We’ve embedded the trailer above–what do you think?
While Matt Damon starred in the last three movies in the series, Jeremy Renner plays the lead in the new movie. The adaptation has been a trending topic on Twitter this afternoon as fans grapple with the idea of a Bourne film without Matt Damon. You can read some of those comments below…
A teacher wants to teach. I mean, why else would you take a @#$%^& salary and really long hours and do that job unless you really love to do it? — Matt Damon
Lots of people have been sending us links to the video of actor Matt Damon defending teachers. Damon was at the Save Our Schools rally in Washington D.C. this weekend with his mother, a teacher, and was interviewed by a video crew from Reason, a libertarian magazine and website.
In the clip, Damon gets quite testy with the spokeswoman and cameraman. (Warning: In this case “testy” also includes some adult language, so please don’t watch this clip if that offends you, or if you are with young children.)
When you watch the entire video, it’s pretty clear that the woman from Reason isn’t interested in telling the stories of teachers and why they came to Washington D.C. for the rally. Instead, she seems interested in presenting teachers in an unflattering light, and making simplistic statements about complex issues like tenure and education reform.
That’s why we’re pleased to see so many people forwarding this video, and talking about it on Twitter and Facebook – overwhelmingly in support of Damon’s comments.
It’s not that he said something brilliant or insightful. It’s that he’s defending school teachers, and we’re glad to see that’s something that resonates with so many people.
What do you think? Let us know, on this blog post or on our Facebook page.
Mr. Damon, 40, says he was unfamiliar with the 1968 Charles Portis novel that inspired the movie prior to signing on for his role in the Coens' film. "It's a great American classic and I don't know how I missed it up to now," he said. "It's beautifully written and I've been recommending it to everyone. I literally gave it to everyone for Christmas this year."
Just a reminder for those of you who prefer to read your books in the 21st century way--True Grit will be released as an ebook on 1/21.
Happy reading! The Wall Street Journal NY Culture January 11, 2011 by Michelle Kung
With $110 million and counting at the box office, the Coen brothers' remake of "True Grit" has become one of the most successful Westerns in Hollywood history, thanks in no small part to the effort of stars Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfeld and Matt Damon, who plays the comical but steadfast Texas Ranger, LaBoeuf.
Mr. Damon, 40, says he was unfamiliar with the 1968 Charles Portis novel that inspired the movie prior to signing on for his role in the Coens' film. "It's a great American classic and I don't know how I missed it up to now," he said. "It's beautifully written and I've been recommending it to everyone. I literally gave it to everyone for Christmas this year."
Mr. Damon, who lives with his family in New York, spoke with the Journal about "True Grit," the Coen brothers and New York City tax breaks.
Recently you've been working with directors you've made films with before, like Clint Eastwood and Steven Soderbergh. What was it like being directed by the Coens for the first time?
The Coens weren't totally unfamiliar to me because I did a movie ["The Good Old Boys"] in 1994 with Frances [McDormand, who is married to Joel Coen], and Joel was around on set. Also, because I've had so many friends work with them, I had already heard a lot about their process. There wasn't a sussing-out period; I felt very comfortable right away. Part of that though, is that they try very hard to make everyone feel comfortable on-set. I'm hoping I get to keep working with them. We did [an interview with] Charlie Rose about a month ago and as we were leaving, I asked them what they were working on. They said they didn't know, so I said, "Untitled Ma
1 Comments on Matt Damon gave "literally everyone" True Grit for Christmas, last added: 1/12/2011
And of course, Matt Damon's not alone--Portis has long been considered one of the great living American novelists and True Grit is beloved among readers. But it's wonderful to hear people involved with the new Coen Brothers film acknowledge the influence of the original novel in the new adaptation.
"It's just a brilliant adaptation," enthuses Damon. "They change stuff to make a two-hour film out of it, but retain so much of the dialogue, and Charles Portis - who is still alive - has an ear for the way people talk. It's a really special script."
Directors Joel and Ethan Coen have adapted True Grit, a stark Western written by Charles Portis. The movie comes out in December, but the full trailer is embedded above.
The film stars Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, and Josh Brolin. The goosebump-inducing trailer has already earned well over 426,000 views on YouTube. What do you think? In 1969, the novel was adapted into a classic John Wayne movie.
Here’s Gawker’s take: “There’s definitely a fear there that the whole thing will feel like too much of a rehash of No Country for Old Men, just with the clock set back a hundred years or so, but even it if it does, who cares? That movie was great! Jeff Bridges is great! And, most importantly, longtime Coen collaborator Roger Deakins, America’s greatest living cinematographer, is so, so great.”
We watched "The Informant" last night, the utterly compelling real-life story of ADM vice president/informant Mark Whitacre who "wanted to do the right thing" and so began a campaign to bring down his agri-business company, then caught up in an industry-wide price-fixing scheme. It seems a noble ambition, but Whitacre himself is far from noble—a man who has built his life on a series of fault lines and who cannot seem to keep track of his own lies. His parents didn't die in a car accident when he is six, as he has always told his colleagues. Whitacre didn't just personally embezzle $10,000, or $500,000 or $5 million; perhaps, he acknowledges, in the film's final line, that number was much higher. He forges not only checks but a note from a doctor, which explains away all his actions with a bi-polar diagnosis. He promises not to speak of the case to anyone and ends up tattling on the front page of the Wall Street Journal. On and on, Whitacre (played brilliantly by Matt Damon) goes, telling his lies, remorseless.
"The Informant" is based on the book Whitacre himself wrote and in interviews he seems pleased with the authenticity of the film—pleased, in other words, to be portrayed as a man who cannot stop lying, no matter how much it hurts himself, his wife, or others. It still, all these years later, feels justifiable or defensible to him; he still sees himself as the good guy. The whole thing is head-scratching and nearly impossible, but it does bring to mind others I have known who have spun webs of grandiose mistruths, shattered promises, destroyed their families, and mercilessly wounded others. When the going gets tough (when the law seems on to them, or their spouses), these folks tend to flee. When it looks like it's safe again (when they won't get caught, at least this time), they return. And then they wonder why their old friends are cautious, why picking up where they left off is not actually an option. True friends forgive, they say.
But at what point does forgiving facilitate more of the same? And doesn't trust lie at the foundation of all friendships?
3 Comments on The Informant (and the liars we have known), last added: 5/4/2010
Forgiveness is first for the sake of our own hearts--we don't have to extend it unless someone asks. We aren't meant to bear the weight of judgment against others. However, that doesn't mean there are no consequences, no trust that needs to be earned back. We can care for someone without trusting them. Forgiveness that ignores such behavior opens the door for abuse.
It's an important distinction. I drop a crystal glass in my kitchen, it shatters. I can't talk it into re-making itself. And so are consequences for our behavior. We have the power to be great influencers, for good or for ill. Ignoring that power diminishes the humanity of the person, however poorly it is stewarded.
It is hard to forgive recurring deceptive behavior. You can hope that the person sees the light and moves away from such destructive behavior. I agree with Amy's comment.
Yesterday, we talked about what you’d find if you dissected a good scene. Today, we’ll apply this information by studying a scene from the classic movie, Good Will Hunting. (Warning: Adult language) Then, you can apply it to your own scenes.
Watch this four minute scene and identify the following:
What happens in the beginning phase?
What happens in the middle phase?
What is the turning point or focal point of the story?
How does the scene end? In a disaster (tragedy), in success, or somewhere in between? At the end, what has changed for each character?
What is the setting for this scene? Why is this an appropriate scene for the action that happens?
What is the underlying emotions of this scene, the pulse, as Sandra Scofield calls it?
List at least 3 reasons why this is a necessary scene for this story.
What else do you notice about scenes by studying this film clip?
Repeat this analysis for each of the scenes in your novel.
If you want confirmation of your answers, or want to discuss the analysis, please leave a comment.
Have you seen the movie Interstellar? Director Christopher Nolan (pictured, 
Lots of people have been sending us links to 
"Literally everyone"? I beg to differ, as Matt Damon didn't buy *me* a copy of True Grit. Unless maybe it's just lost in the mail?