One of my most favorite moments is when Augustus, Hazel and Isaac are egging Isaac’s ex-girlfriend’s car. Hazel is feeling a little weary of throwing eggs in the middle of the day and asks Augustus if they should come back when it’s dark. Augustus’ reply is brilliant “It’s always dark to Isaac.”. BRILLIANT.
Giveaway
Comment with your favorite moment of either the book or the movie and you will be entered to win a Little Infinities Extended Edition Blu-ray of The Fault In Our Stars.
Giveaway will end at midnight next Wednesday, October 8, 2014. Open to US and Canada only.
Based on the beloved best-selling book comes an “extremely moving” (Leonard Maltin, Indiewire) story of a girl who transforms the lives of those around her during World War II, Germany. When her mother can no longer care for her, Liesel (Sophie Nélisse) is adopted by a German couple (OSCAR® Winner Geoffrey Rush* and OSCAR® Nominee Emily Watson**). Although she arrives illiterate, Liesel is encouraged to learn to read by her adoptive father. When the couple then takes in Max (Ben Schnetzer), a Jew hiding from Hitler’s army, Liesel befriends him. Ultimately, words and imagination provide the friends with an escape from the events unfolding around them in this extraordinary, acclaimed film directed by Brian Percival (Downton Abbey).
*Actor, Shine, 1996 **Actress, Hilary and Jackie, 1998; Breaking the Waves, 1996
Enter today, Pi Day, for a chance to win a Blu-Ray Edition of Life of Pi!
About Pi Day
In honor of National Pi Day today, March 14, with the brand new edition of the Life of Pi Journeyweb site! The site has more to explore and interact with, perfect to celebrate Pi Day and Life of Pi now on Blu-ray and DVD!
Tweet your #LifeofPiDay facts you find on the site and post the graphic to your site for your readers to take part! When you post, link to http://journey.lifeofpimovie.com/ so everyone can go behind the scenes of this spectacular film! 🙂
About Life of Pi
FROM OSCAR® WINNER ANG LEE* COMES A VISUALLY SPECTACULAR CINEMATIC ADVENTURE FOR THE AGES
The Inspirational Epic Journey, Nominated for 11 Academy Awards®
Including Best Picture and Best Director, Arrives on
Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray and DVD March 12
Experience the Stunning Cinematography on Blu-ray 3D With Over Two Hours of Bonus Material Including Deleted Scenes, Making Of Featurettes,
Inspirational Artwork and More
Believe the unbelievable. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment presents a groundbreaking cinematic experience you will have to see to believe when LIFE OF PI debuts on stunning Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray and DVD from March 8 internationally and on March 12 in North America. Based on the acclaimed best-selling novel from Yann Martel that has been published in 40 languages, and brought to life by visionary Academy Award winning director Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), this magical adventure of hope, wonder, survival, and the power of the human spirit has been celebrated by critics all over the world.
A ³magnificent and moving² (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone) motion picture event that has been hailed as ³a masterpiece² (Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times), taking in over $500 million in worldwide box office. LIFE OF PI follows Pi Patel, a young man on a fateful voyage who, after a spectacular disaster, is marooned on a lifeboat with the only other survivor, a fearsome 450 lb Bengal Tiger named Richard Parker. Hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery Pi and his majestic companion make an amazing and unexpected connection.
With incredible cinematography from Oscar nominee Claudio Miranda** (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Tron: Legacy) and masterful performances from newcomer Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan (The Amazing Spider-Man, Slumdog Millionaire), Rafe Spall (Prometheus, Anonymous) and Gerard Depardieu (Paris, je t¹aime, City of Ghosts), the LIFE OF PI Blu-ray 3D is loaded with over two hours of behind-the-scenes special features, including deleted scenes that will make you rethink the story (also presented in 3D), five featurettes that dive into the making of the visual spectacle, 60 pieces of inspirational artwork, storyboards and more. Prebook is February 13.
Giveaway
Fill out the below Rafflecopter widget for your entries!
IN ONE OF THE YEAR’S MOST CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED FILMS
Experience the Heartbreak and Humor When the
Academy Award® and Golden Globe® Winner
Comes to Blu-ray Combo Pack and DVD March 13
From director Alexander Payne creator of the Oscar® winning Sideways comes one of the Best Pictures of the year, THE DESCENDANTS, featuring a stunning cast including Best Actor nominee George Clooney (Ides of March) and Shailene Woodley (The Secret Life of the American Teenager) in her Golden Globe nominated and Independent Spirit Award winning role. Take home this wonderfully warm and witty film and go behind the scenes of THE DESCENDANTS with all-new exclusive content on Blu-ray Disc Combo Pack and DVD March 13 from Fox Searchlight and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.
Based on the best-selling novel by Kaui Hart Hemmings and set in Hawaii, THE DESCENDANTS is a sometimes humorous, sometimes tragic journey for Matt King (George Clooney) an indifferent husband and father of two girls, who is forced to re-examine his past and embrace his future when his wife suffers a boating accident off of Waikiki. The event leads to a rapprochement with his young daughters while Matt wrestles with a decision to sell the family’s land handed down from Hawaiian royalty and missionaries.
Nominated for five Academy Awards® and winner for Best Adapted Screenplay, THE DESCENDANTSis a must-have on Blu-ray and DVD. The release is packed with must-see deleted scenes, behind the scenes extras and exclusive featurettes to bring you even further into the story.
Here’s a great Study Guide to use to compare the book to the movie. Click the picture for a larger version.
I haven’t read or seen this title. Have you? What are your thoughts?
I’ll be hosting a DVD giveaway new week so keep an eye out for that!
I just received 3 books of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan to share with two of my “besties”, which will be my mother-in-law and her sister, because they are my reading buddies! Once we’ve each read the book we’ll be sitting down to watch the movie! I’m really looking forward to it. The trailer for this movie really interested me and I’m looking forward to reading the book and then comparing it to the movie adaptation.
20th Century Fox, via Think Jam, has compiled a few great ideas to keep in touch with your friends! I think the advancement of technology has made it so much easier to stay in touch. Facebook alone has me connected with family almost instantaneously.
UPDATE:
Author Lisa See will be on GoodReads tomorrow, 11/03, answering questions about the process of turning her book into a movie!
How to Stay Friends Forever
Now on Blu-ray & DVD as of Nov. 1!
Growing up in 19th century China, Lily (Bingbing Li) and Snow Flower (Gianna Jun) are brought together in a Laotong friendship—a lifelong bond between two women who rely on each other for companionship and comfort. Amid the civil unrest and gender discrimination of the era, the pair deals with life’s hardships together until they are separated by marriage and childbirth. As sworn sisters, however, the women continue to communicate through the secret Chinese language of nushu, hiding their stories and messages within the folds of delicate silk fans.
Lily and Snow Flower had an intense friendship that lasted a lifetime. Nushu helped them communicate and remain close, even in distance. Everyone has that old friend they have known for a long time, yet find it hard to keep in touch. Both get busy with their separate lives and don’t take the time to catch up with one another. In honor of SNOW FLOWER AND THE SECRET FAN new release to Blu-ray and DVD on Nov. 1, we’ve created a guide for keeping in touch with your besties, through whatever life may put between you. Here we share tips such as writing letters, Skyping and sending each other gifts in the mail.
Write Letters
There’s nothing like a handwritten letter to let someone know that you care and are thinking about them. Make a point of writing to your long-distance friend at least once a month, and giving them updates on what’s going on in your life, and asking what’s new in their life. If you’re so inclined, you can include photos or other small tokens of your friendship with your letters. This simple, heartfelt update will go a long way in making your friendship last.
Take a Trip Together
If it’s within both of your budgets, you and your bestie should take a trip together! Meet up in different places each year – places that are either meaningful to you both, or places that you two have always wanted to visit together. Have a weekend in Las Vegas, a week at the theme parks in Orlando, a glamorous trip to Hollywood, or a long, restful weekend in New England. Making new memories (or reliving old ones) will help keep your friendship vibrant.
Skype
One of the greatest inventions for modern day friendships is Skype. Making a weekly or biweekly “Skype date” can give you a chance to both talk to and see your long-distance friend on a regular basis. Best of all, Skype is free to use, even if you’re video-chatting someone internationally! Skype is great because, in addition to getting to hear your friend’s voice, you can also actually show them what’s new with you, or do something new together!
Start an Online Photo Album
There are so many different ways to share photos online these days, and you and your friend should take advantage of that! You can make a private album that only the two of you can access (you can do this on Facebook, PhotoBucket, etc.), and then you can both upload and comment on each other’s photos and keep up with what’s going on in each other’s lives.
Send Each Other Gifts
If you’re ever out shopping and see a little something that reminds you of your friend, or something you think your friend would love, why not send it to them? With USPS’ Flat Rate Boxes, you can send as much as you want to your long-distance friend for a small fee. Why not make a care package, filled with things you know they like (like homemade treats, or products specific to your area that they can’t get where they live)? If you exchange small gifts every few months, it will remind your friend that you’re thinking about them, and help you two stay friends forever.
On behalf of 20th Century Fox via Think Jam publicity, I have read Water for Elephants and watched a screener DVD of the movie adaptation for the purpose of discussing “book to movie”.
Here are the discussion questions I’ll be addressing.
The elements of the 1930’s that I enjoyed the most were the references to the depression and prohibition. Knowing that our current economy is suffering much the same as it did during the depression; it was enlightening to see how Americans worked through the issue of not having money. Bartering for services or goods wasn’t uncommon in the 30’s. The fact that Jacob’s entire situation is the result of the depression is quite sad. His parents decided that his education was worth the bank owning their home. It didn’t help any that his father provided veterinary services in exchange for eggs or chickens. Jacob is very much like his father. He quickly puts the safety and wellbeing of himself behind the needs of the animals he loves to take care of. Prohibition is one thing that baffles me. I don’t understand why it happened really. I guess I fell asleep during that history lesson. It seems a lot of no good resulted from prohibiting the making, selling and consuming of alcohol. Seeing that first hand in Camel’s character was quite sad. The book does a finer job at depicting the close relationship that Jacob has with both Camel and Walter than the movie did.
Having written the novel from Jacob’s point of view was a great idea. I thoroughly enjoyed reading his thoughts and emotions. I don’t think I would have enjoyed it from Marlena’s point of view. Maybe switching between the two would have been nice. Jacob had never seen a naked woman and was a virgin in the book. This wasn’t portrayed in the movie at all. I was disappointed in that small detail being taken away from Jacob’s character. Robert Pattinson added quite a lot of “boyishness” to Jacob. His smile was so genuinely bright, like a kid in a toy store most of the time, you could tell he was a softy, wet behind the ears. Robert did such a great job showing how Jacob matured throughout the movie.
Reese Witherspoon did a great job portraying Marlena. I liked what the director, or whomever it was, said in the “extras” of the DVD: Reese spills American from her pores (not verbatim but that’s the gist of what he meant). She just looks like the perfect, average American woman. Her style of clothing in the movie was exactly as I’d envisioned while reading.
The romance between Jacob and Marlena is a touchy subject for me. First, I am not a fan of any form of adultery. Why Marlena was still married to August if she didn’t love him enrages me. I know it has everything to do with the fact that it was the 1930’s and again, that enrages me. The fact that woman were stuck in relationships with men that abused them in one way or another is mindboggling. Parents, friends and society should not disown you because you want to divorce an abusive man. The romance between Jacob and Marlena was handled okay in the movie. I do think it was steamier in the book because we know exactly how Jacob thinks and feels for her. There was also a bit more steamy situations in the book than the movie.
I had no idea how a circus did it’s thing at all before reading Water for Elephants. I didn’t even know they traveled by train! I learned so much from reading this book. I haven’t ever been to a circus before either, which I now am adding to the list of things I want to do before I die. My daughter went to one this past summer with her grandparents. I really wish we would have been invited to go along. I have much respect for the performers and the working men and women of the circus.
There were only a few scenes in the movie where music was played and I honestly didn’t pay much attention to it. In the book it’s mentioned a couple of times too but music in books doesn’t really register to me too much. The glitz and glamour were treated just fine in both the book and the movie. The movie did a great job with the train cars, especially August’s and Marlena’s, as well as with the overall scenery.
This was my first time seeing Christoph Waltz in a movie. I know he was in Inglourious Basterds but I didn’t watch that one. I think he did a great job of portraying August’s paranoid schizophrenia, which was named in the book but not the movie. He had the look of the charmer and the look of the crazy, angry nut head. I want to know why Big Al wasn’t a character in the movie? Why merge his character with August?
Those quotes are great quotes. I remember hearing them in the movie. I also remember the movie taking quite a different look and speed at the events in the book. I know quite few scenes didn’t happen the way they were shown in the movie as they were in the book. So, to me, these quotes had no impact on me what so ever. I do remember not liking that Marlena said I Love You first to Jacob. I loved that he poured his heart out to her in the book. I wish that would have stayed the same in the movie.
The best scene that was done perfectly in the movie as it was done in the book was when Jacob feds Rex with August. It was nearly flawless, minus August telling Jacob which bucket of meat Rex should get, and all sorts of funny and shocking. I watched the movie with my husband. He didn’t know what was going on. He was laughing because Rex was roaring and growling at Jacob. He was shocked when Rex latched onto Jacob’s arm and he was baffled as to why August thought it was the funniest thing in the world. I sat and watched both the movie and my husband’s reaction. It was identical to my reaction while reading the same scene. Very well done.
The special features or “extras” as they’re titled on the DVD I watched added that extra information you’re wondering about while reading and watching the movie. How did Reese learn how to be a performer? Why’d they pick Robert Pattinson to play Jacob? Why switch up the ending of the book and make it the beginning of the movie? Which I HATED! Reading about Jacob’s days in the nursing home were some of my favorite scenes. It showed his personality, even in his old age. I really enjoyed hearing the author talk about the research that she did to write the book too.
Thanks to 20th Century Fox I will be posting a bundle giveaway of the book and DVD of Water for Elephants! Please stay tuned for that post.
General thoughts on the book
The book was great. I highly recommend it to any one. There were a few adult, R-rated, scenes that I’d be leery of letting a young teen reading but nothing too explicit. I learned a ton about the circus and the 1930’s.
Man. I haven’t wanted to read a book because of a movie trailer before but do I now!
I’m not sure if I’ve paid this book any attention but it is now one that I’m putting at the top of my list.
Apparently there’s some controversy about the publishing of this title involving James Frey and some ridiculous contract made with the writer of the story.
While I may not agree to the contract, meaning I personally wouldn’t sign it, someone else did. It was their decision and they will need to live with the outcome, which looks pretty good considering the book hasn’t been out that long and a movie is already being made. I hope whoever did write this book has learned from their mistake: they can write and will make it just fine in the publishing business if they want to make an effort to join in.
The narrator of this action adventure novel calls himself Number Four, but the three previous numbers have all been caught and killed. Each of these superhuman entities resembles we mere earthlings, but that resemblance conceals powers new to our weakling planet. Pittacus Lore’s unconventional fantasy will cause you to look closely at suspicious strangers. Editor’s recommendation.
