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WICKED Trailer Airs During Super Bowl
I like musicals. And I like Wicked. But I have to admit that there as been this part of me that a) felt like the long-time-coming adaptation might never actually happen and b) if it did, it had CATS-adaptation-like bombing potential. And I like Cats! (in non-movie forms). But both Wicked and Cats are so theatrical that it feels like translating their Broadway charm to Hollywood screen is a losing proposition. And while this trailer doesn’t guarantee that film will be good, it feels like it could be exciting! They clearly spent the money, and the visual language of Oz is familiar enough that maybe, just maybe the undeniably catchy songs and the Grande/Orivo starpower can enchant even those with no pre-existing relationship to the show. (Maguire, for one, isn’t missing a chance to get in on the game again.)
For the 10th Anniversary of THE MARTIAN, Andy Weir Releases “Lost Sols”
I can’t believe it’s been ten years since The Martian came out. It is now a staple in my household both on the TV and on the coffee table. And in reading these fourteen pages of “lost” diary entries from Mark Watney’s time on Mars, I am reminded that it really isn’t the the great set-up (stranded on Mars) or the action (sciencing the shit of of things, which was refreshing and brave) that makes The Martian special. It is the voice. Affable, human, smart, dorky, and vulnerable: Weir’s everyman isn’t everyman, but someone everyone would like to know (and be).
“The Magic of Raina is Real”
Terrific profile of Raina Telgemeir by Jordan Kisner in The Atlantic. Kinney and Pilkey might sell more units (though by less than you might think), but Telgemeir owns more middle-grade hearts and minds. If there is a successor to Blume, I think Telgemeir is it: tender, frank, funny, and willing to dwell in discomfort.
14 February 2024 Book Club Picks, From Reese’s Book Club To Sapph-Lit
By now, all the big book-club picks for the month have been made, and they are all over the place. Which I think is the most fun place to be.
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