The Book Thief Movie Opens Nov. 8

I got a chance to see a screening of The Book Thief last night and it was amazing.

Sophie Nelisse, who plays the lead character, Liesel, is incredible playing this part that spans from 1938 to 1943ish in a small town in Germany. Liesel comes to live with  foster parents, The Hubermanns played by Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson. Based on the hugely successful book,we follow her journey and experiences throughout the war.

Set against the back drop of Nazi Germany and all the inhumane policies of the time, the film still manages to have some laughs and light moments. Over all it is extremely moving and I highly recommend it for anyone. I saw it with a male friend who loved it as much as I did, and I plan to take my 9 year old daughter to see it.

The Book Thief opens November 8th.

TCM Curated Bonham Movie Magic Auction Preview

Tomorrow is the last day of the preview viewing in Los Angeles of items to be auctioned by Bonhams as part of What Dreams Are Made Of: A Century of Movie Magic at Auction, as Curated by Turner Classic Movies. I went, OK I admit it, twice this week and I highly recommend going and checking it out if you're in LA. 

From here it heads to New York and will preview there November 20th-25th and then the auction will be held on the 25th. There are so many thing I wish I could make my own, but it was nice just to get to be in their presence too.

Here is the car from the final scene of Casablanca where Rick says so many famous lines about "a hill a bean" and "a beautiful friendship" The car still runs and can be yours for, in the ballpark of, $500,000. I wouldn't recommend dropping people at the airport in it though.

 This is a reproduction pair of ruby slippers made for the 50th anniversary of The Wizard Of Oz. They were made by Western Costume Company who made the originals and are going for $12,000-$15,000.

Here we have a miniature of Devil's Tower from Close Encounters of the Third Kind. $15,000-$20,000

 Steve McQueen costumes from Papillion and La Mans

 I enlarged this poster from North By Northwest so you could read the racy tag line.

 Good old Soylent Green can and wafer from the film of the same name. You know it's made of people...

 A life mask of Boris Karloff . For some reason this really spoke to me. Ba dump da

These items from The Maltese Falcon. Sam Spades chair $150,000-$200,00 and the piece de la resistance The Maltese Falcon. This item is without estimated auction value.                                                                  ( the old, if you have to ask you can't afford it)

 The green negligee is Vivien Leigh's from Gone With The Wind.$50,000-$70,000.  The Bathing suit is, of course, Esther Williams' from On An Island With You. $2,500-$3,500

The polka dot is from Mildred Pierce, alarmingly tiny.The black is Jeanette MacDonald's from Broadway Serenade $2,500-$3,500

Also a Vivien Leigh costume this is from the tear jerker Waterloo Bridge $3,000-$5,000

 Black and gold dress is from It's A Great Feeling starring Doris Day.$2,500-$3,500

And finally Laurel and Hardy's derby hats. $15,000-$20,000 I suppose this could be another fine mess I get you into, but any of these item would be amazing to have for your own. This is just a sampling, there was even more!

20th Century Fox Commissary Photos

After many years of peering through the Fox Studio commissary windows at the beautiful and historic murals, I finally snuck got in today and got some pictures. The mural was painted in 1935 with a few additions in the year that followed. The Fox commissary mural is a map of all the places Fox had filmed and features cameos bysome of their biggest stars at the time Janet Gaynor, Will Rogers, Shirley Temple, and Warner Oland.

I've scoured the internet for more information about the mural and it's origin with little to no success. All the information I collected is in this post. If anyone has any further details please share in the comments.

 Janet Gaynor surfing in Honolulu, with close up below.

 Warner Oland being remembered for his Charlie Chan role.

Shirley Temple welcoming everyone to Hollywood. Close up below.

 Will Rogers apparently never met a pig he didn't like, either. Rogers died in 1935, based on the lightheartedness, I'm guessing after this was painted

20th Century Fox studio has the oldest renovated commissary. I've been in most of the commissary and the others are all modern and without history. Hopefully, this one will stay just as it is forever.

Graham Norton Returns to BBC America

BBC America's Graham Norton returns for his 14th season on this Saturday.

The first episode has Harrison Ford and Benedict Cumberbatch talking or rather not talking about their participation in the new Star Wars film. If you like the old style chat shows where all the guests are on set for the entire show and witty repartee is wall to wall, you'll love The Graham Norton Show.

This is the only late night chat show I actually watch, unless you count The Daily Show, which I suppose should count. So Graham Norton is technically one of the two late night chat shows I watch. Which is still pretty good considering how many shows there are.

August: Osage County Trailer

 I've been dying to see the film version of August: Osage County, for what feels like forever. It's starting to play at film festivals and is suppose to release late December 25.  That should make for some interesting post holiday family movie theatre trips.

Here is The Weinstein Company's synopsis: AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY tells the dark, hilarious and deeply touching story of the strong-willed women of the Weston family, whose lives have diverged until a family crisis brings them back to the Midwest house they grew up in, and to the dysfunctional woman who raised them. Letts’ play made its Broadway debut in December 2007 after premiering at Chicago’s legendary Steppenwolf Theatre earlier that year. It continued with a successful international run.

The play balanced some pretty ugly family exchanges with an equal amount of humor and it was fantastic. I'm hoping they managed to pull the same off with the film. The cast includes Meryl Streep, Sam Shepard, Julia Roberts, Benedict Cumberbatch, Chris Cooper, Ewan McGregor, and Abigail Breslin. The list of amazing actors goes on, but you get the idea, this is a stellar cast. I, for one, can't wait to see their performances.

 Until then here is a trailer.

Win Tickets to TCM Classic Film Fest

TCM is running an Ultimate Fan Contest. Winners will get the opportunity to introduce a film with Robert Osbourne on TCM and introduce a film at TCM Classic Film Festival, including air and hotel to Hollywood for the festival April 10-13.

To enter TCM Ultimate Fan Contest all you have to do it send in a video introducing your favorite film by October 31st. The contest began October 1st and TCM is already running entries on their web site. Check out all the TCM Ultimate Fan video entries for ideas of what works and doesn't. TCM also has some sample videos, that seem pretty theatrical, so you may want to consider going that way too.

I highly recommend reading the blog Cinematically Insane's post on the contest. He has great tips on making the video.

Good luck everyone!

The Paradise on PBS

The Paradise premiered on PBS' Masterpiece Theatre last night. I was a bit lukewarm on this series as I had not particularly loved Selfridge (also set in a department store in Victorian England), but I was happily surprised.

The series airs Sundays now through November 17th.

You can view the first episode of The Paradise on PBS here online.

PBS synopsis:

A bright-eyed country girl, Denise Lovett, finds more than just shop-girl work when she brings her clever ideas and ambition to Britain's glamorous first department store, The Paradise. Denise is plunged into power struggles, intrigues and romance as she catches the attention of the store's dashing and enigmatic owner, John Moray. Entangled with his powerful financial backer's entitled daughter, Moray harbors a dark secret as well as debts that threaten to ruin his hard-won empire. The Paradise, embodying the progress and the pain of a new age of commerce, is the way of the future. But will that future belong to those who usher it in…and can they have a future together?

Based on Émile Zola’s beloved classic novel, Au Bonheur des Dames, The Paradise revolves around the lives of the people who live and work in the store, each bound in their own way by the power of the world they live in, and the pasts that follow them there. A love story, mystery, and social comedy all in one, the lavish costume drama stars Joanna Vanderham (What Maisie Knew) as Denise and Emun Elliott (Game of Thrones) as Moray, alongside Sarah Lancashire (Upstairs Downstairs), Elaine Cassidy (A Room with a View) and Patrick Malahide (Game of Thrones).

Mia Farrow Son Paternity No Mystery

Foto: Scanpix/montage

Mia Farrow is saying that it is possible her son Ronan Farrow is the son of Frank Sinatra instead of Woody Allen. On first hearing this I thought, she really hates him (Allen), to say something like that. Really who could blame her.  After looking at a picture of Ronan for all of a second I think anyone will tell you that he is definitely the son of Sintra. Especially in the eyes.

I can't imagine that Woody doesn't know this already, even if he refuses to comment. I usually don't follow gossip but I can't resist this one.

Knott's Family Friendly Halloween #CampSpooky

This is part of a compensated campaign with GigaSavvy .  All opinions expressed are my own.

Halloween is just around the corner. Lots of Southern California amusement parks have super scary Halloween events, but if you're like me, they're a little too scary. That's why I love to take my family to Camp Spooky at Knott's Berry Farm, in broad day light. Camp Snoopy is transformed into Camp Spooky weekend in October. Thanks to a generous invitation from GigaSavvy, my family is looking forward to visiting this weekend.

Camp Spooky runs weekends October 5-27 and is included with regular park admission. 

Knott’s Berry Farm Theme Park operating hours are 10:00 am to 5:30 pm. 

There are lots of fun Halloween themed shows, trick or treating, and of course all the great rides. In the Camp Spooky Theatre, Charlie Brown’s Spooktacular Show will have you singing and 

dancing in the aisles to all your favorite Halloween tunes. Kids of all ages can explore the wacky 

hijinks of the Monster Factory, a fun interactive maze for the whole family in which the little ones 

create the things that go bump in the night.

Also included with theme park admission, your little ghost, goblin or monster can fill their 

complimentary goodie bag with sweet treats given out at five Trick-or-Treating locations in Camp 

Spooky. At the “Creepy Crawly Critter Cave” Knott’s park naturalists will amaze with slithery, slimy, 

creepy, crawly critters.

Knott's Berry Farm's Season Passes are really reasonable at all three levels and include exclusive ride times on select rides during the summer, discounts to Knott's Scary Farm, discounts on select food and merchandise and more. Plus, buy now and you can use your 2014 pass one time in 2013 and additional visits thru Dec 2013 are just $9.99

For more information on all the exciting things that are going on at Knott’s Berry Farm, call (714) 220-5200 or visit us online at www.knotts.com.