You Stayed Up Late to Watch the Oscars
Or didn't
Hi friends,
Welcome to a special Oscars edition of What To Read If. I’m writing this 24 hours before the ceremony begins, so I have no commentary on the winners, snubs or meme-able moments. I would love to read your thoughts on the show though.
What I do have are three movie/Hollywood books for you to enjoy. There’s a wide range here, so even if you’re not a movie person, you’ll likely find something that intrigues you.
And, now, what to read if…
You Always Read the Book First
But Have You Read the Book by Kristen Lopez
Five of the year’s ten best picture nominees — “American Fiction,” “Killers of the Flower Moon,” “Oppenheimer,” “Poor Things” and “The Zone of Interest” — all began their lives as books. In But Have You Read the Book, Kristen Lopez rounds up 52 of the best book-to-big-screen projects, including “Clueless,” “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes” and “Jaws.”
Lopez, a film editor at The Wrap, documents why these classics work in both forms and the ways the adaptation builds on or transforms the original pieces of literature. Each movie is the subject of a short, engaging essay filled with behind-the-scenes tidbits about the adaptation and movie process. Its structure makes it a fast read or the perfect book to grab when you need something you can pick up and put down.
I was lucky enough to interview Kristen for Parade (sadly, the Q&A isn’t online) before her book came out, and we had a lively discussion about our favorite adaptations. She points to “Jurassic Park,” Steven Spielberg’s take on the Michael Crichton novel, as one of the best. I’m a “Princess Bride” gal myself. No matter my mood, that movie makes me laugh.
Reminder rec: Speaking of “The Princess Bride,” As You Wish, Cary Elwes’s memoir about the movie's production is charming and hilarious. The audiobook includes interview snippets with cast members and is a total joy to listen to.
You’re Fascinated by the Darker Side of Fame
Advika and the Hollywood Wives by Kirthana Ramisetti
Kirthana Ramisetti puts a dark twist on the classic Cinderella tale in Advika and the Hollywood Wives. As the book opens, Advika, a struggling screenwriter grieving her sister's death, takes a bartending gig at the Governor’s Ball, the Oscars’ official after-party. There, she meets Julian Zelding, a titan of the film industry, waving around his just-won statuette. Despite their 41-year age gap, the two begin a whirlwind affair and end up eloping.
First, Advika is caught up in the ease, luxury and glamour of her new life. But, a month into their marriage, Julian’s first wife, the famous actress Evie Lockhart dies and — in a twist the tabloids eat up — leaves a million dollars and a mysterious film reel to "Julian's latest child bride.” The catch? To receive her inheritance, Advika must first divorce Julian. Evie’s actions shake Advika out of her lovesickness and cause her to research her husband’s first three wives — through books, recordings and reality shows — and she discovers the man she married isn’t a prince after all.
Advika and the Hollywood Wives kept me turning pages late into the night and thinking a lot about Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes’s marriage. (I won’t say more to avoid spoilers but will note there’s no Scientology in Advika.) Ramisetti makes Advika sympathetic. Readers understand why she’s making choices, even if they’re misguided, and they’ll root for her to pull through and find the truth.
Reminder rec: Advika and the Hollywood Wives is one of a bunch of “wronged women of the ‘90s and 2000s” books to come out recently that examine how our culture let down famous women. Other examples include Laura Hankin’s The Daydreams and Birds of California by Katie Cotugno.
You’re Looking for Some Old-School Hollywood Glam
It Happened One Fight by Maureen Lee Lenker
Anyone who has a soft spot for 1930s screwball comedies — such as “Bringing Up Baby” or “His Girl Friday” — will want to check out It Happened One Night, named after the 1934 film “It Happened One Night.”
The book’s leads, glamorous Joan Davis and rugged Dash Howard, have played opposite each other in films for years. Their real-life relationship is far more complicated than their on-screen one. Joan has given Dash the cold shoulder for years after he sold her out to a gossip columnist on a studio-arranged date. She expects she’ll finally be able to move on from Dash — and win her Oscar — after becoming engaged to Hollywood’s latest golden boy and preparing to star in an awards-caliber movie. Her plan becomes more complicated, though, when she learns a prank Dash played years earlier went horribly wrong, and she’s actually legally married to him.
The pair quickly set out to Reno, where they’ll be able to get a divorce in just six weeks and will spend the intervening time producing a new movie. While there, during long hours on set, time at the ranch, and even a fishing competition, Joan sees a different side of Dash. The two become closer and wonder if their marriage should be a joke.
It’s a wild set-up, and clearly, one Maureen Lee Lenker had a lot of fun with. Lenker, a reporter for Entertainment Weekly, sprinkles real-life Easter eggs throughout the book (a Hollywood studio once hired a real minister to perform a movie marriage so they wouldn’t have to get a costume) and brings to life the glitz and glam of those early years of Tinseltown.
Thanks for reading! If you have a favorite movie or Hollywood book, let me know!
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Oh these are great recommendations! I did stay up too late watching the Oscars - and I don’t regret it!!! Thrilled to see American Fiction win best adapted screenplay. My Fav adaptations of all time are Don’t Look Now by Daphne Du Maurier (the short story and the film are somehow equally magnificent), Sense and Sensibility - the 1995 with Emma Thompson’s screenplay (utter heaven) and Room With a View (just because it’s a delight in both forms).
I have a copy of Advika and can't wait to read it — I also just started Young Jane Young, which is a fictional take on a sort of Clinton/Lewinsky situation, and that story is one I've certainly developed new and lots of thoughts on as the times have changed and I've gotten older. Adding the others to my list because this is certainly a topic I'm very interested in!