It took Joyce Maynard only 10 days to write Labor Day, the New York Times best-selling novel that serves as the basis for the movie of the same name that opened last week.That kind of speedy production isn’t typical.“I don’t want people out there, who are trying to write a book, to get the wrong idea. I have been writing for 42 years and they didn’t all come out this way. My new book took two years to write,” Maynard says.Had you asked Maynard the day before she started writing Labor Day — the tale of a reclusive single mom, her 13-year-old son and the man who comes into their lives on one warm Labor Day weekend — she would have had no idea such a story was in her. She woke up one morning with the idea and the book flowed out of her. She didn’t even know how it would end; she just knew it was a story she had to write. She felt like she was taking dictation from the young boy at the heart of her story.Labor Day is one of 15 books written by Maynard. She’s also amassed a huge volume of essays and newspaper columns — often about family and parenting — all written with great candour. She’s been on the staff of The New York Times and wrote the weekly syndicated column Domestic Affairs,This is the second Maynard novel turned into a film. Her 1992 novel, To Die For, became the 1995 production starring Nicole Kidman, Matt Dillon, Joaquin Phoenix and Casey Affleck that was directed by Gus Van Sant. Just like To Die For, Maynard opted not to adapt Labor Day into a screenplay. That task went to director Jason Reitman.“Giving up the book for someone else to adapt is like seeing your children go out in the world. It something that has to be done and it would be worse if you didn’t let go,” Maynard says. “I love the way this movie gives a picture of a simpler time when no one is always checking their cell phone. It’s an old-fashioned love story.”She felt confident Reitman would do a good job with the adaptation because of the skill he showed with the Oscar-nominated script for Up in the Air. It didn’t hurt that after reading Labor Day, Reitman told Maynard that he cried and wanted to learn how to properly make a pie.The cooking request comes from one of the biggest moments in the book and movie. As Maynard learned from her mother, it’s not the filling and the ingredients that make the dessert, it’s the way the dough is handled.“When I was writing the book, I wanted to give a physical picture of tenderness. There’s nothing more personal than the gift of homemade food,” Maynard says.When Maynard’s writing, she hears the voices of the characters in her head. They weren’t the same voices as the actors in the movie, but the author has no complaints about having Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin say her words. She’s even more excited about the casting of Gattlin Griffith as the youngster at the middle of the unusual relationship that unfolds.Maynard was in Lake Atitlan, Guatemala, when the movie opened, where she has been teaching a workshop for 15 years. She calls the annual visit a “labour of love.”“I like to help people tell their story. The biggest concern most people have is that they are afraid of what other people will think,” she says. “I tell them everybody should own his or her story. Otherwise, don’t tell the story.” — By Rick Bentley/The Fresno Bee/MCTDiCaprio, Hill to team up again
After working together in The Wolf of Wall Street, actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill are again teaming up for a movie based on a true story of a man falsely blamed for a bombing at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.The movie depicts the story of Richard Jewell, the security guard who went from being a hero to a suspect at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, reports hollywoodreporter.com. He was later exoneratedHill will play Jewell and DiCaprio will essay Jewell’s attorney.DiCaprio will also produce the movie adaptation with his partner Jennifer Davisson Killoran, Hill and Kevin Misher. Jewell was working as a security guard at the 1996 Summer Games when he discovered a backpack containing pipe bombs, subsequently sounding the alarm and helping to clear the area. However, the bomb detonated, killing one person and injuring dozens of others. Initially hailed as a hero, Jewell was soon the prime suspect, as the FBI searched his home twice. He was later cleared of all charges. The yet untitled project is still in development. — IANSAniston spent over five hours on hair extensionsActress Jennifer Aniston has reportedly spent more than five hours to make her tresses look longer.She chopped off her long locks recently but was recently seen stepping out in longer hair.“Jen had been complaining to friends that she didn’t like the short hairdo ... she thought she wanted a drastic change, but felt it wasn’t the right look for her. Instead of just growing her hair out, Jen opted to have hair extensions put back in, which she has utilised in the past,” radaronline.com quoted a source as saying.“The entire process to put the extensions in took over five hours because of the amount of extensions she needed. If Jen was trying to have healthier hair, well, it’s not going to happen with those extensions,” added the source. — IANSKit Harington to star in Testament of YouthActor Kit Harington, who rose to fame playing the role of Jon Snow in popular TV series Game of Thrones, will now feature in Testament of Youth.The 27-year-old will star with Alicia Vikander in the movie, which is the screen adaptation of an autobiography of a woman’s experiences during World War I, reports hollywoodreporter.com.David Heyman, who last produced Gravity, is producing the movie that will be directed by James Kent.Written by Vera Brittain and published in 1933, the autobiography tells how the author postponed her studies to serve as a nurse in the war during which she lost her fiance and brother. Vikander is portraying Brittain and Harington will essay her fiance. — IANSMatthew McConaughey roped in for Sea of Trees
Actor Matthew McConaughey will feature in director Gus Van Sant’s next movie Sea of Trees.The 44-year-old is set to feature alongside Ken Watanabe in the movie, reports variety.com.While Van Sant will direct the movie, Chris Sparling will pen the script. The story of Sea of Trees follows a suicidal American (McConaughey) who befriends a Japanese man (Watanabe) lost in a forest near Mt Fuji. — IANSAlba sports new hairdo
Actress Jessica Alba’s new shoulder-length hair is a hit with her family members. She says her five-year-old daughter Honor called it “cool”. “I don’t know if it’s cool...Honor thought it was cool,” eonline.com quoted Alba as saying. The Fantastic Four star has sported bangs, side-swept waves and highlighted her locks in the past. — IANS