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Popcorn & Prejudice: A Movie Blog

Seattle Times writer Moira Macdonald muses on moviegoing

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June 29, 2009 at 10:35 AM

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Whose life is it (on screen), anyway?

Posted by Moira Macdonald

The biopic is a genre that never gets old; it's a regular at Oscar-nomination time ("Milk," "Capote," "Ray," "The Aviator") and at the multiplexes, with "Public Enemies," about notorious '30s gangster John Dillinger, arriving in theaters Wednesday. Later this year, we'll see more real lives on screen: "Julia & Julia" (about chef Julia Child, played by Meryl Streep), "Amelia" (aviator Amelia Earhart, played by Hilary Swank), "Coco Before Chanel (designer Coco Chanel, played by Audrey Tautou), among others.

But what about the lives we haven't yet seen on screen? I was intrigued to read, in the press notes for "Cheri," that screenwriter Christopher Hampton ("Atonement," "The Quiet American," "Dangerous Liaisons") has long been working on a life of Colette for the screen. The one-named French writer (she was born Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette, but began using only her last name as a teen), led a busy and very screen-friendly life, which included literary fame, notorious sexual alliances -- including an affair with her stepson -- and questionable alliances during World War II. I just read Judith Thurman's biography of her (inspired after watching "Cheri") and immediately wondered: why isn't this woman on screen? Likewise, I just finished reading a volume of letters from the six erudite, adventurous Mitford sisters (Nancy, Pamela, Diana, Unity, Jessica, Deborah -- of whom only Deborah is still living), whose lives spanned the 20th century and whose friends encompassed the likes of Adolf Hitler, Ava Astaire, Maya Angelou, Evelyn Waugh, and the British royal family. Again, where's the movie?

Is there any life story you've been waiting to see on screen? Do tell. In the meantime, here's Meryl as Julia; doesn't she look jolly?

(Photo credit: Jonathan Wenk; copyright 2008 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc.)

Copyright © 2009 The Seattle Times Company

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Comments (12)
Um, did you say James Franco should play Bob Marley? Is there some other actor named James Franco other than the guy from Milk and Spiderman?...  Posted on June 29, 2009 at 4:43 PM by Emilyandscott. Jump to comment
I'd like to see a biopic made of James Madison, the father of the Constituion. I could see Christopher Lee pulling it off.  Posted on June 29, 2009 at 11:59 AM by nalto. Jump to comment
James Franco resembles Bob Marley? I think you'd need more than a little make-up magic to accomplish that. There should be enough black...  Posted on June 29, 2009 at 8:37 PM by blarneystone. Jump to comment

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