Thora Birch to Direct Adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s 2004 Crime Novel Mr. Paradise
Actress Thora Birch will be making her feature directorial debut on an adaptation of Elmore Leonard’s 2004 crime novel Mr. Paradise. The story centers around Kelly, an aspiring model who witnesses a murder. “I grew up loving so many blockbuster adaptations of Leonard’s work such as Get Shorty and Jackie Brown,” said Birch. “Mr. Paradise provides an ideal new lens to view Leonard through the eyes of our intriguing female protagonist as she navigates between the Detroit underworld and a persistent police investigator. The true heart of the film is the search for an escape from the quiet desperation and decay of Rust Belt Detroit, and the hope that new love can provide that escape.”
Chiwetel Ejiofor to Star Opposite Tom Hardy in Venom 3
Chiwetel Ejiofor will be joining the cast of Venom 3, starring Tom Hardy. Details about Ejiofor’s character are still being kept under wraps, but Hardy will return as the titular character and serve as producer. Kelly Marcel is attached to direct, and Avi Arad, Matt Tolmach, Amy Pascal, and Hutch Parker are also producing.
Expert Argues Beatrix Potter’s Peter Rabbit Originated in African Folktales
In a new essay for The Conversation, Dr. Emily Zobel Marshall argues that the quintessentially British Peter Rabbit series by Beatrix Potter might not be as British as we thought. Dr. Zobel Marshall calls for a wider acknowledgement of the debt Potter owes to the Brer Rabbit stories told by enslaved Africans working on American plantations. She says, “I was amazed to realise how little comment there has been over the years about the many similarities between Potter’s tales and the Africa-originated Brer Rabbit folktales.” Dr. Zobel Marshall is also the author of the book American Trickster: Trauma, Tradition and Brer Rabbit.
Why Are More and More Brands Creating Virtual Book Clubs?
These brands pivoting toward bookish territory definitely sparks some intrigue, and so it raises the question: why is this happening?