Two Films to Look Forward To, One Film To See

The moment I read my first few pages, I just knew “Eat, Pray, Love” would be turned into a film. It was just so rich with emotion and so full of details the five senses could feast on.

I bet they could make a whole movie on Italy alone. India can be a sequel and Indonesia another one. And they’d still make lots of money.

But I’m just saying that last bit because I haven’t really finished reading the book. I stopped in India, because Italy and its beautiful people and glorious food was just too hard to leave.

I also knew they wouldn’t get anyone less than Julia Roberts to portray Elizabeth Gilbert. Nah—I prayed they wouldn’t. Casting was crucial—“Eat, Pray, Love” is not fiction, after all. Besides, Elizabeth, the real person, is a beautiful woman herself.

The trailers of “Eat, Pray, Love” are already being shown to prep us for its August 2010 release. I have to admit, I get a little teary-eyed each time I watch it—something that my best friend Sherwil, a book publisher, just can’t get. In fact, she posted on my Facebook: “I guess you’ll have to finish it. But it began with self-indulgent drivel and I sloshed through all the pages trying to find the end of it and there was none.”

 “Eat, Pray, Love” is a travel narrative that moves through Italy (eat), India (pray) and Indonesia (love). However, there are two journeys: that of place and that of self. As Elizabeth moves from one country to another, she explores and uncovers who she truly is.

I’m not sure what it says about me that I could relate to Elizabeth’s unexplainable inner turmoil, that I could understand why some nights would find her weeping on the bathroom floor. But I do share some of the longing that pushed her to leave everything and then find a new everything all over again.

Of course, not all people, my best friend, can get that. As a writer in a third world country, I couldn’t really wrap my finger around most of Elizabeth’s despair either. Most men probably wouldn’t get it either. If you want a really entertaining (and snarky) review of the book, look up Rolf Potts’ article, “One Man’s Odyssey into ‘Eat, Pray, Love’” on Worldhum.com, a site for travel stories.

All that being said, I still can’t wait to see the movie. Julia Roberts hasn’t disappointed so far. Ryan Murphy (Glee, Nip/Tuck) wrote the script and directed the film. And Javier Bardem’s in it. Love!

The Boy Who Lived

A colleague handed me his flash drive and said, “The trailer of the last Harry Potter film is there.”

It wasn’t completely true. Book 7, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” will be shown in two parts. Part 1, the first film, will be released this year. Part 2 will be released next year.

Anything to prolong the final farewell, right?

If the trailer is to be the basis, the final films should render the whole ride unforgettable.  And it would propel Ralph Fiennes into the showbiz stratosphere, because finally Voldemort has a face and undoubtedly generations of children will remember.

I’m feeling sentimental about the whole thing myself, because I still remember the first time I opened “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” and got acquainted with the boy who lived in the cupboard under the stairs in a house on No. 4 Privet Drive.

And I still remember turning mean or shutting off conversation whenever someone interrupted me reading. I was 20. That was 12 years ago.

Daniel Radcliffe was 10. He turns 20 on July 23.     

Filipino Horror

Just a final call out to all of you: Please watch Cinco, Star Cinema’s latest venture into horror. Then let me know what you think!

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