Ron and Draco... All Growed Up

 I don't know about you all, but I was completely addicted to the Harry Potter books till the movies came out. Not that I have any many issues with the movies, but you know how it is with an amazing book... the possibility of cramming it into an hour (or three) at the theatre is next to impossible. It was years ago now that I read them, but I still feel a great fondness for the characters. 

 

This is perhaps why I feel so amused by the idea of casting Ron Weasley and Draco Malfoy in the roles of male model. I most certainly understand the savvy concept, the brilliance of borrowing their characters without actually using their persona to sell product. Marketing psychology fascinates me, and this shoot is bang on, but it still seems kinda like they should not be throwing Weasley and Malfoy in a room together with the purpose of selling clothing. It seems, I don't know... dangerous? LOL

 Either way, the idea to shoot Rupert Grint and Tom Felton at the Magic Castle in LA was pretty genius. Scott Sternberg of Band of Outsiders shot the pair himself on Polaroid film (also genius) and the results are exactly what the clothing should be represented by. (It doesn't hurt that the label's acronym is BOO which fits with the castle's creepy bits for a lookbook hitting the populace in the face right before Halloween.) More than anything, it's great just to see these two just having a good time.  

 All in all, a pretty brilliant scheme. Well played.

The Pillow Book.

Ugh.

Favourite book. This is my task. In four hours I am meant to publish a post on my favourite book for the Blog O Sphere project. How... HOW does one choose ONE favourite book? I have sat down to write this post umpteen times, and failed miserably to write even one sentence, let alone paragraph. Not only that, but I have to follow it up with WHY it is my favourite! I mean, it is easy enough to go on about why you like a certain book, but explaining WHY that one is better than ALL the other books? Sheesh! Hmmm...

OK, so I am going to go with movie. Technically, that was an option, but I thought that since the reason I am doing this project is because it challenges me to write about things on a deadline and I don't just get to write about what is hurtling through my brain towards the keyboard automatically. It is harder than you think! For me, movie was easy... book was a challenge. But it is five thirty in the morning and it is getting lighter outside and I want to go back to sleep. Movie it is.

It goes without saying that my favourite movie is The Pillow Book, a 1996 film by UK director Peter Greenaway based around the ancient book of observations of Sei Shonagon. Vivian Wu takes us into the pillow book (diary) of Japanese model Nagiko; a view into the life of a woman literally obsessed with the written word which follows her childhood watching her father's tumultuous life as an aspiring writer. Her fetish is calligraphy, and she is determined to document all that makes the world more beautiful, tangible and most passionate.

What is most appealing to me is that the story is told as if Vivian's character, Nagiko, isn't even aware that she is a drama seeker but has the perspective of the naive girl who begins the pillow book as a child. She is simultaneously treading dark waters and exploring new, uncomfortable territory, but she is so wrapped up in being a princess that she is unaware that she is doing so. By the time the movie wraps, she has destroyed more than one life and never wavers from her quest of both revenge and discovery.

I find every aspect of the story worth watching and never tire of it. From the sets and design, to the layered screenshots, even how the scenes of Nagiko's husband setting her beloved library on fire evoke a protective fury in the viewer that keeps up with the love/hate relationship you develop with her character. Absolutely stunning visually, the addition of Scottish actor Ewan McGregor made this a multi-cultural piece before the cameras were even rolling. I think his talent comes out in off base films.

The Pillow Book is one of those pieces of art that says something about the viewer. If somebody brings it up in conversation, you immediately know something about them. How you relate to a story such as this one is revealing of more than your taste in movies. Your tolerances are challenged and if you can see through the drama to the beauty, it speaks to who you are. I cannot say it is perfection, but what is? Brilliant though, it is that. And it's about a book... so maybe that counts towards my original task too? LOL

(Sidebar: I crashed my computer this morning. Apparently downloading images from the movie is frowned upon because two of them did nasty things and Kaspersky couldn't handle it... sorry it's late.)

As this is a post supporting the Blog O Sphere project, an ongoing (and rather awesome) project to challenge and support bloggers, please take a mo to visit the other writers involved at the following links!

Andes Cruz: http://andescruz.wordpress.com/
Kathleen Krucoff:  http://mysticalmythicalmetalwork.wordpress.com/
Brad Severtson;   http://hammeringoutaliving.blogspot.com/
Beth Cyr: http://bcyrjewelry.blogspot.com/
stephanie clark: http://www.thethinkingsofacoldweathergirl.blogspot.com/
Wendy Kelly: http://www.wendykianakelly.com/
Barbara Donovan: http://barbaradonovan.blogspot.com/
Shaun Young: http://shaunyoung.ca/

Amy Stuart Strikes Again... With BUGS... eeeeewwwww!

I love this wee film Amy Stuart is using to promote her new book (due out in May) called Wicked Bugs! My kids are divided... Liam already has creepy crawly issues and I have inadvertently just created more months years of  having to remove every single teeny bug out of his presence. Rowan loves it. I got a good laugh and thought I would share it with you all :)

I loved her book on Wicked Plants, but I think I will personally have to leave the reading of this one to Rowan.