Beautiful Creatures: How Can A Film Be So Good Yet Get The Story Adaption So Wrong? A Rant by Mike CCD

Last night was Valentines Day, and my fiance and I do not like to get caught up in all the schmoes that go out to dinner on that night. Everyplace is packed and uncomfortable, and we hate it. So we decided to take a short drive into New Jersey to attend a movie at an AMC Dine IN Theater. This is a movie theater with super comfy leather recliners, a full on dinner menu, and alcoholic beverages... basically it is heaven on earth. We decided to see Beautiful Creatures, the book adaption that is set to be the next franchise type event series. It is based on a book series by Kami Garcia & Margret Stohl. There are four books in the series, and since Tara and I like these types of books we decided to grab the set about a month ago in preparation for the upcoming movie. The book revolves around two teenagers, a boy that is native to South Carolina named Ethan and the new girl who just moved into town named Lena. In this small town things don't change often, so when Lena shows up as the relative to the town outcasts she starts a stir. But things are a bit complicated because Ethan knows her... well, actually he has been dreaming of her for the past few months. There is something about this girl... and after they begin to connect Ethan finds out that Lena is a Caster (a sort of witch) who comes from a long line of casters. Not only is he dating a teenage witch, but there are many other things that are not quite right in Gatling, South Carolina. Lets just say things get a bit strange... in a good way. As they couple speeds towards Lena's 16th birthday (the day which she is claimed for The Light or The Dark), things get quite hectic. Tara and I flew threw the first book, and we were super hyped to see how it converted to the screen. We got that chance on Thursday, but the results weren't quite what we had hoped for. But they weren't exactly bad results either. Check out the rest after the jump....

That Guy Ray Bradbury Seemed To Know What He Was Talking About When he Was Writing Science "Fiction"

Ray Bradbury passed away last week and I am a dick because I never took a second to pay him proper tribute. Bradbury is responsible for a litany of literary classics, most notably in the Sci Fi genre. His best known works would probably be The Martian Chronicles, The Illustrated Man, and one of my all time favorite books Fahrenheit 451. But after he passed away, lots of other more responsible/respectable sites (we suck here at CCD...sorry!!!) ran cool stories in tribute to Mr. Bradbury. One of the best ones that I saw had to an infographic of all the predictions that Ray Bradbury made in his books that ended up coming true in real life. In sci fi people take chances when they "predict" what technology will come in the future, but it seems like my man Ray had much more than a hope when constructing his ideas of what technology in the future would look like. Well played Mr. Bradbury!!! Take a look at the infographic after the jump and if you have never read a Bradbury book put it onto your to do list ASAP....

The Excavation Of Mushroom Island by Logan Zawacki

What if the world of Super Mario Brothers was real? What if those warp zone pipes didn't take our favorite plumbers from Brooklyn to another world, but rather to a deserted island somewhere in the South Pacific? There would have to be some sort of evidence of the existence of these fantastic times... and now there is!!!! Author Logan Zawacki has self published a very interesting book entitled 'The Excavation of Mushroom Island', which details an archaeological excavation that has turned up the skeletal remains of some well known Mario game characters. Bowser, Toad, Goombas, Koopa Troopas, and even the brothers themselves... these X-Ray photos make for a cool book. Right now it is available on Blurb for $50.00 (which seems like a lot but is not that much for a self published book with this many cool full color photos). Check out the official Flickr stream here, and click after the jump for my faves of the bunch....

Check Out Salvador Dali's Take On 'Alice In Wonderland'

This one goes out to all you art geeks out there... yup, you get love here on CCD too! Salvador Dali is one of my favorite artists, and I think it has to be because he gave a fuck-all what anybody thought about his ongoing shenanigans and crazy lifestyle. Despite being a lunatic, his art pedigree is amazing. Anywho, apparently Dali was contracted  Random House Publishing back into 1969 to illustrate the Lewis Carroll classic "Alice In Wonderland". He responded by creating 12 visually stunning heliograuves (I guess thats an artsy-fartsy art world word for paintings... WTF do I know!) for each chapter in the book, as well as a front piece for the edition. Thanks to the gang over at Brain Pickings, we have digital images of these beautiful pieces for your viewing pleasure. Click after the jump to see them in all their glory...

Jane Austen Novels x Harry Potter Houses

This is a really cool mash-up of Jane Austen book titles and the various Houses at the Hogwarts School of Wizardry in Harry Potter. I love this because a person gets placed in a house based on the choice of the sorting hat, and that choice is based on the intangibles that they possess inside their heart. I like the way the artist used the four words from the Austen books to highlight the key characteristics of each house. Click after the jump for the full picture...

2011 NY Comic Con Interviews: Tommy Talks With the Gang Behind 'Jaws: Memories From Martha's Vineyard'

Hello, hello, my fellow CCDers! .Being such a big fan of the classic film 'Jaws', I was very excited to discover a table at the NYCC where Moonrise Media was pushing their new book "'JAWS': MEMORIES FROM MARTHA'S VINEYARD"! This HUGE, beautiful tome is a collection of clippings, set photos, personal islander photos, and studio stills and pieces culled during the making of 'Jaws' on Martha's Vineyard in 1974. Click after the jump to read more and see the interview video...

Win A Copy Of 'Can You Survive A Zombie Apocalypse?'

Ever since I was a kid I have always been a fan of the 'Choose Your Own Adventure' series of books. I recently discovered that the library in Bay Ridge has all the old classics that got me through elementary school. But my good friends over at the awesome blog Zombies and Toys are trying to take us to the next generation of these self propelled stories and I for one can not wait to give it a shot!!!





This is the very cool looking 'Can You Survive A Zombie Apocalypse?' written by Max Brallier. It is in the vein of the old "Choose Your Own Adventure" books and is capitalizing on the whole zombie movement going on right now (Zombies are in... Vamps & Werewolves are so last year). You can win a free copy by clicking here and following the prompts at the bottom of the post. Tell them CCD sent you... who knows, maybe they will pick one of our guys to win (wink, wink!!!). 

"Decoded" Gives Some Insight Into the Genius That Is Jay-Z

Jay-Z's much anticipated, highly controversial autobiographical book "Decoded" collaborated on the book with former Source magazine editor Dream Hampton, and it lays a foundation for the stories that inspired Hov to come up with all of his hit records. 11 consecutive #1 albums, 55 millon records sold, and 10 Grammy awards later, Hov is by far the most successful male solo artist of my generation. I can not wait to get into the who, what, when, wheres, whys, and hows that went into his thought process. Ironically, Jay never writes his rhymes... he just gets in the booth and spits his lyrics of the dome. Now he is taking a step back and writing the backstory instead. Thats quite ironic... yet not in a bad way at all. You can order you copy of the hardcover book by clicking here. So what are you waiting for? Take a peak into the mind of a musical genius. Is this a book you might read? Tell us in the comment section below!!!

Now This Is A Book I Can Relate To...

.. from author Tony Pacitti, we get his memoir: My Best Friend Is A Wookie: A Memoir, One Boys Journey To Find  His Own Place. In the book, Pacitti relates his life experiences to his favorite movie of his childhood, Star Wars. He draws parallels between typical issues of growing up and the stories of the Lucas-verse. I can not wait to get this book, which was just released on September 18th. I am looking forward to sharing this book with my son Mikey, a member of yet another generation touched by the awesomeness that is Star Wars. you can check out Pacitti's webpage by clicking here, and you can order the book at a bit of a discount by clicking here. Happy reading... and may the force be with you!!!

Books I Absolutely Love - The Old Man And The Sea

I absolutely adore this classic book by Ernest Hemingway. I just re-read it on my vacation in the Dominican Republic (the book is set in the Carribbean, so when in Rome...lol) The age old story of the long past his prime fisherman struggling alone on a boat with a humungo sized marlin is wonderfully written and makes me smile when I read it. I read contemporary works, like the books of Dan Brown, Stephen King or Charlene Harris, yet I find myself gravitating to the classics more often because of the poetic nature of their prose. Hemmingway just feels right when you read it... never do I feel like I am laboring through chapters, it just all seems to go so fast. To fast if you ask me. I have never seen the movie adaption from the 1950's (Its on my netflix list, with thousands of other movies!!!) but I would love to see an update to this puppy. Either way, give this American classic a shot. Trust me, you will not regret it. Please leave some comments below, I love to hear your opinions.

Why the F@ck Are You Reading That Book???

Oh... thats right. Cause it has been adapted into a hit fucking movie. Thats why its cool to pick it up now. You know what, I'm not even mad about this practice of reading original source materials AFTER its adapted into a movie... I'm more mad at the asshole people who allow themselves to be directed to buy these books. Now if you are interested in reading something, by all means read it. I read books all the time, and I have been looked at as crazy for my choices before. But picking a title out because everyone is talking about the movie they adapted from it is just fucking crazy. I ride the NYC Subway to work everyday. Since October, every single person on the fucking train is reading one of three books: The Blindside (the movie adaption was recently nominated for best picture academy award), The Lovely Bones (Adapation directed by Geek God Peter Jackson, he directs a movie like every 5 years) and by far the worst offense of the group: Push by Sapphire ( Adapted into the movie Precious; recently nominated for best picture academy award).

Now I can understand wanting to know what all the fuss is about... I can even relate to you wanting to be ahead of a movie release and reading the original to enhance the movie experience when you do eventually see the film. But certain books should be read by certain people. My rule is pretty general: Dont fucking read it if you have absolutely no interest in it. This is a picture of some kid on the train the other day. He looked like a straight laced white kid, dressed to go to work in business attire. Then he pulls out his literary choice and I almost choked on my corn muffin:

This tool is really reading Push??? The story of the 400 lbs black teenager who is impregnated by her step father and has a mom that make her already horrible life worse by beating the shit out of her??? Yeah, I could see the common interests that this book shares with this guys characteristics... get the fuck outta here!!! If you hear everyone talking about the movie, dont try to be overly intelectual and get the book. Just go see the fucking movie!!! If this book wasn't adapted, and Mo'nique didn't give a Golden Globe winning, Academy Award nominated performance as the piece of shit mother of Precious, would this tool bag above EVER HAVE PICKED UP THIS BOOK??? Nope, not at all. I agree that books are almost always better then the movies they inspire, but don't pick a book to read simply cause it has been made into a hollywood movie. try picking something you could relate to and truly enjoy.

JD Salinger: American Literary Legend Enters The Great Library In The Sky

Farewell JD Salinger. The reclusive author, most famous for his 1951 novel Catcher in the Rye, died Wednesday at his New Hampshire home. Long out of the spotlight due to the fact that he shunned his super stardom, its not a surprise that information on his death came out a full day after he actually died. He had successfully published a few short stories in the 40's, and one even got optioned for a movie. But Sam Goldwyn destroyed the soul of Salinger's short story "Uncle Wiggly in Connecticut" when he made the film "My Foolish Heart". Salinger hated the movie, and vowed to never allow his work to be adapted again. This was something he never gave in on. His first novel was Catcher In the Rye. Salinger was one of those rare talents that nailed it on the first shot, having a hugely successful novel with his first published book. He recieved offers from the Hollywood elite for over 5 decades to adapt the novel. Billy Wilder and Steven Spielberg, two of the greatest directors ever, both tried unsuccessfully to option the book. He would not budge.

Salinger hated the spotlight, and it is rumored that he suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from the time he spent in the army during World War II. He lead a very sheltered life out of the public eye and with the success of Catcher in the Rye he probably didn't want for much. Catcher has sold over 65 million books worldwide and still, 59 years later, moves 250,000 copies a year. It is the quintessential High School English class book, along with Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. Although the book was criticized for its language and sexual content in the 60's and the 70's, it is widely accepted as a literary masterpiece that is close to perfection in most of today's modern literary circles. Holden Caufield is the one of the most recognizable characters in literature, and its a shame that a great actor never got to bring him to life on the silver screen. Hopefully, once Salinger's material enters into public domain sometime in like 70 years, there will be a filmmaker that will get a crack at this classic. Its a shame that I'll probably be gone before that happens. Peace out JD, enjoy the spotlight in heaven that you so rightfully deserved but shunned here on earth...