James Ivory, Russell Banks among guest speakers for TIFF’s Books on Film series

James Ivory will discuss his adaptation of E.M. Forster’s Howard’s End on June 18.

When the Toronto International Film Festival and Random House of Canada host a book club, the guest speakers are bound to be impressive.

The second season of TIFF’s Books on Film series, which screens cinematic adaptations of literary texts followed by discussion, is drawing big names from both the publishing and film industries.

Shane Smith, director of public programs for TIFF, says festival staff worked closely with the series host, CBC Radio’s Eleanor Wachtel, to determine the lineup and guest speakers. “Eleanor’s well known for her work in literature, but she’s a big film buff as well, and has an encyclopedic knowledge of film,” says Smith.

In determining this year’s program, Smith says, “We looked at films we’d loved. Sometimes we’d drop a film and a book because we couldn’t get the right guest. Other times, the guest led the choice of film.”

Russell Banks, who will discuss the Academy Award–winning adaptation of his novel Affliction on Feb. 27, was “on our list from the get-go,” says Smith. “We’re thrilled we can get the book, get the film, and get him at the same place.”

Other guests include filmmaker Atom Egoyan on his adaptation of William Trevor’s novel Felicia’s Journey (Feb. 6); feminist film critic and author Molly Haskell on Cary Fukunaga’s version of Charlotte Brontë’s classic Jane Eyre (March 26); and author Will Aitken on Luchino Visconti’s adaption of Thomas Mann’s novella Death in Venice (April 16).

On May 14, Knopf Random Canada executive vice-president and publisher Louise Dennys will provide context for the 1949 thriller The Third Man, written by Dennys’ uncle, Graham Greene, and on June 18, James Ivory, director of some of contemporary cinema’s most celebrated literary adaptations, will discuss E.M. Forster’s Howard’s End.

Sarah Polley to adapt Atwood novel

Sarah Polley is one step closer to bringing Margaret Atwood’s 1996 novel Alias Grace to the big screen. According to the Canadian Press, Polley’s adaptation of the Giller Prize–winning book is one of 29 scripts in development with Astral’s Harold Greenberg Fund.

Away from Her, Polley’s 2007 directorial debut (an adaptation of Alice Munro’s short story “The Bear Came Over the Mountain”), earned her an Oscar nomination for best adapted screenplay.

UPDATE: Also included in this round of funding are adaptations of Michael Nicoll Yahgulanaas’s graphic novel Red: A Haida Manga (Douglas & McIntyre), scripted by Joseph Boyden; Alison Pick’s novel Far to Go (House of Anansi Press), co-written by playwrights Rosa Laborde and Hannah Moscovitch; Wayson Choy’s novel All That Matters (Anchor Canada), by director Paulo Barzman; Zoe Whittall’s novel Bottle Rocket Hearts (Cormorant Books), co-written by Whittall and Linsey Stewart; Gil Adamson’s novel The Outlander (Anansi), scripted by Esta Spalding; Sheree-Lee Olson’s book Sailor Girl (Porcupine’s Quill), written by film critic Johanna Schneller; and Steven Galloway’s novel The Cellist of Sarajevo (Vintage Canada), produced by Strident Films. A full list of recipients is available via the Greenberg Fund.

Clement Virgo’s film adaptation of Lawrence Hill’s The Book of Negroes moves into production

Canadian film director Clément Virgo (Poor Boy’s Game, Lie With Me) is developing an adaptation of Lawrence Hill’s bestseller, The Book of Negroes, to begin shooting next year.

Hill’s publisher, HarperCollins Canada, sold the film rights to Virgo’s production company, Conquering Lion Pictures, in 2009.

In an interview with film website indieWire, Virgo says, “The main character, Aminata, is someone who I really connected to as a reader and a filmmaker. I thought that this would be a great character to build a film around, so we contacted Lawrence Hill. I told him I was really interested in his book and that I would love to work on the script with him. To my surprise, he agreed.”

15 TIFF films for the literary-minded

You’re not going to get close to Brad Pitt, in town this weekend for the premiere of Moneyball, the adaptation of Michael Lewis’s baseball book of the same name, but if you’re attending the Toronto International Film Festival this week, here are 15 more book-to-screen adaptations or literary-minded films to keep in mind.

Albert Nobbs: Glenn Close stars in the adaptation of George Moore’s 19th-century short story about an Irish woman who disguises herself as a man to work as a butler.

Almayer’s Folly: In 2000, director Chantal Akerman adapted the fifth volume of Proust’s À la recherche du temps perdu for the big screen; this time it’s Joseph Conrad’s debut novel.

Anonymous: Director Roland Emmerich travels back to the court of Queen Elizabeth I in this drama, which suggests Edward de Vere, Earl of Oxford, may have written Shakespeare’s greatest plays.

Chicken with Plums: Marjane Satrapi reunites with her Persepolis co-director Vincent Paronnaud to adapt the second graphic novel in the trilogy.

A Dangerous Method: David Cronenberg’s period piece is adapted from screenwriter Christopher Hampton’s play, which was based on John Kerr’s non-fiction work A Most Dangerous Method: The Story of Jung, Freud, and Sabina Spielrein.

The Eye of the Storm: Charlotte Rampling plays an aging matriarch to Geoffrey Rush and Judy Davis in this adaptation of Australian author Patrick White’s novel of the same name.

The First Man: A French film by Italian director Gianni Amelio, based on Albert Camus’ unfinished autobiographical novel Le premier homme, which the author was working on when he was killed in a car accident.

Habibi: A modern retelling of the ninth-century classical poem Majnun Layla (Mad for Layla), set in the Gaza Strip.

Hard Core Logo II: The sequel (or companion film) to the Canadian cult classic, based on the novel by Michael Turner, stars director Bruce McDonald.

Killer Elite: Jason Statham, Clive Owen, and Robert De Niro pull out the action for this film, adapted from Sir Ranulph Fiennes’ 1991 bestseller.

The Moth Diaries: Mary Harron takes on the complexities of female adolescence in this horror film, based on Rachel Klein’s vampire novel.

Monsieur Lazar: Set in a Montreal elementary school, Philippe Falardeau’s new film is expanded from a one-character play by Evelyne de la Chenelière.

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen: Ewan McGregor stars as a scientist in Lasse Hallström’s adaptation of Paul Torday’s best-selling novel.

Trishna: It’s not the first time Thomas Hardy’s Tess of the d’Urbervilles has been made into a film, but this one is directed by Michael Winterbottom and set in India.

UFO in Her Eyes: Contemporary Chinese culture is explored in this adaptation of a novel by Xiaolu Guo, who also directed the film.

Marion Cotillard to star in film adaptation of Craig Davidson’s Rust and Bone

Marion Cotillard in La Vie en Rose

Academy Award–winning actor Marion Cotillard will star in a French-language adaptation of Craig Davidson’s short story collection, Rust and Bone (Penguin Canada).

According to The Playlist, Rust and Bone will be directed by Jacques Audiard, who co-wrote the screenplay with Thomas Bidegain, his collaborator on A Prophet, which won the Grand Prix prize at the 2009 Cannes International Film Festival. At a budget of $22 million, Variety calls it one of the biggest films to come out of France this year. Shooting begins at the end of September.

Q&Q‘s 2005 review of Rust and Bone describes each story as “based around either a macho sport or a wacky job. Boxing, basketball, dog fighting, stage magic, and, yes, porn all inspire treatment in the collection.”

Behind the big screen: Canadian lit adaptations

As producers arrive by the plane-load for the Toronto International Film Festival, Q&Q returns to its June 2011 issue, where seven Canadian production companies describe what they look for when adapting the printed word for film and TV.

DARIUS FILMS, TORONTO
Recently optioned: For Those About to Rock by Dave Bidini, Chump Change by David Eddie
What are they looking for? “It’s not necessary for a book or writer to be ‘known,’ but anything that helps give us an advantage when marketing the project is great. Lately I’ve tried to read more short story collections, because it feels like that format, often being less dense, can lend itself well to adaptation.” –Leah Jaunzems, development executive

Away From Her

FOUNDRY FILMS, TORONTO
Recently optioned: “Away From Her” by Alice Munro, Fruit by Brian Francis, Eleanor Rigby by Douglas Coupland, Helpless by Barbara Gowdy
What are they looking for? “I look for something in the book that has cinematic possibilities, whether it is the setting, particular characters, something which triggers thoughts of a movie.” – Daniel Iron, producer

Federgreen Entertainment, Toronto
Recently optioned: Shelf Monkey by Corey Redekop, It Feels So Good When I Stop by Joe Pernice
What are they looking for? “Great storytelling that’s commercial and can find an audience or have a built-in audience, and can be made for a reasonable budget.” – Avi Federgreen, producer

Markham Street Films, Toronto
Recently optioned: Heaven Is Small by Emily Schultz, Sailor Girl by Sheree-Lee Olson, An Audience by Chairs by Joan Clark
What are they looking for? “Stories that we connect with emotionally.” – Judy Holm, producer/writer

Gang of 2, Vancouver
Recently optioned: The Case of Lena S. by David Bergen
What are they looking for? “We look for what the book-buying public looks for: great story, rich characters, and well-realized themes. Novels that are deeply internal are tough to translate to the screen.” – Angus Fraser, writer/producer

Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures

SHAFTESBURY FILMS, TORONTO
Recently optioned: Short stories by Margaret Atwood and Carol Shields, Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures by Vincent Lam
What are they looking for? “We’re looking for a fresh take on a world that is brought to life by very special characters. We’re always looking for the fresh idea, that fresh voice.” – Christina Jennings, chairman and co-CEO

The Englishman’s Boy

MINDS EYE ENTERTAINMENT, REGINA
Recently optioned: Falling Angels by Barbara Gowdy, The Englishman’s Boy by Guy Vanderhaeghe
What are they looking for? “Stories that will translate to a broad audience. Stories that are both visual and move people’s emotions. If books don’t make you feel emotion at some level then why read them? The same holds true for movies made from books. It’s about moving the audience.” – Kevin DeWalt, CEO

Daily book biz round-up: Tolkien & Dickens; New Jersey libraries saved; and more

Today’s book news:

• Descendants of Tolkien and Dickens (!) rework classic children’s fantasy
• Crime Writer’s Association announces Gold Dagger nominees
• Nielsen looks at the ways film adaptations like Eat, Pray, Love affect book sales
• Amazing what a little media attention can do: New Jersey libraries to be saved
• E-books taking off at libraries in B.C. and Nova Scotia

Emily Schultz’s Heaven is Small scores film deal

Emily Schultz’s second novel, Heaven is Small (House of Anansi Press, has been optioned by the Gemini award-winning Markham Street Films. Although MSF is best-known for producing documentaries, the company has also worked on several dramas, including Canadian author David Bezmozgis’s debut feature, Victoria Day. From the Anansi e-newsletter:

“I’m starting to feel like my character, Gordon Small,” responds Schultz, “a copy-editor who somehow manages to get his opus out into the living world through unlikely means.” She continues, “Markham Street Films is a stellar company, and I trust Judy Holm [producer] and Michael McNamara [director] will bring out the comedy and the tender moments of Heaven is Small.”

This is the second movie deal for Anansi in just over a month: in July, Gil Adamson’s The Outlander was optioned for the big screen.

Gil Adamson’s The Outlander lands film deal

Gil Adamson’s first novel, The Outlander (published by House of Anansi Press in 2007), has been optioned for the big screen by a trio of production companies from Canada and the U.K.

The production companies involved are London’s Xingu Films, the company behind the sci-fi movie Moon, as well as the Canadian firms Strada Films and Triptych Media. The latter is no stranger to CanLit, having produced adaptations of work by Barbara Gowdy (Falling Angels), David Adams Richards (The Bay of Love and Sorrows), and Matt Cohen (Emotional Arithmetic). The company recently produced a documentary about poet Ryan Knighton’s loss of sight, As Slow As Possible.

While the production is still in the early stages, Triptych’s Robin Cass confirmed that the co-producers will meet with potential screenwriters and directors over the coming months. While Adamson will not be the screenwriter on the project, Cass said she will be involved as a consultant. As for the film’s budget and cast, Cass said “we are planning on making this at a significant international level budget-wise and in terms of cast attachments and above-the-line talent.”

The gospel according to Dan Brown

New York Times columnist Ross Douhat (who does not look at all like David Brent … well, maybe just a little) believes that Dan Brown’s novels are successful not just because the books are cheesy page-turners, or because the notion that the Vatican conceals nasty little secrets is inherently interesting (especially to many Catholics), or even because, well, corny thrillers often sell huge, but because The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons (the film of which just opened to big numbers) present an alternative vision of faith, one more attuned to modern life:

Brown is explicit about this mission. He isn’t a serious novelist, but he’s a deadly serious writer: His thrilling plots, he’s said, are there to make the books’ didacticism go down easy, so that readers don’t realize till the end “how much they are learning along the way.” He’s working in the same genre as Harlan Coben and James Patterson, but his real competitors are ideologues like Ayn Rand, and spiritual gurus like Eckhart Tolle and Deepak Chopra. He’s writing thrillers, but he’s selling a theology.

[...]

For millions of readers, Brown’s novels have helped smooth over the tension between ancient Christianity and modern American faith. But the tension endures. You can have Jesus or Dan Brown. But you can’t have both.

Jesus and Dan Brown, then, are kind of like cake and cookies – you can only pick one.