Thursday, August 18, 2011

Movies for Writers: Midnight in Paris

Last week, I went on vacation with four of my favorite people. We went to Bar Harbor, Maine. I'd actually never been to Maine before but two of my friends on the trip go every year. I can see why: it is GORGEOUS.

And there are wild goldenrod everywhere:


(Goldenrod happens to also be the name of the mapmaker in The Mapkmaker and the Ghost.)

We did a lot of hiking, eating, swimming in the lake, eating, kayaking and eating. Our Maine experts Billy and Julie also took us to one of their favorite Bar Harbor locations: a movie theater called Reel Pizza.

Why the pun, you might ask? Why because Reel Pizza serves you pizza in the middle of your movie. That's right. You order it right before the movie starts and then you sit down at a seat that has a table in front of it (the front two rows are couches and Barcaloungers). At some point in the middle of your movie, a giant bingo board lights up with your number, and you go and grab your pizza. There's even an intermission in the middle of every movie in case you need more.

The pizza itself wasn't bad (sorry, I'm a New Yorker! We're very picky about/proud of our own pizza), but the novelty was awesome. And the most awesome thing was that we happened to catch two great movies there.

One of which was Woody Allen's latest, Midnight in Paris. (Trailer can be found below.)



Because, unlike a lot of Hollywood fare, this trailer actually does a great job of not spoiling the movie, I won't either. But what I will say is that I think writers in particular will get a huge kick out of it.

For one thing. Woody Allen is definitely a writer's filmmaker and he always has been. The dialogue is as witty as expected. But there are also a lot of writerly jokes and characters that I think will resonate (especially for this screenwriter turned novelist, just like the movie's protagonist).

Check it out if you get a chance: I think you'll enjoy it!

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