My Week With Marilyn by Colin Clark

My Week With Marilyn 

by Colin Clark

Amazon: 4 1/2 out of 5 stars

Forty years ago, Colin Clark, the son of art historian Kenneth Clark, accepted a job as a "gofer" on the set of Laurence Olivier's film The Prince and the Showgirl, which was to star Olivier and Marilyn Monroe. By day, Clark satisfied the every whim of director Olivier and other crew members; by night, he chronicled the day's events in his diary, compiling a vivid and witty introduction to the craft and business of filmmaking. Now he is publishing the diary virtually intact. It's a wickedly entertaining little book, a delicious backstage comedy of the clash of two worlds, as well as a candid time capsule of a heedless young Englishman's sexual progress, circa 1956. At center stage are the classically trained Olivier, leading a crew of expert British film professionals, and a sad and volatile Monroe, surrounded by manipulative and sycophantic hangers-on. Clark's thumbnail judgments of the principals are shrewd, sometimes harsh; playwright Arthur Miller, who married the actress just before the film began production, comes across as particularly unpleasant. Full of the sort of stories and observations film insiders tell only each other (Monroe upon Clark's first scrutiny: "She looked absolutely frightful.... Nasty complexion, a lot of facial hair, shapeless figure and, when the glasses came off, a very vague look in her eye"), this diary is a breezy, gossipy, often hilarious read. - Publishers Weekly 

Why Did I Choose This Book

Old Hollywood has always held a lot of fascination for me. Perhaps it started with Gone With The Wind and the act of connecting one actor or actress with another intensified that interest, or perhaps it's the constant flow of musical adaptations that Old Hollywood used to produce that were constantly shown on television when I was a child. Whatever it is, Marilyn Monroe has always been somewhat an idol to me. There is the glamorous side to her, sure, and that side is what most people will cite when asked about what they know about her. The hair, the vital stats, the voice and the wiggle. But what happened to her before she became famous, or the marriages that she had throughout her life before and after she became famous, or even the family background (or lack thereof) that she had usually go unnoticed to the public. When I was a child, that was what I understood about her too. Men liked her, and women generally didn't. But when I finally took the time to read about her, watched her movies (Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend will always be an all-time favourite of mine) and just tried to understand who she was, I began to like her. And I've always believed that behind that exterior, there lived a sad girl, one who was trying to capture a happy childhood that she never did get to experience. 

And when I heard that Michelle Williams was going to star in the adaptation of this book, it provided another opportunity for me to read more on her. Perhaps it'll provide a deeper interpretation of who Miss Monroe is and if there will be glimpses of Miss Norma Jean.

And with that, I leave you with one of my favourite performances from her from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. 

IT'S VERONICA MARS, STOSH PIZNARSKI AND MERCER THE RAPIST!

@IMKristennBell Hey VMars fans...guess who's hangin? #also,whoplaysthemostconvincingrapist? @ryandevlin

@RyanDevlin VMars fans, Spoiler Alert: We both raped her. @IMKristenBell 

 @RyanDevlin And yes...we both got stabbed with a unicorn.

Chris, we have MISSED your face on our tv screens. Or laptop screens. We have MISSED YOU.

The world needs more Chris Lowell.
The world needs more Chris Lowell and Kristen Bell hanging out.

Like this.

The Search by Nora Roberts: A Review

The book had so much potential at the beginning (you know what that means when a person uses 'potential'). Initially, I was thrown off with the intense amount of detail that Nora provided for the readers on the methods of training your dog. What began to look like an actual How To Train Your Dog guidebook, eventually it could be seen that it was Nora's way of using it as metaphors in the later part of the book.

What also threw me off as the fact that the lead protagonist, Fiona, shares the same nickname as me so that was rather awkward.

But the mystery that surrounds the murderer, and the murderer's proxy, did manage to paint this world where she really has no where to run to and that at any moment, the murderer will get to her. But that, I think, was the flaw. Because how do you go from that height of anticipation? You either kill Fiona off but since this IS a Nora Roberts book, obviously Fiona will live to marry Simon. And she does. And because of that, the exodus felt rather rushed and...unrealistic.

I wasn't really truly disappointed with the book. It had its good moments. But at most parts, I was rather annoyed at how the descent to capturing the murderer felt like a cop out to finish up the story.

Also, that wine cabinet thing. Really?

We Were Off To See The Wizard! - Wicked at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore

What started out as a plan that had a 50 / 50 chance of actually happening, on the 22nd of January, Farah, Yana, Siti and I finally set foot at Marina Bay Sands for Wicked. It was the Australian production but that definitely did not give allowances to the quality of the performance.

It was magical. Literally and figuratively speaking. Initially, we had no idea where our seats were but upon entering, we discovered that our seats were roughly 5-6 rows from the stage, which meant that we would be able to see facial expressions, costumes and sets in all their glory! And everything was so beautifully detailed. The curtains was made of a screen that had the map of Oz but once the musical started, the curtain would raise and it feels as though you've just entered this magical world with monkeys, people, and Glinda flying down in a metal bubble.

The cast was spectacular (of course they were!) and it wasn't hard to realize that Galinda/Glinda's role had Kristin Chenoweth in it. So much of it IS Kristin and a lot of Elphaba was Idina. I couldn't tear my eyes away from the costumes, though, especially the ones worn by the ensamble. Wicked made Lady Gaga Fashion before Lady Gaga happened, just sayin'.

 I love how wrapped up you'll get while watching the musical and of course, Defying Gravity and For Good was so beautiful to watch. I especially love the part where Elphaba flies at the end of Defying Gravity and the play with the lights made it look like there were prisms shining down from her. So beautiful!

It was just..magical. Simply magical. And thanks to Farah and Yana's love for the musical way before Glee, mind you!, I've been changed for good. /lame

I JUST HAVE A LOT OF EMOTIONS OK?!

1) When I woke up this morning, there was a dark cloud that fell above our heads. A few tweets said that MegaUpload was no longer available.

 

 All those files. Gone. GONE.

   

 We no longer have MegaUpload. And we're not sure if it's because of SOPA or not but if it is...  

 2) WE'RE WATCHING WICKED ON SUNDAY! OMG YAY!!  

 3) Shit Downtonians Say. For real, at 1:37? That's pretty much my face whenever Edith would do something stupid. Because seriously, EDITH.

 

4) Also, if I have any Chinese readers, GONG XI FA CAI XING NIAN KUAI LE!

Ramin and Sierra Need To Live in Asia

Right as I'm blogging this, Ramin and Sierra are in Japan to promote the 25th Anniversary of Phantom of the Opera DVD. 

And they're leaving for us fans this slew of adorable tweets. 

My fangirl heart? It is crying tears of happiness.

 

ETA: And here are a couple of caps that I took from the livestream that they did a few hours ago. 

Love Letters of Great Men by Ursula Doyle

Amazon.com: 4 out of 5 stars  Remember the wonderfully romantic book of love letters that Carrie reads aloud to Big in the recent blockbuster film, Sex and the City? Fans raced to buy copies of their own, only to find out that the beautiful book didn't actually exist. However, since all of the letters referenced in the film did exist, we decided to publish this gorgeous keepsake ourselves. 
Love Letters of Great Men follows hot on the heels of the film and collects together some of history's most romantic letters from the private papers of Beethoven, Mark Twain, Mozart, and Lord Byron. For some of these great men, love is "a delicious poison" (William Congreve); for others, "a nice soft wife on a sofa with good fire, & books & music" (Charles Darwin). Love can scorch like the heat of the sun (Henry VIII), or penetrate the depths of one's heart like a cooling rain (Flaubert). Every shade of love is here, from the exquisite eloquence of Oscar Wilde and the simple devotion of Robert Browning, to the wonderfully modern misery of the Roman Pliny the Younger, losing himself in work to forget how much he misses his beloved wife, Calpurnia. 

Taken together, these letters show that perhaps men haven't changed all that much over the last 2,000 years--passion, jealousy, hope and longing still rule their hearts and minds. In an age of e-mail and texted "i luv u"s, this timeless and unique collection reminds us that nothing can compare to the simple joy of sitting down to read a letter from the one you love.

Why Did I Choose This Book?

Ok let's get this out of the way. 

1) I didn't know the book was based on Sex in the City because 

2) I didn't watch Sex in the City but

3) I did find the book at Kinokuniya in Singapore and

4) It's been on my list of books to acquire for over a year or so

5) And I found it at a book fair late last year thus I immediately bought it because

6) I'm a huge romantic

GPOY

The Search by Nora Roberts

Amazon.com: 3 1/2 stars out of 5


The serviceable latest from Roberts centers on Fiona Bristow, a professional canine search-and-rescue trainer, who moved to Orcas Island in Puget Sound eight years earlier, just after barely escaping from a serial killer. The story opens with Simon Doyle, an artisan cabinetmaker who arrives on the island with a puppy in tow. It's the puppy that brings Fiona and Simon together, and the romance gets off to a rocky start; he's grumpy and plainspoken; she doesn't scare easily. Then a serial killer begins operating within striking distance, and all Fiona's hard-won peace and equanimity begins to wobble: the man who almost killed her is in prison, but he's got a disciple on the outside. The serial killer plot is very familiar and without much to distinguish it, but the romance is finely done, with Roberts's trademark banter lighting up the page. Fiona and Simon are the main attraction, but the setting and the supporting characters—with paws and without—provide a vivid backdrop. - Publishers Weekly


Why I Chose This Book
It's been a while since I last read a Nora Roberts novel. Her latest foray into the whole wedding-planning-sisters thing wasn't my cup of tea. However, I was at the bookstore, trying to find a book to buy when I stumbled upon this one. It was thick...and usually Nora's thick books are pretty awesome (The Villa). And it was between this and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies so...you know, Queen Nora always wins with me.
So yeah. I cheated because I started reading the book last year but I'm nowhere near the end yet so we'll see whether she's back.

Books of 2012: Here We Go Again

Because I was rather fond of my Books of 2011 project, I've decided to continue with a Books of 2012 project. I guess my target is to beat my 2011 number, which was 16 books. Quite honestly, I'm rather embarrassed of that number so...we'll try to hit 20, shall we?

UGH. There used to be a time where hitting 40 was no problem :(

Also, if you're interested, you guys can add me at Good Reads! I'm Zafirah Ab Rahim there :)

So yeah. Here goes!

Downton Abbey Christmas Special aka ARGH FINALLY YOU TWO.

It was a 1 hour 32 min worth of angsty angsty angsty angst. Until the last 5 minutes where everything was just joy joy joy JOY.

All the wait, the exhausting flailing of emotions and the need to just smack the both of them on the head, FINALLY it happened. But before we get on to that (with visuals!) I need to say that Mrs Patmore deserves a gold star for her trolling ouija board ways. That woman should NEVER be messed with when you just won't listen to what she tells you to do.

And Thomas and Isis and Fenton 2.0. That was hilarious. Not only was Thomas vulnerable but it made for comic relief because seriously, a man running around for the dog like that? I know Isis should have a role but I didn't know that Julian Fellowes will actually troll in that manner.

Anna and Bates left me weeping everytime they came on screen so let's not get into that.

Mary and Matthew. Mary and Matthew.




This was pretty much when you knew that something was hopefully going to happen. The way she looks at him when he's not looking tells us that
a) MICHELLE DOCKERY FOR ALL THE AWARDS
b) Damn Dan Stevens has a nice side profile
c) AHHH! MARY AND MATTHEW <333333

And then it was bla bla bla Matthew interrupts Mary and Richard fighting bla bla  bla Matthew wants to see Mary bla bla Matthew interrupts Richard fighting again bla bla bla MATTHEW PUNCHES RICHARD bla bla ugly vase that Maggie Smith hated bla bla bla St Lavinia's grave and Mrs Crawley telling Matthew he's an idiot since two old ladies need to tell him that Mary still loves him (no she didn't but she did say something to that nature) bla bla DANCE YOU TWO, DANCE. Then...




The LOOK he gives her. I want to eventually be on the receiving end of that look. *Weeps* And he starts being all school boy "Must you go?? Why can't you stayyyyyy?" on her which then reminds you of how eerily this is beginning to sound like the last scene in the last episode of season 1 where you were more upset about them breaking up than you were about the war.

And then Matthew said "Hey baby, I think I wanna marry you," and Mary's all "But you must do the whole shebang because I've only been waiting for this for like 8 years and I don't care if I'm freezing to death in this dress, YOU MUST KNEEL DOWN AND DO THIS PERFECTLY SO THE FANS WILL CRY AND FLAIL."

And he did.



*cue Firah*



And then OBVIOUSLY she said yes




And I was pretty much like this




But it was awesome and it was exhausting because I mean that was 8 years worth of angst there but in the end YAYY!!! So now, we wait. Because we know that Julian Fellowes will find a way to frack things up for these two in September. Until then, we shall live in this beautiful Mary and Matthew bubble we have created.