Book Vs Movie: “All the President’s Men” (1976)
The Margos search for 70's creeps, dogged reporting, and “Deep Throat”
“Follow the money.” The Watergate scandal of the early 1970s made headlines around the world as Richard Nixon and his loyal group of henchmen basically tried to intimidate their way into making Nixonian policies the law of the land (while breaking the law!)
And they would have gotten away with it too if it weren’t for those meddling Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein who painstakingly investigated the Watergate hotel break-in for years. Under the leadership of publisher Katharine Graham and editor Ben Bradlee, Woodward and Bernstein helped expose the corruption of the Nixon administration and made newspapers look cool.
“All the President’s Men” was published in 1974 and immediately became a bestseller and made stars out the Washington Post team. So, of course, Hollywood came calling with an adaptation directed by Alan J. Pakula and a screenplay by past Book Vs Movie subject William Goldman.
Robert Redford’s production company “Wildwood Enterprises” helped bring together the team which includes himself play Bob Woodward and Dustin Hoffman as Carl Bernstein. Jason Robards won a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for playing Ben Bradlee.
So between book & movie--which did we like better? Have a listen!
In this ep the Margos discuss:
- The true story of Nixon’s crimes and why he almost got away with his multiple crimes
- The process of reporting and how much work went into it in a short period of time
- Who was “Deep Throat” and why didn’t anyone listen to Nora Ephron?
- The cast: Robert Redford (Woodward,) Dustin Hoffman (Carl Bernstein,) Jason Robards (Ben Bradlee,) Jack Warden (Harrey Rosenfeld,) Martin Balsam (Howard Simons,) Hal Holbrook (Deep Throat,) Jane Alexander (Bookkeeper,) and Ned Beatty (Dardis.)
Clips used:
- All The President’s Men trailer
- Woodward and Bernstein decide who is the better writer
- Woodward and Berstein working on the story
- Deep Throat gives advice
- Ben Bradlee stands by the story
- Music by David Shire
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Margo D. @BrooklynFitChik www.brooklynfitchick.com brooklynfitchick@gmail.com
Margo P. @ShesNachoMama https://coloniabook.weebly.com/
Book Vs Movie: “The Perfect Storm” (2000)
The True-ish Stroy About the Sinking of the Andrea Gail in 1991
Ahoy Matey! The Margos can’t seem to escape the sea as we look into the disappearance of the “Andrea Gail” which happened during what was classified as “The Perfect Storm” in late October/early November in 1991. The confluence of two hurricanes and several storms happening at once caused several near-deaths and the force of the US Navy and Coast Guard to rescue several people.
Author Sebastian Junger was faced with a scary challenge when he originally told the story of the doomed fishing expedition in Outdoor magazine. Having no survivors to speak to (spoiler,) the Massachusetts native hung around Gloucester to speak with the family and friends of the crew of the Andrea Gail. His work later became the 1997 bestselling novel “The Perfect Storm.”
Soon Hollywood came calling and director Wolfgang Peterson helmed the hit film that came out in 2000 with George Clooney playing Billy Tyne and Mark Wahlberg as Bobby Shatford. The family of Billy Tyne later sued for the fictionalized portrayal (the film does make him seem to be incompetent, to be honest.) But the special effects drew big crowds at the box office and earned them a free technical Academy Award nominations.
So between book & movie--which did we like better? Have a listen!
In this ep the Margos discuss:
- The work of Sebastian Junger
- The changes between the original story and the film
- The cast: George Clooney (Billy Tyne,) Mark Wahlberg (Bobby Shatford,) John C. Reilly (“Murph,”) Diane Lane (Christina Cotter,) William Fitchner (“Sully,”) John Hawkes (“Bugsy,”) Allen Payne (Alfred Pierre,) Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio (Linda Greenlaw,) Karen Allen (Melissa Brown,) Cherry Jones (Edie Bailey,) and Christopher McDonald (Todd Gross.)
Clips used:
- The Perfect Strom trailer
- The storm is brewin’
- Billy flirts with Linda Greenlaw
- Music by James Horner
Join our Patreon page to help support the show! https://www.patreon.com/bookversusmovie
Book Vs. Movie podcast https://www.facebook.com/bookversusmovie/
Twitter @bookversusmovie www.bookversusmovie.com
Email us at bookversusmoviepodcast@gmail.com
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Margo D. @BrooklynFitChik www.brooklynfitchick.com brooklynfitchick@gmail.com
Margo P. @ShesNachoMama https://coloniabook.weebly.com/
Book Vs Movie: “The Ghost & Mrs. Muir” (1947)
A romantic love story between a hot-headed former sailor and a beautiful widow
The Margos are not afraid to take on a spooky story from time to time and The Ghost and Mrs. Muir features everything from a cranky specter to a haunted seaside mansion and a lovely widow and young mother who is seeking her independence. Even though people have to yell at her to make it happen!
Based on the novella by R.A. Dick (an Irish woman who preferred to use a gender-neutral nom de plume) the story of angelic Lucy Muir whose husband left her with two (in the novel) kids and a big amount of debt after his death has been transfixing audiences for decades mainly due to the charms of film leads Gene Tierney and Rex Harrison.
The 1945 novel was bought by 20th Century Fox as a project for famed director Joseph L. Mankowitz who decided to lean out the story and let his actors (and locations) shine. It was a hit in 1947 with audiences and critics (it’s 100% on Rotten Tomatoes!)
So between book & movie--which did we like better? Have a listen!
In this ep the Margos discuss:
- The little known life of author Josephine Leslie
- The changes between the original story and the film
- The cast: Gene Tierney (Lucy Muir,) Rex Harrison (Captain Daniel Gregg,) George Sanders (Miles Fairley,) Edna Best (Martha Huggins,) and Natalie Wood (Anna Muir.)
Clips used:
- The Ghost and Mrs. Muir trailer
- The Captain proposes a book
- The 1968 TV show
- Closing music by Bernard Herrmann
Join our Patreon page to help support the show! https://www.patreon.com/bookversusmovie
Book Vs. Movie podcast https://www.facebook.com/bookversusmovie/
Twitter @bookversusmovie www.bookversusmovie.com
Email us at bookversusmoviepodcast@gmail.com
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Margo D. @BrooklynFitChik www.brooklynfitchick.com brooklynfitchick@gmail.com
Margo P. @ShesNachoMama https://coloniabook.weebly.com/
Book Vs Movie: “The Poseidon Adventure” (1971)
The differences between the super gross book and the really fun movie (We are not going to hide our bias here!)
At Book Vs Movie, whenever people say “Duh--the book is always better than the movie!” the Margos would say “yeah--have you ever read Jaws?” Well, now we have another book to movie adaptation that features a horrible, racist, sexist, homophobic, and misogynistic novel that became a fun hit film.
Sportswriter Paul Gallico helped many stories become excellent films including Pride of the Yankees, The Snow Goose, and the stage musical Carnival! He wrote over 40 books, numerous short stories, and dozens of TV and movie scripts.
He began his career working for the sports desk at the New York Daily News and later became a prolific travel writer spending 10,000 miles on the road in the U.S. for Reader’s Digest.
In 1969, he published The Poseiden Adventure to little fanfare. The tale of a wayward ship that is sunk while traveling to Africa features some of the most loathsome characters we ever had the displeasure of reading. (The audiobook featuring narration by actor Dylan Baker makes it slightly more palatable.)
Trigger warning: This story features a character being raped who then comforts her attacker and then wishes she was pregnant by him. (Seriously!)
The movie by producer Irwin Allen and director Ronald Neame became an instant classic which began a slate of many disaster films in the 1970s. It would become the highest-grossing film of 1973 grossing over $125 million worldwide. It won an Academy Award for best special effects and for the best original song “The Morning After.”
Our lead actor is Gene Hackman as Reverand Frank Scott who is a renegade preacher who turns into a hero for the passengers of the S.S. Poseidon (partly filmed on the RMS Queen Mary.) at the time, he was a hot property after the success of The French Connection and his performance is very passionate.
Co-star Shelley Winters won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Belle Rosen--a middle-aged swimmer who gives her life to protect the survivors. (Spoiler!)
Have a listen to find out our real feelings between book & movie as this one will go down as one of our biggest takedowns of a horrible piece of work.
In this ep the Margos discuss:
- The writing career of Paul Gallico
- How truly terrible this book is and why you should not read it.
- The special effects of the film and how it changed disaster films of the future
- The cast: Gene Hackman (Reverand Frank Scott,) Ernest Borgnine (Mike Rogo,) Red Buttons (James Martin,) Carol Lynley (Nonnie Parry,) Roddy McDowell (Acres,) Stella Stevens (Linda Rogo,) Shelley Winters (Belle Rosen,) Jack Albertson (Manny Rosen,) Pamela Sue Martin (Susan Shelby,) Eric Shea (Robin Shelby,) and Leslie Nielsen (Captain Harrison)
Clips used:
- The Poseidon Adventure trailer
- A tidal wave hits the shit
- The immediate aftermath of the ship turning over
- Stella Stevens “panties” scene
- “Lindaaaaaaaaaa!!!”
- Reverend Scott sacrifices himself for the good of the group
- The group is rescued
- Closing music “The Morning After” written by Al Kasha & Joel Hirschorn and sung by Maureen McGovern
Join our Patreon page to help support the show! https://www.patreon.com/bookversusmovie
Book Vs. Movie podcast https://www.facebook.com/bookversusmovie/
Twitter @bookversusmovie www.bookversusmovie.com
Email us at bookversusmoviepodcast@gmail.com
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Margo D. @BrooklynFitChik www.brooklynfitchick.com brooklynfitchick@gmail.com
Margo P. @ShesNachoMama https://coloniabook.weebly.com/