InBerkeley

Berkeley, as we know, has more than its share of well-regarded authors. A cluster of them have had the call from Hollywood recently and the resulting movies will hopefully be appearing at a theater near you soon.

This month’s Diablo Magazine rounds up the movies that have emanated from four noted Berkeley writers.

The screenplay for “Where the Wild Things Are”, directed by Spike Jones and adapted from the much-loved children’s book by Maurice Sendak, was written by Berkeleyite  Dave Eggers.

Berkeley resident Ayelet Waldman recently attended the premiere of “Love and Other Impossible Pursuits” based on her novel of the same name.

Her husband Michael Chabon is seeing two of his books translated to the silver screen: “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay”, directed by Stephen Daldry, and “The Yiddish Policeman’s Union”, directed by Joel and Ethan Coen.

And Michael Lewis, who also lives in Berkeley, is hoping to see Brad Pitt play the role of Oakland A’s manager Billy Beane in an adaptation of his bestselling book “Moneyball”.

[Photos, left to right: Waldman, Chabon, Eggers and Lewis.]

Arts, Books, Celebrity, Movies Ayelet Waldman, Dave Eggers, Michael Chabon, Michael Lewi

Michael Lewis

Berkeley author Michael Lewis must have a smile on his face.

In addition to having his memoir on fatherhood, Home Game, on the New York Times bestseller list, it looks like the movie version of Moneyball, another one of his bestsellers, is on again.

Sony Pictures co-boss Amy Pascal green-lighted the movie on July 9 – after having canceled it on June 22. She did an about face because Steven Soderberg is no longer attached as director. He had done a rewrite of the script that Pascal didn’t like.

Now Aaron Sorkin of West Wing fame will rewrite the script.  He may have been tapped because his script for  The Social Network, about the founding of Facebook, is getting accolades. There is no word yet on the new director for Moneyball.

Brad Pitt will star in Moneyball

Brad Pitt is still scheduled to star as Billy Bean, the Oakland A’s manager.

Just one question: will they film the movie in the aging Oakland Coliseum?

Maybe Alameda County can charge a fee to use the stadium and recover a fraction of the millions it lost in luring the team here from Los Angeles.

Other Berkeley writers who have movies based on their books coming out include Ayelet Waldman and Michael Pollan. Natalie Portman stars in a film based on Waldman’s Love and Other Impossible Pursuits. It wrapped up shooting last year but no release date has yet been scheduled..

PBS will screen a film on October 28 based on Pollan’s Botany of Desire.  Of course, Pollan fans already know he shows up as a commentator in two current films, Food Inc, and Fresh.

Arts, Books, Movies

Chipotle, the Mexican grill chain, whose two Berkeley outposts are on Gilman Street and Telegraph Avenue, is sponsoring free screenings of the recently released  Food Inc, Robert Kenner’s movie which promises to “lift the veil on our nation’s food industry”.

Chipotle founder and CEO Steve Ells says: “I hope that all our customers see this film. The more they know about where their food comes from, the more they will appreciate what we do.”

A Berkeley screening is set for  July 15 at 7.30pm at the Elmwood Rialto.

Full info can be found on Chipotle’s website here. (Now I want a burrito.)

[Hat-tip: @amandasberkeley/Twitter.]

Arts, Events, Food, Movies, The Elmwood Events, Food, Movies, The Arts

Berkeley artist Eric Drooker (above), who is probably best known for his many wonderful New Yorker covers, has created an animated sequence for Howl, a movie about the Beat movement being released early next year.

Shot in and around San Francisco earlier this year, “Howl stars James Franco as Allen Ginsberg, author of the 1955 poem “Howl” which triggered an obscenity trial upon which the drama is centered.

[Photo credit: www.pmpress.org.]

Art, Arts, Movies Art, Arts, Movies