Woke up this morning and saw a free screening of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory staring Johnny Depp. Being a Roald Dahl fan from my morbid childhood, I admit that I enjoyed this dark version that adhered to the book a bit better then Willy Wonk and the Chocolate Facotry, although Gene Wilder will always own my heart for his work in Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein and of course, The Man with One Red Shoe (an unlikely sex symbol, I know, but hey look at Woody Allen-not my cup of tea, but he continues to be famous, go figure).
Anyhow, this movie is recommended, to Tim Burton fans despite what he did to Planet of the Apes. He managed to redeem himself. In fact, I am also convinced that I must see Neverland after the starturn by Freddie Hightower who plays the part of Charlie Buckett, one of Roald Dahl's most memorable and beloved childhood characters (aside from Mathilde and James).
Speak of Roald Dahl, I didstinctly remember that my parents did not like me reading him. Especially since I was and still am a gluttonous consumer of books. I was into such frightening Dahl favorites as The Witches when I was 7 or 8. Not the usual fair for a young child. He always put me in the mind of the real Brother's Grimm tales, the dark kind where there are true consequences for going into the dark woods at night or for eating beets and carrots out of the neighbor's garden.
Dahl was a man with a fantastic imagination. I would like to write like him someday. In 5th grade I even fancied that one day I would grow up to be a writer and attempted to write a Halloween tale about myself and my friends finding a haunted house. I handwrote (printed mind you) 27 double sided pages of the story before giving up. I think I spent more time describing the candy and costumes then the actual story, but hey, I was only what, 11 years old or so? Maybe someday I'll try taking a class on fiction writing. Lord knows I tried screenwriting in college and abhored that! It was terrible, all of my characters sounded like stupid stereotypes! Hell, no wonder Hollywood keep making the same damn shows over and over again...LOL!!! They must keep hiring from the college I graduated from, just kidding!
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1 comment:
That was hillarious. I laugh about my own script writing attempts of childhood, never mind my wayword 20s.
And glad to hear a review! Sounds intriguing.
By the way, that kid is brilliant -- I highly recommend Finding Neverland.
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