Monday, 30 August 2010 18:40
Idris Elba, Alex Cross and James Patterson
I have long thought that British actor Idris Elba should be the next action star. He has the acting chops to carry a movie, plus, he also has the looks.
Elba brought a complicated intelligence to the role of Stringer Bell on HBO's brilliant The Wire. A drug dealer, a college business major, a thug and a refined man -- Elba showed all the sides of Bell. The Wire remains one of my favorite TV series and the Bell character is quite memorable.
altElba also showed a different side of his skills when he played the new boss on NBC's comedy The Office.
Now Elba is signed to take over the role of Dr. Alex Cross, the forensic psychologist/sleuth of James Patterson's wildly popular series.
Elba takes over the role from Morgan Freeman, who originated the role in Kiss the Girls (1997) and Along Came a Spider (2001).
Elba will star in the film version of Cross, the 12th novel in Patterson's series. In this novel, Alex Cross tries to nab a serial rapist who is a former mob enforcer and who may have killed Cross' pregnant wife years earlier.
The director will be David Twohy. According to news reports, production is scheduled to begin in the spring, 2011.

Meanwhile, Elba is one of the stars of the heist flick Takers, which opens Aug. 27. He also will be appearing in four episodes of Showtime's comedy/drama The Big C as a love interest of Laura Linney's cancer-stricken character.
Idris Elba, Alex Cross and James Patterson
Oline Cogdill
idris-elba-alex-cross-and-james-patterson
I have long thought that British actor Idris Elba should be the next action star. He has the acting chops to carry a movie, plus, he also has the looks.
Elba brought a complicated intelligence to the role of Stringer Bell on HBO's brilliant The Wire. A drug dealer, a college business major, a thug and a refined man -- Elba showed all the sides of Bell. The Wire remains one of my favorite TV series and the Bell character is quite memorable.
altElba also showed a different side of his skills when he played the new boss on NBC's comedy The Office.
Now Elba is signed to take over the role of Dr. Alex Cross, the forensic psychologist/sleuth of James Patterson's wildly popular series.
Elba takes over the role from Morgan Freeman, who originated the role in Kiss the Girls (1997) and Along Came a Spider (2001).
Elba will star in the film version of Cross, the 12th novel in Patterson's series. In this novel, Alex Cross tries to nab a serial rapist who is a former mob enforcer and who may have killed Cross' pregnant wife years earlier.
The director will be David Twohy. According to news reports, production is scheduled to begin in the spring, 2011.

Meanwhile, Elba is one of the stars of the heist flick Takers, which opens Aug. 27. He also will be appearing in four episodes of Showtime's comedy/drama The Big C as a love interest of Laura Linney's cancer-stricken character.
Thursday, 26 August 2010 14:55
Ellen Crosby's Viognier Vendetta
Fiction follows fact or does fact follow fiction?
Whatever, there are times when an author's imagination gets a real-world workout.
I recently reviewed Ellen Crosby's The Viognier Vendetta, part of her series about the owner of a Virginia vineyard. In this mystery, Lucie Montgomery is trying to produce viognier wine. My review is here.
altNow, I have been known to enjoy a glass of wine -- or 40. But I had never heard of this wine until Crosby's novel. Simply, it's a classic French grape that is just making its way into American wines.
That review of The Viognier Vendetta appeared just a few weeks ago.
Now, viognier wine seems to be all the rage.
Just this week, I saw three food sections of three different newspapers devote a lot of space to viognier wine, with recommendations on which wines to buy and viognier food pairings.
That doesn't include the countless stories that have popped up on the internet, linking to other newspapers, magazines and Websites.
In honor of this interest in viognier wine -- and Crosby's timely novel -- let's raise a toast... with a glass of viognier, of course.
Ellen Crosby's Viognier Vendetta
Oline Cogdill
ellen-crosbys-viognier-vendetta
Fiction follows fact or does fact follow fiction?
Whatever, there are times when an author's imagination gets a real-world workout.
I recently reviewed Ellen Crosby's The Viognier Vendetta, part of her series about the owner of a Virginia vineyard. In this mystery, Lucie Montgomery is trying to produce viognier wine. My review is here.
altNow, I have been known to enjoy a glass of wine -- or 40. But I had never heard of this wine until Crosby's novel. Simply, it's a classic French grape that is just making its way into American wines.
That review of The Viognier Vendetta appeared just a few weeks ago.
Now, viognier wine seems to be all the rage.
Just this week, I saw three food sections of three different newspapers devote a lot of space to viognier wine, with recommendations on which wines to buy and viognier food pairings.
That doesn't include the countless stories that have popped up on the internet, linking to other newspapers, magazines and Websites.
In honor of this interest in viognier wine -- and Crosby's timely novel -- let's raise a toast... with a glass of viognier, of course.
Wednesday, 25 August 2010 17:14
Michael Connelly's Lincoln Lawyer Filming
Too often it seems as if novels are optioned by for movies but never get made. Sometimes those options are reoptioned and then reoptioned and the film never gets made.
That won't be the case of The Lincoln Lawyer, Michael Connelly's award-winning 2005 novel about a lawyer who conducts his business in the back of his Lincoln Town Car.
altFilming began in July on the movie adaptation. Matthew McConaughey stars as Mickey Haller, the lawyer comfortablely ensconsed in his backseat. In The Lincoln Lawyer, Mickey defends a wealthy Beverly Hills playboy accused of molesting a woman.
Although he sees the case in terms of how many billable hours he'll rack up, Mickey also comes to believe that his client may be that rarity -- an innocent man.

True to Connelly's work, The Lincoln Lawyer is a multi-layered novel. The realities of being a lawyer and the practicalities of the law itself get a workout in Connelly's novel, which won the Macavity from the Mystery Readers International and the Shamus from the Private Eye Writers of America. It was also nominated for an Edgar Award, from the Mystery Writers of America, and for an Anthony, from Bouchercon, among other nominations.
By the way, Connelly's next novel The Reversal, to be published in October, will feature Mickey Haller and Harry Bosch.

The Lincoln Lawyer also will feature Marisa Tomei as Maggie McPherson, with Brad Furman directing from a screenplay by John Romano. Other co-stars include Ryan Phillippe, William H. Macy, Bryan Cranston, John Leguizamo, Michael Pena, Trace Adkins, and Katherine Moennig.
The Lincoln Lawyer is scheduled to be released Spring 2011. It's on imdb.com, so it must be true.
PHOTO: Matthew McConaughey, Michael Connelly on the set of The Lincoln Lawyer. Photo Credit: Saeed Adyani
Michael Connelly's Lincoln Lawyer Filming
Oline Cogdill
michael-connellys-lincoln-lawyer-filming
Too often it seems as if novels are optioned by for movies but never get made. Sometimes those options are reoptioned and then reoptioned and the film never gets made.
That won't be the case of The Lincoln Lawyer, Michael Connelly's award-winning 2005 novel about a lawyer who conducts his business in the back of his Lincoln Town Car.
altFilming began in July on the movie adaptation. Matthew McConaughey stars as Mickey Haller, the lawyer comfortablely ensconsed in his backseat. In The Lincoln Lawyer, Mickey defends a wealthy Beverly Hills playboy accused of molesting a woman.
Although he sees the case in terms of how many billable hours he'll rack up, Mickey also comes to believe that his client may be that rarity -- an innocent man.

True to Connelly's work, The Lincoln Lawyer is a multi-layered novel. The realities of being a lawyer and the practicalities of the law itself get a workout in Connelly's novel, which won the Macavity from the Mystery Readers International and the Shamus from the Private Eye Writers of America. It was also nominated for an Edgar Award, from the Mystery Writers of America, and for an Anthony, from Bouchercon, among other nominations.
By the way, Connelly's next novel The Reversal, to be published in October, will feature Mickey Haller and Harry Bosch.

The Lincoln Lawyer also will feature Marisa Tomei as Maggie McPherson, with Brad Furman directing from a screenplay by John Romano. Other co-stars include Ryan Phillippe, William H. Macy, Bryan Cranston, John Leguizamo, Michael Pena, Trace Adkins, and Katherine Moennig.
The Lincoln Lawyer is scheduled to be released Spring 2011. It's on imdb.com, so it must be true.
PHOTO: Matthew McConaughey, Michael Connelly on the set of The Lincoln Lawyer. Photo Credit: Saeed Adyani