Dear readers, As someone who spends most of my nonwork hours either reading books or watching movies, it’s always a thrill when I get to talk about the intersection of the two. In the lead-up to this year’s Oscars ceremony, I was able to have conversations on the Book Review podcast with two of the nominees for this year’s best adapted screenplay award — filmmakers who took acclaimed books and turned them into movies that are both also up for this year’s best picture prize. The first, Guillermo Del Toro, is already an Oscar winner. It has taken him more than three decades to get to work on one of his dream projects — an adaptation of Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel “Frankenstein.” Del Toro is one of the most erudite and well-read people in Hollywood, and I think you’ll find our conversation surprising and delightful. I also spoke with Clint Bentley, the director of “Train Dreams,” adapted from the Denis Johnson novella that was also one of our Best Books of the 21st Century. Bentley, who wrote the screenplay with his longtime collaborator Greg Kwedar, spoke about the difficulties of taking Johnson’s delicate and stylish prose and translating it to the big screen. “Train Dreams” contains some of 2025’s most gorgeous film images, so … I think he did all right. And if you’re not a podcast person, just go read “Train Dreams.” I doubt you’ll regret it. Like this email?Sign-up here or forward it to your friends. Have a suggestion or two on how we can improve it? Let us know at books@nytimes.com. Need help? Review our newsletter help page or contact us for assistance. We hope you’ve enjoyed this newsletter, which is made possible through subscriber support. Subscribe to The New York Times.
BEST SELLERS |
