28-year-old female author from New Zealand wins Man Booker Prize

WELLINGTON - New Zealand Prime Minister John Key led tributes Wednesday to author Eleanor Catton after her novel "The Luminaries" won the Man Booker Prize, describing it as a "truly amazing achievement."

Catton, 28, became the youngest Booker winner and only the second New Zealander to claim the prestigious prize for fiction, after Keri Hulme's "The Bone People" won in 1985.

"This is a hugely significant achievement on the world stage for a New Zealander," Key said in a statement, adding that Catton's youth made the win "even more extraordinary."

"This will be a tremendous boost for young New Zealanders in the arts and is a testament to the obvious talent and hard work of Eleanor Catton."

Catton's publisher Fergus Barrowman of Victoria University Press praised the Booker judges for selecting the 832-page doorstopper, the longest novel to ever win the prize.

He said it was a "big, ambitious book written by a fearlessly intelligent and talented writer" that would help lift the profile of other New Zealand authors.

"It's fantastic, you can sort of hear the doors creaking open ... a success like this is a reminder that books can come from anywhere," he told Radio New Zealand.

"Often the most interesting, the freshest and most lively books come from outside the main centers, it's going to do a great deal for other New Zealand writers."

Catton told the New Zealand Listener magazine this month that her second novel took three years to write and another two to research.

The Auckland-based writer said she had considered how the £50,000 ($80,000) winner's cheque and global exposure presented by the prize could change her life.

"What a sum of money this size means is that essentially it's a temptation to leave behind an earlier version of yourself," she said.

"But it's a treacherous temptation because obviously we can't do that at all."

There was also some amusement among New Zealanders that Canada had been quick to claim Catton as their own.

She was born in Ontario while her father, a Kiwi academic, was completing a doctorate at the University of Western Ontario, then moved to New Zealand at age six.

"I feel very much a New Zealander," she told Fairfax Media last week.

source: interaksyon.com

‘Avengers’ director swaps superheroes for Shakespeare

TORONTO – Joss Whedon’s blockbuster comic book smash “The Avengers” would seem to have little in common with William Shakespeare.

The writer and director, however, also known for creating the cult TV hit “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” calls the legendary playwright a major influence, visible in much of his work from the banter of his superheroes to the structure of his stories.

Such is his admiration, that in the wake of delivering “The Avengers” – the biggest movie hit of 2012 – Whedon has adapted “Much Ado About Nothing,” a low-budget black-and-white labor of love devoted to the Bard that debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival.

“I find myself aping his rhythms and occasionally stealing his phrases, without even realizing it most of the time,” Whedon told Reuters in an interview on Monday.

“Shakespeare’s not afraid to go from high drama to low comedy in a heartbeat, and to ping-pong back and forth between them in a scene, which is something else that I took from him in my own work.”

Shot over 12 days in Whedon’s own house in Santa Monica, California, during a break from his work on “The Avengers,” “Much Ado About Nothing” features performers from Whedon’s past television series including “Buffy,” “Angel” and “Firefly.”

The movie originated from readings of Shakespeare Whedon and spouse Kai Cole would host at their home while his TV shows were still in production.

But it was Cole, also a producer on the film, who encouraged Whedon to use his time off from “The Avengers” to do a smaller project shot in black and white on digital cameras.

“There was times when I was, like, ‘This is a terrible idea. I’ve gone mad,’ but it’s always been the way with me … apparently that’s what I do for fun,” he said.

“I have a condition called workaholism that is very deadly, and useful,” he added.

While the film sticks closely to the text of the play, the characters wear modern clothes, drive cars and talk on cell phones. Scenes are shot in a child’s bedroom and a swimming pool, lending the project a do-it-yourself quality.

“People who are (Shakespeare fans) are going to see a pretty specific and occasionally radical take on it. But I hope everybody will realize it comes from a great love of a great text,” said Whedon.

The movie’s sight gags generated laughter at its debut screening in Toronto. And an early review in Variety called it “an inspired example of Shakespeare-on-a-shoestring.”

“It really is the classic romantic comedy. It’s the romantic comedy off of which all modern romantic comedy is built. So there is an in for people. I do not expect it to make $1.5 billion dollars,” he said, referring to the worldwide box office of “The Avengers.”

Whedon, 48, has agreed to write and direct an “Avengers” sequel for Walt Disney Co, expected to appear in May 2015. But the filmmaker said he could disclose few details about the highly anticipated movie.

“It’s still in the story stage. But I’ve been working on it pretty much from about an hour before I said, ‘Let’s make a deal.’ It just caught fire with me,” he said.

“We’re hard at work. We would like to be not as rushed as we were with the first one.”

The New York-born founder of his own production company, he might also direct the pilot for a TV series based on Marvel’s S.H.I.E.L.D. espionage agency.

Other projects at various stages of development include a sequel to Internet musical “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” and a web series called “Wastelanders” he is writing with comics author Warren Ellis.

“Basically I have too much to do, but I can work with too much. Too much is O.K.,” he said.

source: interaksyon.com

Bestselling Irish author Maeve Binchy dies

LONDON - Maeve Binchy, one of Ireland's most beloved writers, has died in Dublin after a short illness at the age of 72, Irish media reported on Tuesday.

Binchy was revered for such novels as "Light a Penny Candle," "Tara Road," and "Circle of Friends," which was adapted for the screen in 1995. She sold more than 40 million books worldwide.






Her novels and short stories often examined the friction between tradition and modernity in Ireland. Her works have been translated into 37 languages.

Born in the Dublin suburb of Dalkey in 1940, she began her career as a teacher before moving into a distinguished career as a newspaper journalist and writer.

She then moved to London, where she became the London editor of The Irish Times newspaper.

Her first novel, "Light a Penny Candle," was published in 1982 and became a bestseller.

She later published dozens of novels, novellas and collections of short stories, including "The Copper Beech," "Silver Wedding," "Evening Class," and "Heart and Soul."

She announced her retirement in 2000, but continued writing. Her last novel, "Minding Frankie," was published in 2010.

Binchy lived in Dalkey until her death, not far from where she grew up.

She is survived by her husband, the writer Gordon Snell. –Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com