Sideways

The (Un)Romantic Path of Literary Fiction: Alfred A. Knopf (Part II)

Rex Pickett | Posted 05.26.2012

Read More: Sideways, Alfred A. Knopf, Getting Published, Literary Agent, Random House, Writer's Block, Manuscript, Books News

I had never experienced "writer's block" in my entire life. If an idea -- screenplay or novel -- wasn't working, I just abandoned it and started on something else.

Read Post

The (Un)Romantic Path of Literary Fiction: Alfred A. Knopf (Part I)

Rex Pickett | Posted 05.20.2012

Read More: Alfred A. Knopf, Alexander Payne Sideways, Literary Agents, Sideways, Books News

I have made a couple horrible, irremediable decisions in my life, but this decision to accept the writing of The Road Back for Knopf would go down as the worst I have ever made.

Read Post

Bad Break For Bryan Cranston

The Huffington Post | Michael Hogan | Posted 03.14.2012

Read More: Alexander Payne, Alexander Payne Movies, Nebraska Casting, The Descendants, Video, Alexander Payne Descendants, Alexander Payne Nebraska, Oscar Winners, George Clooney, Sideways, Tom Cruise, Bryan Cranston Casting, Bryan Cranston, Entertainment News

Bryan Cranston tried out for a role in Alexander Payne's next project, the road-trip movie "Nebraska," but probably won't get the role, the director t...

Read Whole Story

The 'Sideways' Publishing Saga -- The St. Martin's Press Nightmare (Part I)

Rex Pickett | Posted 04.16.2012

Read More: Alexander Payne Sideways, St. Martin's Press, Literary Agents, Sideways, Sideways Movie, Book Publishing, Publishing Industry, Books News

I started to believe I had written a dreadful book, that Sideways was unpublishable. Then I got a call informing me that St. Martin's Press had offered $5,000.

Read Post

The Sideways Publishing Saga -- Part III: Whiplash; Dismay!

Rex Pickett | Posted 04.09.2012

Read More: Sideways Book, Alexander Payne, Sideways, Alfred A. Knopf, Sideways Movie, St. Martin's Press, Rex Pickett, Books News

The Academy Awards hold a special place in my heart. I'm somehow miraculously behind two Oscars: the Best Adapted Screenplay for Sideways (based on my novel of the same title) and the writer of the 2000 Oscar for Best Live Action Short.

Read Post

The Sideways Publishing Saga -- Part II: Exultation

Rex Pickett | Posted 04.04.2012

Read More: Alexander Payne, Alfred A. Knopf, Sideways, St. Martin's Press, Sideways Book, Sideways Movie, Rex Pickett, Books News

A year after Sideways had been pulled for submission, and the film industry had turned a deaf ear to two guys who go wine tasting in then little known Santa Ynez Valley, my life was in tatters.

Read Post

The Sideways Publishing Saga -- Part I: Rejection

Rex Pickett | Posted 03.28.2012

Read More: Alexander Payne, Sideways, Sideways Book, Sideways Book Rejection, Book Rejection, Sideways Movie, Sideways Novel, Alexander Payne Sideways, Book Rejection Story, Books News

In this post I will be specifically addressing what happened Sideways in the publishing world. My story, especially for aspiring authors, is not for the faint of heart.

Read Post

It's the End of the Word as We Know It

Rex Pickett | Posted 03.24.2012

Read More: Alexander Payne, Sideways, St. Martin's Press, Sideways Book, Publishing Industry, Future of Books, Future of Movies, The Death of the Word, Sideways Movie, Books News

You would think with a publishing contract, a high-powered agent, a movie in the works, that I was the most grateful writer on the planet. I was... and then I wasn't.

Read Post

The Descendants: A Paint-By-Number Masterpiece

Nancy Doyle Palmer | Posted 03.18.2012

Read More: Alexander Payne, The Descendants, Sideways, About Schmidt, Golden Globes, J. Edgar, George Clooney, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Martha Marcy May Marlene, Entertainment News

As one of the character puts it, "This is a unique and dramatic situation." But to the audience, The Descendants is simply about saying good-bye.

Read Post

Movie Review: The Descendants -- The Year's Best Film

Marshall Fine | Posted 01.17.2012

I'll say it flat out -- Alexander Payne's new film, The Descendants, is my favorite of the year, a movie that manages to be heart-breaking and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.

Read Post

Live from Toronto Film Festival: Tuesday 9.13.11

Marshall Fine | Posted 11.14.2011

Read More: Hawaii, Moneyball, Freida Pinto, About Schmidt, Riz Ahmed, Toronto International Film Festival, Thomas Hardy, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Justin Long, Alexander Payne, Rosario Dawson, Brad Pitt, Page Eight, Sideways, Rachel Weisz, Kate Mara, Trishna, Marshall Fine Commentary, Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Anthony Mackie, Bill Nighy, Jonah Hill, Michael Winterbottom, Citizen Ruth, George Clooney, Election, Oscar Isaac, Marshall Fine Blog, David Hare, Marshall Fine, The Descendants, Michael Gambon, Judy Davis, Aaron Sorkin, Toronto Film Festival 2011, Bennett Miller, Ten Year, Channing Tatum, Lynne Collins, Steve Zaillian, Ari Graynor, Entertainment News

My hunch about skipping the opening weekend of this year's Toronto International Film Festival has paid off, in more ways than one. Mostly, however, ...

Read Post

The Dirtiest Scenes In Film History

Posted 09.12.2011

Read More: Not Another Scary Movie, Film, Sex Scenes, Sideways, American Psycho, Dirty Scenes, Superbad, Me You and Everyone We Know, Last Tango in Paris, Knocked Up, Best Sex Scenes, Movies, Entertainment News

Movies, in many ways, are about fulfilling our wishes and seeing our fantasies lived out on screen. Sometimes, it's being a sports hero or brave soldi...

Read Whole Story

Talking with Eliza Wing of Sideways

Jeff Rivera | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Ereaders, Iphone, Book Publishing, eBook Readers, Apps, Kindle, Sideways, Ipad, Ebooks, Technology News

Digital technology has brought about a whole new world for book publishing and magazine publishers. Some say it is a world of trouble, others say a wo...

Read Post

5 Movies That Made Me Fall In Love... Again

Laura Dave | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Sideways, Something's Gotta Give, Divorce, Slidepollajax, Laura Dave, When Harry Met Sally, Starting Over, Love, Jerry Maguire, Movies, Divorce News

I thought of this old joke: This guy goes to a psychiatrist and says, "Doc, my brother's crazy; he thinks he's a chicken." And, the doctor says, "Well, why don't you turn him in?" The guy says, "I would, but I need the eggs." Well, I guess that's pretty much how I feel about relationships; they're totally irrational, and crazy, and absurd, but I guess we keep going through it because most of us... need the eggs.

Read Post

WATCH: 15 Movies That Are Better Than The Book

The Huffington Post | Gabe Habash | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Slidepollajax, The Thin Red Line, Stephen King, Mark Zuckerberg, Social Network, John Wayne, The Devil Wears Prada, The Shining, Sideways, Facebook, John Ford, Shawshank Redemption, The Princess Bride, The Shawshank Redemption, Book Adaptation, Election Tom Perrotta, Manchurian Candidate, Accidental Billionaires, Movie Adaptations, The Manchurian Candidate, Movie Adaptation, Jaws, The Godfather, The Searchers, Stanley Kubrick, Devil Wears Prada, Book Adaptations, Adaptations, Thin Red Line, Adaptation, Bad Book, Books News

The book is so much better than the movie. We've all said it, we've all heard it. And we all think it's always true, that the book is better than the ...

Read Whole Story

HuffPost Review: Don McKay

Marshall Fine | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Sideways, Smart People, Don McKay Movie Review, Broken Trail, Blood Simple, Melissa Leo, Elisabeth Shue, Coen Brothers, Marshall Fine Movie Review, Thomas Haden Church, Entertainment News

Thomas Haden Church is one of those under-utilized treasures of cinema who only recently has started to get the kinds of roles he deserves.

Read Post

The Most Important Moment From This Week's Lost

Rob Cohen | Posted 02.10.2010

Read More: Evangeline Lilly, Alternate-Universe, Time Travel, Lost Episodes, Abc, Sideways, Entertainment News, Lost, Lost Final Season, Comedy News

The most important moment in the episode, for me, also involved Kate, but in the Island world.

Read Post

Astoria Characters: The Out-of-the-Box Actor

Nancy Ruhling | Posted 05.25.2011

Since July, the world has been watching with delicious delight as Michael Cyril Creighton stuffs his face with Bakeway cupcakes on Jack in a Box, the comedy series he created for YouTube.

Read Post

When Will it Sink In?

Benjamin Hart | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Barack Obama, Television, Barack Obama Media Coverage, Sideways, Obama Television, George W. Bush, Politics News

A month after the election, there's still an overwhelming sense of novelty when I flip a channel and see Obama at a news conference.

Read Post

Why I Love Red Burgundy and You Don't

Marlene Rossman | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: France, Stinky, California, Barnyard, Pinot Noir, California Wine, Burgundy, Wine, Sideways, Style News

We in the U.S. don't love stinky. We grew up on too-sweet soda, Hawaiian punch and Yoo -Hoo, and we want our Pinot Noirs to taste like cherry cola (not that there's anything wrong with that).

Read Post

Notes from a Sommeliere -- Pet Peeves

Marlene Rossman | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: White Zinfandel, Wine Pairings, Restaurants, Sommelier, Pinot Noir, White Wine, Food, Wine, Sideways, Wine Service, Style News

Lately here has been a great deal of bitching and moaning about restaurant waitstaff and wine service. Having been on both ends of the wine bottle, I can tell you that the feeling is often mutual.

Read Post