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4B - The Michigan Daily - Weekend, et. Magazine --Thursday, January 13, 2000
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Et 1999 - The Year In Books
Usual publishing big shots can't shoot with Harry Potter
The Michigan Daiiy =Weekende
1 1999 -- The Year in Film
Movies spotlight stellar debuts, high-pr
By Ben Goldstein
Daily Books Editor
How can one possibly do justice to a
summary of last year's major develop-
ments in literature? There were so many
breakthroughs, so many triumphs, so
many works that changed the way we
view the written word.
Okay, maybe not. The truth is, 1999
was a year much like any other in recent
history. There were some books that lots
of people read and a vast majority that
were overlooked by the general public.
Some of the latter were very good, as
genius is never recognized in its own
time. Some of them were overlooked for
better reasons.
Still, 1999 wasn't a total disappoint-
ment. There were enough highs, lows
an&controversies to keep readers occu-
pied throughout the last 12 months of the
millenium. When we look back at the
year that was, we'll remember some of
the following:
Edmund Morris, the Pulitzer Prize-
winning biographer of Theodore
Roosevelt, wrote a biography of former
president Ronald Reagan, titling it
"Dutch" after Reagan's childhood nick-
name. The book was the product of years
of research, authorized status and
unprecedented access to a sitting presi-
dent. It sparked a great deal of criticism,
however, for the way Morris presented
the narrative.
Instead of sinply writing with the fac-
tual voice of the biographer, Morris
inserted himself into the book as a fic-
tional character, present for all of the
events..of Reagan's life and narrating the
action. Of course, Morris admitted he
never observed his subject on the
minute, sometimes omnisicient level of
"Dutch,"but many rejected his argument
that including fictionalized events some-
how attained a higher truth about our
40th president.
Vladimir Nabokov's "Lolita" was
retold through the eyes of Lolita herself
in Pia Pera's "Lo's Diary." The novel
begins with a preface from a fictional
publisher who explains how he obtained
the diary and why he chose to publish it.
Although far from the monumental
achievement of Nabokov's original,
"Lo's Diary" provided some insight into
the classic story of sexual exploitation
and revealed motivations for Lolita's
seduction. It was welcomed by those
who were actually interested in what the
girl was doing before she met Humbert.
In "The Greatest Generation,"
released at the end of 1998, Tom Brokaw
told the stories of individual men and
women who "came of age during the
Great Depression and the Second World
War and went on to build modern
America." It was respectful and uplift-
ing, and it sold like a mad dog. It also
spurred another bestseller for this year,
"The Greatest Generation Speaks:
Letters and Reflections." Although the
celebrated journalist's name was on the
cover, the book really consisted of
excerpts from the enormous amount of
fan mail and responses that other people
had written about Brokaw's first book.
Readers were hardly less rabid in buying
the sequel. Justice for long-suffering
authors who actually write for a living?
Nowhere in sight.
In the realm of the perennial heavy-
weights, Stephen King released a
Vietnam epic titled "Hearts in Atlantis,
one of the fantasy/horror juggernaut's
most artistically ambitious projects ever.
By Matthew Barrett
Daily Film Editor
When 1999 began, the movie on
everyone's mind was "Star Wars:
Episode I - The Phantom Menace.:
12 months later, the film has been
somewhat forgotten, and is viewed
by most as a disappointment.
Although the movie was a finan-
cial success, it didn't do much for
our perception of George Lucas as a
director and ended up with one of its
lead characters (Jar Jar Binks) as
public enemy number one.
Fortunately, there were plenty of
other movies released during the past
year for those of us not enamored by
a galaxy far, far away.
"Being John Malkovich" was a tri-
umph for first time writer Charlie
Kaufman and director Spike Jonze.
The story follows several characters
who discover a portal into the mind
of John Malkovich and are fascinat-
ed by what they see. The stellar cast
includes John Cusack, Cameron Diaz
and Catherine Keener along with the
man himself, John Malkovich. And if
that's not enough, it features Charlie
Sheen's best work in years.
Along with his directing gig,
Jonze made a breakout acting perfor-
mance in the Gulf War drama "Three
Kings." He appeared alongside
George Clooney, Ice Cube and Mark
Wahlberg as soldiers trying to make
off with some gold after the conclu-
sion of the war.
Director Michael Mann reteamed
with Al Pacino (their previous outing
was 1995's "Heat") for the tobacco
drama "The Insider." The straight-
from-the-headlines story involves an
employee (played by Russell Crowe)
who decides to rat out the tobacco
industry in a "60 Minutes" interview
and deal with the repercussions this
has on his life.
Another successful film with real-
life roots was Norman Jewison's
"The Hurricane." Denzel
Washington gave another powerful
turn in his portrayal of boxer Rubin
"Hurricane" Carter. The story cov-
ers Carter's boxing career and his
wrongful imprisonment for murders
that he didn't commit.
One sequel whose appearance was
built upon the strength of its prede-
cessor was "Toy Story 2." In the
story, Woody gets kidnapped by a toy
dealer and Buzz and the rest of the
gang set out to get their friend back.
The film was one of the rare chil-
dren's movies that held appeal for
audiences of all ages.
Sci-fi fans came out in droves for
"The Matrix," a high-tech, futuristic
thriller staring Keanu Reeves as a
computer-hacker who must fight the
battle to save mankind. The film's
amazing special effects drew raves
but Keanu's acting did not.
Another film that caught on with
viewers was "The Blair Witch
Project." By now everyone knows the
history of the film made for next-to-
nothing hitting it big and the scary
nights that Mike, Josh and Heather
spent in the woods. Although the
film was very popular during its ini-
tial release, it will be interesting to
see how it is perceived in the future
now that the novelty has worn off.
Stanley Kubrick passed away in
1999, and several months later his
final film, "Eyes Wide Shut" was
released. Starring married couple
Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman as,
yes, a married couple, the once top-
Jason Biggs became a surprise cult star as1
the Grand Rapids-inspire
Courtesy of Amazon.com
Even Harry Potter mania had to start somewhere, and this is the book that did it.
Michael Crichton came out with
"Timeline," another far-fetched science
fiction novel with a lengthy bibliogra-
phy.
"The Testament" became another hit
for John Grisham, and to nobody's sur-
prise, it was a legal suspense thriller.
With "Hannibal," the sequel to "Silence
of the Lambs," Thomas Harris created
Courtesy of Corbis
News anchor Tom Brokaw kept his day job in 1999 despite two bestselling books.
lines at bookstores but even more com-
motion at Hollywood studios, which had
waited for ten years to fight over whether
an accompanying movie could be put
together.
Then there was the strange case of
Harry Potter, the bespectacled orphan
who gets invited to attend a school for
wizards. With each juvenile-fantasy
book in her chronicles of Harry, J.K.
Rowling tightened her death grip on the
top of the bestseller charts. Rowling now
enters the new year holding the history-
making distinction of authoring the top
three New York Times fiction hardcov-
ers, with no signs of relinquishing it.
The craze began with "Harry Potter
and the Sorcerer's Stone" ("A British
boy finds his fortune attending a
school for witchcraft"). Then there was
"Harry Potter and the Chamber of
Secrets" ("A British boy finds trouble
when he returns to a witchcraft
school"). The last offering was "Harry
Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban"
("A British boy's life at a school for
witchcraft is threatened"). True, the
plots of these three books are some-
what interchangeable, but kids love
repetition, don't they? Don't they? And
the sales figures suggest that more
than just children are wise to Harry's
powers.
So what can we expect in the year
2000? Some predictions: Tom Brokaw
will make even more money by putting
out a collection of letters he received in
response to "The Greatest Generation
Speaks." J.K. Rowlings will beat
Stephen King 5-4 on books published.
John Grisham will write a legal thriller.
Great books will go unnoticed. The sun
will rise in the east and set in the west.
secret plot explores their sexual rela-
tionships. Although the movie was
enjoyed by many, the consensus was
that it didn't seem to measure up to
some of Kubrick's other classics.
Several directors burst onto the
scene in 1999 with a variety of fresh
films. M. Night Shyamalan wrote
and directed the psychological
thriller "The Sixth Sense." The film
stars Bruce Willis ani
boy who sees dead peo
Peirce also served a
director of "Boys I
poignant, factually ba
woman in Nebraska wl
be a man. Michael P<
brother Mark) co-wrot
starred in "Twin Fall
story of Siamese twins
tionships with each
woman who falls in lo
We went back to hig
the seedy "Cruel In
raunchy "American
wicked "Electior
Intentions" was a mod
"Les Liaisons Danger
was really just a front
actors to play spoiled I
around too much.
As for "American P
University alum Adam
up as one of the surpr
summer and clued us i
for a warm apple pie
"Election" garnered ti
for its satirical look al
election and the perfo
two leads, Reese Wi
Matthew Broderick.
Alongside these qua
plenty of trash crowd
mas. "Simply Irresi
Bone Collector," "Wil
"Any Given Sunday
much anything star
Banderas or Julia Ro
cringe.
Courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures
Hilary Swank, left, and Chloe Sevigny are both strong contenders for Oscar nominations for their roles in "Boys Don't Cry."
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