On this day in movie history - Adaptation (2002 movie & book):

Adaptation

directed by Spike Jonze,

written by Charlie Kaufman and Donald Kaufman,

based on the book The Orchid Thief by Susan Orlean,

was released in the United States on December 6, 2002.
Music by Carter Burwell.

Cast:

Nicolas Cage, Meryl Streep, Chris Cooper, Cara Seymour, Brian Cox, Tilda Swinton, Ron Livingston, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Judy Greer, Bob Yerkes, Jim Beaver, Litefoot, Jay Tavare, Doug Jones, Peter Jason, John Cusack, Catherine Keener, John Malkovich, Lance Acord, Spike Jonze, Doug Jones, Curtis Hanson, David O. Russell.

Recommended reading:

The Orchid Thief:

A True Story of Beauty and Obsession

By Susan Orlean.

Filmed as Adaptation (2002), directed by Spike Jonze.

First published 1998.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 044900371X

ISBN-13: 978-0449003718

Description:

A modern classic of personal journalism, The Orchid Thief is Susan Orlean’s wickedly funny, elegant, and captivating tale of an amazing obsession. Determined to clone an endangered flower – the rare ghost orchid Polyrrhiza lindenii – a deeply eccentric and oddly attractive man named John Laroche leads Orlean on an unforgettable tour of America’s strange flower-selling subculture, through Florida’s swamps and beyond, along with the Seminoles who help him and the forces of justice who fight him. In the end, Orlean – and the reader – will have more respect for underdog determination and a powerful new definition of passion.

In this new edition, coming fifteen years after its initial publication and twenty years after she first met the “orchid thief,” Orlean revisits this unforgettable world, and the route by which it was brought to the screen in the film Adaptation, in a new retrospective essay.

Praise for The Orchid Thief:

“Stylishly written, whimsical yet sophisticated, quirkily detailed and full of empathy . . . The Orchid Thief shows [Orlean’s] gifts in full bloom.” – The New York Times Book Review.

“Fascinating . . . an engrossing journey [full] of theft, hatred, greed, jealousy, madness, and backstabbing.” – Los Angeles Times.

“Orlean’s snapshot-vivid, pitch-perfect prose . . . is fast becoming one of our national treasures.” – The Washington Post Book World.

“Orlean’s gifts [are] her ear for the self-skewing dialogue, her eye for the incongruous, convincing detail, and her Didion-like deftness in description.” – Boston Sunday Globe.

“A swashbuckling piece of reporting that celebrates some virtues that made America great.” – The Wall Street Journal.

On this day in movie history - Leaving Las Vegas (movie & novel):

Leaving Las Vegas

directed and written by Mike Figgis,

based on the semi-autobiographical novel by John O'Brien,

was released in the United States on October 27, 1995.

Music by Mike Figgis.

Cast:

Nicolas Cage, Elisabeth Shue, Julian Sands, Richard Lewis, Steven Weber, Kim Adams, Emily Procter, Stuart Regen, Valeria Golino, Graham Beckel, Albert Henderson, Shashi Bhatia, Carey Lowell, Anne Lange, Thomas Kopache, Vincent Ward, Lucinda Jenney, French Stewart, Ed Lauter, Waldemar Kalinowski, Mike Figgis, David Kriegel, Bill Thompson, Marek Stabrowski, R. Lee Ermey, Mariska Hargitay, Danny Huston, Laurie Metcalf, David Brisbin, Shawnee Smith, Paul Quinn, Julian Lennon, Tracy Thorne, Bob Rafelson, Susan Barnes, Marc Coppola, Michael A. Goorjian, Jeremy Jordan, Davidlee Willson, Xander Berkeley, Sergio Premoli, Gordon Michaels, Lou Rawls, Sunit Gupta, Camille King, Greg Miller.

Recommended reading:

Leaving Las Vegas

By John O’Brien.

Published by Grove Press.

First published 1990.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 080212593X

ISBN-13: 978-0802125934

Description:

Leaving Las Vegas, the first novel by John O’Brien, is a disturbing and emotionally wrenching story of a woman who embraces life and a man who rejects it. Sera, a prostitute, and Ben, an alcoholic, stumble together and discover in each other a respite from their unforgiving lives. A testimony to the raw talent of its young author, Leaving Las Vegas is a compelling story of unconditional love between two disenfranchised and lost souls – an overlooked American classic.

“There is not a false note in the novel . . . O’Brien has a strong tradition behind him here, that of American naturalism, and he fits into it well. From Stephen Crane to Hubert Selby, Jr. . . . [O’Brien] achieves real power in his writing. You seldom encounter it anymore, but when you do you know you’ve been properly whacked by a real talent.” – New York Daily News.

“Here is that rarest jewel, a really fine novel. It’s a magical piece of work, one of the best I’ve seen in a long time. John O’Brien has a very great talent.” – Larry Brown, author of Joe and Big Bad Love.

“This book is not only dark and dire, it is crushing. How can a novel so absolutely devoid of hope be so gripping? The portrait of Sera and Ben is a tour de force – masterful and relentless. Leaving Las Vegas is the strongest and most extreme look at alcohol I’ve ever read. This book moved and bothered me and weeks later it is still in my mind. I think O’Brien is simply terrific.” – Ron Carlson, author of Plan B for the Middle Class.

“A brutal and unflinching portrait of the low life in the city of high rollers, Leaving Las Vegas is both shocking and curiously exhilarating. John O’Brien was a stunningly talented writer who created poetry from the most squalid materials. This is a beautiful and horrifying novel.” – Jay McInerney, author of Brightness Falls.

On this day in movie history - Bringing Out the Dead (1999):

Bringing Out the Dead

directed by Martin Scorsese,

written by Paul Schrader,

based on the novel by Joe Connelly,

was released in the United States on October 22, 1999.
Music by Elmer Bernstein.

Cast:

Nicolas Cage, Patricia Arquette, John Goodman, Ving Rhames, Tom Sizemore, Marc Anthony, Mary Beth Hurt, Cliff Curtis, Nestor Serrano, Aida Turturro, Sonja Sohn, Cynthia Roman, Afemo Omilami, Cullen O. Johnson, Arthur J. Nascarella, Martin Scorsese, Julyana Soelistyo, Graciela Lecube, Marylouise Burke, Phyllis Somerville, Mary Diveny, Tom Riis Farrell, Aleks Shaklin, Leonid Citer, Jesus A. Del Rosario Jr., Larry Fessenden, Bernie Friedman, Theo Kogan, Fuschia! (Fuschia Walker), John Heffernan, Matthew Maher, Bronson Dudley, Marilyn McDonald, Ed Jupp Jr., J. Stanford Hoffman, Rita Norona Schrager, Don Berry, Mtume Gant, Michael A. Noto, Omar Scroggins, Craig muMs Grant, Michael Kenneth Williams, Andy Davoli, Charlene Hunter, Jesse Malin, Harper Simon, Joseph Monroe Webb, Jon Abrahams, Charis Michelsen, Lia Yang, Antone Pagán, Melissa Marsala, Betty Miller, Rosemary Gomez, Luis Rodriguez, Sylva Kelegian, Frank Ciornei, Catrina Ganey, Jennifer Lane Newman, John Bal, Raymond Cassar, Tom Cappadona, Jack O'Connell, Randy Foster, Richard Spore, James Hanlon, Chris Edwards, Mark Giordano, Michael Mulheren, David Zayas, Terry Serpico, Floyd Resnick, Megan Leigh, David Vasquez, Judy Reyes, Joseph P. Reidy, Queen Latifah, Erica Bamforth, Peju Bamgboshe, Carolyn Campbell, Michael Carbonaro, Joe Connelly, Marshall Dancing Elk Lucas, George F. Miller, Christine J. Noble, Davell j Owens, Brian Smyj.

On this day in movie history - Pig (2021):

Pig

directed and written by Michael Sarnoski,

based on a story by Vanessa Block and Michael Sarnoski,

was released in the United States on July 16, 2021.

Music by Alexis Grapsas and Philip Klein.

Cast:

Nicolas Cage, Alex Wolff, Cassandra Violet, Julia Bray, Elijah Ungvary, Beth Harper, Brian Sutherland, David Shaughnessy, Gretchen Corbett, Sean Tarjyoto, Darius Pierce, Kevin Michael Moore, Tom Walton, Davis King, Nina Belforte, David Knell, Adam Arkin, Dana Millican, Dalene Young, October Moore, Brandy (the pig), Cody Burns, Parker Green, Carlo Hernandez, Josh C. Logan, Kent W. Luttrell, Anita Marier, Troy Oelke, Baka Prase, Bill Salfelder, Jamie Martin Stewart, Kieran Thomas, Daniel Vasic, Christian Wilson.

On this day in movie history - The Trust (2016):

The Trust

directed by Alex Brewer and Benjamin Brewer,

written by Adam Hirsch and Benjamin Brewer,

was released in the United States on May 13, 2016.

Music by Reza Safinia.

Cast:

Nicolas Cage, Elijah Wood, Sky Ferreira, Eric Heister, Alexandria Lee, Ethan Suplee, Kenna James, Steven Williams, Carl Windom Carlito, Jerry Lewis, Lisa Mack, Marc D. Donovan, Kevin Weisman, Erica Vanlee, Tommie Vegas, Christie Beran, Jeff Manning, Ronnie Thurmand Jr., Jeff Howard, Keston John, Reagan Pfifer, Ashley Campbell, Joe Palubinsky, Jay Hieron, Vanessa Campbell, Paul Vato, Xin Yi Gan, Jiaming Zhang, Marcus Weiss, James D. Smith Jr., Michael Beal, Andre Body, Tom Bonello, Alex Brewer, Benjamin Brewer, Shawn Wilson, Lisa Gardner, Alexander Garganera, Keith L. Hall, David Hershwitzky, Avo Jabourian, Slim Khezri, Kimya Mallory, R.H. McClurg, Bryan Moore, Jan Paulo Musni, Allyson Newell, Elise Quintana, Abigail Rich, Mark Roman, Jonathan Ruggiero, Mark Sawtelle.