Book Review: The Girls in the Picture by Melanie Benjamin

When cinema was in its infancy, before the addition of sound to flickering black-and-white images, a queen took her mark in the center of the scene. The girl with the Curls, Goldilocks herself, America’s Sweetheart, Mary Pickford.

While Ms. Pickford claimed her time in the spotlight, an artist became enamored of the burgeoning cinematic artistry. This twice-divorced woman changed her name to Frances Marion and became one of the highest paid scenarists in Hollywoodland. 

Melanie Benjamin tells the story of these remarkable women in “The Girls in the Picture.” They forged a friendship, weathered sexism, and created lasting legacies. The glitz and glamour of the emerging film industry grows along with the impact of these vividly portrayed women. The story is told from alternating perspectives and in the end gives a list of resources for further reading. 

After reading this book, I treated myself to a few of the mentioned “Flickers” and “Movies,” and it was fun to imagine what I learned about the women as I did.

King of Cameos

King of Cameos

written by Kerry E.B. Black

Not only is Stephen King a prolific writer with fifty novels and hundreds of short stories to his credit. His non-fiction, columns, essays, poetry, and comics garner praise, and he additionally writes screenplays. He’s even made cameos in some of the adaptations of his stories and books.

His first published novel, “Carrie,” also became his first to be adapted to a film in 1976. Stanley Kubrick famously changed “The Shining” in 1980. “Stand By Me,” “Misery,” “Shawshank Redemption,” and “The Green Mile” became major motion pictures, while “Salem’s Lot” (twice), “It,” “The Tommyknockers,” “The Stand,” “The Langoliers,” “Storm of the Century,” “Rose Red,” and “Bag of Bones” became made for television miniseries. Stephen King created television series, too, including “Golden Years” (1991), “The Dead Zone” (2002-2007), “Stephen King’s Kingdom Hospital” (2004), “Nightmares and Dreamscapes” (2006), “Haven” (2010), and “Under the Dome” (2013).

Of the over twenty adaptations of his works for film or television, Stephen King appeared in many. Also, he acted in a couple of established tv show episodes. Follows is a list of some of his appearances on silver and small screen:

Creep Show                       (1982 movie)   starred in “The Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill”

Maximum Overdrive      (1986 movie)            uncredited appearance as man at cash point

Creep Show 2                    (1987 movie)            played a truck driver in “The Hitchhiker”

Pet Semetary                    (1989 movie)                      played a minister

The Golden Years            (1991 tv)                              played a bus driver

Sleepwalkers                   (1992 movie)                      played a cemetery caretaker

The Stand                        (1994 tv miniseries)         played Teddy Weizak

The Langoliers                   (1995 tv miniseries)         played Tom Holby

Thinner                               (1996 movie)                      played Dr. Bangor

The Shining                         (1997 tv miniseries)         played the band leader

Storm of the Century  (1999 tv miniseries) as lawyer in & a reporter on a broken tv

Frazier                      (2000 tv series episode “Mary Christmas”)          played Brian

The Simpsons           (2000 tv series episode titled “Insane Clown Poppy”) “played” himself

Rose Red                     (2002 tv miniseries) uncredited appearance as pizza delivery guy

Kingdom Hospital             (2004 tv episode finale) played Johnny B. Goode

Fever Pitch                         (2005 movie)  himself throwing out first pitch at a Red Sox Game

Gotham Café                     (2005 movie)   Mr. Ring

Diary of the Dead             (2007 movie voiceover) news reader

Sons of Anarchy                (2010 tv episode “Caregiver”) played Richard Bachman

Stephen King is scheduled to appear on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert on 11 September, 2015. He and his wife Tabitha also acted in George Romero’s 1981 “Knight Riders,” portraying Hoagieman and his wife.

Said Mr. King, “Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work.” Stephen King lives by this motto. His considerable talent is supplemented by dedication to his craft and a desire to experience life in his own creative way, be it through participating in the band “Rock Bottom Remainders,” acting, writing, or private pursuits.

*First published at Halloween Forevermore