Huge Movie News! You’re going to plotz when you hear it.
Dear Friends,
I am so excited to give you the following news. But wait, why hear it from me when you can hear it from People.com.
Sarah Jessica Parker: Single in the City Again?
By Stephen M. Silverman
Originally posted Thursday June 26, 2008 10:50 AM EDT
Taking Carrie Bradshaw to the big screen proved a shrewd move for Sarah Jessica Parker – the Sex and the City movie’s so far raked in more than $300 million – and now she’s eyeing the role of another single urban professional.
The star, 43, is in discussions with Warner Bros. about a screen version of novelist Karen Quinn’s The Ivy Chronicles*, described by the Hollywood Reporter as an up-to-date take about class and the single woman in Manhattan – though unlike Bradshaw, title character Ivy Ames moves out of the Upper East Side after the double whammy of a job loss and a divorce.
She has to withdraw her children from their expensive private school, though they also provide her with a eureka moment: Ames starts a service to help women land their kids in upper-crust kindergartens.
The trade paper likens The Ivy Chronicles to The Devil Wears Prada meets The Nanny Diaries, with a dash of the TV mini-series The Starter Wife thrown in.
Jerry Weintraub, the honcho behind the Ocean’s Eleven franchise, is poised to produce.
*Whoo Hoo!!! Yipee Yi Aye!!! Go Karen, it’s your barfday!!!! Yee Ha!!
For a long time, Ivy was supposed to be played by Catherine Zeta Jones, but due to scheduling conflicts/creative differences/outrageous demands for bowls of M&M’s with all the browns removed (choose one), she isn’t doing the project. Still, I am grateful to her for finding the book in the first place, and getting Jerry Weintraub and Warner Brothers involved in the project.
I’m also extremely grateful to Stan Zimmerman (that’s him, above) and Jim Berg for writing the script that got Sarah Jessica Parker interested in making the movie. It’s a wonderful script and I had a fantastic time working with Stan and Jim on it. No, I wasn’t an official screenwriter, I was an author-leach who injected myself into their lives whether they wanted me or not. You guys are the best. Jim, I’m sorry your picture isn’t here but I couldn’t find it on Google. Everyone, just imagine a really cute guy with brown hair and that would be Jim. Stan and Jim are writing and producing a new TV show for the Lifetime network called “Rita Rocks” that will premier next fall. It’s about a harried working mom who regains her identity by becoming a musician in a garage rock band. Schuyler auditioned for the show, which was a great experience for her even though they didn’t pick her (but we won’t go there). I’ll let you all know when the show airs so you can watch it and help their ratings soar.
My Denver Book Tour
Last week, I did a whirlwind tour in Denver for Holly Would Dream. There was a reading at The Tattered Cover, a breakfast with Welcome to Colorado, an beautiful party given by my long time friend Kathleen Stowers (pictured with me here), and two charity events organized by Scottie Iverson, the Energizer Bunny of the Denver non-profit world. My favorite part was seeing all the beautiful women decked out in their little black dresses and pearls. At the Colorado Angels event, we did a “best little black dress” contest , which was won by twin Audrey Hepburns! Scottie even arranged to get a real live Mercedes Maybach to that event. As you may remember, Holly gets splashed by a Cary Grant-type character (Denis King) driving a champagne colored Maybach on her way to work early in the book. I’d never seen a Maybach in person, so that was quite a treat. Enjoy a few more pictures below:
We got the cutest puppy ever!
Okay, now to more important things. After sixteen years of nagging, we finally relented and got Schuyler a puppy. Meet Olive, a 1.5 pound Pomeranian. She’s doing really well in her new surroundings. Unfortunately, our cat, Cookie is very freaked out about this new intruder and has gone into hiding and is barely eating. Smokey is handling it better - she just walks by Olive and hisses at her. If anyone out there has suggestions as to how we might help Cookie relax and live in harmony with Olive, please let me know. 
Holly Would Dream
Of course, no newsletter of mine can go by without a mention of my page-turning summer read, Holly Would Dream. If you haven’t gotten your copy by now (shame on you!), But just click on HERE and you’ll be whisked away to Amazon.com where you can make your purchase.
Here is one of many Amazon reviews by a woman I swear I don’t know!
By Ellesha Wanigasekera “mistress of pages” (Toronto, ON) - See all my reviews
This book was soooooooooooooooooo scrumptious. I snuck it in at every possible opportunity, even taking mini “reading breaks” at work (shhh! Don’t tell!) and it was absolutely the most fun read I’ve ever had. I love Holly (and Denis - especially Denis ;) and I really hope this book gets made into a film. She has a wicked-fun sense of humour and I LOVED all of her clever metaphors. Her characters were hilarious and the sex scenes were YUM (literally - strawberry jam, anyone?). This is a totally delectable read, and inspiring to boot.
Well, that’s all for now. Thank you for hanging with me during the ups, downs, and sideways of my brilliant writing career. I am grateful to all of you.
Love,
Karen
Can’t wait for The Ivy Chronicles movie, as I am just now well into the book and enjoying every page!
Melissa Dennis, August 8 2008