Conference bookie::movies

    Re -1 I thought I saw somewhere (ET Tonight(?)) that the female lead
    would be played by Jessica Lange. Is she just one of the actresses
    being considered?
    
    Marilyn

It's Meryl Streep.

    RE: .1 & .2
    
    You're both right.  Both actresses have been considered and Jessica
    Lange is the top contender.  I still prefer IR, I think she would fit
    the book character best.
    
    

    
    Seemed like I heard  the final on the female lead : Meryl Streep.
    lucky lady !
    
    

    why not Oprah, she promoted the book and its author........
    	?????

    Last I heard, the lead actress hadn't been cast, and the director
    dropped out.  I think they planned to start shooting in August or
    September, which means they have to hustle for a new director or else
    get Clint to do it.

I just heard this a.m. that Meryl Streep got the part.  She's an outstanding
actress in my book and can certainly do all kinds of accents, but I still agree
with others (including the original director) that the part should have gone
to Isabella Rosselini or another European actress.

    I really liked the book (it was a quick read) but somehow I can't
    accept Meryl Streep as the leading lady.  I can see Clint playing
    Robert Kincaid - he has that rugged look.
    
    PChaplinsky

    Yes, Meryl Streep has the female lead.  I also liked the book but think
    it will be hard to make it a box office hit.  I'll probably wait for
    the video on this one.
    
    I would like to have seen Kincaid = Redford and the leading lady
    (forget her name in the book) = Isabella Rosselini.
    
    

    It looks like Eastwood _will_ be directing, in addition to starring.

    Meryl Streep?  OK, but I think Sally Fields would have been a good
    choice for a midwest housewife in her 40's.  She could probably fake
    Italian descendancy as well as Streep.
    
    I wonder if they're going to try to sell the whole facade about the author,
    Francesca's kids approaching him with the story, the will, etc... .
    It made a convincing lie on paper. 
    
    -dave 

    My mother and I saw Bridges this weekend.  I didn't read the book
    and since I didn't know what it was about, I went more to be
    with mom than to see the movie.
    
    This turned out to be one of the best movies I have seen this
    year.  I think this will be in the running for Best Movie and
    possible Best Actor/Actress.
    
    Meryl Streep did an excellent job of being the bored Italian
    housewife bound to her family and Clint (who also directed) did
    an excellent job of being the stranger who enters her life for
    four days.
    
    If you can sit through the gas station scene of this movie and
    not cry or have your stomach in knots, than you must be super human!!!
    
    Spoiler--movie summary
    
    
    
    	The movie begins with Meryl (Francesca's) adult kids reading
    her will.  Her lawyer tells her children that she wants to be
    cremated and thrown off of a certain bridge (Redmond Bridge?..can't
    remember the name).  Her kids are appalled that she wants to be
    cremated.  Caroline, the daughter is going through Mom's safty
    deposit box and comes across pictures of her mother when she was 
    younger and a letter from a man named Robert.  The letter is a love
    letter.  The kids start reading it, Caroline is amazed and the son
    is disgusted that his mother was receiving love letters from anyone
    but dad (dad is already dead for several years).  Inside the envelope
    is also a key to Francesca's chest.  They go upstairs and take a peek.
    
    Inside the chest are old copies of National Geographic magazine, camara
    equipment, a dress, Francesca's cross medallion, a man's bracelet,
    and three journals.  There is also a letter Francesca wrote to the
    kids a long time ago.  In the letter, she tells the kids to read the
    journals.  Caroline begins to read and the story of Francesca and
    Robert is done in a series of flashbacks with the daughter reading
    and the actual story taking place.
    
    Their story begins when the kids where 16 and 17.  It was during a very
    hot Iowa summer and Francesca's husband and kids are going to the
    Illinois State Fair for four days.  Francesca is going to stay home.
    
    On the first day alone, a man drives up looking for directions.  His
    name is Robert, he is a photographer for National Geographic and he
    is doing an assignment on the bridges of Madison County.  He is looking
    for Redmond bridge.  F. tries to give him directions but they are
    too confusing.  She winds up going with him.  There is chemistry
    with the two of them right from the start.
    
    They spend the whole day together.  She makes him dinner, they
    go for a walk, have an after dinner drink.  They get to know each
    other.  Robert tells funny stories about all the exotic places he
    has been and Francesca loves to hear them.  She is from Italy, when
    she was a young girl she feel in love with her husband and she couldn't
    wait to come to America.  Although she loves her family and her friends
    you can tell she is bored to death with Iowa and the turn her life
    has taken.  Robert insists that being on the road is great, that he
    doesn't need anyone, he has no family.  You can tell he isn't exactly
    happy either.
    
    Over the next couple of days they fall madly in love.  They have
    picnics and go to a jazz bar far out of town.  Living in such a small
    town, gossip spreads fast and the people are not forgiving, especially
    of adultry.  Robert takes pictures of Francesca, they talk about
    their dreams.  
    
    On the last day, Robert tries to get Francesca to leave with him.  She 
    is completely torn because she knows if she leaves her family, they
    will never be able to survive the talk the town would do.  Her husband
    would be crushed and he doesn't deserve it.  She will miss her kids
    and pretty soon she will start to blame Robert and even the four days
    they had will seem dirty.  Robert tells her maybe if she thinks about
    it for a while, maybe she will see him again later and change her mind.
    
    Francesca's husband and kids come home.  She is able to go along like
    nothing happened, but inwardly she is a wreck.  Her and her husband
    go out in the rain to run some errands.  They are in a gas station/mini
    mart.  She makes it back to the car first and as she is looking out
    the windshield, she sees Robert.  He is standing in the rain looking
    at her, giving her the last chance.  They stare at each other and the
    husband gets back into the car.
    
    Robert and her husband pull away at the same time with Robert in front
    of Francesca's truck.  They are at a stop light.  Robert hangs
    Francesca's cross medallion which she gave him on his rear view mirror.
    The light turns green but Robert does't move.  Francesca has her hand
    on the handle and is getting ready to run out of her truck when her
    husband honks the horn and Robert starts moving.
    
    That is the last time they see each other.  Many years go by and
    Francesca's husband dies.  She tries to find robert but he does't work
    for National Geographic anymore and she can't find him.  When Robert
    dies, he sends her all his belongings and a beautiful love letter.  He
    was cremated and thrown off of the bridge.  The movie ends with
    Francesca being cremated and thrown off of the bridge.
    
    This is a hard movie to describe.  There are some funny moments between
    Robert/Francesca and Caroline/brother.  Each of the kids questions
    their own marriage.  The chemistry between Streep and Eastwood is 
    fantastic and it is very believable that these two people can fall in
    love.  It is a story about duty too because Francesca can't leave her
    family without ruining them.

    that was an excellent review, now  I don't have to see it.
    Streep is one the better actors we have today, it's good to
    see the likes of her, Jessica Lange, Sally Field, get good
    roles to showcase their incredible talents!  Bravo to them!
    applause!

    I read the book and loved it because I though it was a true story. 
    There was nothing in or on the book to indicate that it was fiction, so
    I took it at face value.  When I found out it was fiction, I felt like I 
    had been lied to and that the story was nothing more than a cheap 
    supermarket class romance novel.  It seems that passing the story off
    as being non-fiction was one of Waller's tactics.  
    
    Anyway...
    
    I may see the movie if I can manage to put all that baggage aside
    first.  I have the utmost respect for Streep and Easwood and I'm sure
    they did a good job.  It'll be interesting to see how close they came
    to the book.
    
    
    -dave

    Even if Francesca and Robert are not real people, the story of
    true love and unrequited love holds true for many people.  Its worth
    seeing!
    
    RS

    >It seems that passing the story off as being non-fiction was one of
    >Waller's tactics.  
    
    Of course, you realize that this tactic has been used repeatedly in
    the past; it's nothing new.                                  

I too enjoyed both the book and the movie.  I purposely read the book before 
seeing the film - it is my preferance to let my imagination paint a picture 
of the places and faces and that is impossible to do once I have seen the 
movie.  The description of Robert in the book is such that I wonder if the 
author didn't write with Clint Eastwood in mind?  I can't think of any other 
actor who would fit the description given so well. One of the parts of the 
book that wasn't included in the film was the black saxaphone player that 
Robert met in a club and then went back to routinely to hear him play a song 
he had written for Francesca. The soundtrack was great - lots of old bluesy 
jazz numbers.

***1/2 out of ****

Chris

    RE: .4
    
    I know that fiction has been written for a long time, but usually it's
    labeled with the word, or with "novel" or something to indicate what it
    is.  
    
    The unfortunate fact of the matter is that I read the book as it was a 
    gift from a friend.  He was getting married and had me read a passage
    at the wedding from what he and his wife-to-be thought was a true story.
    Needless to say, they felt a littel dissapointed when I finally
    convinced them it was fiction.
    
    -dave