I devour books. It's actually a little scary the way I can obsessively read a novel, no matter how long, until I've read the last sentence on the last page. In the past, my family has had to pull me kicking and screaming out of the door to get me away from a good page-turner.I usually go in spurts. I will read a book a day for two or three months, then take a month-long break from all reading, except magazines and work. I also tend to find one genre of literature for a particular reading spurt.One summer I read all of Louis L'Amour's Western adventures. Another time I read only biographies, my favorite being the story of the famous Siamese twins Chang and Eng Bunker. I was fascinated by their Civil War histories as farmers in North Carolina.Most recently, I went on a mystery marathon. I read crime novels with police detective heroes and murder mysteries with reporter heroines who always seem to be in the thick of the action. I was just hitting the peak of my recent spurt, when my colleague Alex Cantatore changed my direction.He insisted that I read "Twilight," Book 1 of Stephanie Meyer's modern vampire saga that is sweeping the nation. At first I was hesitant to take his advice. "Isn't that story about TEENAGED vampires?" I asked. "Why would I want to read about teenagers?" (Of course a few years ago many were asking why they would want to read a fantasy novel about a boy named Harry Potter.)"You'll love it, I promise," Alex said. He was right. "Twilight" is mesmerizing. The characters are intoxicating. When Meyer's vampire character Edward Cullen describes his need for Bella (and her blood) it is like reading a heroin addict's inner thoughts intertwined with Romeo Montague's all-consuming love for Juliet Capulet.The first day I had the book I read 300 pages. I finished the remaining 198 pages the following day and I now have a hunger for Book 2. I am a little embarrassed by my new-found favorite saga, although the series has sparked a renewed interest in reading in the teen population. In "Harry Potter" fashion, "Twilight" will soon hit the silver screen. Even though the movie version of Meyer's first book won't be in theatres until Nov. 11, the hype is already at full force. The main characters in the film adaptation of "Twilight" have become immediate celebrities, complete with crazed fans.During the recent Video Music Awards, the show's host cut off one of the stars of the upcoming "Twilight" movie while he was introducing an act. The actor's fans immediately began spreading viral hate messages against the VMA host all over the Internet.Crazed "Twilight" fans are not my only concern. I also feel a little bad about liking a novel that has received a feminist backlash. In a Washington Post article UC Davis professor Amy Clarke asked, "Do we really want our daughters reading books about a girl like Bella who is always needing to be saved?"Wow, not only am I reading "trashy" vampire novels now, but by doing so I am setting women's rights back at least a hundred years!Gender biased or not, I'm hooked on "Twilight." I must know the whole story of Edward, Bella and the Washington teenage vampires. So if you see me around town, please do not reveal any Book 2, 3 or 4 spoilers.
Fall movie preview: Home grown films
Having already conquered reality TV this summer, from "American Idol" to "Last Comic Standing," Utahns seem poised this fall to take over movie screens.
Opening this fall are enough movies filmed in Utah or directed by Utah filmmakers to fill a small multiplex. For instance:
» "Everybody Wants to Be Italian," a romantic comedy in the "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" vein, written and directed by former Salt Lake City resident Jason Todd Ipson. Opened Sept. 5.
» The aviation boys' adventure "The Flyboys," filmed in the St. George area, directed by Utah filmmaker Rocco DeVilliers. Opens today.
starring Minnie Driver, written and directed by Charles Oliver, a University of Utah graduate who
ran a commercial film company in Salt Lake City for many years. Opens today.
» The rugby drama "Forever Strong," filmed in Utah County, based on a real-life Utah rugby coach, directed by Brigham Young University grad Ryan Little ("Saints and Soldiers"). Opens Sept. 26.
» The eagerly awaited "High School Musical 3: Senior Year," filmed this summer at Salt Lake City's East High School. Opens Oct. 24.
And, if you want to stretch the point a bit, two more movies represent work from BYU alumni: "Lakeview Terrace," a racially charged suburban thriller starring Samuel L. Jackson and directed by the notorious Neil LaBute (opening Sept. 19); and "Twilight," the movie adaptation of Stephenie Meyer's best-selling vampire novel (opening Nov. 21).
"It shows that we've been making movies in the state, that's for sure, and regularly and consistently," said Marshall Moore, director of the Utah Film Commission. "We've got a deep, rich indigenous film industry going on."
The majority of the films were independently produced, outside of a studio. Moore said the state's incentive program - which offers a 15-percent rebate for production money spent in the state, but capped at $500,000 - particularly benefits movies with budgets between $1 million and $5 million.
Getting such a movie into theaters isn't easy, according to Ryan Little. "The challenge is always, if you make a movie that's independently financed - when you don't have a studio list of marketable names - it's tricky," Little said. "We don't have all the components that a studio wants, and we're too commercial for an independent audience. We kind of live in this weird void."
Little's "Forever Strong" has some somewhat-familiar actors. The star is Gary Cole ("The Brady Bunch," "Office Space") as rugby coach Larry Gelwix - and the cast includes up-and-comers Sean Faris ("Never Back Down") and Penn Badgley ("Gossip Girl"). Even so, Little said, the studios who saw the movie were interested only in a direct-to-video release, not a theatrical run.
And though "Forever Strong" is set in Utah, Arizona and Colorado, all of it was filmed in Utah. "We tried to show the mountains in Utah, and tried not to show the mountains for Arizona," Little said. "We tried to make it feel that you were in three different places."
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