A few tidbits plus a tasty treat for dessert

Since it's always best to start with dessert...

(A special thank you to googlemeister Janet for finding the following gem of a link and thereby preventing this post from becoming a complete flop!)

The letters of the North Carolina writer and activist Paul Green, who was a friend and mentor to John Ehle, have been published as a collection in A Southern Life: Letters of Paul Green, 1916-1981 (1994). The book contains one of Green's letters to Ehle, which can be viewed at Google Book Search. Here is what the letter says:

Dear John --

The Winter People script arrived all okay, and I've just finished reading it. Thanks for sending it and thanks too for the lovely photo of you three. Jennifer is already a beautiful young lady. Think of that! Well, naturally she would be with such parents.

When I think of the amount of work you have put into this novel and others - as well as the multitude of creative things you bring to pass outside and beyond your writing - I berate myself for my laziness.

According to the footnotes, the "you three" refers to Ehle, his wife, and his daughter (as I'm sure you were able to figure out!) while also pointing out that Jennifer was twelve at the time. The notes further explain:

"Elizabeth always asks for evidence of Jennifer's growth and health," Ehle wrote, "so I'm sending [the snapshot] along to her as proof" (John Ehle to Paul Green, 3 March 1981, PG-SHC).

Too bad the “evidence” is not included!

The rest of the footnotes contain more information about John Ehle and the context of Green's letter. Unfortunately, the google preview does not continue on to the next page of the book, so we can't see what follows...

Now on to the tidbits:

• First up is a video interview with Linus Roache and Before the Rains producer Doug Mankoff at the AFI Dallas Film Festival, which slipped by us last Spring.
• There is a mixed (and occasionally ouchy) review of Before the Rains at the Colorado Springs Gazette, but the ouchiness is easily forgiven thanks to this perceptive observation:

  [...] Where "Before the Rains" excels is in its painterly cinematography, its representations of two different cultures set on a collision course, and the performance of the wonderful Jennifer Ehle, an actress woefully underutilized since her star turn in A&E's "Pride and Prejudice." [...]

• For further reviewage, check out the Providence Journal and the Tallahassee Democrat. The latter claims:

  The culture-clashing costume drama 'Before the Rains' is such a beautifully photographed film that you want to stop it occasionally just to gawk. [...]

• Does Mr. Darcy have a potential rival? Vancouver's Straight.com Blog alerts us to the "male eye candy" in Before the Rains (which takes the form of a shirtless Rahul Bose) while simultaneously alerting us to the fact that the film will open in Vancouver on Friday, July 11.
• Lastly, you might be interested to know that the hip-hop artist and poet, Paul "Sage" Francis, is currently working on the Pride and Glory soundtrack. According to Oziemcee's blog:

  [...] Mark Isham is composing the music to which Francis is writing lyrics, speaking the conscience of the main character, played by Edward Norton. [...]

P.S. Another special thank you to Abi for doing such a fantastic job of solo-blogging this past month! xxx