Saturday Snapshot: Patricia and Meryl Streep

I would be remiss if I didn't follow up my previous post about the book Creating an Orange Utopia: Eliza Lovell Tibbets and the Birth of California's Citrus Industry by Patricia Ortlieb and Peter Economy, published in September 2011.  Patricia, my step mother-in-law, went to Washington, D.C. late last year for the de Pizan Honors event at the National Women's History Museum, and met actress Meryl Streep.  After talking to her, Patricia (resplendent in her orange-colored scarf), presented the actress with a copy of her book.  My imagination went into overdrive as soon as I saw this photo.  I could easily imagine Creating an Orange Utopia as a movie,  in which Meryl Streep would play the woman who first introduced the navel orange tree to Riverside,  spawning Southern California's lucrative citrus industry, Eliza Lovell Tibbets.  Perhaps Meryl Streep--or some other gutsy woman--could also help direct the film.  Eliza Tibbets was also an active abolitionist, spiritualist, and suffragist. We need to hear more stories about women pioneers who made important contributions!  This would be an opportunity for film makers to depict the story of a daring visionary who changed the course of Southern California's history, transforming it into a very wealthy place.  It seems ripe with possibilities to me.

Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce from  At Home With Books. This is the first time I'm posting a photo for this meme.

Julie & Julia

Friday night was "girls' night out", and I went with two friends, Katie and Laura, to see the new movie, Julie and Julia. Written and directed by Nora Ephron, this movie is based on two true stories.

Julie & Julia depicts the story of celebrity chef Julia Child in the formative years of her career, contrasting her life with that of blogger Julie Powell, who takes a year to cook all 524 recipes from Child's first cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Ephron's screenplay is adapted from two books: My Life in France, Child's autobiography, written with Alex Prud'homme, and Powell's memoir. In 2002, Powell started a blog documenting her daily cooking experiences for each recipe in Child's cookbook, known as The Julie/Julia Project, and in 2005 published a book, Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen. The 2006 paperback version was retitled Julie & Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously. Julie & Julia is the first major motion picture based on a blog.

What a perfect movie for the three of us to see! As an avid blogger, I enjoyed the blogging aspects of this movie. I've been blogging for about a year, and my friends Katie and Laura have recently started writing blogs of their own.

This humorous movie is entertaining for many reasons, but I'll mention only a few. I think Meryl Streep is a wonderful actress and portrays Julia Child well, robust and full of life, while Amy Adams is adorable as celebrity blogger Julie Powell, who blogged her way out of the doldrums and into the hearths of many. It was refreshing to see loving marriages in a movie. Julia and her husband, Paul, are happily married in the movie and adore each other. In an era before many women had careers, Paul encourages Julia to pursue her love of food, to write, and to have her own cooking show on TV. Julie and her husband, Eric, also have a loving marriage in the movie (even if he does tease her about being a "lobster killer", qu'est-ce que c'est?). Parts of Julie & Julia were filmed in Paris and the movie has an appealing French look and feel. I left the theater craving boeuf bouguignon and wanting to get my hands on a copy of Child's cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking.

This is definitely a good movie choice for bloggers, cooks, fans of Julia Child or Julie Powell, and those wanting lighter fare.

View the trailer for Julie & Julia.

Your comments are welcomed.