Being Flynn: Congratulations, Nick! Coming to a theater near you...

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Wow. I didn't know that it would be so exhilarating to see a poet's life in a Hollywood film. Nick Flynn worked in Boston at the Pine Street Inn -- a shelter for homeless men -- at the same time as a friend of mine did. His first book of poems, "Some Ether," about his mother came out the same year as "The Cartographer's Tongue", my first book of poems. I suppose the Boston connection and the poet connection interested me enough to follow his career. And here's his life -- or a version of it -- on the silver screen. There's no release date for the film yet, but with Robert DeNiro and Julianne Moore co-starring, it seems likely that the film will be out before the end of the year and positioned as an Oscar contender. Congratulations, Nick Flynn. As painful as much of this story is, you've been heard. Thanks to January O'Neil for letting me know this sneak preview was up and ready to share.

This just in: release date is now slated for May 2012!

Comments

  1. Martha SilanoNovember 14, 2011 at 10:41 PM

    Thanks for posting! Just by coincidence, I picked up a copy of Another Bullshit Night in Suck City at my local library today. Can't wait to dive in. Had no idea there was going to be a movie - how cool is that?

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  2. Susan RichNovember 14, 2011 at 11:07 PM

    Hi Marty,
    It was so exciting to see a poet's life acted out in a Hollywood film --- with Robert DeNiro! I've read excerpts of the memoir, but now will need to read it before the film comes out. I'm curious as to what you think.

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  3. Angie VorhiesNovember 15, 2011 at 8:34 AM

    Wow, is right! This looks wonderful--and with some big name actors might do very well. Yes, congratulations to Nick Flynn. I read his book The Captain Asks for a Show of Hands, a powerful and disturbing book (with passages from testimonies by Abu Ghraib detainees).

    Looking forward to seeing this!

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  4. JanuaryNovember 15, 2011 at 8:36 AM

    Great post! Yay for Nick.

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  5. Angie VorhiesNovember 15, 2011 at 8:41 AM

    And Flynn's real-life partner, actress Lili Taylor, plays a part in the movie.

    That's an interesting idea--sort of like time-travel, isn't it? To go back and play a part in someone's life before you knew them...

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  6. Susan RichNovember 15, 2011 at 5:34 PM

    Angie, I love how you research! Lili Taylor is an actress I'll need to pay more attention to now. I was focused on Julianne Moore. Have you been doing any traveling since New York? Any writing? I still need to finish my essay for Ilya before I can re-focus on poetry. Miss you and hope our paths cross soon -- or maybe at Poets on the Coast? Hope the reunion group went well.

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