Shorts and books, 11/15.

Having adeptly summarized a history of Cahiers du cinéma by Emilie Bickerton back in February, Girish now turns his attention to Movie, whose run span roughly the same period in Britain, albeit in the shadow of Sight & Sound.

Related (you'll see): Harriet Margolis reviewed the second edition of The Cinema Book for Screening the Past back in 2000.

"During the crowded rush of award-season, when both the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times have recently published stories titled, respectively, 'Not Just Some Movies: This is a Glut of Cinema' and 'Arthouse Depression,' there's one type of non-studio film that's nearly absent from both theaters and the debate surrounding the packed release calendar: world cinema." Anthony Kaufman looks into it for indieWIRE.

"[A]s Jenny M Jones reminds us in The Annotated Godfather: The Complete Screenplay, the film was almost never made," writes David L Ulin. "Based on Mario Puzo's bestselling 1969 novel, the project was turned down by 12 directors before Paramount executives Robert Evans and Peter Bart offered it to the then-little-known Francis Ford Coppola; he, too, originally passed, considering the material 'sleazy,' according to Jones. That's a harsh assessment - Puzo's novel is in fact a pretty good piece of popular fiction. There's no question, though, that it was in the translation to the screen that The Godfather became, well, The Godfather."

Also in the Los Angeles Times, Robert W Welkos reports on how Paramount Vantage is tapping into the base of fans of The Kite Runner, the novel, to promote the film: "All across the US, with the encouragement of the studio's digital marketing division, those fans have been setting up 'Kite Runner Clubs,' which are enlisting dozens or even hundreds of people to join their ranks for online messages and discussion groups about the book and movie. To date, 1,215 clubs have formed from Southern California to New York with many of the clubs in smaller towns in between. In all, 15,664 people have joined the clubs."

"Even for readers already familiar with [Steve] Martin's solemn side, Born Standing Up, is a surprising book: smart, serious, heartfelt and confessional without being maudlin," writes Janet Maslin in the New York Times. "Decades after the fact he looks back at a period of invention and innovation, marveling at the thought that his efforts might have led absolutely nowhere if they had not wildly succeeded. While there is much to validate his sense of having been lucky, nobody put it better than Elvis Presley, whom Mr Martin once encountered backstage when both were enjoying the status of show-business kings. 'Son,' he says Presley told him, 'you have an ob-leek sense of humor.'"

Speaking of books, "Tree of Smoke, a sweeping novel by Denis Johnson about the Vietnam War that features intersecting stories of an array of American and Vietnamese soldiers and intelligence officers, won the National Book Award for fiction last night," reports Motoko Rich. Other winners: Tim Weiner for Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA (nonfiction), Sherman Alexie for The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (young people's literature) and Robert Haas for Time and Materials (poetry). And:

The National Book Foundation also awarded its Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters to Joan Didion. Ms Didion, the essayist and novelist, won the National Book Award for nonfiction in 2005 for The Year of Magical Thinking.

In presenting the award, the novelist Michael Cunningham said: "I cannot think of another contemporary writer who has so thoroughly shown us to ourselves."

Ms Didion, who received a standing ovation, also paid tribute to [Norman] Mailer, who won the same award in 2005 and died last week. "There was someone who really, truly knew what writing was for," she said.

Scott Raab has a refreshingly relaxed conversation with Paul Giamatti for Esquire.

Gendy Alimurung reports in the LA Weekly on "a new breed of Hollywood agent... Until a year ago, none of the Hollywood agencies had divisions devoted exclusively to mining and developing the Web for talent. And the industry is watching to see how these young agents do."

Online viewing tip #1. The trailer for Joe Swanberg's Butterknife, presented by Spout and featuring a cast and crew that've won you over in films such as Frownland, Team Picture, Quietly on By and Cocaine Angel.

Online viewing tip #2. At Facets Features, Phil Morehart's got Andy Warhol eating a burger. Behind the camera: Jørgen Leth. The sound is fantastic, but this will make you thirsty.

Posted by dwhudson at November 15, 2007 3:40 PM