Author and Austin native Julie Powell being at our showing of Julie & Julia was a huge bonus to go with the big, fancy meal. I’m glad she did a nice Q&A after the movie because it helped separate the real person from the movie character Nora Ephron put on the screen. How? For starters, the vapid, shallow, more “successful” friends Julie had lunch with in the movie didn’t exist so she wasn’t motivated to write to keep up with anyone. Powell wanted a creative outlet. Becoming famous and published was a fortunate turn of events. I can relate to that with my site. Now if I could transform into an adequate-paying gig for the Onion, remember you knew me here first!
Other key questions she answered for the audience:
- How much weight did she gain from the project? A lot.
- What’s next? A book about working at a slaughterhouse, then fiction.
- Did she ever speak to Julia again after being dismissed the first time? Yes. Julia said she changed many people’s lives so Julie’s experience wasn’t unique.
About time I did get another author in this section too. Hopefully some more will come to Book People for a signing/reading who don’t have a problem with picture taking like David Sedaris did.
Cool! We saw it last weekend (we can only go to movies when relatives are in town to watch the kids so it limits what we can see) but I enjoyed it a lot, and I’m almost done with the book. I have My Year in France requested from the library. Today though I’m sort of bummed to hear her next book is partly about the affair she had after it was all over. I should wait to hold judgement (and I WILL hold judgement!) but what kind of messed-up is that? Even if her husband is only half as nice and understanding as she portrays in the book, she did him a dirty one there.