Blindness by Jose Saramago

I read Nobel prize winner Jose Saramago's modern classic Blindness in 2005 and am happy to hear that Fernando Meirelles (who directed City of God and The Constant Gardener) has made into a movie -- just read Terrence Rafferty "Descending Into Blindness to See the Light" published September 19, 2008 in the New York Times comparing the movie to other apocalyptic science fiction movies.

I would guess that Julianne Moore is well cast as the doctor's wife, given her work in other eerie movies like The Forgotten, Freedomland, and Children of Men.

Also in this movie are Mark Ruffalo (as the ophthalmologist), Gael Garcia Bernal, Danny Glover, Sandra Oh, and other stars.

I hope that this film, shot in São Paulo, Ontario, and Uruguay, does justice to this book.

Which reminds me....I wonder when the movie version of The Road comes out.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

I had heard rumors that The Road by Cormac McCarthy, one of three books I recommend for Earth Day 2008, was going to be made into a movie so I was thrilled to read Charles McGrath's "At World’s End, Honing a Father-Son Dynamic" (published May 27, 2008 in the New York Times) about filming the movie version!

Filming started in late February mostly in and around Pittsburgh with its "deserted coalfields, run-down parts of Pittsburgh, windswept dunes."

I'm glad to hear that the script is faithful to the book and I hope that Viggo Mortensen portrays the father well (Charlize Theron is set to play the wife and Robert Duvall and Guy Pierce also have minor roles).

The son will be played by Kodi Smit-McPhee, an 11 year of Australian who is known for his masterful American accent!

The Road has great cinematography potential and I will definitely see it when it comes out in theaters!