By Heidi Simmons
The Coachella Valley has a burgeoning college town in Palm Desert. One of the joys of having these taxpayer-funded institutions in our wider community is the free events they run for the public. At UCR Palm Desert, the low-residency program, MFA (Master of Fine Arts) in Creative Writing and Writing for the Performing Arts, will host a series called Lit Flicks: Hot Crime in the Summertime.
Three film adaptations, The Big Sleep, Goodfellas and Mystic River will be shown on the big screen in the cool comfort of the state-of-the-art campus auditorium. Facilitated by the enthusiastic and often incorrigible program director, Tod Goldberg, this event is certain to be entertaining and very cool.
“It’s a great opportunity to talk about two of my favorite things: books and movies,” said Goldberg. “We’re focusing on three classic books and their film adaptations about crime. All are widely acclaimed stories and the films differ in interesting ways from their source material.”
Goldberg, along with William Rabkin, MFA program professor, screen and television writer and crime novelist, will have a short conversation and open discussion about the book and its film version immediately after each screening.
The 1946 film The Big Sleep starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall will open the event Wednesday, June 26. Start time for all films is 6:30. Written by Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep (Alfred A. Knopf, 277 pages) was originally published in 1939. It was Chandler’s first novel to feature the hardboiled and cynical private investigator Philip Marlowe. The title, a euphemism for death, takes place in Los Angeles. Chandler writes descriptively about place and masterfully captures attitude and tone. If you’ve never read Chandler this is a good place to start.
July 24 is the 1990 film adaptation Goodfellas based on Nicholas Pileggi’s nonfiction book Wiseguy: Life in a Mafia Family (Simon & Schuster, 256 pages). Pileggi co-wrote the screenplay with director Martin Scorsese. A crime reporter, Pileggi chronicled the true story of Mafia informant Henry Hill and the rise and fall of the Lucchese crime family and their associates. A hard to put down page-turner, Wiseguy is an incredible inside look at organized crime. Nominated for six Academy Awards©, the film stars Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci and Ray Liotta.
Dennis Lehane’s novel Mystic River (William Morrow, 416 pages) published in 2001, finishes the Lit Flicks series on August 28. The story follows three Boston boyhood friends who experience a traumatic event that impacts their lives 25 years later. An intense thriller, the book reads quickly and has the feel of a Shakespearian play. The film version is directed by Clint Eastwood, and stars Sean Penn, Tim Robbins and Kevin Bacon. Penn and Robbins won Academy Awards© for their performances.
According to Goldberg, this series is part of the UCR MFA program’s continuing dedication to provide free arts programming to the Coachella Valley. He encourages everyone to read the books that inspired these great films.
Co-sponsoring the three-part event is Villagio Pizza of Palm Desert. Goldberg adds, “We are thrilled to have our friends at Villagio Pizza provide free appetizers before each showing for our guests. What’s better in the summer time than a free movie and snacks!”
For those of us desert dwellers who live here year round, love a good book, a terrific movie and a cool place to hang out, the Lit Flicks: Hot Crime in the Summertime looks to be a fun summer diversion. The CV is fortunate to have a university that appreciates and supports the arts. A reservation is suggested. To register visit the UCR Palm Desert Center web site (palmdesert.ucr.edu/programs/Lit_Flicks.html).
