CHICAGO: MAYOR DALEY'S BOOK CLUB

Sorry to take time away from the Vietnam/Cambodia tour, but hey, I've had kind of a busy weekend I thought you'd like to know about -- namely a trip to Chicago and then off to Cannes!

First off, I flew down to Chicago, Friday -- like you couldn't tell from the photo of The Bean -- where I was put up at the Marriott Hotel to be keynote speaker to 1,500 fans of my novel CHANDA'S WARS. It was on Mayor Daley's Book Club that goes all across the Chicago school board -- the third largest in America. An honour and a thrill.

I love Chicago -- especially Millennium Park. More Bean please...







...the Gehry amphitheater...





... and that totally cool glass block statue with the changing faces of locals who spit jets of water out of their mouths. (In the heat of the summer, kids run through the water jets squealing with laughter.)






But more than anything, I love public speaking. I'm great with people if either (a) they're a small group of friends, or (b) if I'm on a stage in front of a crowd. I mean what's the big deal in talking to a few hundred fans? It's fun. But put me in a cocktail party and in five seconds I want to bolt. Honestly, who invented cocktail parties? -- "Minglers" where total strangers breathe cheap wine and brie in each others faces and talk about the weather. CHEQUE PLEASE! Getting through one of those suckers sober is a total drag!

BUT ANYWAY, MAYOR DALEY'S BOOK CLUB WAS FANTASTIC!. 1,500 STUDENTS WHO HAD READ MY BOOK AND WERE DEVOTING A SATURDAY MORNING TO THE BOOK CLUB EVENT. AUTHOR HEAVEN! And meeting Mayor Daley was terrific too. what he's done to beautify Chicago is truly amazing.

I also love Chicago's architecture, the cityscapes, street life...









And the cool public art. "Me see buildings. Yum."



After the event -- Saturday --I flew back to Toronto and packed for Cannes where LIFE, ABOVE ALL, the film adaptation of my novel CHANDA'S SECRETS, is premiering on the 18th. Daniel and I flew out yesterday -- Sunday -- so today we're either arrived or en route, heading from Rome to Nice and then a shuttle to the film festival. Then after that a few days in Venice to research my next book, and then home where I'll tell you all about it!

If you want to see some cool photos before I get back, I've pre-scheduled a post for May 20 of random shots of new stuff from Vietnam and Cambodia, to give you a taste of where I'll be taking you after Cannes and Venice. I think you'll especially like a preview of Angor Watt... :)

A bientot,

Allan

VIETNAM: THE CRAZY HOUSE

Welcome to a Tim Burton movie set in real life! Dalat's Crazy House may not follow socialist architectural principles, but luckily it was designed by a daughter of a local Communist head honcho so it's Wacadoo Wackadoo all the way to the land of multi-coloured birds. The architect is a Paris trained PhD, actually, and certainly one of a kind -- even in the circus that is Dalat her building stands out. and yes, people can actually stay here -- it's not just a ride.

This is a dining area a.k.a. shrine to her dad and the Party.



May I take you to your room?



Careful on the stairs.



And don't fall off a corridor.




Enjoy the skylight.



Look out from a corridor at the west wing.



And here we are. A tad cozy, but a fab mirror, don't you think?



Want something a bit bigger? O.K.



And say hello to the security guard. Mr. G. Raffe.



All in all a really fun place, and a great spot to interrupt our tour of Vietnam. Over the next few posts I'm going to try blogging from a couple of current trips. May 15th I'm addressing 1,500 students in Chicago from Mayor Daley's Book Club. CHANDA'S WARS was a selection across the board. Then on the 16th, Daniel and I head to France to the Cannes International Film Festival where CHANDA'S SECRETS is premiering as an Official Selection. We'll be there May 17, 18 and 19, then on to Nice and Venice where I'm researching my next novel. So.... if I get a chance to blog on the road that'd be fun. (Otherwise -- like if my days are just too packed, which may well be the case -- I'll show you some more of Vietnam and fill you in on Cannes when I get back.

Cheers,

Allan

HOW CHANDA'S SECRETS GOT TURNED INTO A MOVIE

This is Oliver Stoltz, producer of the film version of Chanda's Secrets. Unfortunately, he had a serious stomach ailment during the first phase of the shoot when I was in South Africa, so this photo is taken from his website. (Oliver, you're way more attractive in person! Get a new photo!:))

I first met Oliver in 2005, when he was in Toronto promoting his Emmy-nominated documentary Lost Children, about child soldiers, at the documentary film festival Hot Docs. (It also won the German Oscar for Best documentary, and a host of other international awards.) I contacted Oliver as a research lead for my then-upcoming novel Chanda’s Wars. Oliver had first-hand experience with former child soldiers, having filmed in Uganda’s Gulu and Padr provinces, barely escaping attacks from the Lord’s Resistance Army. (He's WAY braver than me. Also a little crazy. 'Ask my mother,' he says.)

Despite his hectic schedule, Oliver took time to meet me twice and had me as his guest at the screening. I gave him a copy of Chanda’s Secrets and we said so long. A little later, I was in Germany doing a reading tour for my German publisher, Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, and Oliver and I reconnected in Berlin. He still had that rumpled just-rolled-out-of-bed look -- which I had first thought was because of all the press he was doing for Lost Children, but turns out to be just the way he looks.

(BTW: Here's the German cover of Chanda's Secrets. They titled it "Things We Don't Mention" in German. Apparently it's an expression used in Germany to refer to WWII; the publisher thought it would resonate with the German audience, and communicate the hush-hush nature of Chanda's struggle.)


Oliver told me how much he loved Chanda, and that he hoped to film the book in an international co-production with his German film company Dreamer Joint Venture Productions. On my next reading tour for dtv, this time for the German edition of Chanda's Wars (Chandas Krieg), Oliver introduced me to director Oliver Schmitz. Those of you follow this blog will know him already, but to newcomers, here's a shot of Oliver at work with Chanda and Mama:


And here, BTW, is the cover of the German edition of Chanda's Wars I was promoting:


Schmitz is an expatriate South African whose work has shown at Cannes and been well-received throughout Europe and Africa. (He was part of the directing collective with the Coen Brothers on Paris je t’aime.)

The commitment of both Olivers to my work, and their personal familiarity with the world and life of the novel, gave me utter confidence. I was also pleased that they took my suggestion of screenwriter -- the wonderful Dennis Foon. I gave them the contact info for the publisher, Annick Press, a deal was negotiated with Annick's film representative, and Oliver (Stoltz) went and got financing and a distributor. (He's co-producing with South Africa's Enigma Pictures; Bavarian International is the distributor.)

I have been treated so well. The Olivers and Dennis listened carefully to my notes on the adaptation -- something rare and to be treasured in the world of filmmaking. Maybe I'll chat about a few of the differences between book and film at a later date -- but all of the slight changes make sense in terms of film and completely adhere to the vision and story of the novel.

Next time, some candid shots around Elandsdoorn. Then home!

Cheers,

Allan

UPDATE: The film adaptation of CHANDA'S SECRETS is called LIFE, ABOVE ALL and will premiere as an Official Selection at the 2010 Cannes International Film Festival.

SAFARI (2): HIPPOMANIA

Normally you don’t even see this much of a hippo. You just see the tips of the ears and snout. Also, normally, you’ll see hippos in family pods of five or more. Clearly, this loner is socially dyslexic. Within minutes, he went from watching us to warning us. Check out the jaw and spray.



Hippos can crush a crocodile in their jaws. Curiously, this explains their co-existence. The hippos don’t mind the crocs, and the crocs... well they’re fairly lazy and disgusting. If they haven’t nabbed something at the water’s edge, they’ll happily lie underwater by the hippos rump and eat, well... Gives a whole new meaning to “Day Old”.

Anyway, we were fairly far back, so we didn’t feel too threatened. This pissed off our friend who decided to impress us with the following:



For more on hippos, the meaning of ‘hippo highways’ and other bush curiosities, check out the last half of Chanda’s Wars, in which Chanda and Nelson, a young tracker, go into the bush to rescue Chanda’s young brother and sister, who’ve been kidnapped by a warlord to become child soldiers.

In the meantime, let’s see a few more of the animals I promised in the last post. Here’s a warthog.



Lions generally avoid people. But when I was in Botswana seven years ago, a lion leapt into our encampment and took down a grazing warthog. It dragged it to the edge of the compound and dispatched it. (BTW, lions tend not to kill by ripping and tearing with their teeth. Instead, they choke their victims with a heavy paw pressed down on the victim’s neck. Check out the jungle in your little kitty cat when it rests its paw over your arm.)

How about something colourful? The yellow horn bill. When it gives birth, the female moults its feathers to make a nest in a tree hole. The male seals the female and chicks inside with a mud covering, leaving only a small hole through which he slips food to feed the brood. When the babies are able to fly, Mom grows back her feathers, pecks away the mud seal, and re-emerges into the world.



As the sun went down, the animals moved toward the river to drink. Here’s a water buck, a cousin of the impala antelope. Not nearly so cute, but much more less plentiful. Luckily for the water buck, it’s not a popular game animal. It has adrenalin glands running all over the place; if it’s panicked by a hunter, the secretions make its meat taste foul.



Dusk brought us to a herd of water buffalo.



But let's leave this safari in daylight, with one of my favourite animals: The giraffe.



Hey, take another bough.



In Chanda’s Wars, Mrs. Tafa makes the case for hunting -- an understandable position from her point of view, though not my own. But what I truly find appalling is that so-called ‘hunters’ can go to private game farms and shoot these magnificent animals while they are tethered to a post. They even ‘hunt’ endangered species like rhino. (I gather a rhino kill can be bought for $20,000 in South Africa, with the horn fetching massive amounts in non-African countries practicing traditional medicine.) Let’s close with another look at what future generations may lose.



BTW, I’ll be doing a short Christmas-in-Elandsdoorn post later this week, then a post on the pandemic here, one on producer Oliver Stolz, then back to the Chanda’s Secrets set, and all all the people and things you never see on the movie screen, but without which movies would never be made. That’ll bring us into the New Year and a whole new batch of stuff.

Oh, and I haven't forgotten about the hyena-scat-and-19th-century-missionary factoid I promised. But I'm a bit tired.Later, I promise.

Till Thursday,

Allan

SAFARI (1): YOU CHECKIN' MY BUTT?

There’s a national park twenty minutes from my country cottage here in Elandsdoorn, South Africa, where I've been on location for the film shoot of my novel Chanda's Secrets. The owner and his son-in-law were kind enough to take me. They reminded me of the bush guides who taught me about tracking when I was in SubSahara researching Chanda’s Wars: Instead of looking at the bush, they see through it.

I’d seen all the Big Five except rhino when I was in Bostwana, Malawi and Zambia researching both Chanda books. So you can imagine my excitement when I saw a rhino in the bush to the right of me, and it decided to stoll out into plain view. And my further excitement when it turned sideways and blocked the road.



The rhino stayed like that for a few minutes. As it turns out, he wasn’t posing for me. Or threatening me. Check out his tail. Yup. A bathroom break. Within minutes, his ten-pound contribution to global warming was swarming with dung beetles: nature’s cleanup crew. It’s a dirty job, but somebody’s got to do it.



After they’ve worked the dung into balls, the beetles move it to nests just under the ground where they lay their eggs. The dung provides insulation and food for their little ones. Ah The Circle of Life. I can almost hear Elton John.

BTW, there are cattle around the farm where I’m staying. I’m told that some days the dung beetles are so busy, it looks like the entire field is moving.

Anyway, having looked to the ground to be careful where to step, let’s look up. It’s an incredible feeling to be moving slowly through the bush and to suddenly spot a little guy like this looking down from a tree.



How about a closeup?



Monkeys are cute, but if you leave anything lying around, they’ll snach it. Even salt shakers! No fear of people at all. Equally cute, but hot-wired for fear are antelope. There are so many species bounding about that it’s hard not to get jaded. (Oh, another antelope, ho hum.) Still, who wouldn’t go Ahhh at the sight of these impala? They’re Bambi times ten.



During the heat of the day, impala, like other animals, like to stay in the shade. Who wouldn’t? I’m afraid Dad, here, isn’t so keen on the attention.



Impala like to graze under trees housing baboons. The baboons sit up high and break off leaves the impala couldn’t reach. From their height, the baboons can spot and smell predators from great distances. When they do, they howl like crazy, giving the impala a head start in its race for life.

Note the “M” marking on the impala’s behind. (Black tail and lines on haunches.) Everything eats impala. Because of the ‘M’ it’s known as The McDonald’s of the Bush.



We stopped for lunch. Butterflies everywhere.



None of us have any idea what this is -- even my host who’s lived with the bush for forty-four years. Whatever, it sure looks cool.



It takes eight minutes to upload a photo over here, so I’m going to break my safari into two sections. Next time -- giraffe, a yellow horntail, water buffalo, water buck, warthog, and a grumpy hippo. Hippos kill more people than any other animal in the bush -- even lions. You’ll see it leap out of the water, and understand why Chanda and Nelson feared it in Chanda’s Wars. Till then,

Yours,

Allan

CHANDA'S SECRETS FILM: "I'M READY FOR MY CLOSEUP, MR. DeMILLE"

This is one of Chanda’s roosters (chickens?). I’m afraid I’m no good at figuring out the gender of barnyard animals, except for the ones with horns and obvious extra bits. Which, considering my grandparents and uncle were farmers is pretty embarrassing. (Hmmm, I’m thinking maybe that red thing on top means he’s a rooster.) Whatever, he’s got attitude. Fortunately, he’s about the only one who does, which on a film set is remarkable.

For sure, Oliver (Schmitz), the director, is attitude free. He’s totally focussed and in control but always with a smile and a sense of humour. Here he gives a notes between takes to Chanda and her mom.



Oliver likes to keep the tone light and friendly on the set, which is especially important with a story as heavy-duty dramatic as Chanda’s Secrets. Today, they’re shooting the scene where Chanda’s stepdad Jonah is dumped out of a wagon in front of Chanda’s yard. He’d abandoned the family after the death of baby Sarah. Now, it’s clear he has AIDS -- and Chanda is confronted with a terrible truth: "I think about their dead babies. I think about the way Mama's gotten so thin. Mama's problem isn't headaches or arthritis or fatigue. It's bigger. It's... Please, god, no." This is one of the scenes I’m most proud of -- the one I almost always do in public readings.

Anyway -- writing and acting tip -- the more dramatic the material, the simpler you have to be. Oliver likes his actors to be loose between takes, so they don’t overlay the drama. For instance, here’s Mama playing with her cane between takes.



And here she is seconds later in character, getting her makeup touched up, as she prepares for the A.D. to call, “First positions, please!” She is suddenly Mama, desperately ill, preparing to go to see the man she loved, the man who left her, the man who is dying in front of her yard.

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And this, by the way, is Jonah (Aubrey Poole), between takes. I don't want to spoil anything, so just let me say that what happens after his brother-in-law unhitches the wagon and he topples onto the road will break your heart.



I promised in my last post to post pictures of some of my readers’ favorite characters who appear in both Chanda’s Secrets and Chanda’s Wars. Here are the Lesoles (Refilwe Sihlangu and Tshepo Emmanuel Monyane). They’re as much fun as they look in their picture. (Mr. Lesole works at a safari camp up north; in Chanda’s Wars he will be attacked by child soldiers.)



And here is the conniving busybody, and Chanda’s nemesis, Mrs. Tafa (Harriet Manamela).



In real life, Harriet’s warm and gracious -- terrific qualities for Mrs. Tafa’s turnaround. Here she is off-camera with Chanda. My gosh, aren’t they just purrrrfect?



UPDATE: The film adaptation of CHANDA'S SECRETS is called LIFE, ABOVE ALL and will premiere as an Official Selection at the 2010 Cannes International Film Festival.