All Aboard for The Polar Express!

On Christmas Eve, a boy boards a magical train that's headed to the North Pole.

Screening Party:  Sunday, Dec. 8th @ 2:30 p.m.
Discussion:  Tuesday, Dec. 10th @ 6:30 p.m.

Read a sample of the book.
(Then scroll down and read "Amazon Exclusive: A Letter from Chris Van Allsburg."
Listen to the story read aloud by the author, courtesy of Barnes & Noble's online storytime. (p. 3)
Check out the book's official website for more information, games, activities and recipes.  For those who truly believe, send free polar express e-cards!

Adaptations Enters the World of Jane Austen

Sparks fly when spirited Elizabeth Bennet meets single, rich, and proud Mr. Darcy. But Mr. Darcy reluctantly finds himself falling in love with a woman beneath his class. Can each overcome their own pride and prejudice?

Screening Party: Sunday, Nov. 17th @ 2:30 p.m.
AfterParty: Tuesday, Nov. 19th @ 6:30 p.m.

Read more about it on the Focus Features site.
Download/Read the free ebook.
Breaking news: Pride & Prejudice reimagined as a computer game!

Celebrate the season with a good old-fashioned haunting!

Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House was a finalist for the National Book Award and one of the best literary ghost stories of the century. The film, produced in 1963, is the gold standard of haunted house movies, and can still spook an audience 50 years later.

Screening Party: Sunday, Oct. 13th @ 2:30 p.m.
AfterParty: Tuesday, October 22nd @ 6:30 p.m.

Dr. Markway, doing research to prove the existence of ghosts, investigates Hill House, a large, eerie mansion with a lurid history of violent death and insanity. With him are the skeptical young Luke, who stands to inherit the house, the mysterious and clairvoyant Theodora and the insecure Eleanor, whose psychic abilities make her feel somehow attuned to whatever spirits inhabit the old mansion. As time goes by it becomes obvious that they have gotten more than they bargained for as the ghostly presence in the house manifests itself in horrific and deadly ways.

The Lincoln we only thought we knew . . .

Steven Spielberg directs two-time Academy Award® winner Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln, a revealing drama that focuses on the 16th President’s tumultuous final months in office. In a nation divided by war and the strong winds of change, Lincoln pursues a course of action designed to end the war, unite the country and abolish slavery. His choices during this critical moment will change the fate of generations to come.

Screening Party: Sunday, Sept. 15th @ 2:30 p.m.
AfterParty: Tuesday, Sept. 24th @ 6:30 p.m.

The Dream Lives

Set against the backdrop of 19th-century France, Les Miserables tells an enthralling story of broken dreams and unrequited love, passion, sacrifice and redemption--a timeless testament to the survival of the human spirit. Jackman plays ex-prisoner Jean Valjean, hunted for decades by the ruthless policeman Javert (Crowe) after he breaks parole. When Valjean agrees to care for factory worker Fantine's (Hathaway) young daughter, Cosette, their lives change forever.

Screening Party: Sun., Aug. 11th @ 2:30 p.m.
AfterParty: Tuesday, August 20th @ 6:30 p.m.

Get Jurassic in July!

Join Adaptations this month for an all-expenses-paid trip to Jurassic Park, where the popcorn is fresh and the dinosaurs are hungry -- It's an adventure 65 million years in the making!

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
Screening Party: Sun., July 14th @ 2:30 p.m.
AfterParty: Tuesday, July 23rd @ 6:30 p.m.

It's a bird . . . It's a plane . . .

We wrap up Super Summer 2 with a screening of the iconic 1978 Superman movie starring Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, and Gene Hackman. Showtime is 2:30 p.m. June 30th!

It's Web-slinging Time!

Peter Parker finds a clue that might help him understand why his parents disappeared when he was young. His path puts him on a collision course with Dr. Curt Connors, his father's former partner.

Catch The Amazing Spider-Man this Sunday: The feature begins at 2:30 p.m., but come early for cartoons!

Avengers Assemble!

Super Summer 2 continues with The Avengers June 16th!

The Incredible Hulk Hits Avondale June 2nd!

The Incredible Hulk kicks off an all-new, explosive and action-packed epic of one of the most popular super heroes of all time. In this new beginning, scientist Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) desperately hunts for a cure to the gamma radiation that poisoned his cells and unleashes the unbridled force of rage within him: The Hulk.  The feature begins at 2:30 p.m.!

Getting Ready for a Super Summer!

We had a great time at the Alabama Phoenix Festival this past weekend, hanging out with superheroes and Jedi knights and spreading the word about Super Summer 2. 

Get ready for more fun with our Comic Book-to-Film Series every Sunday in June.  The feature begins at 2:30 p.m. but come early for cartoons.

We Can Remember It For You Wholesale

Philip K. Dick is the author behind visionary science fiction films like Blade Runner, Minority Report, The Adjustment Bureau, and this month's selection, Total Recall, based on his short story "We Can Remember it For You Wholesale."

Join us to screen the 2012 film adaptation on Sunday, May 19th @ 2:30 p.m., and discuss the story and its film adaptations at our AfterParty on Tuesday, May 28th, @ 6:30 p.m.

You can read the short story online, or pick up a copy at the Avondale circulation desk.

See you in the future!

Enjoy an Enchanted April

If you enjoy Downton Abbey, come discover The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim.  The author's name may be unfamiliar today, but Elizabeth, Countess Russell, began a highly successful literary career in 1898 and published more than 20 popular books.  She was also a mother of five children, a cousin of Katherine Mansfield, and a lover of H.G. Wells. 

The Enchanted April, first published in 1922, was a best-selling sensation in England and the United States, and has inspired 2 major films and 2 Broadway plays.  Set in England and Italy in the early 1920s, this witty and lyrical novel chronicles the story of four strangers who come together for a holiday in an Italian castle and rediscover themselves.

The novel is available as a free ebook, and hard copies are available at the Avondale circulation desk.  Our screening party is scheduled for Sunday, April 14th at 2:30 p.m., and our discussion will take place on Tuesday, April 23rd at 6:30 p.m.

Read more about it.
Download the free ebook.

Our March Adaptations Title: Big Miracle by Tom Rose

Based on the incredible true story:  An animal-loving volunteer and a small-town news reporter are joined by a native Alaskan boy to rally an entire community - and eventually rival world superpowers - to save a family of majestic gray whales trapped by rapidly forming ice in the Arctic Circle.

Screening Party:  Sunday. March 10th @ 2:30 p.m.

AfterParty :  Tuesday, March 26th @ 6:30 p.m.

Check us out!

Adaptations was featured on the Feb. 14th broadcast of "All Things Social" on WJSU Cool & Current, The Jackson, Mississippi NPR affiliate.  Click here to listen to the interview online.

The Color Purple

Alice Walker's powerful novel The Color Purple won both the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for Fiction, and has been adapted as an acclaimed film, nominated for 11 Academy Awards. and a celebrated musical, nominated for 11 Tony Awards. 

The classic 1985 film was directed by Steven Spielberg and stars Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey, and Danny Glover.

Join us for a special screening party Sunday, Feb. 10th at 2:30 p.m. and share the experience. 

We'll discuss the book and its adaptations at our AfterParty Feb. 26th at 6:30 p.m.

Read about this program on the BPL Blog.

Celebrate a New Year of Adaptations!

The 2013 season of Adaptations premieres this Sunday, Jan. 6th, with a 3-week Sherlock Celebration.  The complete Sherlock schedule is below in the previous post, and coming attractions are listed in the side column.  Our eclectic line-up includes blockbusters and classics, bestsellers and under-the-radar gems.  So pop open a good book, pass the popcorn, and enjoy!