LinhCelluloid Literature: Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang; childrens’ book review
March 27th 2010 12:12
Dishing Out The Discipline by Linh
Actress Emma Thompson has won Academy Awards for her acting and her screen writing, and she has just accomplished another creative feat – book writing. ‘Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang’ is Emma Thompson‘s first attempt at writing a children’s book, and she has marked her debut with a unique twist. The book not only contains the story with some hand-drawn illustrations by Scoular Anderson, there is also a daily diary covering three months of filming around England with the cast and crew, ending with a comprehensive glossary of film-making and acting terminology. Throughout the book, Thompson would direct the reader to the glossary whenever she uses a term with which the everyday person may be unfamiliar.
Thompson’s book opens with “A Warning to the Reader” declaring the oddity of the book’s layout, where the story alternates with her diary of events during the film shoot. She even suggests reading the diary and story independently of each other but I found it works just as well if read as it is written.
The style of language in the book is very concise and switches from first person in the diary parts to third person in the story sections. The diary acts as a commercial break between the story, a point where Thompson vents her frustrations and exhaustions, and provides some interesting trivia about her fellow co-stars and crew members. The animals even get several mentions whether they have performed well or not.
The book was written in conjunction with Thompson’s upcoming film of the same name and makes an effective promotional product for the film franchise. However, it is not a sequel to the previous film, which starred Colin Firth and Angela Lansbury. The story, characters and setting are very different. In ‘Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang’, the story is set during the second World War and sees Nanny McPhee teaching five children how to get along as a family in four lessons. In Deep Valley Farm, frazzled mother Isabel Green is anxiously waiting for news of her husband, Rory Green, to return home from the war. Her children Megsie, Norman and Vincent remain hopeful their father will be home safe and sound as they write letters to him. Meanwhile, their wealthy cousins Cyril and Celia Gray, who live in London and are seemingly spoilt and arrogant, are sent to stay with them. The five children immediately clash, with fists flying, hair-pulling, kicking and screaming, while Isabel works to earn enough money to save the farm. Problems arise for the Greens when Uncle Phil gambles away his share of the farm and must convince Isabel to sell her and Rory’s share or he will be murdered.
The story is written like a screenplay that is easy to follow visually and the dialogue is uncomplicated. Thompson shows her skill at creating well-rounded characters and placing them in various scenarios that entertain and enthrals readers. She has carefully crafted a story that touches the core of the importance of family and how perceptions of others are not as they seem.
The diary contains some very funny moments which have occurred on and off the set, and they would make excellent viewing if packaged as bonus or special features for DVD and Blu-ray.
‘Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang’ is mostly for children but adults will enjoy its charm, warmth and share in the frustrations of Thompson and the cast/crew during the making of the feature film.
‘Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang’ is written by Emma Thompson, illustrated by Scoular Anderson and published by Bloomsbury Publishing in London.
Photographs in the book taken by Liam Daniel, Universal Studios.
The feature film Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang opens in Australia from 1 April 2010.
Trivia from The Diary:
* Eros Vlahos who plays Cyril Gray is a stand-up comic at the age of fourteen. He writes his won material and has performed at various venues including Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
*Maggie Gyllenhaal who plays Isabel Green, had to shout so much during the ‘lemon drop’ scene that she lost her voice.
* Rhys Ifans who plays Uncle Phil, broke his foot while showing six-year-olds some clever football moves.
* Ralph Fiennes who plays Lord Gray, was working on the feature film Clash of the Titans in the studio next door, between filming scenes for Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang. Emma Thompson would drop by to visit him while she was in full make-up and costume as Nanny McPhee. She gave him her character’s fake ear lobes.
* Maggie Smith who plays Mrs Docherty, came up with her own line for one of her scenes and it was included in the final cut. The scene shows her shrieking at Sam Kelly who plays Mr Spolding, “Wake up Algernon, wake up. I don’t want you to miss it going off!”
Maggie Smith also exclaimed the cow pat she was about to sit on “looks like a pile of sick”, so the art department created a new one that looked less sickly and more comfortable to sit on.
* On hot days when Emma Thompson isn’t needed for filming, she goes upstairs to her room and disrobes, then lies down in front of her tiny air-con unit. One day her Movement Director Toby Sedgwick, suddenly walked in and found her naked except for her fake nose, boots and hat.
Front cover artwork for the book 'Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang'. Image: Linh.
Actress Emma Thompson has won Academy Awards for her acting and her screen writing, and she has just accomplished another creative feat – book writing. ‘Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang’ is Emma Thompson‘s first attempt at writing a children’s book, and she has marked her debut with a unique twist. The book not only contains the story with some hand-drawn illustrations by Scoular Anderson, there is also a daily diary covering three months of filming around England with the cast and crew, ending with a comprehensive glossary of film-making and acting terminology. Throughout the book, Thompson would direct the reader to the glossary whenever she uses a term with which the everyday person may be unfamiliar.
Thompson’s book opens with “A Warning to the Reader” declaring the oddity of the book’s layout, where the story alternates with her diary of events during the film shoot. She even suggests reading the diary and story independently of each other but I found it works just as well if read as it is written.
LITERATURE LOVER: Enjoying the book 'Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang' by Emma Thompson. Image: Linh.
The style of language in the book is very concise and switches from first person in the diary parts to third person in the story sections. The diary acts as a commercial break between the story, a point where Thompson vents her frustrations and exhaustions, and provides some interesting trivia about her fellow co-stars and crew members. The animals even get several mentions whether they have performed well or not.
The book was written in conjunction with Thompson’s upcoming film of the same name and makes an effective promotional product for the film franchise. However, it is not a sequel to the previous film, which starred Colin Firth and Angela Lansbury. The story, characters and setting are very different. In ‘Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang’, the story is set during the second World War and sees Nanny McPhee teaching five children how to get along as a family in four lessons. In Deep Valley Farm, frazzled mother Isabel Green is anxiously waiting for news of her husband, Rory Green, to return home from the war. Her children Megsie, Norman and Vincent remain hopeful their father will be home safe and sound as they write letters to him. Meanwhile, their wealthy cousins Cyril and Celia Gray, who live in London and are seemingly spoilt and arrogant, are sent to stay with them. The five children immediately clash, with fists flying, hair-pulling, kicking and screaming, while Isabel works to earn enough money to save the farm. Problems arise for the Greens when Uncle Phil gambles away his share of the farm and must convince Isabel to sell her and Rory’s share or he will be murdered.
Current poster artwork for the film Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang. Image: Universal Pictures.
The story is written like a screenplay that is easy to follow visually and the dialogue is uncomplicated. Thompson shows her skill at creating well-rounded characters and placing them in various scenarios that entertain and enthrals readers. She has carefully crafted a story that touches the core of the importance of family and how perceptions of others are not as they seem.
The diary contains some very funny moments which have occurred on and off the set, and they would make excellent viewing if packaged as bonus or special features for DVD and Blu-ray.
‘Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang’ is mostly for children but adults will enjoy its charm, warmth and share in the frustrations of Thompson and the cast/crew during the making of the feature film.
Alternate poster artwork for the film Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang. Image: Universal Pictures.
‘Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang’ is written by Emma Thompson, illustrated by Scoular Anderson and published by Bloomsbury Publishing in London.
Photographs in the book taken by Liam Daniel, Universal Studios.
The feature film Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang opens in Australia from 1 April 2010.
Trivia from The Diary:
* Eros Vlahos who plays Cyril Gray is a stand-up comic at the age of fourteen. He writes his won material and has performed at various venues including Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
*Maggie Gyllenhaal who plays Isabel Green, had to shout so much during the ‘lemon drop’ scene that she lost her voice.
* Rhys Ifans who plays Uncle Phil, broke his foot while showing six-year-olds some clever football moves.
* Ralph Fiennes who plays Lord Gray, was working on the feature film Clash of the Titans in the studio next door, between filming scenes for Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang. Emma Thompson would drop by to visit him while she was in full make-up and costume as Nanny McPhee. She gave him her character’s fake ear lobes.
* Maggie Smith who plays Mrs Docherty, came up with her own line for one of her scenes and it was included in the final cut. The scene shows her shrieking at Sam Kelly who plays Mr Spolding, “Wake up Algernon, wake up. I don’t want you to miss it going off!”
Maggie Smith also exclaimed the cow pat she was about to sit on “looks like a pile of sick”, so the art department created a new one that looked less sickly and more comfortable to sit on.
* On hot days when Emma Thompson isn’t needed for filming, she goes upstairs to her room and disrobes, then lies down in front of her tiny air-con unit. One day her Movement Director Toby Sedgwick, suddenly walked in and found her naked except for her fake nose, boots and hat.
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