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Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Real Santa Goes to the Movies

There are some books you write that you think this would make a good movie. Then there are some books that just demand to be a movie. That is Real Santa. "If someone doesn't make a movie out of this book then there is something wrong with the world." That is how Booklist reviewed it and gave the book a Starred Review. Two things that rarely happen. A trade magazine says a book would be a great movie and they give it a starred review. I knew then something was up.

But more than that is the story of  Real Santa. Something about a mad professor type character that lends itself to the screen. A man who hires a movie director to pull of his illusion of Santa delivering gifts and in the process the director  sees himself as creating a movie well...it does sort of call out to Hollywood. But even then you think well maybe it will happen and maybe it wont.

Studios began calling before the book was even out. Just off a one line summary. The whole high concept thing. But it was amazing to me that no one had ever taken a man and put him in the situation of becoming Santa Claus. Not like Tim Allen but a REAL SANTA with all the physical problems of flying reindeer onto a roof. The tech part of the book was elaborate.

And then finally the right person reads it. The person who says those three words I LOVE THIS BOOK. And they have the means to make the movie. I was at a Christmas Tree farm when I got the call in the freezing snow and wind. Could it have been any more perfect?

Real Santa...Holiday Sale
STARRED REVIEW BOOKLIST

"If somebody doesn't make a movie out of this book, there's something wrong with the world. This could have been played as an out-and-out slapstick comedy, but instead the author approaches the story like a character study: a portrait of a man with the best intentions in the world watching those intentions collide with reality. It's a steamroller of a story, starting small, with George's idea, and getting bigger and bigger as George tries to put the elements together, as his obsession takes him further and further away from reality. Beautifully done."                                                                                                 
                                                                                                 David Pitts Booklist


"The author marries the everyday dramas found in the novels of Tom Perrotta and Nick Hornby to the high camp of Carl Hiaasen or Dave Barry. Adults looking for a funny holiday-themed tale that doesn't lose its sense of wonder in the face of realism will find a treat here. A lovingly crafted comedy about the madness that fatherhood inspires."
                                                                                              Kirkus Reviews



Best-selling author Hazelgrove (e.g., Ripples; Tobacco Sticks) captures the human need to believe in something good.  This book will satisfy readers looking for a happy Christmas story.-- Library Journal


"Hazelgrove's lively improbable narrative will appeal to the readers in the mood for holiday fiction."
                                                                                              Publishers Weekly




 

Books by William Hazelgrove