Just watched. Great movie. Congratulations to your wife! Thank you for posting here.
My wife wrote a book and now it's a movie
56,093 Views |
308 Replies |
Last: 5 yr ago by CanyonAg77
Good stuff.
Just finished the show and had to pause on your cameo to explain the Texags connection. Really cool and happy for you and your wife.
Just watched and loved it!
Watched it during my run this morning and really enjoyed it.
nai06 said:PooDoo said:
Watching with the family... couldn't you do something about the Hook Em Horns sign at Harpys?
So listen, I actually campaigned really hard to have it changed and was shut down by everyone. Something about reshoots and it being too expensive
It shouldn't have been there in the first place! You have one job...
I kid I kid
Fairly certain I'm not in the target demo for this movie but I really enjoyed it. I even rated it a "thumbs up" on Netflix... which I'm sure will now skew my suggested content in the direction of YA. The sacrifices I make...
Texags has made it to the big time!
Sorry OP, but we're all taking the credit.
Sorry OP, but we're all taking the credit.
Congratulations
Just finished it.
Did you mention the surprise cameo at the end anywhere in this thread?
Congrats! Wife loved the book and we both enjoyed the movie a lot.
Did you mention the surprise cameo at the end anywhere in this thread?
Congrats! Wife loved the book and we both enjoyed the movie a lot.
Watched with the wife and 2 teenage daughters. They loved it! It was really really great. Again congrats to your family and we will continue to spread the word - always great topic with friends is what everyone has seen lately on Netflix!
Where was your cameo?
Was there any discussion about Dolly making an appearance in the film?
Where was your cameo?
Was there any discussion about Dolly making an appearance in the film?
Well its been a pretty whirlwind week and I apologize for the length of this post, but here we go. We were in NYC earlier in the week because my wife had some interviews to do with the lead actress Danielle. One of those interviews was for Cheddar which is streaming based financial news channel aimed at millennials. That meant I got to tag along and watch the interview live from the trading floor of the NYSE. I have to say that was pretty dang awesome. Even though it's not the madhouse like it used to be, it was still very cool to be on the actual trading floor. I did happen to ask a few people how the orange juice futures were looking. Not everyone seemed to think it was as funny as I did. If you watch the clip of the interview below you can see the numerous times I accidentally wandered into the shot.
https://cheddar.com/videos/netflixs-dumplin-aims-to-boost-underrepresented-stories
We then flew to LA to get ready for the premiere. The night before we ended up having dinner and drinks with Ginger Minj, her husband, and wig maker. Chad is incredibly talented at designing and making wigs which he does all by hand. You should really check out some of his work.
https://www.instagram.com/in2gr8ion/?hl=en
The actual day of the premiere was fairly uneventful aside from the rain. It all cleared up by the evening though. I did not end up wearing a western suit but rather a dark teal, floral print, velvet dinner jacket with some slim tux pants and navy suede shoes. The premiere was at the Chinese Theater which was a really cool setting. Walking the red carpet was a different experience. It was much shorter than I expected and far more intense. I thought the flashes would be distracting but the flood lights are so bright you barely notice. We stepped out of the car, paused and then someone sent us through. Tons of people yelling, camera flash noises, etc. I just tried not to do anything dumb. At the end I stepped to the side while Julie went through and did a bunch of interviews. I got to meet up with most of the cast which was nice because we have actually become friends throughout this entire process. I ran into a lot of famous people but didn't want to do the whole fan thing and embarrass myself so I just said hey and shook hands with most of them. Jimmy Kimmel was there because his wife is actually in the movie. She plays the pageant director of the Miss Sweetwater pageant. The one from the trailer that misidentifies Willowdean.
Anyways we take our seats and as I'm walking up the aisle, I hear a really distinct laugh. I thought, "Damn that sounds like Adam Sandler". Sure enough it was. We watched as he sat down right in front of my wife and next to my BIL. He was there with his wife and daughters. Julie told him that she was a fan and that she wrote the book the movie was based on. He was like, "You wrote this book? Get out of here that's awesome!" He was the nicest person. All throughout the movie he was singing along to the songs, high fiving Julie, and having a blast. Afterwards he took a picture with her and told her that she should be proud for creating something so wonderful and putting out into the world for people to enjoy. I told him we could send him a signed copy of the book and he said, "Great, just get my details from Jen." I thought to myself sure, no problem I'll just get Adam Sandler's address from Jennifer Aniston.
Watching the movie was an incredible experience. I'd seen it twice before but never with an audience. The screenwriter and director did some intros and everyone cheered for my wife. It was really cool. All throughout the movie everyone was laughing and cheering. It finally dawned on me this was the one time you could cheer for someone in a movie and they would actually be there to hear it.
The afterparty was a very nice hotel and everything was decorated with a Dumplin theme. We met back up with the cast and saw Jenn again. One of Jenn's friends was there and had some nice things to say about the movie. That just happened to be Courtney Cox. So that was really cool. Out of this whole process the one thing I can't stress enough is what a kind, caring and compassionate person Jennifer Aniston is. She is truly remarkable.
To answer a few questions:
1. I don't know if there was any ever talk about Dolly making a cameo. I think that would have been hard to work into the story.
2. Dan Finnerty was hilarious on set. All of the different ad lib stuff he worked into the pageant scene as the Emcee had me in tears.
3. I technically have two cameos. The first is at 1:44:30. You can clearly see the back of my head/bald spot. The second is at 1:45:10. Im sitting at a table with my wife and the screenwriter singing and dancing along to the music.
4. If you are in the Houston area Julie is doing a book signing and QA at Bluewillow books along with Maddie Baillio who played Millie on December 19th at 7pm.
https://cheddar.com/videos/netflixs-dumplin-aims-to-boost-underrepresented-stories
We then flew to LA to get ready for the premiere. The night before we ended up having dinner and drinks with Ginger Minj, her husband, and wig maker. Chad is incredibly talented at designing and making wigs which he does all by hand. You should really check out some of his work.
https://www.instagram.com/in2gr8ion/?hl=en
The actual day of the premiere was fairly uneventful aside from the rain. It all cleared up by the evening though. I did not end up wearing a western suit but rather a dark teal, floral print, velvet dinner jacket with some slim tux pants and navy suede shoes. The premiere was at the Chinese Theater which was a really cool setting. Walking the red carpet was a different experience. It was much shorter than I expected and far more intense. I thought the flashes would be distracting but the flood lights are so bright you barely notice. We stepped out of the car, paused and then someone sent us through. Tons of people yelling, camera flash noises, etc. I just tried not to do anything dumb. At the end I stepped to the side while Julie went through and did a bunch of interviews. I got to meet up with most of the cast which was nice because we have actually become friends throughout this entire process. I ran into a lot of famous people but didn't want to do the whole fan thing and embarrass myself so I just said hey and shook hands with most of them. Jimmy Kimmel was there because his wife is actually in the movie. She plays the pageant director of the Miss Sweetwater pageant. The one from the trailer that misidentifies Willowdean.
Anyways we take our seats and as I'm walking up the aisle, I hear a really distinct laugh. I thought, "Damn that sounds like Adam Sandler". Sure enough it was. We watched as he sat down right in front of my wife and next to my BIL. He was there with his wife and daughters. Julie told him that she was a fan and that she wrote the book the movie was based on. He was like, "You wrote this book? Get out of here that's awesome!" He was the nicest person. All throughout the movie he was singing along to the songs, high fiving Julie, and having a blast. Afterwards he took a picture with her and told her that she should be proud for creating something so wonderful and putting out into the world for people to enjoy. I told him we could send him a signed copy of the book and he said, "Great, just get my details from Jen." I thought to myself sure, no problem I'll just get Adam Sandler's address from Jennifer Aniston.
Watching the movie was an incredible experience. I'd seen it twice before but never with an audience. The screenwriter and director did some intros and everyone cheered for my wife. It was really cool. All throughout the movie everyone was laughing and cheering. It finally dawned on me this was the one time you could cheer for someone in a movie and they would actually be there to hear it.
The afterparty was a very nice hotel and everything was decorated with a Dumplin theme. We met back up with the cast and saw Jenn again. One of Jenn's friends was there and had some nice things to say about the movie. That just happened to be Courtney Cox. So that was really cool. Out of this whole process the one thing I can't stress enough is what a kind, caring and compassionate person Jennifer Aniston is. She is truly remarkable.
To answer a few questions:
1. I don't know if there was any ever talk about Dolly making a cameo. I think that would have been hard to work into the story.
2. Dan Finnerty was hilarious on set. All of the different ad lib stuff he worked into the pageant scene as the Emcee had me in tears.
3. I technically have two cameos. The first is at 1:44:30. You can clearly see the back of my head/bald spot. The second is at 1:45:10. Im sitting at a table with my wife and the screenwriter singing and dancing along to the music.
4. If you are in the Houston area Julie is doing a book signing and QA at Bluewillow books along with Maddie Baillio who played Millie on December 19th at 7pm.
I watched with my wife and this movie would have been one I probably wouldn't watch normally but we enjoyed. Very creative with the dolly obsession and integrates into the story.
We're all living vicariously through on your fantastic voyage. Please keep up the updates. I'm sharing them my wife as they pop up.
Oh and if I haven't said it already, Thank you to everyone for watching the movie and all the kind words.
Just watched it and I really enjoyed it. Congrats to your wife! happy for you!
Just watched it! I thought it was amazing! I dont really like movies with mean people and I like that this movie just portrayed people as people who maybe didnt understand each other. I thought everything about the story was really well thought out.
I watched it just based off of this thread. Overweight teen girl movies aren't exactly my wheelhouse, but I liked it.
I know this thread is to avoid critiques, but I will say that one thing I really thought was cool was that they didn't pit women against each other like most similar movies do. There was no mean girl clique, Ellen's pretty friend and the other pageant girls were largely portrayed as nice people who just enjoyed pagents. Willowdean had issues with her mom, but that is normal stuff, and the girls had a fight but again normal relatable stuff and quickly passed.
It allowed the movie to focus on what mattered, which I thought was unique for this genre, and pretty mature writing.
But congrats.
I know this thread is to avoid critiques, but I will say that one thing I really thought was cool was that they didn't pit women against each other like most similar movies do. There was no mean girl clique, Ellen's pretty friend and the other pageant girls were largely portrayed as nice people who just enjoyed pagents. Willowdean had issues with her mom, but that is normal stuff, and the girls had a fight but again normal relatable stuff and quickly passed.
It allowed the movie to focus on what mattered, which I thought was unique for this genre, and pretty mature writing.
But congrats.
My wife and I enjoyed it a good deal. A very sweet story. Congratulations to your wife and you.
Haven't watched it yet, but I had to come mention that I keep seeing comments from friends on social media about how much everyone in their family loved it. Congrats to the wife!
The ONLY reason I watched this movie is because of this post. Loved the movie as did my wife.
I know you said don't critique on this thread but wtf is up with the hook em horns sign?
I know you said don't critique on this thread but wtf is up with the hook em horns sign?
My best friend who has cancer texted me and my other gal pals last night. "Guys..you have to watch Dumplin! It's so good. And now I need a Dolly Parton playlist!"
Finally getting around to it.
Wife and daughter had no interest.
I'm enjoying it other than the casting. The actors playing teens are clearly on their middle 20s.
Wife and daughter had no interest.
I'm enjoying it other than the casting. The actors playing teens are clearly on their middle 20s.
cute movie. But does this drag Queen bar really exist? I mean I know a lot of crazy **** happens in rural Texas but it is usually on the DL.
Gonna have to watch with my girlfriend sometime soon. Really cool stuff. Congratulations, this movie is blowing up on Twitter today!
nai06 said:
This thread is to detail the process and experience of how my wife's book became a movie. If you would like to critique it, please do so on a different thread. Also please don't harass my wife or I, that is not cool.
I debated even bringing this up because people on the internet are awful (even on texags). Anyways some of you might know my wife is an author. She's a NYT #1 Best Seller among other accolades so suffice to say she has done pretty well for herself. Anyways, back in 2015 she wrote a book called Dumplin'. It's a about a fat girl in a small Texas town. She knows she is fat and isn't really bothered by the term. She falls for a guy at her job and is surprised when he has feelings back for her. She loses some of her self-confidence and tries to gain it back by joining the local beauty pageant run by her mother, former beauty queen. It debuted at #1 on the NYT Best Seller list and has been published something like 20 different countries.
Soon after we got a call that Disney wanted to buy the film rights which they ended up doing. That was a bit of wild experience just seeing all the things that Disney does. Around this time, Disney began ramping up production on it's live action remakes. About a year later they decided to let the rights expire and not to make the film. It was a pretty big gut punch but there was a silver lining.
At this point, they already had a screenwriter, script, and some producers signed on. The screenwriter, Kristen Hahn (Time Traveler's wife, The Departed), had a good friend that she felt was perfect for the main character's mother. Her friend just happened to be Jennifer Aniston. Everyone involved at this point was determined to get the movie made so they secured some independent financing and went forward with production.
We were very lucky in that they consulted my wife a lot on the script which is not very common in the book to movie experience. The biggest hurdle would be the music. The main character in the book is obsessed with Dolly Parton and it's a central theme in the book. So needless to say, we were blown away when we found out not only had Dolly read the book, she wanted to let us use her entire catalog, and wanted to write some new music for the film. The album features lots of collaborations with current artists and is produced by Linda Perry
We had a chance to visit the set about a year ago and that was also eye opening. The cast and crew were amazing and it was so cool to see how a movie is made. Spoiler Alert: I made the final cut of the film as an extra. Back in February we went to LA to film some promo stuff and meet Dolly Parton. I don't know how to put into words the experience of meeting someone who is a cultural icon and a childhood hero. Basically, it was incredible and I now have the most kick ass Christmas card photo for this year.
Fast forward to today. The movie was eventually bought by Netflix and is scheduled for release on December 7th of this year. The soundtrack which features 6 original songs by Dolly Parton is out on November 30th. She just released a second song from the album which is an original for the film.
I really wanted to start this thread because I know a few people were interested but mainly because I am so dang proud of my wife. I'd be happy to answer any questions about the whole process. Like I said if you want to critique the film and book, please start another thread. Also, please don't seek out and harass my wife or I on social media she gets enough hate mail as it is. TIA
TL;DR
My wife wrote a book which was made into a movie starring Jennifer Aniston, Dolly Parton and Linda Perry did the soundtrack, Dolly wrote some original songs for the film, it comes out in a month, and I don't know what real life is anymore.
LINKS:
IMDB page for cast
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4878482/fullcredits
https://www.countryliving.com/life/entertainment/a24403853/dumplin-movie-netflix/
Dolly Parton has two songs out from the soundtrack. Here I am (a rerecording featuring Sia) and her newest original song Girl in the Movies (she has already been promoting it for an oscar nom)
https://dollyparton.com/featured/here-i-am-first-single-from-dumplin/15492
You can find both songs anywhere you buy or stream music.
And here is the track listing
Edited to add the trailer:
That's freaking awesome! Congratulations to you and your wife!
Clover City is just a fictional town based on a lot of different places we've been to. As far as the movie goes, it was filmed in and around Atlanta, GA. The "Hideaway" is technically a real place but its not a drag bar. Its actually a biker/dive bar in the Atlanta area that goes by a different name. It was a fairly authentic dive bar though. I do often wonder what the regular patrons think about their favorite place being transformed into a drag bar for the movie.Duncan Idaho said:
cute movie. But does this drag Queen bar really exist? I mean I know a lot of crazy **** happens in rural Texas but it is usually on the DL.
Told my wife about this thread.
She told me to tell you (and to please relay to your wife) she absolutely loved the movie and plans to purchase and read the book.
She told me to tell you (and to please relay to your wife) she absolutely loved the movie and plans to purchase and read the book.
Thanks. I just wasn't sure if she pulled on it from someplace she knew.
my dad told me the other day that he and my mom met and befriended a producer of this movie recently and said they feel like "insiders"!
My response: "yeah, well, the husband of the writer of the book posts on a website that I also post on, so I'm an insider too".
My response: "yeah, well, the husband of the writer of the book posts on a website that I also post on, so I'm an insider too".
I had heard of this book previously in Aggies Only but always forgot to request it via the library. After this thread, I made it a point to not only read Dumplin', but also her other books. She's a great author!!2012Ag said:
Told my wife about this thread.
She told me to tell you (and to please relay to your wife) she absolutely loved the movie and plans to purchase and read the book.
If your wife likes to read, tell her I'd definitely recommend Romona Blue. That was a really cute book.
oh no said:
my dad told me the other day that he and my mom met and befriended a producer of this movie recently and said they feel like "insiders"!
My response: "yeah, well, the husband of the writer of the book posts on a website that I also post on, so I'm an insider too".
Hey that's cool, do they remember who it was?
Turns out my dad was mistaken- it was a producer's sister they met at St Anne's church in Houston.
Featured Stories
See All
35:25
1h ago
991
The TexAgs Tailgate: Texas A&M vs. Southern California
by Richard Zane
35:16
9h ago
3.4k
Presenting Texas Aggies United's 'Battle At Reed' Sweepstakes!
by Texas Aggies United