Ang Lee : A successful Director and his story

Have you ever wondered how powerful is this seven letter word "INSPIRE". It can fill you with the urge or ability to do something or create a positive feeling in you. There are numerous stories of ordinary people who went from rags to riches. They went on to become successful with their hard work, discipline, dedication, determination, sincere efforts, vision and what not. They might have had hard times but they din't let the spark die.

About Ang Lee : 

Born on October 23, 1954 is a Taiwanese-born American film director, screenwriter and producer. Lee has won the Academy Award for Best Director twice : for Brokeback Mountain (2005) and for Life of Pi (2012). He also won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000). He is the first person of Asian descent to win an Oscar, Golden Globe, and BAFTA for Best Director, and is the only director to win both the Golden Bear and Golden Lion multiple times. 

Lee studied in the Provincial Tainan First Senior High School where his father was the principal. He was expected to pass the annual Joint College/University Entrance Examination, the only route to a university education in Taiwan. After failing the exam twice, to the disappointment of his father, he entered a three-year college, the National Arts School and graduated in 1975. After finishing Republic of China Armed Forces's mandatory military service, Lee went to the US in 1979 to study at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he completed his bachelor's degree in theater in 1980. Originally, Lee was interested in acting, but his challenges with speaking English made it difficult and he quickly turned to directing.

During graduate school, Lee finished a 16mm short film, Shades of the Lake (1982), which won the Best Drama Award in Short Film in Taiwan. His own thesis work, a 43-minute drama, Fine Line (1984), won NYU's Wasserman Award for Outstanding Direction and was later selected for the Public Broadcasting Service. Lee remained unemployed for six years. During this time, he was a full-time house-husband, while his wife Jane Lin, a molecular biologist, was the sole breadwinner for the family of four. With Lin's support and understanding, Lee did not abandon his career in film but continued to generate new ideas from movies and performances. He also wrote several screenplays during this time. 

In 1990, Lee submitted two screenplays, Pushing Hands and The Wedding Banquet, to a competition sponsored by Taiwan's Government Information Office, and they came in first and second, respectively. The winning screenplays brought Lee to the attention of Li-Kong Hsu, a recently promoted senior manager in a major studio who had a strong interest in Lee's unique style and freshness. Hsu, a first-time producer, invited Lee to direct Pushing Hands, a full-length feature that debuted in 1991. Lee's three acclaimed first dramas opened the door to Hollywood for him. His Notable work includes : Pushing Hands, The Wedding Banquet, Eat Drink Man Woman, Sense and Sensibility, The Ice Storm, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hulk, Brokeback Mountain, Life of Pi.

My Take :

Few days back I saw Life Of Pi for the first time though it was released in 2012. I came to know about Ang Lee after I googled about the director. I realized every person has his/her own fights which is not impossible to overcome. Lee's father wanted him to have a respectable profession (teaching). As a kid he could not really concentrate on books or homework. He did OK to poorly at school because he would fantasize all the time, having a lot of fun in his head. Artistically, he was very repressed. He failed the annual Joint College/University Entrance Examination two times. Even after having a degree in theater, winning an award for his thesis work couldn't help him much. He had to stay at home for 6 years without any work. During that time he was picking up the kids from school, doing the cooking and writing. In an interview to The Guardian he told when he sent those two scripts, that was the lowest point of his life. He just had his second son and when he went to the bank to try and get some money to buy some diapers, the screen showed $26 left. 

I personally feel it is very easy to say or read but choosing a different direction and getting failed is way too depressing. The stress affects relations and frustration takes a toll on everything. Still there are some people who show strength during tough times. They do not let negativity affect them and set example for the world. So his story taught me - No matter what happens never quit.!

Picture courtesy : dailymail.co.uk

"Everywhere can be home and everywhere is not really home and you have to deal with loneliness and alienation. I’m old enough to realize that eventually you have to deal with loneliness, anyway. I’m happily married, I love my children, but eventually you have to deal with yourself. I trust the elusive world created by movies more than anything else. I’m very happy when I’m making a movie." ~ Ang Lee

And the Mountains Echoed..

Writing about a book (or as they say reviewing a book) is not that difficult but sometimes I fall short of words to describe a beautiful piece of work and this has actually happened twice when I read "The Kite Runner" and "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini. I remember I came to know about him in 2013 through a friend and immediately ordered a box set from uRead.com. I was completely bowled over by Hosseini's style of knitting stories. Both the books were way beyond amazing. Recently I bought "And the Mountains Echoed" from Amazon.inbut before reading this one I made a mental note to write about it on my blog. 

The Blurb : 

Afghanistan, 1952. Abdullah and his sister Pari live in the small village of Shadbagh. To Abdullah, Pari - as beautiful and sweet-natured as the fairy for which she was named - is everything. More like a parent than a brother, Abdullah will do anything for her, even trading his only pair of shoes for a feather for her treasured collection. Each night they sleep together in their cot, their heads touching, their limbs tangled.

One day the siblings journey across the desert to Kabul with their father. Pari and Abdullah have no sense of the fate that awaits them there, for the event which unfolds will tear their lives apart; sometimes a finger must be cut to save the hand.

Crossing generations and continents, moving from Kabul, to Paris, to San Francisco, to the Greek island of Tinos, Khaled Hosseini writes about the bonds that define us and shape our lives, and how the choices we make resonate through history.

My Review : 

Khaled Hosseini is blessed with an art to write in a way that touches one's heart and soul. He wonderfully describes his characters, their feelings and their struggles in the story.  This book revolves around Abdullah and Pari and portrays sibling love in a real dimension. The way Abdullah trades his only pair of shoes to gift his sister Pari a peacock feather, the way Pari calls his brother 'Abollah', the way they wish to stay with each other forever, the way they sing a lullaby together is heart touching. 

There comes a point when Pari is sold to a rich, childless couple Mr. & Mrs. Wahdati in Kabul. Their pain of separation can be felt. The further chapters describe the relationship between various other characters, their life, their tragedies and their journey. Towards the end when Pari and Abdullah finally reunite, Abdullah is unable to remember anything because of Dementia and this brings mixed emotions as their reunion couldn't happen in true sense.

But I also felt that at some point story lost its pace and the focus went on other characters which were not so important. Though I understand that the author tried to show something more in every chapter, it couldn't blend easily or naturally. That's why it lacked the magic of "The Kite Runner". I know Khaled Hosseini is a terrific story teller and I wish him all the very best for his future endeavors. 

Favorite Lines from the book :

• Sorrow ought to be private, not flaunted.
• All good things in life are fragile and easily lost.
• But time, it is like charm. You never have as much as you think.
• What good is regret? It brings back nothing. What we have lost is irretrievable.
• Nothing good came free. Even love. You paid for all things. And if you were poor, suffering was your currency.
• It was always best to tell the truth, to tell it plainly, without fanfare, and the more disagreeable the truth, the sooner you had to tell it.
• They say, Find a purpose in your life and live it. But, sometimes, it is only after you have lived that you recognize your life had a purpose, and likely one you never had in mind.
• I learned that the world didn't see the inside of you, that it didn't care a whit about the hopes and dreams, and sorrows, that lay masked by skin and bone. It was as simple, as absurd, and as cruel as that.

About the Author :

Khaled Hosseini is an Afghan-born American novelist and physician. He has published three novels all of which are at least partially set in Afghanistan and feature an Afghani as the protagonist. Following the success of The Kite Runner, he decided to stop practicing medicine and became a full-time writer. A teenager who arrived in the United States for the first time at the age of 15 did not speak English ironically went on to become author of three bestsellers. Hosseini is currently a Goodwill Envoy for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). He has been working to provide humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan through the Khaled Hosseini Foundation. He lives in Northern California with his wife, Roya, and their two children (Haris and Farah).

Connect with the author :

• Facebook : KhaledHosseini

First Movie Trilogy I watched & liked..

Finally writing a post after 11 weeks (77 days) and I swear I missed this space but sometimes Life gives you so many things at the same time that you have to find time for things you love and fortunately or unfortunately I couldn't balance. But then I feel thats the reason I am back because the urge to write din't leave.  

I have heard and read about Book Trilogies but I came across a Movie Trilogy in February when I was searching for some romantic english movies. After someone suggested me to watch Before Sunrise (1995), I came to know about the other two sequels : Before Sunset (2004) and Before Midnight (2013). I have a habit of reading the Wikipedia page whenever I come across something I don't know or I want to know more about it. So I read their Wikipedia Pages except the plot otherwise it would have been useless to watch movie. Then I saw they had an IMDb rating of 8.1, 8.1 and 8 respectively which meant they are worth a watch. 

I watched Before Sunrise in February, Before Sunset in March and Before Midnight in May. The best thing about all of them is the script and the characters. The way they are written is very different from the other movies. There is simplicity. There is no fancy storyline but its more about thoughts, ideas, decisions and their consequences. Most importantly you don't feel characters are delivering dialogues, it seems they are just talking like we do in our real lives. All the 3 movies are directed by Richard Linklater starring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. Another idea that I really liked was that Before Sunset picks up the story nine years after the events of Before Sunrise and Before Midnight picks up the story nine years after the events of Before Sunset. This way you can feel the changes in the overall personality of the characters and the depth of the story. 

Few lines from the movie worth sharing :

Before Sunrise

• I believe if there's any kind of God it wouldn't be in any of us, not you or me but just this little space in between. If there's any kind of magic in this world it must be in the attempt of understanding someone sharing something. I know, it's almost impossible to succeed but who cares really? The answer must be in the attempt.

• You know what drives me crazy? It's all these people talking about how great technology is, and how it saves all this time. But, what good is saved time, if nobody uses it? If it just turns into more busy work. You never hear somebody say, "With the time I've saved by using my word processor, I'm gonna go to a Zen monastery and hang out". I mean, you never hear that.

Before Sunset

• Memory is a wonderful thing if you don't have to deal with the past.

• Life's hard. It's supposed to be. If we didn't suffer, we'd never learn anything.

• Even being alone it's better than sitting next to your lover and feeling lonely.

• You realize that most of the people that you meet are trying to get somewhere better, they're trying to make a little bit more cash, trying to get a little more respect, have more people admire them. It's just exhausting.

• I feel I was never able to forget anyone I've been with. Because each person have... their own, specific qualities. You can never replace anyone. What is lost is lost.

Before Midnight

• Like sunlight, sunset, we appear, we disappear. We are so important to some, but we are just passing through.

                          

 

A Walk To Remember..

When I heard this title for the first time I imagined an evening walk with my soulmate on a beach side. Thanks to Google that I came to know about the novel and the movie : "A Walk To Remember". The novel is written by American author Nicholas Sparks which was released in October 1999 but the movie is directed by Adam Shankman, released in January 2002. I haven't read the novel but I have watched the movie so many times that I felt like writing about it. Its a sweet, simple Love Story and one of my favorites. Shane West (as Landon Carter) and Mandy Moore (as Jamie Sullivan) did their roles perfectly. I fell in love with the story the very first time I saw it.

About the characters and the movie : 

I liked Jamie Sullivan very much. She is sincere, positive, lovely, has values. She lives her life smiling and doing things she loves even though she knows her end. On the other hand Landon Carter is initially rude and arrogant but then I loved the way he transforms into a nicer, caring human being and tries to keep Jamie as happy as possible. He goes out of the way to fulfill Jamie's wishes and dreams. Unfortunately, two people who loved each other so much couldn't live together but their Love did. It's a beautiful story and the characters are very believable.

Few scenes from the movie that made me smile, cry, laugh and so on : 

• Landon was forced to join the drama club's final event, The Springs Play as a punishment for a prank that paralyzed a fellow classmate. On the final day of the play Jamie looked and sang like an angel that Landon could not stop himself from kissing her. 
• The way Landon fights for Jamie when his friends try to humiliate her by altering her photograph. He leaves his group of friends and starts spending more time with her.
• When Landon asks Jamie Will you go out with me Saturday Night? to which she says I am Sorry I can't go. I am not allowed to date then Landon goes to her father and asks for permission. This surprises Jamie and they both enjoy the dinner together. 
• The time Jamie tells Landon that she is sick and won't go for higher studies. She has leukemia and she has stopped responding to treatments two years ago. This upsets both of them. This is such a touching scene that one feels how could this happen.
• After knowing about Jamie's health problem Landon tells her dad he won't go anywhere. Jamie goes to his home where Landon asks Are you scared? to which she replies She is scared of not being with you.
• The way Landon stays by her side every now and then, reads quotes from her mother's book. The belief of Jamie that God has a bigger plan for her than she had for herself and that Landon was sent to her because she was sick. He is her Angel. 
• Landon makes a bigger telescope for Jamie and they both witness a comet. Then he asks her If she will marry him and she says Yes. Jamie looked amazing as a bride. They had a perfect Summer together.

Quotes from the Movie :

• Without suffering there would be no compassion.
• Our love is like the wind.. I can't see it, but I sure can feel it.
• She has faith in me. She makes me want to be different, better.
• Love is patient and kind. It's never jealous. Love is never boastful or conceited. It is never rude or selfish. It does not take offence and is not resentful.

Website : Click Here

My Journey as My Blog Turned One Today..

Exactly an year before I was sitting in my office with earphones plugged in with hardly any important work on my desk. While listening to songs I thought of creating a blog that will be entirely dedicated to Music. So I logged into blogger to make the same. When I was thinking about a URL I came across a phrase : "Out of the Blue" which describes an event that occurs unexpectedly, without any warning or preparation and that's how Life is. Here I would like to quote John Lennon : Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans. That's how I came up with outofthebluelife.blogspot.in 

Initially, I kept the title of the blog as "My Life : A Roller Coaster Ride" and later changed it to "Life : A Roller Coaster Ride". From Jan 2013 to March 2013 I wrote about the songs that touched my heart but then in April 2013 I wrote my first Book Review and in December 2013 I posted my first short story. With time I wrote more than I ever thought I will and thus the whole idea of a musical blog got changed into a personal blog that now describes anything I feel like sharing. I just hope this journey never ends.

Last but not the least I would like to thank everyone who inspired and motivated me to keep writing. Special thanks to those who took time to read and provided their honest feedback.

God bless All.. 

Lot's of Love..

My First post was Click here to read 

Aanya's Dreamy P.A.U.S

When Aanya turned fifteen she got two gifts from her best friend, ‘The Princess Diaries’ and a bookmark with George R.R. Martin’s quote: “A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one.” She was so inspired by the quote that the reader in her never looked back.

It was a beautiful Saturday evening and Aanya was in the backyard reading new book by her favorite author. She always wanted to meet him once in Lifetime and that day was no different. Soon she fell asleep.

Aanya : Sir, I have read all your books and I cannot explain how happy I am to meet you.  Thank you so much for taking out time.

Author : My inbox was filled with your emails so I had to meet this crazy fan of mine.

Aanya : Sorry about spamming your inbox but everytime I finish your novel I cannot resist writing to you.

Author : No problem, Infact we are lucky to have readers like you.

Aanya : I always wanted to ask you one thing. How you take Criticism.?

Author : I take criticism to improve my key areas rather than let others dictate my direction.

Aanya : Wow.! Well said Sir. All The Best for future endeavors. It was great meeting you.

Author : Same Here. Good Luck.

As they were about to leave Aanya said to herself : His Clean Shaven Look Bowled Me Over. Suddenly an apple from the tree hit her on the head and she starts laughing thinking about her dream meeting.

* This post is a part of the Protest Against Smelly Stubble Activity in association with BlogAdda. 
*   I was tagged by Sammya in his post Here.

The Fault In Our Stars..

My love for books has grown suddenly out of nowhere or may be when I don’t find a direction in life I turn to literature precisely the world of fiction. Few months back I saw a tweet of an author on twitter that said she was really inspired by John Green’s work and instantly my detective mind started searching for this man. After googling I came to know that John Green is an American writer of young adult fiction, a YouTube vlogger and educator. 

His first novel, Looking for Alaska, won the 2006 Michael L. Printz Award presented by the American Library Association. His second novel, An Abundance of Katherines, was a 2007 Michael L. Printz Award Honor Book and a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. His next novel, Paper Towns, is a New York Times bestseller and won the Edgar Allen Poe Award for Best YA Mystery. In January 2012 he reached number one on a New York Times Best Seller list with The Fault in Our Stars which won 2012 Goodreads Choice Awards for the Best Young Adult Fiction.

And that's how 'The Fault In Our Stars' was on my wishlist. Trust me I had never been too excited to buy a book. I don't know why but the title kind of attracted me. I ordered in October from Amazon.in as a Birthday gift to myself but started reading in December because I had others books to finish before I could start this (I don’t leave any book half read no matter how bad the story is :P).

The Fault In Our Stars is a very simple, sweet, cute, funny yet heartbreaking love story about Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus Waters. The story is narrated by a sixteen year old Hazel who was diagnosed with Stage 4 Thyroid cancer with metastasis forming in her lungs when she was 13, but has managed to live with her disease thanks to doses of an experimental drug called Phalanxifor. Augustus lost his leg to osteosarcoma, and is in remission. She loved being at home, spent quite a lot of time in bed and read the same book (An Imperial Affliction by Peter Van Houten) over and over. As a result she was forced to attend a support group for children living with cancer though she hated it. Hazel met Augustus through Isaac at the support group and their short conversation after the group meeting started their bittersweet story.

Though I want to write the whole story here but I won’t act as spoiler. Let me tell you Augustus is just 17 yrs old and all that he did for Hazel was not so ordinary. I loved their chemistry. If this book suits your taste and you get time do read it. Please don't expect something fancy or extraordinary. As the cover says it is insightful, bold, irreverent and raw. 

There were certain lines in the book that really touched the strings of my heart and I am sharing them here as follows :

• Don't worry. Worry is useless.
• Love is keeping the promise anyway.
• Without pain, how could we know joy?
• The world is not a wish granting factory.
• Grief does not change you, it reveals you.
• Our fearlessness shall be our secret weapon.
• That's the thing about pain. It demands to be felt.
• Sometimes it seems the universe wants to be noticed.
• Pain is like fabric: The stronger it is, the more its worth.
• In the darkest days, the Lord puts the best people into your life.
• You gave me a forever within the numbered days and I'm grateful.
• Everybody should have true love, and it should last atleast as long as your life does.
• Its hard as hell to hold on to your dignity when the risen sun is too bright in your losing eyes.
• No matter how hard you kick, no matter how high you get, you can't go all the way around.
• I'm in love with you and I'm not in the business of denying myself the simple pleasure of saying true things.
• God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.

In January 2012, Fox 2000, a division of 20th Century Fox, optioned the rights to adapt the novel into a feature film. Josh Boone signed on to direct a year later, in February 2013. Filming began on August 26, 2013 on location in Pittsburgh, doubling for the novel's setting of Indianapolis, Indiana. Filming is currently underway in Amsterdam. The film is planned to be released on June 6, 2014 and I am really looking forward to the movie :)

Connect with the author : 

• Twitter : John Green