All Julia all the time...

A retrospective of the life of julia Child with be shown this afternoon on KCET - Los Angeles at 4:00pm PST.

I have no other details.

PBS recently posted on FaceBook that they are going to be re-airing all of the old Lessons With The Master Chefs. They have an entire page devoted to Julia Child, there might be more info here.

What better way to spend a rainy Friday than watching “Julie & Julia”. The theater was packed for the pre-6 p.m. showing. The Trib review gave three stars, which I think is fair. This won’t be the best movie you’ll ever see, but if you are a fan of Julia Child, I think you’ll get a kick out of this film.

I haven’t read Julie Powell’s Julie and Julia (which started with her after-work blog as she cooked through 524 recipes from Mastering the Art of French Cooking). But I have read and highly recommend Child’s My Life in Paris and I think a whole movie could easily be made from this book.

Meryl Streep's portrayal of Julia is delightful. Nora Ephron nicely weaves together the stories of two women's shared passions for their men, their food, and for finding their true calling

My Life in France by Julia Child and Alex Prud'homme

Recently finished this memoir about Julia Child's early experiences in France. Through her writing, she shares her spirit, her love of cooking and her determination. She worked more than 10 years on Mastering the Art of French Cooking! I enjoyed her great descriptions and storytelling.

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Man, I don't know what it's been like in Chicago, but here in KC we're just being swamped with Julia stuff. The local ink media have had several features, replete with pictures and timetables, plus local radio and now tv have stuff going on. Then, of course, there's NPR. Loaded, simply loaded. Terry Gross today brought back a half hour of a '99 interview. Wonderful stuff.

Who knew she'd turn into a *real* wide-culture cult hero?

Geo

janeyb wrote:I haven’t read Julie Powell’s Julie and Julia (which started with her after-work blog as she cooked through 524 recipes from Mastering the Art of French Cooking). But I have read and highly recommend Child’s My Life in Paris and I think a whole movie could easily be made from this book.

Meryl Streep's portrayal of Julia is delightful. Nora Ephron nicely weaves together the stories of two women's shared passions for their men, their food, and for finding their true calling.

I've read both books. My Life in France is better but I did really enjoy Julie & Julia (I picked it up at the library Saturday afternoon and had it finished by the end of the weekend). Julie & Julia was hard to put down and a very fun read.

I'm so looking forward to seeing Meryl Streep in this. That reminds me that I have to pick up a copy of Heartburn the book because my old one (with Meryl Streep on the cover) somehow has disappeared.

I haven't liked a Nora Ephron movie since "Heartburn," but I liked this one. It was in the biggest theater in Webster Place this afternoon, and it was filled. Nice to see a movie like this be a hit, and nice to be part of a big audience all being moved together. And it is a moving film. Not having any competency in the preparation of food but only the eating of it, I didn't relate to the food aspect of the movie that much; I was more into the story of two writers, and how the work of one touched the other. No doubt many here will be able to comment on a culinary level better than I can, but the food certainly looked good enough.

We saw the movie over the weekend and thouroughly enjoyed it. AMC on Illinois was sold out of all showings. I knew Julia was loved but didn't know that it was by that many people.

I saw it yesterday at Evanston. The showing we were going to go to was sold out and the one we ended up at was packed. I was excited to see a group of tween girls there - about 10 of them.

I enjoyed it quite a bit as well, though I found the Julie Powell part of the story pretty uninteresting. Though I found myself clapping with delight several times in the Julia parts.

I saw the movie this weekend absolutely loved it!
Made me want to go home and make everything! (well maybe expcept the aspics...)
Even tho I also love the Julia parts way more than the Julie parts,
despite the fact that I thought Amy Adams was quite good...
another thing I really like was how wonder and supportive and intelligent the husbands were.
So often in films, the husbands are just jerks,
and speaking as someone who is married almost 27 years to a wonderful supportive man,
they are out there, and some of us ARE on the other end of the divorce statistics....

But it was a fabulous laugh out loud movie for me, and Meryl Streep was a gem!
I wanted it to go on, and show us her getting her show-
I also wishes we could have seen the French Chef episode with the "Chicken Sisters..."
that one always made me smile

HI,

I haven't seen the movie yet. Did they show Julie leaving a stick of butter at Julia Child's Kitchen exhibit in the Smithsonian?

Last March, I met Paula Johnson, curator of Julia Child’s Kitchen exhibit at the Smithsonian. I asked if they ever found this stick of butter. Johnson said she inquired with all her staff including security and maintenance. Nobody saw any butter. While it may have happened, it may have been Julie Powell’s inventing an urban legend.

Regards,

Cathy - yes, they did show her leaving a 1 lb. block of butter under a photo of Julia at the end of the movie.

I saw the movie this weekend, and was amazed at the crowds. I loved the movie, but wished it was just about Julia. Now I have to go to the book store to check out Julia's books!

razbry wrote:I saw the movie this weekend, and was amazed at the crowds. I loved the movie, but wished it was just about Julia. Now I have to go to the book store to check out Julia's books!

Most of her books are at used book stores. Since cookbooks stain so easily in my possession, it is my prefered method of acquisition.

Regards,

Cathy2 wrote: While it may have happened, it may have been Julie Powell’s inventing an urban legend.

Or it was probably Hollywood's cute attempt to bring the story full circle.

I saw the movie yesterday. OK - I admit I'm not a fan of mainstream movies. Nor do I particularly enjoy Nora Ephron. I also find Amy Adams to be more annoying than talented. I found the Smithsonian part to be treaclier than caramel. (Especially when Julie "declares" *OUT LOUD* that's she'll make a "cute" pose for the pictures. Ech.)

Anyhow, having said that, the parts chronicling Julia were WAY more interesting, in my opinion, than those involving Julie. I wish the movie was just about Julia - I sense that there is a lot of drama to be mined from the horrendous process of getting her book published. I'd also like to have seen a younger Julia, in China, eating the some of the dishes with the nasty bits and getting all excited.

Just read in The KC Star that "J & J" did the second largest gross last weekend—c. $20+M—with "G.I. Joe" coming in first. I find that simply amazing.

Geo

Hi,

The butter episode was on her blog around the time Julia died. I read it, though I could't precisely find it last night when I looked again. It was Julie pre-Nora Ephron and probably on the cusp of her book deal. While I have her book, I haven't read it. Someone who did read the book said she put in a caveat that some events were fiction.

I read the Julia Child biography written with her husband's nephew. While there were cursory comments made to China, the book really began in Paris. I suspect they began there due to their source material beginning around her mid-30's or so.

I'm glad everyone enjoyed the Julia parts, which I am looking forward to seeing.

Regards,

I read the Julia Child biography written with her husband's nephew. While there were cursory comments made to China, the book really began in Paris. I suspect they began there due to their source material beginning around her mid-30's or so.

There's another much fuller biography of Julia Child available, written about 10 years ago, so the earlier material was there if they wanted it. I suspect they went the way they did because it was in Paris that Julia became interested in cooking, plus it made a more balanced story to take the book in which Julia explains how she became interested in cooking, matched with Julie's book about her experience. The movie wasn't supposed to be a Julia Child biography, although most comments indicate that people wish it was.

Plus they would have had to get the rights to another book.

And they needed the Julie part to appeal to the younger demographic.

aschie30 wrote:I also find Amy Adams to be more adorable than petulant.

Fixed that for you.

/girl has a really nice singing voice
//we'll forgive that she started her career at Hooters
///check her out in "Doubt" and "Junebug"
////ok, her half of this particular movie sucked, but that's the source material and scriptwriting

nr706 wrote:And they needed the Julie part to appeal to the younger demographic.

Well, the movie is based on the book Julie & Julia, which is mostly about Julie Powell but includes semi-fictionalized snippets of Julia Child's life that were based on My Life in France. So the book is what started the interweaving, not the movie.

I understand that. But I think an all-Julia film would've been better.

However, I don't think any film has generated as much controversy over a stick of butter since Last Tango in Paris.

nr706 wrote:I understand that. But I think an all-Julia film would've been better.

However, I don't think any film has generated as much controversy over a stick of butter since Last Tango in Paris.

Yes and yes. So glad I wasn't drinking anything when I read the last comment. My keyboard will survive to see another day.

The Wife and I saw the moive tonight and I generally enjoyed it (despite gratuitous finger licking). However, regarding twin narratives, just as my interest amped up 10X in Devil and The White City every time the psycho killer came back into focus, I felt myself becoming much more attentive every time the Julia story kicked in and the Julie story took a back seat. Still, I liked the movie and I thought it was a very cool idea to try to cook Child's whole book in a year (if she actually did...sorry, don't mean to exhibit C2-class suspicion, but I wondered if cooking the whole book in one year could actually be done, all the while holding down a 9-5 job...it's possible...I guess, but...).

Paul was my second-favorite Stanley Tucci character (first place goes to Karl Draconis).

I didn't see the cast member indicated in the credits, but I think the real Julie Powell may have done a walk-on in the final scenes, at the Julia Child exhibit, right before Amy Adams comes into frame, shooting a picture into the camera.

David Hammond wrote:I thought it was a very cool idea to try to cook Child's whole book in a year (if she actually did...sorry, don't mean to exhibit C2-class suspicion, but I wondered if cooking the whole book in one year could actually be done, all the while holding down a 9-5 job...it's possible...I guess, but...)

I wondered the same thing, what with it being 524 recipes (that's the number I remember from the movie). So, not just one recipe a day, but almost one-and-a-half. I suppose she could have done one each weeknight, and then two on Saturday and three on Sunday. That would have just about done it.

I also wondered if she did every variation of every master recipe...
also several recipes can be combined in one meal-
ie, the sauteed mushrooms are one recipe, as is the sauce, as is the sauteed chicken breast, so thats three right there...
Seeing the movie inspired me to ge the cookbook, and the book My Life in France, which I am looking forward to reading.
I may cook something from the book this weekend in honor of Julia's birthday, but I haven't decided what-
Not exactly boeuf bourginoun weather....

Cathy2 wrote:Someone who did read the book said she put in a caveat that some events were fiction.

I think actually cooking every single recipe is part of that "fiction"

For me, it's less amazing that she cooked all the recipes (although that does seem like quite a feat), but that doing it would be cost-prohibitive. Buying pounds and pounds of butter, cream, beef, duck, etc., at today's prices, for two people who seemed to have jobs that, well, paid less than they should - that's the part that seems unreal to me.

Last Monday, after thinking about this discussion, I decided that I needed a copy of Mastering the Art for my KC bookshelf, to replace the copy I took to Montréal three seasons ago. Went to Amazon, bought a copy. Then, yesterday (? or else it was Friday, can't remember which) I read in the paper that Amazon has run out of copies! Is that incredible or what? And I just now checked Amazon to verify and they've got a notice posted that they will be restocked on 23 Aug!

Geo

One great outcome from this movie, my sister desires to borrow my copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking. "After seeing the movie and I saw the effort that was put into that book. And all of the recipes were tested. I’m in."

Regards,

Lakeshore Public Television (WYIN) is running "Julia Child - Memories" - for some reason it isn't on their program guide, but there it was when I flipped channels. I haven't seen an episode since I was a kid, and I was laughing out loud watching poor Julia struggle with an enormous chicken she put on a spit:

First, she'd trussed the thing with string (that part I missed) and then, slapping the poor bird around as though it were under interrogation, "massaged it with butter," grabbing four or five paper towels to give her hands a quick swipe. After the butter massage, she jammed it onto the spit, panting heavily and grunting, in mortal combat with the spit-grips. She then grabbed some pliers (making some comment on always having tools in the kitchen) and tightened the spit-grips down with buttery, bird-y hands. Then, with a flourish of string, she tied it onto the spit, layered it with blanched bacon, and then mummified the thing with ever more string. She had a bit of trouble taking the cooked one off the spit, and commented (still panting) "I guess I should have used a bit more oil."

I am a very physical cook, I'm always making noise, sweating and panting as I cook (depending on what I'm cooking.) We've lost that connection: cooking is a physical act, almost a sport, but no other TV chef since Julia breaks a sweat over anything but a deadline. Good for you, Julia!