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Julie Powell on Meals, Maggots, and the Julia Child in Her Head

BuzzSugar — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 05:30:52 -0700

In 2002, Julie Powell was a secretary who blogged on the side. Now, she's a bestselling author whose first book, Julie and Julia - a former Buzz Book Club pick - has been adapted into a film starring Amy Adams and Meryl Streep. Along the way, she's stirred up some controversy (including having her dedication to cooking questioned), and so when she stopped in San Francisco earlier this week, I was curious to chat with her about the book, the movie, and what comes next. Here are highlights from our chat:

So who feeds you better: book tour or movie tour?
Movie tour! Well, yes and no. The thing with the movie tour is, it's so fast. Everywhere I go, I have someone always ask, "Where are you going to go when you're in [whatever city]?" I'm always like, "Room service." The movie tour puts you up better, but the book tour gives you more time so you can actually go to a restaurant.

We all play those games where we think about who would play us in movies of our lives. Who were those people for you? Did you ever think Amy Adams?
One of my good friends from [Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, her former employer], he - I don't know what the event was that made him do this, but he was talking about "LMDC: The Movie," and he got everybody and he would put their face beside who he decided he wanted to cast . . . and he had me as Kate Winslet. And I thought, you know, that works. She looks like she can curse like a sailor. She looks like she could eat a good meal. When they proposed Amy, it took me a moment, because she's just so tiny! She's this teeny tiny little thing! . . . But she's such a wonderful actress, and I've been a big fan since Junebug. I think she's just lovely.

How involved were you in the process of making the movie?
Not terribly. When Nora [Ephron] first came on and started working on the script, we met a couple of times. We met for lunch, and she had printed out the entire blog on pink paper - a very Nora touch - and it had the whole thing just marked all to hell, and she went through and she would ask, "This, this here? This didn't happen, did it? This is bullsh*t, right?" She's this incredibly smart, incisive, terrifying woman, totally unlike me, and she asked me all sorts of questions and she took that information, and a lot of the details that are in that movie, I'm sort of shocked that she remembered. . . . I visited the set once, when Meryl was shooting the Paris parts, and got to talk with her for two minutes, which was lovely. But . . . Chris [Messina, who plays Julie's husband] and Amy and Nora got together and said, "Let's wait to meet until we've got it in the can." . . . So they were able to develop the characters based on the script, which is fiction. And it's not me. So, you know, putting the real me in there would just be like there's some weird, faulty 3-D thing going on.

To find out how Meryl Streep's Julia Child matches the Julia in Julie's head and hear about some scenes she wishes had been included in the film, just read more.

How does the Julia that Meryl portrays in the movie compare to the Julia in your head?
Julia of course lives on in so many people's heads, and each Julia is a little bit different. And I think a lot of people's Julias are kind of like your favorite aunt, or who you'd love to have to be your mother, just endlessly warm and giving and generous. And I think she was kind of this salty broad. I think she could be a little tough, and I think she could be a bit of a b*tch. And I like that about her. I don't want her to be this saintly, warm thing! And I think that Meryl as Julia really got that across, that she was this life-loving, strong woman, but part of that strength was standing up for herself and not taking any sh*t from anybody. And I also love that this is the period that they cover, before Julia becomes Julia, and that Meryl manages to get in - even in this hugely ebullient woman - that there is some vulnerability there and there is uncertainty and doubt. She had to have that. I think there's a temptation to believe that Julia kind of burst forth fully formed from the head of Zeus, and she had to work to become who she was, and I think Meryl does a lovely job of very subtly finding those moments of vulnerability and those tiny, tiny defeats that she allows herself to feel before, "Right! On to the next thing."

Are there any scenes or meals - either good ones or disasters - from the book that you're sad weren't in the movie?
They didn't get any of the really disgusting stuff in there. I was talking to some friends last night and they were like, "I missed the maggots!" It's a Nora Ephron movie! We're not gonna get maggots.

And you have another book coming soon - about butchering?
It's called Cleaving and it's another sort of food-oriented memoir coming out in December. The armature of the book is about a six-month stint I spent in a butcher shop in upstate New York learning to butcher. I've always been fascinated by butchers, and so when I had this opportunity to learn the trade I was really excited to do it, and so many amazing characters that you meet - the people up there at Fleischer's are crazy and great. So it's about that, and, of course, like Julie and Julia, it'll address other things. Julie and Julia was about turning 30, it was about being a woman in New York, and getting lost, and this is sort of about what happens a little later - what happens to a 35-year-old woman who's at a different stage in her marriage and different stage in her life. It's sort of a sequel, but mostly it's about cutting up animals.

It's funny, because I'm sitting here looking at you and yet all I can picture is Amy Adams with a giant cleaver and a leg of lamb.
So there's the question for Amy Adams: Is she thrilled at the notion of spending the rest of her life portraying Julie Powell at various stages in her life? That would be awesome. She could be my Daniel Radcliffe!

Photos courtesy of WireImage and Sony Pictures

Buzz Book Club: The End of Julie and Julia

BuzzSugar — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 08:30:43 -0800

Hey Buzz Book Club readers! Have you finished Julie and Julia? I'm excited to chat about this final section, even though I'm still in a food coma from feasting yesterday. I have to say, I can't believe Julie really pulls this thing off!

Here's how the Book Club goes if you're new: Every week I suggest chapters to complete by the next post (which, in this case, was every Friday in November). In these weekly Book Club posts, I posit a few questions to prompt discussion in the comment section.

I'll fill you in on my December book soon. For now, to discuss the final section of Julie and Julia, in which we read from the chapter titled "Sweet Smell of Failure" to the end of the book, just read more.

In the last section, the connection between Julie and Julia finally clicked for me. If you were Julia Child, how do you think you'd feel about what Julie was doing? Would you feel honored, or would you think it was a sham?
Are you surprised Julie got so much attention and fame from the blog?
Also on the topic of the attention she garnered: Do you think celebrity changes things like this? When her face is out there and she's no longer so anonymous, do you think there's something lost?
Can you picture Meryl Streep as Julia and Amy Adams as Julie? What changes do you think you'd make to the book to make it a successful movie?

Buzz Book Club: Julie and Julia, Section Two

BuzzSugar — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 08:30:22 -0800

Hey Buzz Book Club readers! Welcome back! I hope you were able to round up a copy of Julie and Julia to read along with me. This is the section in which our writer gets down and dirty with some hard recipes to tackle. Can't wait to discuss!

But first, a note about how Book Club goes if you're new: Every week I'll suggest chapters to complete by the next post (which, in this case, will go up every Friday in November). In these weekly Book Club posts, I'll posit a few questions to prompt discussion in the comments section.

Of course, you are always welcome to read beyond the weekly chapters, but please don't spoil anything in the comments! After the jump you'll find some questions that struck me as I read this section.

The next assignment: Read from the start of the chapter titled "Sweet Smell of Failure" to the end of the book! Even though we've got Thanksgiving next week, I'll still post the last round questions on Friday - what better to discuss through your turkey haze than a book all about cooking, right?

To discuss the second section of Julie and Julia, in which we read from "The Law of Diminishing Returns" through "The Proof Is in the Plumbing," read more.

OK, so in the first section, I was totally craving French food and digging all the recipes Julie was cooking. But this section is all about hoofs and things "en gelee." Are you still craving French food, or are you (as I was, frankly) a little grossed out?
This section has about an equal amount of writing about food and writing about the other things in Julie's life (her job, Gwen, etc.). Which do you enjoy reading more?
On a similar note, do you think you would have read this blog if you'd known about it while she was writing it?
What did you make of the Gwen story in general? Do you agree with what Julie said to her?
I was a little surprised that the dinner party, which started out seeming like a disaster, ended so well. Julie seems really stressed out in this section, but she doesn't seem to actually fail very much. Are you surprised by that? Are you glad she's getting through the book, or do you want more struggle and disaster?
If you were Eric, would you be content to eat French food and do the dishes every night, or would you have your own supply of pizza and Hungry Man frozen dinners by now?
Are you feeling a connection between Julie and Julia?

Buzz Book Club: Julie and Julia, Section One

BuzzSugar — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 08:30:54 -0800

Hey Buzz Book Club readers! Welcome back! I hope you were able to round up a copy of Julie and Julia to read along with me. I'm liking what I'm reading so far, but I have a couple questions on my mind about the first section that I'm looking forward to discussing with you.

First, here's a recap of how the Book Club goes if you're new: Every week I'll suggest chapters to complete by the next post (which, in this case, will go up every Friday in November). In these weekly Book Club posts, I'll posit a few questions to prompt discussion in the comments section.

Of course, you are always welcome to read beyond the weekly chapters, but please don't spoil anything in the comments! After the jump you'll find some questions that struck me as I read this section.

The next assignment: Read from the chapter titled "The Law of Diminishing Returns" through "The Proof Is in the Plumbing" (stop before the one titled "Sweet Smell of Failure"). We'll chat about this section a week from today, Nov. 21.

To discuss the first section of Julie and Julia, in which we read from the start of the book until the end of the chapter titled "Disaster/Dinner Party, Dinner Party/Disaster: A Study in Duality" (so, just before "The Law of Diminishing Returns" begins), read more.

First of all, I'm finding myself with an insane and irrepressible craving for French cuisine since starting this book. How about you? Have you actually sought out French food (or attempted any of the recipes yourself)?
I really admire Julie's dedication to taking on a ridiculous project and convincing herself to stick with it even in the worst circumstances. It seems like when I've tried to do such things in my own down time (write in a journal every night, take a picture every day for a year, etc.), I give up easily. Have you ever taken on a project like this? And did you see it through to the end, or did you put it aside part of the way through?
That said, I'm a little fuzzy on Julie's motivations for starting the project. It's like her husband suggested blogging and pretty soon it was an all-consuming lifestyle choice. Do you understand why she's doing the project? Is it just to shake up her normal, boring 9-to-5 routine?
How are you feeling about the italicized interludes about Julia Child's life? I thought I would like them, but so far I'm finding myself skimming them. I guess at this point I'm more interested in Julie's own reactions to the project than I am in how her life might relate to Child's. How about you?

Buzz Book Club: Julie and Julia

BuzzSugar — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 08:30:38 -0800

Hello, Buzz Book Club readers! I don't know about you, but as soon as my calendar says "November," I start thinking about food. Lots and lots of yummy Thanksgiving food . . . mmm . . . ahem! I figured it would be fun to read a book all about cooking good stuff in honor of the delicious holiday. I've had my eye on Julie and Julia by Julie Powell ever since I learned that they're making it into a movie, and I thought this could be just the month in which to read it.

Julie Powell's story isn't just about food, though. It's a real-life tale of self-discovery, and it all started with one woman's goal to cook all 524 recipes in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. She chronicled her entire experience on her blog, which naturally turned into a book deal!

For those of you new to my book club format, here's how it works: I'll announce a new book each month. Every week I'll suggest chapters to complete by the next post (which, in this case, will go up every Friday in November). In these weekly Book Club posts, I'll posit a few discussion-provoking questions for you to respond to in the comments section.

To find out what Julie and Julia is all about and to get the first assignment, read more.

The synopsis for Julie and Julia reads:
"Julie Powell was on the verge of turning 30, trapped in a series of unfulfilling temp jobs, and living in a dreadful apartment in Queens, New York. That’s when she decided to break the monotony by attempting to make all 524 recipes in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. One year later, Powell had achieved her goal, documented her experiences on one of the most popular blogs on the Internet, and began the award-winning, bestselling book."

The first assignment: Read from the beginning of the book until the end of the chapter titled "Disaster/Dinner Party, Dinner Party/Disaster: A Study in Duality" (so, just before "The Law of Diminishing Returns" begins). We'll chat about this first section a week from today, Nov. 14.