Weekly Inspiration: Water for Elephants

Last night I went to see Water for Elephants with LNRB and Sarah.  I'd been looking forward to seeing the movie for quite a while, since I'm such a big Sara Gruen fan in general, and because ever since I read the book several years ago, I knew it would make a great film.  Plus, I always jump at the chance to see a movie in an actual theater.  It's one of the things I miss most from my pre-mom life.
I'm not going to post a movie review here, because I don't want anyone confusing my opinion of the film with my opinion of the book.  Overall it was an enjoyable movie, particularly the animal scenes, but I wasn't a huge fan of the way they handled the present-day storyline (no mention of where the title comes from, for example).  The casting was a little bit odd to me as well, despite the fact that I like all the actors (of course, it was a completely brilliant move to cast Robert Pattinson as the lead - I'm sure droves of teenage girls who would otherwise have had no interest in the film will line up to see it).  However, none of that really mattered because the true star of the film, Rosie the Elephant, was absolutely fabulous.  Made me want a pet elephant, truth be told.

(By the way, I wouldn't ask LNRB for her opinion of the movie; she hid behind her hair for a good third of it.)

Admit it, you want a pet elephant too.

Regardless of anything else, the movie was very inspiring to me as a writer.  I'm a very visual thinker; when I write, I play out every scene in my head like a film.  If I am ever lucky enough to have a book published, I think one of my greatest aspirations would be to have one of my books made into a film.  While it's true that film adaptations of books can be hellacious (The Da Vinci Code, anyone?), as a writer, I think it must be so thrilling to see your characters come to life in that way.

In fact, I was so inspired to come up with a book idea worthy of being made into a film that I couldn't go to sleep last night.  Somewhere around midnight inspiration struck.  I wasn't sure if it was actually a good idea at the time - sometimes things that seem really genius in the middle of the night look absolutely ridiculous in the harsh light of day - but I'm fairly confident it could be awesome.  Here's a hint: it involves horses.

One of my favorite scenes from the film.

I'm happy to say this week has ended on a good note.  My friend hosted a lovely Royal Wedding Play Date this morning, someone apparently performed an exorcism on my child because Jack is back to his delightful self, and I haven't had a single rejection since Wednesday.  Of course, there are several business hours left in the day...
Ah well, nothing a little Easter candy can't solve.  Or a pet elephant.  Mother's Day is coming up.

Just sayin'.