Are We Finally Going to See ‘Fireflies in the Garden?’

Posted on October 13, 2011 at 8:00 am

Can you believe that a movie starring Julia Roberts, Willem Dafoe, Emily Watson, and Ryan Reynolds has been sitting on a shelf someplace in a studio archive since 2008?   And that Julia Roberts plays Ryan Reynolds’ mother?  The film has been shown abroad, but is now getting its first US release in New York and Los Angeles.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5e2x6D4xwA

It is called “Fireflies in the Garden,” and it was filmed in 2008.  The studio shut down before it could be released.  It is the story of an unhappy family coming together after the death of the mother (Roberts is seen only briefly and mostly in flashbacks).

The title is from this poem by Robert Frost:

Fireflies in the Garden

Here come real stars to fill the upper skies,
And here on earth come emulating flies,
That though they never equal stars in size,
(And they were never really stars at heart)
Achieve at times a very star-like start.
Only, of course, they can’t sustain the part.

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“Twilight: Eclipse” Poem and Music

Posted on June 30, 2010 at 10:40 pm

“The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” begins with a famous poem, recited by Bella, “Fire and Ice” by Robert Frost:

Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.

It’s a good poem to set the stage for this story, as Bella is torn between two people who are more than human, Edward, a vampire, whose physical temperature is cooler than the average human’s 98.6 degrees, and Jacob, a shape-shifter who is part of a wolf pack, whose temperature is so warm he never has to wear a shirt (and who is only half-joking when he refers to himself as “hot”). At one point in the movie, Bella is so cold she is shivering, and Edward has to accept that only Jacob can give her the heat she needs — by holding her in his arms.

The poem’s themes of the warmth and heat of desire versus the iciness of hatred are also explored in the movie. Bella loves both Edward and Jacob and they are both passionately devoted to her. They must protect her from enemies who are fueled by frozen emotions like revenge and the need for power.

And listen to this beautiful Debussy piece, “Clair de Lune” (Moonlight), played in the film. It is the third and most famous movement of his Suite Bergamasque. It also inspired the movie “Frankie and Johnny” with Michele Pfeiffer and Al Pacino.

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