Video: “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter” trailer
Check out the newly released trailer for the anticipated sci-fi adventure “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter,” adapted from the popular novel by Seth Grahame-Smith.
Directed by Timur Bekmambetov (“Wanted”), the movie stars Benjamin Walker, Dominic Cooper, Rufus Sewell, Anthony Mackie and Mary Elizabeth Winstead.
The movie opens in theaters June 22.
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Video: “The Bourne Legacy” trailer
The first trailer for the upcoming sequel “The Bourne Legacy” has debuted, and it looks very promising.
If you’re going to continue the Bourne franchise without Matt Damon, I can’t imagine a much better situation than carrying on with two-time Oscar nominee Jeremy Renner, two-time Oscar nominee Edward Norton and Oscar winner Rachel Weisz.
Plus, Joan Allen, Albert Finney, David Strathairn and Scott Glenn are all back for the fourth film in the series.
“The Bourne Legacy” is due in theaters Aug. 3.
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Target, Walmart hosting “Twilight: Breaking Dawn” release parties tonight
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman. To read my interview with “Twilight: Breaking Dawn” director Bill Condon, click here.
Target, Walmart hosting “Twilight: Breaking Dawn” release parties
Forget vampires vs. werewolves: Friday night’s anticipated DVD release of “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn — Part 1” is setting up an epic battle between big-box giants Target and Walmart.
“Breaking Dawn — Part 1” drops on DVD and Blu-ray at the stroke of midnight Saturday, with release parties planned Friday night (tonight) at Walmart and Target locations across the country, including many Oklahoma stores.
Nearly 500 Target stores nationwide, including the Midwest City, Norman and Quail Springs locations, will extend their hours to 1 a.m. Saturday morning for the release events. Beginning at 11 p.m. Friday, fans will be shown an exclusive, world-premiere scene from the fifth and final film, “Breaking Dawn — Part 2.”
At midnight, fans can purchase the Target exclusive, limited edition DVD of “Breaking Dawn — Part 1” that includes an authentic prop flower from the wedding scene encased in an acrylic keepsake, according to a news release.
For more information, go to Target.com/Twilight.
More than 2,700 Walmart stores across the country, including several across Oklahoma, will have giveaways, trivia games and “Twilight”-theme bakery treats at release parties beginning at 11 p.m. Friday. The stores will feature a cameo by Cullen vampire Rosalie (Nikki Reed) on their in-store TV feed during the lead-up to the release, according to Home Media Magazine.
Walmart also will be selling an exclusively packaged version of the movie, the “Bella’s Wedding Special Edition,” featuring collectible wedding dress packaging, a fabric poster of Bella and Edward’s big day and music videos from Bruno Mars and Christina Perri.
For more information, go to www.walmart.com/moviecenter.
— BAM
Bill Condon takes on twice the challenges with “Twilight: Breaking Dawn” movies; “Part 1″ to be released on DVD at midnight Saturday
From left, Robert Pattinson, Bill Condon andTaylor Lautner attend a Nov. 17, 2011, film premiere of "The Twilight Sage: Breaking Dawn -- Part 1" in Barcelona, Spain. AP photo
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
Bill Condon takes on twice the challenges with “Twilight: Breaking Dawn” movies
The “Chicago” and “Dreamgirls” director made “Breaking Dawn — Part 1,” which will be released on DVD and Blu-ray at midnight Saturday, and “Breaking Dawn — Part 2,” due in theaters Nov. 16, at the same time.
LOS ANGELES — Director Bill Condon’s initiation into the global pop culture phenomenon known as “The Twilight Saga” began with a literal honeymoon period.
Adapting “Breaking Dawn,” the fourth and final book in Stephenie Meyer’s supernaturally popular vampire-romance series, involved dividing the weighty character- and milestone-packed novel into two movies that were filmed simultaneously. But the process started with just Kristen Stewart, who plays human heroine Bella Swan, and Robert Pattinson, who plays her courtly vampire sweetheart Edward Cullen, filming their characters’ honeymoon in Brazil.
“We started this big movie very small. It was only Rob and Kristen plus a couple other actors for half a day … We were starting on a honeymoon. It was kind of a dreamy thing to do, you know. I found it great,” Condon said during a fall press conference at the Four Seasons Hotel. “We had some weather problems and got rained in, socked in, and all had to sleep in bathtubs and things at the honeymoon house. But everything about it was magical.”
“Twi-hard” fans of the series seemed to agree: “Breaking Dawn — Part 1” has grossed nearly $702 million worldwide since it opened in theaters Nov. 18.
The penultimate film in the blockbuster franchise drops on DVD and Blu-ray at the stroke of midnight Saturday, with release parties planned Friday night (tonight) at Walmart and Target locations across the country, including many Oklahoma stores. For more information on the release parties planned at the retail giants, click here.
“The biggest challenge is that these books are so beloved by so many people that you want to make sure that it’s your take on the material but that it doesn’t betray what people’s expectations are and yet still becomes a fully cinematic experience,” said Condon, 56, who became the fourth director to work on “The Twilight Saga” when he took the helm of the final two movies.
“Making two movies at once wasn’t fun, either. Well, it was fun. It was hard, though. It was hard ‘cause it was such a big thing,” he added. “Kristen … would be young Bella, high school girl, in the morning and then a vampire in the afternoon and then a pregnant mother in the evening. She had days like that. It was crazy.”
Condon, who won an adapted screenplay Oscar for the 1998 biopic “Gods and Monsters,” is best known for directing the movie musicals “Dreamgirls” and “Chicago,” as well as the fact-based drama “Kinsey.” Part of the appeal of the “Twilight” films, he said, was the chance to helm an old-fashioned melodrama.
“I’m … a big fan of classic Hollywood genres. And that’s a genre that’s sort of fallen out of fashion. … I think like other things like detective stories it became something that TV took over, and it became devalued. But some of our greatest directors worked in that forum. And it allows you to immerse yourself in emotion, you know, and to do that both with camera and music, with design and color, so I very much embraced and didn’t fight against (that),” he said. “It’s a valuable genre that I think because it often puts women and women concerns in the center, gets devalued too, which is too bad.”
Along with Edward and Bella’s highly anticipated wedding and honeymoon, “Breaking Dawn — Part 1” includes the dramatic arrival of their daughter, Renesmee. The birth not only threatens Bella’s life — an emergency vampire conversion is her only hope for survival — it also endangers the Cullen clan’s pact with the local werewolves of the Quileute Tribe, including Bella’s best pal, Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner).
“That’s a good example of the challenges because obviously it’s very, very kind of powerfully described in the book, and you want to be true to that experience. But how do you show some of those things? As with a lot of other things, I think the key to doing it and being able to have that experience is to tell it from Bella’s point of view,” Condon said.
“Once Bella’s on that slab, we’re only gonna see what she can see as these things are happening to her — and we’re only gonna see it through her eyes as she gets weaker, as the morphine takes over.”
The harrowing birth of Renesmee and rebirth of Bella as a vampire set up the series’ eagerly awaited finale in “Breaking Dawn — Part 2,” due in theaters Nov. 16. When they learn the baby has been targeted by the corrupt vampire peacekeepers known as the Volturi, the Cullens gather other covens to make a stand and protect the child.
“I remember we would have scenes with the Cullens and you’d have eight or nine vampires in a room and I was thinking, ‘Oh, good, this is an easy day.’ Because we had so many scenes with literally 27 people in a room,” he said. “It’s huge that way. But we have such good actors and it is important that everybody get their moment to define who they are. It’s a real challenge …. about the second movie. But we gather these vampires from around the world, and we want to know as we get into the climax of that movie what each of them represents and what their powers are and who they are.”
-BAM
Billy Connolly joins “The Hobbit” cast
Billy Connolly (AP file)
Scottish actor Billy Connolly (“The Last Samurai,” “Boondock Saints”) is rounding out the cast of Peter Jackson’s two-part adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit.”
In the films, Connolly will play Dain Ironfoot, a great dwarf warrior and cousin of dwarf leader Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage), according to The Hollywood Reporter.
“We could not think of a more fitting actor to play Dain Ironfoot, the staunchest and toughest of Dwarves, than Billy Connelly, the Big Yin himself,” Jackson said in a statement to THR. “With Billy stepping into this role, the cast of The Hobbit is now complete. We can’t wait to see him on the Battlefield!”
The first film, “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” will hit theaters Dec. 14. The second film, “The Hobbit: There and Back Again,” will follow on December 13, 2013.
The 3-D “Hobbit” films are prequels to Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, which won a combined 17 Oscars around the turn of the 21st century.
Along with Connolly, “The Hobbit” films will star Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Mikael Persbrandt, Stephen Fry and Chickasha-born actor Lee Pace.
In addition, “LOTR” alums Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Ian Holm, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Cate Blanchett, Andy Serkis and Orlando Bloom will reprise their roles in the prequels.
Check out the trailer:
-BAM
New releases for Feb. 7, 2012: David Cook, Cady Groves, Van Halen, Paul McCartney, Dierks Bentley, “Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 1″, “Phantom of the Opera”
Season 7 “American Idol” winner David Cook, who has Tulsa ties, has released today an EP titled “This Quiet Night” exclusively through Walmart. The CD includes acoustic performances of five songs from his 2011 album “This Loud Morning.”
Emerging pop singer-songwriter Cady Groves, who grew up in Marlow, Cache and Yukon, also is released today her “This Little Girl” EP.
Featuring tracks including her popular first single “This Little Girl” the digital EP will be available at all digital service providers and will include fan-favorite track “We’re The Sh*t” as well as Groves cover of Adele’s “Someone Like You”. The physical version will be available www.cadygroves.com and will include the same tracks as the digital version with the addition of Groves duet “Oh Darlin’” with Plug in Stereo.
Groves, who was just spotlighted in Seventeen Magazine’s “Ultimate Guide To Music” will be joining her labelmates and friends Hot Chelle Rae in select North American markets in February and March. (See the full list of tour dates after the break; it looks Dallas will be the closest she comes to Oklahoma.).
Among LPs, this week boasts new releases from Van Halen, Paul McCartney and Dierks Bentley. To read my review of Dierks’ latest, click here.
This week’s new DVDs include the 25th anniversary performance of “The Phantom of the Opera,” which I’ll be reviewing in the coming days; the excellent documentary “Project Nim,” which made my top 10 movies of 2011 list; and oh yeah, a little blockbuster called “Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 1,” which will be released in the wee hours of Saturday morning.
CDs
David Cook, “This Quiet Night” EP (Walmart exclusive)
Van Halen, “A Different Kind of Truth.”
Paul McCartney, “Kisses on the Bottom.”
Dierks Bentley, “Home.”
The Fray, “Scars & Stories.”
Various artists, “Waylon: The Music Inside, Volume II.”
Tony Bennett, “Isn’t It Romantic.”
Steve Tyrell, “I’ll Take Romance.”
Andrew Lloyd Webber, Ramin Karimloo and Sierra Boggess, “Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall: In Celebration of 25 Years.”
Air, “Le Voyage Dans La Lune” (CD/DVD).
Edith Piaf, “Edith Piaf” (3-CD special edition).
DVD
Anonymous
Downton Abbey: Season 2
Father Dowling Mysteries: The First Season
Fireflies in the Garden
Project Nim
The Rebound
The Sunset Limited
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 (midnight Saturday)
A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas
A Warrior’s Heart
Books
Bringing Up Bebe: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting by Pamela Druckerman
Take the Stairs: 7 Steps to Achieving True Success by Rory Vaden
Kill Shot (Mitch Rapp)by Vince Flynn
Ali in Wonderland: And Other Tall Tales by Ali Wentworth
Hilarity Ensues by Tucker Max
Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, death, and hope in a Mumbai undercity by Katherine Boo
-BAM
New releases for Feb. 7, 2012: David Cook, Cady Groves, Van Halen, Paul McCartney, Dierks Bentley, “Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 1″, “Phantom of the Opera”
Video: New “Hunger Games” trailer
The latest trailer for the anticipated film “The Hunger Games” has made its online debut.
The adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ best-selling novel, the first of a trilogy that has sold 16 million copies in the U.S. alone, “The Hunger Games” is one of the most eagerly awaited movies of the coming spring.
The trailer includes a clip of Elizabeth Banks as fan favorite Effie Trinket. To read my recent interview with Banks in which she talks about her current film “Man on a Ledge” as well as “The Hunger Games,” click here.
Earlier today, I posted a full roundup of the films opening in Oklahoma City theaters this winter and spring. See what’s coming besides “The Hunger Games” by clicking here.
-BAM
2012 winter-spring movie preview: “Hunger Games,” “Woman in Black,” “John Carter” among the highlights
"The Hunger Games"
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman. Matthew Price of Nerdage collaborated with me on this story.
Winter-spring movie preview
From late-opening Oscar hopefuls and long-shelved comedies to 3-D blockbuster re-releases to fledgling action franchises, the crowded cinematic calendar for early 2012 offers a wide array of choices.
For film fans, the long winter and spring months can be the most confusing of the year.
Late-opening Oscar hopefuls and long-shelved comedies, 3-D blockbuster re-releases and fledgling action franchises getting a jump on the summer tentpole season all share the crowded slate. Plus, Hollywood makes room for plenty of romance for Valentine’s Day, family-friendly fare for spring break and environmentally conscious documentaries for Earth Day.
From Daniel Radcliffe’s first post-Harry Potter role in “The Woman in Black” to Pixar Animation whiz Andrew Stanton’s live-action adaptation of Edward Rice Burrough’s “John Carter,” the cinematic calendar for the first few months of 2012 has its potential bright spots. But none is burning quite so fiercely as “The Hunger Games,” the feverishly anticipated first big-screen treatment for the popular post-apocalyptic young-adult book series.
Remember, movie-goers, Hollywood often shuffles release dates for their films, so check your local movie listings before heading out to the theater.
"The Woman in Black"
Friday (today)
The former “Boy Who Lived” stars in “The Woman in Black.” Daniel Radcliffe plays a young lawyer who travels to an isolated village to settle the affairs of a recently deceased client. While working in the abandoned house, the attorney begins seeing an apparition dressed all in black. The film is based on Susan Hill’s book, which also inspired a stage play and a 1989 film.
In “Big Miracle,” John Krasinski (“Leatherheads”) and Drew Barrymore (“The Wedding Singer”) attempt to save three stranded whales in this fact-based drama co-starring Dermot Mulroney, Ted Danson and Tulsa native Tim Blake Nelson. Director Ken Kwapis (“He’s Just Not That Into You”) previously worked with Krasinski on about a dozen episodes of the U.S. “The Office,” including the pilot, and they also teamed on the romantic comedy “License to Wed.”
Three teens gain superpowers after making an amazing discovery in “Chronicle,” a found-footage thriller from director Joshua Trank, who co-wrote the screenplay with Max Landis (son of director John Landis).
In the final days before the closing of a more than 100-year-old inn, the two remaining employees (Sara Paxton and Pat Healy) are determined to prove that the hotel is haunted in “The Innkeepers.”
"Safe House"
Feb. 10
Oscar winner Denzel Washington stars as a wily former CIA fugitive, Ryan Reynolds plays the rookie agent charged with looking after him, and they end up on the run together when mercenaries attack their “Safe House” in this action-thriller co-starring Vera Farmiga, Robert Patrick and Brendan Gleeson.
Based on a true story, the romantic drama “The Vow” centers on newlyweds Leo (Channing Tatum, “Dear John”) and Paige (Rachel McAdams, “The Notebook”), whose happy life is destroyed by a car accident that puts Paige in a coma. When she awakens with no memory of her husband, Leo promises to win her heart all over again.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson takes over the lead role from Brendan Fraser in “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island,” the sequel to 2008’s “Journey to the Center of the Earth.” Josh Hutcherson returns for the follow-up adventure, which also features Vanessa Hudgens, Luis Guzmán and Michael Caine.
Starting with “Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace 3-D,” George Lucas brings his space fantasy prequels to theaters in three dimensions. In “Episode I,” two Jedi knights (Ewan McGregor and Liam Neeson) attempt to negotiate a peaceful end to a trade dispute on the planet of Naboo. The knights are drawn into a larger conflict, and along the way discover a young man whose future will become intertwined with the Jedi order — Anakin Skywalker (Jake Lloyd).
Feb. 14
Chris Pine and Tom Hardy star as hot-shot CIA operatives and best pals who unleash their formidable skills on each other when they learn they have fallen for the same woman (Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon) in “This Means War,” the latest action film from director McG (the “Charlie’s Angels” movies).
Elizabeth Banks balances “Man on a Ledge,” “Hunger Games” and other movie projects
Elizabeth Banks arrives at the premiere of "Man on a Ledge" in Los Angeles, Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. (AP Photo)
A version of this story appears in Wednesday’s Life section of The Oklahoman.
Elizabeth Banks balances “Man on a Ledge,” “Hunger Games, other film projects
The actress also is trying out directing and producing while mothering her 10-month-old son.
LOS ANGELES — Elizabeth Banks is pulling off quite a balancing act these days, and not just because her most recent film features her venturing onto a narrow ledge 200 feet above Manhattan.
The busy actress, 37, is starring in four movies opening in theaters this year: the current action-thriller “Man on a Ledge,” the hotly anticipated post-apocalyptic book adaptation “The Hunger Games,” the star-studded pregnancy ensemble “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” and the family drama “Welcome to People.” Plus, she directed a segment of the upcoming comedy shorts collection “Movie 43,” and she is producing the musical-comedy film “Pitch Perfect,” with her husband Max Handelman, with whom she has a 10-month old son, Felix.
Such an action-packed schedule seems to suit the lively Banks, who eagerly joined co-star Sam Worthington on a 21st-story shelf on the outside of the historic Roosevelt Hotel while filming “Man on a Ledge,” which opened in theaters last week.
Elizabeth Banks and Sam Worthington appear in a scene from "Man on a Ledge."
“It was great. I loved it. I’m sort of a thrill seeker in real life a little bit. I like, you know, roller coasters and trapezing and things like that, so I was really excited to do it. And it’s also kind of a gift for the actor because you don’t have to fake any of that anxiety,” Banks said with a laugh during a recent interview at the Four Seasons Hotel.
“It’s all real. Your heart is going a hundred miles an hour and your knees are buckling and you’re just having that natural fight-or-flight response, which is like your body saying, ‘What the (expletive) are you doing in this super-crazy-dangerous situation? Get out of here.’ So you know, your adrenaline’s runnin’ hot.”
While Banks only filmed on the ledge for about a day and a half — as the title character, Worthington spent most of the production out there — she found it difficult to calm down once she was back on solid ground.
“It’s 14 inches of concrete so it’s essentially like the size of your foot … and then like a couple inches and then literally a straight drop to Madison Avenue,” said Banks, who looked fetching in a pale yellow Jill Stuart dress patterned with bright red chicks.
“There was no net. There was no safety feature other than the shoestring-size wires that were attached to a building. … I like to say I’m not afraid of the heights, I’m afraid of human error and stupidity. So I’m the one who’s like ‘Is this bolt tight?’” … I’m constantly worried that like a bird’s going to fly into my face or like my coat’s gonna get caught in the window or my shoe’s gonna fall off. You know, anything’s that gonna make you fall. Because the other thing is the wire, they have it like your seatbelt so when you put the break on, it snaps back. The wire is literally if you fall off, you still fall like 4 feet before it like snaps you into whatever,” she added.
“So you really realize like if I were to just trip, like my entire life’s gonna flash before my eyes because my mind’s not gonna know that I’m attached to this wire. So I’m going off and then I’ll just be dangling over Madison Avenue.”
In “Man on a Ledge,” Banks plays Lydia Mercer, an embattled New York City police negotiator summoned to the hotel by Nick Cassidy (Worthington), a former cop wrongly imprisoned for a stealing a priceless diamond. from ruthless businessman David Englander (University of Oklahoma alumnus Ed Harris). After his daring jailbreak, Cassidy makes his stand on an exterior ledge of the Roosevelt, pleading with Lydia to believe his claims of innocence, even as she quickly realizes that that Cassidy has more in mind than just being heard.
Banks largely based her character on a real-life NYPD negotiator she met as part of her research.
“She’s Irish but had moved to Staten Island when she was 18 so she had a combo Staten Island-Irish accent, which you can imagine is amazing. Super working class, crazy cool. What I loved about her is she was really girly and she had long hair and she’s a mom and she wore like cute Banana Republic when she came to meet me. She carried a nice purse — that had her gun in it,” Banks said, laughing.
“But she had been a lifelong police officer; she joined up when she was 18 years old. She was a negotiator for five years, and she told me amazing stories that fed all of my back story. Really, my whole performance is very much based on the conversations I had with this negotiator, who is a truly incredible, cool woman. And very emotional. Takes the job really seriously and, you know, taught me a lot of really basic things,” she added.
“First and foremost of which is that jumpers jump. Meaning that, if you want to kill yourself, you go to the top of a building and you jump off. If you’re still standing there by the time I get called and I pull my pants on and I get in a taxi and I drive uptown and I go up in the elevator … like you didn’t really want to kill yourself. You probably want to be helped. The problem with that is if you then jump after I start talking to you it’s my fault; I said the wrong thing. So it’s a very intense, high-pressure job. Luckily, they have a very high success rate ‘cause, like I say, normally if you get them talking, you can usually get them in,” Banks continued.
“Her mentor, however, had someone go over on her and happen to be a fellow cop, and then that person was so affected by it that two years later they committed suicide. So when she’s recounting this story to me, she’s like hysterically crying, and of course, I was like ‘that’s my back story.’ That’s when Lydia Mercer is when she wakes up that morning, like she has lost her confidence and she’s lost the respect of her colleagues because she lost one of her own.”
Banks will next be seen on the big screen in the extreme girly-girl role of Effie Trinket, a
Elizabeth Banks plays Effie Trinket, left, and Jennifer Lawrence stars as Katniss Everdeen in "The Hunger Games."
flamboyantly costumed representative of the dystopian Capitol regime in “The Hunger Games,” the first film based on Suzanne Collins’ best-selling young-adult trilogy about Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence), a poor teenager tapped to participate in a televised battle to the death.
“It’s a really faithful adaptation of the books, I think if you’ve read the books, you’re going to be really pleased ‘cause we don’t deviate very much from ‘The Hunger Games,’” she said. “The great thing about working on those films is that all the collaborators are just amazing: (director) Gary Ross, Academy Award-nominated; the hair and makeup team are Academy Award-nominated; and the costume designer is Academy Award-nominated.”
It took the team a couple of days of experimenting with wardrobe, hair styles and makeup to transform Banks into Effie, making the actress nearly unrecognizable in the process.
“I think we came up with an amazing Effie that like in my mind brought her to life. We had a true a-ha moment,” Banks said.
“They put a hat on or something and it was like “Ta-da! She’s there!’ … That became sort of the basic look and then we played with it from there. So I had about a two-hour hair and makeup every day. My nails took the longest, actually, because I wear crazy nails every day, totally different crazy nails with every outfit.”
While she will take on a dramatic role as an alcoholic mom who meets her long-lost brother (Chris Pine) for the first time in “Welcome to People,” the talented comedic actress will get another chance to create onscreen hilarity in the book-based “What to Expect,” in which she plays a militant breast-feeding advocate going through her first pregnancy.
Plus, the Massachusetts native was just cast in “Frank or Francis,” Charlie Kaufman’s musical satire about Hollywood.
“I love comedy. I don’t think that it gets the respect that it deserves when it’s done well. And it’s very addictive to make people laugh,” Banks said. “So I’ll keep trying to do that.”
-BAM
RIP Oklahoma author Bill Wallace
Award-winning Oklahoma author William “Bill” Wallace, who wrote “A Dog Called Kitty,” died Monday at his home in Chickasha after battling cancer. He was 64.
My excellent colleague Lillie-Beth Brinkman reports that Wallace wrote 31 children’s books and co-authored seven books with his wife of 45 years, Carol Wallace. He also traveled throughout the United States, speaking to children at schools, libraries and elsewhere.
He was honored with 20 state children’s choice awards, including Oklahoma Sequoyah Children’s Book Award for “A Dog Called Kitty,” which was published in 1992, and “Beauty,” published in 2007. “A Dog Called Kitty” also won the Texas Bluebonnet Award, along with “Snot Stew,” and the Nebraska Golden Sower Award. “Beauty” also won the Kansas William Allen White Award.
He received the Oklahoma Center for the Book’s Arrell M. Gibson Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000.
Wallace began his writing career while teaching at Lincoln Fourth Grade Center in Chickasha in 1971.
He taught physical education, kindergarten and was an assistant principal before becoming principal at West Elementary School in Chickasha. That school is now named the Bill Wallace Early Childhood Center. He later left the school to dedicate his time to writing and public speaking.
Wallace is survived by his wife; daughters and sons-in-law, Laurie and Kevin Whitener, Amanda “Nikki” and Jon-Ed Moore; son and daughter-in-law, Justin and Kacey Wallace; seven grandchildren and his sister, Keitha Kay Wallace.
Funeral services will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at the First Christian Church in Chickasha. Burial will be in the Rose Hill Cemetery under the direction of the Sevier Funeral Home.
Memorial contributions may be made to the library of the Bill Wallace Early Childhood Center, 1000 Minnesota Ave., Chickasha, OK 73018, or to the Chickasha Public Library, 527 Iowa Ave., Chickasha, OK 73018.
To read more of Lillie-Beth’s story, click here.
I read “A Dog Called Kitty” as a child and adored it. My thoughts are with Wallace’s family, friends and fans.
-BAM
