Poets & Writers Theater

“From my many wanderings on this earth, I had so much to say about imperfect fathers and imperfect sons, and about loss and love.” In this film adaptation of the classic tale written by Italian writer Carlo Collodi, Pinocchio begins with Gepetto mourning the death of his son and carving a puppet from a tree growing above the boy’s grave. The stop-motion Netflix film is directed by Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson, and features a cast including Cate Blanchett, David Bradley, and Ewan McGregor.

“Your waking world is shaped by dreams.” The Sandman is a television adaptation of the beloved and award-winning DC Comics series written by Neil Gaiman. Co-developed and executive produced by Gaiman, the ten-episode Netflix series stars Tom Sturridge, Gwendoline Christie, Jenna Coleman, Stephen Fry, Patton Oswalt, and David Thewlis.

Watch the trailer for Blonde, a film adaptation of the best-selling 2000 historical novel of the same name by Joyce Carol Oates. Directed by Andrew Dominik, the film stars Ana de Armas as Marilyn Monroe and will be released on Netflix this fall.

The Lost Daughter is a film adaptation of the 2008 novel of the same name by Elena Ferrante. Directed and written by Maggie Gyllenhaal, the cast includes Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, Dakota Johnson, Ed Harris, and Peter Sarsgaard.

Watch the trailer for Passing, a film written and directed by Rebecca Hall and starring Ruth Negga and Tessa Thompson, based on the celebrated 1929 novel of the same name by Nella Larsen, a key figure of the Harlem Renaissance and American modernism. 

The Power of the Dog is a film written and directed by Jane Campion, adapted from the 1967 novel of the same name by Thomas Savage. The dark Western stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, and Kodi Smit-McPhee.

“What do you see when you look at me?” Monster is a film adaptation of the 1999 YA novel of the same name by the late Walter Dean Myers, which tells the story of seventeen-year-old film student Steve Harmon and how his life is altered when he is charged with felony murder. With a screenplay written by Radha Blank, Cole Wiley, and Janece Shaffer, the film stars Kelvin Harrison, Jr.; Jennifer Hudson; John David Washington; and Jeffrey Wright.

“When I first saw him, I knew then: This was the master for me.” Aravind Adiga’s Man Booker Prize–winning novel, The White Tiger, has been adapted into a Netflix film directed by Ramin Bahrani. Starring Adarsh Gourav, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, and Rajkummar Rao, the film follows an ambitious driver in India who escapes poverty through deceptive acts.

To All the Boys: Always and Forever is the final installment of the three-part Netflix film series based on the To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before YA novel series by Jenny Han. The series follows high schooler Lara Jean Song Covey, played by Lana Condor, and her relationship with her former crush Peter Kavinsky, played by Noah Centineo.

Directed by Academy Award winner Martin Scorsese, Pretend It’s a City features the return of sardonic writer and public speaker Fran Lebowitz in conversation with the director as she shares anecdotes about her early life and career in New York City in the 1970s. The Netflix series continues the partnership of the longtime friends, who worked together on the 2010 HBO documentary Public Speaking.

The Dig is a Netflix film adaptation starring Ralph Fiennes and Carey Mulligan based on the 2007 novel of the same name by John Preston, which reimagines the events of the 1939 excavation of Sutton Hoo in Suffolk, England.

Looking for something eerie to watch? The Haunting of Bly Manor is a supernatural horror drama loosely based on Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw. The Netflix series created by Mike Flanagan stars Carla Gugino, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, T’Nia Miller, Victoria Pedretti, Kate Siegel, and Henry Thomas.

Dracula is a new BBC/Netflix television adaptation of Bram Stoker’s classic 1897 gothic horror novel. Created by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat, the three-episode miniseries stars Claes Bang in the title role, along with Morfydd Clark, John Heffernan, and Dolly Wells.

In the Tall Grass is a film adaptation of a novella of the same name written by Stephen King and his son Joe Hill, first published in Esquire magazine in 2012. The horror film, which follows a brother and sister as they venture into a field of grass in Kansas and find themselves trapped, is directed by Vincenzo Natali and stars Laysla De Oliveira, Harrison Gilbertson, Avery Whitted, and Patrick Wilson.

Bird Box (Ecco, 2014), the debut novel by Josh Malerman has been adapted into a feature film. Directed by Susanne Bier, the psychological thriller film stars Sandra Bullock, John Malkovich, Sarah Paulson, and Trevante Rhodes and follows a woman and her two children as they traverse a post-apocalyptic landscape while blindfolded to escape an unseen, supernatural adversary.

The Kindergarten Teacher stars Maggie Gyllenhaal as an aspiring poet and elementary school teacher who discovers the talents of a five-year-old boy in her class and becomes obsessed with protecting and encouraging his writing. Gyllenhaal and director Sara Colangelo commissioned poetry from Kaveh Akbar, Dominique Townsend, and Ocean Vuong to include as verses written by the two characters.

William Giraldi’s 2014 novel, Hold the Dark, has been adapted into a film for Netflix. Directed by Jeremy Saulnier, the film stars Riley Keough, Alexander Skarsgård, and Jeffrey Wright. Giraldi is a frequent contributor to Poets & Writers Magazine, most recently with “The Art of Reading James Baldwin” in the November/December 2017 issue.