Marley and Me
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Snow Falling on Grogan
A beautiful snow is falling outside my window as I write this, threatening to keep the kids home from school in the morning and me off the steep winding roads around here. I know I've been AWOL recently and wanted to drop in to say hello and offer a brief update. I've been busy! For most of the past year I have been writing my next book, a memoir about growing up in an Irish Catholic family near Detroit in the 1960s and '70s. The good news is I recently wrote those two sweetest words in any writer's arsenal -- "The End" -- and shipped it off to my literary agent. Someone described writing a book like having a baby, and I can't disagree. Except in my case I'm heading straight from the delivery room to the corner pub to have a couple cold beers. New moms, don't try this at home!
Although my mind has been very much on my new book these past months, Marley & Me, just like the slobbering pooch himself, continues to nudge its way to the front burner. After twenty-eight months in hardcover, the paperback version will be released March 11, along with the paperback edition of the young-reader adaptation, "Marley: A Dog Like No Other." But that's not the only reason March is shaping up to be an exciting month for me.
Marley & Me the movie is set to begin shooting March 10 in Miami. Additional scenes (basically the last third of the book) will be shot later in the spring here in and about Philadelphia. As you've probably heard by now, Owen Wilson is starring with Jennifer Aniston. And yes, Jenny and I are both beyond thrilled. We think they will be just great. Besides being immensely talented, they both are so likable, charming, and disarming -- the word "adorable" comes to mind in both cases -- that it's impossible to imagine them being anything other than amazing together on the screen. Alan Arkin costars and he seems the perfect choice to portray my curmudgeonly (aren't they all?) newspaper editor. I met director David Frankel ("Devil Wears Prada") in Philadelphia a couple weeks ago while he was in town scouting locations, and left our dinner knowing my story is in very capable hands. I am impressed with the thoughtfulness and intelligence he is bringing to the film adaptation and his sensitivity to getting it right. I really love his vision and the care he is taking to capture the book's essence on celluloid.
I'm trying hard to not be too shameless of a groupie here, but it's not easy!
Here are a couple clips that ran in the last couple days...
From People:
Owen Wilson Ready to Head Back to Work
By Steve Helling and Nicole Weisensee Egan
Six months after his apparent suicide attempt, Owen Wilson is ready to act again.
The 39-year-old is starring in Marley & Me, a comedy about a writer who adopts a mischievous dog. The film, which costars Jennifer Aniston as Wilson’s wife, is scheduled to be shot in Miami from March 10 until mid-May.
"I'm thrilled they're starting production on this. It's been a long time coming and I really couldn't be happier on that," Marley & Me author John Grogan tells PEOPLE. "I read the script and I like it. I think it's really true to the book."
Grogan is equally excited about the casting. "I'm actually really thrilled to have Owen Wilson portray me. We don't look anything alike but I think his personality will be a great fit to my own," he says. "And my wife, Jenny, is thrilled with being played by Jennifer Anniston and so am I. What's not to like, right?"
Wilson's been keeping a relatively low profile, and this marks the first time Wilson has worked since the crisis that landed him at Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
In September, the actor dropped out of the Ben Stiller-directed comedy Tropic Thunder and was replaced by Matthew McConaughey.
Miami is a familiar city to Wilson – he vacationed in South Beach with Woody Harrelson after the two returned from some male bonding in South America.
Marley & Me is scheduled to be released on Christmas Day.
And from The Associated Press:
LOS ANGELES - Owen Wilson is going back to work for the first time since his reported suicide attempt last summer.
Wilson, 39, and co-star Jennifer Aniston begin shooting March 10 on 20th Century Fox's "Marley & Me," the studio said. It tells the tale of a couple who adopt a dog to give parenthood a trial run, then find the mischievous pooch more than they bargained for.
After he was hospitalized last August, Wilson dropped out of this summer's comedy "Tropic Thunder," which already had been in production. He was replaced by Matthew McConaughey.
Due out Christmas Day, "Marley & Me" is directed by David Frankel and based on the book by John Grogan. Alan Arkin co-stars.
posted by John Grogan at 9:52 PM
 
26 Comments:
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But who's going to be Marley? That's the lead role, surely? :)
Looks like Marley will be played by Clyde. Check out the NPR story yesterday; there's a picture.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=19259075
I want to know that you and your wife was visited that dog, Lucky and what happened with him
We just picked up your audio book, Marley: A Dog Like No Other, for a long car trip over the weekend.
I was a little apprehensive because we just lost my husband's 14 yr old lab and didn't want my husband or kids to be sad. It did the exact opposite. What a wonderful, touching story. It definetly hit heart with all of us!
Hey John, I just finished to read your book and I loved. Such a beautiful and wonderful story. Marley was a good dog indeed, no matter how bad behavior he was. I have a dog called Pink (a white poodle) and he is 16 but he still acts like he is a puppy. :)
Take care of yourself and I can't wait to see Marley on the Big screen. :)
Hi John,
I'm here to say how happy I am now that i've finished your book. The history about your family and the lovely dog Marley makes so happy that you cannot imagine! Besides, I'm a brazilian journalist and read stories about your writer's routine makes me feel too identified with you.
Marley&Me is a best-seller here ins Brazil too and I first bought him to my veterinary friend. Later I bought it for myself and fell in love with Marley. I must tell you that your book makes me cry a lot!!
Undoubtedly, dogs should live forever!
Hugs from Brazil!
hi john,
i love ur book marley and me,i had a gorgous lab since i was two he died when i was thirteen.your story marley and me reminded me of my lab who is now also at rest.i cant wait for marley and me to come in too cinema,il probley flood the cinema !as i cryed for two days after reading your book !
regards
tara
xx
p.s if you need a dog for marley and me the film ,my lab sam is the spillting image!!!!
Hi John
It's 1am on a cold UK morning, I should have been asleep hours ago as I have a meeting at 8am, but I've just spent the last 2 hours laughing and crying my way through the last third of your book. An amazing story and family and a fab dog.
As someone who only grew up with cats I could never see the attraction in owning a dog - smelly, big, high maintenance, but my God your book has made me want one. The unconditional love, the fun and the depth that Marley bought to your lives has me feeling like I'm missing out on something.
Now I just have the break the news to the hubby...oh and the 3 mogs...
Thank you for sharing your wonderful story.
Carla, London, UK
John,
I grew up in detroit, attended that great Catholic high School Notre Dame, live in petoskey, Michigan, own a 10 month old Yellow Lab and own a house in Hollywood Florida. Well here's where are paths really connect. Our florida house is where"Marley and Me" is being filmed from. I also have an actor son in NYC who is trying to get an audition. connect with me and we can chat.
Tim Bondy
Dear John: I posted the below a few days ago mistakenly on a blog list started over a year ago, so I cut and pasted it below. This morning we put our yellow lab Jet to sleep which was the most difficult thing I have ever done in my life, but at least she can now rest in peace. I have decided to follow your lead and bury her in our backyard as I feel I owe her at least that after all the years of devotion. Thanks again for helping me through this process. It is very sad. I look forward to the movie so that I may also re-live the memories of my dog Jet.
Thanks again
Stuart
Dear John: I have a 10 year old yellow lab named Jet who has always been a puppy - loved frisbees, swimming, and ball playing with me and my young family. When I read your book it really hit home - one of the few books I read in just hours. It had me in tears by the end and I am not a tear kind of guy. In any event since I read your book Jet has come down with some unknown illness causing her to hyperventilate/shake and have difficulty in walking. We spent many thousands on vet specialists over the past two months and yet they cannot find anything other than possibly its a brain issue. It is all very sad. Thus I have been reading the end of your book over and over again to remind me how you dealt with this difficult situation. At some point very soon we will have to put her to sleep and your book will continue to help me through this process - I just cant bring myself to do it yet but I know I am being selfish as she is suffering. Anyway thank you for helping me through this process - I dont know if you realize that besides giving joy to many who read your book, you also help many dog owners who are going through similar end of life issues with their dogs. I know by the time the movie comes out - we will use it as an opportunity to remember our own Jet as well. Thanks Again.
Aloha John,
I just finished reading Marley & Me this morning - what a wonderful story! I cannot say enough about how much I enjoyed your book. And I don't even own a dog (I do totally love dogs, actually all animals!, but only have had cats, mainly due to not having a large yard that I would want to have for them to run in).
Your story so reminded me of my beloved cat, Bunny, who spent 20 years with us. She was a part of every major thing that happened in my life (marriage, divorce, the numerous moves from big house to small apt and everything in between, children, you name it). When she got ill in Dec 2006 and I had to make the same tough decision you went thru, try to keep her alive with chancey surgery or medications, or put her to sleep peacefully, it was the toughest day of my entire life. I cried my eyes out and couldn't talk about her without crying for weeks and weeks. I could totally relate to your story and it made me remember my precious Bunny and all we went thru too. She wasn't a naughty girl like Marley, but she made us laugh the same way. As you said, the unconditional love your pets have for you, and you for your pets, it's an amazing thing.
I so look forward to seeing the movie, and look forward to your next books. You are a great story-telling - please write more!
Aloha,
Cleo
P.S. I had been thinking of getting a dog for awhile now and reading your book is just the sign I needed :-)
Hello Mr Jhon,
I'm from Brazil. I didn't read your book, but my wife read and commented.
We have a dog story. Perhaps not so interesting, but I wrote this story in my webpage. I don't know if you would have time to read and think about, but anyway many times I had wish to write any words about dogs, not to happy dogs but those unfortunately abandoned - innocents in silence . And when I take a happy story about dogs I'm felling happy - He has lucky because received love from you.
God bless you.
Please, overlook my mistakes, my English is bad.
Hi John really enjoyed your book
I left a ' share your story' on the other page can you delete it as it contains personal info - urgent Clare Grogan URGENT I didn't realise it would go straight onto your website, help!
I think this is fantastic. I cannot wait for this movie to come out. I have loved your book since the day it came out. In fact, I adopted a Lab because of it and couldn't be happier :)
Hi John, All the gang from the Marley message board is anxious to get back to chatting and we miss the interaction with you and each other. Any word on when it will be back? The message is still up that it would be March 1 but that has passed. I emailed HC but haven't heard back yet. Hope to be back in business very soon!
pawprintzz Donna
PS: Our second annual Marleypalooza get together will be in AZ next October.
Hello, I'm from Belgium. Excuse me for my english. I want to say you that I liked very much your story with Marley. I make publicity for this book on my blog in Belgium. My blog adress is : http://ushuaia.skynetblogs.be
Bye
In the book, John talked about Marley's job as an extra in a movie. I think it would be a great idea to see some of those original clips and outtakes in the credits of the new film!
Congratulations on completing the new book, John. And yes, editors are always curmudgeonly. That’s actually their most likable quality – the others are too dismal to numerate here.
We’ve been buried under more than 70 inches of snow this winter. If you lived a bit closer, and were willing to brave the blast, you could come over on St. Paddy’s and indulge at our annual corned beef and cabbage feeding frenzy. Picture it: thick slabs of brisket, taties and turnips simmering in pepper broth, Irish soda bread, a savory medley of carrots and parsnips, and a table full of friends. Sparkling apple cider shining in the glass. And “The Quiet Man” playing endlessly in the front parlor. Ah! Now there’s a celebration for you!
Happy March!
Annie M
Donna/pawpritz~~
Is the message board actually going to come back at all? I’ve suspected it won’t, due to the problems that some users there caused.
Hoping the message board will start up soon, its past march 1st :)
You know, I'm almost finished with the book, it was really good, really hilarious in many places, but in this comment I will just mention the bloat incidents- having ST Bernards I have run into this with my own, it killed one while I was at work- she was only 3, we even shared the same birthday.
The other two dogs were both sisters, around age 8 or 9 they BOTH developed the stomach torsion independently that summer, and both had it TWICE.
In 3 of the 4 times it happened hours after feeding and bed at midnight- three times around 6 AM and the fourth around 8 AM I heard noise that woke me up.
People cant believe how fast the dogs stomach expands, it was expanding as I watched while dressing! Of course 3 of the times it was either a Sunday or holiday- July 4th.
Happy to say that all 4 times had positive outcomes and they are still alive today at age 11 years 3 months.
The key was I recognised the signs and got them in immediately to the vet
The 1st time the poor girl was so distended when my vet and I got her on the table, she was starting to cry and he had to start the surgery before the drugs took full effect.
She was minutes away from death.
We didnt do the stomach tack (gastroplexy) as she was in distress, we did it on the other girl when she bloated and twisted, but she had it happen 2-3 month later again, though the stomach did not twist fully then.
In all 4 cases my vet and I were the only ones at the clinic and I assisted with the surgery. People cant imagine the pressure in that stomach in this condition, an incision letting the gas out was enough to hurl food and liquid onto the ceiling, and wall cabinets 6 feet away!
Research has shown that something like 96% of all dogs who get the conservative treatment Grogan mentioned in the book- the tube down the esophagus- no surgery, WILL go on to have another incident.
So here is what I suggest, based on my research and having gone thru this FIVE times!
Brands of food and type have not been identified as a cause of bloat/torsion, however, I was feeding IAMS chunks, dry in one meal a day, but even splitting it into two meals still resulted in bloat/torsion.
They had free access to water after eating and seemed to 'tank up'
what I did since the 4th incident; I switched my feed to Canidae which has no grains- wheat, soy etc in it, no correlation between the grains and bloat was found, but I figured a switch was in order and I wanted to avoid the grain fungus issues we read about lately.
No more tanking up on water after eating, in fact, no free water for at least an hour after meals.
2 tablets of anti gas OTC Genasyme (Simethecone 80mg) with my vet's ok with meals, I figured it would reduce gas and its the gas/air that starts the problem.
Ive had no further incidents in 3 years, any, all or none of these changes may have been the reason.
In all 4 surgeries, my vet only charged me the general surgery rate of $120 per hour plus the nominal office charge, so each incident cost me around $185, I understand the market rate costs for this is around $2,000 and that is insane price gouging. Granted my vet is a rural clinic, no fancy high tech machines, they do large and small animals, but saved the 2 dogs in 4 incidents and did it for under $200 each time.
The surgery/prep/after cleanup etc took more than an hour, it was closer to 2 hours.
In any case, bloat is a MAJOR emergency, your dog can die in minutes without intervention, better to be out a few bucks and look over reactive than think maybe its just indigestion and will clear up- it WONT, and the dog's stomach literally expands in front of your eyes, it was like someone had a tire pump hooked up to the dog it was that dramatic!
The stomach soon took on a tight as a drum feeling, and by that point you need to get to the vet immediately.
One more thought about the surgery, yes, the surgery is rough, BUT in every instance as soon as the anesthesia wore off completely within a few hours, the dogs were up on their feet acting fine, and next morning jumping around as though nothing happened.
Dogs do not get dragged down by surgery like people are, they revive and repair very rapidly, and these two 8-9 year olds had more living to do, now they are 11 years 3 months and still going, I'm blessed every day that they are still here.
I just finished reading Marley & Me. I put off finishing it for a couple of days because I knew the inevitable was coming and I didn't think I could handle it. I am vacationing at Cape Cod with my husband and two loyal dogs at a B&B in Chatham that takes dogs. The inn keeper came in our room to light the pilot light in our fireplace and saw myself, my husband and our two dogs all on the bed with laptop and books - he looked at us and said "this is a picture". I knew this was the proper time to finish the your book. I cried through chapters 27 & 28. Both my husband & I each have the book. I have the illustrated edition and he has the regular one. He is just starting it now.
I just wanted to write and let you know how deeply touching your story was. I grew up in a Irish Catholic family always surrounded by dogs. My husband and I have been married 5 years and have no children - we are afraid we will turn into all of our other friends that abandon their dogs for their children. I can't imagine loving anything more than our dogs. While I was reading Marley & Me I was always waiting for you to write about how you neglected Marley for your children and you never did. It made me realize if you truly love your pet you can balance the love even when starting a family.
Thank you for your beautiful story and for bringing back to life, memories of my own crazy mutt who died 7 years ago. I hope you realize that both you and Marley are still touching lives and making us all cherish the time we have left with our pets. Thank you for making the loss of a pet feel normal and reminding us that their short but meaningful lives should be celebrated.
Tried contacting your publisher, but no response ... ah well ... just wanted to know the possibility -slight to none, I"m sure ... of a visit by you to kick off a new reading group. We are starting with your book! I am the editor of a community newspaper and we're trying to promote literacy in our community. Would sure be nice to at least get a letter from you to share at our first meeting ...
Dear Mr Grogan,
I purchased the book Marley and Me for my grandson, but after reading it I will not give it to him.
I am a 69 year old, 120 lb woman with a 12 year old 100+ Rottweiler whose hind quarters barely support her. She can no longer navigate the stairs, so after falling one time the last few stairs she no longer has access to the stairs alone. I lift and hold her hind quarters up and down the stairs everyday as she wants to sleep with me and the other pets. How is it that Marley repeatedly fell down stairs with you, a much younger and stronger man that could have helped him? I cannot get the scene of Marley falling down the stairs out of my mind. Why did you not help him as I do?
I have never been as excited about a new movie coming out as I am this one!
Wow I loved your book so much. The end of it had the room flooded in tears and tissues. I have NEVER been so excited about a movie coming out and when I heard it was coming out at Christmas I thought 'Why couldn't it come out sooner?' as Christmas is exactly 9 months away today!! But I'd just like to say your book was very inspiring and it's my favourite book. It made me want to get another dog. I have had several in the past and the last had to be given away for the purpose of moving. My other two were staffies, one got hit by a car and the other was stolen. But your book was a sensation and I can understand why it was a bestseller
I can't wait for the movie to come out!!! =]