Marley and Me

A Major League Upset

2008-05-06T20:25:00.000-07:00

Filming continues in Miami of the Marley & Me movie, and director David Frankel (Devil Wears Prada) is making the most of the colorful locale. The latest was a Florida Marlins game last week. This item ran in the Miami Herald. Check out the YouTube clip of Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston with a hard-to-control Marley clone!

HAVING A BALL

Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson were in the stands at Dolphin Stadium during the Marlins vs. San Diego Padres game Friday night shooting a scene for Marley & Me.

In one scene, Aniston ran down the steps chasing the lovable lab who ''plays'' Marley. In another -- during an inning break -- he ran onto the field.

He wasn't the only dog in the bleachers; the annual Bark in the Park brought out more than 700 pooches, said Sean Flynn, VP of marketing for the Marlins. ''It kind of worked perfectly,'' Flynn said. ``They blended in.''

The celebs brought the fish some luck -- they beat the Padres 6-4. The clip's at www.youtube.com/watch?v=SD3D3_aE_G0
-- Miami Herald
===========

And this report from MLB.com:

MIAMI -- An otherwise regular Major League baseball game will eventually make its way to Hollywood.
A backdrop to the Marlins beating the Padres, 6-4, on Friday night was the shooting of a scene for the upcoming movie "Marley & Me," starring Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson.

Friday was a "Bark at the Park" night for the Marlins, a promotion through which fans can bring their dogs to the stadium. And as it happened, a dog running on the field is part of a scene in the movie, which is set to be released on Christmas Day.

Aniston and Wilson were at the ballpark, filming a few scenes. The first took place in the stands, with a dog racing down the aisles, Wilson and then Aniston in pursuit.

And after Hanley Ramirez of the Marlins was thrown out trying to steal third base, ending the eighth inning, Wilson and Aniston surfaced again, chasing after a dog in left field.

Players were leaving and entering the field but momentarily stopped as the two actors finally grabbed the dog and were whisked away. The segment lasted about a minute and didn't interrupt the game.

"It's kind of weird to see a movie going on," said Marlins left fielder Luis Gonzalez, formerly with the Dodgers and someone who has met his share of A-list stars.

Trying to push the entertainment aspect of the game, the Marlins this season have featured a disc jockey in right field during weekend games, plus a heavy-set male dance team called the Manatees.

"We have big guys on the field, a disc jockey in right field, we've got all kind of stuff going on here," Gonzalez laughed. "This is Marlins baseball.

"I didn't really know it was going to happen then. If I did, I probably would have run out there a little faster and jumped in front of Owen Wilson, and handed it off to her. That would have made me a real hero, right? I should have messed that whole scene up. What were they going to do, kick me off the field? I belonged there more than they did."

Initially, the scene was set to be shot at Dolphin Stadium on April 18, when the Marlins were playing the Nationals, but the filming was postponed because the crew was shooting late in South Beach.

Joe Frisaro is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Dave Barry Does Marley (or should I rephrase that?)

2008-04-21T19:53:00.000-07:00

I've always been a huge fan of Dave Barry, the wildly popular syndicated humor columnist. He was writing his column for the Miami Herald during the same time I was writing mine an hour up the coast at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale. But it would be wrong of me to leave the impression that Dave and I were on anything resembling an equal plane. Dave was THE columnist in South Florida (and through syndication across the continent); the rest of us worked in his large shadow, trying desperately to capture a sliver of his effortless wit while working equally desperately to not look like copycat wannabes.

At last our paths have crossed. Dave landed a role on the set of Marley & Me as an extra in the scene capturing my fortieth surprise birthday party. In real life, Marley crashed the party by diving onto a tray of appetizers, and wolfing down mozzarella and basil on toast squares, but I have to admit the birthday cake makes for much better visuals.

At any rate, Dave Barry being Dave Barry, he wrote a very funny column about the experience. And from my few days on the set earlier this month, I'd say very accurate, too. If you think being a movie extra is glamorous, try it for a day and see how you feel by the twelfth hour and twenty-seventh take.

Dave writes, in part:
There is a definite hierarchy on a movie set. At the top are the director and the stars. Below them are the lesser actors and crew members. Below them are the support people who provide food, transportation, security, etc. Below them are the stunt birthday cakes. And at the bottom are the extras. We are there strictly as background. In fact, the crew people actually call us ''background'' when they herd us around.

''All right, background!'' they say. ``I need you all to stand over here!''

As an extra, you do a lot of standing around. First you stand around waiting for the set to be prepared. Then you stand around on the set while they rehearse the scene. Then you stand around being the background while they shoot the scene. Then you stand around waiting while they look at the scene to see if anything went wrong, which something always does. Then you stand around while they shoot the scene again. It goes on for hours and hours, the standing. But it's worth it, because the money is huge.

I am, of course, kidding. For a day's work -- and it can be a long day's work -- they pay you $100, or what one of the extras, Joyce Newman of Miami, described as ``one-third of a good pair of shoes.''

You can read the piece in full at:

http://www.miamiherald.com/283/story/500874.html

And Dave, I'll look for the back of your head on the big screen. It's going to kill!

On the Movie Set

2008-04-14T16:45:00.001-07:00

(PHOTO: Clyde the Lab getting in character for his role as Marley. Not only is he a dead ringer for the real Marley, he has the same personality, as well.)

Jenny and I recently returned from four days on the movie set for Marley & Me in Miami -- and what an out-of-body experience it was. In a good sort of a way.

Director David Frankel and his team have so faithfully recreated that period of our lives that walking onto the set was a little like stepping into a time machine and hopping off in our old neighborhood in West Palm Beach, Florida, circa 1992.

Three minutes after arriving, Frankel said, "Come on, I'll introduce you to Owen." Filming was outside a bank building on Brickell Avenue in Miami, and in a private corner of the lobby we interrupted Owen Wilson eating lunch. He was what you might expect, given his immensely likable screen presence -- warm, charming, funny, friendly, down to earth. He even offered to share his plate of food. But as Jenny and I talked with him, I kept thinking to myself, "Good Lord, who dresses this guy?" He had on baggy khakis, a crinkled cotton shirt and rather dated-looking tie. Then it hit me: Oh, he's dressed like me. Or at least the me of back then. Yep, he nailed my inimitable fashion sense. I glanced at his wrist and thought, "Gee, famous actor and that's the best watch he can afford?" Then I recognized my old plastic $19 Casio I wore faithfully all through the '90s. He even wore the same aviator Ray Bans and beat-up topsiders with no laces I used to kick around in. On his left ring finger, he sported what looked like my wedding band, too. It was a little other-worldly.

Later outside, David introduced us to Jennifer Aniston, and it was the same kind of experience. She was lovely -- even lovelier in person than on screen -- and instantly put both of us at ease. But again, how stange: It looked like she had raided Jenny's wardrobe from the early '90s. And my favorite part was her ride: She pulled up to the curb in a late '80s Toyota Tercel hatchback -- except for a slight color difference, an exact replica of Jenny's vehicle from that time, dings and all.

We wandered back to the director's station where David sat, monitoring each scene through headphones and a bank of monitors. Beside him we spotted twin "Marley & Me" director's chairs with our names embroidered on them. One read "John" and one "Jenny." "Wow, they even have seats waiting for us," I exclaimed. I was just about to take a load off when Jenny grabbed my arm and whispered, "Ahem, those are for the *other* John and Jenny." The really good looking ones. Oh.... David, who is great and exceptionally gracious, ushered us to other seats

Later, during a break, my smart-ass wife couldn't resist sidling up to Jen Aniston as she sat in her Jenny chair and deadpanning, "Excuse me, but I believe you're in my seat." Fortunately, the actress has a good sense of humor.

And then shooting resumed and one of the first lines out of Owen's mouth was: "I'm John Grogan." Off on the side, I had to scratch my head once again. Um, I thought I was John Grogan. And so went the week. Out of body, start to finish. As well as terribly fun and exciting. Thawing out in the Florida sunshine wasn't bad either.

Most importantly, we both loved what we saw. The scenes we were present for were funny (sometimes hilariously so) and heartwarming and sweet. The dogs -- there are more than two dozen -- portraying Marley from puppyhood into old age are gorgeous -- and suitably mischevious. Unpredictably mischevious. You can imagine all the unscripted moments. The outtakes alone will be worth the price of admission.

Marley & Me is shaping up to be a really wonderful movie. Filming is scheduled to wrap up about June 1. The film is scheduled for a Christmas day 2008 release. I can't wait.

The Boca Sidewalk Cafe Scene

2008-03-14T21:30:00.000-07:00

The real table was way bigger and way heavier -- and still Marley dragged it behind him like it didn't exist.

On location in South Florida

2008-03-14T21:26:00.000-07:00

It says something about how twisted I am, that Jennifer Aniston looks as gorgeous as ever, and still.... I can't stop staring at the Lab.

Calling All Extras!

2008-03-14T21:15:00.000-07:00

This item ran in the Miami Herald yesterday. Hey, the pay's not great, but how fun would that be? And FREE LUNCH! I'm in!

FROM THE MIAMI HERALD:
The film, Marley & Me, starring Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston, is filming in South Florida through May 28, 2008.

Casting director Lori Wyman is looking for 1,500 attractive people of all races, ages, shapes and sizes, to cast as extras in various scenes being shot at South Florida beaches, parks, schools and neighborhoods.

It pays $100 a day and includes lunch.

Wyman said that applicants who show up at her North Miami Beach office stand a better chance of being cast than those who merely mail in photographs of themselves.

Applicants should mail a recent picture of themselves (face and body shot); their height; home, cellphone and work numbers; and any athletic skills that they have.

Applicants who have cars from 1985 to 1991 are also encouraged to include the make, model, year and color of their vehicle (your car may be cast in the film).

Lori Wyman Casting

16499 NE 19th Ave., Suite 203

North Miami Beach, FL 33162

305-354-3901

Open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Filming begins

2008-03-10T16:10:00.000-07:00

Hey there, everyone. After months of anticipation, the big day finally arrived today: The first day of filming of Marley & Me the movie.

The movie, starring Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston, will be shot in and around Miami, and also up here in my neck of the woods, in and around Philadelphia. Eric Dane, the McSteamy heartthrob from Grey's Anatomy costars along with Alan Arkin. And of course the real star of the show will be the dog that plays Marley. Err, make that dogs. The directors will need a whole lineup to fill Marley's large pawprints -- and 13 year span of life.

As you can imagine, I'm pretty excited about all this -- and so apparently are my former colleagues down in Florida. Wilson and Zane visited the newsroom of my old haunt, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, last week as part of their research, and my former colleagues were abuzz. Who can blame them?

Jenny and I are hoping to get down to Miami in the weeks ahead to get a peek of the filming in progress. Talk about fun.

This report appeared on Editor & Publisher magazine's website, and it quotes a People.com report: (One correction: The article makes it sound like I'm still a columnist at the Sun-Sentinel; I haven't worked there since 1999.)

Owen Wilson, In Training for 'Marley & Me,' Visits Newspaper Office

By E&P Staff

Published: March 08, 2008 3:10 PM ET
NEW YORK It was dream enough for a newspaper columnist to pen a huge bestseller -- focusing on his dog, no less -- but now comes the next step: a Hollywood movie, starring Jennifer Aniston, Eric Dane and Owen Wilson. Who plays the mutt?

Wilson stopped by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel on Friday, according to a report on the People magazine web site.

Here's a portion of the People report.
*

Wilson and Dane caused a stir when they showed up at the paper's Fort Lauderdale offices – just hours before deadline. Coincidentally – or not – the film is based on a memoir by the newspaper's columnist John Grogan. The pair spent about an hour talking to editor Earl Maucker and walking around, trailed by their crew.

One daring female reporter approached the two stars in the elevator and shook their hands, saying, "Welcome, I hope you have fun here."

"They were charming," she said. "I swooned a bit. Owen was very sweet. They certainly created a lot of hubbub and excitement."

Reporters at the newspaper were invited to apply to be extras in the movie and a few are said to be considering it.

The film team previously checked out The Daily Business offices in downtown Miami as a location but apparently decided against filming there.

Snow Falling on Grogan

2008-02-21T21:52:00.000-08:00

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.

My grandmother's dresser

2008-01-12T06:02:00.000-08:00

When I was a little boy, my mother committed a horrible crime against humanity. She took a beautiful and very old dressing vanity and...painted it pink. In her defense, it was the Sixties, natural wood was out, and bright colors were in. It was a piece of furniture she had grown up with, made of solid black walnut with white marble slabs for a top and walnut burl veneers for accents. When she was redoing my older sister's room in pink and white, it made perfect sense to her to give the old dark dresser a makeover. Even as a young boy, I knew this was terribly wrong. I vowed to someday restore it to its original luster. When I was in high school, I took a whack at stripping the pink paint from it, but quickly grew discouraged and left it to hibernate in my parents' garage for another 15 years.

After Jenny and I bought our first house on Churchill Road in West Palm Beach in 1990, I hauled it from Michigan to Florida, thinking it would be a beautiful addition to our new home. I set to work on it, using powerful strippers, heat guns, and razor-sharp scrapers, and I managed to get nearly all the paint off. Emphasis on "nearly." The last five percent, mostly deep in the grain or locked into corners and crevices, just would not budge. I grew discouraged once again, slid it into a corner of my garage, threw an old sheet over it, and forgot about it for another seventeen years.

Until this past month.

The sad little vanity had been a furnace-room repository for household junk ever since we arrived in Pennsylvania in 1999. During the Christmas holiday I finally dusted it off and reevaluated it. Enough years had passed that I could now officially declare Mom's pink-paint abomination part of its history. What paint had come off off was meant to come off, and what did not was now a chapter in its long chronicle. My thinking was this: I could demand perfection and never get it done. Or I could settle for something less and actually get to enjoy it -- and chalk up the pink paint that remained as part of the piece’s colorful (sorry) back story. When I showed it to people I could tell them about the fateful day Mom, in a well-intentioned but misguided moment of home-improvement inspiration, whipped out the paintbrush.

So I set out to do the best I could without driving myself insane. I chiseled off as much of the remaining paint as I could, and sanded the entire piece with gusto, working my way from rough to medium to fine and, finally, ultra-fine grades of paper. Then I vacuumed it, wiped it down with a tack cloth and applied four coats of tung oil, buffing between each with steel wool.I found the marble slabs in the garage, still wrapped in the brown mover's paper from nine years earlier.

The piece is now as done as it is going to get, and finally, some forty years after the crime, is back where it belongs: a part of our home. It now resides in our recreation room, and will eventually make its way up to our daughter's bedroom, to carry on into the next generation. Yes, the pink-paint residues continue to annoy me, but I can now laugh about my mother's bonehead improvement project, and say out loud: *Mom! What on earth were you thinking?*

The older I get, the more I seem to cherish the things that came before me. Especially those things that were part of the lives of my forebearers. I'm glad the old vanity is back. I can't think of it without thinking of the woman who brought not only it into her family, but me, too.

Marley & Me Movie Update

2008-01-10T18:44:00.000-08:00

Alan Arkin

Hi everyone. As many of you know, Fox 2000 Pictures is adapting "Marley & Me" to the big screen. Today's edition of Variety reported this update:

Actor joins cast of Frankel's Fox 2000 film
By MICHAEL FLEMING

Fox 2000 has added Alan Arkin to the cast of "Marley & Me" and has set a spring start date.
Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston star in the adaptation of the John Grogan bestseller, which David Frankel is directing.

Gil Netter and Karen Rosenfelt are producing. Scott Frank wrote the most recent draft of the script.

Wilson plays a Philadelphia newspaper columnist who decides with his wife to adopt a dog to give them a taste of parenthood. The incorrigible Labrador retriever is a hyperactive handful, turning their lives upside down. Arkin will play the editor of the newspaper.

Pic is Wilson's first since his emergency hospitalization last summer. The film was originally slated to begin production in January but was postponed because Aniston was shooting "He's Just Not That Into You" and the Stephen Belber-directed "Management." She's now filming the Brandon Camp-directed "Traveling."

Arkin recently wrapped the Warner Bros. comedy "Get Smart," which opens June 21.

(This story appears at: http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117978761.html?categoryid=13&cs=1 )

One small correction: I'm actually working at a newspaper in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, not Philadelphia, when the story opens, and Arkin has been cast to play my editor at the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Happy Holidays to one and all

2007-12-23T06:38:00.000-08:00

Here it is the Sunday before Christmas and I was feeling very smug that, unlike all those last-minute procrastinators, I had all my gift shopping out of the way. A week ago, I took an entire day, list in hand, and did not come home until I was finished. When I was done, I felt like I had just completed a marathon, but at least it was behind me. Ah, I thought, now I can sit back and enjoy the holiday in peace.

Wrong. I forgot about the kids. They came to me a little bit ago and said, "So Dad, you're taking us to the mall today so we can do our shopping, right?" The mall? The one with the horrible traffic even in the middle of August? Two shopping days before Christmas? "Ummm, sure kids. I can't think of anything I'd rather do." Hey, I figure it's the only way I'm going to get a gift out of them. So we're off in a few minutes to battle the crowds. I promise I will do my best to not get grumpy.

But first I wanted to wish you all a great and happy holiday and a prosperous new year. Thanks for all your notes, friendship and support from all over the world this past year. It means a lot to me. See you back here after the holiday.

Jingle Woof!

John

The Power of Neil

2007-12-15T21:01:00.000-08:00

I've been a huge Neil Young fan for as long as I can remember, but until last week I had only seen him once -- in a giant outdoor arena in Toronto in 1974 in the pouring rain. He was with Crosby, Stills and Nash, and I spent the concert soaked and shivering. Nonetheless, I was smitten.

I've always loved Neil's music, but I love something else about him, as well, and that is the way he has led his life, balancing fame and family and always following his creative muse even when it might make better business sense to follow more predictable paths. So when I learned he was coming to the intimate Tower Theater just outside Philadelphia, I jumped for tickets. The show sold out in minutes, and the best we managed was to nab four seats together in the lower balcony and one seat off to the side and far back on the main floor. I took the lone seat so Jenny and our three kids could be together.

We split up in the lobby, Jenny and the kids heading to their seats and me to mine. I had just sat down when dumb luck struck. A young couple approached me and asked if I were sitting alone. They had a favor to ask. They were unable to buy two seats together, and wondered if I would swap tickets so they could sit together. "Mine's actually a better seat," the man volunteered. I was leery. What if I handed over my ticket only to discover I had traded for a nosebleed seat? He must have sensed my hesitance because he offered to show me the seat. We wound through the theater together and ended up....at seventh row center. I couldn't believe it. "You must really be in love," I told the guy as I handed him my ticket. He nodded that he was, and we shook hands.

The concert was great, and, true to form, Neil was still following his muse, delivering a quirky mix of songs, ignoring the shouted requests for favorite hits. At 62, he's still rocking hard and showing no signs of slowing down...not a bad role model for the rest of us. To the guy who swapped tickets with me so he could sit with his girlfriend: Thank you. And to his girlfriend: I think you have a keeper there.

The only thing cuter than a puppy...

2007-11-29T19:34:00.000-08:00

....is a little boy pretending to be a puppy. In September, I stopped at the City of Excellence magnet school in Aventura, Florida, right outside Miami. I spoke to the students about my children's books, BAD DOG, MARLEY and MARLEY: A DOG LIKE NO OTHER, then I signed books. Flash forward two months: Yesterday, these photos were forwarded to me by my editor. One of the little boys in line to have his Marley book signed was inspired enough to dress up as puppy Marley on his first night home for the school's annual costume contest. I know the boy only as Bobby, but I sure hope he won the contest. I got a big kick out of how faithfully he (with a little help from Mom, no doubt) recreated the Whirlpool box in which Marley spent his first night before I relented and brought him inside to sleep beside my bed. (You can see the photo of Marley on his first night home at the "Marley photos" link on the marleyandme.com home page.)

I love this photo because it reminds me of all the great kids I met on my children's books tour -- and of the guileless way in which they accepted Marley into their lives.

The photos show Bobby doing his best Marley imitation in his box, and earlier, having his book signed by me at his school outside Miami.

The only thing cuter than a puppy...

2007-11-28T16:50:00.000-08:00

Four Amigos in the Big Apple

2007-11-07T08:47:00.000-08:00

photo: John, Jim, Ray and Dave with the Bull near The New York Stock Exchange

Faithful reader and correspondent Shirley Baumgardner of central Pennsylvania just reminded me that it has been more than a month since I last updated this blog. I wish I could tell you I was slacking off, sipping champagne in my bathrobe and slippers day after day. But actually I've been busy with upcoming writing projects, pushing to meet deadlines, some of them self-imposed. Recently, however, I did get to have a fun three-day weekend getaway in New York City with three of my old high school classmates. Of a class of 650 students at West Bloomfield High in suburban Detroit, these are the three I have managed to stay in touch with over the years, and our friendships have grown stonger as we've bumped along on parallel tracks through life's various chapters.

I've counted Ray Smith among my very best friends since the summer of 1968 when he moved into the house behind mine in our subdivision. Dave Kreager and Jim Cavalier similarly grew up together a few neighborhoods away from mine and came on my radar only after I reached high school. But the four of us took instantly and our friendship has stuck. It was Jim's idea for all four of us to rendezvous in New York for a celebration of sorts. Not that turning 50 is cause for much anything other than a Prozac prescription. But we were determined to properly mark a half century gone by. Of course, I couldn't resist noting that when we turned 40 we truly had cause for celebration: We had all accomplished much of what we wanted in life and still weren't even at the halfway point yet, assuming we could make it to 80. But at 50 that sunny equation no longer held up. How many live to 100? Yep, I felt obliged to remind my friends that we're past the halfway point now and it's all downhill from here. Leave it to me to accentuate the positive. Yes, we drank heavily. No, not really. Not too heavily anyway. We mostly laughed at the good times gone by and the promise of more adventure to come in the years ahead. We all agreed to tear up those AARP membership invitations. We're not quite ready for that.

We had a blast, walking all over the city and having amazing luck stumbling blind onto wonderful restaurants and cafes without securing a single reservation. We visited the site of the World Trade Center, and St. Paul's Church next door, which for months served as a refuge for the rescue workers. We posed for pictures in front of the bull on Wall Street and viewed the Statue of Liberty from Battery Park. We visited The Dakota apartment building where John Lennon was killed in 1980, and sat for a while in the Strawberry Fields memorial garden across the street in Central Park. We hit a comedy club in the Village and art galleries in Soho. We listened to jazz musicians in the subway and shopped for junky trinkets in Chinatown. We ate paninis in Little Italy and dodged cloudbursts in Washington Square. And then it was time to pack up and go our four separate ways...to Chicago, Minneapolis, western Michigan and eastern Pennsylvania.

It was fun guy time and a welcome reprieve for all of us from busy lives layered with obligations and responsibility. Already, the four amigos are talking about making it an annual retreat. Next year? I'm lobbying for New Orleans.

Over and out for now.

This Santa is a gas, gas, gas...

2007-10-03T13:50:00.001-07:00

Some writers edit, as I have done periodically over my career. And some editors write, as my Marley & Me editor Mauro DiPreta has done in a charming new children's book just out. Well, it's not really my editor extraordinaire who wrote "Fartsy Claus." It's his colorful alter-ego, Mitch Chivus. As you no doubt gathered from the title, Santa has a bit of a gas problem. No, not a bit. He's gassier than a methane plant. His problem began when he arrived at a house and, finding no cookies and milk, dug into a big pot of franks and beans, leaving him with one wicked case of flatulence. I now quote from the HarperCollins press release: "Lucky for Santa, his gastric gaffe took place in the presence of two especially ingenious tots, who just happen to have a science lab in their attic. The three of them head upstairs to devise a solution that will salvage Santa’s reputation and save Christmas for the whole world."

So that's the story in a nutshell. When I tell you "Fartsy Claus" is filled with seat-of-the-pants action, I mean that in the most literal sense. Or to quote Mick Jagger, it's a gas, gas, gas.

I've made school appearances up and down the East Coast to promote my own children's books, and I have learned that nothing makes kids giggle and squeal more than bodily functions. The holy trinity of children's literature, I've concluded, is poop, pee, and underpants. Use them in any combination and you are sure to get loads of laughs. Mitch Chivus has hit upon a similar truth: for children, farts are always funny. Especially when you work them into groaner rhymes.

"Fartsy Claus" is on sale now. Check it out!

Canine Crazy in Carmel

2007-10-02T11:58:00.000-07:00

It had been sixteen years since I was last in Carmel, and that was just a drive-by. Honestly, I don't think I even got out of the car. But I found myself back there this past weekend to participate in the first (and hopefully) annual Carmel Authors and Ideas Festival, which featured some 30 authors. I was honored to be included in the lineup, which included Frank McCourt, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Seymour Hersh, Elizabeth Edwards, Irshad Manji, Douglas Brinkley, Firoozeh Dumas, and many other great writers. The event was the brainchild of two Carmel residents, Jim and Cynthia McGillen, who poured endless hours and a lot of their own money into making a dream become a reality. Hats off to Jim and Cindy for pulling this off, with only two months prep time, with nary a hitch, and for being excellent hosts. I flew in directly from South Florida on Saturday where I spoke at the annual National Writers Workshop in Fort Lauderdale, sponsored by my old paper the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. I arrived in Carmel after dark and was taken directly to the beach, where I joined a bonfire cookout in progress, complete with an Irish balladeer and a Jack London impersonator. The best show of the night, though, was above....the stars were phenomenal.

Carmel was just the balm I needed after a hectic week on the road. The weather was perfect, the views amazing and the beach inviting. Once I got down on the sand I found out why Carmel is known not only as one of America's wealthiest enclaves, but one of the most dog friendly, too. There were four-legged beach bums everywhere. And I'm talking dozens. They raced through the surf, frolicked in the sand, and hopped in the air. And they all seemed driven by the same singular passion. A passion more powerful than the drive for food or sex: Chasing balls. Among the most hardcore ball chasers were the Labrador retrievers, of course. And unlike Marley, they actually returned the balls to their owners to await another throw. At one point, I thought I was at a casting call for Marley the movie. A half dozen Marley look-alikes, some with equally goofy personalities, charged playfully at each other. There is no happiness in this life like the happiness of a dog on the beach with a ball on its mouth. Naturally, that made me pretty darn happy, too.

I'm writing this from the tiny airport in Monterey, a few miles north of Carmel, waiting for my flight home to Philadelphia via Phoenix. My weekend on the California coast was splendid, but it will be good to get home.

That's it for now. Thanks to everyone who came out to my recent signings in Ohio and Florida. And of course here in California.

The Book That Is Not My Own

2007-09-15T18:53:00.000-07:00

In the days and weeks ahead, you might see a book out there in stores with my name on it, and I want you to know it is NOT a new book by "John Grogan, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller MARLEY & ME" -- though those words appear prominently on the cover. The book, titled "Bad Dogs Have More Fun," is actually a collection of my previously published newspaper columns from The Philadelphia Inquirer, very few of which had anything to do with dogs. And it was published by the newspaper and Vanguard Press without my consent or involvement -- not even my prior knowledge. I only found about this collection through a third party after the Inquirer and Vanguard (with whom I have no association) had already signed the contract.

If I sound disappointed and upset by this, it is because I am.

The Philadelphia Inquirer owns the copyright to the work I produced during my four years as a staff columnist there. I was what is known as "a writer for hire." This is the customary work arrangement at newspapers, but the decision to collect a columnist's works in book form (Anna Quindlen, Dave Barry, Lewis Grizzard, etc.) is typically initiated by the writer and becomes a cooperative endeavor between the writer and the newspaper. Not this time.

Vanguard and The Inquirer struck their deal without telling me, then chose the title, the cover image and all of the content without my input. They never even informed me of the columns they had selected. Therefore I cannot and will not endorse this unauthorized collection in any way. This is particularly painful for me because I am proud of the work I produced while at The Philadelphia Inquirer and always looked forward to someday working collegially with my editors there to put out a collection of my work we could all be proud of.

If you choose to buy this collection, just please know that it is a book I was given no creative control over and for which I will receive no compensation.

Thank you all for your kindness and support.

John Grogan

That Time of Year Again

2007-09-04T13:54:00.000-07:00

Today marked that most special time of year in every parent's life: Back to School Day. Like moms and dads everywhere, Jenny and I celebrated by dancing on the table with lampshades on our heads. Actually, that's just what we felt like doing after the school bus disappeared down the hill. Instead, we went out for a grown-up lunch with no kids in tow. Family togetherness is great and all, but after nearly three months of it, well...a little family apart time isn't such a bad thing, either. As a friend of mine in Michigan said in an email to me this morning: "Well, the kids headed back to school this morning. I can't say I'm in mourning."

It was a good summer, though, with family trips to the Great Lakes, where we ate white fish; the Chesapeake Bay, where we devoured blue crabs; and most recently to San Francisco, where our goal was to eat the foods of every nation on earth -- and we actually came close to doing so. (Yes, the Grogans are nothing if not good and enthusiastic eaters.)

The California trip, the whole family agreed, was the summer's highlight. The weather was perfect and the views in every direction, at every turn and in every rear-view mirror, were magnificent. Jenny and I have been before, but this was the children's first time. It was fun rediscovering the city through their eyes. I was surprised that what they loved most of all was Chinatown, followed by the towering redwoods in Muir Woods and the tour of Alcatraz. Their father's hands-down favorite, in contrast, was the free wine-and-cheese hour in the hotel lobby every afternoon at 5. Here's looking at you!

I just tried to post a bunch of my vacation photos, but Blogger rebelled and would not allow the uploads. Consider yourselves spared!

That's all for now, everyone. I have another week to myself before I hit the road again, promoting my children's books, "Bad Dog, Marley!" and "Marley: A Dog Like No Other" -- and, of course, grown-up "Marley & Me" too -- through much of September. Cities I will be visiting include Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Orlando, and Miami. Stay tuned to my HarperCollins upcoming events page where details will be posted as the schedule fims up. You'll find the link on the Marley & Me home page.

I also will be appearing Sunday, Sept. 30, at the first annual Carmel Authors & Ideas Festival. Tickets are pricey, but cover the entire three-day event and a host of authors. Details are at http://carmelauthors.com/

Movie Update: It's Owen and Jen!

2007-08-20T06:59:00.000-07:00

On the message boards, many of you have asked for updates on Fox 2000's plans to make a movie of Marley & Me. Today, this article ran in Daily Variety, the Hollywood trade publication, which gives the latest. I couldn't be more excited, not only about Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston, who I think will be great in the lead roles, but about David Frankel as director. His most recent movie, "The Devil Wears Prada," I found to be brilliant and very engaging.

Here's the story:

Two wag dog tale

BYLINE: MICHAEL FLEMING

SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 1

LENGTH: 226 words

Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston will star in "Marley & Me," the Fox 2000 adaptation of John Grogan's bestselling memoir about an incorrigible Labrador retriever.

David Frankel, who last directed "The Devil Wears Prada" for the studio, will helm; Scott Frank is working on the latest draft of the script.

Plan is to begin production next year. Gil Netter and Karen Rosenfelt are producing.

Marley is the yellow lab adopted by Grogan, a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer, and his wife. Their idea was to give them a taste of parenthood, but the dog proved to be a hyperactive handful. He wreaks havoc, gets kicked out of obedience school and gets even worse when the children begin to arrive, yet becomes an indispensable part of the family.

Fox 2000's Elizabeth Gabler and Rodney Ferrell have been trying for weeks to pull the cast together in this frenzied climate ahead of a possible strike, and deals are in final negotiations. Pic should shoot early next year.

Wilson will next be seen in the Wes Anderson-directed "The Darjeeling Limited," recently wrapped "Drillbit Taylor" and is filming "Tropic Thunder" for director Ben Stiller.

Aniston recently committed to the Sidney Kimmel Entertainment-financed Stephen Belber-directed "Management," and she is reportedly in talks to play a small role in the ensemble of "He's Just Not That Into You" for New Line.

"Every Home Should Have One"

2007-08-17T20:17:00.000-07:00

Part of why the new paperback version of Marley & Me is doing so well in the UK is because of my publisher Hodder & Stoughton's ingenius publicity campaign. These posters, my spies tell me, are plastered across London, in Underground stations and on street corners. The poster shows a woebegone Lab looking up at the cover of the book beneath the heading, "Every Home Should Have One."

When Jenny saw this photo, she nearly screamed, "We've got to get one of those for the living room!"

I'm working on it.

Oh, and by the way, a paperback release date has not been set for here in the United States.

Good News from London

2007-08-17T19:52:00.000-07:00

My British publisher, the always wonderful Lisa Highton at Hodder & Stoughton, emailed me recently with exciting news. Marley & Me had just been released in the United Kingdom in paperback, one year after the hardcover edition was released there.

In it's first week out in paperback, Marley hit #2 on the UK's paperback bestseller list. I was tickled, of course. But that's just the pretty good news. The really good news came the following week when Lisa wrote to tell me Marley was moving up to #1 on the UK paperback list. So far it's remained in the top spot for two weeks. Obviously, I am over-the-moon thrilled and humbled, and I want to thank all my UK readers for their outpouring of support. Thanks so much, guys! (And thanks for all your notes on the message boards.)

Lisa was pretty enthusiastic, too. In her email announcing Marley's rise to #1, she pointed out that during that week, it was not only Britain's top-selling paperback, but also its second-best selling book of any kind. After....yes, you guessed correctly.... the new Harry Potter book.

"What can I say?" Lisa wrote. "Am speechless with pleasure."

As am I, Lisa. I owe her and her whole team at Hodder a great big double-cheek kiss for all they've done to put my book in the hands of so many readers in the UK. Smooch smooch!

john

The Prodigal Blogger

2007-07-22T15:20:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. Admittedly, I've been a little quiet lately. I didn't realize how quiet until Donna on the message boards asked where the heck I've been. What can I say? It's summer and I always answer summer's call by slowing down a little, finding excuses to celebrate the good weather, dig in the dirt, spend more time with my kids, and time out on the water pursuing one of my favorite pasttimes -- sailing.

I've also been writing each morning, and sometimes in the afternoons, too, which always feels good and always takes priority over blogging or emails.

Soon the family and I pack up the minivan and head to northern Michigan for a week on Lake Huron with good friends. The Great Lakes are among my favorite places on earth. Going there is always like a balm. Calming and rejuvenating. Or maybe that's just the Coronas talking.

Hope you all are having a great summer. Thanks for all the posts on the message boards. I enjoy them all!

I'll be back in touch after the trip. Onward!

John

My cohort in crime, Richard...

2007-06-13T04:13:00.000-07:00

My children's book "Bad Dog, Marley!" has spent the last couple weeks at #1 on The New York Times children's picture-book list, which thrills me. I say "my" book, but it's really "our" book. "Bad Dog" definitely was a collaboration, and my partner was Richard Cowdrey, a talented artist living and working in Ohio who took my words and ideas and turned them into charming, magical illustrations. Not only that, but he did it on a very short deadline, completing his work in a fraction of the usual time. Good job, Richard!

My wonderful editor at HarperCollins Children's Books, Maria Modugno, had given me the final say in choosing the artist to illustrate my book. And Richard was my hands-down favorite. As it turns out, he was Maria's hands-down favorite, too. His early rough sketches of Marley and Marley's family won us all over. I guess I don't have to tell you, Richard has a goofy Lab of his own at home, Murphy, which helps explain how uncannily he managed to capture the spirit of these animals.

Anyway, I wanted to introduce you to Richard, thank him in this forum for his amazing work, and share a feature story about him that ran in an Ohio newspaper this week:

Gambier artist illustrates best-selling children’s book
By Mark Jordan, News Staff Reporter
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
GAMBIER — “I believe that everybody’s gifted,” said Richard Cowdrey as he sat in his studio, surrounded by pictures, paints, pencils and books, with windows overlooking a peaceful rural pond. “It’s just a matter of finding where one’s gifts lay.”

The 48-year-old father of four, and grandfather of four, said he is grateful he found exactly where his talents lay: Illustration.

“Without the art thing,” he said with a grin, “I’d be in serious trouble. I was not a good student.”

Cowdrey is a freelance illustrator who has designed and executed artwork for clients all over the world, including the official poster and program for Superbowl XXXII in 1998, calendars for Longaberger Baskets and ads for Abercrombie & Fitch. In more recent years, he has achieved success as an illustrator of children’s books, particularly with the release of “Bad Dog, Marley!” based on the best-selling book “Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World’s Worst Dog” by John Grogan. “Bad Dog, Marley!” entered the New York Times Bestsellers List for Hardback Children’s Fiction at No. 7 four weeks ago and has been at No. 1 for two weeks now.

Cowdrey has steadily built his career and reputation for over 25 years. After graduating from the Columbus College of Art and Design, Cowdrey worked for Hallmark in Kansas City for a time, then moved to Vermont and began to establish himself as a freelancer. He admits it was tough getting started.

“I’d been married a short while and had a baby on the way right after that,” Cowdrey said. “So it was right into the frying pan. In the beginning, it was piecemeal, whatever [work] I could get. But one thing leads to another.”

In time, he picked up an agent in Boston, and, later, one in New York.

From Vermont, Cowdrey brought his family to rural Knox County 13 years ago. Originally from Cincinnati, Cowdrey returned to Ohio to be near family. Cowdrey and his wife, Cindy, began to search for a home reasonably close to, yet still outside, the Columbus metropolitan area. They were stopped in their tracks by Gambier, which reminded them of a small New England village. That narrowed their search to the vicinity of Gambier, where the Cowdreys found a nine-acre site on a gravel road in Harrison Township. The illustrator’s studio sits on the shore of a large, stocked pond, down the hill from the house and the carefully tended garden.

“Thirteen years later, my wife and I still go, ‘Wow!’” Cowdrey said, looking out the window over the pond to the pine woods beyond.

The studio is filled with desks and tables for drawing and painting. One desk is devoted to Cowdrey’s computer.

“I have a big iMac with all the bells and whistles,” Cowdrey said. “The thing is, as I’ve told people, it’s like I have a Jaguar and no driver’s license. I do use it for e-mail, and I can scan my sketches and send them. That’s the limit of my abilities.”

According to Maria Modugno, vice president and editorial director of HarperCollins Children’s Books, Cowdrey was one of many illustrators considered for the job.

“We wanted somebody who could capture a contemporary feeling, with a lot of energy,” said Modugno. “Those are two qualities that Marley has in overabundance.”

After the field was narrowed to six candidates, each illustrator submitted sketches for a scenario from the book.

“Richard’s were far and away the best,” said Modugno. “The author John Grogan said, ‘This guy must have a Lab!’”

And such was the case. Grogan’s book is about a big, sloppy yellow Lab named “Marley.” Cowdrey has a big, sloppy yellow Lab named “Murphy.”

Cowdrey remembers his first impression of the book.

“I know this dog,” Cowdrey said to himself after reading one chapter. “I know this story.”

He fell in love with the project and worked hard to win it.

And win it he did, in late October 2006, when Grogan selected Cowdrey as the illustrator he wanted. Cowdrey had less than three months to go from his initial sketches to finished acrylic paintings, which, according to Modugno was a “break-neck pace,” but he was able to meet the deadlines.

“I ended up pulling a few all-nighters, which I hadn’t done in years,” said Cowdrey. “It about killed me.”

The book was rushed through production and released in May with a large print run of hundreds of thousands of copies. Cowdrey said he is proud not only of the book’s success, but also in his original contributions. He said that although Grogan had a few specific ideas for illustrations, Cowdrey’s input was welcomed. No one dictated to him the details of each painting.

Cowdrey envisioned the poses of the characters, then enlisted the help of a family he knows from church — Mike and Robin McKinley and their daughter, Maria — to pose for reference photographs. He used these reference poses to model his initial sketches, which were then redone as paintings after being approved by the publisher. Cowdrey said he asked the McKinleys to pose because they matched the general verbal descriptions Grogan gave for the main characters in the story. Naturally, Cowdrey’s own dog, Murphy, served as technical reference and model at several points throughout the creation of the illustrations.

Modugno was delighted with Cowdrey’s work, and with Cowdrey himself.

“He’s pretty fabulous,” she said. “He’s a hard worker, he’s talented and he’s agreeable. That’s a very rare combination.”

A sequel is already in the works: “A Very Marley Christmas,” which is slated for release for the 2008 Christmas season. It will adapt further stories from Grogan’s “Marley & Me,” and will again feature illustrations by Richard Cowdrey.

Cowdrey will be doing a book signing at Paragraphs Bookstore in Mount Vernon on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Books will be available for purchase.

Signs of Summer

2007-06-10T15:42:00.000-07:00

Summer is still 11 days away, but at our place in Pennsylvania we're getting a jump on the season. The swimming pool is open for business, and my little sailboat, which my father bought when I was 10 and I grew up sailing, is back in the water at Lake Nockamixon, about a half hour drive away, though now I need to find some time to actually sail the damn thing.

Today, I dug up several huge clumps of "spring garlic," which is a nice way of saying the garlic I neglected to harvest when I was supposed to last July. The forgotten heads multiplied over the last many months, giving me hundreds of little mini-cloves, each about the size of a marble, which are now curing on the floor of the garage. I also picked from the garden a bowl of delicate salad greens and arugula. I thinned the broccoli and threw the tender tiny leaves in the salad bowl, too.

From the local Emmaus farmer's market, Jenny and our daughter Colleen brought home beets, baby onions, pea pods, and three beautifully ripe tomatoes, started early by a farmer down the road in a hot house. For dinner, I chopped some of the fresh garlic, onions and tomatoes, and tossed them with feta cheese, parsley and olive oil. Heaven. I washed the salad greens and tossed them with olive oil and vinegar. Jenny cooked the beets and beet greens, and made ravioli. We cracked a couple beers and called in the hounds -- the three kids -- who pretty much devoured everything as we sat out on the deck with the roses wildly in bloom around us, their perfume floating on the breeze.

The peonies are just about done now, and the purple coneflower plants -- I have dozens of them I started from seed several years ago -- are just about to flower. The asiatic lilies bloomed overnight, and the tomato plants are stocky, though weeks away from producing ripe fruit. The sunflowers are a foot tall and stout-stemmed, off to a good start on their run to 10 feet, and the zinnias I started from seed under shop lights in the basement are thriving in the bed at the end of the driveway despite the fact that Gracie, the doofus Lab, clomps through them every chance she gets, usually in pursuit of a robin or squirrel. Doesn't the dog know a flower garden when she sees one? (Don't answer that.)

From the way I'm carrying on, you might think this is my favorite time of year. Actually, it is not. That honor goes to the harvest season -- roughly Labor Day through first frost. But this definitely is my second favorite. It's a tough time of year to stay indoors.

See you outdoors....