Popcorn in the Pages - Episode 3: Red, White & Royal Blue
Currently Reading
Meredith Schwartz
4.7 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 20 October 2023
⏱️ 64 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Welcome, readers. We are so excited to continue this new content from the creators of Currently Reading Podcast! This spin-off podcast series will tackle book to screen adaptations in a spoiler-FILLED format. Be sure you’ve read the book and watched the film version before listening to the episode, because we don’t shy away from strong opinions OR from all the spoilers, unlike our regular episodes.
Show notes for this series will not be time-stamped, but will still include links to Bookshop dot org or Amazon for any books or resources referenced in the episode. These are affiliate links, so they kick back a small percentage to us if you buy through them, and help support the work we do on Currently Reading.
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Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
2:39 - Here’s the Setup
3:26 - Previews:
Book Name and release date. Sales info and awards.
Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
Movie name and release date. Box office and awards.
Red, White and Royal Blue on Amazon Prime
10:03 - The Cutting Room:
Pivotal Book scenes and how they translated to the screen.
Cakegate
V&A Museum
Hospital Visit
Emails and text messages
History, huh?
Anything left out that shouldn’t have been.
June Claremont! The White House Trio!
Mostly characters!
Divorce storyline
Nuance in the book
25:47 - skip ahead to skip the sex talk
29:18 - you can come back now. We’re all done with that section.
Casting and mis-casting.
Alex - Taylor Zakhar Perez
Michael Cimino
Noah Centineo
Anthony Ramos
Henry - Nicholas Galatzine
Timothee Chalamet
Tom Holland
Cole Sprouse
Ellen - Uma Thurman
Connie Britton
Laura Dern (throwback to Jurassic Park)
Amy - Aneesh Sheth
Pez - Malcolm Atobrah
Ncuti Gatwa
Zahra, Oscar, Cash
Problematic elements.
Openly acknowledging the diversity of cast and characters
40:21 - Award Season:
Worst and best parts of the adaptation.
Absence of June
Dumbing down of the story
Losing the fall into love
Shirtless and nekkid shots
Good romance scenes
Worst and best actors.
Oscar
Alex (Taylor)
Henry
Worst and best book characters.
Prince Philip
Raphael Luna
Congressman Richards
June
Ellen
Alex
53:12 - Book/Flick Energy:
Book scored on a 5 star scale.
Movie scored on a 10 point scale.
Single All the Way
59:14 - A Leftover Popcorn Kernel:
What type of cake would you want dropped on you from a height?
What superpower would you want to have?
1:02:16 - End Credits
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
The Muppet Christmas Carol can be watched on Disney+
Connect With Us:
Currently Reading | Kaytee | Meredith
Shad is in the Bookish Friends FB Group (for our Patreon supporters)
Support Us:
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey readers, welcome to Popcorn in the Pages. |
| 0:19.3 | We are so excited to be back with this spin-off episode series from currently reading podcast. |
| 0:24.9 | Every episode we explore book to screen adaptations and what makes them great or awful. |
| 0:29.7 | At each episode, we tackle the book, the adaptation, and the ways that they compliment each other or don't. |
| 0:35.7 | And as always, we love a strong opinion. |
| 0:37.6 | I'm Katie Cobb, co-host of the currently reading podcast, and I will read nearly anything. |
| 0:42.5 | But mostly keep my screen watching to sitcoms and book adaptations. |
| 0:46.3 | And I am Shadcast Coney. |
| 0:48.2 | And let's just be honest, I probably watch more TVs than anyone you know. |
| 0:51.6 | I will binge watch an entire series today, so that's what I bring table. |
| 0:55.8 | It's a talent, and we are grateful for it. |
| 0:58.9 | All right, this month we are so excited to be tackling red, white, and royal blue by Casey McQuiston, |
| 1:05.2 | which has a brand new screen adaptation that just came out in August of this year. |
| 1:10.6 | And I was very excited to have a book about the gaze, of course, because we have our resident gay here. |
| 1:16.4 | That's me. |
| 1:17.1 | To weigh over here on the conversation. |
| 1:19.4 | And even before we started reading this book, Shad, you and I traveled to Austin, |
| 1:23.8 | and we went out to dinner with Meredith and Elizabeth, who are other contributors to |
| 1:27.5 | currently reading, and you had some strong opinions before you been cracked the first page. |
| 1:31.2 | Okay, so I'm just going to come down and say it. |
| 1:33.1 | I don't think I'm a huge fan of romance in general. |
| 1:36.3 | Just because I am not a happy ever after a kind of guy. |
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