Popcorn in the Pages - Episode 3: Red, White & Royal Blue

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.

Book on Goodreads

Movie scored on a 10 point scale.

Movie on Rotten Tomatoes

Single All the Way

TinaRey’s review

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+

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