American Girl Tagged Articles at Cinematical

With Kit Kittredge: An American Girl finally opening in limited release on Wednesday, it seemed like a good time to take a look at other films girls in the same age demographic might also enjoy. As a mother of three daughters, I like to seek out films that have strong female characters. So many of the roles for females in Hollywood either fall into blatant stereotypes or position young girls and women as existing on this planet primarily for the pleasures of the male half of the species, and I don't want my girls growing up believing the images of women they're exposed to through the media. Of course, everything in life doesn't have to have a political agenda -- what fun would that be? So some of these are just films my own daughters very much enjoy, that the girl in your life might like also.

Here are seven great films for fans of American Girl books and movies ... let me know what others I've missed that you like; with only seven slots to work with, I had to leave out a lot of films I otherwise would have included ...

Before we get the sequel to and the potential copiers of Sex and the City, we're in for a summer of comparative marketing. Already we've seen a new trailer for The Women, which arrived well-timed on the heels of the Sex in the City box office reports. Now, thanks to some insightful reporting from the New York Times, we find out that Kit Kittredge: An American Girl is just like Sex and the City, only its for little girls. Like the recent hit movie, Kit Kittredge comes with a built-in audience thanks to the successful American Girl property, which consists of dolls, books and TV movies. Also, yes, it's mainly for females. Oh, and it's a Picturehouse release, meaning its pretty much being released by the same studio (New Line, now a division of Warner Bros.) that brought us Sex and the City.

Interestingly enough, The Women is also Picturehouse, and this summer's other big female-geared movie, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, is Warner Bros. Hopefully another article can point out that the sequel is just like Sex and the City, only for teen girls. Then all we'd need is for Warner Bros. to make my desired big-screen Golden Girls movie (with original cast, of course), because it'd be just like Sex and the City, only for older girls. Unfortunately the series was produced by Disney, who'd likely hold on to the film rights.

I remember when I got my one and only American Girl. Molly came to me as the embodiment of my grandmother, Mollie. However, since I had a thing for all things Swedish, Molly(ie) had an identity crisis and would often be dressed in Kirsten's Saint Lucia outfit. If you're not initiated in all things American Girl, it's a series of dolls that have been around from years now. Each doll embodies a specific era, and has books and outfits that go along with it. Molly, for example, is a "Patriotic girl during World War Two." In August, Erik Davis reported that Ann Peacock would be penning a script to bring one of the girls, Kit Kittredge, to the big screen.

Kit, a "resourceful girl during the Great Depression," is still going to receive feature treatment, but things are changing behind the scenes. While Peacock is still penning the script, Walden Media has backed out. HBO is taking over the helm, in a deal that gives the company complete access to all things American Girl, at least when it comes to media -- not only films, but also series, specials and documentaries. Production is set to heat up this summer, but no casting or release dates have been set. Considering the fact that Julia Roberts' Red Om Films is involved as a co-producer, I wouldn't be surprised if she -- or niece Emma Roberts, perhaps? -- slips in for one of the roles.

What's with all these "club" pics lately? First, it was announced that a ton of folks had signed on to star in The Jane Austen Book Club, based off the popular Joy Fowler novel, and now Julia Roberts has been brought onboard to topline The Friday Night Knitting Club. Unfortunately, neither film will follow in the footsteps of my favorite club-ish flick, Fight Club, however that doesn't mean they're bad movies, just different ... and with a lot less testosterone.

Based off Kate Jacob's upcoming novel, Knitting Club revolves around a single mother (Roberts) who finds it difficult to juggle all of life's responsibilities, which include providing for her teenage daughter and running her New York City-based knitting store. (By the way, these knitting stores are the hot new thing in NYC -- they're cropping up all over the place, and suddenly everyone who is anyone wants to learn how to knit. Um, except me. But that's a different story.) Of course, within this knitting store, a group of folks gather together on Friday nights to knit, and when tragedy strikes, "the customers realize they've created more than just a knitting club." Oohh, does it suddenly turn into a psychotic serial killers club? I highly doubt it (sorry Weinberg).

After taking some time off, Julia Roberts is attempting to revive her career on the big screen in a huge way, as she's currently filming Charlie Wilson's War (alongside folks like Tom Hanks and Philip Seymour Hoffman), and just recently signed a deal to star in Eat, Pray, Love for Paramount. Oh, and she's also developing a feature film based on those adorable American Girl dolls. Does Roberts still have it in her to WOW us on screen? What do you think?

A flurry of screenplay-related activity has escaped online today, and so I've gone ahead and stuck all the news into this one post. Check it out:

• Oh, I know you're dying for an update on that American Girl movie. Admit it, you love the dolls, own the dolls and want the dolls so badly, your anticipation for this flick is through the roof. Well, I'm happy to report that Ann Peacock has been brought on to write the script, which will focus on a character named Kit Kettridge who grows up during the early years of the great depression. Peacock is well-versed in the kid fare, as she was also a writer on The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
• Warner Bros. has hired Matthew Aldrich to adapt Elaine Marie Alphin's novel, The Counterfeit Son. Story focuses on a man who tries to con a family out of their dead child's trust fund. Ya know, one of those feel-good flicks.
• And speaking of Warner Bros., they're just crazy busy lately in the world of screenwriting, having also picked up the spec, Himelfarb. Written by newcomers Jarred Paul and Andrew Mogul, pic revolves around an emotionally needy man who, after misinterpreting signals on a first date, winds up following this poor girl to Nebraska where he goes all "What About Bob" on her. Ah, gotta love them stalker comedies.