Misplaced Pages

#395604

32-604: Carl Hiaasen ( / ˈ h aɪ . ə s ɛ n / ; born March 12, 1953) is an American journalist and novelist. He began his career as a newspaper reporter and by the late 1970s had begun writing novels in his spare time, both for adults and for middle grade readers. Two of his novels have been made into feature films, and one has been made into a TV series. Hiaasen's adult novels are humorous crime thrillers set in Florida . They feature casts of eccentric, sometimes grotesque characters and satirize aspects of American popular culture. Many of

64-490: A consensus that "Lacking energy and humor, Hoot is a ho-hum story of eco-awareness that falls flat as a pancake." On Metacritic , it has a score of 46%, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale. One of the most positive reviews came from the Boston Globe ' s Ty Burr (3 stars out of 4), saying, " Hoot tells kids they can make

96-531: A difference in this world, and that's worth a hundred Ice Age 2s . " San Francisco Chronicle ' s Ruthe Stein gave the film a positive review (3 stars out of 4) and said, "...the film does nothing to dilute the save-the-Earth-and-every-creature-on-it message of Carl Hiaasen's ingeniously plotted award-winning children's book." Roger Ebert gave Hoot 1.5 stars (out of 4) and included Hoot in his 2007 book Your Movie Sucks , where he says "'Hoot' has its heart in

128-607: A group of ragged eco-warriors who kidnap the Orange Bowl Queen in Miami. The book's main character was whimsically memorialized by Jimmy Buffett in a song called "The Ballad of Skip Wiley", which appeared on his Barometer Soup album. Twenty-one of Hiaasen's novels and nonfiction books have been on the New York Times Best Seller lists . His work has been translated into 34 languages. In 2016, his novel Razor Girl

160-405: A pancake house. The developer of the project intends to proceed regardless of the environmental damage it would cause. Hoot features live burrowing owls and music by Jimmy Buffett . Buffett is also listed as a co-producer, and he played the role of Mr. Ryan, the science teacher. Middle school student Roy A. Eberhardt and his parents have just moved to Coconut Cove , Florida from Montana . Roy

192-600: Is Assume the Worst: The Graduation Speech You'll Never Hear , which was published in April 2018 and illustrated by Roz Chast , known for her cartoons in The New Yorker . During the 1990s, Hiaasen co-wrote the lyrics of three songs with his friend, L.A. rocker Warren Zevon . "Rottweiler Blues" and "Seminole Bingo" appeared on Zevon's Mutineer album in 1995. The third song they wrote together, "Basket Case,"

224-489: Is Katie Fox, whom he married in 2020. With William Montalbano 34 books in total Middle grade fiction Middle grade literature is literature intended for children between the ages of 8 and 12. While these books are sometimes grouped together with books for other age bands and collectively called "children's books", middle grade is distinct from picture books , early or easy readers, and chapter books , all of which are intended for younger audiences. Most of

256-459: Is badly bitten by guard dogs. Roy joins their crusade to save the endangered owls. Leroy "Curly" Branitt, the beleaguered construction foreman, is trying to keep the construction schedule going, despite the presence of the owls, because of daily abuse from Muckle over the phone, and later in person. The trio reveals to Delinko and the rest of the town that there are burrowing owls on the lot. They then manage to get everyone to be quiet long enough for

288-486: Is found to be responsible for sabotaging a local construction site where a "Mother Paula's Pancake House" restaurant, overseen by corrupt regional manager Chuck Muckle, is about to be built. In order to catch the trespassers and prevent further vandalism, Officer David Delinko has parked his police car on the building site. Delinko falls asleep and an unknown prankster vandalizes the car by spray-painting its windows black. The next day at breakfast, Roy and his parents read about

320-434: Is mercilessly teased and bullied at his new school by Dana Matherson, until he accidentally breaks Dana's nose while getting harassed on the school bus and struggling to get free. As a result, Roy gets suspended from riding the school bus for two weeks and must write Dana an apology letter as a punishment. Roy slowly becomes friends with Beatrice "The Bear" Leep and her stepbrother "Mullet Fingers". Meanwhile, an unknown person

352-540: Is set in Key West during the COVID-19 pandemic . Kirkus Reviews called it, "A batten-down-the-hatches thriller anchored by critical real-life themes". Booklist wrote, "Wielding his writing talents and wit, Hiaasen seamlessly incorporates...disparate elements into one heck of a ride". Wrecker debuted at number one on The New York Times Children's Middle Grade Hardcover Best Sellers List. His adult book, Squeeze Me ,

SECTION 10

#1732859193396

384-485: The "worst super-saturated (3000 plus screens)" openings in the United States and Canada until The Rhythm Section topped the record: Hoot opened in almost 42% of all screens. The film's production budget was $ 15 million, although the costs for such a wide opening would probably have made the film considerably more expensive to distribute than it was to produce – the cost of its prints would have been twice as much as

416-577: The Sea , on Florida's Atlantic Coast, and the Gulf Coast hamlet of Boca Grande on Gasparilla Island . Most of Hoot was shot in Florida between July 6, 2005, and September 2, 2005. Some new scenes were shot in Los Angeles on January 21, 2006. For example, the scene where Mullet Fingers leaps out of a tree after dropping a bulldozer seat was actually shot in Los Angeles. Hoot was shot during summer months, and

448-520: The U.S. and Canadian box office on 3,018 screens. The film's opening U.S. and Canadian box office was $ 3.4 million. Hoot held on at #10 for its second week then the movie broke a record set by Gigli for biggest drop in cinemas screening the film as it lost 2200 screens and came in at #19 on its third weekend. The film grossed $ 8,224,998 worldwide. In 2007, Walden Media's The Seeker nudged Hoot into second place in terms of 'biggest theatre drops'. Hoot topped The Seeker in reaching number one in

480-534: The characters' friends, family, and immediate surroundings. Examples of middle grade fiction include Charlotte's Web by E. B. White , the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series by Rick Riordan , and the early Harry Potter books. Hoot (film) The film is about a group of children trying to save a burrowing owl habitat from destruction. Its habitat is located on the intended construction site of

512-622: The drill sergeants as payback for his own mean attitude. Muckle does community service for 90 days (then, after he is hit in the head and knocked unconscious by a falling coconut, the judge extends his sentence to 30 more days for lying down on the job). The land is donated and turned into an animal sanctuary so the owls can continue to live there. Curly and Kimberly leave Mother Paula's Pancake House to raise dogs, and Roy continues to be friends with Beatrice and Mullet Fingers. The principal filming locations were in Fort Lauderdale and Lauderdale by

544-589: The latest, Wrecker . In 2014, Skink was long-listed for a National Book Award in Young People's Literature. Hiaasen's books for young readers feature environmental themes, eccentric casts and adventure-filled plots. Squirm , which is set in Florida and Montana , was published in fall 2018 and opened at #4 on the New York Times bestseller list for middle-grade novels. Wrecker, released on September 26, 2023,

576-498: The lead role of Roy Eberhardt, won a Young Artist Award for his performance in Hoot . He received the nomination and win in early 2007 for Best Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Young Actor . The soundtrack of Hoot (as appears on the accompanying soundtrack CD) has three elements: an original score, pop songs sung by a variety of artists, and pop songs (covers and originals) sung by Jimmy Buffett . The original score "Happy Ending"

608-476: The newspaper's office on June 28, 2018. Carl Hiaasen's 1991 novel Native Tongue carries the dedication "For my brother Rob." After becoming a reporter, Hiaasen began writing novels in his spare time. The first three were co-authored with his friend and fellow journalist William Montalbano: Powder Burn (1981), Trap Line (1982), and A Death in China (1984). His first solo novel, Tourist Season (1986), featured

640-566: The novels include themes related to environmentalism and political corruption in his native state. The first of four children born to Odel and Patricia Hiaasen, Hiaasen was born in 1953 of Norwegian and Irish ancestry. Raised in Plantation, Florida , then a rural suburb of Fort Lauderdale , he started writing at age six when his father gave him a typewriter for Christmas. After graduating from Plantation High School in 1970, he entered Emory University , where he contributed satirical humor columns to

672-453: The owls to emerge, and Delinko then arrests Muckle. Kimberly, the actress who plays Mother Paula, offers Coconut Cove the site as an owl preserve in the interest of damage control and publicly fires Muckle. Roy's parents decide to stay in Florida. Delinko finally gets promoted to detective and gets an unmarked patrol car, until he accidentally backs it off a fishing pier. Dana is sent off to military school as punishment, where he gets bullied by

SECTION 20

#1732859193396

704-563: The production budget, according to respected industry opinions. Hoot entered the collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in 2009. DVD sales were more successful than the box office gross. The DVD was released on August 15, 2006, and sold 114,528 units, bringing in $ 2,058,068 in the opening weekend. A newer figure indicates that 703,786 units have been sold, translating to $ 10,972,266 in revenue. On Rotten Tomatoes Hoot has an approval rating of 26% based on reviews from 99 critics, with

736-431: The right place, but I have been unable to locate its brain" and "... the kids (especially Mullet Fingers) are likeable but not remotely believable". Michael Medved panned Hoot (2 stars out of 4) saying that "...the lame plot centers around a greedy developer who wants to bulldoze a lot inhabited by rare burrowing owls" and "though I'd like to root for 'Hoot', its entertainment value is moot". Logan Lerman , who played

768-486: The set did not escape Hurricane Katrina , which struck Southern Florida on August 25, 2005. Brie Larson and Cody Linley were moved from their beach-front hotel (Marriott Harbor Beach) to another hotel because of the storm. New Line Cinema and Walden Media pushed the film's initial release date of April 14, 2006 back to May 5, 2006, as only Mission: Impossible III and An American Haunting were opening wide that weekend. The gambit failed and Hoot opened at #10 at

800-404: The spray-painted police car. The police chief then gives Delinko a small police scooter to replace the vandalized car. Soon, Roy learns that in order to build the pancake house, they must first kill the burrowing owls living on site. Mullet Fingers has been covertly pulling pranks to stop construction (including the tagging of Delinko's car), but Beatrice must take Roy into their confidence when he

832-538: The student newspaper The Emory Wheel . In 1972, he transferred to the University of Florida , where he wrote for The Independent Florida Alligator . Hiaasen graduated in 1974 with a degree in journalism . Hiaasen was a reporter at TODAY ( Cocoa , Florida) for two years before being hired in 1976 by the Miami Herald , where he worked for the city desk, Sunday magazine and award-winning investigative team. Hiaasen

864-555: The winners of the Newbery Medal have been middle grade books. The category beyond middle grade is young adult , which is intended for readers between the ages of 12 and 18. In addition to differences in word count and the age of the protagonists, middle grade and young adult differ in content. Middle grade literature does not include profanity, sexual activity or romantic behavior beyond kissing, or realistic violence or any form of violence beyond fantasy violence, and tend to focus on

896-561: Was a columnist for the newspaper from mid-1985 until he retired in March 2021. His columns have been collected in three published volumes, Kick Ass (1999 ), Paradise Screwed (2001) and Dance of the Reptiles (2014), all edited by Diane Stevenson. His only brother was Rob Hiaasen , an editor and columnist at The Capital newspaper in Annapolis, Maryland , who was killed in the mass shooting at

928-538: Was done in conjunction with Hiaasen's novel of the same name, and appeared in 2002 on Zevon's album My Ride's Here . Hiaasen co-wrote "Fish Porn" on Jimmy Buffett 's final album, Equal Strain on All Parts , with Buffett and Mac McAnally . Hiaasen is a fly fisherman who has six times won the Invitational Fall Fly Bonefish Tournament in Islamorada , fishing with guide Tim Klein. His wife

960-554: Was published on August 25, 2020, and debuted at #2 on the New York Times Combined Print and E-Book Print Best Sellers List. The novel takes place during the glitzy Palm Beach social season, and features wild pythons and a fictional, well-fed U.S. president who has a vacation mansion on the island. Amazon and the Washington Post listed Squeeze Me among the best novels of 2020. Hiaasen's most recent nonfiction work

992-616: Was shortlisted for the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize . An earlier Hiaasen novel, Strip Tease , was adapted into the 1996 feature film Striptease starring Demi Moore and Burt Reynolds . Another book, Bad Monkey , has been adapted into a series on Apple TV . It stars Vince Vaughn and is written and executive produced by Bill Lawrence , who co-created Ted Lasso . The series began airing in August 2024. Hiaasen's first venture into writing for younger readers

Carl Hiaasen - Misplaced Pages Continue

1024-547: Was the 2002 novel Hoot , which was named a Newbery Medal honor book. It was adapted as a 2006 film of the same name (starring Logan Lerman , Brie Larson and Luke Wilson ). The movie was written and directed by Wil Shriner . Jimmy Buffett provided songs for the soundtrack, and appeared in the role of Mr. Ryan, a middle school teacher. Hiaasen's subsequent children's novels are Flush ; Scat ; Chomp ; Skink - No Surrender , which introduces one of his most popular adult characters to younger readers; Squirm ; and

#395604