“One Day” More – More Information and Some Free Stuff That Is!

So on Monday, I promised free stuff and more information about the book-turned-movie One Day by David Nicholls. Well, it’s time for me to deliver, so here you go.

First, the information. Let’s start with the synopsis of the film:

Twenty years…two people. Directed by Lone Scherfig (director of “An Education,” Academy Award-nominated for Best Picture), the motion picture “One Day” is adapted for the screen by David Nicholls from his beloved bestselling novel One Day. After one day together – July 15th, 1988, their college graduation – Emma Morley (Academy Award nominee Anne Hathaway) and Dexter Mayhew (Jim Sturgess of Across the Universe) begin a friendship that will last a lifetime. She is a working-class girl of principle and ambition who dreams of making the world a better place. He is a wealthy charmer who dreams that the world will be his playground. For the next two decades, key moments of their relationship are experienced over several July 15ths in their lives. Together and apart, we see Dex and Em through their friendship and fights, hopes and missed opportunities, laughter and tears. Somewhere along their journey, these two people realize that what they are searching and hoping for has been there for them all along. As the true meaning of that one day back in 1988 is revealed, they come to terms with the nature of love and life itself.

For more information, check out the official film website and Facebook page.

Now, the synopsis of the author/screenwriter:

Born in Eastleigh, Hampshire, David Nicholls attended Toynbee Comprehensive School and Barton Peveril Sixth Form College prior to studying English Literature and Drama at the University of Bristol. Having graduated, and keen to pursue a career as an actor, he applied for and won a scholarship to study at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York. Following his studies there, he returned to London in 1991. There he worked in a number of bars and restaurants before finally earning an Equity card. He worked sporadically as an actor for the next eight years, appearing in plays at the Battersea Arts Centre, the Finborough, West Yorkshire Playhouse, and Birmingham Rep. In between jobs he worked as a bookseller at Waterstones, Notting Hill.

A three-year stint at the Royal National Theatre followed, with Mr. Nicholls understudying and playing small parts in, amongst other plays, Arcadia, Machinal, Inadmissible Evidence, and The Seagull. During this period, he began working as a freelance script reader, before taking a job at BBC Radio Drama as a script reader/researcher. This led to script-editing jobs at London Weekend Television and Tiger Aspect Productions. He also began to write, developing a screen adaptation of Sam Shepard’s play Simpatico with director Matthew Warchus, an old friend from University. He also wrote his first original script, the situation comedy, Waiting, which was later optioned by the BBC.

Simpaticowas filmed in 1999, starring Nick Nolte, Jeff Bridges, Sharon Stone, Catherine Keener, and Albert Finney. Mr. Nicholls was now able to write full-time, and his first U.K. television production followed soon afterwards; the hourlong I Saw You, directed by Tom Vaughan and starring Paul Rhys and Fay Ripley, won Best Short Drama at the annual Banff Television festival. He next wrote four episodes of the top-rated series Cold Feet, and his work on the show earned him a BAFTA Award nomination. He was again a BAFTA nominee for the “Much Ado About Nothing” episode of ShakespeaRe-Told, starring Damian Lewis and Sarah Parish. The latter later then starred in his original teleplay Aftersun, directed by Peter Lydon and also starring Peter Capaldi. His most recent work for television was adapting Thomas Hardy’s book Tess of the d’Urbervilles into a miniseries, directed by David Blair and starring Gemma Arterton.

His first novel, Starter for Ten, was featured on the first Richard and Judy Book Club. He has since written the novels The Understudy and One Day. He adapted Starter for Ten for the screen; Tom Vaughan directed the feature Starter for 10, which starred James McAvoy, Rebecca Hall, and Alice Eve. Mr. Nicholls then adapted Blake Morrison’s memoir And When Did You Last See Your Father? for the screen; Anand Tucker directed the feature [And] When Did You Last See Your Father?, which starred Colin Firth, Jim Broadbent, and Juliet Stevenson.

Mr. Nicholls is currently working on his fourth novel, as well as a feature film adaptation of Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations.

And now, on to the free stuff!  A combination of movie and book materials are available for your downloading pleasure:

• Film Poster
• “One Day” Still
• Video Featurette
• Author Photo
• “One Day” Reader’s Guide

You can also enter the GoodReads.com “One Day Summer Reads” Sweepstakes by clicking here, for full instructions and sweepstakes rules.

I hope you enjoy the information and downloads, and be sure to check out the GoodReads sweepstakes – I entered myself, you know…  And stay tuned next week for a last tidbit or two of information on author David Nicholls (gleaned from the interview I recently participated in with the author/screenwriter), in preparation for its opening on Friday, August 19.