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How could we resist posting about this one?
Posted on a publication called “Seven” or “Seven Global”, which appears to be a chic, arts review journal, the body of the story is from a press release.
The point is that, a small, Long Island press published the story of the man who saved Woodstock music festival (the real one, in 1969). And, in doing so, the press made it big, because the story will now be a movie with the director from Brokeback Mountain.
So, congratulations to Long Island press, Square One Publishers, Inc., and congratulations Elliot Tiber, whose life story is told in the book and the movie.
The full story is: here
(excerpt from) Seven
Small publisher hits it big with Ang Lee
As of this past April, Square One Publishers, Inc. has signed an agreement with Focus Features and Oscar-winning director Ang Lee to produce and release a feature film based on the memoir title Taking Woodstock by Elliot Tiber with Tom Monte. The announcement was made earlier this week in Los Angeles by Focus Features CEO James Schamus, who has collaborated with Ang Lee on several previous films and who will write the film’s screenplay.
What brought a small Long Island book publishing company to this amazing moment? Ask Square One president Rudy Shur, and he will tell you, “It’s an incredible mix of faith and fate—with a little bit of luck thrown in.” When he decided to publish Taking Woodstock back in 2005, Shur realized it would be unlike any book that Square One had ever published…
Taking Woodstock is the true behind-the-scenes story of Elliot Tiber, the man who rescued the original 1969 Woodstock Arts & Music Festival from cancellation. Elliot, along with his parents, owned an upstate New York motel called the “El Monaco.” He was working in Greenwich Village in the summer of 1969, and had so far managed to keep his gay lifestyle a secret from his family. Then on June 28, 1969, Elliot walked into the Stonewall Inn and became embroiled in a riot that would galvanize the American gay movement. Later, on July 15, when Elliot learned that the Woodstock Concert promoters were unable to stage the show in Wallkill—a town near his family’s motel—he offered them a new venue. Soon he was swept up in a vortex that would change his life forever…
As for Elliot Tiber, he feels blessed that his story will be told by such an important and acclaimed filmmaker. “Getting the ‘Yes’ from Ang Lee on this deal,” says Tiber, “is truly the ultimate trip. I have found in my life that whether you find the action, or the action finds you, the crucial thing is to act—and always now.” For Rudy Shur and the rest of Square One Publishers, knowing that Ang Lee and Focus Features will create a film based on one of their books makes the fortieth anniversary of Woodstock that much more meaningful and exciting. “This is all pretty damn groovy,” says Shur, fully aware that he is using outdated hippie lingo—and loving every minute of it.
Filed under: Art, Books, local, long island, Long Island Politics, News, Recommended Music, US Politics Tagged: | 1960's, Ang Lee, Books, Brokeback Mountain, Elliot Tiber, lgbt, long island, Movies, non-fiction, organizing, Recommended Music, small presses, Square One Publishers, Woodstock
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