BOOK: The Blues Brothers: An Epic Friendship, the Rise of Improv, and the Making of an American Film Classic (Atlantic Monthly Press, March 2024) is a dual biography of John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, as well as a deep dive into the iconic 1980 movie, according to author Daniel de Visé. “It probably stands as the single greatest work of either guy,” says the Garrett Park writer, who also has praise for the contribution of director John Landis. “The film works brilliantly as a comedy and a musical. Then it enters this whole other level by being an artifact of some of the greatest figures in American music.”
MOVIE: Two actors with MoCo roots landed roles in the movie Origin, based on Isabel Wilkerson’s bestselling book Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents. Directed by Ava DuVernay, the film was released in January. Jon Bernthal (above left), 47, who grew up in Cabin John and graduated from Sidwell Friends in D.C., plays Brett Hamilton, Wilkerson’s husband. Myles Frost (above right), 24, born in Silver Spring and a graduate of Thomas S. Wootton High School in Rockville, portrays Trayvon Martin in the new film. In 2022, Frost won the Tony Award for best actor in a musical for his performance as Michael Jackson in MJ the Musical.
BOOK: In a departure from his usual crime novels, George Pelecanos says there are no murders in his 22nd book, Owning Up (Mulholland Books, February 2024). This collection of four novellas is, however, among his best writing, says the Silver Spring author, 66. The tales involve characters looking back on their lives and seeing how far they’ve come. “I often write about events in Washington, but not about powerful people who were involved in those events,” he says, “but rather people who were living their lives during these events and were almost powerless to stop them.”
BOOK: A murder occurs at a garden party in a posh Montgomery County neighborhood during cherry blossom season in Aggie Blum Thompson’s latest book, Such a Lovely Family (Forge Books, March 2024). “It’s somewhere between a mystery and a thriller. I like to call it ‘Knives Out in Chevy Chase,’ ” says the Bethesda author, referencing the 2019 mystery movie. “I wanted to write something in that Agatha Christie kind of spirit. More of a traditional whodunit with a large cast of characters in a specific setting where everyone is a suspect.”
This article was originally published in the March/April 2024 edition of Bethesda Magazine.
