The May issue of Vanity Fair features an article written by Rob Lowe. The article is an excerpt from his recent memoir. Excitingly they featured the portion about his auditions for the role of Soda Pop in The Outsiders! He shares some inside scoop on the actors that starred in the film with him and this just might get me to read his memoir!
If you haven't read the book and/or seen the movie, you should do so now!
The book was written by S.E. Hinton who was inspired by the social class divisions she witnessed during her high school days in 1960's Oklahoma. It is a coming of age story that focuses on the conflicts between the Greasers (a group of lower income teens) and the Socials (a more privileged group of teens). Interestingly, Hinton was urged to publish this book under her initials because of the concern that it would not be as well received if the public knew a female wrote it. This is partly due to the fact that it features male characters fighting, smoking, drinking, and using profanity. The book was pretty groundbreaking for it's time and I think the issues it deals with allows the story to still hold up today. It's a quick read and definitely worth it! You might also like two of her other books, Tex and Rumble Fish (both made into films as well).
Now if you prefer to just see the movie, you are also in for a treat because it features just about every 80s heartthrob that's worth remembering! Seriously, it's an amazing cast and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. And it features a great song sung, "Stay Gold" by Stevie Wonder. Rent it today!
