Cunningham helps art live on

When Michael Cunningham finished what he thought would be his artsy little novel, he expected to sell a few thousand copies and retire as gracefully as possible. It never crossed his mind, or the mind of his agent or editor, that "The Hours" would be a hit. Little did they know that it would win the Pulitzer Prize or be elegantly turned into a movie that would garner Golden Globe and Oscar nominations.\n"Winning the Pulitzer was shocking," Cunningham says. "After something like that you think, 'What's next?'"\nWhat came next for Cunningham was the idea to turn his book into a movie. It was something that had never crossed his mind throughout the writing process. Cunningham didn't write the screenplay and says he didn't want to. The story needed a fresh eye, he says, and British playwright David Hare was the man to do it.\nCunningham often offered suggestions to Hare as he wrote the screenplay. Hare took some of the suggestions and others he did not, but Cunningham was pleased with the entire process.\n"I was involved with the screenplay exactly as much as I wanted to be," Cunningham says. "I didn't want to write the screenplay myself."\nCunningham's novel "The Hours" is a glimpse into the lives of three women living in three different time periods. His original idea for the book was a modern version of Virginia Woolf's "Mrs. Dalloway." He says he soon realized it was a silly idea, since the world already has the novel "Mrs. Dalloway." He then put more of his own spin on it and decided to include Virginia Woolf herself in his story.\nIU Associate Professor of English Alyce Miller was one of the first reviewers of the book version of "The Hours." Miller says she thinks Cunningham's portrayal of Woolf in his book is amazing and full of tenderness.\n"I think Cunningham makes some nice playful moves in his book that keep him in dialogue with Woolf, and he has fun with the language and parallel references," Miller says. "He never tries to compete, nor is his book simply a takeoff."\nMaura Stanton, who teaches in the M.F.A. program and has published several books, hasn't seen the movie but loved the book. She says each of the three parts of the novel imagines different worlds in completely convincing ways. \n"It's really a tour de force and beautifully written," Stanton says. "The prose style is spare and clean but full of great images and details."\nCunningham, a University of Iowa graduate, says his book-turned-movie ended up being a success in the way that it illustrates life in the face of the worst that can happen. \n"What's important in the movie is the notion that we're here for a short time and every single thing that happens to us is a miracle," Cunningham says. "And if we ignore the small and wait for the occasional big ones, we'll miss most of the pleasures of life."\nWhat helped make the transition from Cunningham's unorthodox book into Hare's screenplay were the actresses chosen to represent the characters.\nAt first, he says, he was skeptical of Nicole Kidman being cast as Virginia Woolf. He didn't think she had done anything that made it clear she would be capable of playing someone so complicated. Now Cunningham says he can't imagine anyone else playing the part.\n"I think she did it magnificently," Cunningham says. "I think it's a huge testament to not only her talent but to the notion that we've been underestimating her all these years."\nCunningham says he was proud of Kidman when she won the award for Best Actress at the Golden Globes for her role in the movie. He even gave her a hug after she won and went dancing with her to celebrate.\n"I guess I would say I feel like I'm part of a team," Cunningham says of his involvement with the Oscar-nominated movie. "I'll be in the audience at the Oscars cheering everyone on involved in the movie."\nBesides Kidman, the movie also stars Meryl Streep and Julianne Moore. Ironically enough, Meryl Streep is mentioned a few times in his novel. He obviously had no idea she would eventually be cast in the film version.\nCunningham spent a good amount of time on the set, traveling back and forth between New York and London. His time spent there gave him an opportunity to meet the actresses.\n"I've gotten to know all of them rather well," Cunningham says. "I'd tell you if any one of them was some sort of monstrous diva but they are incredibly intelligent, warm and funny women."\nPerhaps one of Cunningham's only disappointments in the film is part of a scene that was cut. It was his only line in the entire movie and it was taken out during the editing process.\n"I had a tiny walk on role and I was brilliant," Cunningham says laughing.\nPlaying a larger role in his life is his most recent project, which deals with a novel he wrote over ten years ago, "A Home at the End of the World." He wrote the screenplay for this film to be directed by Michael Mayer and starring Colin Farrell, which begins in April. \nCunningham enjoyed writing the screenplay for "A Home at the End of the World" so much that his next goal in life is to write an original screenplay. \n"I've promised Julianne Moore that I'll write her a screenplay someday in which she isn't neurotic and doesn't have any children at all," Cunningham says. \nEven with the surprising success of his book and now the film, Cunningham says he still isn't one for giving advice to aspiring writers. It took him ten years to get published, so the best advice he says he as to offer is: don't give up.\n"The successful novelist is the one that just doesn't stop doing it no matter what," Cunningham says. "Sit by the door long enough and sooner or later they have to let you in."\nCunningham says his book and the movie aren't targeted at any specific age category or gender. "The Hours" does explore the sexuality of the three women, but doesn't offer any specific labels. \nHe says he loves the way the movie turned out, and adds even if you haven't read his book, you won't feel like your missing out on anything.\n"I hope the movie will show an extra dimension of life," Cunningham says. "I think it's always great to see any work of art transposed into yet another form of art. It shows that art lives on"