This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
BY AMANDA KEATS
Last week I got to meet Benjamin and Duncan Mee at the UK premiere of We Bought a Zoo – the film based on the Mee family's life. The book of We Bought a Zoo was written by former journalist Benjamin Mee about the family's decision to buy a house in the south of England and the zoo that came with it. It also looks at the heartbreak of his wife Katherine's death soon after they moved in.
The film, directed by Jerry Maguire Director Cameron Crowe, sees the zoo relocated to the US with Matt Damon cast as Benjamin and Thomas Haden Church as his brother Duncan. Scarlett Johansson is cast as love interest and animal lover Kelly. The film also makes Benjamin's wife's death the reason they buy the zoo to begin with.
But is Benjamin happy with the changes? He had this to say when I chatted to him…
“I couldn’t be happier with the way Cameron Crowe and Matt Damon treated this. Cameron Crowe is one of the most compassionate men working in Hollywood…He hasn’t brushed [Katherine's death] under the carpet.” - Benjamin Mee
We Bought a Zoo is out in cinemas now.
You can find out more about the Dartmoor Zoo here https://www.dartmoorzoo.org