The Beatles Licensed Norwegian Wood

The Beatles

Cool news today for Fans The Beatles and Japanese author Haruki Murakami. I didn't even know this was happening, but Vietnamese director Tran Anh Hung is apparently hard at work prepping his adaptation of Murakami's novel "Norwegian Wood" for a December release in Japan. Fittingly, Hung insisted that The Beatles' "Norwegian Wood" be licensed for use in the film; the music of the Fab Four can be rather expensive to get usage rights for, and it doesn't happen very often.

The Beatles

It seems like the news has been out there for awhile (I hadn't heard), but I'm most intrigued by the idea of Murakami being adapted for the big screen. He's a wonderful author, someone you should take the time to at least try on if you've never read his work. "Norwegian Wood" is as good a place to start as any. Unlike a lot of artistic endeavors that come out of Japan, Murakami is uniquely tuned in to Western sensibilities. His work has a sort of all-cultural appeal and is definitely worth your time. I'll be very curious to see Hung's film treatment.