Think Cameron Diaz posing as a Princeton undergraduate, sleeping on the C-floor of Firestone and attending poetry class in McCosh could never happen? The final details are being ironed out right now in Hollywood for the actress to star in the big screen version of "In Her Shoes." The film's screenplay is derived from the second big hit novel by Jennifer Weiner '91.
Weiner's first contemporary women's romance "Good in Bed" was optioned last January for a show on HBO, with "Sex and the City" executive producer Jenny Bicks taking the helm. The University graduate is becoming noted in the genre of literature popularized by author Candace Bushnell and "Bridget Jones' Diary."
With two international bestsellers under her belt, Weiner's "hyperbolic style" of writing, in the words of her onetime professor here, John McPhee, has led to major success in the literary world — and now Hollywood too.
For a woman who said she "spent a lot of time at Princeton protesting things," Weiner now seems to embrace the autobiographical Princeton environment as a major setting and plot device in her work. She is quick to point out, though, that she purposely does not write about "how smooth or smart or successful" a Princeton graduate is thought to be.
Meanwhile, "Good in Bed" protagonist Cannie Shapiro is a Princeton graduate and Philadelphia Examiner columnist (Weiner worked as a columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer) whose ex-boyfriend chronicles their sex life in a national magazine article about loving larger women (not autobiographical).
From cheap Thursday lunches at Murray-Dodge to shows at Theatre~Intime, Weiner infuses an authentic portrayal of life at Princeton into her story. A highlight for any Princetonian reading her latest work would be how homeless Maggie (Diaz's character) integrates herself into the Princeton campus. Meanwhile, Maggie's sister Rose, a Princeton alum, makes a transition of her own, leaving her high-powered job as an attorney to become a dog-walker.
"I'm really, really glad that I went to Princeton. I don't think that I would be a writer without the classes that I took there," said Weiner in a phone interview, with her new baby Lucy crying in the background.
The inspiration for the plot of "In Her Shoes" struck when Weiner took a creative writing class with Toni Morrison, focusing on longer fiction work.
"My story for the class was about a student who ran away from Princeton and camped out at another college," she said. With a youthful face and a bookbag, any person could easily survive in a college environment, according to the author.
A summa cum laude graduate with little idea of what to do with her degree in English after graduation, Weiner took McPhee's advice and began to pursue a career in journalism.
She recalls him telling her, "Why don't you go work for a small newspaper? You will have to be out of your comfort zone." General advice, McPhee says, that would be good for anyone interested in becoming a writer.
Soon after beginning her reporting career, Weiner began writing oped columns about Generation X. National recognition from these columns led to a full-time job writing features for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
After years of working at various newspapers and magazines, Weiner is finally writing the kind of book that she likes to read and introducing readers to her unique writing style.
Beyond her novels, Weiner's autobiography and website give readers extra exposure into her sarcastic sense of humor.
"Jen is inherently very funny and that's what shows up in her books, her newspapers, columns, and even in her sleep," McPhee said.
Weiner's daily online chronicles about her new experience with motherhood should provide good fodder for her next novel. Focusing on new mothers, the book is due out next year.
Perhaps her senior thesis on "representations of maternity in women's novels and films" will come in handy too.
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