 First edition | |
| Author | James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Romance novel |
| Publisher | Little, Brown |
Publication date | April 29, 2008 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 320 pp (first edition, hardback) |
Sundays at Tiffany's is a romance novel by the authors James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet released on April 29, 2008. It has also been adapted into a Lifetime Television original movie that premiered on December 6, 2010. [1]
 | This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed.(January 2013) |
The book opens with Jane Margaux and her imaginary friend, Michael, spending a Sunday at the St. Regis Plaza in New York City eating ice cream together, which they do every Sunday. Michael is an imaginary friend who is randomly assigned to children who need extra support and guidance. However, he is called away from the children when they become ten years old, at which point they will forget about the existence of their "friend" by the next day of their tenth birthday. Jane needs extra attention because her mother, Vivienne Margaux, a Broadway producer, spends too much time with work and shopping for her many new husbands, but spends every Sunday at Tiffany's with her daughter.
The next day is Jane's tenth birthday party, which coincides with her mother's production's opening night. The cast and crew sing "happy birthday" to her, but her mother forgets about her and her father leaves quickly with his girlfriend. Jane is comforted by Michael, who tells her he must leave now that she is ten. He promises her that she will forget about him.
Twenty years later, Jane, who is now thirty and has not yet forgotten about Michael, lives in New York and works closely with her mother, who is now very controlling. Jane has produced a small, low-budget play called "Thank Heaven", based on her childhood with Michael. The play was an overnight hit, and now Jane is in the works of making a movie based on it. Her boyfriend, Hugh McGrath (who played Michael on Broadway), wants the leading role in the movie.
Jane isn't happy in life, though. She knows she is too dependent on her mother, and she is unwilling to face up to the fact that Hugh is an egomaniacal jerk. One night, he stands her up for a dinner date, and she returns home rejected and hurt. Michael, now on break from being an imaginary friend, catches sight of her walking into her hotel and instantly recognizes her. It's the first time he has ever seen one of his "kids" as an adult. He begins following her to work and home, but she never catches sight of him.
A day later at work, Hugh McGrath comes and apologizes to Jane for missing dinner. Jane realizes he is just using her to get the film role. Vivienne thinks that the role would be good for him, and she pushes Jane to accept his apology. Later, Vivienne infiltrates a "Thank Heaven" meeting and controls all aspects of production, despite the fact it is Jane's project. Jane goes out to dinner with Hugh, who flirts with another woman while Michael watches, unseen.
A few days later, Hugh and Jane go to a museum exhibit together, and she learns that he set up the whole date as a way to con her into giving him the part. When she refuses, he yells at her and leaves. She retreats to a bar where she thinks she catches sight of Michael. Later, Hugh apologizes and proposes to her in Brooklyn, making an ultimatum: a ring for a role. She finally realizes that he's scum and demands he take her home, at which point he leaves her stranded in Brooklyn.
Michael is at the St. Regis when he sees Jane, and she sees him. After they recognize each other and re-introduce each other, they decide to take a walk together. They realize how much they've missed and need each other. They spend the rest of the day together.
The next day, Vivienne controls Jane at work and Jane finally stands up for herself. She storms out and meets up with Michael. They soon meet every day and go out every night, becoming closer and closer, while Jane's professional life becomes more and more hectic. Vivienne reveals to Jane that her grandmother died of heart failure at age 34.
Hugh makes one last attempt to win Jane back, but after he explodes and insults her, she punches him in front of Vivienne. Vivienne takes his side and Jane storms out, vowing never to return. Michael feels an impulse to go and meet Jane, but on his way he stops at a cathedral where he gets his message: Jane is going to die and it's his mission to help her out of life.
Michael meets with Jane and they run away to spend a week in Nantucket, where they are happy and carefree. However, Michael becomes increasingly worried about Jane and her health. After she loses much of her appetite, he decides that he is the thing that's keeping her from living out her life. He leaves without notice in an effort to save her.
Jane finds him gone and is devastated that he has now left her twice. She goes home to New York where she collapses from stomach pains. The phone rings, and she can barely get up to answer it.
Michael is out in New York when he gets a sudden impulse to go to the New York Hospital. He realizes that Jane must be there. He sprints there, but when he arrives, he finds Vivienne in the hospital bed. He realizes that it was Vivienne whom he was sent to protect, not Jane. Jane soon arrives and lovingly reconnects with her mother before Vivienne dies peacefully.
After Vivienne's funeral, Michael collapses and is taken to the hospital. Since imaginary friends never get sick, he and Jane realize that he must be human now. He soon makes a full recovery and vows to spend the rest of his life with Jane. In an epilogue, Michael and Jane have married and have two children.
The film adaptation, Sundays at Tiffany's, premiered on December 6, 2010, on Lifetime Television. Rebroadcasts occurred several times over the next month, including on December 12, 2010, and December 31, 2010. It was rebroadcast the following year on April 23, 2011. Alyssa Milano, who also served as executive producer, starred as Jane, Stockard Channing as Vivian, Eric Winter as Michael, and Ivan Sergei as Hugh. [2]
Milano was attracted to the script because "it's such an original concept, which I don't think we see that often, anymore" and because she was "really attracted to flawed characters because I feel like we're all flawed." [3] When she took the role, she initially struggled with portraying a character who is "hardened off and protective of herself" without coming off "bitchy". [3]
The film was shot on location and in Toronto between September 8 and October 1, 2010. [4] Milano credited her co-stars for making the production "not only easy but an experience where it felt like we were doing something great." [3] She told an interviewer that she gladly reunited with Winter and Sergei, with whom she worked with on Charmed ; and on working with Channing, she commented: "Working with her is a great reminder of why, after 30 years of being in this business, I still love my job." [3] Milano also served as a producer of the film, which she liked, because "there is a sense of being more creatively involved and more emotionally aware." [3]
Alyssa Jayne Milano is an American actress, producer, activist, and former singer. She has played Samantha Micelli in Who's the Boss?, Jennifer Mancini in Melrose Place, Phoebe Halliwell in Charmed, Billie Cunningham in My Name Is Earl, Savannah "Savi" Davis in Mistresses, Renata Murphy in Wet Hot American Summer: 10 Years Later, and Coralee Armstrong in Insatiable.
Casualties of Love: The "Long Island Lolita" Story is a 1993 American television crime drama film based on the story of Amy Fisher and Joey Buttafuoco, written and directed by John Herzfeld. Alyssa Milano and Jack Scalia played the main characters. It aired on CBS on January 3, 1993, the same night and time as ABC's film The Amy Fisher Story, though the latter film was much higher rated in the TV ratings and critically praised.
Eric Barrett Winter is an American actor and former fashion model. He has appeared in the television roles of Rex Brady on the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives, FBI Special Agent Craig O'Laughlin on the CBS drama series The Mentalist (2010–2012), Dash Gardiner on the Lifetime fantasy-drama series Witches of East End (2013–2014), and Sergeant Tim Bradford on the ABC drama The Rookie. His film appearances include Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008) and The Ugly Truth (2009).
Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus is a 2006 American romantic drama film directed by Steven Shainberg and written by Erin Cressida Wilson, based on Patricia Bosworth's book Diane Arbus: A Biography. It stars Nicole Kidman as iconic American photographer Diane Arbus, who was known for her strange, disturbing images, and also features Robert Downey Jr. and Ty Burrell. As the title implies, the film is largely fictional.
Poison Ivy II: Lily is a 1996 American direct-to-video erotic thriller film directed by Anne Goursaud, written by Chloe King and stars Alyssa Milano. It is a sequel to the 1992 film Poison Ivy and the second installment of the Poison Ivy film series.
Bobby Beale is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders, who made his first appearance in episode 2557, originally broadcast on 24 July 2003. The character was originally played by Kevin Curran as an infant. Prior to his introduction, Bobby's paternity is at the centre of a storyline and is resolved when Ian Beale is revealed as Bobby's father. His mother, Laura Beale, is killed off in 2004 and Bobby's stepmother, Jane Beale, later adopts Bobby. Curran was replaced by Alex Francis in 2007. Following Jane's departure, Bobby finds a mother figure in Mandy Salter and is upset when she leaves.
If You Could See Me Now is Irish writer Cecelia Ahern's third novel, published in 2005.
Dus Kahaniyaan is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language anthology film comprising ten short films telling ten different stories which are directed by a host of six directors: Sanjay Gupta, Apoorva Lakhia, Meghna Gulzar, Rohit Roy, Hansal Mehta and Jasmeet Dhodhi.
Where the Day Takes You is a 1992 American drama film directed by Marc Rocco. The film stars Sean Astin, Lara Flynn Boyle, Peter Dobson, Balthazar Getty, Ricki Lake, James LeGros, Dermot Mulroney and Will Smith in his film debut. Its plot follows a group of teenage runaways trying to survive on the streets of Los Angeles. The film was released on September 11, 1992.
Tiffany Valentine is a murderous doll and the secondary antagonist in the Child's Play horror film series. She is portrayed by Jennifer Tilly in both live-action and voice over in Bride of Chucky, Seed of Chucky, Curse of Chucky, Cult of Chucky, and Chucky.
The Amy Fisher Story is a 1993 American television film dramatizing the events surrounding Amy Fisher's teenage affair with Joey Buttafuoco and her conviction for aggravated assault for shooting Buttafuoco's wife. The film was produced by ABC and originally aired on that network; in 1993 it was released on VHS and in 2001 on DVD.
Wisegal is a 2008 American made-for-television crime drama film directed by Jerry Ciccoritti and starring Alyssa Milano, James Caan and Jason Gedrick. The film premiered on Lifetime on March 15, 2008.
Mistresses is a British serial drama television programme that follows the lives of four female friends and their involvement in an array of illicit and complex relationships. The programme was written by Rachel Pole, Richard Warlow, Harriet Braun and Catrin Clarke and filmed in Bristol by Ecosse Films for BBC Drama, Wales.
Christmas Cupid is a television film starring Christina Milian, Ashley Benson and Chad Michael Murray and directed by Gil Junger. It was premiered on ABC Family on December 12, 2010, as part of their 25 Days of Christmas programming block. It was filmed under the name Ex-Mas Carol.
Here and Now is a 2018 American romantic drama film directed by Fabien Constant, starring Sarah Jessica Parker and Simon Baker. It has been described as an homage to the 1962 Agnès Varda film Cléo from 5 to 7. The film was shot in 16 days in New York City, and follows Vivienne (Parker), a singer who is diagnosed with a glioblastoma.
Little Italy is a 2018 Canadian-American romantic comedy film directed by Donald Petrie, with a screenplay by Steve Galluccio and Vinay Virmani from a story by Virmani. The film stars Emma Roberts, Hayden Christensen, Alyssa Milano, Adam Ferrara, Gary Basaraba, Linda Kash, Andrew Phung, Cristina Rosato, Danny Aiello, Andrea Martin and Jane Seymour. The film features one of Aiello's final film appearances before his death in 2019.
Tempting Fate is a 2019 American made-for-television drama film directed by Kim Raver in her directorial debut and Manu Boyer, starring Alyssa Milano as a married housewife who becomes pregnant with another man's baby. The movie is based on author Jane Green's 2014 New York Times best-selling novel of the same name.
The fifth season of Melrose Place, an American television series, premiered on Fox on September 9, 1996. The season five finale aired on May 19, 1997, after 34 episodes.
Brazen is a 2022 American thriller film directed by Monika Mitchell. It is based on Nora Roberts' 1988 novel Brazen Virtue. The film stars Alyssa Milano, Sam Page, and Matthew Finlan.