Brad Pitt to Star in UV Author Mimi Baird’s “He Wanted the Moon”
And a word from UV Baroque.
Mimi Baird became a first-time author at the age of 76, and her book, “He Wanted the Moon,” so beguiled Brad Pitt that her story will hit the screen with Pitt starring as Mimi’s father, Dr. Perry Baird. And all of this has Upper Valley roots.
Mimi was a longtime resident of Woodstock, Vermont who, some fifty years after her father’s death, set out to solve the mystery of his absence from her life . During her childhood, her family often referred vaguely to her father “being away” when in fact he was hospitalized for long periods because of his bipolar disorder. Her research stretched over 20 years; a pivotal moment occurred when Mimi, who was employed as an administrator at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, serendipitously met a retired doctor who recognized her name and told her he had once been a colleague of Perry Baird.
In her subsequent piecing together of her father’s life, she discovered that Perry Baird had written his own book about his mental illness and the various brutal treatments he had endured. Ever the scientist, he used his own illness to probe what was then the not well understood diagnosis and treatment of manic depression. And—most amazing—Mimi managed to unearth his unpublished manuscript.
“He Wanted the Moon” is two stories: that of Dr. Perry Baird as he himself describes what is happening to him in real time, and the page-turner of Mimi’s tale as she unravels the mystery of his life and disappearance. It was the most memorable book (for me) of 2015. (If you are a really longtime reader of my work, you might remember I first wrote about Moon in my blog for the dailyUV several years ago. The photo, top, is from the original piece.)
Brad Pitt, through his production company, Plan B Entertainment, quickly optioned the book and hired the award winning Tony Kushner (Angels in America) to write the screenplay. According to an article in the July 2024 issue of Westwood Living, (Ms. Baird now resides in Westwood, MA) plans have changed and the on-screen project will no longer be a feature length film but rather a 6 to 8 episode mini-series on HBO. (No release date yet.) And “[W]hile many details surrounding the show are being kept under wraps, one thing Mimi can confirm is that Brad Pitt will indeed be playing the role of her father.”
Mimi, meanwhile, is working on her second book tentatively titled “Moon Becomes A Film.” She engages as a public speaker about “He Wanted the Moon” and, at 86, continues her battle to remove the stigma associated with mental illness.
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From our friends at the amazing Upper Valley Baroque: We will offer two performances of Handel's L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato.
Saturday, April 5 at 3pm at Chandler Center for the Arts, Randolph, VT
Sunday, April 6 at 3pm at Lebanon Opera House, Lebanon, NH
Tickets are available online here: https://www.uppervalleybaroque.org/concerts or by calling 203-240-1164.
Artistic Director Filippo Ciabatti will conduct. The performances will feature Grammy Award winning soprano soloist Amanda Forsythe, an extraordinary talent. Here is a link to Forsythe performing two of the movements from L'Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato: https://www.amandaforsythe.com/index.php/multi-media
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And in case you are wondering . . . Susan B. Apel shuttered a lifelong career as a law professor to continue an interest (since kindergarten) in writing. Her freelance business, The Next Word, includes literary and feature writing; her work has appeared in a variety of lit mags and other publications including Art New England, The Woven Tale Press, The Arts Fuse, and Persimmon Tree. She connects with her neighbors through Artful, her blog about arts and culture in the Upper Valley. She’s in love with the written word.