Last week I attended the first advance screening of the Miramax Film, The Reader, which opens Dec. 10, 2008, and is considered a prime candidate to sweep the Oscars next year. Producer Harvey Weinstein greeted the group of about 50 intellectuals, including writers Frank McCourt, John Guare and Bartle Bull, and introduced the film's director, Brit celebrity Stephen Daldry, director of the musical and film versions of the Broadway hit Billy Elliot.
