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Sweet Talkers

I am 40 years old and can't wait to see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. As a little girl, I treasured my Roald Dahl book and turned the pages with as much adoration as Charlie had for a bar of chocolate. Willy Wonka was such a disappointment to me, I couldn't bring myself to let my daughters see it. Your picture of the grandparents sharing the same bed, with Charlie sitting right in the middle of them, was exactly how I had pictured it (''The Truth About Charlie''). The meals the poor Bucket family arranged around nothing but cabbage had to be in the movie. There is no doubt in my mind that Tim Burton and Johnny Depp will capture the essence of one of the most wonderful children's stories ever written. My daughters and I will be the first in line!
TRINA MCDANIEL
tnmcdan@earthlink.net
Lawrenceville, Ga.

Hoo-wee! Was I ever glad to gaze upon the darling, albeit creepy, face of Johnny Depp beckoning me to look inside your magazine. I'll take this stranger's candy anytime!
KELLY DREW
somekindafatigue@yahoo.com
Greenfield, Mass.

Foul 'Ball'

I was incredibly offended by comments made by the filmmakers Dana Adam Shapiro and Henry-Alex Rubin, as well as THINKFilm's Mark Urman, in regard to people's desire to watch the disabled on screen (''Hard Ball''). We disabled are just like everyone else. We live among all the ''regular'' people; we are not repulsive beings who would make every person automatically ''switch the channel.'' In addition, insinuating that Mark Zupan's disability becomes invisible is not recognizing it as a part of who he is. It is no more separate than the color of someone's skin.
ILIA Y. LOPEZ
wildflowerfaith@hotmail.com
Cold Spring, Minn.

In an age when Tom Cruise chews up media minutes by chewing up talk-show sets, and all the world is aflutter about whether Brad and Angelina are an item, it is so refreshing to open the pages of EW and see the picture and read the story of a guy like Mark Zupan, who could easily kick all of their asses. Many thanks for profiling this man of courage. It's rare to find someone who truly deserves more attention than he gets.
WM. BRIAN OWENS
brian.owens@indyfilmfest.org
Indianapolis

'Fantastic' Bore

I'm insulted that anyone would compare Fantastic Four to The Incredibles (News & Notes). All comparisons will be dropped once people see that Fantastic Four lacks the social commentary, humor, and amazing character and story development that The Incredibles has.
DOUG MCCONVILLE
dmcconvi@email.arizona.edu
Aurora, Colo.

Sad Reality

Thanks for the ''Writers Bloc'' article (News & Notes). As a story producer who's worked in reality TV for the past five years, I am shocked by the working conditions and impossibly low rates of pay experienced by so many in our field, some of whom work up to 90-plus-hour weeks (without overtime) due to shrinking budgets and compressed production schedules. I have faith that the networks and production companies will respond favorably to our request to be recognized.
TROY DEVOLLD
Studio City, Calif.