Happy birthday to Gregory Peck, all-around cool guy and the man who brought Atticus Finch to the screen with so much sensitivity and thoughtfulness.

To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my favorite books and movies. (Just hearing the score to the film gets me teary.) It’s a beautiful example of how an amazing text can be brought to life on the screen. So often we argue about whether a book is better than a movie. Why can’t we love both for different reasons?

Oddly enough, I was thinking about Gregory Peck last night and came across this video, in which Peck talks briefly about filming To Kill a Mockingbird with Harper Lee on set:

http://youtu.be/NEotCS6PNvI?t=8m10s

So cute! I would have freaking loved to be on that set. And while we’re at it, here are Atticus Finch’s closing arguments:

And after the trial:

Now I’m going to be all emotional thinking about To Kill a Mockingbird. May we all endeavor to be like Atticus Finch.