|
For enthusiasts of romantic dramas and mini-series set primarily in the 19th and 20th centuries.
|
|
Invite friend
|
Rumormongering: New Emma Series on BBC in 2009 Nov 17, 2008 at 02:44PM Source: Austen Blog |
|
Stephen and Jane Nov 14, 2008 at 02:54PM Source: Austen Blog |
|
Getting Local With Jane: Overload Edition Nov 14, 2008 at 07:31AM Source: Austen Blog |
|
‘Tis the season…for P&P Nov 14, 2008 at 07:30AM Source: Austen Blog |
|
First edition of Pride and Prejudice for auction on eBay Nov 12, 2008 at 06:51AM Source: Austen Blog |
|
Results of the Janeite Survey 2008 Nov 12, 2008 at 06:47AM Source: Austen Blog |
|
Random Jane Nov 12, 2008 at 06:40AM Source: Austen Blog |
|
Latest News Nov 11, 2008 at 04:33PM Source: Enchanted Serenity of period films updated Nov.11/08  Little Dorrit (2008) -is a 15-part TV series based on a Charles Dickens novel with the screenplay written by Andrew Davies. Little Dorrit tells the story of the Dorrit family and the rich array of characters they encounter on their way from rags to riches and back again. Matthew MacFadyen is set to star as Arthur Clennam. (currently airing in Britain and select channels on Youtube) Read more Easy Virtue (2008)  Set in 1927, based on a Noel Coward play, "A young Englishman marries a glamorous American. When he brings her home to meet the parents, she arrives like a blast from the future - blowing their entrenched British stuffiness out the window."[IMDB]Starring: Jessica Biel, Colin Firth, Kristin Scott Thomas, Ben Barnes and Kimberley Nixon (Cranford) movie trailer  Kiera Knightley might be seen in an upcoming MY FAIR LADY to be written by Emma Thompson. As much as I think Kiera is saturating the genre of period dramas, I have to admit that I could see her in the role. Although, no one could surpass Audrey Hepburn! read more... Sense and Sensibilidad (2009) "A Latina spin on Jane Austen's "Sense and Sensibility" set in contemporary Los Angeles." The movie is due out next year and is based on a novel of the same name which is based on Jane Austen's book. From Time to Time (2009) "While staying at his grandmother's house, a boy is magically transported back in time to appear as a ghost to solve an age-old mystery. Based on Lucy M. Boston's series of books, The Children of Green Knowe." The filming has been delayed as Dame Maggie Smith has undergone cancer treatments but hopefully this great actress will have a full recovery! It also stars Hugh Bonneville :) ..., Timothy Spall, and Anne Reid (Bleak House) and Alex Etel (from Cranford & Water Horse) Wuthering Heights (2010) Casting changes again...Charlotte Riley will play Cathy (not Sienna Miller or Natalie Portman as mentioned before) as the star of Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights. Tom Payne will play Heathcliff....screenplay written by screenwriter of Girl with a Pearl Earring. see photos at Bronteblog "Harry Potter" heroine Emma Watson is set to star in the period romance "Napoleon and Betsy," replacing Scarlett Johansson who was deemed too old for the role. Johansson will still be producing the film. David Copperfield (2008) One of Dickens' classics is being remade again. This adaptation features Colin Firth, Rowan Atkinson, Julie Walters to name a few.  Kevin Sullivan is directing a new prequel of Anne of Green Gables to be broadcast in 2009. Hannah Endicott-Douglass (shown on right) will play the lead role of Anne. Marple: A Pocketful of Rye (2008) This Agatha Christie remake is set to star Matthew MacFadyen, Rupert Graves, Ben Miles Hattie Morahan, Prunella Scales, Wendy Richards and featuring Julia Mackenzie (Mrs. Forrester in Cranford) as Miss Marple. North of Cheyenne (2009) Cate Blanchett is rumored to star in this adaptation of a Thomas Hardy novel. A Woman of No Importance (2009) Sienna Miller, Sean Bean and Annette Bening are set to star in this Oscar Wilde adaptation. Lindsay Lohan was set to star, who was replaced by Jessica Biel and now replaced by Sienna Miller. Dorian Gray (2009) Ben Barnes (Prince Caspian) is set to star in a remake of Oscar Wilde's novel.  Inkheart (2008) One night Mo (Brendan Fraser) brings out three characters from Inkheart, a story set in medieval times and filled with magical beings. Starring Paul Bettany, Jim Broadbent, Helen Mirren, Sienna Guillory and Eliza Bennett as Meggie. Based on novel by Cornelia Funke.  The Time Traveller's Wife (2008) -film adaptation of Audrey Niffenegger's bestselling book will be released in November 2008. The film stars Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana. Set in the 1840's, the story follows Maria Merryweather, a 13 year old orphan on her journey to the mysterious Moonacre Manor. Based on The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge. Starring Ioan Gruffudd, Dakota Blue Richards, Natascha McElhone, Juliet Stevenson & Tim Curry. [Info found at Elizabeth Goudge page: As a children's author, Goudge won the UK's highest honor, the Carnegie Medal, for The Little White Horse. That book was likely a major inspiration for the Chronicles of Narnia and was also the favorite childhood book of Harry Potter author J. K. Rowling, putting Goudge in the company of the greatest authors for young readers.] Brontë (2009) - Evan Rachel Wood, Rebecca Hall, Kristin Scott Thomas & Joan Plowright are set to star in a film of the famous sisters. Production is currently on hold. Vivaldi (2009) - Starring Joseph Fiennes, Elle Fanning, Jacqueline Bisset, Neve Campbell, Lena Headey & Gerard Depardieu. "A biography of Antonio Vivaldi's early life, when the young priest became the music teacher at a school for the illegitimate daughters of Venice's courtesans." quoted from Imdb "A teenager is cast in the Mercury Theatre production of "Julius Ceasar" directed by a young Orson Welles in 1937." Zac Efron, Claire Danes and Imogen Poots and Ben Chaplin are some of the cast who have signed on for this movie based on a NY Times bestseller by Robert Kaplow.
>>Hollywood Reporter Middlemarch (2009) No news yet for who's being cast in this feature film remake directed by Sam Mendes. Andrew Davies is rewriting the screenplay. Changeling (2008) Set in 1920's, a mother fights to find her son. Based on a true story, starring Angelina Jolie. Directed by Clint Eastwood. [in theatres now] |
|
Little Dorrit Nov 09, 2008 at 02:00PM Source: Enchanted Serenity of period films  This timeless rags to riches storyconcerns the vacillating fortunes of the Dorrit family. Written by Charles Dickens, with screenplay by Andrew Davies. ~ Amy Dorrit is born in the infamous Marshalsea Prison of mid-nineteenth century England. Her father, Wiiliam Dorrit, has been imprisoned for being unable to clear his debts. Her broken spirited mother dies shortly after Amy is born. Amy grows up to be a young woman without any knowledge of the world outside the prison walls. She is not pretty like her elder sister, Fanny - the prison atmosphere seems to have stunted her physical growth. At the age of twenty-two, she looks like a child of ten, and is painfully aware of the fact. But she is the one on whom the entire family depends. She takes care of her father, who has lost his dignity through his long incarceration. She sends her lazy elder brother, Edward, out to work. Both she and Fanny earn  their living working as seamstresses in the city. She also looks after Maggy, a mentally unsound young woman, and even Frederick, William Dorrit's brother. Amy soon gets to know her stern employer's son, Arthur Clennam. Arthur is a quiet, middle aged man, always serious and thoughtful, the complete antithesis of his strict, rigid, unyielding mother. Arthur had a bitter and lonely childhood, and a broken love affair in his youth has made him sad, but not bitter or cynical . He is extremely sensitive to other people's emotions and sentiments, and his feelings of pity for his poor employee leads him to take a further interest in Amy and her family. He also knows that his mother is somehow responsible for the condition of Amy's family. While Arthur's interest in Amy seemed to be confined to paternal kindness and benevolence, the young, inexperienced Amy soon finds herself getting attracted to this quiet, sensitive, pensive man. AMY DORRIT WILLIAM DORRITTom Courtenay: "Before he came to Marshalsea Prison, Mr Dorrit was an accomplished, educated man, who spoke several languages and had a comfortable life. Over the years, he has become more vain and self-deluded. While he is in prison, he is happy for people to know his story - in fact, he tells it to everyone. Once free, though, he hates people knowing about it, and as a consequence finds it upsetting to be in Amy's presence because [having been born in Marshalsea] she reminds him of prison… She serves as a walking reminder that he was actually happier when he was behind bars."  FANNY DORRIT Emma Pierson: "Amy's sister Fanny has worldly experience. She's mainly been brought up away from the prison, earns her living as a dancer and enjoys trying to climb the social hierarchy. You can understand her toughness: her father told her that even though he was in a debtors' prison, she was still a lady." FREDERICK DORRIT James Fleet: "William's brother Frederick is a bit vague and on a different planet. Once he was quite well-to-do, but now makes a meagre living playing the clarinet in the musical theatre. He's still close to William, and visits him each week in prison. But there's an emptiness in Frederick - some terrible tragic sorrow in his past."  ARTHUR CLENNAM MRS. CLENNAMJudy Parfitt: "Mrs Clennam is quite a sad character. She's never known love and is locked inside herself. She has this fabrics business, and hasn't left her house for 15 years. This role is the best I've ever done in a wheelchair! I've played several wheelchair-bound women before, and they're all incredibly strong, interesting characters but, like Mrs Clennam, enourmously vulnerable."  JEREMIAH & EPHRAIM FLINTWINCH AFFERY FLINTWINCH RIGAUD MR. CHIVERY JOHN CHIVERY MR MEAGLES PET MEAGLES TATTYCORAMFreema Agyeman: "Her real name is Harriet Beadle. She was adopted by the Meagles [from the Coram Foundling Hospital]. They're well meaning, but treat her like the help. She's resentful and doesn't quite know where she fits in. Then Miss Wade comes along and offers her a way out."  MISS WADEMaxine Peake: "She'a woman spurned and is out for vengeance. She's had a tough time and trusts nobody. She's been living in Marseilles and comes back on the boat with the Meagles. She's been stalking Pet and feels Tattycoram is her way into the family."  MR. MERDLEAnton Lesser: "Merdle is a banker, with the friendships and influences that come with having money: he's lauded by peers and politicians, movers and shakers…but it's a very hollow life, and one that, ultimately, ends in disaster. What's going on with Merdle is the price of success. It's incredibly topical right now."  MRS. MERDLEAmanda Redman: "Mrs Merdle is married to a Victorian magnate: he's her second husband and terribly boring, but he's rich and she's a survivor. She's the queen of society: what she wears is the fashion. Her son Edmund's besotted with Fanny Dorrit, but Mrs Merdle doesn't want him anywhere near her, as she's a common dancer."  FLORA FLINCHINGRuth Jones: "Flora thinks of herself as a girl, but she's in her 40s. Time stopped still in her 20s when her first love, Arthur Clennam, went to work in China, and she still carries a torch for him. She wed Mr Finching, but he died soon after. Life didn't turn out as she'd hoped, but she's not bitter - she helps Arthur and eats a lot of jelly."  MAGGYEve Myles: "Amy's best friend Maggy had a fever at ten that left her a child in an adult's body. She has alopecia and very little hair - it took more than two hours in make-up. But she has a big heart. It was a huge challenge: I tried to capture all the joy and energy of a child."  HENRY GOWAN MR. PANCKSEddie Marsan: "Pancks is the debt collector from hell: truly terrifying to the people whose doors he knocks on. We modelled his look on a bulldog, and gave him a shaved head even though the book says he's got thick, dark hair. Debt-collecting isn't just a job to Pancks, it's a calling; he can't abide people who don't pay up and is violently against cheats of all kinds."
 CAVALLETTOJason Thorpe: "He's what you'd call a loveable rogue: he's cheeky, with a glint in his eye, and people take a shine to him, despite being a petty criminal. The Italian accent was quite tricky. I practised by listening to Roberto Benigni [star of the film Life Is Beautiful] interviews." |
|||
|
The Red Violin Nov 09, 2008 at 03:49AM Source: Enchanted Serenity of period films  In present day Montreal, a famous "red violin," is being auctioned off. During the auction, we flash back to the creation of the violin in 17th century Italy, and follow the violin as it makes its way through an 18th century Austrian monastery, a violinist in 19th century Oxford, China during the Cultural Revolution, and back to Montreal, where a collector tries to establish the identity and the secrets of "the red violin."This movie captured my attention and had me intrigued till the end. Won 2000 Oscar for best score. Won 8 Genies including Best Picture Won 9 Jutra Awards including Best Film Synopsis at bottom of page              screencaps from : www.moviescreenshots.blogspot.com * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Synopsis: THE RED VIOLIN follows the unusual journey of an original and unique violin as it survives three centuries, ultimately turning up at a present-day auction in Montreal. The violin transforms all those who play it into a Svengali, from traveling Gypsies to a famous concert violinist in England. The mysterious object also narrowly avoids confiscation in Communist China, and seems to always survive the different lives of those it touches. In the present day it becomes the subject of fascination for a violin historian, played by Samuel L. Jackson, who discovers that he has stumbled upon the much sought after Red Violin, leading him to consider a deception of his own kind as the film nears its climax. [Rotten Tomatoes]
 
|
| connect with us on | |||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Join this Spot
Click to read more about cast and characters at BBC site
