chuck bass is going to be heathcliff – talking of modern time bad guy epitome meeting literary bad guy incarnate – that will be rather interesting to watch and i will have full right to indulge myself in passionate dark romance, as it is part if my phd to analyze film adaptations of yorkshire novels, and who, if not the brontës, wrote intensely, landscape-incorporating romantic novels set on the yorkshire moors, eh?
but seriously, casting couldn’t have been better – no matter, what people say of type-casting, it’s got it’s definite ups – if you already know you can imagine someone doing his part to perfection, it makes it so much more enjoyable to look forward to a film – well, one thing is sure, though – that definitely means goodbye to being well-groomed and immaculately dressed – but which chick doesn’t dig a deliciously handsome young man in a slovenly state of apparel- well, chuck bass, you did well for yourself, very well indeed, considering that an ex-bond-girl will be your catherine – literary and movie fantasies do mix well
besides, any version of wuthering heights is better than this – i know, it’s the seventies, but i can’t help myself, it is just so silly and does not at all gives credit to the novel
ps: have listened to it a couple of times now and it has kind of grown on me, i am very loath to admit
so, tonight, for the third time – it’s shakespeare at the DT with steffi – i can see a pattern here
first there was “The Tempest” – often classified as a comedy, even though it’s something else as well – something more, shall we agree? – and, incidentally one of my favourites
then, there was “Richard III” – definitively a history – not so much a favourite of mine, too complicated, too many dead, too boring all in all – but a great ilja richter made it a night at the plays to remember – read, what steffi had to say: Richard III at it.takes.two.to.tango
and tonight it’s “King Lear” – a tragedy and, incidentally, my first shakespeare, read at the tender age of sixteen, while in english class in canada – five acts, reading one act a week and then taking a test – my, my, the first test was a desaster, but as i mastered the english language, i also mastered shakespearean language – my test results got better and better in an amazingly short time and my love for shakespeare and the tragedies was raised ad infinitum
this has been by far the most enjoyable night at a theater in quite a while – the words of the bard combined with rufus wainwright’s music and robert wilson’s perfect ability to create a mood on stage through lightning, directing and choosing perfect actors for perfect parts – two and a half hours slipped by and i never noticed, i was enraptured by the music, the dancing, the acting and the undying words of shakespeare – there can be no better way to celebrate 400 years sonnets than that
shadows, large, small, loud, bright, silent, just a whisper, then loud and overwhelming – saucy fool, majestic queen, a dark lady, a light youth, a great poet, a nasty rival, a little (or not so much so) love-good – a whirlwind of emotions created through references to different music through the ages – so suddenly you feel directly plunged into brecht’s threepenny opera, the world of french chansons, baroque finery, swoony-cheesy love ballads or pop-art musicals – every lover of good music and shakespeare will be as ardently in love with it as me – i would watch it again and again and again until i have no more tears left to shed, no more laughs left to laugh and all my energy is spent – a gripping experience for all senses – a feast for body, mind and soul
and in the end this is all that can be said (or sung)
not only one, but two quite important birthdays today – in my world at least
the internet is forty today – without the internet, no wordpress, without wordpress, no teacaro-blog, without teacaro-blog the world would be a sadder place – definitely for me
asterix is fifty today – without asterix, many a lonely teenage hour would have been disastrously boring and sad – according to three different quizzes in three different communities, i would either be miraculix, asterix or idefix – i’ll agree to the last
Du bist klein, süß und meistens auch sehr lustig. Aber wenn du jemanden siehst den du nicht magst, wirst du zum Berserker oder einer Wilden Kampfmaschine.
so, here’s to asterix and the internet – a very happy birthday and many more fantastic years
read this, of you’re either too lazy to read the whole book (which i do not recommend because it’s really a very nice book indeed) or if you are a fan of the book and like a good laugh
which book? – oh, the book, of course – the one and only perfect love story of all times – jane austen’s “pride and prejudice”
here’s another book gone movie for which i cannot wait to come to screen – never let me go – i used to be able to read whole nights through, when i was younger – nowadays sleep usually gets in the way due to exhaustion from the days, but this novel kept me awake till the early hours, i had it through in one big rush and i loved every minute of it – it’s idyllic charm and it’s underlying mystery forming a perfect mixture – i never wanted to let go and willed the story to go on and on and on – and now, just like one of my other all time favourites (ian mcewan’s atonement) it’ll be turned into a movie, starring keira knightly – i am excited because i know that’ll be a good one – somehow she’s started to become britain’s number one novel-to-screen-enchantress – starting with jane austen classics and moving on to all my favourite reads – i call that something and i could almost be jealous (after all, she also got to work with johnny!)
some loves never die – they just grow weaker and are pushed aside by new loves - but then something triggers the mind and it all comes back – harry, harry, harry, that’s all i can think of – or as shakespeare put it: cry “god for harry! england and saint george!” – bless the british, my literary heroes – shakespeare and j.k. got it damn right – harry, harry, harry
so, as you can guess quite rightly, i went to see the new harry potter tonight – two and a half hours of me being glued to the screen and not wanting it to stop, even though i knew the sad, sad ending it would take – after film five i wasn”t expecting much – that one not being my favourite, mainly because i also like that book least of them all – but this was no disappointment, only way too short and of course some of my favourite parts of the book were cut out, but some others, i’d been dying to see, were all there – hermione and the canaries – lovely – ron and the love potion – to die for – anyways, all the teenie-love-drama – a little bit american high school movie, but so very british and so very j.k. – you gotta love it
but there’s not only the mushy bits, there’s action and we’re back on some good quidditch scenes – there’s also scary parts and even if you know, what’s going to happen, you get freaked out at times – goosebumps, whole body goosebumps!
the magic bits are still as fascinating as ever – even harry still shows signs of amazement at all the things you can do with your wand, or should i put it differently – all the things dumbledore can do with his wand – one of my favourite scenes, when dumbledore puts right the demolished livingroom, slughorn’s been camping out in (by the way – a delightful plushy armchair with shoes said prof. s was just momen’s before) – anayways, harry watches in amazement and he wears chucks, he’s my hero!
alan rickman, as cool and delicious as always and i simply loved the tiny bits of foreshadowing – if you know the books and know that he’s really the good guy (i hat to boast, but i’ve really known all along!), you’ll recognize the signs
harry, ron, hermione – daniel, rubert, emma – what can i say, they’ve grown up – it’s so amazing, how they’ve grown along with their characters and as always i feel like i want to board the hogwarts express and be there right alongside them – i think i’m a luna – god, i love her, she’s one of the greatest characters of the whole series and comes so well alive
regrets, i’ve had a few – but then too few to mention – just one, though – i missed neville – where was neville? – hardly in any scenes at all – not good – maybe in the take-outs – have to see the take-outs
so, that’s all for now – i am still over-whelmed and will be half-living in the magic world for the next couple of days – but big plans ahead – come next autumn and the first big stormy nights, it’s me and harry and loads of food in my apartment for three days and seven books
David has signed up to reprise his role of Hamlet for BBC Two.
He will be joined by key cast members from the RSC production, including Patrick Stewart as Claudius.
BBC Two controller Janice Hadlow said the 180-minute screen production of Hamlet was “a wonderful opportunity to bring one of the great stage successes of last year to a wider audience”.
Tickets for the stage performances, which opened in Stratford-Upon-Avon and later moved to London, sold out in hours.
After his debut appearance, the Guardian called Tennant the “best Hamlet in years”.
In February his return to the stage as Hamlet was named the event of the year in the Whatsonstage.com Theatregoers’ Choice Awards.
The full press release from the RSC can be seen below:
The Royal Shakespeare Company’s award-winning production of Hamlet, directed by RSC Chief Associate Director Gregory Doran, and with David Tennant in the title role, will premiere on BBC Two later this year.
Produced by Illuminations, the screen version of Shakespeare’s great tragedy will retain the quality and tone of the critically acclaimed stage production but filming will take place on location. All key original members of the cast, including Patrick Stewart as Claudius, are confirmed to star in this special 180 minute production, alongside the same creative team.
RSC Artistic Director Michael Boyd said; “We are very pleased that this RSC production will be seen by so many people when broadcast. As the show was sold out for its entire run, this is a really great opportunity for our work to be seen by so many who could not come to the theatre and see it on stage.”
Filming begins in June for broadcast later this year on BBC Two. Broadcasts in the US and Japan will follow in 2010. Illuminations previously worked with Doran and the RSC on the filmed version of Macbeth with Antony Sher and Harriet Walter. Chris Seager will be in post as Director of Photography; Robert Jones, who designed the stage production, will also design the film and, as on stage, the music is composed by Paul Englishby, the movement director is Mike Ashcroft and the fight director is Terry King.
John Wyver is the producer for Illuminations and Bethan Jones is Executive Producer for BBC Wales. The project was commissioned by Ben Stephenson, Controller, BBC Drama Commissioning and George Entwistle, Controller, BBC Knowledge Commissioning.
The director Gregory Doran said “Contrary to press reports at the time, the RSC always had plans to make a recording of this production but had the inevitable long journey in getting the cast together again and securing funding for this project. The Hamlet cast and the RSC are all really delighted that we now have the chance to share this show with audiences around the world, and I would like to thank all those involved in making this plan a reality at last”
Janice Hadlow, Controller BBC Two said “It’s a wonderful opportunity to bring one of the great stage successes of last year to a wider audience.”
To support the new film of Hamlet, a rich online BBC site is being created in collaboration with the RSC. It will feature behind-the-scenes stills and footage; specially shot interviews with the actors talking about their characters and how they’ve approached the play; further interviews, with the director and other key backstage personnel; and a comprehensive range of links through to the full depth of BBC Learning’s content on Shakespeare and RSC Education’s content on Shakespeare in performance.
George Entwistle, Controller, BBC Knowledge Commissioning said “We hope we can use our experience in building compelling online sites to encourage a large TV audience to pursue their interest in Hamlet and Shakespeare as far as possible, off the back of a superb TV version of the play.”
first impressions – dandelions sneezed onto the fields like showers of yellowness – sighted from the plane, while landing in london-stansted – london underground: where’s “mind the gap”, no “mind the gap” – miss you “mind the gap” – also, no vampire-boy (sorry, steffi) – then, picture the scene – paddington station: bathroom and me paying 30 pence to go through the barrier but sadly only succeeding in pushing my bag through and then having to climb underneath it myself, looking suspiciously as if i had not paid at all
train to bath: lovely english countryside, very romantic and picturesque, but is it really or is it just because i am in the “romantic south” and expect it to be? – fields divided by hedgerows, boats on canals, small idyllic train stations and bridges
bath itself is beautiful – morning had broken all foggy and gray – just one hour later, sun is bright and pretty, bells are ringing in honour of st. george and bath is awake and alive, looking every bit like one stepped back in time to the 18th century – i managed the whole touristy load and still felt perfectly cool – it’s really as if i was in jane austen’s time, going to the pump room to take the waters, chatting at the assembly rooms, walking on the gravel walk – touristy, but just what you ought to do in bath – and i did see many handsome men – one slightly looked like vampire-boy from the distance – i was not able to get a good shot, so i brought something else
a party i attended was quite entertaining – had a discussion of literary themes with some very nice boys – might have been flirting, while quizzing them – but took my leave as soon as their talk turned to economy, politics and disease – men, what frightful creatures they are – never but spending just a moment in fruitful conversation with us poor women, before returning to their ceaseless worrying about the world’s turning to their desires
moving on to stratford-upon-avon – thou should’st be amused – thy eternal verses are used in ev’ry shop and ev’ry tavern throughout this town – quoted by actors, vicars, children, teachers thy words shall live for evermore and thus give life to thee! – shakespeare, if indeed he really was shakespeare, would be dearly amused by the cult that’s made of him in stratford – you can see the place where he wooed his wife (more like got her pregnant and then disappeared off to london to pursue the stage – not quite so romantic, but still …), visit his grave in holy trinity, the only place that’s truly shakesperean here, as he’s really there (dead and all) and see where he was born (or not!) – and it seems like people are inspired by this environment to spout out their own frightful verses and pretend literary greatness – indeed, i also felt the place’s magic in the very marrow of my bones, but indeed, i am amused, like shakespeare would have been – but then shakespeare was never really shakespeare, was he? – i am entranced by the whole mystery that surrounds him and he is still and will be for evermore my hero
best of all – the life, love & legacy exhibition at shakespeare’s birthplace with short films about him and with the very best scenes of one of my all-time favourite dr who episode
manchester – horrible, smelly, dirty, loud city and a hostel room full of disgusting, smelly, moaning, grunting, snoring men – the only good thing about the rain is my new pussy cat umbrella, which i proudly walked around the dirty, smelly, wet city – good shopping, though and i spent some happy pounds on useless and usefull nonsense – unfortunately, no manchester united fanstore to be found and no man united fan memorabilia to be seen anywhere – running up and down streets and round and round in circles in shopping centres did not help – no ronnie badge, key chain or anything whatsoever – like he doesn’t exist
liverpool, on the other hand is rather pretty and boasts two liverpool fc fanshops right in the middle of the city – me likey a lot and me buyey some nice presents – overall a good day there, but still no comparison to lovely south england and the romantic, historic haunts of bath and stratford
on to stratford this afternoon and goodbye to internet for a while – but imagine me in this quaint little hotel for the next nights and happy to be where dear old will spent his latter days
the shakespeare sonnets are mine at last – i might be a hopeless romantic, but i’m a romantic with style – spending a friday night at home, with shakespeare sonnets and hot chocolate – what more can a girl want? – the velvety voice of david tennant makes up for all the stupdity of real life men and príncipes
Filming begins in June for broadcast later this year on BBC Two. Broadcasts in the US and Japan will follow in 2010. Illuminations previously worked with Doran and the RSC on the filmed version of Macbeth with Antony Sher and Harriet Walter. Chris Seager will be in post as Director of Photography; Robert Jones, who designed the stage production, will also design the film and, as on stage, the music is composed by Paul Englishby, the movement director is Mike Ashcroft and the fight director is Terry King. 
