CINEMA
Earlier this year was released the new adaptation of Brideshead Revisited and I haven't seen it yet. I've already expressed my indifference towards the book and I stand by it, but any Emma Thompson movie is worth watching in my opinion. The script was written by Andrew Davies and it also stars Hayley Atwell who in my opinion is very talented (in The Line of Beauty and the first two Sally Lockhart adaptations) she didn't make a sensible choice with ITV's Mansfield Park broadcast in 2007, though, but her acting was good even in that). And obviously, even if apparently we see her for two seconds, my very dear Felicity Jones plays Cordelia Flyte. The stills are quite gorgeous. Anything to revisit Waugh whom I may have failed to understand.
From left to right : Charles Ryder (Matthew Goode), Julia Flyte (Hayley Atwell) and Sebastian Flyte (Ben Whishaw)It would be an understatement to say that I'm eagerly waiting for Revolutionary Road and The Reader. Kate Winslet is one of my favourite actresses and any new movie with her is worth watching. There are some that I like more than the others but in the end, she always is Oscar-worthy (wink, wink, Academy Awards people!). I'm happy Sam Mendes is directing it. American Beauty does have the same resonance about suburban life. I'm glad to see her starring in Revolutionary Road which is an excellent book that says intelligent things about suburban middle-class I think. I absolutely need to read more by Richard Yates.
I've already talked about Coraline here and the adaptation looks more and more gorgeous as the stills come in. I desperately want to read Stardust before seeing the movie, by the way.
I don't remember for how long The Lovely Bones has been in production. I got interested in seeing this the minute I heard about it - I read the book when it was published and I really couldn't see how anyone could make a good movie out of it, it's such a graceful book that has little to no action in it and the settings were too original for cinema to say the least. But when I saw that Saoirse Ronan had been cast as Susie Salmon (this girl got a well-deserved Academy Award nomination for her amazing performance as Briony in the excellent Atonement, a shame that Romola Garai was forgotten) and Peter Jackson was going to direct the adaptation, I stopped worrying. It's now scheduled for December 2009. I say take your time as long as it's good in the end.
Some other movies I'm waiting for because of the cast, really, and sometimes also because I loved the book. An Education has a screenplay by Nick Hornby (have never read him as I don't know where to begin, should look into this soon) and stars the charming and talented Carey Mulligan as the main protagonist. She was excellent in Bleak House, in Northanger Abbey and in My Boy Jack. I can't wait to see her again ! She will be reunited with her Pride and Prejudice costar Rosamund Pike, and will be in the good company of Emma Thomspon, Sally Hawkins and Olivia Williams, all actresses I love.
Stephen Frears will be directing an intriguing adaptation, that of Chéri by Colette. The movie will star my very dear Felicity Jones in a minor role, but also Michelle Pfeiffer in a major part (she'll play Léa de Lonval) and Rupert Friend as Chéri. Rupert didn't really convince me as Wickham in the 2005 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice but we'll see. Here's a picture of Felicity :
I love Oscar Wilde. I've just read a book (I'll talk about it in a separate entry) that featured him prominently as a character and I want to read everything I can by him. I have fond memories of Dorian Gray and I'm thrilled that it'll get an adaptation. Ben Barnes looks perfect for the part although I've never seen him act. Rachel Hurd-Wood as Sybil is a sensible choice, this actress is so talented, I still can't get over her performance as Wendy in the magical 2003 adaptation of Peter Pan. Emilia Fox is also starring in this and I love seeing her on screen. Bizarre choice of a poster, makes it look like gothic horror or urban fantasy.
On February 17 will be released a straight-to-DVD movie of Dead Like Me, one of my favourite TV shows. Now I wish they could do that for Gilmore Girls ! Now the suspense is all about Laura Harris' involvement in this. She played Daisy Adair in the original series and every fan wants her back. The problem is that another actress was cast (I still don't know why, it doesn't look like Laura Harris was playing anybody else at the time). We even saw a trailer with the new actress but now that the movie is done and wrapped, Laura Harris is listed as Daisy. Weird. Let's not get our hopes up, it would cost a fortune to reshoot everything. Still, would be great especially since Rube isn't coming back.
TV
I've already talked about Casualty 1909 here so I'm not going to repeat myself. Another thing I'm looking forward to is the new season of Ashes to Ashes, but also the Cranford special we were promised (and let's hope that the gifted Heidi Thomas will be writing it as well).
Will I be waiting for the new season of Mad Men (the only show I watched this year)? Probably not. Although who knows, really... I need to catch up on some other shows so I may not have the time.
Will I be waiting for the new season of Mad Men (the only show I watched this year)? Probably not. Although who knows, really... I need to catch up on some other shows so I may not have the time.
MUSIC
LISTEN HERE
I know next to nothing about future albums so this won't be long. According to Wikipedia, every Beatles album will be remastered and rereleased next year : "All albums by the Beatles (including Past Masters, Volume One and Past Masters, Volume Two) will be released newly remastered sometime in 2009 on CD. The 2009 remasters will replace the infamously poor quality 1987 remasters." So I know where my money will go !
I leave you with a few songs taken from the Harry Potter scores and a Peter Pan fanvid (2003 movie adaptation). I'm not a fan of the music but I think it works really well with the clips. Plus, I love Tugger29's work. I must admit I'm not a fan of the play Peter Pan and Wendy either, but I'll make an exception today and pretend I'm happy with it and don't have any personal issues.
