Kate Winslet- Actor of the Week

Kate Winslet

Kate Winslet has done so many period pieces she has been nicknamed Corset Kate! And thank goodness she has. Here are a few of the wonderful films she has done in the period genre (and perhaps one modern era film).

Kate Winslet, Sense and Sensibility 1995

Was there ever an actress who inhabited a role like Kate did with Marianne Dashwood?

Marianne: Can he love her? Can the soul be really be satisfied with such polite affections? To love is to burn - to be on fire, like Juliet or Guinevere or Eloise...

Kate Winslet as Ophelia in Hamlet 1996

As the tragic, vulnerable, mad Ophelia in Kenneth Branaugh's Hamlet. Remarkable!

Kate Winslet as Rose in Titanic 1997

As the young Rose Dewitt Bukater in Titanic, she had her true breakout role, for which she will be forever known. I love that outfit by the way!

Rose: You know, my dream has always been to run away and become an artist, Living in a garret poor but free!
Jack: You wouldn't last 2 days. There's no hot water and hardly any caviar.

Kate Winslet as Maddy LeClerc in Quills 2000

I really hated Quills, for the subject matter not for the acting. I don't think I will ever watch this again. But there she is, gorgeously corseted as usual.

Kate Winslet as Young Iris Murdoch in Iris 2001

As the young novelist Iris Murdoch, played opposite Hugh Bonneville as her husband John Bayley, she had a really meaty role and was a little less glamorous than some of her other roles.

Kate Winslet as Sylvia Llewelyn Davies in Finding Neverland 2004

Finding Neverland is a gem of a film. We tend to forget just how wonderful, so if you haven't seen this one in a while, you may want to revisit it. Just bring a big box of Kleenex!

Michael Llewelyn Davies: [about J.M. Barrie] Can we have him for supper?
Sylvia Llewelyn Davies: Have him to stay for supper, Michael. We're not cannibals.

Kate Winslet as Iris Simkins in The Holiday 2006

Alright, I know The Holiday isn't a period piece, but this is my blog and this is one of my favourite films, so there! I just love it, especially this time of year.

Iris: [to Jasper] I don't know, but I think what I've got is something slightly resembling... GUMPTION!

   

Kate Winslet as Hanna Schmitz in The Reader 2008

Kate won a Best Actress Oscar for her role as the intense Hanna Schmitz in The Reader.  Again, the film is fantastic, but I am not in a great hurry to see it again. I just like my films a little happier, I suppose.

Kate Winslet as April Wheeler in Revolutionary Road 2008

I never saw Revolutionary Road. The trailers didn't look appealing, much as I adore Kate and Leo. Anyone want to give me their take on whether or not it's worth seeing?
N.B. Jule left a comment below saying that Revolutionary Road is fabulous, so now I can't wait to see Kate and Leo in this one. Thanks Jule!

Kate Winslet as Mildred Pierce 2011

Showing again how talented she is, Kate totally rocked as Mildred Pierce. A little more severe looking here, she demonstrates her amazing versatility.

Kate Winslet as a young girl

And I couldn't resist this adorable shot of Kate as a youngster. Who knew then how much the world would come to adore this ballsy actress. I for one, can't wait to see what she does in the future.

Jane Austen's Birthday Soiree- The Gift of Film and A Giveaway

Today, December 16th, is Jane Austen's Birthday. In her 41 short years she was able to make such a mark in the literary world that here we are celebrating her birthday 236 years later. I think I speak for many of us when I say that she has enriched our lives immeasurably and for that we are truly grateful. In this spirit of gratitude, 30 other bloggers and I will be offering some gifts in the first ever Jane Austen's Birthday Soiree.

In order to honour our esteemed author, I would like to give her The Gift of Film to demonstrate how her beloved books have been dramatized over the past 20 years or so. She liked going to the theatre and had put on amateur productions with her siblings as a child, so I will show her what the world has done with her novels 200 years later.

Pride and Prejudice 1995

I would love to show her Andrew Davies's adaptation of her favourite heroine Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice from 1995. Although she might think that Mrs. Bennet is a bit shrill, I think she would approve of the rest. I would hope that she would swoon over Mr. Darcy come to life on the screen. I would try to explain the wet shirt scene and the thrill that this gave to women worldwide. I think she would understand, don't you?

Mansfield Park 1999

I would show her Mansfield Park 1999 but with qualifications and apologies. I would try to explain that the filmmakers thought that if they injected a little of Miss Austen herself into Fanny Price, that the character would appeal more to a modern audience. I would also explain that her true fans are still waiting for a really faithful and satisfactory film or miniseries to be made of Mansfield Park. I would not show her the bottle blonde abomination of Mansfield Park from 2007. I know some people liked it but not me.

Northanger Abbey 2007

I think she would get some enjoyment out of Andrew Davies's adaptation of Northanger Abbey from 2007. The mischievous Mr. Tilney would appeal I think, as would the wide eyed portrayal of Catherine Morland by Felicity Jones.

Emma 2009

Although she may find Romola Garai's Emma  from 2009 a little too likeable, I think this is the best screen version of Emma and I love all the characters in this miniseries. OK, I especially love Jonny Lee Miller and I hope that the author would approve of his Mr. Knightley. Actually, I should probably show her the Emma with Gwyneth Paltrow from 1996 and the Emma with Kate Beckinsale from 1996. It would be a lively discussion afterwards, as to which version is truer to her original vision and which version she liked best (and they may not be one and the same).

Persuasion 1995

I think she would love Persuasion 1995  with it's nautical music and filming locations of Bath and Lyme Regis. It might amaze her how little has changed in 200 years. I would love to watch her taking in the magical scene of the letter...“You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope...I have loved none but you.”

Sense and Sensibility 1995

Lastly, I would love her to see the masterpiece of Sense and Sensibility 1995 adapted by Emma Thompson and Directed by Ang Lee. I think she would be impressed by how well her novel springs to life on the big screen. I would point out how the music in this production stays with you long after the film is over. I might even show her Emma Thompson's Golden Globe acceptance speech afterward, although it might require some explanation!



None of us know what Jane Austen would think of what modern society has done with her "darling children". But I hope that she could appreciate the way her novels so easily adapt to the screen, and the fact that we love to see them acted out as much as we enjoying reading them after all these years.

Happy Birthday Miss Austen! We only wish you were around longer so that we might have more of your "darling children" to enjoy.

THE GIVEAWAY

Please post a comment below about your favourite Jane Austen film adaptation to be entered into my giveaway draw for a DVD copy of Northanger Abbey 2007. I am opening the giveaway worldwide (draw closes December 23) and I will announce the winner here. The winner can choose a region 1 or region 2 DVD. Don't forget to add your email address!

Please also visit the rest of the participants in the Jane Austen Birthday Soiree. The list is so extensive, it may take you a week to enter all of the giveaway draws. But please do. There are so many wonderful websites on this list and lots of great gifts!

•  Sharon Lathan  Sharon Lathan

•  Emily Snyder  O! Beauty Unattempted

•  Laurel Ann Nattress Austenprose 

•  C. Allyn Pierson SemiTrue Stories

•  Cindy Jones First Draft 

•  Farida Mestek Regency stories set against the backdrop of Regency England

•  Marilyn Brant Brant Flakes

•  Prue Batten Mesmered’s Blog

•  Erin Blakemore The Heroine’s Bookshelf

•  Velvet vvb32 reads 

•  Karen Doornebos The Fiction vs. Reality Smackdown

•  Regina Jeffers ReginaJeffers's Blog

•  Alyssa Goodnight Alyssa Goodnight  

•  Deb Jane Austen in  Vermont

• Laura Hile,  Susan Kaye, Pamela Aidan, and Barbara Cornthwaite Jane Started It!

• Juliet Archer Choc Lit Authors’ Corner

• Jane Greensmith Reading, Writing, Working , Playing

• Sitio Jane Austen El Salón de Té de Jane

• Kaitlin Saunders Kaitlin Saunders 

• Becky Rhodehouse One Literature Nut

• Patrice Sarath Patrice Sarath

• Adriana Zardini Jane Austen Brasil

• Jane Odiwe Jane Austen Sequels

• Courtney Webb Stiletto Storytime 

• Jennifer Becton Jennifer W. Becton

• Vera Nazarian Urban Girl Takes Vermont

• Abigail Reynolds Pemberley Variations

• AustenAuthors

• Katherine Cox November’s Autumn

• Maria Grazia My Jane Austen Book Club

Hugo is magical!

Hugo in 3D

Apparently there are two types of people in this world. Ones who love this film and ones who hate it. I adored this film. Magical is a good word to describe the story and the gorgeous journey it takes you on. My dear readers will likely love this film. If you need lots of action, things flying at screen and constant plot twists, you should skip it. The fact that it was directed by Martin Scorsese and produced by Johnny Depp says a lot about it.

Hugo Isabelle and the automaton

I don't want to give away too much of the plot, but Hugo lives in a Paris train station in the 1930s. His watchmaker father has passed away (poor Jude Law) and the orphan is now living in the walls of the Gare Montparnasse train station and winding all the clocks there. His quest to repair the automaton his father was restoring takes him on a very different journey where he meets Isabelle and her unusual godfather Georges Méliès.

Hugo hanging from clock face a la Harold Lloyd

This film is a love letter to the movies and a love letter to Paris all wrapped up in a "family film". It is really a film for thoughtful bookish adults and older children. Don't take young kids to this one, or any older children who didn't truly enjoy the Harry Potter films. Do take anyone who enjoys a deeper more thoughtful film than Hollywood usually produces these days.

Hugo learning magic tricks from Méliès

The film is full of brilliant English actors (yes all of the French people in this have English accents) such as Ben Kingsley as Méliès, Asa Butterfield as the luminous Hugo, Sacha Baron Cohen as the hilarious Station Inspector and a plethora of Potterites such as Frances de la Tour (Mme Maxime), Richard Griffiths (Mr. Dursley), Helen McCrory (Narcissa Malfoy) and so on. Emily Mortimer is adorable as the flower seller and Jude Law does a lovely job of Hugo's father. American actress Chloe Grace Moretz is quite enchanting as Hugo's new friend and assistant in mischief. 

Gare Montparnasse Train Accident of 1895

Harold Lloyd "Safety Last!" 1923

"A Trip to the Moon"  1902

So I hope all my dear readers get a chance to see this over the holidays, and if you love it as I did, try to spread the word to others who you think would enjoy it. Keep the wrong folks away from this one however, as it needs the right audience. We will keep it as our little secret!

P.S. It is adapted from the beautifully illustrated book "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" by American writer Brian Selznick  who, incidentally, is distantly related to the legendary film producer David O. Selznick.

P.P.S. The automaton in this film (self-operating machine) is a realistic depiction of what these machine/toys were like in the late Victorian period. "The period 1860 to 1910 is known as "The Golden Age of Automata". During this period many small family based companies of Automata makers thrived in Paris. From their workshops they exported thousands of clockwork automata and mechanical singing birds around the world." -from Wikipedia
The Franklin Institute's Henri Maillardet Automaton was a principal inspiration for Selznick's book

Bridget Jones's Diary 2001

Bridget Jones's Diary Poster

Why oh why do I love this film so much? I know it is not a masterpiece of celluloid. And yet I can watch it over and over. I also love the book by the way, and unlike the films, the second book might be even better than the first. But this is the Bridget movie that I love. I mean it has Mr. Darcy and Edward Ferrars in it for starters.

Mr. Darcy, Mark Darcy...brilliant!

Yup, a casting coup to get Mr. Darcy himself, Colin Firth to play Mark Darcy, the modern personification of his iconic character. But why do we not get to see him with his shirt off? Or a wet shirt? OK, we did enjoy the male version of the cat-fight set to the tune of "It's Raining Men".

Mark Darcy: All right Cleaver, outside.

Daniel Cleaver: [half laughing] I'm sorry? Outside? Should I bring my dueling pistols or my sword?

The sight of two good looking English gents kicking and pushing each other like girls just makes me giddy. Especially when set to a catchy song! Man these people know what I like (Andrew Davies, Richard Curtis, Helen Fielding...yup!)

Bridget: Resolution #1: Uggg - will obviously lose 20 lbs. #2: Always put last night's panties in the laundry basket. Equally important: will find nice sensible boyfriend and stop forming romantic attachments to any of the following: alcoholics, workaholics, sexaholics, commitment-phobics, peeping toms, megalomaniacs, emotional "dimwits", or perverts. Will especially stop fantasizing about a particular person who embodies all these things. 

Admiral Darcy: I like a woman with an arse you can park a bike in and balance a pint of beer on. 

Rock on awesome father of Mark Darcy! You are the ideal father-in-law! 

Shazzer: Look, are you coming to "bloody" Paris or not?

Bridget: Um, not.
Shazzer: No "bloody" room, anyway.

Mark Darcy: I don't think you're an idiot at all. I mean, there are elements of the ridiculous about you. Your mother's pretty interesting. And you really are an appallingly bad public speaker. And, um, you tend to let whatever's in your head come out of your mouth without much consideration of the consequences... But the thing is, um, what I'm trying to say, very inarticulately, is that, um, in fact, perhaps despite appearances, I like you, very much. Just as you are. 

Bridget: You once said you liked me just as I am and I just wanted to say likewise. I mean you wear stupid things your mum buys you, tonight's another... classic. You're haughty, and you always say the wrong thing in every situation and I seriously believe that you should rethink the length of your sideburns. But, you're a nice man and I like you. If you wanted to pop by some time that might be nice... more than nice.

Mark Darcy: Right, crikey.

Bridget: Wait a minute... nice boys don't kiss like that.

Mark Darcy: Oh, yes, they "bloody well" do.

 *********************************************************************************

Yup, still one of my fave movies ever. A guilty pleasure. Now I think I may have to pull the book out again for some bedtime reading.  

My question is this: Will this film be redone in the next decade or so? Will each generation have to have it's own Bridget Jones and Mark Darcy just like we have to reinvent Lizzie and Mr. Darcy?

Aaaaand...will Bridget Jones 3 (avec des bébés) ever get off the ground? And will Bridget be skinny this time? I could use another Bridget Jones, but only if it's as good as the first one please.

N.B. Just Googled Bridget Jones 3 and came up with the info that Bridget Jones's  Baby is a go, with Peter Cattaneo (from The Full Monty) directing and filming to start in January with a 2013 release date. Colin Firth has already spilled the beans about the plot. **Spoiler Alert**:

According to Marie Clarie UK, Colin Firth opened up earlier in the fall.

‘I can tell you that Bridget and Mark can’t have children, I think that’s the way it goes on,’ the Oscar-winner told Dave Karger, reporting for Access Hollywood.
‘So then she makes the huge mistake of going back to Daniel Cleaver [Hugh Grant's character] for long enough to get pregnant.‘And I think he dumps her, and she’s left stranded, and guess who comes back to rescue her?’
While we still have no idea if the actor's version of the plot is correct, author Helen Fielding also confirmed the plans.
‘I will be working on both the book and the film but I don’t know if they are the same thing yet,' she said. 'It’s not been decided.’

Squeeeeeeee!!!! Can't wait! A book and a film!

Hugh Laurie- Actor of the Week

Hugh Laurie with those baby blue eyes

I will watch just about anything with Hugh Laurie. I eventually lost interest in House, but I watched him diagnose and misdiagnose many patients before that point, often marveling at his impeccable American accent. It is very difficult for a Brit to do, as demonstrated by Emma Thompson playing a Hilary Clinton type in Primary Colors. Let's just say that Emma's accent wasn't good, but the film was. In any case, lots to admire about Hugh Laurie's career. From a guy who could be considered an Oxbridge toff, he seems very down to earth and oozes talent. Comedy, music, drama...you need it, Hugh has got it!

Hugh Laurie being presented the Perrier Comedy award by Rowan Atkinson. Emma Thompson and Stephen Fry look on.

Hugh Laurie and Emma Thompson are still friends, even after dating briefly while at Cambridge together. Most importantly, they collaborated with Stephen Fry and a few other talented Brits to take the Cambridge Footlights Revue to the Edinburgh Festival and won the first Perrier Comedy Award there.

Here are a few of my fave Hugh Laurie roles, and most of them could be considered Period Pieces!

Hugh Laurie as The Prince Regent in Black Adder the Third

Prince George: What can I do to a woman that I can't do to you?
Blackadder: I cannot conceive, sir.

Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry as Jeeves and Wooster

Jeeves: Travel is highly educational, Sir.
Bertie: I cannot do with any more education, Jeeves. I was full up years ago!

Hugh Laurie as Mr. Palmer from Sense and Sensibility

Charlotte Palmer: Oh, if only this rain would stop!
Mr. Palmer: If only you would stop.

Hugh Laurie and Mark Williams stealing 101 Dalmatians (House and Mr. Weasley!)

Horace: You know, this house is creepy, I'm starvin' hungry, and so far we haven't been paid one bloody quid!
Jasper: Oh, WILL you stop MOANING?

Hugh Laurie in Stuart Little with Geena Davis and Jonathan Lipnicki

George Little: Maybe we should go home.
Mr. Little: Why?
George Little: I'm not wearing my lucky underwear.
Mr. Little: You don't have lucky underwear.
George Little: Well, maybe we should get some, and then come back for another race.

Hugh Laurie in The Young Visiters with Jim Broadbent and Lyndsey Marshal

Lord Bernard Clark: Oh, tell me you love me also, Ethel!
Ethel Monticue: I do love you also, Bernard. I love you madly. I love you with passion. You are to me like a heathen god, with your manly form and your handsome, flashing face.

**********************************************************************************

I loved his character in Spooks (MI5), Jools Siviter, and I wish I had seen him as Vincente Minelli in Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows.  Did anyone see him in that one? I love Judy Davis and I'm sure she did a great job of playing Judy Garland. He was in Spice World too, but we won't hold that against him!

So have I missed your favourite Hugh Laurie role? Are you a closet Hugh fan too? I love that Emma Thompson had to have him in Sense and Sensibility. He took Mr. Palmer from ridiculous to wonderfully compassionate with aplomb. Lovely! May have to pop in Sense and Sensibility now, as I have been quoting it all day.... 

Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken

from Shakespeare's Sonnet 116

The Young Visiters (Author's spelling) DVD and book

The Young Visiters, or Mr. Salteena's Plan

I just stumbled across the film The Young Visiters from 2003 on the BBC Canada website  and I had to find out more about it. After all, look at the DVD cover. It stars Jim Broadbent and Hugh Laurie! How bad could it be? And then I find out that it also stars Bill Nighy, Geoffrey Palmer, Sophie Thompson and Sally Hawkins. Awesome! But what is it about?

The Young Visiters written by 9 year old Daisy Ashford in 1890

It is a hilarious story written by a 9 year old Victorian girl Daisy Ashford in 1890 (with rather creative and variable spelling) about a young girl Ethel Monticue, who meets Mr. Salteena, "an elderly man of 42", who falls in love with her at first sight and promises to introduce her to high society. Only one problem... he only knows one aristocrat by the name of Lord Bernard Clark! Hilarity ensues.

Daisy Ashford, authoress and child prodigy

I shan't say any more about this except that it is adorable and very "BBC", so very well done. So if you would like to travel back in time through the imagination of a little girl, this is the DVD for you. And now excuse me while I go order the book for Christmas. Apparently, it has never been out of print.

P.S. This would be perfect to watch or read WITH a similar little girl with a good imagination.

Ciaran Hinds- Actor of the Week

Ciaran Hinds

Ciaran Hinds (pronounced KEER-ahn Hyndz, I looked it up!) has been in many wonderful Period Dramas and is well loved for his various roles. Ciaran grew up in Northern Ireland and before being an actor he was an Irish dancer- I kid you not! Boy would I love to see him Irish Dance. Michael Flatley eat your heart out!  But where do I start with his acting career? Oh, I guess I will have to start with my personal favourite and possibly yours, Captain Wentworth.

Ciaran Hinds as Captain Wentworth in Persuasion

"You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone for ever. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own than when you almost broke it, eight and a half years ago. Dare not say that a man forgets sooner than woman, that his love has an earlier death. I have loved none but you. Unjust I may have been, weak and resentful I have been, but never inconstant."

Swooooooooon! That little quotation from Persuasion gets me every time. Much as I liked Rupert Penry-Jones' portrayal of Captain Wentworth, I think I speak for a few of us when I say that his voice is in my head as I read the paragraph above.

Ciaran Hinds as Professor Flynn from Circle of Friends

Ciaran Hinds was hilarious as Professor Flynn in Circle of Friends.  If you haven't seen this one in a while, it is worth watching for his performance alone... "The sexual life of savages!"

Ciaran Hinds and Samantha Morton in Jane Eyre 1997

There are so many versions of Jane Eyre that one has to specify either the year or the actor playing Mr. Rochester or Jane Eyre so that we know which one is being discussed. This one has many familiar faces in it such as Samantha Morton, Rupert Penry-Jones and Gemma Jones. I have to admit however, that my heart belongs to the 2006 version with Ruth Wilson and Toby Stephens.

In Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day 2008, a wonderful screwball comedy, Ciaran Hinds gets to demonstrate his dancing ability as Joe, the handsome older gentleman who literally sweeps Frances McDormand's character Miss Pettigrew off of her feet. Phwoar, ladies!

OK, I know this isn't a Period Drama but it is one of my fave chick flicks. Calendar Girls from 2003 is a classic BritCom with a heart. If you haven't seen it you really have a treat in store for one of those nights when you need a good laugh and a good cry.


Did I miss any of your favourite Ciaran Hinds films, period drama or not? Tell me which ones you particularly enjoyed. You guys have great suggestions for a film-a-holic like me!


This post is dedicated to Rena and Mary Simonsen who used words like "hopelessly attached" and "quintessential MAN" when speaking of Ciaran Hinds in the comments on my older post on Persuasion 1995 and 2007. Thanks to everyone for all of the great comments on various posts. That is what makes this blog so much fun to do.