Jane Austen Actors Shine at Golden Globes

While the Brits came up empty-handed at the Golden Globes, they sparkled as nicely in their dress up clothes. Last year's winner for Happy Go Lucky, Sally Hawkins (Anne Elliot, 2007), looked fit and sassy in her short gown.

Colin Firth (Mr. Darcy, 1995) and wife Livia managed to keep dry on the red carpet. He was nominated for A Single Man.

Caret Mulligan (Kitty Bennet, 2005 & Isabella Thorpe, 2007) brought her mom, and sported a cute hair band. Sadly, she did not win for An Education.

Kate Winslet (Marianne Dashwood, 1996) looked regal and spectacular in an Yves St. Laurent gown. She presented a Golden Globe to Jeff Bridges for Best Actor in Crazy Heart.

And although Emily Blunt (nominated for Young Victoria) has not yet portrayed a Jane Austen character in a film, she is removed by only one degree of separation, having performed opposite Anne Hathaway (Becoming Jane) in The Devil Wears Prada and as Prudie in the Jane Austen Book Club

Addition:
Mention must be made of Janet McTeer, Mrs. Dashwood, 2007, (Thanks Deborah) for HBO's Into the Storm. Unfortunately, I could find no image of her at the Award Ceremony.

Happy Ever Afters: An Irish Comedy

Sally Hawkins and Tom Riley are two actors Jane Austen fans know well. Sally played Anne Elliot in 2007’s Persuasion and Tom Riley recently did a turn as Mr. Wickham in Lost in Austen. Both play the lead in a new Irish comedy, Happy Ever Afters’, scheduled to open after Christmas in Ireland.



The plot is goofy and improbable: Two wedding parties are double-booked and end up at the same reception venue. The bride from one wedding and groom from the other wedding realize they made a mistake in marrying their spouses as they fall for each other. Chaos ensues in what is described as an enjoyable slapstick film.


First-time director Stephen Burke chose two British actors to play Irishmen. Tom Riley described how he learned to speak with an Irish accent, which sounds like a comedy in itself:

“When I came on set the first day everyone was saying ‘Ok, that is too Dublin, nobody is going to understand you outside of Ireland’ and then there was ‘Can you sound more English?’. Now an English person doing an Irish accent trying to sound more English… well, I don’t know how successful I was. And especially because we were on a set where there are people from Galway, Cork and Northern Ireland and everyone is giving you their opinion. So I just decided to keep everything as neutral as possible and hopefully it’s ok, we’ll see how people respond.”

Learn more about the film in this article: Marrying Irish Humour & Filmmaking Talent, ‘Happy Ever Afters’ in Cinemas Dec 26

And read a review in Cinametic Concerns

Happy Ever Afters’ will be released in Irish cinemas on Saturday, December 26th. I can’t wait until it hits the U.S.

Jane Austen Movie Throwdown

Seen in the Guardian Co.UK, this description of Anne Elliot as one of five most romantic heroines:

Forget lippy Lizzie Bennett and mooning Marianne Dashwood; Persuasion's Anne Elliot is a complex, clever woman with a past who deserves a far more glorious place in the literary hall of fame. In her tentative, subtle and brilliantly funny journey back to the man she loved and lost eight years before, Anne gives us hope that love is not just for pretty teens; that second chances exist; and that ordinary lives really can be transformed by intelligence, independence and decency. Strike a blow for the quiet one in the corner and help crown Anne our romantic queen.

In your estimation, who played Anne Elliot best? Amanda Root (left) or Sally Hawkins (right)?

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Jane Austen Movie Throwdown: Best Anne Elliot

Amanda Root Saly Hawkins

Congratulations, Sally Hawkins!

Golden Globes winner and rising star Sally Hawkins won last night for her performance as Poppy in Happy Go Lucky. Persuasion fans will be able to see Sally Hawkins this season as Anne Elliot in a repeat of the ITV Jane Austen novel adaptation on PBS. This film adaptation of the novel was not the best, being too short and rushed, but Sally's performance as Anne was delicately nuanced (except for her dash through Bath) and Anthony Head's performance as Sir Walter Elliot should not be missed.


Read about Sally's Happy Go Lucky performance in these links:

• LA Times

• Rising Star Sally Hawkins

• Awards Daily

Image: Sally with her Golden Globe award, Sunday, January 11, 2009

• Read our other posts about Sally here.

Posted by Vic, Jane Austen's World

"Why, thank ya'll for the honor!"

Seen on the Blogosphere: Interview with Sally Hawkins

It's been ten months since we've seen Sallie Hawkins as Anne Elliot in ITV's 2007 version of Persuasion. Since then she has starred in Cassandra's Dream, a Woodie Allen film, and as Poppy in Happy Go Lucky. Recently Nathaniel R. interviewed her about the latter role for The Film Experience.

• You can listen to the interview on Itunes at this link.

• My other post about Sally sits here.

Posted by Vic, Jane Austen's World

Where Are They Now? Sally Hawkins

The last time we saw Sally Hawkins she was tearing down Bath's Royal Crescent as Anne Elliot to claim Captain Wentworth (Rupert Penry Jones) as her man. Although we didn't like the ending, we generally liked this ITV JA adaptation. So, what has Sally been up to these days? As you can see from this trailer of Happy Go Lucky, she's quite adorable in this quirky comedy about a teacher named Poppy, for which she won the Silver Bear award for Best Actress in the Berlin Film Festival this year.



Can you spot another Jane Austen adaptation alumni in this trailer? Yes, it's Sylvestra Le Touzel, Fanny Price in 1986's Mansfield Park and Mrs. Allen in ITV's 2007 adaptation of Northanger Abbey.

Here's Sally in a July interview, speaking about the film, and looking fabulous in her loose, modern hairdo (in contrast to her bad hair days in Persuasion):

Posted by Vic, Jane Austen's World

Mini Austenpalooza Headed Down Under

Janeites in Australia will soon enjoy the delights of four of Jane Austen’s cannon adapted for the screen. According to this advance interview of Actress Sally Hawkins who portrayed Anne Elliot in the ITV production of Persuasion (2007), it looks like the month of June has been dedicated as a mini Austenpalooza down under. Starting with Emma (Kate Beckinsale version 1996), the weekly Sunday evening airings will also include the new (2007) versions of Persuasion on June 8, Northanger Abbey on June 15, and Mansfield Park on June 22.

What no Pride and Prejudice (1995), Sense and Sensibility (2008) and Miss Austen Regrets (2008) to ‘complete’ the ensemble that North American audiences enjoyed this past winter with The Complete Jane Austen on PBS? Let’s hope that they head that way soon, for what else do Janeites live for but total emersion, right?



Actress Sally Hawkins has some interesting comments to add about her take on Austen and her motives for writing.

"I think Jane is echoed in all her heroines, in all her novels," Hawkins says. "If you look at them as a set of complete works, you can see a real woman growing up. Her wit is there, apparent through all her heroines, and that is very much at the core."

Australian audiences have the double advantage of previous airing of these adaptations in the UK and North America, and many reviews are about. To prep yourself for each production (spoilers afoot), here are some reviews of the high and low points of each production.


Emma

• JANE AUSTEN MOVIE CLUB: Emma (1996/TV)
• The Complete Jane Austen "Emma" by Jessica Emerson
• Emma Review: By the Vacuous and Vulgar Mrs. Elton
• Fun Friday–Emma, by Kaye Dacus

Persuasion

• Review: Madcap PBS 'Persuasion' sacrifices nuance
• Persuasion Review: “almost too good for me”?
• The Complete Jane Austen "Persuasion" by Victoire Sanborn

Northanger Abbey

• Northanger Abbey: A Review
• 'Northanger Abbey' is lighthearted Austen
• Northanger Abbey Review: An Austen Adventure

Mansfield Park

• Mansfield Park Review: No Hope of a Cure
• The Dummification of Mansfield Park
• The Complete Jane Austen "Mansfield Park" by Lori Smith
• Mansfield Park–My Reaction, Kaye Ducas

Posted by Laurel Ann, Austenprose

Create Your Own Personalized Jane Austen E-Card

Those ever-so-creative folks at PBS and American Greetings have designed a beautiful new The Complete Jane Austen inspired e-card for us to send a personalized greeting to all of our Janeite friends. Just in time for Valentines day, it features images of portraits of the major characters from each Jane Austen adaptation in beautiful classic frame, that transition to an the image of Persuasion stars Sally Hawkins as Anne Elliot and Rupert Penry-Jones as Captain Wentworth.

Check it out, and dash off a few Jane Austen inspired greetings to your friends and family.

Posted by Laurel Ann, Austenprose

Who is Sally Hawkins? And Why Was She Picked to Play Anne Elliot?

As any eager Janeite knows, Persuasion will air January 13th at 9 p.m. EST on PBS's Masterpiece Theatre. The 2007 ITV version of Jane Austen's splendid last book features Sally Hawkins as Anne Elliot and Rupert Penry-Jones as dashing Captain Wentworth. (Read a breathtaking and detailed feature about the movie in this PDF document of Regency World Magazine.)

American audiences may well ask: 'Who is Sally Hawkins?' In this interview in the Manchester Evening News last spring, the 31-year-old actress realizes she will be the envy of other women for acting opposite handsome Rupert. According to this article, her acting background is extensive:

Sally has an impressive CV of film, TV and theatre credits. It include roles in hit British films Vera Drake and Layer Cake, as well as a part in the forthcoming Woody Allen movie Cassandra's Dream.

Her television work includes Tipping The Velvet, The Young Visiters, Fingersmith and the role of Manchester department store personal shopper Nathalie in BBC2's Shiny Shiny Bright New Hole In My Heart. She's also appeared in three episodes of Little Britain.

Watching her performances in these other projects on YouTube, one cannot help but admire her range and scope of work. It is easy to understand why she was picked for the part of the stoic and kind, but resigned Anne.

While Sally looked and behaved perfectly as a Regency Miss, except for that mad dash through Bath's Royal Crescent, she can look quite modern, as this photo attests. (Sally with Collin Farrel on a Woody Allen movie set.) From the film projects she has lined up in the near future, Sally's fans can look forward to seeing her soon again.

Read more on Sally's other projects and interviews in these links:

• Shiny Shiny Bright New Hole in My Heart, BBC
  

• Spirited Sally
  

• Interview With Radio Times
  

• A review of the movie and Sally's performance in Persuasion.

• Sally Hawkins Fansite