The Song of Lunch: Sunday, November 13

Alan Rickman and Emma Thompson

Our favorite Colonel Brandon and Elinor Dashwood will be reunited in The Song of Lunch. Here is the synopsis on PBS:

When a middling copy editor/failed poet meets his former lover for lunch 15 years after their affair, he finds that everything — and nothing — has changed. From the tablecloths to the wine to his former lover, wealth and success now gloss the surface where kitsch and passion once held sway. He is bitter, petulant and increasingly inebriated; she is glamorous, generous, and eventually provoked. A dramatization of Christopher Reid's acclaimed narrative poem, The Song of Lunch stars Alan Rickman (Harry Potter films) and Emma Thompson (Sense and Sensibility, film version) in the unnamed roles of He and She. Waiter, I'll take the nostalgia special with a side of recrimination and finish with regret, for a lunch that celebrates love and ambition with poignancy, humor, and affection.

Truth or Fact? Sense and Sensibility

Did Greg Wise date Kate Winslet while they were filming Sense and Sensibility and before he married Emma Thompson?

Vote here, then check the facts.

Did Greg Wise date Kate Winslet while they were filming Sense and Sensibility?
	Yes
	No
pollcode.com free polls

Read the article in this link.

Lucy Steele Comes Clean about Sense and Sensibility

Remember Lucy Steele in 1996's Sense and Sensibility? As played by Imogen Stubbs, she was a conniving mean spirited b--tch, er, witch. Imogen is currently playing Anna in The Glass Menagerie at the Cambridge Arts Theatre. In a recent interview, she fondly recalled playing as Lucy opposite Kate Winslet and Emma Thompson:

“It was a terrific cast, it was a bit like the Harry Potters, you know. On the whole British actors are lovely so it’s always a good atmosphere.

“Ang Lee was gorgeous and Emma Thompson, along with Judi Dench, is up there with the nicest women in the history of the universe. And I knew Hugh anyway because his mum was a great friend of my mum’s, and we grew up in Chiswick together.”

Surely another plus when working on a good old British period drama are the costumes. However Imogen found she’d been a little left out when it came to dress rehearsals – and the less said about her bonnet, the better.

“I had rather silly costumes. It looked as though I had a bucket on my head! Initially I was blonde and we started like that but I looked too much like I was related to Kate (Winslet) and Emma. We were all too blondy, so I had to go dark. So I had this silly little mean wig and a bucket on my head and no make-up – I looked slightly piggy.”

Imogen went on to say about Lucy: "Everyone thinks, ‘oh, awful little Lucy’, because everyone loves the two main girls, but Lucy’s a survivor – almost more like Becky Sharpe in Vanity Fair.

“I’ve played a lot of heroines but I think villains are a lot more fun." - Cambridge News Co.UK

Emma Thompson: Her Life in Pictures

The Daily Mail offers Emma Thompson: My Life in Pictures. (Above an image in 1966. Emma is the little girl on the right.) What is wonderful about them (and her comments) is that Emma, her sister Sophy, and her mother Phyllida Law, all performed in Jane Austen film adaptations. Can you tell us who played which roles in which films? (Below, the three women in 1982).


Posted by Vic, Jane Austen's World

Six Reasons for Janeites to Watch An Education

1. Because Carey Mulligan (Pride and Prejudice 2005) is said to be outstanding in this film. The role has made her a break-out star. Sensitive, clever, and intelligent films are few and far between. They save the film industry from catering primarily to young males, whose appetites for Transformers, Saw, and 2012 are insatiable.

2. Because Emma Thompson (Sense and Sensibility), the school's head mistress, is in it. 'Nuff said.

3. Because Olivia Williams (Emma, Miss Austen Regrets), who plays a teacher, is a beautiful and intelligent actress whose roles are few and far between.

4. Because Alfred Molina, the father, and Peter Sarsgaard, the older suitor, are always excellent.

5. Because Dominic Cooper (Sense and Sensibility, 2008) is becoming a reliable staple in good films.

6. Because Rosamund Pike's (Pride and Prejudice, 2005) appearances on the big screen, like Olivia Williams', are all too rare.

Posted by Vic, Jane Austen's World

Jane Austen Movie Throwdown

This week's throwdown asks you to choose your favorite Elinor Dashwood: the witty, charming, and talented Emma Thompson, or quietly beautiful and talented Hattie Morahan. Let the votes begin!

Favorite Elinor Dashwood

Emma Thompson, Sense and Sensibility, 1995

An academy award winning actress when she played Elinor, Emma "scored one of her biggest hits with Sense and Sensibility, a pleasing, literate adaptation of the Jane Austen novel. Thompson not only stars as Elinor Dashwood but also scripted—and earned an Academy Award for her effort—lending to the material a refreshing contemporary air." - Film Reference

Hattie Morahan, Sense and Sensibility, 2007

Interviewed by Jasper Rees from the Telegraph.Uk.Com, Hattie Morahan said about her role as Elinor, "People would say, 'Why are they making it again?' I kept saying, 'It was 12 years ago.' I deliberately didn't watch the film again and decided not to think about Emma Thompson. Because you would go mad. It would distort your work. I thought, it'll be original by virtue of the fact that it's me doing it and there is only one me."

pollcode.com free polls

Favorite Elinor Dashwood

Emma Thompson Hattie Morahan

Posted by Vic, Jane Austen's World

View Sense and Sensibility (1995) on Hulu.com

Watch Sense and Sensibility (1995) instantly on your own computer by streaming video at Hulu.com (US residents only). This stunning, and award winning adaptation of Jane Austen's classic novel stars Kate Winslet and Emma Thompson as the Dashwood sisters, romantic Marianne and pragmatic Elinor. Here is Hulu.com's slightly erroneous description!

Emma Thompson stars in the captivating romance based on Jane Austen's classic novel of two sisters' search for love in strict Victorian society.

Did you catch the slip? Why do people often think that Austen's novels are Victorian? Ack! The future Queen Victoria was born two years after Jane Austen died in 1819, and did not ascend to the thrown until 1837, ushering in the Victorian era. So get a clue, people!

Enjoy the movie. It's FREE

posted by Laurel Ann, Austenprose

Austen Actors Featured in New Brideshead Revisted Movie

Brideshead Revisted the Movie: Cast Preview

Janeites will be happy to hear of several actors who have been previously featured in Jane Austen movie adaptations will be staring in the new movie based on Evelyn Waugh’s novel Brideshead Revisted (limited release on 25 July 2008). Further connections include the director Julian Jerrold whose interpretation of Jane Austen’s young adult life was beautifully, though creatively visualized in Becoming Jane(2007), and the writer Andrew Davies whose Austen association can be matched by no other screenwriter with his novel adaptations of Pride and Prejudice (1995), Emma (1996), Northanger Abbey (2007), Sense and Sensibility (2008) and spinoffs Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001), and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004).

The Evelyn Waugh novel, Brideshead Revisited, The Sacred & Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder was published in 1945, and is the fascinating story of the reminiscences of Captain Charles Ryder while he is stationed at Brideshead Castle during WWII. His reflections on his involvement with the owners, the eccentric and aristocratic Flyte Family, is told through his friendship with their son Sebastian, daughter Julia, and their devotedly Catholic mother Lady Marchmain, whose manipulations by guilt and guile chisel away at the foundation of her family and at an English way of life that is quickly fading.


Enthusiasts of English period dramas will remember that this novel was brought to the screen in 1981 in an eleven part mini-series produced by Granada Television staring Anthony Andrews as Sebastian Flyte, Laurence Olivier as Lord Marchmain, and Jeremy Irons as Charles Ryder. When it aired in the US on PBS' Great Performances in 1982, it created such a brouhaha because of its mild nudity and profanity, that the series had to be re-edited for futures airings. The story line in the new movie has been pared down to 135 minuets, and will focus on the relationship of Charles Ryder and Julia Flyte. Here are the Austen actors that will be featured, and their connections.

Emma Thompson – Lady Marchmain & as

Elinor Dashwood - Sense and Sensibility (1995)

Hayley Atwell – Julia Flyte & as

Mary Crawford - Mansfield Park (2007)

Felicity Jones – Cordelia Flyte & as

Catherine Morland - Northanger Abbey (2007)

Anna Madeley – Celia Ryder & as

Lucy Steele - Sense and Sensibility (2008)

Joseph Beattie – Anthony Blanche & as

Henry Crawford - Mansfield Park(2007)

Greta Scacchi – Cara & as Mrs. Weston - Emma (1996)

& Cassandra Austen - Miss Austen Regrets(2008)

There is a fabulous official web site for Brideshead Revisited the movie which is well worth a visit, and here is a the movie trailer for your enjoyment.

Posted by Laurel Ann, Austenprose

The Connection Between Miss Bates and Mrs. Bates and Elinor Dashwood

Jane Austen's Emma boasts many memorable characters, including the amiable and chatty Miss Bates and her mother, Mrs. Bates. The real life mother and daughter team of Phyllida Law and Sophie Thompson played the two women in the 1996 version of Emma, directed by Douglas McGrath.

Phyllida Law and Sophie Thompson.

Both women are related to Emma Thompson, who is Sophie's older sister.

Emma played Elinor Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility, 1996. Sophie also played Mary Musgrove in Persuasion, 1995. Update: Most recently, Phyllida played Cassandra Leigh Austen, Jane's mother, in Miss Austen Regrets. (See picnic photo)

More about Phyllida and her daughters:

• Daily Mail Article: Emma Thompson and Mum
  

• Phyllida Law: New York Times Biography

• Actors' Wedding Photo Donated: Bristol University
  

• Sophie Thompson Interview

• Emma Thompson Biography
  

Oh, My, Look At These Jane Austen Icons from Kayla Daniels

Inquiring readers: Kayla Daniels sent in 13 lovely icons for the A Walk With Jane Austen contest. The winner will receive an autographed copy of Lori Smith's beautiful journal. By sheer dint of numbers, Kayla is a strong contender. Here, then, are Kayla's icons in the order she sent them!!

1 & 2 Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy

#3-7 Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth Bennet
#8-9 Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet
#10 Jena Malone as Lydia Bennet
#11 & 12 Emma Thompson as Elinor Dashwood
#13 Kate Winslet as Marianne Dashwood (To view this icon as you should, click here.)

Remember, you have until November 4th to send in your entries. Response has been such, that second and third place will also receive a prize, to be announced.