Category: Films

Leading Man News

Emma Thompson received her star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame last month
and showed up at the unveiling with a pig and a pint.

Yipppeee for Emma Thompson. Yes, I know Emma’s not a leading man, but she is working on a new project, a remake of My Fair Lady, to star Carey Mulligan as Eliza Doolittle and rumour is that she’s tapped Colin Firth to play Henry Higgins, with Hugh Grant in a supporting role. Emma has said in interviews that she was dissatisfied with the original film version’s sugary take on the storyline of Pygmalion which, however one slices it, revolves around a father’s having sold his daughter to an older man in a form of prostitution. Emma has said:

“It’s a very terrible thing [Eliza Doolittle’s father] does, selling his daughter into sexual slavery for a fiver. I suppose my cheekiness is in saying, “This is a very serious story about the usage of women at a particular time in our history. And it’s still going on today.” 

About the original film, and its female lead, Emma said:
“I’m not hugely fond of the film. I find Audrey Hepburn fantastically twee … Twee is whimsy without wit. It is mimsy-mumsy sweetness without any kind of bite. And that’s not for me. She can’t sing and she can’t really act, I’m afraid. I’m sure she was a delightful woman — and perhaps if I had known her I would have enjoyed her acting more, but I don’t and I didn’t, so that’s all there is to it really.”

With equal honesty, Emma spoke to the Daily Telegraph of Firth’s chances of playing Higgins, “He would do it brilliantly, but because it’s a really expensive movie it’s really up to the studio. They’re always really picky about these things.”

So, does this mean that Emma’s version of My Fair Lady will be more like dark molasses than white sugar? In the end, will Colin Firth actually play Henry Higgins? We’ll have to wait and see, but in the meantime, as Victoria let us know in yesterday’s post, it’s dead cert that Firth will be playing King George VI in The King’s Speech. Set to open in November, Geoffrey Rush plays royal speech therapist Lionel Logue, who worked to help George VI overcome his stammer. Helena Bonham Carter will play the Queen Mum (!?).

Happy 50th to Colin Firth, Actor Extraordinaire

Victoria here, wishing many happy returns to Colin Firth, another actor that fascinates me — handsome, talented, versatile and all the other adjectives one can apply to British actors in the tradition of Olivier,  Gielgud, and so many others.  I wonder if Firth ever realized what a heart-throb he would become by playing Jane Austen’s memorable hero in the 1995 version of Pride and Prejudice, with a screenplay by Andrew Davies, produced by Sue Birtwistle and directed by Simon Langton for the BBC and A and E.

Of course, some of that had to do with the famous wet shirt scene, at which one might swoon — over what Jane Austen would have made of it!! 
But it also had to do with the smoky, sexy looks Darcy cast Elizabeth’s way — sigh!  Talk about “fine eyes.”  Firth made an excellent Darcy, looking suitably grim and bored at the beginning, and changing over the six episodes to recognize his love for Lizzy. This did not preclude his continued arrogance and his reluctance to share the real story of Mr. Wickham. But in the end, was anyone in doubt of the happy- ever-after ending?  Not I.
Firth did a sort of reprise of his P and P role when he played Mark Darcy in the Bridget Jones movies in 2001 and 2004.

Colin Firth was born September 10th, 1960, in Grayshott, Hampshire. He lived in Nigeria during part of his childhood later spent a year in the U.S. as a teen. He studied acting at the Drama Centre and was “discovered” while playing Hamlet.
Firth has appeared on the stage in London but has kept very busy with films, such as the role of the artist Vermeer in The Girl with the Pearl Earring (2003).  He appeared in Valmont (1989), The English Patient (1996), Shakespeare in Love (1998), and Love, Actually (2003), among many more.
Firth has worked with many fine actresses, none better than Judi Dench in Shakespeare in Love.  Kristen Scott Thomas, Jennifer Ehle, Meg Tilly,  Renee Zellweger, Isabella Rossellini, and Emma Thompson, to name a few more.
If I had been advising Colin Firth on his choice of roles, I guess I would have nixed Mamma Mia (2008).  Perhaps they had a great time filming it. Or working with Meryl Streep was impossible to give up.  Although Colin’s singing was just fine, Pierce Brosnan was dreadful.  But that last scene with all of them dressed in those shiny suits fro the 70’s and parading across the stage made me howl with laughter.

Firth received international kudos for his role in A Single Man (2009), including the BAFTA, an Oscar nomination, and awards from the Venice International Film Festival.   In the role of Professor George Falconer, he mourns the death of his long-time companion.
In the meantime, A Single Man has been released on DVD. Colin Firth’s performance is truly excellent.  His co-star is Julianne Moore who is also very good, much better than in her usual roles. 
Among Firth’s upcoming films is his starring role as King George VI in The King’s Speech, co-starring Geoffrey Rush as the coach who helped the King, father of the current Queen Elizabeth II, overcome his stammer. It should be released later in 2010.

I am sure that Colin Firth will continue to engage us with his portrayals on stage, screen and television, into his middle age.  And aren’t we lucky that we all can own a copy of Pride and Prejudice to watch whenever we like? In fact, you can watch a damp Firth in the  “lake scene” from Pride and Predjudice here. And the marriage proposal here.

Burke and Hare – The Comedy?

Tag line: No Job Too Small. No Body Too Big. No Questions Asked.

Burke and Hare, directed by John Landis, is a comedic take on the true story of the 1828 Edinburgh body-snatchers William Burke (Simon Pegg) and William Hare (Andy Serkis). These two 19th century entrepreneurs discover that a dead body can fetch a hefty price when the demands of the leading medical professors Dr. Knox (Tom Wilkinson) and Dr. Monroe (Tim Curry) reach beyond that of the local supply. The film also features John Cleese, Hugh Bonneville, Isla Fisher, Stephen Merchant and an appearance by Christopher Lee.

Director Landis said of the film, “It has horror things within it — it’s about dissection and grave robbing, after all — but it’s a very black romantic comedy, hopefully in the tradition of the old Ealing Studios’ Kind Hearts and Coronets and The Ladykillers.”

Simon Pegg, who plays Burke, said, “Hare’s the mastermind, the schemer. Burke’s a little more of a frustrated romantic. But they weren’t hand-rubbing, evil villains; they kind of fell into it, really. They felt they were justified. The movie dares you to be sympathetic towards them and, quite cannily, actually feel a little for them. And you constantly have to keep going, ‘No! They’re bad!’”

The film, which has been stuck in production glue – or congealed blood – for quite a while and seemed forever stalled, was finally being touted by it’s director in Cannes a few months ago and is said to be released in October in England. It’s U.S. release date is a somewhat vague “2011,” but we thought we’d give you the heads up, anyway. You can read all about the gruesome, real life events surrounding the crimes of Burke and Hare here.

Nanny McPhee's Triumphant Return

This past weekend, I went to see Nanny McPhee and I can tell all you NMc fans that her Return was as good as the original. And, this time out, Nanny has even more screen time. The new cast of characters are a hoot, especially Eros Vlahos as cousin Cyril. Vlahos plays him as a sort of miniature, self important prig who delivers sarcastic verbal barbs with Oscar Wilde-like precision.  This kid deserves an Oscar nod.

Of course, Maggie Smith is wonderful as the dotty Mrs. Docherty, and the piglets steal the show.

This time out, Nanny’s got a window putty eating crow, Mr. Edelweiss.

One of the funniest scenes in the first film was when Nanny tells Colin Firth that she’s a “government nanny” who has been sent to his aid. He seems to accept this, then sits down to read his paper and after a few beats looks up and says, “A government nanny?!” This time out, Nanny McPhee passes herself off as an “army nanny.” That’s all I’m going to say, as I don’t want to spoil the film for all of you who will be flocking to see it. Suffice it to say that my husband, who was a decidedly reluctant companion going in to the theater, found himself shedding a tear or two at its conclusion.

“When you need me, but do not want me, I must stay.
When you want me, but no longer need me, I must go.”

War Horse

Acquired by Dream Works Pictures, Michael Morpurgo’s novel of the same name takes place during World War I and charts the extraordinary friendship between a boy and a horse who are separated but whose fates continue to intertwine over the course of WWI. The touching novel was made into a play by the same name, which has won the Olivier, Evening Standard and Critics’ Circle awards and has been a huge hit on the London stage over the past three years, and is set to transfer to Broadway next year. Currently playing at the New London Theatre until October 2011, it is notable for its innovative use of giant puppets to depict the horses.

When DreamWorks Pictures first optioned the book, Spielberg immediately came on to produce and eventually decided to direct the picture. The cast will include Oscar-nominated actress Emily Watson, David Thewlis, Benedict Cumberbatch and theatre actor Jeremy Irvine in the lead role. The film will also feature German actor David Kross, who co-starred in The Reader.

Spielberg said he knew from the minute he read the book that he wanted DreamWorks to make the film. “Its heart and its message provide a story that can be felt in every country,” he said. He will direct off a script by  Lee Hall (“Billy Elliot”) and Richard Curtis (“Four Weddings and a Funeral”). DreamWorks will release War Horse to theaters on August 10, 2011.

In addition, Spielberg is producing the Coen brothers’ “True Grit,” also for Paramount, and his own studio’s “Cowboys and Aliens,” which began shooting this summer.