Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Much Ado About Nothing


I am a really fan of modern film adaptions of classic stories.

I don't know why these work so well:

1) Am I intrgued by these famous stoires and history

2) Do the actors and director get into these classic roles, there must be loads of old films, books and other re-interpretations

3) A heart these are great stories, have depth, timeless characters and plots ...


The BBC's adaption of Shakespeare's "Romantic Comedy":

When Wessex Tonight newsreader Keith has a heart attack, station boss Leonard (Martin Jarvis) knows the perfect replacement - suave ladies' man Benedick (Damian Lewis). The only trouble is, his other on-screen star Beatrice (Sarah Parish) can't stand him, thanks to an unhappy love affair between the two years ago.

Meanwhile, Leonard's beautiful daughter Hero (Billie Piper) is making waves as a weathergirl, not least with dashing young sports reporter Claude (Tom Ellis). The two become an item, with Leonard's blessing. But creepy editor Don Reid (Derek Riddell) developed a huge crush on her after the pair slept together once, and just can't leave her alone.

At a fancy dress party arranged to celebrate Benedick's arrival, Benedick and Claude both dress as knights in armour. This leads to Beatrice telling Benedick exactly what she thinks of him, believing him to be Claude! Elsewhere, Don overhears Hero admit that she only slept with him because she felt sorry for him. The party is rounded off when Claude proposes to Hero.


Regarding actor's commitment to roles, I liked this:

Researching for the role, Billie visited a real-life weathergirl.

"She showed me some footage of her when she first started and that was really beneficial. There are certain ways to hold and present yourself and there's also a rhythm in the way news reporters speak – you have to get hold of that intonation. And then I just watched daytime TV solidly for about a week!"


Oh yes and she look's fantastic in a White Monoroe dress - almost as good as the original?

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