Margaret C. Sullivan's Blog, page 9

Whit Stillman May Save Us All

Now, this is movie news we are actually excited about! News came out last week that Whit Stillman is casting his next movie, which will be a modern take on Lady Susan called Love and Friendship (spelled correctly; and yet we still had a “Bwuh?” moment). Yesterday, the New York Post reported that Stillman had […]

Austenland Trailer

We have very very very mixed feelings about Austenland, too, but we are actually looking forward to seeing this one. We just fear that some of the send-up of Austen fans might be a little eye-rollingly over-the-top. However: Jennifer Coolidge is one of the most hilarious people on the planet; JJ Feild is just adorable* […]

Death Comes to Pemberley is apparently filming

We hated the book with the red-hot fire of a thousand suns and hate the whole idea of the film. Seriously, doesn’t the BBC have good sense, or taste? If they wanted to film fan fiction, there’s lots better out there. Something that’s not boring, and possibly funny, would have been a much better choice. […]

It’s Movie Day at AustenBlog!

Because quite frankly, we get more interest in posts about Austen-related movies than anything else. That should probably distress us more than it does. Anyway, there are actually some new Austen-related films being made, and none of them appear to be acceptable adaptations of Mansfield Park. Hollywood, you know you don’t have to pay anyone […]

In Which Giant Colin-in-the-Pond Moves the Editrix to Song

Originally posted on AustenBlog.

We received a press release telling us about a giant statue of wet-shirted Mr. Darcy that has been installed in the Serpentine in London’s Hyde Park to publicize a new series on UKTV called “Drama.”

Here’s a photo, helpfully provided by the publicist. Click to embiggen:

Several things sprung immediately to mind:

One can pretend it’s not Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy, but after all he’s the only one who goes for a swim. We don’t count the Lost in Austen one because it...

In Which Giant Colin-in-the-Pond Moves the Editrix to Song

Cross-posted to This Delightful Habit of Journaling. We received a press release telling us about a giant statue of wet-shirted Mr. Darcy that has been installed in the Serpentine in London’s Hyde Park to publicize a new series on UKTV called “Drama.” Here’s a photo, helpfully provided by the publicist. Click to embiggen: Several things […]

Things that make you go “Hmmmmm”

So we were watching 60 Minutes last night and there was a segment about the making of “Lincoln.” There was much said about the attention to detail in getting all the details correct: the right wallpaper, the right clothes, making the actors involved look like their historical counterparts–Spielberg even recorded the ticking of Lincoln’s pocket […]

Hey Barnes & Noble

If you make a 6″ color eInk Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight reader, I will buy one. That is, if you keep the price reasonable.

Edwardian is the new Victorian

Cross-posted to AustenBlog.

Perusing an article on a new YA rewrite of S&S, we were a bit startled to read this sentence:

[book title*] is a contemporary retelling of another, equally amazing classic tale by the Edwardian authoress

Huh? What Edwardian authoress would that be?

Jane Austen. She meant Jane Austen.

Edwardian? Go home Austen Muggles, you're drunk. http://t.co/r4ty1lQJvW

— Margaret C. Sullivan (@mcsullivan) April 18, 2013

You know, we’re hardened now to hearing Jane Austen referred to as...

The work of many generations

Here’s a fascinating video about contemporary bindings of early editions of Jane Austen’s novels and how they affect the value of the books.