When it comes to Dickens adaptations, it helps to temper your expectations. The revered Victorian writer is perhaps the most frequently adapted novelist in history – but to what end? The results are wildly inconsistent: for every The Personal History of David Copperfield (2019) or Bleak House (2005), there are a dozen insipid Christmas Carols, or a handful of regrettable Oliver Twists. The BBC are once more throwing their (old-fashioned bowler) hat into the ring with a new six-episode screen version of Great Expectations. But how many more hats can this particular ring withstand?
Starring Dunkirk’s Fionn Whitehead as Pip, Shalom Brune-Franklin (Line of Duty) as Estella, and Oliva Colman as Miss Havisham, the new BBC series is a retelling of Dickens’s rags-to-riches bildungsroman – roughed up a bit with some distinctly modern sex and violence. Peaky Blinders scribe Steven Knight wrote the adaptation, the latest in a long line of Great Expectations adaptations for the screen.
Starring Dunkirk’s Fionn Whitehead as Pip, Shalom Brune-Franklin (Line of Duty) as Estella, and Oliva Colman as Miss Havisham, the new BBC series is a retelling of Dickens’s rags-to-riches bildungsroman – roughed up a bit with some distinctly modern sex and violence. Peaky Blinders scribe Steven Knight wrote the adaptation, the latest in a long line of Great Expectations adaptations for the screen.
- 3/25/2023
- by Louis Chilton
- The Independent - TV
From the 1980s to the 21st century, Jamie takes us on a guided tour of the most frustrating videogames he's encountered so far...
I want to take you on a journey through a few decades of game-playing frustration, name-checking the titles that have most made me want to kick a sleeping puppy in the face: games that only a heart surgeon would have the dexterity and patience to complete; games so disgustingly unfair and evil that even Satan beholds their exquisitely cruel construction with envy, kicking himself that he didn’t think of them first.
(Disclaimer: no actual puppies were harmed in the making of this article)
Now for another couple of disclaimers: pointless I know, because nobody actually reads these introductions, right? I believe it’s traditional to skip the rest of this article and head to the comments’ section below filled with boundless and unquenchable rage. (If you...
I want to take you on a journey through a few decades of game-playing frustration, name-checking the titles that have most made me want to kick a sleeping puppy in the face: games that only a heart surgeon would have the dexterity and patience to complete; games so disgustingly unfair and evil that even Satan beholds their exquisitely cruel construction with envy, kicking himself that he didn’t think of them first.
(Disclaimer: no actual puppies were harmed in the making of this article)
Now for another couple of disclaimers: pointless I know, because nobody actually reads these introductions, right? I believe it’s traditional to skip the rest of this article and head to the comments’ section below filled with boundless and unquenchable rage. (If you...
- 8/19/2014
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
Hammer
Back in the 1800s there was a Christmas tradition. As the days grew cold and the nights grew dark people would gather round the fire and tell festive stories. Long before the Christmas story became nothing but a pile of sentimental codswallop, people would have enjoyed something that brought a little fear into their Yuletide cheer: the Christmas Chiller. Magazines like All the Year Round devoted their pages to stories of spooks and ghouls and haunted houses and writers usually known for socially conscious realism (Elizabeth Gaskell, Charles Dickens) or lovable children’s stories (Edith Nesbit) conspired to bring their readers the Christmas gift of something spookily chilling.
While this may not have remained a core part of everybody’s Christmas, there have been various attempts to revive the tradition onscreen, most notably with the BBC’s annual 1970s series A Ghost Story for Christmas. The series ended after 1978′s silly The Ice House,...
Back in the 1800s there was a Christmas tradition. As the days grew cold and the nights grew dark people would gather round the fire and tell festive stories. Long before the Christmas story became nothing but a pile of sentimental codswallop, people would have enjoyed something that brought a little fear into their Yuletide cheer: the Christmas Chiller. Magazines like All the Year Round devoted their pages to stories of spooks and ghouls and haunted houses and writers usually known for socially conscious realism (Elizabeth Gaskell, Charles Dickens) or lovable children’s stories (Edith Nesbit) conspired to bring their readers the Christmas gift of something spookily chilling.
While this may not have remained a core part of everybody’s Christmas, there have been various attempts to revive the tradition onscreen, most notably with the BBC’s annual 1970s series A Ghost Story for Christmas. The series ended after 1978′s silly The Ice House,...
- 12/24/2013
- by Jack Gann
- Obsessed with Film
Hayley Atwell
Kieran Kinsella
Acorn Media are providing some much needed relief to those of us who are still upset about the BBC’s decision to cancel Zen. The Brit-loving DVD distributors are giving a U.S. debut to the Sky crime drama Falcon. Ok, so it’s not set in Rome but Seville is a pretty good setting as it is a fascinating city steeped in history and culture. No, Rufus Sewell isn’t in it but it does feature Kiwi actor Marton Csokas, who I am told is equally popular with the ladies.
As with Zen, the producers of Falcon got their inspiration from a popular series of crime novels. Wisely or not, the producers of both shows decided that all or most of the characters should have decidedly British accents despite the fact that they are in Italy or Spain. That element of the show takes some...
Kieran Kinsella
Acorn Media are providing some much needed relief to those of us who are still upset about the BBC’s decision to cancel Zen. The Brit-loving DVD distributors are giving a U.S. debut to the Sky crime drama Falcon. Ok, so it’s not set in Rome but Seville is a pretty good setting as it is a fascinating city steeped in history and culture. No, Rufus Sewell isn’t in it but it does feature Kiwi actor Marton Csokas, who I am told is equally popular with the ladies.
As with Zen, the producers of Falcon got their inspiration from a popular series of crime novels. Wisely or not, the producers of both shows decided that all or most of the characters should have decidedly British accents despite the fact that they are in Italy or Spain. That element of the show takes some...
- 6/30/2013
- by Edited by K Kinsella
Ruskin's marriage to Effie, annulled for non-consummation, still provokes speculation. A new book may explain everything
The scandal surrounding John Ruskin, his wife Effie, and John Everett Millais still fascinates a century and a half after the events. What makes it famous is that it wasn't a sex scandal but a non-sex scandal.
The circumstances in which Effie left her husband for the pre-Raphaelite artist have generated at least half a dozen books as well as an opera, a silent film and assorted plays. One of the plays, The Countess, was at the centre of a just-resolved copyright dispute between its author, Gregory Murphy, and the actor Emma Thompson. Thompson has written the screenplay for Effie, a big-screen telling of the story starring her husband Greg Wise as Ruskin, Dakota Fanning as Effie and Tom Sturridge as Millais; the film is scheduled for release in May.
The outline is familiar.
The scandal surrounding John Ruskin, his wife Effie, and John Everett Millais still fascinates a century and a half after the events. What makes it famous is that it wasn't a sex scandal but a non-sex scandal.
The circumstances in which Effie left her husband for the pre-Raphaelite artist have generated at least half a dozen books as well as an opera, a silent film and assorted plays. One of the plays, The Countess, was at the centre of a just-resolved copyright dispute between its author, Gregory Murphy, and the actor Emma Thompson. Thompson has written the screenplay for Effie, a big-screen telling of the story starring her husband Greg Wise as Ruskin, Dakota Fanning as Effie and Tom Sturridge as Millais; the film is scheduled for release in May.
The outline is familiar.
- 3/30/2013
- by Michael Prodger
- The Guardian - Film News
Adam Afriyie denies he's plotting to oust David Cameron. Why replace one wealthy Tory smoothiechops with another?
✒There is something hilarious about the Tories' anguish over their leadership, and especially hilarious that the stalking horse may turn out to be the backbencher Adam Afriyie, a half-Ghanaian multimillionaire. Somebody must have sat down in a bar, or perhaps a hotel room swept for bugs, and said "look, the public are fed up with the country being run by a wealthy smoothiechops. What we need to do is replace him – with another wealthy smoothiechops! That'll show how inclusive we are. When it comes to millionaires, we Tories are colour blind!"
✒It's one of those trick pub quiz questions like "into which ocean does the western end of the Panama Canal flow?" The answer is, surprisingly, the Atlantic, as the canal runs more or less north to south but on a slant. Another is "what is 10 in London,...
✒There is something hilarious about the Tories' anguish over their leadership, and especially hilarious that the stalking horse may turn out to be the backbencher Adam Afriyie, a half-Ghanaian multimillionaire. Somebody must have sat down in a bar, or perhaps a hotel room swept for bugs, and said "look, the public are fed up with the country being run by a wealthy smoothiechops. What we need to do is replace him – with another wealthy smoothiechops! That'll show how inclusive we are. When it comes to millionaires, we Tories are colour blind!"
✒It's one of those trick pub quiz questions like "into which ocean does the western end of the Panama Canal flow?" The answer is, surprisingly, the Atlantic, as the canal runs more or less north to south but on a slant. Another is "what is 10 in London,...
- 2/2/2013
- by Simon Hoggart
- The Guardian - Film News
The Brontës are often dismissed as up-market Mills & Boon. But with the release of two films this autumn, Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, they look set to rival even Jane Austen in the public's affections
Ours is supposed to be the age of instantaneity, where books can be downloaded in a few seconds and reputations created overnight. But the Victorians could be speedy, too, and there's no more striking example of instant celebrity than Jane Eyre. Charlotte Brontë posted the manuscript to Messrs Smith and Elder on 24 August 1847, two weeks after the publisher had expressed an interest in seeing her new novel while turning down her first. Within a fortnight, a deal had been struck (Charlotte was paid £100) and proofs were being worked on. In the 21st century a first novel can wait two years between acceptance and publication. Jane Eyre was out in eight weeks, on 17 October, with Thackeray...
Ours is supposed to be the age of instantaneity, where books can be downloaded in a few seconds and reputations created overnight. But the Victorians could be speedy, too, and there's no more striking example of instant celebrity than Jane Eyre. Charlotte Brontë posted the manuscript to Messrs Smith and Elder on 24 August 1847, two weeks after the publisher had expressed an interest in seeing her new novel while turning down her first. Within a fortnight, a deal had been struck (Charlotte was paid £100) and proofs were being worked on. In the 21st century a first novel can wait two years between acceptance and publication. Jane Eyre was out in eight weeks, on 17 October, with Thackeray...
- 9/9/2011
- by Blake Morrison
- The Guardian - Film News
The final of the dwarf pictorial unveilings for Peter Jackson's "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" has hit today courtesy of The One Ring.
The photo shows the leader of the Company of Twelve - Thorin Oakshield (played by Richard Armitage). The character is described as follows:
"As a young Dwarf prince, Thorin witnessed the destruction and terror wrought when a great fire-breathing Dragon attacked the Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor. After slaughtering many of Thorin’s kin, the great serpent, Smaug, entered The Lonely Mountain and took possession of its vast store of gold and jewels. No-one came to the aid of the surviving Dwarves, and thus, a once proud and noble race was forced into exile.
Through long years of hardship, Thorin grew to be a strong and fearless fighter and revered leader. In his heart a fierce desire grew; a desire to reclaim his homeland and destroy the...
The photo shows the leader of the Company of Twelve - Thorin Oakshield (played by Richard Armitage). The character is described as follows:
"As a young Dwarf prince, Thorin witnessed the destruction and terror wrought when a great fire-breathing Dragon attacked the Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor. After slaughtering many of Thorin’s kin, the great serpent, Smaug, entered The Lonely Mountain and took possession of its vast store of gold and jewels. No-one came to the aid of the surviving Dwarves, and thus, a once proud and noble race was forced into exile.
Through long years of hardship, Thorin grew to be a strong and fearless fighter and revered leader. In his heart a fierce desire grew; a desire to reclaim his homeland and destroy the...
- 7/17/2011
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
"Death disports with writers more cruelly than with the rest of humankind," Cynthia Ozick wrote in a recent issue of The New Republic.
"The grave can hardly make more mute those who were voiceless when alive--dust to dust, muteness to muteness. But the silence that dogs the established writer's noisy obituary, with its boisterous shock and busy regret, is more profound than any other.
"Oblivion comes more cuttingly to the writer whose presence has been felt, argued over, championed, disparaged--the writer who is seen to be what Lionel Trilling calls a Figure. Lionel Trilling?
"Consider: who at this hour (apart from some professorial specialist currying his "field") is reading Mary McCarthy, James T. Farrell, John Berryman, Allan Bloom, Irving Howe, Alfred Kazin, Edmund Wilson, Anne Sexton, Alice Adams, Robert Lowell, Grace Paley, Owen Barfield, Stanley Elkin, Robert Penn Warren, Norman Mailer, Leslie Fiedler, R.P. Blackmur, Paul Goodman, Susan Sontag,...
"The grave can hardly make more mute those who were voiceless when alive--dust to dust, muteness to muteness. But the silence that dogs the established writer's noisy obituary, with its boisterous shock and busy regret, is more profound than any other.
"Oblivion comes more cuttingly to the writer whose presence has been felt, argued over, championed, disparaged--the writer who is seen to be what Lionel Trilling calls a Figure. Lionel Trilling?
"Consider: who at this hour (apart from some professorial specialist currying his "field") is reading Mary McCarthy, James T. Farrell, John Berryman, Allan Bloom, Irving Howe, Alfred Kazin, Edmund Wilson, Anne Sexton, Alice Adams, Robert Lowell, Grace Paley, Owen Barfield, Stanley Elkin, Robert Penn Warren, Norman Mailer, Leslie Fiedler, R.P. Blackmur, Paul Goodman, Susan Sontag,...
- 4/24/2011
- by Roger Ebert
- blogs.suntimes.com/ebert
“Death is not the end. There remains the litigation over the estate.” - Ambrose Bierce A house might be a home, but it can also serve as an apt metaphor for an entire country. Numerous writers have offered portraits of the changing face of their nation in such condition-of-England novels as Charles Dickens' "Bleak House," Evelyn Waugh's "Brideshead Revisited," and Elizabeth Gaskell's "Cranford" and "North and South." In the case of Julian Fellowes' extraordinary period drama Downton Abbey, launching January 9th on PBS' Masterpiece Classic, the titular country estate, home to the well-heeled Crawley family, is in turmoil. Great houses such as these are both relics of bygone eras as well as living, breathing organisms of their own right, humming along as they employ a staff of hundreds. Everyone--from the lord and lady to the humblest footman and scullery maid--has their function and their duty to maintain.
- 12/8/2010
- by Jace
- Televisionary
The French word frisson describes something English has no better word for: a brief intense reaction, usually a feeling of excitement, recognition, or terror. It's often accompanied by a physical shudder, but not so much when you're web surfing.
You know how it happens. You're clicking here or clicking there, and suddenly you have the Omg moment. In recent days, for example, I felt frissons when learning that Gary Coleman had died, that most of the spilled oil was underwater, that Joe McGinness had moved in next to the Palins, that a group of priests' mistresses had started their own Facebook group, and that Bill Nye the Science Guy says "to prevent Computer Vision Syndrome, every 20 minutes, spend 20 seconds looking 20 feet away."
Oh, there were many more. A frisson can be quite a delight. The problem is, I seem to be spending way too much time these days in search of them.
You know how it happens. You're clicking here or clicking there, and suddenly you have the Omg moment. In recent days, for example, I felt frissons when learning that Gary Coleman had died, that most of the spilled oil was underwater, that Joe McGinness had moved in next to the Palins, that a group of priests' mistresses had started their own Facebook group, and that Bill Nye the Science Guy says "to prevent Computer Vision Syndrome, every 20 minutes, spend 20 seconds looking 20 feet away."
Oh, there were many more. A frisson can be quite a delight. The problem is, I seem to be spending way too much time these days in search of them.
- 6/1/2010
- by Roger Ebert
- blogs.suntimes.com/ebert
Actor who brought sympathetic dimensions to the comic twerp Bertie Wooster and the shrewd detective Lord Peter Wimsey
Actor known for his roles as the archetypal blithering Englishman
Playing the archetypal silly ass was the sometimes reluctant business of the stage, film and television actor Ian Carmichael, who has died aged 89. In the public mind he became the best-known postwar example of a characteristic British type - the personally appealing blithering idiot who somehow survives, and sometimes even gets the girl. One of his most characteristic and memorable sorties in this field was his portrayal of Kingsley Amis's Lucky Jim – the anti-hero James Dixon, who savaged the pretensions of academia, as Amis had himself sometimes clashed with academia when he was a lecturer at Swansea. Appearing in John and Roy Boulting's 1957 film, he was able to suggest an unruly but amiable spirit at the end of its tether,...
Actor known for his roles as the archetypal blithering Englishman
Playing the archetypal silly ass was the sometimes reluctant business of the stage, film and television actor Ian Carmichael, who has died aged 89. In the public mind he became the best-known postwar example of a characteristic British type - the personally appealing blithering idiot who somehow survives, and sometimes even gets the girl. One of his most characteristic and memorable sorties in this field was his portrayal of Kingsley Amis's Lucky Jim – the anti-hero James Dixon, who savaged the pretensions of academia, as Amis had himself sometimes clashed with academia when he was a lecturer at Swansea. Appearing in John and Roy Boulting's 1957 film, he was able to suggest an unruly but amiable spirit at the end of its tether,...
- 2/7/2010
- by Dennis Barker
- The Guardian - Film News
Material saved from attic reveals a prolific, driven and organised writer, says head of special collections at Brotherton Library
He is already a byword for unremitting graft, with 21 novels, 13 historical studies and a couple of children's books to his name, as well as separate careers in academia, broadcasting and politics.
But now the world has been given half a tonne of further material by Melvyn Bragg (Lord Bragg) to explore, including an unpublished novel and 60 boxes of ideas, draft scripts and short stories which even the writer, said, he had half-forgotten.
Sought by several archives, the hoard of more than 50 years' work has been rescued from Bragg's attic in London and given to University of Leeds.
"It arrived in what you might call a National Collection of Carrier Bags," said Chris Sheppard, head of special collections at Leeds's Brotherton Library. "There was so much that part of it was sealed...
He is already a byword for unremitting graft, with 21 novels, 13 historical studies and a couple of children's books to his name, as well as separate careers in academia, broadcasting and politics.
But now the world has been given half a tonne of further material by Melvyn Bragg (Lord Bragg) to explore, including an unpublished novel and 60 boxes of ideas, draft scripts and short stories which even the writer, said, he had half-forgotten.
Sought by several archives, the hoard of more than 50 years' work has been rescued from Bragg's attic in London and given to University of Leeds.
"It arrived in what you might call a National Collection of Carrier Bags," said Chris Sheppard, head of special collections at Leeds's Brotherton Library. "There was so much that part of it was sealed...
- 2/1/2010
- by Martin Wainwright
- The Guardian - Film News
Period drama soars to new heights in the Emmy-winning mini-series Cranford. Based on three novels by Elizabeth Gaskell, and presented by an amazing cast, the BBC series is an absolute must own. Oscar©-winner Judi Dench (Notes on a Scandal, Casino Royale) heads a stellar cast including Michael Gambon (Dumbledore in the Harry Potter films), Eileen Atkins (Cold Mountain, Gosford Park),Imelda Staunton (Vera Drake) and more in this witty and poignant story which follows the small absurdities and major tragedies in the lives of the people of Cranford. Cranfordin the 1840s is on the cusp of change. The railway is pushing its way relentlessly towards the town, bringing fears of migrant workers and the breakdown of law and order. The arrival of Frank Harrison, a handsome new doctor from London, causes a stir, not only because of his revolutionary medical methods, but also because of the effect he has...
- 2/1/2010
- by Marc Eastman
- AreYouScreening.com
Every now and then a literary adaptation comes along that is so pitch-perfect, so precisely cast and beautifully written and directed, that it stands as a piece of art in its own right. Masterpiece Classic kicks off its latest season with the superlative Return to Cranford (which aired in the UK several weeks ago under the title Cranford Christmas), based once again on the "Cranford" novels of Elizabeth Gaskell and here adapted by Heidi Thomas and directed by Simon Curtis. As in the original Cranford, life in the sleepy English town of Cranford is in peril, thanks to the winds of change. The railroad--the focus of the first "Cranford" adaptation--has nearly reached the town and brought with it the unstoppable fumes of progress. The prim streets of the village have been filled by unruly railway workers and modern ideas have begun to seep into the minds of the town's most staunch residents.
- 1/8/2010
- by Jace
- Televisionary
The Oscar-winning actress had been working on a Christmas special of BBC TV show ‘Cranford’ – which is based on three 19th Century novellas written by Elizabeth Gaskell - when she had a dental disaster and lost a crown.
Judi was in full 1840s dress - which she wears for her role as Matty Jenkins in the drama – when she was rushed to the practice in Ealing, west London.
She said: “There wasn’t time for me to change. So I was in my wig and bonnet and all my clothes. I went into the waiting room and everyone kept looking.
“When I got in to see the dentist, he said, ‘Are you busy working?’ I was wearing a full wig with curls.”
Although 74-year-old Judi is famous for her period roles on both the big and small screens, she insists she wouldn’t have wanted to live in the 1800s...
Judi was in full 1840s dress - which she wears for her role as Matty Jenkins in the drama – when she was rushed to the practice in Ealing, west London.
She said: “There wasn’t time for me to change. So I was in my wig and bonnet and all my clothes. I went into the waiting room and everyone kept looking.
“When I got in to see the dentist, he said, ‘Are you busy working?’ I was wearing a full wig with curls.”
Although 74-year-old Judi is famous for her period roles on both the big and small screens, she insists she wouldn’t have wanted to live in the 1800s...
- 11/25/2009
- by cyan
- Gossipvita
Dame Judi Dench had to visit her dentist in full period costume after damaging her tooth during a shoot. The Oscar-winning actress had been working on a Christmas special of BBC TV show 'Cranford' - which is based on three 19th Century novellas written by Elizabeth Gaskell - when she had a dental disaster and lost a crown. Judi was in full 1840s dress - which she wears for her role as Matty Jenkins in the drama - when she was rushed to the practice in Ealing, west London. She said: "There wasn't time for me to change. So I was in my wig and bonnet and all my clothes. I went into the waiting room and...
- 11/24/2009
- Monsters and Critics
Dame Judi Dench had to visit her dentist in full period costume after damaging her tooth during a shoot. The Oscar-winning actress had been working on a Christmas special of BBC TV show 'Cranford' - which is based on three 19th Century novellas written by Elizabeth Gaskell - when she had a dental disaster and lost a crown. Judi was in full 1840s dress - which she wears for her role as Matty Jenkins in the drama - when she was rushed to the practice in Ealing, west London. She said: "There wasn't time for me to change. So I was in my wig and bonnet and all my clothes. I went into the waiting room and everyone kept looking.
- 11/24/2009
- Monsters and Critics
Dame Judi Dench had to visit her dentist in full period costume after damaging her tooth during a shoot. The Oscar-winning actress had been working on a Christmas special of BBC TV show 'Cranford' - which is based on three 19th Century novellas written by Elizabeth Gaskell - when she had a dental disaster and lost a crown. Judi was in full 1840s dress - which she wears for her role as Matty Jenkins in the drama - when she was rushed to the practice in Ealing, west London. She said: ''There wasn't time for me to change. So I was in ..
- 11/24/2009
- Virgin Media - Movies
I came across a statistic the other day that claimed only about ten percent of Americans have traveled outside their country. There is no reason for this. The recession is not an explanation; the survey was taken back when Bear, Sterns was still paying its rent. This is the richest and least-traveled of "developed" nations, and I have a feeling many Americans thank heaven every day that they have never had occasion to leave it.
But this will not be a column boasting about my travels to every continent except Australia and Antarctica, and how as a wee lad I saved up my 75-cent an hour salary and boarded a DC-6 that took me to London by way of Gander, Reykjavík and Aberdeen. No, not even though I just googled Antarctica and this is all I found on the page: "stu is a legend and the good guy has cheap sales.
But this will not be a column boasting about my travels to every continent except Australia and Antarctica, and how as a wee lad I saved up my 75-cent an hour salary and boarded a DC-6 that took me to London by way of Gander, Reykjavík and Aberdeen. No, not even though I just googled Antarctica and this is all I found on the page: "stu is a legend and the good guy has cheap sales.
- 3/18/2009
- by Roger Ebert
- blogs.suntimes.com/ebert
LONDON -- Period drama continued to prove a top international seller for the BBC this year, with buyers flocking to such lavish costume adaptations as "Cranford", "Oliver Twist" and "Sense and Sensibility" at Showcase, the BBC's annual three-day sales program that wrapped Wednesday.
The critically acclaimed "Cranford", a BBC/WGBH co-production based on Elizabeth Gaskell's novels about the social disruption to village life created by the arrival of the railways, has sold to seven markets, including the U.S., Iceland and Cyprus. The lavish series, which aired in the U.K. in 2007, features such British acting talent as Judi Dench, Francesca Annis, Michael Gambon, Imelda Staunton, Eileen Atkins and Michael Gambon.
Another big hit at this year's sales market was the BBC Christmas adaptation of "Oliver Twist", which sold to 11 international broadcasters. Meanwhile, acclaimed screenwriter Andrew Davies' adaptation of "Sense and Sensibility" sold to 11 markets, including Japan, Sweden, Poland, Canada and Korea, and Jane Austen biopic "Miss Austen Regrets" also enjoyed solid sales.
BBC Worldwide director of investment Matt Forde said the costume genre's continuing appeal lay in new adaptations and new material.
The critically acclaimed "Cranford", a BBC/WGBH co-production based on Elizabeth Gaskell's novels about the social disruption to village life created by the arrival of the railways, has sold to seven markets, including the U.S., Iceland and Cyprus. The lavish series, which aired in the U.K. in 2007, features such British acting talent as Judi Dench, Francesca Annis, Michael Gambon, Imelda Staunton, Eileen Atkins and Michael Gambon.
Another big hit at this year's sales market was the BBC Christmas adaptation of "Oliver Twist", which sold to 11 international broadcasters. Meanwhile, acclaimed screenwriter Andrew Davies' adaptation of "Sense and Sensibility" sold to 11 markets, including Japan, Sweden, Poland, Canada and Korea, and Jane Austen biopic "Miss Austen Regrets" also enjoyed solid sales.
BBC Worldwide director of investment Matt Forde said the costume genre's continuing appeal lay in new adaptations and new material.
- 2/28/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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