Carnival Links, Oscar reminder, and DW related clips

[selenak]

It's Carnival over here, and while I mostly hide from it - due to being busy with work - I'm not immune to the splendour and excitement it can have - elsewhere. I was lucky and able to attend the two most famous carnivals in years past, once in Rio de Janeiro, twice in Venice. Out of nostalgia and because I've gained some new readers since then, here are links to the photos and reports from these occasions:

Carnival in Venice I

Carnival in Venice II

Carnival in Rio

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artaxastra, check this out! First trailer for AGORA, a movie about female philosopher Hypatia, and the reconstruction of fourth century Alexandria looks amazing. The trailer starts with the lighthouse which was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world...


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In case you missed the Oscars or just want to watch this particular bit again: Hugh Jackman's opening number, complete with Frost/Nixon duet co-starring Anne Hathaway.

Speaking of the ever useful YouTube: ever since the BBC named the actress who'll play the companion in this year's second Doctor Who special, I've been thrilled for two particular reasons:



1) I love the character of Evelyn Smythe in the Big Finish Audios and have often regretted that the laws of tv seemed to make it impossible for the Doctor to get a woman older than 50 as his companion on the screen as well. (Sarah Jane now of course fits the parameter, but now she's the heroine of her own show - a good thing, too, of course - while when she was a regular companion back in the 70s, she fitted the 20something general profile.) While ageism probably still holds a sway on the regular seasons, we'll get a break for the specials: Adelaide, the companion for the second special, will be played by the 57 years old and absolutely awesome

2) Lindsay Duncan. Whom some of you might not know, so I checked YouTube for clips featuring her and giving an impression of her range as an actress. Here are some results. Firstly, her death scene as Servilia in the tv show Rome. The feud between Servilia and Atia (the fabulous Polly Walker) in Rome serves as a driving force for the first and early second season. After the defeat and death of her son Brutus, Servilia calls out Atia for days, murmuring nothing but one sentence in front of her house - "Atia of the Julii, I call for justice". Eventually, Atia snaps, and this happens:

(Servilia isn't a sympathetic character on Rome, but a very compelling one. Here's a good vid capturing her overall storyline.)

Lindsay Duncan and Alan Rickman created the roles of the Marquise de Merteuil and Valmont in Christopher Hampton's stage version of Les Liasons Dangereuses (Glenn Close and John Malkovich in the film version). More recently, they teamed up again for Noel Coward's Private Lives, playing a can't live with/can't live without divorced couple, Amanda and Eliot. Here's a scene:

If you have the time, check out this medley of Noel Coward songs sung by them to photos of the stage production, and both of them accepting their best actor/best actress awards (which has a hilarious ad-lib by Rickman as Snape - Daniel Radcliffe was in the audience - for you Harry Potter fans).

Comments

Re: Lindsay Duncan

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Oh, great interview. I heard Andrea Riseborough was very good as young M., too.

Re: Lindsay Duncan

[kate-swynford.livejournal.com]

Yes, she was excellent. I had only seen her in The Devil's Whore before, and she was absolutely different and brilliant as Margaret Thatcher.

And, great news about Lindsay Duncan as a companion. Now, if they could just get Ciaran Hinds to guest star...