Now this sounds like a truly intriguing Shakespeare bio pic: Judi Dench and Kenneth Branagh as Anne and Will Shakespeare, set after his return to Stratford, script by Ben Elton. There's just one bit in the article which made me go huh, and it's not that Kenneth Branagh is 26 years younger than Judi Dench; Peter O'Toole was 23 years younger than Katherine Hepburn when he played Henry to her Eleanor in The Lion in Winter (and in both cases, Shakespeares and Plantaganenets, the female half of the couple actually was older (though to a far lesser extent than the actors). Not to mention that it's still refreshing if instead of pairing up a famous male actor with an actress decades younger as his love interest, the reverse happens , for a qualified meaning of "love interest" since we're talking estranged husband and wife in this case. BTW, I'm thrilled that the article talks about "their grief at the death of their only son, Hamnet", their, because in most fictional takes on Shakespeare, minus Oxfordian heresies, this is treated as his grief only.

Anyway, Judi Dench and Kenneth Branagh in what sounds like an Albee-esque take on the Shakespeares: yes, please.

...and of course I'm always delighted to see Ian McKellen, but here's where I went "huh?", because: Ian McKellen co-stars as the Earl of Southampton, to whom Shakespeare dedicated his two narrative poems, and who has frequently been identified as the “Fair Youth” of his sonnets.


Okay. As opposed to the Anne-Will/Dench-Branagh age gap, this is actually a problem, because in 1613, when this story supposedly takes place, , Southhampton was 40 years old. Sexy Sir Ian undoubtedly still is, but 40 he's not, and Mr. W.H. being younger than Shakespeare is kind of an issue in the sonnets. Maybe the Guardian got the part Ian McKellen is playing wrong, thought I, searched for another source, but no, BBC America also names him as Southampton. Okay then, say I. Maybe all that high living plus the stint in the Tower due to the Essex Rebellion aged up Southhampton really fast.

(The other issue is a personal one, as in I never liked Henry Wriothesley all that much - like his chum Essex, he comes across as a none too bright entitled ass relying on his looks and charm to get away with stuff and always am glad if in Shakespeare bio pics one of the alternate candidates is picked for Mr. W.H. of sonnet fame, but that's neither here nor there.)

The BBC America artile also says Shakespeare needs to “mend the broken relationships with his wife and daughters,” while confronting “his own failings as husband and father" which means the movie won't go into the Anthony Burgess "Anne undoubtedly became a Puritan in her old age and never understood him anyway" direction. (Good.) "Daughters" hopefully means we'll get both Susanna and Judith; previous fictionalisations I'm familiar with picked one or the other to focus on, but not both.

Crazy conspiracy theory: maybe McKellen plays a Christopher Marlowe who faked his early death and is looking up Shakespeare in Stratford, and the Southhampton talk is just a cunning mislead on the part of Ben "Blackadder" Elton, the scriptwriter?

Quickly, before getting on the train, two articles mainly about actors I like. The first one makes me sigh. Well, roll my eyes. Et tu, Damian Lewis? Then again, Ian McKellen's retort is amusing.


Sir Ian McKellen has hit back at Damian Lewis after the Homeland star said he did not want to end up a "fruity actor" known for playing wizards.

McKellen, who reprises his role as Gandalf in the Hobbit sequel The Desolation of Smaug, said "no one needs to feel sorry for me" after Lewis alluded to his career as one of the reasons why he wanted to break out of the theatre.

Lewis, in a Guardian interview in October, said he worried in his 20s that he would be "one of these slightly over-the-top, fruity actors who would have an illustrious career on stage, but wouldn't start getting any kind of film work until I was 50 and then start playing wizards".

McKellen was forthright in his response but, like Lewis, declined to name names. "I wouldn't like to have been one of those actors who hit stardom quite early on and expected it to continue and was stuck doing scripts that I didn't particularly like just to keep the income up," he told the Radio Times.


In other news, I was aware that there was a new film about the Beat Generation poets, featuring Daniel Radcliffe as a young Allen Ginsberg (the late A.G. probably would get a kick out of all the handsome actors playing him, because the most recent fore that was James Franco in Howl, and if you've seen photographs of Ginsberg, even when young...), but what I hadn't known was that Michael C. Hall was also in it. This is good news and makes me hope the film will be released on my side of the Atlantic as well. Because Dexter disappointed me so much post season 4, I haven't seen Michael C. Hall in something in ages, and he is a very good actor. The article makes the film sound intriguing, and has comments from Hall on David Fisher, too, who is still my favourite part of his.

You know, on some days I want the fourth wall back and think it would be best if both actors and creators would not interact with fandom, because as well meant as it may be, it also invariably causes kerfuffles and hurt feelings on both sides sooner or later.

...and on other days, I'm thrilled to live in the age of actors on social media. Because today I woke up to discover:

a) Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan on Time Square, with Muppet

b) Most hilarious picture of three main Breaking Bad cast members ever, tweeted by Aaron Paul. Clearly, this is totally how the show will end. (Err, I'm kidding. They're not in character. Although the picture screams for crack fic in which this actually happens.)

A week of travelling ahead means regular tv reviews next week. Including the latest Merlin episode, which I have watched but won't discuss until I've seen the follow-up next week, either. However, I come bearing links:

Elementary:

Some observations on the segregation of the queen: Joan Watson character study. Quiet and smart, like Joan herself.


Skyfall:

Something like this hasn't happened since futuresoon created lovely art for a Heroes story of mine, and it started off my week with a happy squee: my M and Bond meta seems to have inspired a beautiful drawing called The Queen of Shadows and her Knight in the Underworld.


Avengers:

Time and Place: in which Maria Hill and Nick Fury have to go undercover at a society gig, and Natasha is very amused. Everyone is competent and is it's so very enjoyable to read!


Various actors:

Jodi Foster, one of my favourite actresses (also a good director) and one of the few who survived being a child star and followed it up by an impressive adult career, turns 50 today. (Can you believe it?) I would link an article in English in celebration of her birthday, but I can't find one right now, so here is one in German. She did, however write an article herself - defending Kristen Stewart, whom she had worked with when the later was 11, and being withering about the paparazzi. Choice quotes: "I have been an actress since I was 3 years old, 46 years to date. I have no memories of a childhood outside the public eye. I am told people look to me as a success story. Often complete strangers approach me and ask, How have you stayed so normal, so well-adjusted, so private? I usually lie and say, “Just boring I guess.” The truth is, like some curious radioactive mutant, I have invented my own gothic survival tools. I have fashioned rules to control the glaring eyes. Maybe I’ve organized my career choices to allow myself (and the ones I truly love) maximum personal dignity. And, yes, I have neurotically adapted to the gladiator sport of celebrity culture, the cruelty of a life lived as a moving target. (...) I’ve said it before and I will say it again: if I were a young actor today I would quit before I started. If I had to grow up in this media culture, I don’t think I could survive it emotionally.(...) The point is to survive, intact or not, whatever the emotional cost. Actors who become celebrities are supposed to be grateful for the public interest. After all, they’re getting paid. Just to set the record straight, a salary for a given on-screen performance does not include the right to invade anyone’s privacy, to destroy someone’s sense of self." The entire article is here.


Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen and Roger Rees: I think I've linked to this before, but was reminded of it the other day, and just in case I hadn't, and/or someone missed it, here are three awesome Brits in 2010 when Patrick Stewart and Roger Rees, both of whom had acted in Waiting for Godot with Ian McKellen, presented an award to him. I can't decide whether my favourite bit is Patrick Stewart correcting Roger Rees' pronounciation of "Magneto" (well, he would!), or Sir Ian flirting with them both, the the choice of song they had for Ian McKellen accepting his award.... aw, just watch it.

Ralph Fiennes: a very good interview, mostly apropos Dickens, as he's playing Magwitch in the most recent Great Expectations and, as I found out for the first time via this interview, Charles Dickens himself in a film based on Claire Tomalin's biography of Ellen Ternan, The Invisible Woman. (Good choice, casting director. I can definitely see Fiennes with his talent for obsessive types as C.D.) He also talks about Corialanus, the film he directed, and the late Anthony Minghella, who directed him in The English Patient: "There are only a few directors who have a language for nurturing nuances of performance with any real skill. A lot of directors love their actors, admire and want to help them but he was exceptionally perceptive; he invested in teasing out, developing and nurturing."















“

Darth Real Life doesn't leave me time to watch the SJA episodes just yet, let alone review them. However, there is always time for short fannish distractions, such as:

Merlin:

Go Between. Perfect OT3 epilogue to the most recently broadcast episode (3.10 for later readers). Rooting for Merlin/Gwen/Arthur might be a minority thing in the fandom yet, but the great fanfic starts coming, such as thish one. No wonder, with all the current canonical support.

Lost/Heroes:

The non-creepiness of strangers: in which post-show Claire from Lost meets just pre season 2 Nathan from Heroes. It was the first time since eons since I read Heroes fanfiction, even a crossover, and I was surprised how well it worked for me. Of course, it being set at an era when I was still filled with show love helped, as does that we're in Claire's pov, and exploring Claire after all that happened to her and through her post Lost is something I look for in fanfiction. Nathan in his pre and early s2 state is an ideal person for her to meet, in that messed up characters chatting sort of way, plus, you know, personal resonance with girls named Claire who are illegitimate daughters.

And lastly: drool over what were their names again from Inception and what's his face from Sherlock all you want, flist, but I came across this picture and was reminded once more that where British actors are concerned, two septuangarians are the ones who reduce me to putty:

It seems a certain theatrical collaboration will also provide us with more photos of the gentlemen in question. The headline cracks me up, because well, that's no news if you're familiar with Magneto and Xavier in either comic- or movieverse. *g*

Speaking of comics, I've caught up with some of the build up to Secret Invasion which I had saved my money on previously (it's been translated into German now and hence available in train station shops to browse through), and say what you want, but Brian Bendis really thrives when he gets to do unlikely team-ups and superheroic bickering. In Mighty Avengers #10, titled "Time is on no-one's side", Tony Stark, the Sentry and Victor von Doom (whom Tony was about to arrest) have ended up accidentally time travelling (don't ask). I'd never thought I'd enjoy something with the Sentry in it, but this particular title is very entertaining, from Tony cutting a grandiose Doom-speech short as soon as he realizes what happened (i.e. the time jump) with "cut the crap, Victor" (and it's interesting that he immediately calls him Victor while addressing him as Doom in the present) to Doom going "my sophisticated armor is better than your sophisticated armor" to all of them having to break into Reed's lab.

I'll be on the road again this week, with the train leaving at 9 am (that's what you get when visiting Northern Germany), so quickly:

Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart on stage together, next year, in "Waiting for Godot". Touring the UK. Okay, it's clear where I'm going to be next summer!

On double standards in Torchwood fandom, or, if you like, one particular type of craziness, a great post by legionseagle.