Hawke in the heat, Helena in the hail

Just a few little tidbits relating to ex-Utopians today:

• Ethan Hawke talks to the NY Daily News about the movie version of his book The Hottest State, the changing face of NYC and life in general.

A little extract:

Always passionate and opinionated, Hawke is definitely less fiery and pointed than he was as a younger man, as he himself would be the first to say. So, when adapting a book he wrote more than a decade ago, Hawke found himself identifying less with William, the besotted young hero, and more with the father whom William struggles to confront and connect with."I was so idealistic about love and art and politics," says Hawke. "I was so idealistic. I still am, but the world is much grayer than I thought it was. It's harder to make your way than I thought.

MoviesOnline also has a great interview with him, including a long Q&A section about his work. A small snippet:

Can you talk a little bit about how you draw on your own life experiences for this film?

When I was younger, when I first wrote the book, I was really just running with that 'write what you know' thing they tell you in writing class. I was using the details of my real life to create authenticity for an emotional subject matter that I wanted to write about. I wanted to write about how much we take, how much our parents give us the vocabulary for love and how much we're guided by that and how much that comes out in our romantic relationships. I kind of wanted to find that intersection, you know the hottest state, an elevated level of passion, and where the protagonist comes from.

• Martha Plimpton meanwhile - described by Ben Brantley of the New York Times as one of 'a promising assortment of young veterans' - is still delighting audiences despite Central Park having its fair share of the wet stuff in recent days. One Delacorte-goer wasn't keen to give a thumbs up overall, but considered Ms Plimpton's performance 'one of the best things about the show', while another not only turned up in the rain, but waited for a late start, experienced an early finish and still said she would have stayed until midnight had she been allowed. Yet another Dreamer was equally complimentary and also elaborated:

Martha Plimpton was great as Helena, although it took me a while to get used to her playing such a different role for her. I'm so used to her being the "strong" woman, that seeing her grovel on the floor hanging on to Demetrius' leg took a some getting used to. However, as my friend pointed out, she was the only one of the four lovers who was truly speaking the verse, and that made a huge difference.

• In other news, Broadwayworld reports that the LCT will be a co-producer of Tom Stoppard’s Rock ‘N’ Roll which begins previews on Broadway at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre on October 19, while Utopian choreographer Michele Lynch will be lending her talents to Happy Days: The New Musical which will run at the Millburn Theater from September 26.
• Lastly, if you are Utopiastalgic or have a bare wall that needs a bit of interest, Ebay still has some unsigned Coast of Utopia window cards for under $20. There are a few pretty Sunshine ones available too.