3 days til Jane; 17 til Lorainne

Greetings all! Just some little bits and bobs today:

• Firstly, CBS/IMDb have some lovely photos of The Russell Girl. The above is of Ms Ehle as Lorainne Morrisey, and there are thirteen more of other cast members. Happy viewing!
  
• Secondly, Jane Burns of The Capital Times arouses more excitement about PBS' 'Complete Jane Austen' extravaganza. Even her little introduction succeeds in eliciting anticipation:

[...] They play the piano forte. They hide their affections for those brooding sorts. They know their own minds and love to read. They are the island of common sense in a sea of idiotic relatives and acquaintances. They speak of "understandings" and "attachments." And they'll be all over PBS this winter and spring. [...]

• On January 5, Tom Stoppard was interviewed at the American Conservatory Theater (ACT) by Carey Perloff, as part of the Koret Visiting Artist Series. Fortunately, a podcast of the discussion is available in three parts. Slightly less fortunately, Part One does not seem to contain any any Coast of Utopia discussion as written, and Parts Two and Three do not currently seem to be working. Hopefully the faults will be amended soon!
  
• Calling all Californians - the Berkeley Daily Planet have announced that three readings of The Coast of Utopia will be taking place this month. It is perhaps a little late notice for Voyage (being read today) but you may be interested in the other two:

[...] The Coast of Utopia Reading of the trilogy by Tom Stoppard “Voyage” at 7 p.m. at the Ashby Stage, 1901 Ashby Ave. Other readings on Jan. 16 and Jan. 23. Tickets for all three are $150. 841-6500, ext. 303. [...]

Although the wording is a little unclear, given the previous bullet point and the fact that Sir Tom is therefore in California, one presumes these readings are being done by him, thus accounting for the price - but please double check this if you plan to attend!

• On the blog scene, one author/blogger discusses the 1989 film adaptation of John Ehle's Winter People.
  
• Lastly, as you may have heard, Nicole Kidman has had to drop out of upcoming project, The Reader, due to her pregnancy. While IMDb report that her place has now been filled by the lovely Kate Winslet, prior to this one blogger proposed an alternative:

[...] How about Jennifer Ehle? She's a great actress and bona fide box office! [...]