Macbeth tickets

Word is that people have had to queue from dawn for Shakespeare in the Park tickets before, so I e-mailed the Public Theater about how to guarantee a spot. Here's the response:

Tickets are available [for free], two per person, at 1pm the day of the
performance at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park or at The Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street (bet. E. 4th and Astor Pl.).

You may become a Summer Sponsor of The Public Theater, for a $150 donation, and in return you will receive one ticket to either production of Shakespeare in the Park.

For more information, please visit www.publictheater.org.

The M word

Hot off the Associated Press. Not very informative, but a bit more colourful than earlier press-release regurgitations reports.

Ssssh! The Scottish play will be on view this summer in Central Park.

"Macbeth" -- the Shakespeare tragedy no one mentions by name in a theater because of bad luck -- will star Liev Schreiber as the murderous title character and Jennifer Ehle as his equally bloodthirsty wife.

The free Public Theater production, to be directed by Moises Kaufman, will begin performances June 13 at the Delacorte Theater and run through July 9. An official opening night will be announced later.

Both Schreiber and Ehle are Tony winners -- Schreiber for his performance in the 2005 revival of David Mamet's "Glengarry Glen Ross" and Ehle for her work in the 2000 revival of Tom Stoppard's "The Real Thing."

More on Melissa and River King DVDs

Here's the latest from Graham of Play.com. Nice chap.

Hi again Tina,

I'd just like to apologise for not getting you a reply regarding River King. However, it looks as though the July release date could be fairly realistic from the information at my disposal...

As for Melissa: that would be Channel 4, distributed by Lace. The DVD release was only announced on the 16/03/06, so that would explain the apparent contradiction on Channel 4's part.

Cheers,

Graham.

p.s. I didn't actually know who she was until I checked out your link, last time you contacted me (putting faces to names and all that). She's a very talented and beautiful actress. Keep up the good work!

River King on French TV again

Here are the other dates for The River King on Canal+ as promised:

Canal+ Cinema: April 5th at 11:20, April 6th at 16:45, April 8th at 13:35.

Canal+ Sport: April 4th at 15:30, April 7th at 12:10.

US Camomile Lawn DVD already available?

There's a Region 1 DVD of The Camomile Lawn for sale on eBay expiring March 30th.

It also appears that you can buy the Region 1 Camomile Lawn DVD directly from Acorn, the distributor. It's a fair bit more expensive than the eBay version though.

[edit: Frenchies, set your VCRs! The River King is on Canal Plus Décalé at 20:50 tonight, which is in like three hours. It'll be rebroadcast - dates later]

About time

At last, Australia's going to get The River King on DVD. It was rated M by the Office of Film and Literature Classification for "moderate coarse language, suicide theme, moderate violence" on January 20th 2006. Network Video has the release date as April 12th. They review it thusly:

Ed Burns (no relation to C. Montgomery) shows flashes of why he was so highly regarded following The Brothers McMullen, and he really should be acting in higher profile movies than this; in fact the same could be said for Jennifer Ehle as well. Fundamentally there’s nothing wrong with The River King, but it just lacks that spark that’ll really draw viewers in. For thriller fans however, this is a movie that most will enjoy, even if it won’t be truly memorable.

The film's also out in Belgium. The British release date seems to have been moved from June 26th to July 17th according to Play.com. It's still not listed at the BBFC though.

Ask and ye shall receive

Great news! It appears that Melissa is going to be released on DVD this year at Play.com. I asked Channel 4 last year and was told none was planned, so am writing for confirmation. If true, this must be the result of viewer demand, which is fantastic. Power to the people.

There isn't much info on the site but it says it's a 2 disk set for Region 2. The release date is said to be June 12th. I'd take it with a grain of salt, since the date for The River King was originally reported as October 2005 by Play.com, and it still hasn't come out yet in the UK.

Macbeth press

Here's the Public Theater's March 21st press release about the casting of Ms Ehle as Lady Macbeth, in PDF format. Below I've extracted the relevant bits, but download the file to see Moises Kaufman and Liev Schreiber's CVs.

The Public Theater’s Artistic Director Oskar Eustis and Executive Director Mara Manus announce that Jennifer Ehle has been cast as Lady Macbeth opposite Liev Schreiber in this summer’s production of Macbeth. Directed by Moises Kaufman, Macbeth will begin previews at the Delacorte Theater on Tuesday, June 13th . Performances will continue through Sunday, July 9th. The press opening will be announced at a later date. Shakespeare in the Park will mark the culmination of The Public’s year-long 50 th Anniversary Celebration.

Macbeth takes place in a world torn by war, in which treachery, ambition and superstition rule. Macbeth is a victorious war general who applies the rules of war to domestic politics and in the process turns his country upside down. This savage political thriller has never been more timely.
...
JENNIFER EHLE will make her Public Theater debut as Lady Macbeth this summer. On Broadway, she has appeared in Design for Living and The Real Thing (2000 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play). Additional theater credits include: For the Royal National Theatre: Summerfolk; for the Royal Shakespeare Company: The Relapse, The Painter of Dishonour and Richard III (1996 season); also: Tartuffe (Playhouse), Breaking the Code (Tour). Television: "Melissa," "Pride and Prejudice" (BAFTA Best Actress Award), "Beyond Reason," "Pleasure," "Self Catering," "The Maitlands," "Micky Love" and "Camomile Lawn." Film: Sunshine (Genie Award nomination for Best Actress) released in June 2000, This Year's Love, Bedrooms and Hallways, Wilde (BAFTA nomination Best Supporting Actress), Paradise Road and Backbeat. She is the daughter of actress Rosemary Harris.
...
Performances of Shakespeare in the Park will be Tuesday Through Sunday at 8:00 p.m. Tickets are FREE and will be available on the day of the performance (two per person) at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park beginning at 1:00 p.m. and at The Public Theater, 425 Lafayette Street (near Astor Place), from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. The closest entrances to the Delacorte are at 81st Street and Central Park West or 70th Street and Fifth Avenue.

For additional information about Shakespeare in the Park, call (212) 539-8750 or visit The Public Theater website at www.publictheater.org

Richard III review

Thought this review of Jennifer Ehle's first ever Shakespeare play was apt, with her second - Macbeth - coming up. Let's hope that it'll be met by kinder critics than Mr Macaulay.

'Richard III' in hell
By Alastair Macaulay
8 September 1995
Financial Times
(c) 1995 Financial Times Limited. All Rights Reserved

The Royal Shakespeare Company's new production of Richard III is pointless. Because it is in several ways foolish, and because it contains virtually nothing distinguished, one is tempted to speak of it with maximum severity; but this would be a mistake. Among its few basic old-fashioned virtues, it tells the story of Shakespeare's famous history play more or less clearly, and its cast maintains a general level of professional competence. Some of the humour is humorous, and some of the dark moments are dark. Several members of the cast would doubtless belong well in some other staging of the same play.

Richard III is David Troughton, who has done amiable and sterling character work for the RSC for several seasons in quite a range of parts: Caliban, Goldoni's Venetian Twins, Hector (in Troilus and Cressida), Kent (in King Lear), Holofernes (in Love's Labour's Lost), Lopakhin in the current Cherry Orchard. His Richard is a lop-sided gargoyle, a livid grotesque; and it is very possible that this conception could be an absorbing centrepiece to ... some other staging.

The director here, however, is Steven Pimlott, who - as in several of his other RSC productions with other actors - encourages Troughton and most of the other actors to give ponderously contrived performances. Mannerisms that have never before been troubling in Troughton have been allowed here to become woefully intrusive. His mouth keeps hanging open like a triangular gash; his eyes stare forth with artificial ferocity; he gives some lines a gloating warmth ('his daughter meanly have I matched in marriage'); he pings out final consonants for comic emphasis; he delivers certain rows of words as comic staccati ('I. Am. Not. In. The. Giving. Vein. Today'). All these devices can be effective, but here are considerably overworked.

John Nettles does one of his polished and self-congratulatory performances as Buckingham. Michael Siberry is given little chance to make an impression as Clarence. Jennifer Ehle delivers a lot of self-conscious nobility (in spite of some Edward Heath 'Thou' vowels) as Lady Anne. Cherry Morris's Queen Margaret is out of the best Peggy Ashcroft mould, albeit without great power or distinction. Diana Coupland starts Queen Elizabeth as a kind of Penelope Keith arriviste and fusspot, who is weathered by a situation beyond her into a surprising complexity. As the old Duchess of York, Diana Coupland is a dull little shrew.

Pimlott applies a number of clever-clever gimmicks. There are a great many significant silences, starting from the start. (Richard's first appearance is a false entrance, stopped before his first word by the entrance of the court.) The dead who will visit both Richard and Richmond before the battle are often visible at earlier moments, welcoming each new victim into their number. The two leaders deliver their big pre-battle soliloquies simultaneously. Dead, Richard sits at the side of the stage and does a slow handclap to Richmond's final words.

Pimlott also applies a certain amount of jiggery-pokery with the text. Several lines are moved around. Three citizens are orchestrated into a naff chorus; and Richard, at the moment of death, reprises key lines from his first speech. The effect is remarkably uninteresting. Jason Carr has provided some grim and unnecessary music which deliberately undercuts poor Clarence's great speech and then returns as Tyrell narrates the demise of the princes in the Tower: you know, the kind of mood music that tries to stop you listening to what is being said.

In Tobias Hoheisel's designs, a central wall of headache blue, across the stage, faces on to a waste landscape of lime green; and Richard is dressed in uniform red. Sometimes the wall opens to reveal a single grey and cell-like chamber which has to function as umpteen different interiors. No doubt, in a play whose protagonist progresses from ambition and malice to tyranny and murder and despair, this ugliness is deliberate. In any case, it is the set from Hell.

In RSC repertory at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, until January 27.

In happier news, Broadway: the Golden Age, a documentary with Rosemary Harris, is showing on PBS in the US. Unfortunately we've picked this up a bit late but fans in Buffalo, NY can just make it - it's on at 9pm tonight (Sunday) on WNED. That's very soon, so turn on your tellies! It's on next month in NYC and you can call in for dates for Chicago, Dallas and San Francisco. But anyway, you can buy it on DVD.

A Pemberlean who caught it notes Ms Ehle's "sort-of cameo":

I was watching the Broadway documentary on PBS last week, and there was Rosemary Harris in a dressing room, reminiscing about going to Sardi's and who one would see there. And behind her, on her dressing table, was a lovely picture of her daughter Jennifer.

On Kerala and Kerala

Yep, it's being reported as Kerala again. Anyhow, this CineSouth article explores Santosh Sivan's relationship with his homeland.

Cinematographer Santosh Sivan is making a film once again. This time, it's an English film, set in historical times in Kerala.

Santosh Sivan is a Malayali, but he learnt his art in Tamilnadu. His films 'Dalapathi,' 'Roja' and 'Iruvar' brought him fame in Bollywood. 'Malli' and 'Terrorist' that he directed won national recognition. Having carved a niche for himself in Indian cinema, he is now concentrating on making a film about the history of his homeland.

One of his recent efforts is 'Ananthabadram' in which Santosh Sivan has played upon the unique culture of Kerala, especially its black magic and occult background.

Hs forthcoming film 'Kerala' also is about the Malayali way of life. The best way in which to reach nationally and globally is to make the film in English and that's why Santosh Sivan opted to make 'Kerala' in English.

Nandita Das and Rahul Bose play the lead roles. "I am very eager to act in a film like 'Kerala' which is about the culture and history of the place," says Nandita who has taken a long hiatus from films.

There's nothing like a Malayali to uphold his land's tradition. It's a pity that we don't have anyone in Tamilnadu to do the same.

Here's a map of India in case you're as clueless as me.

On a completely different subject, just a reminder that Rosemary Harris and John Ehle will be attending the Self-Employment in the Arts (SEA) Conference at Wake Forest University on April 1st.

Road to the Sky to get Indian release too

Looks like Road to the Sky is the title now. Anyhow, this Deccan Chronicle article isn't online, but you can read it and see a photo of Rahul Bose through the Google cache.

Rahul Bose has just completed shooting for Hollywood banner Echo Lake Production’s Road To The Sky. Set in 1937, the film tells the story of two friends, one British and the other Indian, and how the British friend ruins the friendship and brings it to an end. “The British actor plays a married man in the film while my character is single. The screenplay is an adaptation of a story from Israel. Though the film is set in 1937, it’s not an epic or a period film,” says Rahul.

Road To The Sky has been directed by ace cinematographer Santosh Sivan. “Echo Lake Productions chose Santosh to direct the film. Santosh asked me to play the character of the Indian guy. The film also stars British actress Jennifer Ehle and Nandita Das,” says Bose. According to him, besides a worldwide release, Road To The Sky will hit the theatres in India too.

Besides Road To The Sky, Echo Lake Productions is also backing Deepa Mehta’s Water. Rahul says, “They were familiar with the work Sivan and I had done, which led them to approach him to make the film for their production house.”

Asked whether there were major differences in the style of working in an international venture, and Bose says, “The differences that people talk about are superficial. And this is not the first time that I am doing an English film. I earlier did English, August too. I have also completed The Whispers and shooting for it was like doing any other international venture. Also, the approach towards my role is the same whether I am doing a Hindi film or an international venture. Differences may be there, but they are too minuscule to even talk about.”

Not really worth a post in itself, but an IMDBer had a brief post-Nothin' Like a Dame encounter.

RiverRun reception

RelishNow reports from the reception of the RiverRun International Film Festival:

Rosemary Harris, who attended the party with her husband, John Ehle, said that she had marked off the four days of the festival on her calendar and wasn't going to plan anything else so she could attend at least three films every day. "I wish I could split myself in two so I could attend more," she said.

River King review & Macbeth thread

A thoughtful comparison of the screen and novel versions of The River King at Better than Dead:

Ms. Ehle did the best she could with the script she was given—indeed probably put more into Betsy than was on the page—because they reduced her character to a impulsive, indecisive, shallow woman. The book version of Betsy was certainly indecisive and impulsive, but not shallow. She struggled against real concerns, motivated by real insecurities and past history, all of which were lost in the movie. And the character of Abel, although more substantive, lost all of the juicy grayness that made him so interesting.

The movie was beautifully filmed, absolutely gorgeous, and it did manage some of the wonder of the book. They stayed true to its spirit—I have to give them that. That isn't always the case in film adaptations. They didn't ruin the book.

And here's the BroadwayWorld forum thread about the announcement of Ms Ehle as Lady Macbeth. It's mainly lots of "yays" so far, but worth keeping an eye on.

Macbeth dates

The Public Theatre site lists the dates for that Scottish play as being from June 13 - July 9, 2006. The good news is that you can get free tickets:

Pick up your free Shakeapeare in the Park tickets on the day of the performance beginning at 1pm at The Delacorte Theater in Central Park or from 1 to 3pm at The Public Theater Box Office, 425 Lafayette Street.

Video from Nothin' Like a Dame

Broadway Beat has clips from Nothin' Like a Dame, which you can see either streamed at
BroadwayWorld or as a humungous 62mb .mov file. Neither are working properly for me, but Chelsea says there's only a tiny bit with Ms Ehle and Rosemary Harris in it. Still, I think there are some songs and things you might enjoy.

Kerala bilingual?

From an interview Rahul Bose did with India's Telegraph:

His own mantra for success is to make the character look justifiable and to do everything to make it believable. That’s also the reason why he’s opted to do a period film like Kerala directed by ace cinematographer Santosh Sivan. Set in 1937, Bose will be playing a Malayali villager along with Nandita Das and a host of other British actors. “I had to learn Malayalam, which was not so easy but I managed it. This will be radically different from all the other movies I am doing,” he admits.

Elsewhere it's been said that it's an English-language film, but this Nandita Das interview also says it's bilingual.

In the same vein...

More from Kerry, who provided the stage door pics below.

The show was really fun - even from the second to last row! Cynthia Nixon came out and spoke a little about Wendy Wasserstein and said in her honor that they were going to read one of her more famous passages. As a movie person I had never heard of Chronicles of Heidi but she introduced JE and Julianna as Wendy worthy actresses. It was a passage in which Hedi - the main character - goes back to her old school to give a speech about where women are today. They all portrayed Hedi - not different characters. Julianna started, JE continued and Cynthia finished up. They all did a good job but JE is was the only one who had clearly memorized her lines and didn't need the crutch of the binder that was in front of each of them.

More Nothin' Like a Dame photos

Eight in total - some new ones, some the same as those previously posted but nice and big and unwatermarked. You can see them in our Photobucket folder. Thanks a million to the generous and tireless Josie who sent these to us.

Nothin' Like a Dame stage door

Thanks to Kerry who posted this in one of the comments below. It's reproduced here in case people don't read the comments.

Hey I just thought I post a little stage door encounter -after the Nothin' Like A Dame show. I stumbled onto this site about two days before the show and as a Ms. Ehle fan thought I should go see it. I was actually looking up trivia about The River King - which I had just watched. Anyway, the show was extremely good and I had a lot of fun. Afterwards I waited to get an autograph and she was extremely polite. This is considering the fact I had planned on being very cool and casual but when push came to shove I barely got the words out to ask for her autograph!! Ms. Ehle is the only celebrity I have ever met let alone tried to encounter. The whole time I was overcome with the thought "WOW she's really tall." As a note - be prepared if you meet her - she's really tall! Her mother was equally as pleasant and now I have some very nice pictures!

...as an extra tidbit Rosemary Harris asked me which direction 8th Ave was after taking a picture with her --- they were headed to the cast party.

She also sent in these fab photos and adds:

If you make captions for [the photos] you should reference the fact that I was a complete studdering fool (couldn't even look her in the eye) and my entire family now makes fun of me. Well worth it though.

Blog trawl, part #13849

Brief report from someone who attended Nothin' Like a Dame

Blogger's review of The River King

I just saw this little known but quite charming movie called The River King..... It's a mystery/crime movie based on Alice Hoffman's bestselling novel by the same name, starring Ed Burns (remember the assault-rifle wielding, handsome Ranger in Saving Private Ryan?) and Jennifer Ehle (who bears a good resemblance to the the exquisite, great Meryl Streep) plus an excellent supporting cast. What struck me most while I was watching this movie was Simon Boswell's refreshing mandolin score in the background.

There are some sounds, smells and sights that hit a spot somewhere deep inside you, awaken memories or strong feelings..... things you had buried so deep in your psyche.

Photo from Nothin' Like a Dame

More tidbits from Kerala

Alright, that's what I'm going to call it for now. It's shorter than Road to the Sky. The below is from an interview with Rahul Bose in The Hindu.

But what he's really taken in by is Santosh Sivan's English film Kerala. A period film set in 1937, it's a story of friendship between a Malayali boy (Bose) and a British tea planter, who wants to build a road that will open the spice route to the village. "The greatest experience of my life is Kerala. But thankfully there are still some companies in Hollywood that make sensible cinema. American producers can be a nightmare. They have tremendous control over a film, unlike in India where the director calls the shots. So I dread it, the interference of producers," he says with wide eyes. But these guys were anything but the stereotype.

And sayeth Santosh Sivan in Indiaglitz:

'Its a great feeling to have actors from London, the United States and India. Its always fun and more interesting when so many languages are spoken and with so many people having to adjust to different systems and be unusually quiet since its always sync shooting', Santosh says.

More Nothin' Like a Dame writeups

Playbill has an announcement of the amount raised, and the Broadway Cares site about the event has a report about all the performances.

...Rosemary Harris appeared to speak eloquently of the Women’s Initiative, reminding us how women, so naturally nurturing, need a place where they, too, can get the help they need.

The Phyllis Newman Health Initiative was organized in 1996 with a $10,000 grant form BC/EFA to provide a safety net for women in the entertainment industry who are coping with critical health concerns, or life-threatening illnesses; illnesses such as lymphoma, which claimed the life of Wendy Wasserstein this past January. Wendy was honored on stage at this year’s DAMES in selected readings from her Tony-award and Pulitzer-prize winning play, THE HEIDI CHRONICLES, performed by Jennifer Ehle, Julianna Margulies and Cynthia Nixon.

The photos below are by Ben Strothmann for BroadwayWorld. Click to enlarge.

Nothin' Like a Dame pictures

These are from Getty Images (search for Nothin' Like a Dame). Click to enlarge. In the first one, look to the far right.





Cool hair, no? Sort of reminiscent of this look.

PS. I think the red ribbon's for this, perhaps?

Nothin' Like a Dame reports

Broadwayworld reports that the charity show raised a whopping $300 000 for The Phyllis Newman Women's Health Initiative.

Recap of all the night's acts on Broadway Pulse

Review from Broadwayworld forum members who attended.

Cynthia Nixon, Julianna Margulies and Jennifer Ehle read a section of "The Heidi Chronicles" as a tribute to Wendy Wasserstein... I wasn't sure how they were going to do a tribute to her in the middle of a show that was mostly singing, but, I thought it worked well.
...
The Wendy Wasserstein Tribute was really good too, as perhaps embarassingly, I'm not familiar with "The Heidi Chronicles." Twas a great monolugue shared by the 3 performers.

The film with a thousand names

Keral/Kerala/Road to the Sky starring Jennifer Ehle/Ryan. Truly, they’re not making it easy! In this Hindustan Times article, Rahul Boses enthuses about "Santosh Sivan’s period film Keral".

After a peripheral but poignant role in Aparna Sen's 15 Park Avenue, Rahul Bose is playing a well-educated village guy who wants to bring changes into his birthplace in Santosh Sivan's period film Keral.

"It is a very interesting take on cross-culturalism. My character joins hands with a British planter. He believes this collaboration can bring changes in his village. At the same time the freedom movement has started. So he is torn between patriotism and progress."

"It is produced by a very respectable Hollywood company called Echolake who have produced Deepa Mehta's Water. It is written by an American called Cathy Rabin. It is set in pre-Independence day, though the period isn't the plot's point.

"But yes, it's my first period film. So far I have been offered urbane characters only," says Rahul.

Though Rahul refuses to reveal more, the film has four key British characters. Well-known actors from England are playing these roles.

"I can't reveal their names. But Nandita Das, who plays a girl from my village, is my co-star."

"Keral gives me one of the most sensitive roles I have been offered. They auditioned several actors across the world. For some reason they thought I had the best understanding of the character."
Santosh Sivan, whose last directorial project Navrasa was in Tamil, is shooting this intriguing film in his home state Kerala.

There’s another a brief note about his casting at Bollyvista. Nandita Das also talks about the film a bit in an interview.

Nandita’s current assignments — Santosh Sivan’s untitled English film and Chitra Palekar’s Marathi film based on a Mahasweta Devi novel — once again confirm her commitment to good cinema. “I am playing an Englishman’s housekeeper in Sivan’s film that is set in colonial India.

One for your diaries

Winston-Salemites, you're in luck. Rosemary Harris and John Ehle will be speaking at the Self-Employment in the Arts Conference on April 1st, to be held at Wake Forest University.

The conference will be held 8:30 a.m. - 5:45 p.m. at Reynolda House, Museum of American Art, followed by a reception from 6 - 7:30 p.m. at the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (SECCA). The public is invited to attend, but registration is required.

More than 30 professionals from various fields including the visual, performing and literary arts, arts-related business, arts management, law and accountancy will lead panel and small group discussions to help aspiring writers, musicians, illustrators, dancers and actors discover how to make livings as professional
artists.
...
Other notable speakers include novelist John Ehle, who was instrumental in the founding of the North Carolina School of the Arts (NCSA); actress Rosemary Harris, whose credits include Broadway, television and movie roles, including that of Aunt May in the Spider-Man movies; Elliot McGucken, author, expert in controlling the use of intellectual property published on the Internet, and professor of physics and programming at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Preston Lane, co-founder and artistic director of Triad Stage; Doug Borwick, composer and nationally recognized educator in arts and not-for-profit management; Dale Pollock, feature film producer and dean of the NCSA School of Filmmaking; and Gerald Freedman, award-winning director of theater and television and dean of the NCSA School of Drama.

Registration details:

To register for the conference, call 336-758-5900 or go to www.reynoldahouse.org. Cost is $35, $30 for students and Reynolda House members. The cost of registration includes lunch and the reception.

Brought to you by the magic of Photoshop

Many thanks to Ngejung, who managed to extract the obscured image from the Broadway Cares 2003 annual report posted earlier.

PS.

Nothin' Like a Dame is in 24 hours (8pm GMT-5).

"Kerala"

A little more about the production of Road to the Sky.This Indo-Asian News Service article is dated January 7th.

The state government has promised full support and security for filmmaker Santosh Sivan's first Hollywood film showcasing Kerala's pristine beauty, being shot here currently.

Incidentally this is the first Hollywood film to be shot entirely in Kerala. The shooting began from Jan 2. A 40-member crew from Hollywood is overseeing the shooting of the film with a working title "Kerala."

The government is enthused about the project as Sivan had to make a lot of efforts to convince the Hollywood team to shoot in Kerala rather than in South Africa or Brazil.

The government agreed to provide help as it would go a long way to showcase the natural beauty and the rich cultural traditions of Kerala to an international audience.

Sanjeev Sivan, Santosh's brother, told IANS: "The team from Hollywood is very particular that there should be no interruptions while shooting and no one should have access here."

The American cast include William Jaudon, Jennifer Ryan and William Roache, while there's Nandita Das and Rahul Bose from Bollywood. Tilakan, Manoj K. Jayan and Nedumudi Venu feature from the Malayalam film industry.

He added the shooting would be completed within 45 days and the entire film would be canned in and around Munnar.

The film is being jointly produced by Echo Lake Productions of Los Angeles, Adirondack Pictures of New York and Santosh Sivan Productions of India. The film will be released worldwide by mid 2006.

The film is set in the 1940s with the freedom struggle as the backdrop and shows how the British tried to make inroads into the spice heartland of Kerala.

Sanjiv added: "On an average, two scenes are being shot in a day. The editing work is expected to take place in London."

Mid-2006, yippee!

More on Road to the Sky

I can't believe it's taken us this long to pick up the story.

Santosh Sivan to shoot Hollywood film in Kerala
By Sanu George, Indo-Asian News Service

Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 20 (IANS) Ace filmmaker Santosh Sivan is all set to begin work on his latest venture - a Hollywood film to be entirely filmed in Kerala.

Santosh is director and cinematographer of the film, which has been given the working title "Kerala", to be shot in Munnar early next year.

Sanjeev Sivan, his filmmaker brother, said: "It is being jointly produced by Echo Lake Productions of Los Angeles, Adirondack Pictures of New York and Santosh Sivan Productions of India. The film will be released worldwide by mid 2006."

Sanjeev said, "The film is set in the 1940s with the freedom struggle as backdrop and the attempts of the English to create inroads into the spice heartland of Kerala."

According to Sanjeev, his brother had to make a lot of effort to convince the Hollywood team to shoot in Kerala rather than in South Africa and Brazil.

The first ever Hollywood venture to be shot in God's Own Country, as Kerala is known, "will go a long way to showcase the natural beauty as well as the rich cultural tradition of the land", said Sanjeev.

The American cast includes William Jaudon, Jennifer Ryan and William Roache.

The Indian cast consists of Bollywood actors Nandita Das and Rahul Bose, along with Tilakan, Manoj K. Jayan and Nedumudi Venu from the Malayalam film industry.

Hah, Jennifer Ryan. Tricksy!

This Indiaglitz article dates the end of shooting to about the beginning of February.

Désolée!

Argh, Le Monde's TV guide says that The River King was shown on Canal+ at 8.50pm...three days ago (Tuesday 28th). Sorry about the late notice. Bad blogger. Must check Factiva more often. Did anyone tape it perchance? Anyway, if you missed it, there are heaps of DVDs on eBay. The Canadian version has French audio.

Though if you're reading this, you can probably understand English.

W00T!

GUESS WHAT! There's a new project on the horizon! India's The Hindu reports that Jennifer Ehle is going to be in Road to the Sky, helmed by cinematographer-director Santosh Sivan. The film was shot in Munnar (which explains the strange coincidence earlier).

"It is about a British planter (Linus Roache), who wants to build a road to the hills to commercially tap the produce of the high ranges, mainly spices. He is assisted by an Indian (Rahul Bose), who wants to be like the planter and live in his world. But he has his roots in his village and customs.

The film explores the relationship between the planter, his wife (Jennifer Ehle), his lover (Nandita Das) and his aide. Finally, Rahul's character understands that he has to make a choice and it is not quite possible to live in two worlds," explains Santosh.

Sounds tres promising. Look at what the actors say about him:

Linus regards his work in "Road to the Sky" as his best ever in 20 years of show biz. He showers praise on Santosh and says that he is an "extraordinary director" to work with, someone who is "genuine and authentic."

"Working with him is like playing jazz. He has the structure but he creates freedom to be spontaneous. He also creates a fundamental positive basis that binds everyone to a common aim and focus; he is fast, which builds momentum and keeps the energy alive. He has a unique eye and a way of perceiving, where he is looking beyond the superficial and into the layers underneath."

Agreeing with him is Jennifer Ehle, who acted in the Istvan Szabo film "Sunshine." "It was really nice being on the sets and I hope to work with him again some day," she says.

Similarly, it was the desire to work with Santosh that drew Nandita Das to the film. Nandita, who is shooting for Chitra Palekar's Marathi film "Maati Maaye," says that "it was primarily the desire to work with Santosh Sivan, who is extremely passionate about what he does," that made her accept "Road to the Sky."

Here's his IMDB filmography, where the film is not yet listed. Look at the slight Pride and Prejudice connection - he was the cinematographer for Bride and Prejudice.

And on release dates:

Andy Spaulding hopes that "Road to the Sky" will have its premiere at one of the major international film festivals.

PS. Mary, you rock. Thanks for the hot-off-the-press tip!



This is SO COOL.

Nothin' Like a Dame seats limited

Just received an e-mail from the BroadwayWorld mailing list. Here it is in full:

The 11th Annual NOTHIN' LIKE A DAME benefiting The Phyllis Newman Women's Health Initiative of The Actors' Fund of America is a one-night gathering of the first ladies of Broadway and special guests. This year's performance will be a starred-studded vaudeville of Broadway's best, brightest and most talents ladies- live on stage together for one night only! The show is followed by a cast party at a world-renowned and legendary Times Square institution- John's Pizzaria.

$50 Balcony seats and a very few mezzanine and orchestra seats are still available.

Call Broadway Cares at 212 840 0770 x268 or visit http://www.broadwaycares.org/events/dames2006.cfm

NOW CONFIRMED AND STARRING:
Bebe Neuwirth
Victoria Clark
Kate Clinton
Tyne Daly
Bobbie Eakes
Jennifer Ehle
Jill Eikenberry
Felicia Finley
Maria Friedman
Ruthie Henshall
Rosemary Harris
Catherine Hurlin and Jessica Ferretti
Lauren Kennedy
Darlene Love
Julianna Margulies
Jessica Molaskey
Phyllis Newman
Cynthia Nixon
Rosie O'Donnell
Jill Paice
Angie Schworer
Brynn Williams
Ruth Williamson

The Jersey Girls from Jersey Boys
Jennifer Naimo, Erica Piccininni, Sara Schmidt and Heather Ferguson

Sweeney Todd
Diana MiMarzio, Lauren Molina, Dorothy Stanley, Elisa Winters, Jessica Wright

Julianna Margulies (Topsy from Paradise Road) wasn't listed before I think.

And a bit of meat

To compensate. This 1994 article, from Raleigh's News & Observer, recounts the story behind the making of The Journey of August King and particularly the friendship between John Ehle and producer Borden Mace.

Some quotage about Jennifer Ehle's part in bringing her dad's book to the screen:

For nearly two years, Mace shopped the project. He snagged actor Sam Waterston as a fellow producer, but despite several close calls -- including one with Miramax -- the deals fell through.

Then came some unexpected help from Ehle's actress daughter, Jennifer, who was living in London. Harvey Weinstein, one of the heads of Miramax, was interested in casting her in a movie, Ehle says. She was tied up with other projects, but she showed Weinstein a copy of her father's "August King" script.

Weinstein loved it and brokered the deal that allowed Mace's team to remain. The film would be made after all.

AFAIK, which is not far, she hasn't done any Miramax films yet (though there was a connection with Possession).

Reminder: the Nothin' Like a Dame event is in exactly a week. Both Ms Ehle and Rosemary Harris will be in it. It's the first time the former has been on Broadway since 2001. It's for a good cause. Go.

Blog barrel

Of which we are scraping the bottom.

Random, a smidgen disrespectful.

Wilde review

Bedrooms and Hallways review

Funny freak-out about her blondeness. Read the comments too. Perhaps our subtitle should be "A fan blog with daily news and links about blondeish, Americanish, actress Jennifer Ehle." Just to warn people.