Before the Rains: The Website

Lookie! These photos are from the official website for Before the Rains. Go check it out. There are a few more photos, and the film trailer has been posted there as well.

Thank you to our Chatterbox guest who posted a link to ejji.42.com, the website of an actor who appeared in Before the Rains. Here is how he described his experience making the movie:

My next film was again a Santosh Sivan film. With the working title "Kerala", Santosh directed it and he was also the cinematographer. It opened a new world for me. Produced by Echo Lake Productions, in the U.S., it was premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September 2007 under the title "Before the Rains". The film stars Linus Roach, Jennifer Eyle, Sir John Standing, Rahul Bose, Nanditha Das and Indrajit. Entirely shot in Munnar (Kerala), it showed how efficiency could be the backbone of a production. A shooting schedule that was so finely tuned to ultimate perfection before the start of the first shot, that it is hard to believe that the shooting ended after two months exactly to the minute as scheduled. A whole tribal village was set up at Munnar, with bridges, temple, public square, river that was partially diverted through the set....... the works. My role is that of Inspector Sampath, the Inspector of Police, Munnar. The story is a murder mystery that happens in Munnar, circa 1934. The two-month schedule was so business-like, with get-togethers every weekend. All the compliments must go to the producers whose grasp of logistics, timing and teamwork was something that can be compared to a space launch by NASA!!

A new review of the film has been posted at Slant Magazine, and The Hindu News has a short article about Jennifer Ehle's co-star Rahul Bose, who, we are told, will be in New York and Los Angeles next month for the film's release (May 9).

Rains has certainly been making the film festival rounds! On March 31, it was shown at the AFI Dallas International Film Festival. And, according to the Dallas Morning News, it was honored with a party:

[...] Monday night, a slew of AFI parties drew the locals out to mingle with the film crowd. Trammell S. Crow hosted a party at the Crow Collection in the Arts District honoring the movie Before the Rains . The film's star, Linus Roache (Law & Order), came by, as did the producer, Doug Mankoff, son of Dallas civic leaders Joy and Ron Mankoff. [...]

Non-Rains News:

• Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, with Rosemary Harris, will be released on DVD on April 15 (Blu-ray format on May 6). Both versions are available for pre-order at Amazon.com.
• Speaking of DVD, one blogger wonders why all of Jennifer Ehle's scenes were not included on the Michael Clayton DVD. Good question.
  

  [...] There are three deleted scenes - two of which would qualify as big time spoilers and a third which introduces an entirely new character - Clayton’s lawyer girlfriend (Jennifer Ehle). From what I have read online and in the papers, Ehle had a much larger presence originally aside from this one scene but all of her scenes were deleted for time purposes. I wonder why we only get the one scene here. Would it have hurt to include ALL of this material? [...]

• Which of Jane Austen's heroines do you have the most in common with? Take this quiz to find out...
• Tomorrow night we will bid farewell to The Complete Jane Austen with the second half of Sense and Sensibility. Many thanks to Masterpiece for all of the Sunday night fun!

The Ides of March

Photos:

• Playbill has posted this adorable photo of Ms Ehle with Richard Easton at the unveiling of Jack O'Brien's caricature at Sardi's Restaurant. There is also a photo of Amy Irving with Tom Stoppard. (Must have been a fun mini-Utopian reunion!)
• You can also see larger versions of the photos we posted last time (courtesy of Wire Image) by going to Getty Images (search "Jennifer Ehle").

News:

• This is just hearsay at the moment, but the folks at silksoundbooks have told us that they hope to record more audiobooks with Jennifer Ehle later in the year. That would be fabulous! (If you've listened to Washington Square, pray tell us your thoughts at the forum).

Before the Rains:

• The sad news is that yesterday would have been the release date for Pride and Glory had it not been postponed until 2009. The good news is that Before the Rains is scheduled to be released in the US in May. According to Screen India:

  [...] Films with Indian themes shot on Indian locations and tinged with an international flavour are gaining cross-over acceptance. Taking the lead here is top-rated cinematographer turned director Santosh Sivan’s fifth film, Before The Rains . . . Roadside Attractions will release Before The Rains on May 9th in New York and Los Angeles and then expand over the subsequent two weeks into over twenty US cities. [...]

• India Glitz reports more of the same. Let's hope that it makes it to a theater near you and me!
• Also, there is an interview clip with director Santosh Sivan at Film Catcher (from when Before the Rains was being shown at the Toronto International Film Festival back in September '07). Apologies if this has already been posted.

DVD:

• Just a reminder that Alpha Male will be released on DVD in Region 1 format on March 18. It is currently available for pre-order at Amazon.com.
• Mole Underfield, from the livejournal realm, watched Jennifer Ehle's deleted scene on the Michael Clayton DVD:

  [...] Basically, the scene depicts the two talking shop in her apartment (apres liaison) while she prepares dinner . Although the scene is about ten minutes, Jennifer's acting is, again, top notch . . . Though it was unnecessary for the movie, the deletion of that scene was a pity. To have kept it in would have added a pinch more spice. [...]

Miscellaneous:

• NPR dedicated a piece to A Streetcar Named Desire's tragic heroine, Blanche DuBois, and there is insightful quotage from Rosemary Harris about what it is like to play the character on stage:

[...] Actress Rosemary Harris remembers one thing in particular about Blanche DuBois.

"It's the loneliest part to live through that I've ever played on the stage," she says.

Harris played Ophelia opposite Peter O'Toole in the Hamlet that inaugurated the Royal National Theatre in 1964. Summer-blockbuster fans know her as Peter Parker's Aunt May in the Spider-Man movies. She starred as Blanche in the 1973 Lincoln Center production of A Streetcar Named Desire.

"Most people, even if they're unsympathetic characters like Lady Macbeth or somebody, at least she has ... Macbeth rooting for her," Harris says. "But there is nobody rooting for Blanche. And you go through that night after night, and it begins to get to you. It's very, very lonely up there."

What saves Blanche, and makes her tragedy more bearable, says Harris, is her humor. Harris says too many people fail to see that parts of the play — especially some of the exchanges between Blanche and Stanley — are meant to be funny.

"They're very witty," she points out. "They're very funny with each other; they spar. They strike sparks off each other. And it's obviously sexual — right from the beginning, too. But it's a sexual thing with wit." [...]

• Remember that Jennifer Ehle made her theatrical debut in this production of Streetcar. See El Interview Part 1, Question 6:

My first public performance was as part of the ‘birthday party’ that passes-by in A Streetcar Named Desire. I was less than 2 years-old, but remember it —remember going across the back of the stage during one of the performances and seeing Mum in the quick-change room (that was supposed to be the bathroom where Blanche was having her bath) and her waving and smiling and putting her finger to her lips to remind me not to say her name aloud.

And I remember the feeling of all those hundreds of people sitting out there in the dark on the other side of the set. It was an awesome feeling but not a scary one; oddly comforting. [...]

• The Independent has a nice article about Tom Stoppard.
• And finally, I couldn't resist posting these worshipful words about Jennifer Ehle from a livejournaler's review of Possession:

  [...] Jennifer is, in my humble opinion, one of the most beautiful, talented women on the face of the Earth. Her portrayal of the fictional poetess Christabel LaMotte was so surreal. It was almost if she were not made up at all! I half expected to be able to find books about her, biographies, when I searched for her name on Amazon.com. [...]

Apologies, thanks, news and cuteness

Apologies for the missing post everyone - the unfortunate consequence of multiple crises on both sides of the big pond!

• Firstly, a thank you to the tagboarder who sent us the gorgeous photo above. From Journal Now, it shows a two year old Jennifer Ehle in 1972, the year her father received the North Carolina Award.
  

• A second thank you to all of you who alerted us to the deleted scenes on the DVD of Michael Clayton, in which there are brief snippets of Ms Ehle as Brini Glass. Courier Post Online lists the DVD extras as consisting of 'a commentary track and deleted scenes, including a subplot involving Jennifer Ehle as Clayton's girlfriend'. The Morning Call adds a reassurance from director/writer Tony Gilroy:

[...] ''The sequence wasn't cut for quality,'' said Gilroy, who excised any hint of the relationship because it made our anti-hero seem less desperate. [...]

Post-Gazette Now also comment briefly on the film. The Cambridge Student Online have interviewed Tom Wilkinson - one of the stars of the film - if you are interested. There is one mention of Ms Ehle, but no discussion of her deleted role. As you may know, Michael Clayton won an Oscar this week, and can now be purchased.

In other news:

• The Prague Post review Before The Devil Knows You're Dead, starring Rosemary Harris, while a writer from Broadway World applauds Ms Ehle's performance in The Russell Girl, even if he does make an unforgivable typo:

[...] I noticed the wonderful Tony-winning Jennifer Ehle (Escape from Utopia) starring in a recent "Hallmark Hall of Fame" film "The Russell Girl". ... Ehle was once again outstanding. [...]

• Variety meanwhile, give the latest on the Pride and Glory situation, noting:

[...] Gavin O'Connor...wants answers. [He is] blaming the AWOL status of his movie on New Line chairman Bob Shaye. The writer-director is so incensed that he said he will withhold "Warrior," a script he's due to deliver to the studio in the next few weeks, until he knows the fate of his film. The director is also exploring the possibility of extricating "Pride and Glory" after New Line told him the picture wouldn't likely be released until next year. ... Trailers for the film have been running since fall before "No Country for Old Men," "Atonement" and "American Gangster." ...

"It was a joy making the movie, but then something happened internally at that company," O'Connor said. "I don't think Bob Shaye believes in it, and he's decided he'll only release (sure bet) films. He never had the decency to call me. We've delivered something special and unique, a film that's not for everybody but has something to say." ...

"Pride and Glory" was screened at CAA headquarters late last week to begin getting word out that it may need a new home, though getting another distributor to pay full price to adopt a $30 million orphan won't be easy. [...]

Members of the cast have also given their thoughts. Ed Norton argues:

[...] "This isn't about New Line not knowing the film is strong; I just think there is a paralysis right now that has to do with much bigger issues than any particular film. We're a victim of the moment, and I just hope they will either find a way to give the film its due or graciously let us do it with someone else." [...]

Colin Farrell and Jon Voight say, respectively:

[...] "This is the first time it's happened to me, where a film I believed in so strongly, not only as entertainment but for its pertinent message and great performances, sits on a shelf. This is bizarre."

"It ain't over till it's over," ... "Obviously, things are going on over there, and I've seen this situation before, where a studio dilemma created hardship for a film of quality. You don't want to put it aside for long, though, because you can lose your momentum." [...]

• In terms of Pride and Prejudice, the re-showing in America may have come to an end, but thankfully the discussion about it most certainly has not! Jane Austen Today draw our attention to a critique written on the 1995 adaptation printed in Literature Film Quarterly back in 1999. On a less serious note, visit Stardoll if you fancy dressing a virtual Lizzy Bennet and Darcy from a selection of items in the Austen era wardrobe. Alternatively, check out this novel, about a woman with a 'fairly serious addiction' to the 1995 adaptation who ends up at a 'resort' for Janeites called Pembrook Park. See the author's website for more information and Austen-related amusement.

No man is an island

Well, you might have noticed that Michael Clayton opened in the US yesterday. (See IMDb for international release dates.) USA Today has an interesting article about the film and an explanation (pfftt) as to why Jennifer Ehle's part was cut from the movie:

[...] The hero. So to speak. The divorced Clayton has a gambling addiction, a son he barely sees and an estranged addict brother. Plus, he's deep in debt to loan sharks.

Meanwhile, Clooney's marquee smile is on a dimmer switch, replaced by a haggard scowl. There is no explosive let-off-steam moment for him. "You feel a simmering," the actor says, "a building of disgust or anger."

And no romance, either, which was expected in the old days. Scenes were shot with actress Jennifer Ehle but went unused. "The ability to have any sort of love makes your character feel less isolated," Clooney explains. "You don't worry about him as much." [...]

Apparently not everyone has caught on. Several reviewers are still listing Jennifer Ehle among the cast members, such as this one at the Houston Chronicler.

In other news, Before the Rains was shown at the Pusan International Film Festival in South Korea on October 6. Two production stills can be seen at the PIFF website:



N.E.A.A.T.O. has more information:

[...] South Korea’s Pusan International Film Festival will celebrate its 12th anniversary with a record 66 world premieres, underlining its status as the region’s prime movie forum.
. . .
Pusan, a port city on the southeastern tip of the Korean peninsula also known as Busan, expects more than 200,000 visitors this year, to see 275 movies from 64 countries. Added to the world premieres will be 26 films getting their first international screening and a guest list that includes Jeon Do Yeon, who won the best actress award at Cannes in May, and director Volker Schloendorff (“The Tin Drum”).
. . .
The focus this year is squarely on Asian filmmaking, in particular in Japan, China and India, organizers said.
. . .
Mani Ratnam’s “Guru,” a Bollywood movie about an ambitious man striving to climb the social ladder on his way to wealth, and Santosh Sivan’s “Before the Rains,” a story of friendship and conflict between a Briton and a local, will be the main fare from India. [...]

• On The Russell Girl front, blogger Karen notes that they did some location shooting three blocks from her home in Port Credit. And, if you're interested, you can read more about Jennifer Ehle's co-star Amber Tamblyn at The Brock Press.

• The 2000 Charlie Rose interview with Jennifer Ehle and Stephen Dillane has now been posted on youtube.com. Part I includes a clip from The Real Thing and Part II is the actual interview. (Remember that you can see an entire DVD of interviews like this if you join our lending library!) Also at youtube is a clip of Ms Ehle in This Year's Love.

• Finally, Theater Mania has a cute photo of Rosemary Harris at the opening of A Catered Affair at San Diego's Old Globe Theatre. Scroll down until you see it.

Unordered list

• For Ruskophones in the audience, here's a Russian translation of English Coast of Utopia dialogue that is meant to be Russian at jakovlev's LJ, a review of the plays at good-boy's and discussion on the pronunciation of "Ehle" at an Austen LJ community. Babelfish em.
• At eBay, you can bid for a The Maitlands DVD and the Design for Living stagebill.
• Post-Tonys encounter.
• Reviewlets of Voyage and Shipwreck at OffTheStem by Barry, both given B's. Voyage is also reviewed by Jennifer who particularly dug her namesake:

  I saw The Coast of Utopia: Part 1, the Voyage this weekend at Lincoln Center. The rare cast consisting of Billy Crudup, Richard Easton, Jennifer Ehle (<-- my personal fave: Elizabeth Bennett from BBC's "Pride and Prejudice"), Ethan Hawke, Martha Plimpton , Brian F. O'Byrne (the priest in "Doubt"), and many others. The standouts in the cast were Billy Crudup (with the most ridiculous hairstyle), Jennifer Ehle, and Richard Easton. Richard Easton became infamous as he suffered a heart attack early on in the run during the play when he was offstage. Glad to see he's back in fine shape. [...]

• Voyage and Shipwreck reviews from the Epoch Times. From the latter:

  [...] After a shaky start with Voyage, Stoppard and director Jack O'Brien do a much better job here, thanks to a strong, through-narrative and wonderful performances by the two central characters; Alexander Herzen (Brian F. O'Byrne) and his wife Natalie (Jennifer Ehle). [...] In addition to the excellent Byrne and Ehle, the latter exuding sexuality, other standouts include Amy Irving, Bianca Amato and Jason Butler Harner. Another happy surprise is that the eternal believer Michael Bakunin (Ethan Hawke), one man who does accept responsibility for his deeds, is used to much better effect here than in "Voyage." [...]

  Couple of new reader reviews on Voyage at the NY Times, and another's up at Swarthmore's Phoenix student paper critiquing the play more than the staging.
  

• Possession music video of Christabel and Ash set to "I love you" by Fisher.
  
• Variety reports that while there's been a general post-holidays slump in Broadway box office sales, Utopia is an exception, still selling well.
• Wilde trivia from SX News:

  Jennifer Ehle won the part of Wilde’s wife Constance from Theresa Russell. Ehle was enjoying the recent popularity of her role as Elizabeth Bennet in TV’s Pride and Prejudice.

• From ICM the latest is that "as it stands" Ms Ehle will not be in Michael Clayton. Endeavor people explain that "the film was too long and they had to cut out her 2 scenes". So rend your garments, but praps not your Sunday best.
  

Evidence against Michael Clayton

Asked on IMDB whether anyone knew why Ms Ehle was no longer listed, and got this reply:

Saw the screening a couple of months back. Although the comments card listed out her character as one of the ones to give comments on, I didn't actually notice her in the movie at all. I reckon her part has been cut out??

Say it isn't true! Further investigations are underway. Are any insiders still following us? Tips (anon or otherwise) would be most welcome.

Bah!

We shake our fist at you, Hollywood/fates/deities! Argh. Wrote to the LCT publicity folks asking about the discrepancy between the official site biography (which includes Michael Clayton) and the Playbill biography (which does not)...the reply was that the Playbill biography is what Ms Ehle had wanted. So, who knows what that means, but it doesn't look good.

As some small consolation, we scored a handful of shots from Shipwreck. Some you will have seen before, but these are big and pretty, not to mention legal. Click to enlarge.

Blanchett and Bellini

Cate Blanchett quotes Rosemary Harris in this Observer interview with Mark Salisbury in December:

Men are boys for such a long time and really don't start getting the great roles until they're in their mid-thirties. But then they've got a long time to do them, whereas for women, it's all about playing younger and younger and younger. They start when they're 18 and go till they're 28, maybe 35 if they're lucky. I remember [veteran actress] Rosemary Harris saying to me that, in her sixties, she was coming into a whole swathe of work because she was one of the few women who hadn't had anything done, who actually looked her age, because when people try to find a 60-year-old now, there are none. I'm in it for the long haul.

Ali Rohrs reviews the first two parts of Coast of Utopia for the Columbia Spectator:

In Shipwreck, Stoppard marries debates of philosophy and romance in the marriage of Herzen (Brían F. O'Byrne) and his wife Natalie (Jennifer Ehle, who won a 2000 Tony for another Stoppard play, The Real Thing). O'Byrne grounds the show with his even and steady portrayal of the logical Herzen, while Ehle adds momentum to each scene by fluctuating between Natalie's sharp intelligence and her unrestrained passion.

John Heilpern of the NY Observer is critical, head-but-no-heart same-old.

All That Chat peoples are discussing the difficulty of scoring seats and there's a reminder about Salvage previews opening on January 30th at BroadwayWorld. Get your tix quick! Brendan Lemon has TWO updates at the LCT blog - one on Herzen's rising star and the other on the music of the plays (= gorgeous). Damned enormous Pacific Ocean.

For something completely different, found via Veritas' LJ is this YouTube video comparing the BBC and film versions of Pride and Prejudice in splitscreen.

PS. Ok, so Else from the tagboard tipped us off to the fact that Ms Ehle is no longer listed under Michael Clayton in IMDB. Well we thought to check in the Coast of Utopia Playbill...and alas, although other upcomings such as Pride and Glory and Road to the Sky are mentioned, there's nix on Michael Clayton (but on the Utopia trilogy's official site, it is still there). We're looking into it, but for now perhaps it should be considered in doubt. Sad day.

Film updates

A mention in an Entertainment Weekly article about Hollywood vs women, by Christine Spines.

6 Studio executives, please clip and save: Eileen Atkins. Maria Bello. Jennifer Coolidge. Frances Conroy. Penélope Cruz. Zooey Deschanel. Jennifer Ehle. Vera Farmiga. Maggie Gyllenhaal. Bryce Dallas Howard. Ashley Judd. Regina King. Lisa Kudrow. Rachel McAdams. Catherine O'Hara. Lupe Ontiveros. Tilda Swinton. Evan Rachel Wood. Michelle Yeoh.

There's not an Oscar nominee on the above list. In other words, the talent pool is deep, diverse, and appallingly underused. So stretch your imaginations, lengthen your casting lists, and, unless you're looking for red-carpet arm candy, stop worrying so much about who looks ''hot.''

A rather belated review of Macbeth at The Komisar Scoop:

The set at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park is filled with debris and metal, the detritus of destruction, a junkyard. Soldiers are in camouflage; officers show bloody wounds. The weird sisters are in modern dress and do not seem crazy.

In this Public Theater version, directed by Moises Kaufman, Liev Schreiber as Macbeth and Jennifer Ehle as his wife are more richly nuanced than the traditional cardboard power couple. Indeed, they are very sexual beings, a fact emphasized by Ehle in her slinky gowns. Lady Macbeth is manipulative, but no more neurotic than your normal wife-on-the-make, till the final breakdown.

Macbeth seems less a tyrant than a man who fervently believes in his own right and destiny to rule. Not very different from others who share that sense of their “vocation.” Of course, he’s a stand-in for Bush. The couple’s plotting to take power appears cool and calculated and could have been organized by Carl Rove.

When murdered King Malcolm’s son declares that he thinks his country is struggling “beneath a yoke,” there’s no doubt which country is meant. And when the troops pass through the real trees in Central Park to come onto the stage, it’s not hard to imagine a metaphor for a modern populace rising against repressive rule. (Or didn’t you know that the Bush administration and Congress have repealed habeas corpus?)

The Clooney Project has collated all of actor Jason Strong's blog posts about his experience shooting Michael Clayton. Here's a taste:

we were shooting the deposition scene with tom wilkinson. as we wait another ad takes our breakfast order. soon after we're called in for hair and make-up, they didn't have to do much with my hair, go figure....then back to holding for coffee, food and hanging out with the director, tony. he tells us what sparked his interest in writing this story.

the long and short of it: a huge company is fughting this civil suit for years, case is about to end when some rookie lawyer finds this document as they clean out one of the storage rooms. this document, if it becomes known, will destory the company and the firm. document never sees the light of day, and that was the first time in the history of the firm that a second-year associate ever made partner. true story.

Plus there are some positive but undetailed reports from Ferreson and Chelsea Spaulding, who got to see preview screenings of the movie.

Bollywood Online interviews Rahul Bose about Road to the Sky.

Rahul Bose who also dabbles in films like 15 Park Avenue and a fun film like Pyar Ke Side Effects is now working on an American film which is being directed by Santosh Sivan.

The film is called Road to the Sky and being produced by an American company called Echo Lake Productions along with Adirondack Pictures and Santosh Sivan Productions of India. An Israeli story has been painted in Indian colours and presented. The film is based in the pre-independence days in Kerala. “It is the story of a British planter (Linus Roache) and a Malayali boy.” The foreign producers were keen on the film being shot in South Africa or Brazil but Santosh insisted on Munnar as he felt it was one of those hill stations in Kerala that retain an old-world charm.

Bose further tells the story. “This British planter has a tea plant and he thinks of an idea by which he wants to export all the spices abroad. The idea he has is to start a spice route. I belong to the same district and am the son of the Sarpanch of a village. I am a villager, but can speak English well,” says Bose. The film also co-stars British actors Linus Roache and Jennifer Ehle. 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 that it is not quite possible to live in two worlds.

But Sivan was the inspiration for Bose to sign the film. “I like working with Sivan because he is a very instinctive artiste. If you get into things like rationalisation with him like asking him why a particular shot is being taken or why a particular scene is being shot, he is at a loss of words. But at the same time if you can tune into the fact that his thoughts are lateral then it’s a huge pleasure working with him,” says Bose.

Though the film is based in 1937, Rahul does not prefer calling the movie as a period film. The film has been shot in picturesque Munnar and has reached the post production stages.

The Road to Sky will premiere at film festivals and will hit the Indian marquee after a while.

Michael Clayton release rumours

At IMDB, there seem to be several possible release dates for this film. Dates include the end of the year, early 2007, or September 2007 (apparently an autumn release means there's Oscars buzz for the film).

Spiderman's uncle

There's a full feature on John Ehle at Journal Now about the republication of The Land Breakers and its selection for On the Page. Interesting overview of his career. Among his many claims to fame: "...Ehle enjoyed saying that he was married to Spider-Man's aunt and was Lady Macbeth's father." There's quotage from the folks at Press 53, who have a PDF of the book's first chapter and are auctioning off signed copies. There's also a $1000 essay contest for high schoolers.

Over at IMDB, a couple people reckon they spotted Jennifer Ehle in some mini-series with Celia Imrie and Steven Mackintosh and as an extra in Howard's End. Does this ring any bells? Oh, mini mention of Michael Clayton in this Scotsman interview with Tilda Swinton.

In case anyone's freaking out about not receiving all their Utopia tickets at once, word at All That Chat is that tix for each play are being mailed separately.

To round off, another Alpha Male review, by Variety's Leslie Felperin:

A rich, dysfunctional English family is torn apart when the patriarch dies suddenly and the mother remarries in the sturdy but so-so "Alpha Male." Part of a newly reinvigorated fascination in Brit drama with the lives and loves of the idle posh ( "Separate Lies," "Gosford Park," and the recent TV adaptation of "The Line of Beauty"), pic demonstrates tyro helmer Dan Wilde's skill with thesps, especially leads Danny Huston and Jennifer Ehle, but also Wilde's taste for the overwrought as a screenwriter. "Alpha" found low spot in the B.O. pecking order on its opening in Blighty on Aug. 11.

Confusingly constructed as a series of switchbacks between a contempo time frame and about 10 years ago and almost entirely set at a spacious manse and its extensive gardens somewhere in the Home Counties (the wealthy burbs bordering London), pic focuses on the Ferris family. Dad Jim (Huston) has made millions manufacturing paper cartons, and seems happily spliced to Alice (Ehle, from the 1995 BBC version of "Pride and Prejudice") although minor chords on the soundtrack suggest tensions lurking.

When home on the weekends from the city, Jim alternates between explosive bouts of temper and dramatic gestures of affection for his children, such as building a tree house for his daughter Elyssa (played first by Katie Knight as a 10-year-old and when grown up by upcomer Amelia Warner from "Aeon Flux").

Son Jack (first young Arthur Duncan, then Mark Wells from "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe") seems to have inherited his dad's temperament. When Jim dies of cancer, Jack assumes the role of the man of the family, and so takes badly to the notion of Alice remarrying gentle, bearded painter Clive (Patrick Baladi), whom she meets in a bereavement support group.

Withdrawn loner Elyssa vents her own hostility at Alice's sister Brede (Trudie Styler, also pic's producer), whom Elyssa once saw making a pass at her father.

Present-day section revolves around a lavish 21st birthday party Alice throws for Jack. At the bash, assorted home truths are uttered and betrayals come tumbling out in a rush. Even Jim puts in an appearance from beyond the grave for a mawkish moment of closure.

Dialogue shows fair grasp for the nuances of this upper-class milieu, with its frigid politesse masking roiling resentments under the surface. Dramatic balance, however, remains a problem with some character psychologies appearing too belabored (particularly Jack's) while the behavior of other characters (particularly Elyssa and Jim) remains frustratingly opaque.

Still, ensemble members make the most of what they've got, with the redoubtable Huston and Ehle, who's been seen too little recently onscreen, holding up their ends especially well. Styler too does good work here as Alice's sister.

Tech package is competent, with all departments executing pro job, although wintry, minimalist piano score by Stephern Warbeck ("Shakespeare in Love") grows increasingly tedious over the long haul.

(Variety slanguage guide)

Hold on. One more, in the Catholic Herald. You can read a snippet of it in Google Cache:

Alpha Male is the Sloaniest film I’ve seen in years. I use the word very specifically, not as a general catch-all for public-school educated Brits or toffs rampaging drunkenly around Sloane Square, but rather a particular type of attitude that still personifies Middle England. Modern Sloaniness is about the struggle between a desire to be trendy and a strong awareness of class; it is sensitivity and ambition scuppered endearingly by slight embarrassment and trying ever so slightly too hard. ...

Alpha Male DVD etc

Tesco and Screen Select seem to have Alpha Male for rent already, which is weird.

A meh kinda review by Jason Solomon from The Mail on Sunday (not online):

Be careful what you wish for, runs the old saying. For years, British film-makers gave us either gangster movies and council-estate dramas or posh people and period pieces. I've spent many columns begging for films about the middle classes. Now, in Alpha Male (15) **, one arrives and it's, well, dreary.

On the eve of Jack's 21st birthday and his mum (Jennifer Ehle) has persuaded her son to return to their country home for a lavish party. In flashbacks we see a happier time when the kids played in the garden and Dad earned a fortune making drink cartons. But then cancer strikes and the family splinters in grief. In the intervening years, Mum's got herself a new man, a new young son and a whole new set of problems.

In his debut as director and writer, Dan Wilde has attempted an intimate family saga, painting in the emotional landscape with detailed sketches of past remembrances and present troubles. It's like piecing together a smashed ornamental plate.

A drama about love, loss and repressed emotion, Alpha Male suffers from a lack of tension. This stuff works on telly on Sunday evenings but on the cinema screen it feels out of place and short on thrills; too polite and awkward to let rip. How very British middle class, I suppose.

Hands up who's not in The Coast of Utopia? Another bunch of actors sign up. Press release here.

Ain't It Cool has a review of Michael Clayton from a test screening. Watch out for spoilers. Llephen's verdict in a nutshell is that it's good but needs editing. Also, a Myspace account from the screening as well. No review though.

YouTube has an interview with Jeremy Northam about Possession.

Another meh review, from Peter Whittle of the Sunday Times:

A family fails to face up to the trauma of a father's death in this ponderous and inept British drama from the director Dan Wilde. The fact that it's a wealthy black-tie type of family doesn't make its woes any more interesting, other than the opportunity it affords to gawp at beautiful country houses and luscious lawns.

Jennifer Ehle plays the widow who falls for a new man (Patrick Baladi), thus earning the disapproval of her arrogant twerp of a son (Mark Wells) and causing her weird daughter (Amelia Warner) to spend much of her time chasing foxes. The problem is that this simple story is confused by baffling editing and an overuse of disorientating flashbacks -an attempt, perhaps, to jazz up the thin material.

Ian Johns of The Times modifies his earlier review a bit:

This is a slow-burn British film that charts the family tensions underlining the return of a prodigal son for his 21st birthday. Through flashbacks we discover the father’s terminal illness and the resentment caused by the mother remarrying. It’s not Festen, more a portrait of repressed British emotions.

An oppressive air hangs over the film that not even Ehle’s luminous stillness as the mother can lift. The tone remains too aloof to keep us interested in the agonies before us in a film in which even the pauses seem to have been scripted.

One more from BBC Movies' Mark Stevens:

A melancholy story of bereavement and family breakdown, Alpha Male takes itself seriously but quite never finds the emotional weight necessary for us to do the same. Jennifer Ehle (Wilde, This Year's Love) heads the cast as Alice, widow of Jim (Danny Huston). Left on her own, she tries to cope as children Elyssa (Amelia Warner) and Jack (Mark Wells) feel the loss of the family's alpha male. The resulting drama proves a dream-like evocation of death and dysfunction.

Ehle excels as Alice, capturing the reserved shellshock of a woman who knows she can't afford to indulge her grief. Despite doing everything she can to ease her children through the painful transition, she watches helplessly as Jack (played brilliantly by Arthur Duncan as a child, less convincingly by Mark Wells as an adult) begins to blame her for everything. Told by his father that he needs to become head of the family, young Jack is totally unprepared for such a challenge and the film keenly observes this boy's muddled attempts to play man.

Hints of sexual tension between mother and son come to little as does daughter Elyssa's gradual mental breakdown. Debut writer/director Dan Wilde eventually relies on some trite third act plotting to deliver a climax, but it feels falsely tacked on, too convenient to ring true. What sticks in the memory is the evocative cinematography and creepy score; both turn the family's beautiful country mansion into a haunting, haunted place where choked up despair and adolescent angst simmer towards disaster.

Autographed Donmar The Real Thing program on eBay. Here's a scan of the signed page with photos and biogs of her and Stephen Dillane.

Film blogger Tim R gives Alpha Male a B and rates the screenplay as one of his top 5.

"Shines"

Alpha Male review from Emily Govan of the Tottenham Journal:

DAN Wilde's first feature-length film ALPHA MALE (15) is a thoughtful if bleak look at the modern family.

This Ferris family seem to have everything: health, wealth and happiness. But when the husband dies, the family's paradise falls apart. Wife Alice struggles to hold the family together; son Jack takes his new-found responsibilities seriously as the man of the house; meanwhile his sister is resentful of the jealous and money-grabbing visitor who comes to stay.

Years later, when all the characters are reunited for Jack's 21st birthday party, how will each one react when all the old wounds are reopened?

This is a smart film which is both moving and honest. Mark Wells is impressive as the brooding Jack who carries the weight of the world on his shoulders; Jennifer Ehle shines as the mother fighting to keep her family united while the direction is intelligent and original.

An interesting and unsettling look at relationships and how fragile they are.

David Jenkins of Timeout is more critical:

Jim Ferris (Danny Huston) is an affable packaging tycoon whose sudden demise strands his doting wife (Jennifer Ehle) and two children in a purgatory of loneliness and suffering. ‘Alpha Male’ then assesses the willingness of each character to accept his or her new role within the family. It’s a well-intentioned, Bergmanesque drama about paternal anxieties amongst the nouveaux riches, and contains some fine performances and an articulate script. The tone is perhaps a little too frivolous to supply the film with any kind of lasting emotional depth, but there are some delightful moments, such as Mark Heap’s comic cameo as a bashful gardener with a penchant for relieving himself on the grounds of the family mansion, and Tariq Anwar’s editing conveys a pervasive air of melancholy. But the modern- day setting is totally out of sync with writer-director Dan Wilde’s distinctly old-fashioned views on male totemism in the modern family unit, and overall, the film feels too thin to warrant a cinematic release.

The film is going to be showing at Vue cinemas in Leeds, Plymouth and Shepherds Bush. See LondonNet for London cinemas.

At IMDB there's a rumour that the producers cut the film to make it more commercial, against the director's wishes.

There's also a preview of Michael Clayton at Moviecrazed:

A phone tapper and a hit man are just two of the bad boys who may feel at home at the prestigious New York law firm where attorney Michael Clayton (George Clooney) works. Clayton himself, the divorced father of a troubled boy, has conceivably schmoozed with these and other thugs during the 15 years he has performed legal miracles for his slippery, high-profile clients. One thing he learns for sure: more than one of these clients have not told him the entire truth about matters of life and death. And now, at a time of personal peril, Clayton is probably wondering why the lovely young attorney (Jennifer Ehle) with whom he’s been having a clandestine affair is asking him so many deeply probing questions about his unlovely work history. This thriller marks the directorial debut of writer Tony Gilroy, whose screenplays include “The Bourne Supremacy,” “Devil’s Advocate” and “Proof of Life.”

And look, this is cool. Martha Plimpton, one of the Coast of Utopia cast members, has a blog.

...Number one, in September I'm starting rehearsals on a new trilogy of plays by Tom Stoppard at Lincoln Center (TheCoastofUtopia.com) here in New York. It's a huge undertaking and I'm going to Russia with some of the other actors at the end of the month to do some research and see a lot of men with bed head stumbling around drunk. I've never had any interest in Russia as a travel destination but since the plays are about a bunch of crazy Russians in the 19th century I figured I'd go. Also, one of the actors asked if I wanted to go, and I had nothing else to do so I said yes. Kurt Vonnegut said, "Peculiar travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God." He then burst out laughing at how queer he sounded.
...
Anyway, these Tom Stoppard plays are called "The Coast of Utopia" and I'm beyond excited about them. There are 37 actors playing 70 roles in a story spanning some ridiculous amount of time and we'll be performing them in repertory from October 17 to March 10, 2007. The last three Saturdays of the run, people will be able to come and see all 3 in marathons starting at 11 am, which is terrifying because I haven't seen 11am since I was fourteen. The cast is, in part, Josh Hamilton, Ethan Hawke, Billy Crudup, Jennifer Ehle, Jason Butler Harner, Brian O'Byrne, Amy Irving and Richard Easton. Some of them I've worked with before, some are old friends, and some of them I've never had the chance to meet or work with because there's 37 of us and I can't know everybody, people.

I hope anyone who likes long, epic trilogys about Russia will come and see it. I think it will be an incredible experience for anyone who doesn't fall asleep.

Yeah come, with us!

HOLY ZEUS!

You will not believe this. Our cup runneth over! There's a new project in the works!!

This just in via USA Today:

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York production of The Coast of Utopia, Tom Stoppard's trilogy of plays lasting more than nine hours, will feature a cast that includes Billy Crudup, Ethan Hawke and Martha Plimpton, it was announced Tuesday.

Lincoln Center Theater will devote much of its 2006-07 season to Utopia, the collective title for the three works. Among the other, more than two dozen actors in the mammoth production will be Richard Easton, Jennifer Ehle, Josh Hamilton, David Harbour and Brian F. O'Byrne.

Utopia, which will be directed by Jack O'Brien, focuses on a group of 19th-century Russian intellectuals, including novelist Ivan Turgenev and radical theorist Alexander Herzen, over a turbulent 30-year period.

It starts with Voyage, opening Nov. 5, moves on to Shipwreck, opening Dec. 21, and finishes with Salvage, opening Feb. 15. The engagement at the Vivian Beaumont Theater ends March 11.

During the final three and a half weeks of the run, theatergoers will be able to see the plays in succession — including three dates (Feb. 24, March 3 and March 10) when all three can be viewed in one day.

Praps "oh, Toooom" worked!

And a footnote about Michael Clayton - the word on the street (IMDB) is that it'll be due sometime in the first quarter of 2007, maybe February.

PS. Have tinkered with the posting time so this stays up the top for a little while. Go down for the usual Macbeth stuff.

Hard at work on Michael Clayton

From the mid-shoot party for Michael Clayton - look closely. Click on the picture for an explanation.


There's no evidence that Ms Ehle attended, but I sure hope she did.

Here's an article on some lucky people whose house was used to shoot some of the film.

Michael Clayton September release?

Michael Clayton is due on September 22nd in Finland, according to IMDB. The USA release date is just "2006".

Confirmations

There's now more evidence about Ms Ehle's involvement in the new films. An IMDB member has said that she started shooting with the cast of Pride and Glory today at Kaufman Astoria Studios in Queens, replacing Samantha Morton (at that link there's a funny story about how the person kept looking for a Jennifer E. Lee). As for Michael Clayton, I wrote to Michael O'Keefe who confirmed that she is playing Brini Glass in the film. [edit: this isn't worth its own post, but Jason Strong who was also in the movie recalls seeing her name on the call sheet and says "she has a nice little part" - see the comments]

Clooney Network on Michael Clayton

The problem with the new films is too much information rather than too little, as with Road to the Sky. A nice problem to have. Here are bits and pieces I've found from a single site, the Clooney Network.

Firstly, a synopsis and list of characters:

Plot Summary: Michael Clayton, an attorney at a high-powered law firm, known as "the janitor" because he is the one that is called in to fix messes that no one else can handle. However, when Michael's friend and old associate, Arthur Edens, goes off his meds, melts down in a deposition, and starts helping the plaintiffs build their class action case against Agtek, a chemical company that is the firm's most lucrative client, Michael has his work cut out for him. Arthur's sudden "suicide" has Michael wondering what role Agtek in general and Agtek executive Karen Hauer have played in Arthur's death.
...
Henry Clayton (Michael's young son), Mr. Verne (head of a covert security firm), Arthur Edens (Michael's friend and old associate), Barry Grissom (a senior partner at law firm), Mr. Iker (works with Mr. Verne), Gene Clayton (Michael's younger brother), Gabe Zabe (loanshark), Brini Glass (young attorney and Michael's lover), Anna Kysursen (she is part of a class action law suit against Agtek), Mr. Greer (client at Michael's law firm), Jerry Dante (a local lawyer), Don Jeffries (Corporate Titan at Agtek), Detective Montes (a friendly cop), Timmy Clayton (Michael's cousin), Adrise (Michael's assitant), Jeff Gaffney (partner at Michael's law firm), Raymond Clayton (Michael's father), Stephanie (Michael's sister), Ivy (Michael's ex-wife), Gerald (Now Ivy's husband).

I'm guessing that Ms Ehle plays Brini Glass. In an article with more depth about the characters, Brini Glass is described like so. Warning, that link contains mega spoilers. [edit: oops, linked to the wrong place, fixed now]

Brini Glass: Late 20s-early 30s. An attractive young attorney, she's a gogetter who is having a secret affair with her associate, Michael. Not really clear about Michael's role with the firm, Brini pressures him for some information and gets a little more than she'd bargained for.

Note that unlike some other characters, Brini is not described as a "lead".
The film is inspired by a real court case according to Mr Clooney:

"It's actually based on a real court case — not directly based on it, but based on the idea," Clooney said of the film's origins. "There was a very specific court case, that we won't name to save the lawsuits, from a very famous prosecutor who at the time was a defense attorney. [A character] basically has information that he knows will destroy his client and hides it. I play one of the lawyers who works for that law firm, who gets that information and realizes I'm defending a group of people who are truly guilty." Clooney, currently starring in the journalism drama "Good Night, and Good Luck" (which he directed and co-wrote), added that pushing such buttons always gets him excited about a project. "Those are always the fun ones," he laughed, "when you realize you're in trouble."

Actually the Clooney Network (obviously more on the ball than us!) has a whole section with archived articles about the film. From it, some interesting information I've gleaned is that it's made by the same team as Syriana and Traffic and the director also did the Bourne movies. The film is produced by Section Eight, Samuels Media, Mirage Enterprises and Castle Rock Entertainment. Summit is the principal distributor and has sold rights to Medusa, Pathe, DeAPlaneta and SND/MG in Italy, the UK, Spain and France respectively. In Germany Constantin has film rights and A Company has TV rights. Ren TV has TV rights in Russia.