Drove those other childs wild

• You'll already have seen this if you keep track of the tagboard, but the photo of the two J. Ehles over there was sent by a tipster (gracias). Apparently it's from a book cover. Too cute, innit? The same person also brought our attention to an article about Natalie Herzen in the Russian Review, which you can read if you've got access to academic journal databases.
  

• Thanks to Ann for sending scans from American Vogue, one about how Jennifer Ehle proves God's existence, the other about Coast of Utopia's "crass commercialism" (not). She found a photo of Ms Ehle at the Romeo and Juliet gala from Broadway.com as well (yep, a little behind here).
  

• Listen to three gorgeous tracks from Before the Rains' score at the website of composer Mark Kilian.

• An interview with Santosh Sivan in the Times of India - hopefully not a double post:
  

  [...] “I’m looking forward to Toronto where the film will be premiered and where our film is positioned with other interesting films,” says Santosh.
  
  The Rains is set in Kerala during the British times. “Our protagonist is a British planter who shares a bond with Rahul Bose who works for him. The film’s essentially a human drama and about individual choices,” he says.
  
  Why Kerala? He says, “We adapted the script to Kerala, since it also dealt with the times of colonisation. It has always fascinated me to see these winding roads leading through forests into spice hills and the stories of how the British had constructed those roads with the help of the locals long time back.”
  
  Says Santosh, “We shot the film in Munnar with a mixed cast and crew from London and the US. It was quite interesting to see the chemistry between people from different countries.” Commenting on the film’s cast, he says, “I’ve known Rahul Bose for a long time and I was interested in seeing him in a different role. And Nandita Das is someone who can effortlessly handle the extremes of emoting any role. And we had Linus Roache who is quite a perfectionist.” [...]

• And another. See through a cinematographer's eyes in this two part interview about Mr Sivan's lush visual world at TIFF's South Facing blog. A poet of both light and words! Keep an eye out for the photo of Rahul Bose and Linus Roache in Before the Rains. On his home state, the setting for the film, he says:

  [...] My attempts to capture light are based on my experiences with weather the rain, sun, snow and clouds. In Kerala where I grew up monsoons made heavy rains a part of our life. Besides, there was always a presence of water -- Rain, ponds, sea water or the backwaters. My fascination for water in a very indirect way helped me hone my eye for colour and light in visuals and cinematography. [...] I am lucky to be born and brought up in Kerala. In the predominance of water, there are states like Bengal which are similar but Kerala is a state of visual language. Kerala has lyrics and metaphors and its arts forms. [...]

• Here are the results of our previous poll on readers' opinions of Coast of Utopia. Due to my l33t skillz, "0 stars" and "haven't seen it" were accidently coded as 1 star. Oops.
  

• YouTube goodness: watch Ethan Hawke speaking about Utopia on Jimmy Kimmel's talk show and Tom Stoppard's acceptance speech for the Best Play award at the Tonys.

• If you look up at the right hand bar, you'll see we've got a fundraising project for Broadway Cares. Initially I only intended to donate advertising proceeds from the blog, but since BC/EFA had a new option for group fundraising, thought to draw on the power and the pockets of Ehle fans as a whole. A $1 500 target has been set for the end of the year. Don't let those Colin Firth fans show us up - Colin Firth 24/7 managed $10 000 last year! Skip a coffee or two and donate $10 to help fight AIDS (and maintain Jennite Pride, yo).
  

That's it, the last of umpteen linky lists. I've been meaning to tie up loose ends and sign off properly for months now but by some superhuman feat of procrastination have avoided it, leaving Kate and Abi rather in the lurch. Though they have effectively been holding the reins from before the Tonys, and managed superbly, I feel the need to officially pass on executive powers with a bit of ceremony both for their sake and my own. First there are the practical matters - any news and questions you have can be sent to the team at ehleblog@gmail.com. jenniferehle@gmail.com is being retired although mail to that address will be forwarded to my civilian inbox. The DVD library is still running and accepting new borrowers.

To the sentimental stuff. Over two years, with many people's help and almost daily prodding, I've seen the blog grow from a tentative experiment born on a whim to the hub it is today, thriving without my efforts. I've grown up alongside it and learned so much - sometimes the hard way! It has exposed me to the alien and rich world of theatre, and through it I have gained warm friendships that have far surpassed the bounds of co-fandom. It is a joy to be able to pass guardianship of the blog on to a couple of these friends. I can scarcely believe my luck in finding two people with the dedication (coughinsanity) to take on this job, in whose initiative, judgment and discretion I have absolute faith. Kate and Abi, thank you for the hard work you've already put in. Thank you for being willing to adopt my baby.

In the course of this project, I have been moved by great and small acts of generosity. Now's the last time I can name names, so forgive me for rattling on a bit. To Chelsea, original partner in crime and better half, thank you for the crazy fun and yakka and listening and planning and and and. Agent E, thanks for those priceless DVDs and treasure chest, for all the tips and support. Kez, for the creation and liberation of Terry and for one of the most memorable phone convos evar. Sands, for being a friend in those early wobbly days. Mary, for the graphics and for the forum company. To the Jerryboreers, for those three crazy/amazing days of communal excitement. Thanks to the folks from other fandoms who have helped us out. Most notable are the girls at Colin Firth 24/7 and Josie. Also, thanks to AustenBlog and Pemberleans for tolerating ever so much potbanging, and to various cooperative Officials of the Public and Lincoln Centre Theatres. To the ever-vigilant tipsters and contributors, thanks for making the job that much easier. And thanks to everyone who has kept up with this thing, and spoken from the void. Finally- she who is made of awesome, who inspired the whole mad adventure. Who has put up with so much and given so incredibly, impossibly generously - nope, not over it yet. Whose work still elicits awe and LMAOs and excessive blinking, who still intrigues, electrifies and astonishes even when you think you've seen it all. Thanks for everything. It has been a pleasure and an honour, and I can't wait to see whatever comes next.

A little something for everyone

Just to let everyone know, Blogger seems to be having a bit of trouble with polls right now, so if you are unable to submit your vote in our poll (on the right sidebar), please use the Chatter box to give us your opinion.

Well, there is nothing news-worthy to speak of, but here are a couple of tidbits:

• In his "Memo to Colin Farrell," Richard Horgan is optimistic about the upcoming film, Pride and Glory. Here is the relevant bit:
  

  [...] Your New Line crime drama Pride and Glory is technically a studio film, but it’s written and directed by an American director with the same name as Irish actor Gavin O’Connor (can’t hurt), and would appear to return said filmmaker to his pre-Miracle, Sundance Film Festival Filmmaker Trophy days. It’s also the first time you’ve been paired with Ed Norton, a combo that somehow feels to me like it can only be dynamite. [...]

  There hasn't been a lot of buzz about Pride and Glory thus far, but the folks at the IMDB message board are speculating that a trailer for the movie will make an appearance in January '08.
  
• Most of Jennifer Ehle's films seem to be available for reduced prices at amazon.co.uk right now, including Alpha Male, Backbeat, Melissa, Possession, Pride and Prejudice, Sunshine, and The River King. There are some great bargains so now might be the time to beef up your collection.

For today's Jane Austen fix:

• In addition to offering some words of praise for the BBC Pride and Prejudice, Shuttsie recommends a literary quiz-book called "So You Think You Know Jane Austen?" Here is how it is described at amazon.com:
  

  [...] Designed to amuse and divert, the questions and answers take the reader on an imaginative journey into the world of Jane Austen, where hypothesis and speculation produce fascinating and unexpected insights. Whether you are an expert or enthusiast, So You Think You Know Jane Austen? guarantees you will know her much better after reading it.

• And, Carole Goldberg of the Hartford Courant provides a list of movies, websites, and books, all relating to our dear Miss Austen.

Our Coast of Utopia devotees might be interested to know that Martha Plimpton was recently interviewed by Leonard Lopate about her role in A Midsummer Night's Dream at Shakespeare in the Park. Visit WNYC.org to listen to the interview. Very good stuff! (Note that you can also see a picture at WNYC's photo page.)

Lastly, you might find ShrineMathGuys's latest blog entry excessively diverting! (Of course this is not the Jennifer Ehle, but wouldn't it be hilarious if she taught a class on blogging?)

Vote in our new poll!

Since we haven't heard of any new projects in the works for Jennifer Ehle, we've added a new poll to the blog to find out what the fans are hoping she will do next. To place your vote, simply scroll down until you see the poll on the right sidebar. (Note: It is directly above the Chatter box.) Voting will take place until September 1st. Feel free to discuss the matter on the Chatter box as well, or, better yet, tell us your thoughts at the Forum. Newbies and lurkers are always welcome.

Because Ms Ehle's Best Featured Actress Tony is two months old today, here's a little bit of Utopian nostalgia:

First, opening night playbills from Voyage, Shipwreck, and Salvage are available at Ebay.

Shortly after the winning a Tony Award for The Coast of Utopia, Jack O'Brien was interviewed by one of his former fraternity brothers, John Emmerling, who has kindly posted the interview on his blog. In it, Mr. O'Brien talks about collaborating with Tom Stoppard and discusses his 'processes' for visualizing and directing Utopia. Here are a few of the Q&As:

It strikes me that directing a big, wide-spectrum play must be a little like herding cats?

The whole idea of directing a play or an opera or a musical is to try to get everyone there, independently, to tell the same story in exactly the way you would have told it yourself. And you can’t do that except by convincing the actors that what they’re doing is their own idea. Theater is for all intents and purposes an act of faith—the actors must actually believe in the moment and then, by their conviction, they make the audience believe it too.
...
What is your creative relationship with Tom? As you discuss things, does he take creative input from you?

(LAUGHING) To begin with, I’m a University of Michigan graduate—and he’s Tom Stoppard. But mostly I’m with him as a student and I need to know more. And so I’m questioning: “I don’t understand this? Why is this in here?” And he tells me. Little by little, we talk more about what it should be and how he wants to make it clearer. Eventually we’re coming together. He might say: “I need to do more work on this.” “I think I did this better once.” “I think I can make this clearer.” But through all these conversations, I still didn’t know how to do it.
...
Let’s get back to your amused collaborators who insisted that you turn them on. Were you able to come up with something?

This is what I said to them at those first meetings: “Okay here it is. There are three plays. The first one takes place on a dome that is in fact a field of blue flowers. And only at the end of first act do you understand that you’re not looking at a dome with blue flowers on it but you’re looking at a painted Russian Easter egg. Number two. The second play takes place in black and upstage you see a giant Fabrege egg. And slowly that egg comes downstage until it’s in front of the audience and then it splits and is in fact the apartment that is being rented in Paris. All of this is suspended about 8 to 10 feet in the air. And when the revolution happens the egg cracks in two and the rest of the scenery is red or bathed in red light and the characters don’t notice it. They look across—and act across—the void but they don’t notice that it’s broken. And the third play? It takes place entirely in—and of—eggshells.”

Those are stunning pictures. How did they react?

They were gobsmacked. They loved it! They roared, they laughed, and John… (PAUSE FOR EFFECT) …we didn’t use any of those ideas. [More]

While we're on the subject, a new website has just been launched for Sir Tom's latest play, Rock 'N' Roll. Go check it out.

Also on the "marginally related to this blog" front, there is some discussion of the first few previews of A Midsummer Night's Dream at All That Chat. Once again, Martha Plimpton seems to be winning the hearts of the audience.

For the Janeites out there:

• Livejournaler MacaroniProtest has posted an interesting discussion of the many movie adaptations of Jane Austen's works, including, of course, Pride and Prejudice.
• Grace Magazine offers some advice for relieving stress. They suggest, "a perfect way to relax is to put on Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle and crochet." Sounds good to me (though perhaps the crocheting part is superfluous).
• Finally, in honor of Colin Firth's upcoming birthday, Colin Firth 24/7 has arranged to have a donation sent to Oxfam America in Mr. Firth's name. Go to Colin Firth 24/7 to find out how to contribute to his birthday gift.

[Edit: It has just come to my attention that I have incorrectly credited Colin Firth 24/7 with arranging the Oxfam birthday project. My deepest apologies to the Firth Sisters who originated this projet and have organized it for three years running. Thank you ladies for all of your hard work!! I'd also like to point out that by visiting Firth Sisters, you can see a tally of how much money has been donated thus far. As of August 10th, the total is $2,410!]

Pride and Prejudice collector's DVD review

DVD Talk has a nice and detailed review of the three-disc collector's edition of Pride and Prejudice. Here's the final verdict, but clicky to read the blow-by-blow.

This bookshelf-worthy anniversary DVD of A&E's "Pride and Prejudice" has a rabid built-in buyership ready to snatch it up. More casual fans who already have the earlier edition may not feel like buying it again.

While nothing has been added to the main program -- no commentary tracks, no improvement of a picture that always looked (perhaps intentionally) overexposed and bleachy -- the new extras are fun and enriching. The top two stars are absent, but the actors who are interviewed prove to be a funny bunch. Crispin Bonham Carter, whose Bingley is Darcy's ever-polite best friend, gets in a naughty little dig about the difference between his and Colin Firth's pants. Jane Austen would probably chuckle.

Over at IMDB there's a Firthite fan's-eye view of the features, also quite detailed. Here's the naughty bit and verdict:

Crispin was shown walking through the original church where the wedding scene was filmed. They showed the scene and he said he was continually asked by the director to "adjust his breeches" and "you can see why!" He also said Colin was annoyed that HE didn't have to adjust his breeches! (I guess no one noticed Colin's breeches during the hunting through London for Wickham scene!)
...
It cost around $42 for the set including postage, it is beautifully packaged. The 3 discs are in a hardcover glossy book type cover with Colin on the cover, and that, along with the Making of P&P book are slipped inside a hard dark green gold-embossed slipcover.

I did really enjoy the "extras" but I can't really say it was worth $42. For someone who doesn't already own the Making of P&P, it might be more worth it.
...
I just watched the Biography episode of Jane Austen included on the disc, and it was wonderful. Some P&P footage and commentary on Colin as Darcy by some "Jane-ites," and as that episode alone sells for $24.95 at the A and E site, perhaps $42 for the 10th anniversary package isn't such a bad deal after all.

Too bad you can't buy just the third disc, though, as most of us already have the Making of P&P book and the quality of the other discs is no better than the other A&E editions."

From Froogle, looks like Echelon has the best deal at $36.99.

By the way, here are the results for the "Which are you most looking forwards to" poll:

Alpha Male 33% (34)
Road to the Sky (Kerala) 8% (8)
Pride and Glory 28% (29)
Michael Clayton 7% (7)
The Coast of Utopia 16% (16)
Macbeth 8% (8)

Poll results

Sorry about the poll screwing up, it's because I messed with the HTML. Here are the results for "favourite work not including P&P":

Possession: 26
The Real Thing: 20
Paradise Road: 10
The River King, The Camomile Lawn & Sunshine: 5 each
Bedrooms & Hallways: 2
Wilde: 1