Thursday, October 18, 2012

Theater Thursday: Austenland

I love Austenland, and was thrilled when I heard they were making it into a movie.  I followed Shannon Hale's blog while she was in England for some of the filming, which was also kind of cool. I feel like I've been waiting for a preview for this movie forever, and they still don't have one.  Nevertheless, I'm still super excited, and I'll share what I know.

First, there's the book. Like almost everyone, I love Jane Austin and her work.  I also entertain spin-offs  (though It depends on the quality.  Most aren't up to par) and I love retellings.  Austenland is one part retelling and one part wish fulfilment, and I thought it was a lot of fun.  Here's a quick summary and the two gorgeous covers.

Jane is a young New York woman who can never seem to find the right man—perhaps because of her secret obsession with Mr. Darcy, as played by Colin Firth in the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. When a wealthy relative bequeaths her a trip to an English resort catering to Austen-obsessed women, however, Jane’s fantasies of meeting the perfect Regency-era gentleman suddenly become more real than she ever could have imagined. Is this total immersion in a fake Austenland enough to make Jane kick the Austen obsession for good, or could all her dreams actually culminate in a Mr. Darcy of her own?  Quoted from Goodreads

Doesn't it sound great!  Now to the movie part.  Like I said again, there isn't a preview for this movie. Yet.  Still we have the cast, which looks fabulous, and the few pictures I've seen make me so excited.

Cast

Credited cast:
Keri RussellKeri Russell...
Jane Hayes
JJ FeildJJ Feild...
Mr. Henry Nobley
Jennifer CoolidgeJennifer Coolidge...
Miss Elizabeth Charming
Bret McKenzieBret McKenzie...
Martin
Georgia KingGeorgia King...
Lady Amelia Heartwright
James CallisJames Callis...
Colonel Andrews
Jane SeymourJane Seymour...
Mrs. Wattlesbrook
Ricky WhittleRicky Whittle...
Captain George East

 Courtesy of IMDB @ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1985019/

And here's one final picture of a few of the cast in costume, followed by one of Shannon Hale and Stephanie Meyer (who is producing the film) on location with some of the cast.
http://austenlandmoviefans.tumblr.com/
http://stepheniemeyer.com/otherprojects_austenland.html

To top the whole thing off, Shannon Hale dedicated Austenland to Colin Firth. I thought that was kind of hilarious.  Here's her dedication:

For Colin Firth
You really are a great guy, but I'm married,
so I think we should just be friends.

Isn't that just adorable?  You kind of have to love her after that.

3 comments:

  1. Oh I didn't know that were making Austenland into a movie! Yay, I'm so excited!

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  2. Hooray! I LOVE this book, can't wait for the movie! Any ideas on when it will be released?

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    1. The release date is TBA (to be announced) sometime 2013. I'm hoping like February, but that is absolutely coming from me. I couldn't find anything official. Sorry. Still, I"m glad everyone is so excited. I absolutely am. Plus, I think the cast looks perfect and I loved the book.

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