Rebecca Hall in GQ magazine

I've just bought the new March 2009 issue of GQ, mainly because Eva Green from Casino Royale was on the cover.

Inside I got a pleasant surprise when I found a two-page article about Rebecca Hall. Here are my scans:


As you may have noticed the full page photo is the same one that Empire have used in their current issue, only the GQ one is now in colour.

Emily Blunt in Harper's Bazaar

I spotted Emily Blunt on the cover of the new Harper's Bazaar magazine today so I couldn't resist buying a copy.



I first noticed Emily back in 2003 in ITV's Henry VIII playing the ill-fated wife number five, Catherine Howard.

She's been very busy since then. Next up is another royal role in The Young Victoria as the young queen.

But I'm really excited by the news that she might be playing one of my favourite marvel characters in Iron Man 2, namely the Russian assassin Black Widow.

Now, numerous news stories online suggest she she may have to drop out of Iron Man 2 due to a conflict with a part in an upcoming movie of Gulliver's Travels. I hope that's not the case and Emily will get to put on a red wig and practice her Russian accent very soon.

Rebecca Hall in Empire magazine

I just bought the new issue of Empire magazine and was pleased to find Rebecca Hall has been featured. Here's my scan:

Terminator, Emma, Kelly, Justine, Alastair Reynolds

It's been over a week since my last post so here is a round-up of what has been in my head these last few days.

First of all Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles returns to UK TV screens on Thursday 5 February 2009. I saw the trailer twice last night during Criminal Minds and found myself going "Yessss!!!"

Friend Barbie send me this news:

Jane Austen's masterpiece Emma is to be adapted by award-winning writer Sandy Welch (Our Mutual Friend, Jane Eyre, North And South) into a fresh, humorous and perceptive 4 x 60-minute serial for BBC Drama Production, for transmission on BBC One in autumn 2009.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2009/01_january/28/emma.shtml

This is of interest to me because Sandy Welch did such a good job with Jane Eyre in 2006. Thanks to the writing, Ruth Wilson's acting and the music the makers were able to dispense with the narration telling you what Jane was thinking at any one moment. I'm not sure the world needs another adaptation of Emma but I'm sure I will watch it anyway.

I mentioned before about my lack of interest in sport but I had been looking forward to seeing Kelly Sotherton compete at this weekend's Aviva International event in Glasgow. Alas she's hurt her back and will not compete.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5gul8pjWkCE1xGn1Z5_GX0T-NVASw

Photo of Kelly. Just because.

I've officially decided I like Justine Waddell. Since watching Wives and Daughters I've seen Great Expectations (she was very good in that), Thr3e (OK movie) Dracula 2000/2001 (she was a bit wasted) and the movie of Mansfield Park (I admit I had finger on the fast-forward button a few times). Still have to watch Tess.

I've almost finished House of Suns by Alastair Reynolds. I've had it for a while but it's only in the last week or so that I've got stuck in. I must admit I flew through his last few novels (Century Rain, Pushing Ice and The Prefect) much sooner after buying them. And some of those were long books. But now that I'm into it I find that House of Suns is an entertaining space opera set 6 million years in the future. The main characters are clones who skip through time by traveling close to light-speed and observe the turnover of galactic civilisations.

http://members.tripod.com/~voxish/

Wives and Daughters

I've had the DVDs of the BBC's Wives and Daughters lying around the house for ages and late on Saturday night I finally made myself watch episode 1. I enjoyed it very much and on Sunday I immersed myself in the remaining three episodes.

You know, that show was really very good. Much better than I had expected it to be. Maybe not just up to the standards of my beloved Jane Eyre 2006 (staring Ruth Wilson), but very excellent nonetheless.

It's had to believe that it was out in 1999! Good lord, 1999 used to sound like the future and now it's 10 years ago.

W&D is based on Elizabeth Gaskell's final unfinished novel. It principally concerns Molly Gibson, a doctor's daughter who is less than pleased when her widowed father brings home a new wife. With her new "mother" comes a stepsister in the form of Cynthia, who has a few skeletons clattering in the metaphorical closet.

Molly is played by Justine Waddell. I have to confess that Justine somehow managed to pass me by, despite being Queen of the Costume Drama a few years ago. In addition to W&D she was in Tess and Great Expectations to name just two.

Fantastic cast in this one. Bill Patterson as Molly's father, Francesca Annis as the awful yet fascinating new mother, Michael Gambon as the Squire.

God, Gambon is excellent. He has the best line in the whole thing:

"Madam - your wife - and I didn't hit it off the only time I ever saw her. I'm not saying she was very silly, but one of us was very silly and it wasn't me."

Tom Hollander is in it as the Squire's son with a secret. Keeley Hawes is Cynthia. Rosamund Pike turns up (pre James Bond) to play Lady Harriet. It's a small role next to the others but vitally important to the story. She single-handedly rescues Molly from the gossip of the misinformed townsfolk.

Justine handles the required adversity well, such as when she's playing the piano while across the room Cynthia is unknowingly stealing the man Molly secretly loves.

I'm going to try to see some more of Justine Waddell's work. next is Tess I think. If I can stand it so soon after the most recent version. Brace myself...

Patrick McGoohan, 1928 - 2009

I was quite saddened to hear Kirsty Wark announce the death of "the man in the black turtleneck" on Newsnight. Along with many others I will remember him best as Number 6 in The Prisoner.



I wasn't even born when it was first broadcast in 1967. In 1992 Channel 4 showed the series for the 25th anniversary and I was immediately hooked. Part of the appeal was watching the wonderful opening credits and listening to Ron Grainer's pounding theme music.




The stores were clearly an allegorical look at our own society. Four decades on we discover that we are living in a surveillance society after all. We passively swipe our Tesco club cards when buying our shopping. We buy the newspaper and accept the pre-packaged prejudices of the editor, getting 'outraged' on cue. (The episode of The Prisoner dealing with a village election was particularly scathing of the press. Number 6 gives an interview to a reporter and moments later is handed a newspaper with his 'comments' already written.)

It's very interesting that McGoohan went on to play authority figures such as the warden in Escape From Alcatraz or the King in Braveheart.

Recently a remake of The Prisoner has been in production with Sir Ian McKellan on Number 2 duties and one of my favourite actresses, Ruth Wilson, co-staring. it is sure to be very different but I hope the spirit of the original is still there.

Now I'm off to punch a table like Number 6 does in the opening credits...

Gemma Arterton and the Bafta nominations

I got a nice surprise this morning when I turned on my TV just before 8am. The BBC had live coverage of Gemma Arterton reading out the Bafta nominations. (OK, so Hayley Atwell read some out too, but I was only paying attention to Gemma.)



Admittedly she did stumble on the title 'Persepolis', but that understandable. Hey, the sun still hadn't risen and there she was looking very presentable.

After just a few minutes it was all over and Mark Kermode popped up. All before 8am! If only the actual awards ceremony was that quick.

I've got to sent a "boo, hiss" to the Daily Mail who have a nasty story about Gemma not looking as skinny as she did in October. Seriously! Will the British press ever stop attacking people for the sake of it? Go complain about Jonathan Ross if you've got to.