Hugo (2011)

Hugo (originally titled Hugo Cabret) is an upcoming adventure film based on Brian Selznick's bestseller 'The Invention of Hugo Cabret' set in 1930's Paris. It is directed by Martin Scorsese, co-produced by Scorsese, Johnny Depp, and Graham King, and written by John Logan. This is Scorsese’s first film shot in 3D and it is due to be released on November 23, 2011, with distribution by Paramount Pictures. It stars Asa Butterfield (The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, Nanny McPhee) as Hugo. (Wikipedia)

Watch trailer

From official site:
"ORPHAN, CLOCK KEEPER, AND THIEF, twelve-year-old Hugo (Asa Butterfield) lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric girl (Chloe Moretz) and the owner (Ben Kingsley) of a small toy booth in the train station, Hugo’s undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message all come together...in The Invention of Hugo Cabret."

Asa Butterfield, Chloe Moretz, Ben Kinglsey, Sasha Baron Cohen

"The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick is told in both words and pictures. The Invention of Hugo Cabret is not exactly a novel, and it’s not quite a picture book, and it’s not really a graphic novel, or a flip book, or a movie, but a combination of all these things. Each picture (there are nearly three hundred pages of pictures!) takes up an entire double page spread, and the story moves forward because you turn the pages to see the next moment unfold in front of you."

Book illustrations by Brian Selznick

Cast:
Chloe Moretz .... Isabella
Jude Law .... Hugo's father
Richard Griffiths .... Monsieur Frick
Ben Kingsley .... Papa Georges
Sacha Baron Cohen .... Station Inspector
Christopher Lee .... Monsieur Labisse
Emily Mortimer .... Lisette
Asa Butterfield .... Hugo
Michael Stuhlbarg .... Rene Tabard
Helen McCrory .... Mama Jeanne
Frances de la Tour .... Emilie
Angus Barnett .... Theater Manager
Edmund Kingsley (real-life son of Ben) .... Technician
Catherine Balavage .... Parisian Cafe Woman
Ray Winstone

Interview with author Brian Selznick
Scorcese's website
IMDb

Reminder: Les Mis 25th anniversary concert this Sunday on PBS

LES MISÉRABLES 25TH ANNIVERSARY CONCERT AT THE O2
will be seen in the U.S. for the first time
Sunday, March 6, 2011, 7:00-11:00 p.m. ET

on PBS (check local listings)

With more than 500 actors and musicians
including Alfie Boe, Jenny Galloway, Katie Hall, Nick Jonas,
Ramin Karimloo, Norm Lewis, Matt Lucas & Lea Salonga.

With appearances by previous Valjeans:
Simon Bowman, Colm Wilkinson and John Owen-Jones

Alfie Boe is phenomenal as Valjean!

More details at PBS
More info on LES MISERABLES

Photos: Dan Wooller, PBS

Tom Hooper's next project?

After his Best Director win at the Oscars, it will be interesting to see which film project Tom Hooper takes on next. Possibilities mentioned are a 17th century book adaptation set in the Netherlands or a 19th century adaptation set in France...

From Deadline:
"Hooper seems to be getting serious about resuscitating the Deborah Moggach novel Tulip Fever as a possible next directing vehicle. That project had been on the verge of being put in turnaround at Paramount, but the studio could be involved as a co-financier with TWC. The film's set in 17th Century Amsterdam, where a married woman and an artist hired to paint her portrait begin a passionate affair and gamble on the booming market for tulip bulbs as a way to raise money to run away together. The film has been a passion for such directors as John Madden and Peter Chelsom over the past decade, and once had Keira Knightley and Jude Law once planning to play the lovers."

"Hooper is also mulling Les Miserables"
Hmmm, wonder if Hooper has much experience with musicals because I am waiting with high expectations for the musical film planned by Cameron Mackintosh.

Antique Jewellery - Gallery #1

Ahh, blame it on Downton Abbey again, as I've now become distracted with the jewellery of the Edwardian era (and earlier). I wonder if the popularity of the ITV series will see a resurgence of antique jewellery and fashions in the retail sector. One can only hope! I recall during my teen years, Victorian fashion was all the rage and I could walk into almost any store and find blouses of lace that took me back in time!

I found this choker (similar to the one worn by Lady Mary) advertised with the droll description "Victorian Regency Civil War Edwardian Choker" - covering all their bases I see! The reproduction necklace sells for $24 on auctiondose.com.

Some of the jewellery worn by the ladies of Downton

Here are just a few examples of antique jewellery (real & reproduction) found online. I've not even explored etsy yet!

Faux pearl choker (repro - $32)

Victorian cameo brooch (repro - $10)

Victorian cameo pendant (repro - $10)

Victorian cameo oval pendant (repro - $12)


* * * * * * * * * *

The following items were found at The Three Graces
(The site sells rare antique jewelry, fine period and estate jewelry
and gives great background information on each piece)


What about a pair of cufflinks for Lord Crawley's collection?

Anglo-Indian cufflinks (circa 1900 - $1885)


Peridot Pearl Necklace (circa 1910 - $2350)

Antique Diamond Ring (circa 1910 - $2750)

Edwardian Pearl & Amethyst Pendant (circa 1900 - $1450)

Carved Pearl, Sapphire, Moonstone Pendant (circa 1900 - $3950)

Butterfly pendant (2-sided) (circa 1900, sale pending)

Ruby & Diamond Bracelet (circa 1900 - $1850)

Hand Painted Porcelain Cherub Pendant (circa 1900 - $1475)

Victorian Cherub Fringe Earrings (circa 1870 - $5450)

19th Century French Cameo Drop Earrings (circa 1860 - $2875)

Georgian Diamond Drop Earrings (circa 1790-1800, $9850)

Multi Colored Brooch & Pendant (circa 1830 - $1450)

Georgian Sévigné Pendant Brooch (circa 1750 - $4250)

Georgian Cameo Brooch & Earrings (circa 1830 - $7450)

Early Diamond Baroque Pendant (circa 1680-1720, $8250)

More on FASHION

Videos: Colin Firth & The King's Speech on Oprah

Tom Hooper, Geoffrey Rush and Colin Firth

appeared on Oprah's talk show on Monday, Feb.28th
following Sunday's triumph at the Oscars.

Watch video: Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush talk of their friendship

Watch video: Colin Firth and Tom Hooper - Backstage interview (Oprah)

Watch video: Geoffrey Rush - Backstage interview (Oprah)

Geoffrey Rush: "[Colin] did the most beautiful thing... when I arrived on the red carpet. I ran over and gave him a big hug and he took a 1946 King George VI shilling out of his pocket and gave it to me as a gift.

Cute anecdote from Tom Hooper (upon receiving BEST DIRECTOR at Oscars):
Tom says being up on stage was a blur but he did remember one thing—he forgot to email back Hilary Swank! He says when the actress came onto the stage to present the Best Director award, he suddenly remembered that she had sent him a nice email that he never responded to.
"When I got up on the stage, I kissed her hello and I told her I'm sorry and how much I loved the email and she said, 'I can't believe you're using the Kodak Theatre and winning the Oscar to tell me that."

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Colin Firth - Backstage interview at the 2011 Oscars

Posting this for anyone as obsessed as I am in hearing what Colin Firth had to say after his well-deserved win on Sunday night at the Academy Awards!

Colin's backstage interview at the 2011 Oscars...

Transcript of Colin's backstage interview
(some of it not shown in video above)

Q: The King’s Speech has taken up so much of your time in the last few months, I wonder now that you’ve won the Oscar, are you actually looking forward to taking a break from Bertie?
A: “Yeah, I am. Yeah, I’ve started having fantasies about what I’ll do, I’ll have to talk to you about. No, it’s lovely company. No, I think I’m going to cook a lot. I don’t think I’m particularly good at it but I’m going to inflict my cooking on anybody within range, but I tend to find that’s a very good way to decompress. I’ll probably be the only one eating it but that’s what I’m going to do.”

Q: What message do you think this story sends to people?
A: “I don’t believe in messages in what I do. I don’t think we’re preachers. I don’t think we’re philosophers. I personally happen to be an annoyingly outspoken person, but that’s not because I think the storytelling involves prescribing what people should think or hear, so I’m not in that business. What has struck me is the emotional response to it seems to be very, very personal. It’s quite diverse. Quite obviously speech therapists and people who have difficulties with their speech of whatever kind, have responded to it, and that is very powerful to me to be on the receiving end of that kind of feedback because what we do is very often, it’s justifiably judged as completely and utterly frivolous. I think frivolity is also very important. That’s a whole other argument.

But the fact is that it overlaps with something that has connected with or resonated with people who’ve, you know, feel they’ve been heard about something for the first time. It’s probably the most valuable thing of all to me. I don’t think it sent a message. I just think maybe it shines a light on something which badly needed it.”

Q: Why do you not support it [cutting the film to be PG-13]?
A: “Because I think the film has its integrity as it stands. I think that scene belongs where it is. I think it serves a purpose. I’m not someone who is casual about that kind of language. I don’t relish I take my children to see football games, soccer. And I wouldn’t be able to, if I wanted to protect them from those kind of words at the expense of all else. I hate hearing that language around them, but I’m not going to deny them an experience of a live game. You know, it does distress me to, you know, to hear that language bawled in the ears of my kids. So I don’t take that stuff lightly. But the context of this film could not be more edifying, more appropriate. It’s not vicious. It’s not to do insult or it’s not in any of the context which might offend people, really.
It’s about a man trying to free himself through the use of forbidden words, and he’s so coy about it. I mean, I just can’t I still haven’t met the person who would object to it. So I think the film should stand as it is.”

Q: Re: Hooper’s choice of lenses, the way he placed you in the frame helped you create the feeling of isolation that you got?
A: “In some ways, the way of working was conducive to the kind of tension and anxiety that I needed to draw from for it. The very first thing that Tom shot on me was a single shot of me in the first scene where Bertie meets Logue. That’s kind of baptism by fire in a story like this. Normally, you would kick off with something easy like walking down a corridor or getting out of a car and then the crew will get to know each other and once we’re all safely in the zone, then you can start to get into the more serious stuff, and then you might eventually start with a wide master shot with two actors, three actors. And you’ll know that that you’re establishing the scene first, the critical stuff.

The stuff on your face, most of that, is not going to play on this shot. So you get a chance, it’s like a rehearsal. Tom didn’t do any of that. He decided to take a ten minute scene which was basically a three act play and said kick off on my face. And there is nothing for it but to commit. And I think he made a very, very good decision, not just for me, but for him, where we thought, “Okay, you know, you don’t have much time in film, I think, has a misperception that you try and try again until you get it right and you can keep doing it.”

That’s not how it works. You get three goes, four. It’s expensive. You know, it goes into the can and you move on. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t really nailed it. This is like a feeling of being pushed out in the royal upper house and told to sing on the first night without much rehearsal and you just have to dig for whatever you can. And then, I think it was very good because I put both feet in and so did he and he committed to a style he wasn’t quite sure about yet. He still had a few options open, but after we completed that day which could have ended up being about ten percent of our entire film, he realized he had committed to a cinematographic style. And I had committed to my approach and to be squeezed down in the corner of a sofa and Tom kept telling me to shrink myself physically because I’m much bigger than George VI. He was very slight and he had a famous small disposition.

So Tom’s note to me was, ‘Try to disappear as much as possible.’ And I think that’s partly why he put me on the edge of the big sofa and part of why he put me on the edge of the frame, surrounded me by what he thought was negative space. And I could feel all that going on and so it definitely informed what I did."

Transcript: Indiewire

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Colin Firth - BAFTA: A Life in Pictures

I was excited to find this particular interview with Colin Firth since I've enjoyed the interviews I've previously viewed as part of BAFTA's series "Life in Pictures". A half hour well spent!

From BAFTA's site (December 7, 2010):
"[Colin] describes the 'completely uncomplicated satisfaction' involved in making films such as Mamma Mia!, as well as the awe with which he perceives his films' writers. He also discusses the 'baggage' of being associated with Darcy, and considers the irony of having forged a career playing middle and upper class characters after his Secondary Modern schooling."

Here's a 5 minute excerpt but you can
watch the 30 minute interview in its entirety on BAFTA's website!

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