ContactMusic.com has the latest on Keira Knightley’s opinion of Macfadyen as Darcy.

She says, “Matthew’s a man who is sexy in the mode of Richard Burton and Alan Rickman. You need to see that kind of rugged beauty in Darcy, to know that here is a man who strides across fields, climbs trees and very much manages his own estate.

“With Matthew you can see that etched across his face, yet he’s also got this extraordinary vulnerability. On the page, Darcy reads as being very cold, but Matthew is so vulnerable through his big manliness that he gives Darcy extra qualities.”

We here at Austenblog World Headquarters are certain that this is Miss Knightley’s completely honest and forthright opinion, and has nothing whatsoever to do with publicity for the film.

We apologize for the database connection problems earlier. Once we became aware of the problem, Dorothy was dispatched to give the server a good kick, which seems to have solved the problem.

(Actually, thanks to our terrific webhost who fixed the problem as soon as we put in a trouble ticket.)

According to KeiraWeb.com, the U.K. premiere of P&P3 will be on September 5th at the Odeon cinema in Leicester Square, London.

KeiraWeb also had a link to part of an interview with Keira Knightley that will be in the September issue of Film Review magazine in which she discusses her upcoming film roles, including P&P3.

In Pride and Prejudice, the latest adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic tale of love in the Georgian English countryside, Knightley is once again reaffirming her position as the quintessential British romantic lead. It’s a character that the actress has no problem in portraying – despite the corsets, “With these it was like not wearing a corset at all. It was fantastic. So a very easy corset experience for me.” – even at the risk of being typecast.

“I think the thing is not to be typecast if you can possibly manage it,” Knightley admits. “And what excites me about acting is the idea of changing as much as possible from character to character, and piece to piece. You’re not going to read a script that has a fantastic story, a fantastic character and a fantastic director and decide not to do it because it was set 200 years ago. That would be a bit foolish. You can only go with what interests you, and Pride and Prejudice has been a book that I’ve been obsessed with since I was about seven, so the opportunity to play a part like Elizabeth Bennet was one that I couldn’t miss out on.”

There is also a new film still we haven’t seen yet. Stripes!

The Jane Austen Action Figure has arrived at AustenBlog World Headquarters, and it does sort of have a kung fu grip! Though the box says her weapon of choice is “Character Study.” Hee.

We think the dress is perhaps a trifle low-cut. Otherwise we are thoroughly delighted with our new acquisition.