Another hunk of meat to the fangirl grinder
One almost feels sorry for these actors in Jane Austen adaptations (and really pretty much any adaptation set in the late 18th or early 19th century) and the inevitable media comparison to Colin Almighty. We are not sure if that phenomenon is a tribute to an iconic performance or a lack of imagination on the part of the media, but that is a rant for another day. The Organgrinder blog at The Guardian speculates that Rupert Penry-Jones’ performance in the upcoming adaptation of Persuasion will have the fangirls squealing.
ITV might have found a successor to Firth in the shape of Spooks star Rupert Penry-Jones. He plays Captain Frederick Wentworth in the adaptation of Austen’s more mature novel Persuasion (due to air in the spring). Ciaran Hinds played the same role for the BBC in the nineties and was brilliant. But Rupert plays it a bit racier and with some of the hard-edged, smouldering charm that Colin Firth gave Mr D’Arcy.
And the trembling kiss between Wentworth and Anne Elliott - played by the brilliant Sally Hawkins - after years of suppressed emotion, had the audience transfixed.
Judging by the large number of female journalists who flocked to chat to Rupert after the screening, ITV may have found someone to step into Colin Firth’s breeches…as it were.
To which we can only say…”better and better!”
Via the Media Issues and Debates blog, we can read the text of another Guardian article that requires registration.
The Jane Austen season - which features new productions of Mansfield Park, Persuasion and Northanger Abbey and a repeat of Emma, starring Kate Beckinsale - was one of the first things Simon Shaps approved after he became director of television at ITV.
Elliott said he wanted to do an Austen season because each generation needs its own version of the classics.
“About every 10 years all the great stories need retelling. These films will be very much 2007 films. With Laura [Mackie] and Sally [Haynes] we’ve asked and pushed the production team to make them young.”
There also was this fascinating tidbit:
The Jane Austen season features stars such as Billie Piper, Anthony Head and Jemma Redgrave alongside the cream of young British acting talent.
Spooks star Rupert Penry-Jones’ position as a successor to Colin Firth seems assured thanks to his brooding performance and a lingering kiss with co-star Felicity Hawkins in Persuasion.
The Jane Austen season will air on ITV1 mid-March or April, along with a behind-the-scenes show on ITV3.
ITV has other classic adaptions in the wings, including A Room with a View and Sense and Sensibility - both of which are being adapted by Andrew Davies.
That last bit is notable for several errors, including SALLY Hawkins’ first name and the fact that the BBC actually is doing S&S07. And ITV STILL hasn’t made up its mind when to show the bally things–or at least isn’t fessing up to the press. (But–behind the scenes show!)
