Alert Janeite Maisy directed us to a discussion of S&S07 (maybe 08 now?) on the IMDB forum for the film. A young gentleman who is doing his work experience at a film production house offered to answer questions. (You might have to register with the IMDB to read the discussion–try BugMeNot for a password, but they seem to have a hard time keeping up with IMDB. We’ll excerpt the most interesting stuff here.) (more…)

Alert Janeite Lisa let us know about an article in the Rochester (NY) Democrat & Chronicle about the creators of the Pride and Prejudice musical adaptation that they are hoping to get to Broadway. The evolution of the production, as detailed in the article, is quite interesting:

Despite busy schedules, they worked diligently, asking the Jane Austen Society for input on their songs and making a trip to England for research. The pair had to hurry to finish their work when Steven Daigle, the artistic director of the Eastman Opera Theater, expressed interest in it. Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice was first performed as a four-hour operetta with a cast of 30 at the Eastman School of Music in April 2004. They cut it to three hours so it could be performed by the Ohio Light Opera in Wooster, Ohio, last summer. Now the musical is two and a half hours with a cast of 18. They hope the shorter length and smaller size will give it a better chance of making it to Broadway. “Whenever we get sad because we have to cut something, we say, ‘Well, that’ll go in the musical miniseries,’” said Baker.

We hope it will make it to Broadway, as well…how fun would that be, to see Jane Austen on Broadway?

Our busy social whirl has whirled us right past the premiere of Becoming Jane last Tuesday night. Fortunately the ever-alert Fourth Estate has picked up our slack. Herewith a selection of coverage of the big night.

Variety first:

“I really thought there was no chance I was going to land this part. It just seemed absurd that the girl from ‘The Princess Diaries’ would play Jane Austen,

Oh, that’s okay, honey. We’re not sure who you played in the movie, but it sure wasn’t Jane Austen.

“I did a comparative essay on ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and ‘Sense and Sensibility,’ funny enough, on how Jane Austen seemed to use real life examples (in her novels),” she said. “I got a B plus.”

Ooooh! Aaaaah!

The Arizona Republic stuck with a basic Q&A format:

Q: How was it working with director Julian Jarrold?

A: Very easy. He’s a completely easygoing guy. He wanted to make sure we were making a film we believed in but also one Austen fans would respect.

*raises eyebrow* Okay!

Last up, the Philippines site Inquirer.net, which delves a little deeper than some of the others.

She continued, “You can’t eat when you’re wearing a corset because your body can’t digest food.

Women wore corsets for hundreds of years–and even ate in them!–and the race managed to continue. We can’t help wondering how someone can play a historical figure and have so limited a view of history as to make such a short-sighted statement. Also, properly-fitted late Georgian/Regency stays should not be so tight as to cause digestive problems.

We asked Anne if she buys the notion that Jane Austen’s romantic heartbreak over the affair with Tom Lefroy, who reportedly inspired the Mr. Darcy character in “Pride and Prejudice,” sparked her writing.

“It’s a very controversial argument,” she answered. “I don’t think she needed to find Mr. Right to write. I shouldn’t say that because I’m the star of a movie that says she did.

Huzzah, dear! Nicely said.

The one time Vassar College and New York University student continued, “I think Jane did have heartbreak in her life. Not just a romantic heartbreak but she had extreme disappointments brought on by a lack of money and by society’s views of what a woman could achieve. Her sad life is probably more responsible for motivating her to write.”

Oh, you were doing so well. Her “sad life?” Because if she doesn’t have a maaaaaaaan she had a “sad life?” She couldn’t find fulfillment from her writing, her family, her friends? No wonder we wanted to find the nearest semi-sharp object and open our jugular vein after seeing this film.