Sense and Sensibilidad casting and filming news
Well! Just when one thinks she can take a breath and get back to reading old biographies of Jane Austen, here comes another film. Alert Janeite Cinthia (one of the managers of JACastellano, the Spanish-language Jane Austen discussion list) sent us an article from the Mexican newspaper Reforma that states Diana Garcia has been cast as Mary (Marianne) and Daniella Alonso as Nora (Elinor) for the upcoming film Sense and Sensibilidad. Cinthia is working on translating the entire article for us. The article also states filming begins in August.
For those unfamiliar with this project, it is a modern-set English language version of Sense and Sensibility, set in the Latino community of Los Angeles.
ETA: Making a few tweaks since we posted this in a hurry on our lunch break.
ETA 2 and bumped: to add the translation of the article, courtesy of Cinthia, after the break.
Diana takes English pronounciation classes
García will be in a remake of Ang Lee’s film
She will play the role that Kate Winslet did in the Sense and Sensibility
motion picture.
By Minerva Hernandez and Hector Otero
Only two years ago, Diana Garcia debuted as an actress in the film Drama/Mex, but now she will face what she considers a big challenge: become the main star in an American production.
The Mexican actress will be part of the Sense and Sensibility remake that the Venezuelan director Fina Torres will shoot of the 1995 film made by Ang Lee.
“This is my first really international production. My agents have just told me that I am conffirmed in it. I am one of the protagonists, and I am very happy”, says the actress.
Based on the novel of the same name, written by Jane Austen, the film tells the story of Elinor, Marianne, and Margaret Dashwood, three orphans whose half-brother, John, forces them to lead an austere life in the country, where Elinor falls in love with Edward.
Although the role that Garcia will be the one that Kate Winslet played then, and which earned her an Academy nomination, the Mexican said that she will make her own version of the character.
Most of all, it will help her that the film will have modifications.
“It [the story] will be updated; it was a period film set in England, and this one will be centered on how the Latinos live in USA, in L.A.”, pointed out the actress.
“I have a big acting challenge this time, because my character is mainly American, and I am working hard with my [English] pronounciation classes. I will have to go for a while to USA to see the attitudes. But I am very happy.”
Torres’ film, who directed Penelope Cruz in Women on Top, is in pre-production, and it is to be hoped that filming begins in August.
“Until now, there is no confirmed cast, except Daniella Alonso, whom I met in the trials for The Fast and the Furious 4, in L.A.; we were chatting in the waiting lounge, when it turned out that we are going to be sisters in this film”, said the actress.
April 7th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
Thanks for the advertisement, Mags, though I am afraid I cannot take the full claim about JAcastellano, the real foundress of the list is Constanza from Argentina, I only help her managing most of things there :).
I’m working on the translation, but I am still fuming with the article’s claim that this modernization will be a remake of Ang Lee’s film. That’s not doing justice neither to JA, Ang Lee, and Fina Torres and Luis Alfaro.
April 7th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
Hey Cinthia–really I wanted to let anyone who might be interested know of the list’s existence!
We’ve been getting lots of new visitors because of the new films, so I don’t take anything for granted.
April 7th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
Cinthia, You do a great job of keeping us updated on JA in Latin America!! Mil gracias!
I think there are two other errors in the Reforma article. Elinor and Marianne are not “orphans”- they are fatherless. The article refers to their stepbrother (hermanastro) who is actually their half-brother. Wouldn’t that be medio hermano?
Spanish is my second language- so I may be wrong, however. Second languages keep us humble.
Again, I appreciate all your contributions, Cinthia!
April 7th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
Oh my goodness. I did not read the article that referenced Fina Torres and I had based our screenplay on the Ang Lee film! The farthest from the truth. In fact, we did our best to stay away from Emma Thompson’s wonderful screenplay. We instead spent a year living in Jane Austen land and thinking of the ways in which contemporary society collides with some of the values of her novel. We also focused heavily on the power of the relationship that the sisters have with one another and how they translate culturally to the modern Latino setting today. Just for the record, the wonderful women who are producing this film inherited a script that they wanted us to work from, which we eventually decided to go back and start from scratch with. It’s interesting how enduring Austen is and how timely her work is resonating right now.
April 7th, 2008 at 6:07 pm
The translation is ready. Yes, Baja Janeite, there are quite some mistakes in the article, but as Mr. Alfaro, points out, the worse is calling Sense and Sensibilidad a remake. I have already both phoned the newspaper and sent them a message with corrections, but I am not so sure if they will listen to me, so please, Mr. Alfaro, if you wish, I could give you their contact info in order that you make them understand and force them to issue a correction, and perhaps also in exchange you could keep us updated about the project’s progress, please. I am dying to know more about it (I’m in for it) and would love to have some shooting in my country.
April 7th, 2008 at 6:33 pm
Well, I’ve just received a phone call from the journalist, Ms. Minerva Hernandez, who has been very kind to listen to my explanation. It seems it is the actress herself, the one who is under the mistaken impression that Sense and Sensibilidad is a remake. I know just hope that she (Diana Garcia) comes to understand the difference.
April 7th, 2008 at 7:31 pm
Message to Mr. Alfaro, Ms. Hernandez is interested in getting in contact with you in order to make justice to the work you are doing on Sense and Sensibilidad. So please, the dear Editrix of the blog has now the contact information.
April 7th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
Hello Cinthia.
That article is so wrong! I would love to talk to the writer and correct this misinformation. The actress has it all wrong. Where did she get her information?
April 8th, 2008 at 8:38 am
Mr. Alfaro, I really hope you can explain thoroughly to the journalist the mistaken notion they have of the project. I understand that the Editrix has already forward you the information to contact Ms. Hernandez.
I do not know where the actress got the idea, but unfortunately I must say that there are very few Mexicans who would understand the differences, because although there are Mexican Janeites, I am afraid we are very few in proportion to the whole population. I am not even sure now if Diana Garcia has ever read any Austen, even in Spanish. And she should now.
April 8th, 2008 at 11:58 am
There is more cast information here:
http://www.eluniversal.com/2008/02/12/til_art_otro-te-en-la-habana_710135.shtml
According to the article filming will begin in April.
April 8th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
OMG EDWARD JAMES OLMOS OMG OMG
*runs around waving hands in air*
(sorry–fangirl)
April 8th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
I hope Nora (Eleanor) and Maria (Marianne) move from LA to a cousin’s remote ranch on the Baja peninsula. That would fit the S&S plot and the strong ties that Mexican Americans often have with extended family in Mexico.
The scenery shots would be fabulous!
April 8th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
Who is Edward James Olmos supposed to be playing, Mr. Dashwood? He’s rather old to be playing any of the other people. He was born in 1947.
April 8th, 2008 at 7:40 pm
Dear Mr Alfaro
I was so delighted to read your posting #4 wherein you discuss how you and your co-author spent a year discussing how to represent JA’s characters in a modern setting with a different cultural twist. This kind of thoughtful creativity is why so many of the modern versions of JA’s novels are, IMO, superior to some of the Regency versions, charming though they may be: modern films like Clueless, Bride & Prejudice, the Tamil version of S&S and the Mormon version of P&P (I forget their titles, but Mags will doubtless supply them).
To some extent, the manners and mores of Regency era society are *almost* as far removed from modern US audiences as those of a California high school or Mumbai. Yet these societies place cultural constraints and expectations upon the characters’ feelings and motivations that are parallel–even if not exactly the same–as those that JA wrote about. Seeing a familiar story retold in a different culture and time allows us to appreciate another dimension of JA’s works–as well as making us think about the extent to which the roles of men and women today have or have not changed since the novels were published almost exactly 200 years ago.
I look forward with great anticipation to the screening of Sense and Sensibilidad!
April 9th, 2008 at 11:40 am
Nice work Cyn!
It’s been totally amusing to see this almost ‘real-time’ discussion. Mr Alfaro, I want to let you know that I think you are very kind and it’s great that you take our voices in consideration and Jane Austen text also ;). I hope it will be a great movie! Be as kind as to keep us informed if you please.