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Entries in Bridget Jones (11)

Friday
Jul292022

Jane Austen Done Right

by Cláudio Alves

Recently, Nathaniel reviewed Netflix's Persuasion adaptation, pointing out many of the film's issues. That said, our beloved editor is not an Austenite, so his critique lacks the militant outrage you could expect from the writer's biggest fans. Speaking as one of those demented individuals, I found the latest adaptation to be terrible beyond belief, starting from its basic premise. After all, why would one choose Austen's most melancholic, wistful, and mature novel for this Fleabag-esque treatment full of anachronistic jokes and fourth-wall-breaking jests? Isn't something like Northanger Abbey better suited for such an interpretation? The whole thing is a panoply of bad choices.

Still, while the new movie is terrible, the impulse to modernize Jane Austen's writing isn't necessarily wrong-headed. One just has to understand each text's particularities. The author's work is eminently cinematic and quite malleable when handled well. To prove its endless plasticity, here's a list of Austen-related films that took wildly disparate approaches to the material… 

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Sunday
Mar142021

Jane Austen @ the Oscars

by Cláudio Alves

After multiple articles about Jane Austen movie adaptations over the past year, you might have figured out I'm a big fan of the Regency writer. Her delightful mix of social satire and comical romance is pretty irresistible as are many of the films that have been made out of the author's works. Since the Oscar nominations are upon us, it feels appropriate to consider these two personal obsessions together, awards love and Austenian fandom. As it stands, many are predicting Autumn de Wilde's Emma. to score a couple of nods in the Moulin Rouge! categories of Production and Costume Design. If that happens, this latest entry in the Jane Austen cinematic universe will join a select group of movies…

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Thursday
Apr252019

Happy 50th to Renée Zellweger

by Eric Blume

It seems crazy, but today marks the 50th birthday of Oscar-winning actress Renée Zellweger.  Zellweger is a bit of a divisive actor (even within this site!), but I loved her the second I first saw her onscreen, loved her through her big decade of success, and will proudly love her forever.

I fell for Zellweger for the first time the way most of America did:  as assistant Dorothy Boyd opposite Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire in 1996.  Even though that film features Cruise’s best performance (he should have beat Geoffrey Rush for the Oscar), I walked away from Jerry Maguire thinking, who the hell is Renée Zellweger?  It takes major presence and considerable skill to not be blown off the screen by a star like Cruise at his most commanding.  Not only did Zellweger hold her own, she brought out new things in him: a comic warmth, a quality of genuineness, something softer and more open.  He listened to her and didn’t anticipate everything, because she was off-center...

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Wednesday
Feb132019

Soundtracking: Bridget Jones's Diary

by Chris Feil

We have so many emotional ties to movie music that represents love fulfilled, love remembered, love not meant to be. As Valentine’s Day comes around, and with it annual love story rewatchings, we’re reminded of the “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life”s and the “The Way We Were”s with sudden impact. But for some folks still waiting for their love story to begin, the reflection of their romantic reality gets foolishly less heralded. People like Bridget Jones...

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Thursday
Apr132017

On this day: Butch Cassidy, Catherine de Medici, the '63 Oscars, and more

On this day in history as it relates to showbiz

1519 Catherine de Medici, Queen consort, born. She's been played in movies and TV by Kerry Fox, Megan Follows, Françoise Rosay, Maria Palmer, and many more but none so brilliantly as Virna Lisi in her Cannes winning performance in the sensational French epic Queen Margot (1994)

1570 Guy Fawkes born in England. V for Vendetta's "V" wears his face as a mask.

1743 Founding Father Thomas Jefferson born in Virginia. He's been played in movies and TV by actors like Nick Nolte, Jerry O'Connell, Stephen Dillane, Sam Waterston, Ken Howard, and many more...

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