Austenprose’s Sanditon event and Emma onstage in Ohio…

Remember, Austenprose.com is presenting a group read of Jane Austen’s unfinished Sanditon, starting tomorrow – March 15!  The Ides of March!  Join Laurel Ann and the gang for some fun discussion of the novel and Regency-era seaside culture.

And now I feel like I should be quoting Ovid or something on the ascention of Julius Caesar to the heavens as a star.  Yay, emperor cultism.

Anyway.  I’ve also got a roundup of articles pertaining to Michael Bloom’s stage adaptation of Emma, which premiered last month at the Cleveland Playhouse in Ohio.  It’s running now at the Drury Theatre through March 21:

Ayesha interview with Sonam Kapoor

Here’s a Sonam Kapoor interview from IndianExpress.com about Ayesha.  Nothing earthshattering or new, but Kapoor does claim that the film will be “India’s first chick-flick.”

Also, a fun announcement from Laurel Ann at Austenprose is forthcoming.  😀

Emma DVD Review

So, my Emma 2009/2010 DVD arrived today via Amazon, and I’ve perused the special features.  As far as I know, this BBC DVD version from Amazon is the same as the DVD that ShopPBS.org will ship next month.

Disc 1 includes featurettes on the Emma filming locations and costumes, bringing you short interviews with crew and cast about the visual side of the production.

Emma Design Board
Design board for the Squerryes Court dining room.

The “Locations” piece primarily covers Squerryes Court as Hartfield and Loseley Park as Donwell Abbey, describing the crew’s intent to use space as a metaphor for the various characters’ existences and as an indicator of each character’s social station.  Emma, for example, inhabits an elegant home with an easy, unobstructed floorplan which represents her personality and life experience:

“Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition, seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her.”

Donwell Abbey, by contrast, is more venerable in size, style, and age, which very much suits the character and social status of Mr. Knightley:

“The house was larger than Hartfield, and totally unlike it, covering a good deal of ground, rambling and irregular, with many comfortable, and one or two handsome rooms. It was just what it ought to be, and it looked what it was; and Emma felt an increasing respect for it, as the residence of a family of such true gentility, untainted in blood and understanding.”

The featurette also briefly covers decor choices and the tricks involved in shooting winter scenes in June(!).  While the snowscape longshots at Squerryes Court were indeed filmed during winter, the Knightleys’ rear garden snowball fight was shot on a 27-degree C day!  This recalls the snow scenes from the 1995/96 Pride and Prejudice adaptation, which were filmed in July of 1994, if I’m remembering correctly.

Snow in June at Squerryes Court!

The costume featurette was of particular interest to me.  There were several conversations with costume designer Rosalind Ebbutt, who shares various elements of the design process.  Ebbutt brainstormed ideas via collages of period images, fabric swatches, and color samples for each character.  Frank Churchill’s even included a photo or two of Mick Jagger, whom Ebbutt felt captured the dashing worldliness of the character.  In addition to remarks from the designer, we also hear from the actors.  Romola Garai, Louise Dylan, Blake Ritson, Tamsin Greig, Rupert Evans, Laura Pyper, and Jonny Lee Miller all comment on the collaborative design process, how fashion reveals character status, personality and transformation, and the nuts and bolts of wearing period fashion.

Harriet and Emma:  Twins!
Harriet and Emma: Twins!

Tamsin Greig, for example, describes Regency underpinnings (chemises, custom corsets made specifically for each actress, and in some cases, a “bustle” pad).  Romola Garai shows her little chatelaine watch as an example of a costume accessory that denotes Emma’s status as “lady of the house.”  Louise Dylan describes how Harriet Smith’s wardrobe begins to mimic Emma’s as the older girl’s influence grows.  And Jonny Lee Miller discusses Mr. Knightley’s practical yet elegant wardrobe as an outward manifestation of the character’s personality.  “I can see myself gambling in this,” he jokes, indicating his beautiful brocade waistcoat and velvet tailcoat.

Disc 2 contains the music featurette and an interview with Sir Michael Gambon (Mr. Woodhouse), filmed on location at Squerryes Court.

The Music piece includes interviews with composer Samuel Sim, Director Jim O’Hanlon, and Producer George Ormond, and generally overviews the process of scoring a television series.  Director O’Hanlon describes Sim’s Emma soundtrack as having “one foot in the period and one foot in today,” allowing the film to sound historically-appropriate while maintaining a freshness accessible to modern ears. Sim and O’Hanlon also discuss how Emma’s main theme, or motive, is reiterated over the course of the miniseries to accentuate onscreen moods and actions.

"Spotting" Emma
Samuel Sim and Jim O'Hanlon "spot" musical cues.

In addition, we learn a little about the planning or “sketching” period, during which the composer creates the main theme and ideas for the various musical cues that will be required in the finished miniseries.  We also get to glimpse a “spotting” session with the composer, director, and producer, which involves watching the film, matching up extant music cues with the footage, and coming up with plans for additional cues not yet written.  The featurette concludes with a recording session at the legendary Abbey Road Studio of Beatles fame.  This is totally off-topic, but it’s worth noting that the score for the upcoming “World of Color” show at Disney’s California Adventure was recorded just a few weeks ago at Abbey Road.

I haven’t yet watched the DVD version of the miniseries itself, but I understand that it DOES include various short scenes that aired on the BBC but not on PBS.

In all, I think the bonus features were worth the DVD purchase price (I paid around $23, via Amazon).  The packaging is a beautiful, book-style box – gatefold, I guess you could say? – with photos of Garai on the cover and on the discs themselves.  There’s a panorama of the Box Hill picnic on the inside.

Related information:

Wrapping up Emma 2009/2010…

Well, I’m home from a lovely visit to Orange County and Los Angeles.  Yes, we went to Disneyland.  Yes, we stopped by Kiyonna.  Yes, I bought something.  One dress.  ONLY ONE. Really.

Anyway, here’s the latest scoop on Emma, which wrapped last night on Masterpiece Classic:

Opinions of Jane Austen’s Emma, from the period

Though described by Jane Austen as “a heroine whom no one but myself will much like” (James Edward Austen-Leigh’s Memoir of Jane Austen, p. 158), Emma has delighted millions of readers throughout the years. Emma the novel also has its share of fans, though like its eponymous heroine, it has its detractors, too. Continue reading “Opinions of Jane Austen’s Emma, from the period”

PBS Emma Part Two, another Twitter party, and more!

Since the first Emma Twitter party was such a success, PBS.org is presenting another for Part Two!  There will be an “east coast” party beginning this Sunday, January 31, at 9pm ET and a “west coast” party to follow at 9pm PT at Twitter hashtag #emma_pbs.

You can use the official PBS Emma TwitGrid (it’s a new one!) to help you navigate all posts to the #emma_pbs hashtag.  Check the PBS.org Emma Twitter page for details and updates.   In the works:  another quiz with Laurel Ann and me, more prizes, and special discounts for party participants at ShopPBS!

In other news, Vic explains how to make Mrs. Weston’s wedding cake (as seen in the most recent Emma adaptation).  The key tool?  A Nordic Ware Cathedral Bundt Pan!  Also, don’t miss her thoughts on Emma 2009/2010 as reviewed by print media.

Catch author and #emma_pbs Twitter Party co-host Laurie Viera Rigler’s Emma review, posted at the PBS Remotely Connected blog.

And, in Persuasions Online, Laurie Kaplan discusses negative critical responses to the latest Emma in Adapting Emma for the Twenty-first Century: An Emma No One Will Like.

Also, Style Court discusses decor in the various Emma adaptations and Austen Only covers Mr. Knightley’s Strawberries.

Emma premiere roundup: Hours One and Two air on PBS Masterpiece Classic

Now that Emma‘s part one premiere is over, a few notes:

Emma premiers TOMORROW on PBS…

Emma is nigh!  Remember, there’s a special Emma Twitter Party tomorrow, hosted by PBS, Laurel Ann, Vic, and me!  Be there from 9-11 pm EST.  That’s 6pm PST, my time!

More information here!

Also, a very thoughtful discussion of Emma and Vermeer from Vic’s “Remotely Connected” blog at PBS.

And finally, here’s a roundup of some of the latest Emma reviews: