Additionally, Laurel Ann has posted a slideshow of official images here.
Emma4 Episode 1 Screenshots!
Emma 4, Episode 1 preliminary review and general thoughts…
I first published this review in October of 2009 when Emma aired on the BBC, so some of the links and broadcast references will be out of date.
I don’t even know where to start with this. Quel surreal, as Holly Golightly might have said. There are spoilers here, so proceed with caution.
First off, if you have a UK ip address (hint hint proxy hint), you can stream each episode of Emma as it airs. Episode one is located here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00n7pk1/Emma_Episode_1/
Episode 2 airs on Sunday, October 11 on BBC 1 and should be posted to the site just after. Here’s the schedule, for handy reference.
First, a disclaimer: I wrote this in haste, late sunday night. Since, I’ve been adding thoughts and clarifications as I remember them or as they strike me. So. Bear with me as this thing grows and changes.
Having seen episode one, I want to say that this is gonna be good. So far, it IS good – much better than I expected. Every frame is beautifully composed and shot. The colors and textures are amazing. The writing is solid and the story hangs together well without sacrificing important plot elements from the novel (though some of these elements are somewhat scattered). In fact, at four hours long, this could be the definitive Emma adaptation we’ve all be wishing for (alphabet puzzles, please! So far, only E3 has provided those).
Continue reading “Emma 4, Episode 1 preliminary review and general thoughts…”
More on Emma 4, just in time for its BBC 1 premier…
The Independent published a piece on Emma adaptations…
Also, an Emma 4 behind-the-scenes preview video from BBC One…
And an Emma-themed “Culture Minute” from the Telegraph…
London Evening Standard interview with Romola Garai…
Not much relating to Emma, but it’s here nonetheless.
1972 Emma proposal…
…starring Dorin Godwin and John Carson.
Emma first editions and Ayesha costume notes…
Deb’s Bygone Books Blog reports on two first editions of Emma at auction. One is being presented by Swann Auction Galleries of New York, which included the following blurb with the lot’s online listing:
“First english edition. Austen had a falling out with her first publisher Egerton over publication of Mansfield Park and transferred to John Murray, who published the second edition of that title and the first edition of Emma on the same terms: each was published at the author’s expense, with profits to the author after payment of a 10% commission to the publisher. In keeping with Murray’s stated views on edition sizes, 2000 copies were printed. Emma is also the only one of Jane Austen’s novels to bear a dedication (to the Prince Regent). –Gilson A8.”
Also, a short article on Sonam Kapoor’s Ayesha wardrobe, from the Times of India:
“Sonam’s clothes for the movie have been designed by fashion designer Rehane. Though Rehane is not Delhi-based, she’s participated in fashion weeks in Delhi, and has also designed the clothes for Sonam in the movie. “I have actually done the western look for her. I was supposed to do the Indian look as well, but couldn’t because of my commitment to the fashion weeks that are to follow,†says the Chennai-based designer.”
I guess this means that Mona May isn’t working on the film after all? Or perhaps she’s working on special pieces, as Rehane is only doing the “western” portion of Sonam’s wardrobe.
A more contemporary Emma?
Laurel Ann rounds up this weekend’s press on Emma4 and weighs in on the discussion about modernizing the story here.
For more on the miniseries, which is set to air in early October, see the Telegraph’s “BBC banishes stuffy period characters from new Emma drama” and “Values of Jane Austen characters are as important as the characters.”
Ayesha updates and Emma4 blurb…
Random articles about Ayesha:
- Ayesha begins filming…
- Vidushi Mehra talks about playing the “Isabella Knightley” character in Ayesha…
- Ayesha as a modern interpretation of Emma…
Sonam Kapoor:
“South Delhi’s high society is just like that of Jane Austen’s England. After all, Delhi girls are forever obsessed with getting the right man, right family and right wedding clothes for their marriage.” (More…)
Romola Garai and Emma4:
“Starting on October 4, Romola will be seen as Jane Austen’s Emma in a four-part BBC TV drama.
‘Jane Austen famously said about her that she was someone she would like, but nobody else would ever want to be friends with,’ said Romola. ‘I’ve tried to make her, despite her many, many flaws, someone you would want to be friends with.'” (More…)