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Lionsgate has picked up the U.S. rights to the Genius biopic. The story for this movie comes from A. Scott Berg’s nonfiction book, Max Perkins: Editor of a Genius.

Deadline.com reports that Michael Grandage, a filmmaker, took the helm as the director. John Logan, the scribe behind Gladiator and Hugo, served as the screenwriter.

Colin Firth, an Academy Award-winning actor, played the role of the legendary publishing icon. Throughout his career, Perkins worked with several famous authors including Thomas Wolfe, Ernest Hemingway, and F. Scott Fitzgerald. (via The Hollywood Reporter)

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Adapted from the Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons’ The Secret Service, the longer titled Kingsman: The Secret Service sees Matthew Vaughn taking on another Millar property, having previously adapted Kick-Ass to some acclaim (before the Jeff Wadlow-directed sequel squashed any and all of that franchise’s goodwill). Whereas the latter film was a subversive take on super-heroes, with Kingsman, Vaughn sets his sights squarely on the spy genre, or more specifically, the Roger Moore-era James Bond films and all of the gadgets, paper-thin female characters, and British patriotism that are hallmarks of that iteration of 007.

For about 2/3rds of its running time, I enjoyed myself. And then the film takes a turn that left me outright hating it. It was a strange experience and left me wondering how I could put it into words.

But let’s get the key details out of the way:

Eggsy (Taron Egerton) is a troubled chap, living with his mother and her thug boyfriend, and finding himself in constant dire straits both with other street toughs and the law. After a particularly damaging incident with the authorities, it seems like Eggsy has reached the end of the line – until he’s saved from imprisonment by Harry Hart (Colin Firth), a gentleman spy. Harry once mentored Eggsy’s now-departed father within an organization of spies, and as with all guilt-debts of this type, Eggsy is intended to replace his father. It’s typical hero’s journey stuff, but Vaughn handles much of this with panache. The film reveals a rich organization, where its members are all named after Knights of the Round-table including Hart’s Galahad, Merlin (Mark Strong, the Q of the group), and their leader Arthur (Michael Caine, another casting coup if you love The Italian Job as much as I do).

Eggsy is forced to compete with a number of other young proteges for the role of “Lancelot.” It’s here where the film shines. We get a number of exciting training sequences and tests for the prospects, and it’s all wrapped together with a fairly knowing wink. This is the point where Kingsman knows exactly what kind of film it is, relishing the old cliches that are inherent within its genre while still declaring itself not that kind of movie. Even the villains are right in line with that formula. Samuel L. Jackson‘s Evan Valentine, a tech mogul that gags at the site of blood (and who has a masterplan that’s about as ridiculous as something out of Moonraker) is workable enough, though the riff on Spike Lee is less funny than Vaughn and co. thinks it is. His having a hench-woman that’s straight out of the Jaws/Oddjob playbook is a good, if obvious, touch.

I also cannot express enough what Firth bring to the proceedings. For my money, he’s one of the best actors in Hollywood and the level of gravitas and authoritative manner that he excels at is right at home in Kingsman. In this kind of film, you need an actor that can exude that debonair quality, especially given how forgettable Egerton is in the lead.

Yet for all the things Kingsman does enjoyably well from its outset, I found myself leaving the theater with a bad taste in my mouth. There’s a point when the film turns from a fun, action-based satire into all out carnage and, from there, it never really lets up. Once that moment comes, and the film shifts its focus to just one character, everything falls apart. It’s here where all of the Millar-isms come into full force, and I was reminded more of the side of Millar’s work that highlights an over-indulgent attitude regarding sex and violence. In one of the film’s worst moments, there’s a scene where we’re forced to endure the mass slaughter of innocents (despite being a group of admittedly awful people), and I was unsure what I was supposed to be feeling. It was clear the film had the same problem, playing to both anguish and glee at the same time.

And the less said about the final pre-credits scene, the better. To be frank, the gender politics of the film are a bit of a mess. Sophie Cookson‘s Roxy really had no reason to exist at all other than to play on the potential of romance with Eggsy and/or her own capability as a rival, though neither really play into the plot in any significant fashion. Like I spoke to above, there’s a point to which this is another cliche of a well-worn genre, but this would have been a great place to transcend that source if Vaughn and Jane Goldman‘s script was anywhere near as clever as it pretends to be.

Kingsman, is at its heart, a film focusing on men celebrating the concept of being “gentlemen.” This is all well and good, except Vaughn and his team defy those very lessons in the final turn, where the overall treatise seems to be more: “A gentleman is all well and good, but it’s better to be a sleaze”. Metaphorically you could even say “they shot their own dog”. If you see the movie, you’ll get what I mean.

Or not. You’d be better off saving your money.

 

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20th Century Fox has unleashed a new trailer for the Kingsman: The Secret Service movie adaptation. The video embedded above features scenes with actors Colin Firth and Taron Egerton playing spies Harry Hart and Gary ‘Eggsy’ Unwin.

According to Indiewire, the story (based on a comic series by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons) follows “a veteran secret agent who leads a protégé into the world of espionage.” The initial release date was scheduled for Fall 2014; it has been pushed to February 13, 2015.

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20th Century Fox has unveiled an official trailer for the Kingsman: The Secret Service film adaptation. The video embedded above features scenes with actors Colin Firth, Michael Caine, and Samuel L. Jackson. According to Deadline, the story is based on a comic series called The Secret Service by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons. X-Men: First Class director Matthew Vaughn took the helm of this project. A release date has been scheduled for October 24, 2014.

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Today marks the 200th anniversary of the publication of Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen. You can download a free eBook edition or a free audiobook copy of the novel. 

Here’s more from the BBC: “It has one of the most famous opening lines in literature, it turned Colin Firth into a heartthrob and it spawned a zombie spin-off. Now Pride & Prejudice  has reached the venerable age of 200…First published by Thomas Egerton in 1813, Pride & Prejudice  was Jane Austen’s second novel.”

According to the article, Austen has dubbed this work as her “own darling child.” UK readers purchase approximately 50,000 copies every year. To celebrate, we’ve put together a list of three ideas on how fans can celebrate

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Author Helen Fielding will publish a third Bridget Jones novel. The book is scheduled for release in fall 2013.

Shelf Life reports that fans can also look forward to a Bridget Jones musical and a third Bridget Jones film called Bridget Jones’s Baby. It has been confirmed that lead cast members Renée Zellweger, Hugh Grant and Colin Firth will return for this movie. Fielding will be involved with both adaptation projects.

The Guardian had a quote from Fielding about the new book: ”She’s still trying to give up [drinking and smoking], she’s still on a diet. She’s trying a bit harder, and is a bit more successful, but she’s never really going to change.”

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So I'm reading Fitzwilliam Darcy, Rock Star.  It's not the most brilliant piece of literature in fact, I wouldn't even call it mediocre.  But there is something about this story that brings me back to my days of writing Jane Austen fan fiction (in 1997 through 2000).  We all fell in love with A&E/WGBH's Pride & Prejudice starring Colin Firth as Darcy (who I thought was horribly miscast prior to seeing it) and a very unknown American actress Jennifer Ehle (She was born in North Carolina and grew up in England).

Now I'm not going to say that my stories were very good, in fact, when I reread them now I cringe.  But I would never, ever try to get one published.  I wrote it for fun and it was posted on a webpage for Austen addicts.  There were plenty of writers who were so much better than I was (Cheryl K., Genette, Annie, Lise, Spring, Ann2,).  I had fun and it was fun getting comments to correspond with the chapter that was posted.  Oh, nothing was edited or beta'd and usually I would throw something in that was totally unbelievable.  Like when I beheaded Elizabeth and Darcy's daughter, Kimberley.  In.a.horrifying.car.crash!

But as I read Fitzwilliam Darcy, Rock Star.  I wonder what prompted this author to publish this?  Did she ever show up on Pemberley.com or Austen.com.  Did she write it on there first?  The copy I'm reading is a horrible e-copy that is filled with errors, but like a bad train wreck, I cannot stop reading it.  It's cheesy, it's horribly edited and everyone is horny!  I remember at one point during the fan fiction days, people were writing about Darcy slamming down brandy after brandy.  Really?  Who can slam those down? Or people would paint Darcy as Shy.  Darcy. Is. Not. Shy!  He is haughty, perhaps a bit conceited, but shy is not his problem.

People want to see their favorite characters have sex.  Darcy and Elizabeth must have some crazy sex!  Jane and Charles must have some crazy sex! and Caroline must be all alone in her corner wearing some version of orange!  Really?   Do we really need to be jaded when it comes to Austen's writings?  Is Darcy a virgin? He's  28 years old when we meet him.  We know that Lydia gets some action (the slut!).  How much does Austen imply and how much do we ingest and runaway with our fantasies?  Andrew Davies (wrote the screenplay) made Darcy a sexual being whereas Austen didn't really.  We get his wit and wisdom when he verbally spars with Elizabeth at Netherfield during Jane's illness (HUGE plot device).  When Darcy first enters the story, he insults Elizabeth, not realizing that she has overheard and can laugh at it.  Elizabeth is never described as a great beauty,

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Audible.com has hired major actors to produce “tour de force performances” of new audiobooks. The stars helped choose the books, and the lineup includes Samuel L. Jackson reading A Rage in Harlem by Chester Himes and Kim Basinger reading The Awakening by Kate Chopin.

What celebrity would you choose to read your favorite book? The program will add more celebrities in the future. We’ve included the current list below…

Kate Winslet explained why she read Thérèse Raquin by Émile Zola:  “You use a different part of your brain and it keeps your creative juices flowing … It is challenging, and it’s a heck of a lot of fun as well. As a listener, being able to tune out and be taken into another world, an atmosphere, an environment that is being created entirely for you by somebody else’s voice is really a wonderful, magical thing.”

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On March 5, 2011, 20,000 givers will help donate one million books to U.K. readers for World Book Night.

Jamie Byng, Canongate Books managing director and World Book Night committee chairman, conceived the event back in 2009. A group of booksellers, librarians, authors, broadcasters and others have chosen a list of 25 books to give away (the complete list follows below). Only 20,000 people will be invited to give away books for the program. Prospective givers have until January 4th to sign up–they can go to the World Book Night website and explain in 100 words or less why they want to participate.

John Le Carré‘s The Spy Who Came in From the Cold made the cut, and he had this statement: “No writer can ask more than this: that his book should be handed in thousands to people who might otherwise never get to read it, and who will in turn hand it to thousands more. That his book should also pass from one generation to another as a story to challenge and excite each reader in his time–that is beyond his most ambitious dreams.”

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Read two excellent books recently:

Joyce Maynard's The Usual Rules , a tremendously affecting, beautifully written book that had so many parts where I thought "Damn, I wish I'd written that!". It was recommended to me by one of the moms in a mother/daughter book group I met with, after she heard that my new WIP deals with some 9/11 issues. Maynard handles her protagonists loss of her mother in the World Trade Center with such sensitivity and skill - there's a part of me that wishes I hadn't read the book till after I wrote mine, because now I feel really intimidated, like "uh, oh, maybe I won't be able to do such a good job." But enough about me and my relentless insecurity. That's what the bar of Lindt Excellence 85% in my top left drawer is for!

The other book I just finished which blew me away is The Adoration of Jenna Fox by none other than our very own marypearson. Although completely unlike her first book in terms of setting and tone, it was like it in that in drew me in from the very first page and was tremendously thought provoking. Well done Mary! *stands for ovation* Brava! Brava!

On the Netflix front, Daughter and I watched, on Cheryl Klein's recommendation, Starter for Ten, starring up-and-coming Thinking Woman's Crumpet, James McAvoy. Although James might not yet be in the Colin Firth in the wet britches in Pride and Prejudice range, he is nipping at Colin's cummerbund in Thinking Woman's Crumpetness. For anyone who has seen "Starter for Ten", (and I recommend it, it's quite charming) I actually remember watching University Challenge when I lived in the UK in the 70's. Those were the days when there were only 3, maybe four television stations and so we watched what was on - and if it was a glorified pub quiz with a bunch of university students, well, so be it.

I'm now reading The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E.Lockhart, and am loving it thus far. So many great books. So little time! And now...back to writing... Read the rest of this post

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I can't believe it's been a month since I last posted. It's amazing how much work it is to get a child through 5th grade. I rarely got a chance to draw in the last 3 weeks! As my family knows I am impossible to live with if I don't draw regularly.

I've recently discovered the most talented and prolific artist! I am blown away by her creativity and ability to create so much finished art every day!!!! Her home is also amazing. It looks like it's out of a magazine, but much more interesting than that. I can't say enough about her talent. Above is her Illustration Friday entry. I really aspire to be more like her. Please check out her website and many Flicker albums. You will not be disappointed.

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