Tulip Fever
When I decided to write about this movie for the post, it was because I wrote about the trailer a while ago, but the movie was pushed back and was finally going to come out on February 24th. Then literally as I was typing the news came that Tulip Fever was being pushed back again to some unspecified date later in the year. Normally the fact that a movie keeps being pushed back is a bad sign about the quality. In this case however, it may simply be a question of timing in terms of promotion. They need Alicia Vikander, and right around the movie’s original release date she was busy promoting Jason Bourne. Right now she’s in South Africa shooting Tomb Raider, and apart from making a quick trip to the Oscars to be a presenter, she’s obviously occupied with that. The fact that a new release date wasn’t specifically given makes me think they’re going to work around her schedule. While we wait yet again for Tulip Fever, take another look at the trailer.
Forbidden love? Always an added bonus in a period piece for me. Plus, there are so many ruffs to look at. Sometimes pop culture influences fashion, but somehow I feel like this isn’t a look that’s going to catch on. Which is a shame. So regal.
The Beguiled
I’m truly enjoying the Colin Farrell Renaissance that we’re experiencing right now. Critical acclaim for The Lobster, fangirl lusting for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and now this. He looks like he has a pivotal role in The Beguiled, but the cast is actually mostly female. The movie is based on a novel, as a lot of period dramas are, (it was also adapted into a 1971 film starring Clint Eastwood) and it’s going all out on the Southern Gothic ambiance.
I’m intrigued because it looks like the story could go a few different ways. Either this group of women are going to start fighting and go crazy over a guy, which is kind of gross, or he ends up being the villain and they band together against him. It may be some kind of combination of both of those things. The Beguiled is directed by Sophia Coppola, who does great work, and you can get me interested in almost any movie that uses bright red font on a black background.
(Sidenote: Does anyone else feel like “What have you done to me you vengeful bitches?!” is going to somehow become the next conservative politician reprimand turned feminist mantra? I’d wear a “Vengeful Bitch” t-shirt.)
Mary Shelley
I wrote a post about Mary Shelley biopic news way back in 2014, when it looked like there were going to be two competing projects. One was to star Sophie Turner, but I tried to look for an update and couldn’t find anything. It may have had trouble getting funding, actors’ schedules may have changed, a thousand things can befall a project. Movie making is a tough business. The other film, originally titled A Storm in the Stars, looks like it has been changed to the slightly more boring but admittedly accurate Mary Shelley. Elle Fanning plays the Frankenstein author, and the first image has been released.
The movie is looking for a buyer, so there’s no news on when to look for a release date.
Vita & Virginia
Women writers are popular topic, and the casting for another film on the subject was just announced. Vita & Virginia will focus on the romantic relationship between authors Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West. They had an affair that lasted for years, and Vita was the inspiration for the titular character in Woolf’s novel Orlando. The movie will be based on actress Eileen Atkins’ (The Crown) play. Eva Green will play Woolf, which I think is a perfect casting choice, and Gemma Arterton will play Sackville-West.
