| Valmont |
[Nov. 8th, 2009|04:12 pm] |
The other night I watched Valmont for the first time. It's a couple of years ago that I read Laclos' novel and watched Dangerous Liaisons for the last time, but Valmont came across as quite different. Still, I rather liked it in its own right although I still haven't decided yet what to think about the changed ending. It's not as dark as the one in the novel.
I really enjoyed Colin Firth and Annette Bening as Valmont and the Marquise de Merteuil. They seemed more human than John Malkovich and Glenn Close did in the respective roles. I wasn't too happy with Meg Tilly as Madame de Tourvel as long as she still resisted Valmont. She appeared very subdued and willingly repressed, but when she finally gave in, she became much livelier and more emotional.
I will have to rewatch Dangerous Liaisons sometime, but I think I prefer the look of Valmont. It seems to me that the settings were brighter. Not to mention that the film was quite funny at times. |
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| Being an Actress is Hard |
[Nov. 6th, 2009|03:58 pm] |
I went to the casting the local theatre had organised because they are looking for extras for a production next year. But I don't know yet whether I've passed.
In groups of five women, we had to approach the set and costume designer and make him feel as if we confronted him. We were supposed to act as a group and react as one, not as individuals. This turned out to be more difficult than I would have thought. At least in my group, we managed to all start walking with the left foot.
As for the dates of the rehearsals and performances, the set and costume designer and the head of the extras were even more clueless than we applicants. So we now have to wait whether we will be needed in the first place and then find out what the dates are and whether we will have time then. |
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| Better late than never |
[Nov. 3rd, 2009|09:00 pm] |
For many years I've been a huge fan of the TV series Frasier. In Germany it used to be aired shortly after midnight, which meant that there never was a huge fan community. Still, the show had it fans who were truly pissed off when the TV channel skipped the tenth and last but one season. That's several years ago, and to the best of my knowledge the season has never been shown on free TV. Until now. According, to my TV magazine some obscure channel will air it from 17 November on - at midnight, but I will watch it anyway. Actually, I know some of the missing episodes because someone copied them for me when they were aired in Great Britian, but I'm still missing parts of that season. So, finally I get to see the entire season. |
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| Bilingual Book Meme |
[Oct. 28th, 2009|12:55 pm] |
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) tudorpot posted this, and I have changed it a bit for my liking. Apart from adding a few German books, I didn't always pick my favourite books but sometimes rather a random book of a favourite author. It's also ages ago that I read some of the books, and I can't really remember much about the plot and characters, but I still know that I adored the books while reading them.
1. Pick ten of your favourite books or series.
2. Post the first sentence of each book. (If one sentence seems too short, post two or three!)
3. Let everyone try to guess the titles and authors of your books.
1. It seems increasingly likely that I really will undertake the expedition that has been preoccupying my imagination now for some days.
2. FROM 3 ½'' DISC LABELLED: BACKUP.007; FILE LOVE.001
You always remember the first time. Isn't that what they say about sex? How much more true it is of murder.
( Eight more quotations behind the cut ) |
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| Entering the Stage |
[Oct. 22nd, 2009|08:49 pm] |
The local theatre is looking for extras for a theatre project next year. I sent a short application and was told in reply that the casting will take place in a couple of weeks. I don't know yet when the rehearsals will be so that I might need to bow out right away, but I'll definitely attend the casting to see what they have to tell us about the project. I can't imagine what the potential extras might have to do during the casting, though, because they are looking for women for a dumb Greek choir. |
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| Like to Write in English? |
[Oct. 3rd, 2009|04:25 pm] |
I came across a writing competition called Daniil Pashkoff Prize, which is meant for non-native speakers who like to write in English.
This is how it's described on the website:
The Daniil Pashkoff Prize for Creative Writing in English by a Non-Native Speaker is named after the first Russian student to study English at the Technical University of Braunschweig. Its goal is to encourage creative writing in English by writers whose first language is not English and to provide them with a forum where their work will be published and read by others.
The prize money isn't very much, but the winning texts will be published. Of course, the copyright remains with the author.
The competition sounds like fun because you can write about every possible topic. You can also choose between prose and poetry. Even dramatic texts and haikus are allowed.
The original works have to be submitted by 31 January, 2010. |
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| For once I Quit |
[Sep. 25th, 2009|05:07 pm] |
When it comes to reading novels, I tend to be masochistic and finish reading them even if I don't like them because I usually think that they will get better. After all they are really popular is what I tend to think.
This time, though, I'm giving up. Some weeks ago, I read Jacqueline Winspear's so called detective novel Maisie Dobbs and was very disenchanted, but because the author has published a few more acclaimed novels about Maisie Dobbs, I thought I'd give her second novel Birds of a Feather a chance. After all, it just had to be better.
Well, it's a complete bore, and the main character Maisie Dobbs gets more annoying with each page. She's so sensible, wonderful and holier-than-thou that I just can't bring myself to like her.
Just as in the first novel there isn't a real detective plot. I've read 130 of 300 pages, and we already know what happened to the missing woman that Maisie Dobbs was asked to look for. We don't know yet why she disappeared but it's really asking too much to read another 170 pages to find this out.
I wouldn't mind so much that the books are no detective novels at all if they possessed the one characteric that I really like about most English novels. They include wit, and usually the narrator doesn't take the characters too seriously. There often is a bit of an ironic distance towards the characters - at least that's what it comes across to me when I compare them to German novels. Sadly, this can't be said of Jacqueline Winspear's novels. |
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| Unseen Photos |
[Sep. 20th, 2009|06:08 pm] |
Sometimes I think that I come across new photos despite the facts that they are old. I bought a programme from Tango at the End of Winter, and I know I have seen a pic with Alan Rickman and Beatie Edney dancing before, but this version, which shows the entire stage, is new to me.
I could also swear that I've never seen the following pic before. One doesn't get to see much of Alan Rickman, but I like the misty and mysterious atmosphere of the photo.
 |
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| Look at the Rat! |
[Sep. 10th, 2009|11:43 pm] |
Sometimes I'm amazed that often when I have a look around Ebay, searching for Alan Rickman stuff, I come across things I've never seen before. This French poster, which advertises Truly Madly Deeply, is completely new to me.
Have you ever seen such a cute rat? This has to be the best TMD poster ever. |
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| Who Was I Kidding? |
[Sep. 8th, 2009|11:32 am] |
I've dropped out of the ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) severusbigbang. I had signed up more than three months ago, but didn't manage to write one single line. Actually, I didn't even come up with a proper outline for a decent story. I thought by signing up I could force myself into writing, but I should have known that it wouldn't work. It's time to stop deluding myself. |
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| Impressions |
[Sep. 1st, 2009|05:43 pm] |
I visited my second favourite English town and the surrounding area for a few days.
( pic spam ) |
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| Vanity Publishers |
[Aug. 28th, 2009|07:08 pm] |
I've never understood why some people decide to pay for publishing their books. Agreeing to the terms a vanity publisher offers has always seemed like a bad and desperate choice to me, but I never expected things to be as bad as they are described in this German article from Spiegel Online.
Some real authors sent in a faked and very badly written exposé, using a pseudonym, and all six vanity publishers accepted. Five of them also accepted the 842-pages-long manuscript that was cobbled together from copyright-free books and therefore made no sense at all. Depending on the publisher, the author should have paid between 3,000 and 30,000 Euros.
I realise that the fact that a real publishing house accepts your book also doesn't mean that your book is any good, but those publishers intend to make money by selling your book. Therefore, someone there has to believe that it's at least sellable if nothing else. A vanity publisher doesn't even believe in you this much because you've already paid him. |
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| Radio Star |
[Aug. 19th, 2009|11:40 pm] |
"Alan Rickman" were the first words when I got into my car tonight and started the engine. I tend to listen to BFBS while driving, and it's the first time ever I heard his name come up. I had missed the beginning and only got the impression that while host Lynne Duffus isn't a huge fan she rather likes him in Robin Hood. She also mentioned that she doesn't fancy him in Truly Madly Deeply. She didn't say why, but I can only imagine that it must be the moustache. Why else could anyone not fancy Jamie? ;)
Although I wasn't too thrilled with Alan Rickman's work in HP6, I felt inspired by the recent promo pics.
  
( Click for some more icons ) |
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| Why didn't I watch the first series? |
[Aug. 16th, 2009|02:00 am] |
When Life on Mars was shown on TV here, I somehow wasn't interested (probably because I thought it was some kind of fantasy series), but when the second series started some weeks ago, I gave it a try and was instantly hooked. That 70s look, Gene Hunt's politically incorrect behaviour and of course John Simm as Sam Tyler, what's not to like? Now I could kick myself for not having watched the first series.
I have a question for the Britons on my f-list: What does Gene Hunt say in the sound file that's called If you don't answer this phone call??
I understand "If you don't answer this call I'm going to come over to your house (?) and stamp on all your ... (?), got it?" but apart from the fact that I can't make out that one word at all, I'm not entirely sure this is correct in the first place. |
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| Raphael Marley Severus |
[Aug. 12th, 2009|02:45 pm] |
There's an advert in today's newspaper announcing the birth of a boy with this name. Hmmm, are the parents fans of Roman history or did they read the Potter books? For the boy's sake I hope the parents know how to pronounce the name. That seems to be the main problem nowadays. Parents love to give their children exotic names but often fail to properly pronounce them. |
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| African Folktales |
[Aug. 6th, 2009|11:23 pm] |
Some days ago I received my copy of the audiobook Nelson Mandela's Favorite African Folktales. I didn't have to the time to listen to all of the stories yet, but I'm working on it. Of course I listened to the one read by Alan Rickman, which is, I'll have to admit, the reason I bought the audiobook in the first place. He does an excellent job of reading "The Ring of the King". He doesn't just read the story, but makes it seem as if he tells you a secret.
But I've also enjoyed the other stories I've already listened to very much. It's very interesting to catch a glimpse of the African culture, and to see how these stories explain the world. For example, last night when I listened to "King Lion's Gifts", read by Ricardo Chavira, I learnt how the animals got their horns, stripes, tusks etc.
Edit: I just had a look at the pdf booklet that's included on the final CD. It contains the most gorgeous paintings, one for each story. |
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| Granger(-)Snape |
[Aug. 5th, 2009|04:38 pm] |
What are the chances that Amy Miller who marries a Mr Smith would become Amy Miller Smith in Britain?
I can't count how many times I've come across Hermione Granger Snape in fanfics or discussions, and I always wonder whether that is actually something that many British women do. Wouldn't she rather remain being Hermione Granger or become Hermione Snape?
Sometimes, I also read Hermione Granger-Snape, which doesn't seem to be more likely to me. I know there's Justin Finch-Fletchley in the HP books, but I always understood hyphenated family names to mean that it's a posh family and that therefore all family members are called like that. |
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| What the fuck? |
[Jul. 28th, 2009|09:33 pm] |
On some board someone told me they hoped I was sterile because I dared to mention that I didn't think that children were traumatised by seeing naked people.
I don't have children and don't plan to have any, but right now I think it would be great to start having as many as possible and teach them that nudity isn't unnatural, ugly, horrible or disgusting. |
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| Ten Sexy Men (+2) |
[Jul. 20th, 2009|10:20 pm] |
A few weeks ago, phistolemon_ posted the following meme.
01. compose a list of YOUR top ten sexiest famous men.
02. collect one picture several pictures of each person.
03. post them in your journal.
04. tag five people to do the same
Two years ago, I did a similar one where you had to list five sexy men, and I thought it would be interesting to see in how far my list changed. I got stuck at seven men, though. But last night, after having watched L'instinct de mort and L'ennemi public no°1, I rememberd the meme and now I have finished it. Actually, I selected twelve men so that there are now two honourable mentions.
Herbert Grönemeyer: He is just the best singer and musician Germany has ever produced (at least since 1956). His lyrics are crazy, and quite often I'm not exactly sure what he means to say, but somehow the lyrics grip me nonetheless.
Mark Rylance: I saw him on stage twice – as Henry V and Richard II, and although I had to really struggle with the Shakespearean English, he made me feel as if I understood every little nuance of the characters he played.
( The ten sexiest men... ) |
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| Leading Goose |
[Jul. 17th, 2009|11:38 pm] |
Tom Felton gave an interview to the Canadian magazine The Gate, which you can read in its entirety here. He mentions a mishap that happened to him when filming HBP, which I actually read about quite some time ago, but I hadn't read about the "leading goose" before!
Here's the relevant excerpt:
O.P.: Was there one crazy moment that was just outrageously crazy?
T.F.: I probably shouldn’t say it, but as you’re all very fair to me I’ll dive into this tale.
At the very end of the scene, after Snape has done his bit, we’re sort of walking out of the Great Hall in this sort of goose, v-wing formation in which he’s at the front. He’s the sort of leading goose if you will, and he’s got this sort of wedding-dress cape on that goes three metres on the ground.
The director was very keen for us to stay close behind to him and of course, don’t look at where your feet are going. And actually, before we started filming Alan turned around in his very sinister way and said, [imitating his voice] ‘Don’t step on my cloak.’
And we also didn’t know if he was joking or not, so we’re all, ‘Ha ha, very funny, very funny.’ So naturally, on the second take I planted my heel well and truly on it, which ripped his neck back in a hilarious fashion in my eyes, but at the time it didn’t go down well and there was a rather awkward silence after.
Saying that, Alan is an incredibly nice guy and one of the funniest on the set. There’s a lot of confusion there, that he’s a very sinister guy, but he’s hilarious. |
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