My sister, Julia Wilson-Dickson, who has died aged 66 after a brain haemorrhage, was an eminent voice and dialect teacher who worked with many of the brightest talents of stage and film.
She coached Robert de Niro on Frankenstein (1994), Helena Bonham Carter on Mighty Aphrodite (1995), Julianne Moore for The End of the Affair (1999), Glenn Close on Albert Nobbs (2011), and Eddie Redmayne for the performance as Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything (2014) that won him an Oscar. On stage she worked on several Peter Hall productions: with Dustin Hoffman as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice (Phoenix theatre, London, 1989), Vanessa Redgrave as Lady Torrance in Orpheus Descending (Haymarket, 1988), and Judi Dench and Anthony Hopkins in the title roles of Antony and Cleopatra (at the National Theatre, 1987).
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She coached Robert de Niro on Frankenstein (1994), Helena Bonham Carter on Mighty Aphrodite (1995), Julianne Moore for The End of the Affair (1999), Glenn Close on Albert Nobbs (2011), and Eddie Redmayne for the performance as Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything (2014) that won him an Oscar. On stage she worked on several Peter Hall productions: with Dustin Hoffman as Shylock in The Merchant of Venice (Phoenix theatre, London, 1989), Vanessa Redgrave as Lady Torrance in Orpheus Descending (Haymarket, 1988), and Judi Dench and Anthony Hopkins in the title roles of Antony and Cleopatra (at the National Theatre, 1987).
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- 10/18/2015
- by Andrew Wilson-Dickson
- The Guardian - Film News
Ron Moody in Mel Brooks' 'The Twelve Chairs.' The 'Doctor Who' that never was. Ron Moody: 'Doctor Who' was biggest professional regret (See previous post: "Ron Moody: From Charles Dickens to Walt Disney – But No Harry Potter.") Ron Moody was featured in about 50 television productions, both in the U.K. and the U.S., from the late 1950s to 2012. These included guest roles in the series The Avengers, Gunsmoke, Starsky and Hutch, Hart to Hart, and Murder She Wrote, in addition to leads in the short-lived U.S. sitcom Nobody's Perfect (1980), starring Moody as a Scotland Yard detective transferred to the San Francisco Police Department, and in the British fantasy Into the Labyrinth (1981), with Moody as the noble sorcerer Rothgo. Throughout the decades, he could also be spotted in several TV movies, among them:[1] David Copperfield (1969). As Uriah Heep in this disappointing all-star showcase distributed theatrically in some countries.
- 6/19/2015
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Today in 1915, The Merchant of Venice opened at the 44th Street Theatre. A tragic comedy by William Shakespeare, the play believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. The title character is the merchant Antonio, not the Jewish moneylender Shylock, who is the play's most prominent and most famous character. This is made explicit by the title page of the first quarto The mot excellent Hitorie of the Merchant of Venice. The play was recenlty brought to Broadway in 2010 after a successful run at Shakespeare in the Park with Al Pacino and Lily Rabe.
- 2/1/2015
- by Stage Tube
- BroadwayWorld.com
Today in 1915, The Merchant of Venice opened at the 44th Street Theatre. A tragic comedy by William Shakespeare, the play believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. The title character is the merchant Antonio, not the Jewish moneylender Shylock, who is the play's most prominent and most famous character. This is made explicit by the title page of the first quarto The mot excellent Hitorie of the Merchant of Venice. The play was recenlty brought to Broadway in 2010 after a successful run at Shakespeare in the Park with Al Pacino and Lily Rabe.
- 2/1/2014
- by Stage Tube
- BroadwayWorld.com
ITV
The ITV sitcom Vicious, in which Sirs Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi played a barbarous, elderly gay couple, was a surprise hit. The recent Christmas special was equally well-received and work has already commenced on the second series. One of the stars of that show is Philip Voss, who plays one of Freddie (McKellen) and Stuart’s (Jacobi) oldest friends, Mason.
Voss is a face that’s popped up all over the shop across the years, from Doctor Who alongside William Hartnell to Octopussy, and is a regular face in Richard Curtis movies such as Four Weddings… and About Time. But he is first and foremost a theatre actor, having received plaudits for his portrayal of Shylock in the RSC’s 1998 production of The Merchant of Venice, arguably one of the definitive portrayals of the character on stage. Having an admiration for actors both on stage and on-screen- especially...
The ITV sitcom Vicious, in which Sirs Ian McKellen and Derek Jacobi played a barbarous, elderly gay couple, was a surprise hit. The recent Christmas special was equally well-received and work has already commenced on the second series. One of the stars of that show is Philip Voss, who plays one of Freddie (McKellen) and Stuart’s (Jacobi) oldest friends, Mason.
Voss is a face that’s popped up all over the shop across the years, from Doctor Who alongside William Hartnell to Octopussy, and is a regular face in Richard Curtis movies such as Four Weddings… and About Time. But he is first and foremost a theatre actor, having received plaudits for his portrayal of Shylock in the RSC’s 1998 production of The Merchant of Venice, arguably one of the definitive portrayals of the character on stage. Having an admiration for actors both on stage and on-screen- especially...
- 1/3/2014
- by Oscar Harding
- Obsessed with Film
He found stardom on screen in Lawrence of Arabia, but O'Toole was a legendary and often mesmerising presence in the theatre
• Obituary: Peter O'Toole, 1932-2013
• Peter O'Toole: a life in pictures
• Peter O'Toole: a career in clips
Today's papers all carry big pictures of Peter O'Toole as Lawrence of Arabia. Although that role made him an international star and launched a long film career, it shouldn't be forgotten that he was a formidable stage actor. What made him unusual was that he was something of a throwback to an earlier era: I'd describe him as a charismatic romantic with the glamour found in actor-managers of the Victorian and Edwardian eras. And, if he returned to the stage only spasmodically after his film career took off, it may have been because he didn't fit easily into the new director-driven theatre.
I first heard of O'Toole when stories spread about...
• Obituary: Peter O'Toole, 1932-2013
• Peter O'Toole: a life in pictures
• Peter O'Toole: a career in clips
Today's papers all carry big pictures of Peter O'Toole as Lawrence of Arabia. Although that role made him an international star and launched a long film career, it shouldn't be forgotten that he was a formidable stage actor. What made him unusual was that he was something of a throwback to an earlier era: I'd describe him as a charismatic romantic with the glamour found in actor-managers of the Victorian and Edwardian eras. And, if he returned to the stage only spasmodically after his film career took off, it may have been because he didn't fit easily into the new director-driven theatre.
I first heard of O'Toole when stories spread about...
- 12/16/2013
- by Michael Billington
- The Guardian - Film News
Actor who played many major Shakespearean roles on the stage
Few actors played as many major Shakespearean roles as did Paul Rogers, a largely forgotten and seriously underrated performer, who has died aged 96. It was as though he was barnacled in those parts, undertaken at the Old Vic in the 1950s, by the time he played his most famous role, the vicious paterfamilias Max in Harold Pinter's The Homecoming at the Aldwych theatre in 1965 (and filmed in 1973).
Staunch, stolid and thuggish, with eyes that drilled through any opposition, Rogers's Max was a grumpy old block of granite, hewn on an epic scale, despite the flat cap and plimsolls – horribly real. Peter Hall's production for the Royal Shakespeare Company was monumental; everything was grey, chill and cheerless in John Bury's design, set off firstly by a piquant bowl of green apples and then by the savage acting.
The Homecoming...
Few actors played as many major Shakespearean roles as did Paul Rogers, a largely forgotten and seriously underrated performer, who has died aged 96. It was as though he was barnacled in those parts, undertaken at the Old Vic in the 1950s, by the time he played his most famous role, the vicious paterfamilias Max in Harold Pinter's The Homecoming at the Aldwych theatre in 1965 (and filmed in 1973).
Staunch, stolid and thuggish, with eyes that drilled through any opposition, Rogers's Max was a grumpy old block of granite, hewn on an epic scale, despite the flat cap and plimsolls – horribly real. Peter Hall's production for the Royal Shakespeare Company was monumental; everything was grey, chill and cheerless in John Bury's design, set off firstly by a piquant bowl of green apples and then by the savage acting.
The Homecoming...
- 10/15/2013
- by Michael Coveney
- The Guardian - Film News
Today in 1915, The Merchant of Venice opened at the 44th Street Theatre. A tragic comedy by William Shakespeare, the play believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. The title character is the merchant Antonio, not the Jewish moneylender Shylock, who is the play's most prominent and most famous character. This is made explicit by the title page of the first quarto The mot excellent Hitorie of the Merchant of Venice. The play was recenlty brought to Broadway in 2010 after a successful run at Shakespeare in the Park with Al Pacino and Lily Rabe.
- 2/1/2013
- by Stage Tube
- BroadwayWorld.com
Dustin Hoffman directs a stellar cast in this bittersweet tale of ageing opera singers forced to face their mortality
Dustin Hoffman was 30 when he made his screen debut as the 21-year-old Benjamin Braddock in The Graduate. Three years later, in 1970, he played the 121-year-old frontiersman Jack Crabb in Arthur Penn's western Little Big Man. In his 50s he returned to star as Willy Loman and Shylock. So he knows something about the vagaries of ageing. It seems therefore not inappropriate that he makes his confident directorial debut at 75, directing a formidable ensemble cast ranging in age from the 31-year-old Sheridan Smith to actors pushing 80 and beyond in a movie adapted by the 78-year-old Ronald Harwood from his own adroitly crafted play Quartet.
Sheridan Smith plays Dr Lucy Cogan, sympathetic manager and resident physician at Beecham House, a handsomely appointed home for elderly opera singers fallen on hard times. It's...
Dustin Hoffman was 30 when he made his screen debut as the 21-year-old Benjamin Braddock in The Graduate. Three years later, in 1970, he played the 121-year-old frontiersman Jack Crabb in Arthur Penn's western Little Big Man. In his 50s he returned to star as Willy Loman and Shylock. So he knows something about the vagaries of ageing. It seems therefore not inappropriate that he makes his confident directorial debut at 75, directing a formidable ensemble cast ranging in age from the 31-year-old Sheridan Smith to actors pushing 80 and beyond in a movie adapted by the 78-year-old Ronald Harwood from his own adroitly crafted play Quartet.
Sheridan Smith plays Dr Lucy Cogan, sympathetic manager and resident physician at Beecham House, a handsomely appointed home for elderly opera singers fallen on hard times. It's...
- 1/6/2013
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
Peter O’Toole retiring: O’Toole as T.E. Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia Peter O’Toole retires from acting. Stage and screen star Peter O’Toole, 79, announced earlier today that he is retiring from film and stage work. (Please scroll down to check out O’Toole’s statement.) Among the eight-time Academy Award-nominated O’Toole’s film credits are David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Anthony Harvey’s The Lion in Winter (1968), and Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Last Emperor (1987). On stage, O’Toole has brought to life the likes of Shylock in a 1960 Royal Shakespeare Company production of The Merchant of Venice; Hamlet, under the direction of Laurence Olivier; and Pygmalion‘s [...]...
- 7/10/2012
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Janet Suzman was one of the giants of the British stage in the 60s and 70s. She might have made it in Hollywood too – if she hadn't looked so good in a tiara
'See Pooh bear up there?" says Janet Suzman, pointing to a little doll on the bookshelf. "That was a present from Judi Dench when Josh was born. Isn't it sweet?" We're sitting in what was once her son's nursery at Suzman's Hampstead home. Now little Josh is Dr Joshua Nunn, 30-year-old father to a seven-month-old daughter. He's a postdoctoral research associate at the cool-sounding Ultrafast Group at Oxford's physics department and is currently researching the field of quantum memories. Perhaps Dr Nunn will tell us some day if quantum memories are like the human ones that suffuse this room – memories of 30-year-old kisses and of bedtime stories read by one of the RSC's most seductive voices, all locked,...
'See Pooh bear up there?" says Janet Suzman, pointing to a little doll on the bookshelf. "That was a present from Judi Dench when Josh was born. Isn't it sweet?" We're sitting in what was once her son's nursery at Suzman's Hampstead home. Now little Josh is Dr Joshua Nunn, 30-year-old father to a seven-month-old daughter. He's a postdoctoral research associate at the cool-sounding Ultrafast Group at Oxford's physics department and is currently researching the field of quantum memories. Perhaps Dr Nunn will tell us some day if quantum memories are like the human ones that suffuse this room – memories of 30-year-old kisses and of bedtime stories read by one of the RSC's most seductive voices, all locked,...
- 8/20/2011
- by Stuart Jeffries
- The Guardian - Film News
The Taming of the Shrew (1929) has a pretty poor reputation, being a late gasp of two silent mega-stars, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, in the early talkie era. If it's celebrated for anything, it's for the credit "Based on the play by William Shakespeare, Additional Dialogue by Sam Taylor," which does not actually appear on the film. But the credit "Adaptation and direction" does amount to the same thing.
Like Zefferelli's discretely bawdy sixties version, Sam Taylor's movie casts a real-life celebrity couple, so instead of Burton and Taylor (no relation to Sam) we get Fairbanks and Pickford (can the Brangelina version be far behind?) and this works surprisingly well. I should qualify that by saying I find the play hard to stomach: after the amusing first act, where Kate the shrew comes on like a kind of Tasmanian Devil, destroying all in her path, it degenerates into a politically...
Like Zefferelli's discretely bawdy sixties version, Sam Taylor's movie casts a real-life celebrity couple, so instead of Burton and Taylor (no relation to Sam) we get Fairbanks and Pickford (can the Brangelina version be far behind?) and this works surprisingly well. I should qualify that by saying I find the play hard to stomach: after the amusing first act, where Kate the shrew comes on like a kind of Tasmanian Devil, destroying all in her path, it degenerates into a politically...
- 12/9/2010
- MUBI
Al Pacino is heading back to Broadway for a new production of his hit New York play "The Merchant of Venice". The actor has dazzled star-studded crowds this summer at Central Park's Delacorte Theater in Manhattan, where he played villain Shylock in the William Shakespeare play, and bosses at The Public Theater are so impressed by his eight-week run, which ends on Sunday, August 1, they have struck a deal with Pacino to relocate the show this autumn.
Pacino will reprise his role on October 19 for a limited run at the Broadhurst Theater. No further casting announcements were made as WENN went to press. Pacino previously played Shylock in a 2004 film adaptation of "The Merchant of Venice".
On Broadway, he has won Tony Awards for his performances in "Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie?" and "The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel". He also appeared in "Camino Real", "Richard III", "American Buffalo...
Pacino will reprise his role on October 19 for a limited run at the Broadhurst Theater. No further casting announcements were made as WENN went to press. Pacino previously played Shylock in a 2004 film adaptation of "The Merchant of Venice".
On Broadway, he has won Tony Awards for his performances in "Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie?" and "The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel". He also appeared in "Camino Real", "Richard III", "American Buffalo...
- 7/27/2010
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
Al Pacino is heading back to Broadway - for a new production of his hit New York play The Merchant Of Venice.
The actor has dazzled star-studded crowds this summer at Central Park's Delacorte Theater in Manhattan, where he played villain Shylock in the William Shakespeare play, and bosses at The Public Theater are so impressed by his eight-week run, which ends on Sunday, they have struck a deal with Pacino to relocate the show this autumn.
Pacino will reprise his role on 19 October for a limited run at the Broadhurst Theatre.
No further casting announcements were made as WENN went to press.
Pacino previously played Shylock in a 2004 film adaptation of The Merchant of Venice.
On Broadway, he has won Tony Awards for his performances in Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie? and The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel. He also appeared in Camino Real, Richard III, American Buffalo, Chinese Coffee, two productions of Salome and Hughie, which he also directed.
The actor has dazzled star-studded crowds this summer at Central Park's Delacorte Theater in Manhattan, where he played villain Shylock in the William Shakespeare play, and bosses at The Public Theater are so impressed by his eight-week run, which ends on Sunday, they have struck a deal with Pacino to relocate the show this autumn.
Pacino will reprise his role on 19 October for a limited run at the Broadhurst Theatre.
No further casting announcements were made as WENN went to press.
Pacino previously played Shylock in a 2004 film adaptation of The Merchant of Venice.
On Broadway, he has won Tony Awards for his performances in Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie? and The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel. He also appeared in Camino Real, Richard III, American Buffalo, Chinese Coffee, two productions of Salome and Hughie, which he also directed.
- 7/26/2010
- WENN
Al Pacino prepared for his role in an upcoming production of The Merchant Of Venice by visiting a Jewish temple in New York.
The actor is preparing to play Jewish moneylender Shylock in a Public Theater showing of the Shakespeare play this summer and has travelled to Brooklyn to do his research.
He visited a Hasidic synagogue to observe the rituals, and even joined in as the worshippers swayed in prayer, known as shuckling, at the service.
Public Theater Initiative Director Barry Edelstein tells The Wall Street Journal, "It was done with complete respect and a true sense of empathy."
Pacino, who played Shylock in a 2004 adaptation of the play, also met with a member of the Hasidic community at a kosher restaurant in Borough Park.
The play begins in Central Park's Delacorte Theater on 12 June.
The actor is preparing to play Jewish moneylender Shylock in a Public Theater showing of the Shakespeare play this summer and has travelled to Brooklyn to do his research.
He visited a Hasidic synagogue to observe the rituals, and even joined in as the worshippers swayed in prayer, known as shuckling, at the service.
Public Theater Initiative Director Barry Edelstein tells The Wall Street Journal, "It was done with complete respect and a true sense of empathy."
Pacino, who played Shylock in a 2004 adaptation of the play, also met with a member of the Hasidic community at a kosher restaurant in Borough Park.
The play begins in Central Park's Delacorte Theater on 12 June.
- 5/20/2010
- WENN
Race debate stirs after London-born star of The Wire wins role as Norse deity Heimdall in Kenneth Branagh's new film Thor
Even for an actor who has played a vampire-hunter with a guilty conscience, a Baltimore crime lord with a taste for Adam Smith, and an asset manager with a stalker, the role of the Norse deity Heimdall – guardian of the burning rainbow bridge between the world of men and the world of gods – was always going to be a bit of a challenge.
But playing a god in Kenneth Branagh's forthcoming film Thor has turned out to be the least of Idris Elba's worries, after fans of the comic books turned on the star of The Wire for reasons that have nothing to do with his acting ability and everything to do with the colour of his skin.
When news emerged late last year that the...
Even for an actor who has played a vampire-hunter with a guilty conscience, a Baltimore crime lord with a taste for Adam Smith, and an asset manager with a stalker, the role of the Norse deity Heimdall – guardian of the burning rainbow bridge between the world of men and the world of gods – was always going to be a bit of a challenge.
But playing a god in Kenneth Branagh's forthcoming film Thor has turned out to be the least of Idris Elba's worries, after fans of the comic books turned on the star of The Wire for reasons that have nothing to do with his acting ability and everything to do with the colour of his skin.
When news emerged late last year that the...
- 4/28/2010
- by Sam Jones
- The Guardian - Film News
A renowned Scottish actor and director, he regularly commentated on state occasions for BBC television
Tom Fleming, who has died of cancer aged 82, was an outstanding figure in the Scottish theatre of the second half of the 20th century, the first television "face" of Jesus of Nazareth in a 1953 mini-series, and well known as a BBC television and radio commentator at many royal and ceremonial occasions since he first broadcast, for the BBC, during the Queen's coronation in 1953.
He was a Baptist lay preacher, a deeply private man of great moral integrity and stature. This much was clear not only on stage but also as he spoke in his flawless, rich and velvety baritone voice at the funerals of Diana, Princess of Wales, and the Queen Mother. So assiduous was he in his properly felt sense of duty that he declined the invitation to appear in a play by Mikhail Bulgakov...
Tom Fleming, who has died of cancer aged 82, was an outstanding figure in the Scottish theatre of the second half of the 20th century, the first television "face" of Jesus of Nazareth in a 1953 mini-series, and well known as a BBC television and radio commentator at many royal and ceremonial occasions since he first broadcast, for the BBC, during the Queen's coronation in 1953.
He was a Baptist lay preacher, a deeply private man of great moral integrity and stature. This much was clear not only on stage but also as he spoke in his flawless, rich and velvety baritone voice at the funerals of Diana, Princess of Wales, and the Queen Mother. So assiduous was he in his properly felt sense of duty that he declined the invitation to appear in a play by Mikhail Bulgakov...
- 4/20/2010
- by Michael Coveney, Carole Woddis, Brian Wilson
- The Guardian - Film News
With the start of rehearsals for the 2010 season of New York's Shakespeare in the Park just a few weeks away, all of us at the Public Theater's Shakespeare Initiative have started singing this year's version of our favorite Lovin' Spoonful song:Hot town, summer in the city,Al Pacino's neck gettin' dirty and gritty.Pacino will play Shylock in "The Merchant of Venice" in a production directed by Daniel Sullivan that will run at Central Park's Delacorte Theater alongside "The Winter's Tale," directed by Michael Greif. A single company will perform both plays in rotating repertory—the first time the Public has assembled a Shakespeare rep company since Joe Papp's Delacorte productions of the "Henry VI" plays in 1972. (Due to scheduling conflicts, Pacino will appear only in "Merchant.")For most New Yorkers, summer in the city may well mean "People lookin' half dead/Walkin' on the sidewalk/Hotter than a match head,...
- 2/24/2010
- backstage.com
(Lynn Collins, left, and Heather Goldenhersh in The Merchant of Venice.)
(I did this interview with actress Lynn Collins for Venice Magazine a day after the premiere of The Merchant of Venice at the AFI Film Festival in 2004. Her work in the film was excellent, although few outside the festival circuit and the Shakespeare die-hards seemed to see it. It took a few years for Hollywood to catch up with her, but it's nice to see her landing some big studio roles now, such as last year's X-Men Origins: Wolverine and the upcoming John Carter of Mars. She also had a stint on "True Blood" last season. And now that she's done some real populist entertainment, her next on-screen shot at Shakespeare should get the attention that her work in Merchant deserved six years ago. She was great as Portia. )
Lynn Collins
The Lady of Belmont Keeps It Real
By Terry Keefe
Al Pacino,...
(I did this interview with actress Lynn Collins for Venice Magazine a day after the premiere of The Merchant of Venice at the AFI Film Festival in 2004. Her work in the film was excellent, although few outside the festival circuit and the Shakespeare die-hards seemed to see it. It took a few years for Hollywood to catch up with her, but it's nice to see her landing some big studio roles now, such as last year's X-Men Origins: Wolverine and the upcoming John Carter of Mars. She also had a stint on "True Blood" last season. And now that she's done some real populist entertainment, her next on-screen shot at Shakespeare should get the attention that her work in Merchant deserved six years ago. She was great as Portia. )
Lynn Collins
The Lady of Belmont Keeps It Real
By Terry Keefe
Al Pacino,...
- 1/26/2010
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
Al Pacino has signed to play the title character in an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s King Lear. Michael Radford wrote the script and is set to direct.
The tragic play is about a king who divides the kingdom between his three daughters, offering the largest share to the one who loves him the most. Two of them flatter him and the third refuses to put her affection to such a test. It’s an incredibly depressing story about the decline of a man.
Unfortunately, while Pacino was once a great actor and remains a Hollywood legend, his skills have also declined in recent years. For almost a decade he has struggled to make a good movie; even finding a way to make a terrible film with Robert DeNiro. Pacino has become a caricature of himself, yelling all his lines and going for over-the-top angry. I guess he’ll be...
The tragic play is about a king who divides the kingdom between his three daughters, offering the largest share to the one who loves him the most. Two of them flatter him and the third refuses to put her affection to such a test. It’s an incredibly depressing story about the decline of a man.
Unfortunately, while Pacino was once a great actor and remains a Hollywood legend, his skills have also declined in recent years. For almost a decade he has struggled to make a good movie; even finding a way to make a terrible film with Robert DeNiro. Pacino has become a caricature of himself, yelling all his lines and going for over-the-top angry. I guess he’ll be...
- 2/5/2009
- by Jeff Leins
- newsinfilm.com
William Shakespeare is headed back to the big screen again. Michael Radford is writing and directing a new adaptation of Shakespeare's King Lear and has set Al Pacino to play the lead role. Radford and Pacino previously worked together on Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice in 2004, where Pacino played Shylock. "Al has been offered this role many times over the years, but didn't feel ready," producer Barry Navidi told Variety. "He's ready now. The film will be true to its period, very similar to the classical look of Merchant of Venice. Michael came up with the most brilliant adaptation and Al and I flipped for it." Here is a quick intro to the story in King Lear from Wikipedia: Lear, who is old, wants to retire from power. He decides to divide his realm among his three daughters, and offers the largest share to the one who loves him best.
- 2/4/2009
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Al Pacino is ready to play one of Shakespeare's pinnacle roles. According to Variety, Pacino will play the title king in "King Lear," Michael Radford's adaptation of the William Shakespeare classic. This will be Pacino and Radford's second time tackling Shakespeare together. Pacino played Shylock in Radford's "Merchant of Venice," which made less than $4 million at the domestic box office in 2004. Barry Navidi, who produced the upcoming Pacino-directed "Salomaybe?" will produce. For the illiterate amongst you, "King Lear" focuses on an aging ruler who decides to divide his kingdom amongst his three daughters. It seems like a good...
- 2/3/2009
- by HitFix Staff
- Hitfix
Five years ago, Al Pacino played Shylock in Michael Radford's adaptation of William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice , and now, it looks like the duo will be tackling another one of the Great Bard's plays with Pacino playing King Lear in a new film adaptation written and directed by Radford. According to Variety , this will be the first time that Pacino will play the character of King Lear, the aging monarch who selects his successor by parsing his kingdom in three parts, ruled by his trio of daughters. Two of them are scheming connivers who flatter their father, while the one loving daughter, Cordelia, refuses to play that game and is exiled. Previous cinematic King Lears include Laurence Olivier, Orson Welles and Paul Scofield. The film is slated to start shooting in Europe...
- 2/3/2009
- Comingsoon.net
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