Tag: William Shakespeare (1-8 of 8)

Mar 7 2013 05:46 PM ET

When the Bard met Joss Whedon: Watch the first trailer for 'Much Ado About Nothing'

Joss Whedon, a man who in his time has played many parts, has another piece of entertainment about to be unleashed on the stage world, but this time it’s not a special effects-laden superhero movie or an uber-meta horror flick. His latest project is a film adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, shot on a shoestring budget in Whedon’s own Santa Monica, Calif. home during what was supposed to be his post-Avengers “vacation.” The first trailer for Much Ado hit the web today.

The black-and-white film gets a jazzy treatment (with St. Germain’s “Rose Rouge”) in the trailer that crescendos into a rather intense, soapy feel considering this is a comedy — words like “Obsession,” “Power” and “Deception” flash across the screen toward the preview’s end. Many faces familiar to fans of the Whedonverse make an appearance, including Nathan Fillion (Firefly), Fran Kranz (Dollhouse, Cabin in the Woods) and Clark Gregg (Avengers). The quick-witted couple at the play’s center, Beatrice and Benedick, are played Amy Acker (Angel, Cabin in the Woods) and Alexis Denisof (Buffy the Vampire SlayerAngelDollhouse).

Check out the trailer below: READ FULL STORY »

Mar 7 2013 01:22 PM ET

Elizabeth Olsen to star in Off Broadway production of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet

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Image Credit: Larry Busacca/Getty Images

The once-unknown Olsen sister is taking her talents to the stage.

Classic Stage Company has announced that Elizabeth Olsen will star in a new production of Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet to kick off the 2013/2014 season. No additional casting news has been released at this time.

You might know Olsen from her critically acclaimed performance in Martha Marcy May Marlene, or perhaps you remember her from 2012′s Silent House.

More recently, Olsen wrapped filming Old Boy, which is directed by Spike Lee and also stars Samuel L. Jackson and Josh Brolin.

Read more:
Sundance 2013: Dakota Fanning and Elizabeth Olsen are ‘Very Good Girls’ — VIDEO
Sarah Jessica Parker ‘in conversation’ to join Blythe Danner on stage
Alec Baldwin on Shia LaBeouf: Theater’s just not his thing

Feb 4 2013 05:48 PM ET

Bones found under parking lot belong to King Richard III

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Image Credit: Alex Baily

In Leicester, England, a skeleton was found buried six feet beneath a parking lot in a makeshift grave. Five months after their discovery, the bones have been positively identified as those of King Richard III.

The New York Times reports that DNA samples matched those taken from two living descendants of Richard III. A hole in the skull supports contemporary accounts of the king’s violent death on the battlefield over 500 years ago. Radiocarbon dating, the location of the skeleton and curvature of the spine, indicating that the person suffered from scoliosis, all supported claims that it was indeed the skeleton of the monarch.

Richard III has been famously immortalized by Shakespeare’s play, which depicts the king as a evil old schemer whose death opened the door for the glories of Tudor and Elizabethan England. The most famous film version of the play stars Laurence Olivier in the title role, although Richard III died at 32 he is often played by much older actors. Sir Ian McKellen (pictured above), Kenneth Branagh, Kevin Spacey, and Al Pacino have also played the king onstage and in film. Shakespeare’s lines uttered by and about Richard III have been referenced in The King’s Speech, Being John Malkovich, and the Queen song “Lily of the Valley.”

Read more:
Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart head to Broadway together in two shows
Board of Actor-Directors: 29 Who Excel in Dual Role
‘House of Cards’ review: Netflix gives Kevin Spacey and David Fincher a finely nasty showcase

 

Nov 27 2012 10:00 AM ET

Denzel Washington says he'll return to Broadway next year -- what show should he do?

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Image Credit: Jason Merritt/Getty Images

Earlier this month in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Denzel Washington let slip that he’s planning to return to Broadway “next year.” As for what show he’ll do, the actor gave the vague, “Don’t know yet.” The star, who’s in the hunt for his third Academy Award this year for his performance as a drug- and alcohol-addicted airline pilot in Flight, has starred in two hit productions on the Great White Way in the last decade: He played Marcus Brutus in a sold-out 2005 revival of William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar and then had a memorable turn as professional baseball player–turned–garbageman Troy Maxon in a 2010 revival of August Wilson’s Fences (the latter show won Tonys for both Washington and his costar, Viola Davis). READ FULL STORY »

Aug 15 2012 09:00 AM ET

Shakespeare's Globe Theatre plays set to screen in U.S. movie theaters -- EXCLUSIVE TRAILER AND POSTER

FAUSTUS-DARVILL

Image Credit: Keith Pattison

In a twist on Jacques’ declaration in As You Like It that “all the world’s a stage,” Shakespeare’s stage is now coming to the world.

Three plays performed last year in London’s Globe Theatre, a reconstruction of the home of William Shakespeare’s plays in the latter half of his career, will be screened in movie theaters in the U.S., Australia, New Zealand and the U.K. starting this fall.

EW has the exclusive trailer and poster for this year’s “Globe on Screen” season, which features productions of two comedies by the Bard, All’s Well That Ends Well and Much Ado About Nothing, and the hellish tragedy by one of his contemporaries, Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus. READ FULL STORY »

Apr 23 2012 06:02 PM ET

Brush up your Shakespeare -- it's the Bard's 448th birthday

WILLIAM-SHAKESPEARE

Image Credit: Hulton Archive/Getty Images

For someone who’s been around for nearly half a millennium, William Shakespeare certainly knows how to stay current. In honor of the Bard’s big day, we’ve assembled a few of our favorite more recent classics that have done justice to his work (and, no, Anonymous didn’t make the list). Check out the clips below and share your favorite Shakespearean takes on film in the comments below!

READ FULL STORY »

Apr 17 2012 05:21 PM ET

Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline to star in one-night-only reading of 'Romeo and Juliet'

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Image Credit: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

A pair of (movie) star-crossed lovers! Kevin Kline, 64, and Meryl Streep, 62, are set to play Romeo and Juliet (approximate ages: 16 and 13) in a one-night-only staged reading of the play at the Public Theater in New York’s Central Park.

The momentous coming together of two sexagenarian thespians is in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Shakespeare in the Park, a theater series in which both Kline and Streep have participated in the past. The staged reading — which means you won’t see a full-on balcony scene or Renaissance nobility couture — will play the Delacorte Theatre on June 18, but tickets for the starry event start at $1,500 a pop (unless the Public opts to let in groundlings this year). Al Pacino will also be honored at the gala for his work with the Public Theater.

Kline and Streep certainly have the gravitas to pull off Romeo and Juliet, but the wrinkled elephant in the room — their ages. Will Montague be played by Mickey Rooney? Will the nurse be less of a matronly figure for Juliet, and more of a Golden Girl BFF? And will Friar Laurence look like the Crypt Keeper? I know 60 isn’t that old, but a more appropriate title may be Romeo & Juliet: Off Their Rockers, would it not?

PopWatchers, monologue for me: How will Kev and Meryl pull this one off? Aren’t they just a little old? Are you planning to grab a ticket for the spectacular Shakespearean event?

Read more:
EW’s Stage Hub
Meryl Streep: Once or twice, believe it or not, she wasn’t even nominated…
Oscar winner Kevin Kline gets schooled on Oscar etiquette by Mike Myers — VIDEO

Jul 21 2011 05:25 PM ET

Hilarity, thy name is Jim Meskimen

Fifty-eight lines of dramatic Shakespearean text, delivered in 24 famous celebrity voices, expertly imitated in four minutes of YouTube footage by one side-splitting, hyper-observant celebrity impersonator. You could take the time to crunch the numbers, but we’d recommend that you just hit “Play” and be amazed instead.

READ FULL STORY »

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