Tag: William Shakespeare

[VFF ’16] The Grubstake Gets Revisited for Shakespeare!

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By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempet)

The Grub Stake is a 1923 action-adventure silent film produced by Nell Shipman and directed by Bert Van Tuyle which never saw distribution when it finished production. The distributor went bankrupt and its fate even now is uncertain. Technically, it’s now in the public domain, and perhaps this early Canadian pioneer of the Hollywood scene cannot be any more happier to know from Heaven that it’s been reimagined and titled The Grubstake Remix.

A new musical score accompanies this product and instead of inter titles, performers recant the dialogue with Shakespearean splendour as the film plays in the background! The film takes on an entirely new dimension with dialogue from nearly every one of this bard’s plays — The Tempest, King Lear, Richard III and MacBeth being the most familiar — and no knowledge of each of this playwright’s material is really required to understand what’s going on.

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Benedict Cumberbatch on Set of The Hollow Crown

By james Robert Shaw (The Wind up Geek)

Cumberbatch3Photos of Benedict Cumberbatch in his role as Richard III have appeared on the internet. The photos, taken on October 20th, show Cumberbatch on the set of the BBC’s television series The Hollow Crown: War of the Roses. It is unknown if these are scenes from the Richard III episode or his appearance in Henry VI, Part II but they are being filmed around the Wells Cathedral in Somerset.

Hollow Crown is based off the works of William Shakespeare and focuses on England’s past monarchs.

The first series titled The Hollow Crown, contained stories on Richard II, Henry IV, and Henry V. The second series will feature Henry VI and Richard III.

In Richard III, Cumberbatch will star alongside Dame Judi Dench, Sophie Okonedo, Keeley Hawes, Sam Troughton, and James Fleet.

The Hollow Crown: War of the Roses will broadcast in 2016.

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Shakespeare & Star Wars Doth Not Necessarily Mix & Sequel News

With better dialogue in this film, maybe the Shakespearean treatment Verily A New Hope will not be as bad.

Verily A New HopeJust how easy is it to rewrite Star Wars into a Shakespearean play? To read the dialogue in iambic pentameter is one thing but to hear it is another. Until Disney (and George Lucas) authorizes Adam Long, one of the founding members of the Reduced Shakespeare Company, to release a DVD of his stage production of Star Wars Shortened, fans will have to make do with Ian Doescher’s take of William Shakespeare’s Star Wars: Verily A New Hope.Verily A New Hope At least the performance is super fun to watch and the other an undistinguished read.

The idea of getting Luke, Obi-Wan or Vader speaking in old Elizabethan English is more of a novelty than compelling reading. Most of the dialogue is required to stay in canon within the screenplay Lucas wrote for A New Hope. When possible, Doescher makes use of a few lines better known from Shakespere’s other plays and includes them in his book. Bits of familiar dialogue from the tragedy Hamlet and the romance Romeo & Juliet will be recognized.

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