12/18/2009 1:30 am

Culture

Liz Smith: What Would Jane Austen Think? (Video)

Why will Natalie Portman’s upcoming project cause Jane Austen to twirl in her grave? Watch me on Fox News share the young actress’s idea to modernize for the big screen the great novel Pride and Prejudice.

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GoldieLieberman
Good Lord, say it isn’t so.  I guess I am just a purist but the PBS depiction of Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth was just about perfect for me. Zombies?  Let’s get real folks.  Why can’t period pieces remain true to their time frame?  It gives us a window into another era that should not be adulterated.
By GoldieLieberman on 12/18/2009 3:12 pm
HeidiJurka
Colin Firth made me weak in the knees in that splendid rendition and I can’t imagine anyone doing it better.  Can’t people create something totally new anymore?
By HeidiJurka on 12/18/2009 3:27 pm
BonnieO

Along with Colin Firth was Jennifer Ehle who was superb as Elizabeth in the A&E/BBC production.

Okay, Natalie Portman desires to add zombies to a new production of Pride & Prejudice.  I can think of dozens of reasons for her to not to go through with the project but I have a feeling that many will love it.  Monty Pythons viewers,  Goth eccentrics and lovers of off-the-wall satire will probably be at the head of the movie line.

As for me, I absolutely fell in love with the BBC television presentation of Lost in Austin with Jemina Rogers a girl named Amanda living in present day England who absolutely adores the novel Pride & Prejudice.  Step through a mysterious door in bathroom in Amanda’s flat and find yourself in the attic at Longborne.  Just a wonderful production.

As for zombies?  I think I will pass, thank you anyway.

By BonnieO on 12/18/2009 11:26 pm
DonnaH

I’m a big Jane Austen fan.  I’ve read a lot of the prequals, sequals, & side stories to her works (mainly to P & P).  Some is great & some is drek.

I read "Pride & Prejudice & Zombies" & was surprised.  Much of the story; the air-headed younger bennet sisters, the initially proud & stiff Mr. Darcy, & the silly Mrs. Bennet intent on marrying her daughters to the highest bidders, remained the same.  The rest, zombies that plague Britain, the Oriental martial arts training the Bennet girls received, & violence galore, turned out to be a funny read.

I have "Sense & Sensibilty & Sea Monsters" but haven’t read it yet.

By DonnaH on 12/19/2009 6:29 am
CindyMarek
I have the book and it’s a hoot. I love Natalie Portman, but wish Winona Ryder were still young enough to portray the heroine. *sigh*
By CindyMarek on 12/19/2009 11:38 am
LauriAnderson
Yeah, I won’t be watching (or reading) this version.  As my favorite piece of facebook flair says:  "It is a truth, universally acknowledged, that Colin Firth is the only Mr. Darcy"   So true.
By LauriAnderson on 12/20/2009 6:59 am
DonnaH
It is a truth, universally acknowledged, that Colin Firth is the only Mr. Darcy"   So true. By Lauri Anderson on 12/20/2009 5:59 am Oooooooooooooooh, yes!  I have a pic of Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy I use as computer wallpaper.
By DonnaH on 12/20/2009 2:41 pm
BonnieSchuster
What is with these people.  To take a classic and ruin it.  I have seen all the versions Greer Garson was my favorite.  Pride and prejudice is about an era long gone.  How I wish I could see some of the manners and graces of that time today.
By BonnieSchuster on 12/20/2009 3:40 pm