Tess of The D'Urbervilles

[zita]

Looking good, really - though he is not wearing a "well-groomed black moustache with curled points" as Hardy describes Alec, but it is not the most important thing in his character. Easier to make us believe that he is about 24.

Virg - whom would you like to see beside Hans in Wuthering Heights?




_{Have you checked your mailbox nowadays?}

[Virgil Reality]

Looks like "Peaches" never got to work on this after all.

Too bad, would have been cool to have some inside information

Zita, not sure who I'd cast as Catherine. Of course they always cast with box office in mind rather than who'd actually be best. I think Gemma looks like she'd make a good catherine but a production with Hans and Gemma wouldn't have the box office clout needed to get the finance or distribution.

In any case, Heathcliff has been cast - It's Michael Fassbender.

My reaction?

Who? HE has box office clout?

[Virgil Reality]

Looks like our Gemma is following in Keira Knightley's footsteps in more ways than one. She'll follow co-starring with Hans with appearing in a big budget Jerry Bruckheimer movie.

To Co-star with Jake Gyllehaal in Prince of Persia movie

OK so its based on a video game - but that never hurt Angelina Jolie, and Pirates of the Carribea was based on a Disney ride and look what it did for Keira's career.

Can't hurt Tess publicity either, can it?

[Virgil Reality]

Of course when a series is based on a famous novel, there's a book promotion to tie in with the screening of the show.



To be released September in the UK

Check it out

[Virgil Reality]

Tess Of The D'Urbervilles- Wessex Appeal

Publicity for Tess begins - this article was obviously written after a visit to the set, and there's little mention of Hans, who wouldn't have been in that scene, except to say

'In the book, Tess is so extraordinarily meek and servile and it is maddening,' says Nicholls, who admits that he has had to make Tess more palatable to modern audiences - 'so you want to shout at the screen less' - in an otherwise loyal adaptation. He has also given Alec d'Urberville more psychological depth. 'There's more of a sense that Alec was tortured by the rejection of his mother [played by Anna Massey], and also that his love for Tess is extremely intense and sincere. That doesn't justify what he does to her, but it has a terrible toll for Alec as well as for Tess.'

Biggest bit of info?

'Tess of the D'Urbervilles' begins on BBC1 on September 14

[Gg]

Be careful if you don't want the final scene given away


It's described with dialogue at all in the last paragraph of the article

I unfortunately discovered too late

But why mentions the other two leads by name and not credit Alec with the actors name??!!

[Virgil Reality]

Well, I call it lazy journalism - and lazy intellect in general. How can you know about the existence of another main character and not be a bit curious as to who it is? But, maybe the article got edited down and that bit missed out.

ANYWAY


Check these fantastic production stills , thanks to the fantastic people at Gemma Arterton Online . Check it out, it's a fabulous site.

The pics are HQ and it looks great. Hans looks quite the dastardly villain!

[babikaaa]

argh, the trailer was on youtube, but they removed it :S

[Virgil Reality]

It was? I checked and checked - can't have been up long. DIdn't anyone save it?


Thanks to our friends at Gemma Arterton Online

Hee Hee - from the Archbishop of Canterbury to brooding menace

Methinks this role might do for Hans what P&P did for Colin Firth.

[jdk]

www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/proginfo/tv/wk38/feature_tess.shtml

i can't wait to see it:D:D

[Gg]

"The danger with any portrayal of Alec D'Urberville is that he becomes merely a moustache-twirling seducer, but Hans Matheson endows him with a compelling mix of arrogance and self-loathing, sex appeal and menace."

oh, I like that

thank god for international dvd players and amazon.co.uk

[Gg]

the trailer for Tess can be seen, by some, at:

www.bbc.co.uk/tess

HOWEVER, it is not available for to everyone. I, for instance, can not play it in the US though this hopefully means that they are going to show it nationally on PBS's Masterpiece, though my third inquiry again was replied to with a negative response.

which leads me to ask that anyone in the US also contact the Masterpiece program -- through your local PBS station -- asking about it. They are currently booked with "Old Curiosity Shop" and "Oliver Twist" (which is a repeat for the program) so, perhaps if my voice of inquiry is not the only one, well, it couldn't hurt our chances of getting to see on the program.


If you have an international DVD player, or your computer has PAL2 capability (be careful not to permanently reprogram the region though) the DVD is available Oct. 27, and can be pre-ordered at



www.amazon.co.uk/s/203-4261427-3852764?ie=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=dvd-uk&field-artist=Tess%20of%20the%20D%27urbervilles

(Edit - to fix your link! -- is that better? Everybody could have had a "Tess" on me! THANK YOU)

[Virgil Reality]

The BBC's Tess website is now 'live' with content, including an interview with Hans.

But just a warning, it doesn't leave anything to the imagination for those unfamiliar with the story.

[Jonathan]

Thanks, Virgil!

[Gg]

Tess Of The D’Urbervilles to Kick Off BBC’s Autumn Drama Season
September 2, 2008
Gemma Arterton (James Bond: Quantum Of Solace, St Trinian’s) stars as Tess, the spirited heroine, in the new four part adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s immortal work from BBC Drama Productions for BBC One. Hans Matheson (The Virgin Queen, Dr Zhivago) plays her nemesis, the arrogant Alec D’Urberville, who seduces her and Eddie Redmayne (Elizabeth: The Golden Age, Savage Grace) is Angel Clare whom she falls in love with and marries.

Written by David Nicholls (Starter For Ten, Cold Feet, Much Ado About Nothing), produced by David Snodin (Great Expectations, Crime And Punishment) and directed by David Blair (The Street, The Lakes, Anna Karenina), this new adaptation of Hardy’s complex, profound and heart-breaking novel, also features Jodie Whittaker (Venus) as her best friend Izzy, Ruth Jones (Gavin And Stacey, Little Dorrit) as her mother Joan, and Anna Massey (Oliver Twist, The Importance Of Being Earnest) as Mrs D’Urberville.

Kate Harwood, Executive Producer and Controller, Series and Serials for BBC Drama Productions, says: “Arguably Thomas Hardy is the most neglected of our great literary authors, so I’m delighted with the new BBC adaptation of his renowned classic tale of Tess Of The D’Urbervilles.

“Hardy’s novel explores love, betrayal and the emotional burden of secrets locked away at the heart of a passionate, loving relationship which, when unlocked, implode with heart-breaking consequences.

“David Nicholls’s adaptation brings Hardy’s heroine, Tess, to life with verve, passion and sensitivity.”

Originally titled Tess Of The D’Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented, Hardy’s novel was serialized in The Graphic during 1891 – albeit in censored form as its challenge to the sexual attitudes of the day was considered too overt for general consumption.

When Tess’s drunken father discovers their family can trace their ancestry back to Norman nobility, Tess’s unhappy fate is set in motion as a train of events is unleashed.

Exceptionally beautiful, Tess is given a place with her supposed noble kinsmen and is seduced and raped by the son of the family, Alec D’Urberville.

She returns home and gives birth to a sickly boy who soon dies. Trying to rebuild her life, Tess is employed as a milkmaid and meets Angel Clare.

They fall in love and Angel proposes. Scared of losing him, she can’t face telling him about her past, but on their wedding night Angel confesses a previous affair, so Tess, convinced that he will now forgive her, owns up about her own relationship with Alec – with tragic consequences.

Tess Of The D’Urbervilles was commissioned by Jane Tranter, Controller, BBC Fiction.

It was filmed on location in Somerset, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Dorset in Spring 2008.

Viewers can catch up on missed episodes of Tess Of The D’Urbervilles at any time during the series, using the new series stacking function on BBC iPlayer.

Rather than individual episodes only being available for seven days, series stacking means you can now view throughout the whole time Tess Of The D’Urbervilles is on air.

Tess Of The D’Urbervilles is also being shown on BBC HD – the BBC’s high definition channel available through Freesat, Sky and Virgin Media.

Source: BBC Press Office