155 treats in store

16th April 2012

Yes, I know there are only 154 sonnets by William Shakespeare (not counting those in the plays). But for our new project we have also filmed a reading by a very distinguished actor of the Dedication that was included in more

The week’s links 15-21/4

15th April 2012

The New York Times online is developing a smart interactive format for the discussion of big cultural events. You can get a good sense of their approach from Circling the 'Ring'. Earlier this month The Metropolitan Opera started more

What a lot of Will

14th April 2012

In case you hadn't noticed, the Shakespeare spring kicks off tonight. First up is a cluster of programmes on Sky Arts - a goodly number of them, including Being Shakespeare, produced by Illuminations.  Then there is the big more

‘Be patient till the last’

12th April 2012

There's something slightly unreal about these final couple of days before we start work at the location for Julius Caesar. If all goes well, cleaning and prepping the site starts tomorrow, and then the art department will get going on more

Sex, Ozu and ‘Noriko Smiling’

11th April 2012

The past couple of months have seen the appearance of two comparatively slender – and in some ways, strikingly similar - volumes of belle-lettrist writing about cinema. Each is written by a figure with a literary reputation and each tackles more

Complexity

10th April 2012

Jason Mittell is an American media scholar who writes about television drama in a manner that is rigorous, richly detailed and accessible. For my money he's the go-to guy for finding your way around Lost and working out more

The week’s links 8-15/4

8th April 2012

Let's start a new week's links with a terrific post at The Bioscope, And the ship sails on. Just what was filmed of the Titanic, Urbanora asks, and what survives today? Precious little, it turns out, since the more

‘Now they are almost on him’

6th April 2012

The morning of Good Friday. Two weeks and three days before we begin filming Julius Caesar. In just ten days we start work at our location, cleaning, building sets - and driving away pigeons. We are a significantly bigger crew more

‘A mourning Rome, a dangerous Rome’

2nd April 2012

Monday morning, three weeks before the start of principal photography on Julius Caesar. Six of the crew meet in bright sunshine outside a Northern Line station. We have come to recce the location which is a ten-minute walk away. There more