Good News and Bad News

Let's start with the bad news. /Film is reporting that they're still going ahead with that My Fair Lady remake we talked about a few weeks ago. Keira Knightley, who auditioned for the part last year, has been taking singing lessons and is still apparently set to star. No word on the other cast members yet.xx

The good news: Joe Wright has been named as director. You may remember that Keira has done her best work with Wright, who first directed her to an Oscar nomination in 2005's Pride & Prejudice, and again worked with her on Atonement, for which she also garnered praise. Emma Thompson has written the script, which sounds promising.xx

I wish they'd leave well-enough alone, personally. I love the 1964 original and really don't think it needs an update. But if they're going to do it, at least they're getting some major talent involved.

A Book, And Of Course A Movie

I just recently read the novel Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. I'd read just a little bit about the upcoming film adaptation and the story sounded fascinating so I thought I'd give it a look. I'm so glad that I did. The novel is an amazingly original science fiction tale, brilliantly written with such depth and emotion to the lead characters that no one would ever think to classify it as genre fiction.

Ishiguro, who won the Booker Prize back in 1989 for The Remains of the Day, tells the story of a young woman reminiscing on her early days at an unusual English boarding school, where she formed life-long but complicated relationships with two other students. These relationships take center stage, but the science fiction elements remain an integral part of the story, and the subtlety with which Ishiguro employs them makes them even more powerful, to my way of thinking.

Never Let Me Go made TIME magazine's list of 100 best English language novels and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2005.

Mark Romanek (One Hour Photo) will be directing the film adaptation for Fox Searchlight. It's currently scheduled for a 2010 release. What originally interested me was the cast. Young British actors Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley, and Alex Garland have been cast as the three leads, with Mulligan as the main character, Kathy, and Knightley and Garland taking the roles of her friends, Ruth and Tommy. I was somewhat surprised (though pleased) to see that Knightley had been given the supporting role, since Mulligan isn't yet a household name or a big box office draw.

This is something that could change very soon, though. Mulligan is poised to have a big breakthrough year, with her performance in An Education garnering raves from just about everyone who sees it. Talk of her taking home an Oscar has been flying around since January, and if she gets enough attention this fall, Never Let Me Go could be a title to keep an eye on next year.

Pick up the book if you get a chance. It's definitely worth your time and the film is looking like a potential winner too.