Rev Stan's film blog

Ben Whishaw reveals his Cloud Atlas characters - was I right?

A great little interview with Mr W surfaced today in which he gave details of the three characters he'll be playing in the Cloud Atlas film adaptation and more besides.

Apparently the actors will be gender swapping as well as playing multiple roles.

Not long ago I wrote a post about which characters I thought he might play and I'm pleased to announced that I got, er, one correct but then the gender swapping wasn't something I'd factored in.

He is indeed playing Robert Frobisher but he's also playing a woman in the Luisa Rey story which is set in the 1970s. Now there are numerous characters that he could be. There is a youngish PR woman at the nuclear plant and I'm sure one of Luisa's fellow journalists is a woman. There is an older woman who is a protester at the nuclear plant too.

It will be really interesting to see him play a woman and the interview seems to imply that the gender swap is something he is relishing. I bet he'll get the physical performance down pat and he has a not wholly masculine face.

I'm really pleased he's getting to play Frobisher as that was the character I immediately could see him playing - he's witty, intelligent, talented and roguish. He's also bisexual and *spoiler alert* has quite a tragic ending to his story, so plenty for Mr W to get his acting teeth into.

Am a bit disappointing he's not going to be playing Adam Ewing (Jim Sturgess surely?) or Zachary, although the latter was a long shot.

Filming begins mid-September and hopefully news of the other actors characters will start to float out now. I'm just trying to imagine Tom Hanks as a woman...

 

Ben Whishaw in the new Bond film?

This story started circulating an hour ago about rumours that Stan fav Ben Whishaw is going to be in the new James Bond film, directed by Sam Mendes.

If it is true I really hope he plays a villain. I've bored anyone who cares to listen, and probably even written about it on this blog before too, about how I'd love to see him play a baddie. I think he would have a lot of fun with it, and after all he likes cats which is kind of essential for a Bond villain ;0)

The filming is set to begin in November which would fit in with his current known work schedule ie Cloud Atlas which is due to start filming next month.

Naturally I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for news

Snippet of Ben Whishaw audition for Bright Star

Thanks to @amitolanes for pointing this out

 

The guessing which characters Ben Whishaw is playing in Cloud Atlas post

Been meaning to write this post about the casting for Tom Twyker Cloud Atlas film for a while, almost entirely for my own enjoyment but also to put my marker in the sand before full casting details are finally revealed (which can't be long now as filming starts in September).

Among the titbits that have been made public is that Hugo Weaving is playing seven characters and Mr W is playing more than one. What that means for the other actors and whether they will all have multiple roles, I don't know. And if they do have more than one part, will they have one major character and others minor or more than one biggie? Lots of questions. But anyway, this is what I reckon for the moment.

For Ben Whishaw in order of likelihood:

Robert Frobisher - the bi-sexual musician. When I was reading the book it's the first character that screamed Mr W at me. Adding further evidence to the case is this recent interview in which he says he's learning to play the piano for the film.

Adam Ewing - the young solicitor on a voyage with Henry Goose in the first story.

Archivist - a bit of a curve ball because that story is set in a futuristic Korea and we know that Somni 451 is being played by Doona Bae, although Natalie Portman was originally cast before dropping out when she got pregnant.

Daniel Day Lewis or Ben Whishaw: Who should play Charles Dickens?

Keen-eyed Ben Whishaw fans, among whom I count myself, will have seen a story circulating this week that Daniel Day Lewis and the man himself are both being considered to play literary giant Charles Dickens in a biopic about his secret affair with a young woman, Nelly Ternan, called The Invisible Woman.

Naturally I'm excited about any potential new project for Mr W and this one has the makings of a corker not only because it has the expert hands of Abi Morgan writing but also thesp Ralph Fiennes directing.

But I'm curious as to why our Ben would be up against Daniel Day Lewis. While similar in their approaches to acting - Day Lewis is very picky about projects - they are both very different in age: 30 and 54.

According to the fount of all knowledge that is Wikipedia, Charles Dickens was 45 when he met the 18-year-old Nelly so neither is a perfect fit age-wise and either choice is going to bring a very different dynamic to the story.

Dickens was a fascinating man, extraordinarily talented, hard-working and successful. He was also intensely romantic but got frustrated with his marriage and wasn't particularly nice to his wife, with whom he had 10 children. His relationship with Nelly only came to light after his death.

Fiennes has apparently met with Imogen Poot, Felicity Jones and Abbie Cornish as potential Nelly's. Mr W has of course worked with the latter two (The Tempest and Bright Star), he has also worked with Abi Morgan too (The Hour). So there is already a bit of chemistry there which might put him in a good position.

Ben Whishaw news that made me squeal with delight

Well he's done Ariel in The Tempest and Hamlet on stage but there are two other Shakespearean characters that I'd love Ben Whishaw to take on: Iago in Othello (would be great to see him play a baddie) and Richard II the King brought down in part by his own arrogance.

And so imagine my delight when this story pops up on my google alerts this morning that he is indeed to take on the role on the small screen in a BBC co-production directed by Rupert Goold who has been doing amazing things at the RSC.

To add to the excitement Rory Kinnear, who recently impressed as Hamlet at the National Theatre will play Bolingbroke who brings about Richard's downfall. It will reunite the two actors who worked together on Hamlet at the Old Vic (Kinnear played Laertes).

Now I would rather see it on stage as Shakespeare is a difficult genre to make work on screen but I'm not going to complain and it is the BBC who tend to be pretty good at these things.  The BBC connection also means I won't be waiting two years to see it after production finishes, as was the case with The Tempest.

I feel like all my birthdays have come at once. *applauds while jumping up and down like a five year old*

Twinkle, twinkle little Tempest?

Anyone who has happened upon this blog before will know that as an appreciator of Ben Whishaw's work, Julie Taymor's The Tempest, in which he plays Ariel, has been a long time coming. It finished filming back in 2008 but didn't hit the screens here in London until this week.

It not only brings together Mr Whishaw with a Shakespeare play I'm very fond of but also a cast list that bulges with talent (Helen Mirren and Alfred Molina), curiosities (Russel Brand and Alan Cumming) and beauties (Felicity Jones and Reeve Carney).

And of course Taymor who isn't shy of visualisation, quirkiness and colour in her films. But did all the talent shine?

Well, The Tempest was one of my A-level set texts so it's a story I'm quite familiar with: Prospero, the Duke of Milan is deposed by his brother and set adrift in a boat with his young daughter Miranda. But for a few provisions smuggled aboard by loyal courtier Gonzalo the two would have died but wash up on a strange and magical island.

Prospero is a bit of a magician himself and years later when fate puts a ship carrying his brother, the King of Naples and his son Ferdinand on a path close to the island he can't resist but conjure a storm. With the help of his spirit Ariel the ship is wrecked and the passengers scattered along the shore about the island.

Ferdinand washes up on his own, the courtiers in another group and two servants of the King of Naples - Trinculo and Stephano in another.

Prospero sets Ariel to work engineering a series of events that will enact revenge but ultimately put right everything that has happened in the past. Of course this is Shakespeare so there is a comic thread, a romance and a bit of politics and plotting thrown in.

Diego Luna's Abel

Little Gael Garcia Bernal's fellow actor, countryman and, I believe, good friend Diego Luno is forging a career as a director and Abel is his third time behind the lense.

As finished product Abel is very polished and shows that Luna is certainly beyond acting. And it is an interesting story (in part inspired by seeing Ben Whishaw play Hamlet no less).

Abel, a young boy, is returning home after a spell in a psychiatric hospital where he was admitted after have some sort of breakdown which resulted in his refusing to speak when his father left. Arriving home with his mother he is reunited with his older sister and younger brother but remains mute.

His doctor wants to send him to another hospital much further away but his mother is reluctant because of the distance. An incident in a playground in which Abel observes a father interacting with his son seems to awaken something inside him.

He starts to speak but he speaks as if he is a father. So surprised by this turnaround in his behaviour his mother convinces his siblings to play along.

Is there no end to Ben Whishaw's talent?

Just bought the soundtrack for The Tempest (well I've got to have something to keep me going for the next three months) and Mr W sings on two tracks. Yes, he sings too and he doesn't sound half bad either.

Am loving mixture of rocky guitars and more traditional classical on the soundtrack. It's very atmospheric.

 

Download 09 Where the Bee Sucks

 

Download 04 Full Fathom Five

For fellow sad The Tempest fans, the films facebook page seems to have an interesting stream of pics and videos to whet your appetite (if you haven't seen it yet) or remind you of it (if you have).

 

 

 

Ben Whishaw/Helen Mirren clip from The Tempest

You know this is going to go on until well into March next year don't you? (Oh and here's a link to the official website. Lots of dramatic music but not much else really)