Filming Fan Fiction
The Times has an article on Jemima Rooper, who is playing Amanda, the time-traveling character who swaps with Elizabeth Bennet in Lost in Austen. The article is mostly about the actress with only a little bit about the program–though we’re thinking that the timing of this article is not completely coincidental.
Her next role – and one that could be her breakthrough into living rooms across the land – is in ITV1’s primetime autumn spectacular Lost in Austen. Rooper plays a modern woman who steps into the plot of Pride and Prejudice. It gives her a chance to display a fine range, from serious to slap-stick: “I turn up at balls and don’t know the steps, but I’m pretty outspoken, so slowly start to influence other women and change the plot of the novel.”
Paging Mary Sue, Mary Sue, please pick up the white courtesy phone…
The blog What Would Virginia Do? (We believe that refers to Virginia Woolf) has an entry relating to the Telegraph article we posted the other day complaining about All Those Jane Austen Adaptations.
How can this character be based on Lizzie Bennett? Bright, sparkly, proud, sharp as a tack Lizzie; the young woman who loves her friends, despairs of her parents, and won’t accept the condescension of Mr Darcy – refusing him until he shows a little respect rather than humiliating herself as his feet. I expect I am just repeating what half the internet have said already but all my grated feelings came up again and I had to get them out.
Well, really, Bridget Jones isn’t supposed to be Elizabeth Bennet. We once wrote in a short review of BJD (the book) that while many of us modern girls wish we were Elizabeth Bennet, we were more likely to be Bridget Jones, trying to “have it all” and not quite succeeding, but learning to accept the small victories. Though in a way, that is like Elizabeth, who thinks she knows herself but does not–and learns to accept her shortcomings.
And really, who hasn’t been late for work because she was staring out a window for half an hour?
*crickets*
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Hello AustenBlog, and thank you for the link!
I must say you’ve caught me in a rant with my pants down. I agree that Bridget Jones is not supposed to be Elizabeth Bennett but she does get transposed into a lot of her plots. The truth is that I just don’t have any patience for Bridget (though I may now write a full post disecting my opinions on her) and while it is good that she makes failing acceptable it seems to me that that’s all she’s capable of doing and it frustrates me.
I long for the happy medium of female characters who are allowed to screw things up but also make some respectable achievements for themselves.
I could never understand why, in BJD, Mark Darcy even fell for her in the first place. As Virginia says, falling seems to ALL she’s capable of doing.
Are you referring to BJD the book or BJD the film? I remember not liking the movie character and then reading the book and finding her less of a loser than the movie portrayed her. (I was also astonished at the first line of the book, which establishes that the character THINKS she’s overweight, but isn’t really.)
I’m thinking more of the legacy, which stems from the movie but is quite far distanced from it now. I’ve blogged a ramble about it.
I think a lot of emphasis was placed on weight when the movie came out because Renee Zellweger had to put on so much to become the normal weight that Bridget was in order to represent her fairly. It wasn’t too major a concern in either book or film (other than the big pants episode) but the media leapt on it.