"Only dull people are brilliant at breakfast"
-Oscar Wilde		 Brilliant at Breakfast title banner "The liberal soul shall be made fat, and he that watereth, shall be watered also himself."
-- Proverbs 11:25
"...you have a choice: be a fighting liberal or sit quietly. I know what I am, what are you?" -- Steve Gilliard, 1964 - 2007

"For straight up monster-stomping goodness, nothing makes smoke shoot out my ears like Brilliant@Breakfast" -- Tata

"...the best bleacher bum since Pete Axthelm" -- Randy K.

"I came here to chew bubblegum and kick ass. And I'm all out of bubblegum." -- "Rowdy" Roddy Piper (1954-2015), They Live
Saturday, September 08, 2007

"I was born into a world full of people, and now I live in a pack of mad dogs"
Posted by Jill | 6:21 PM
Thus spake Margaret Tyzack as Antonia, Claudius' mother, in the 1976 BBC miniseries meticulously adapted from Robert Graves' novel, I, Claudius.

I think of that series all too often of late, given the resemblance of the current occupant of the White House to variously just about every character in Graves' loose Roman history at one point or another.

It's surprising how well the series has held up over thirty years; far better than The Forsyte Saga, which kicked off Masterpiece Theatre just eight years earlier and now seems awkwardly stagy. It's also surprising just how little Patrick Stewart has aged in thirty years.

But how do you remake a classic? A few years ago, a new Forsyte Saga ran on public television, and it was nearly impossible to take it on its own merits, with the memories of Nyree Dawn Porter and Kenneth More still vivid after thirty years. Now producer Scott Rudin has obtained the film rights to I, Claudius, and Leonardo DiCaprio is rumored to be interested.

One's first reaction is a kind of eye-rolling "Oh, Lord, no!". But if you look back at What's Eating Gilbert Grape, you can see that DiCaprio is not as awful a choice as you'd think. With his pretty boy years behind him, DiCaprio has finally managed to once again find the actor inside that got lost in the hype following That Boat Movie. You wouldn't think he could be Howard Hughes either, but even Mr. Brilliant, who was one of the scores of American males who detested DiCaprio for years had to admit that he pulled it off. Claudius is extremely difficult to play, and Derek Jacobi is one hell of a tough act to follow. And it's hard to imagine someone like Johnny Depp being subtle enough to do it. So if the rumors are true, it's a promising start.

Many years ago, I used to sit in a coffee shop with a friend and cast Stephen King's The Stand as we envisioned the characters. So let's, on this weekend where I'm having trouble getting motivated to do much of anything, cast I, Claudius.

To begin:

For Livia, the role originated by Sian Phillips and the inspiration for Tony Soprano's mother of the same name:





a) Helen Mirren:




b) Judi Dench




c) La Streep




Or who else?

And who would you cast as:

Augustus?



Caligula?




Sejanus and Tiberius?



How do you recast perfection? Do your best in the comments. And for everything you ever (or never) wanted to know about the historical accuracy of I, Claudius, see the Coolest Student Project Ever.

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Friday, March 23, 2007

Introducing the new B@B program, "Entertainment Every Now and Then"
Posted by Jill | 7:44 PM
Tonight on EENT:

Henry VIII as Elvis
If you're a Tudor England buff, or if you just like ripsnorting costume drama, then don't miss The Tudors on Showtime this Sunday night at 9. I wrote about it a bit here after watching episode 1 online. If you haven't yet had a chance to catch it, you can whet your appetite here. Showtime is showing episodes 1 and 2, but they are Flash files that are for some reason just unwatchable. Presumably their servers are getting hammered. Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, the Irish actor who won a Golden Globe for playing Elvis Presley, portrays Henry VIII as a combination of Elvis and Alex deLarge in A Clockwork Orange. It's truly bizarro stuff, complete with a gay subplot and strange compressions of time that have a young, hot Henry pursuing Anne Boleyn instead of one already on the cusp of middle age. But if you, like me, have been finding yourself reading Philippa Gregory's turgid and clunky Tudor novels and being unable to tear yourself away from them, this is right up your alley.

And Straight Guys All Over America are Groaning
Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the movies; now that Kate Winslet is a thirtysomething mother of two with five Oscar® nominations under her belt and Leonardo DiCaprio finally looks old enough to order a beer, the Titanic stars, crows-feet and all, are reuniting on the big screen in a film directed by Kate's hubby, Sam Mendes:

Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet are teaming for the first time since "Titanic" to star in DreamWorks' "Revolutionary Road."
Sam Mendes will direct the pic, based on the acclaimed 1961 novel by Richard Yates about post-war disillusionment.

John N. Hart, Scott Rudin, Bobby Cohen and Mendes, who's married to Winslet, will produce in association with BBC Films.

Yates' heart-rending and bleak tome, celebrated for its storytelling style, follows a seemingly happy suburban couple with two children in the mid-1950s who find themselves caught between their true desires and the pressure to conform -- with explosive consequences.

Mendes begins lensing this summer from an adapted screenplay by scribe Justin Haythe, said DreamWorks chair-CEO Stacey Snider.

Paramount Pictures has worldwide rights.

"As one of the most venerated post-war American novels, it is both fitting and thrilling that it's come together with this extraordinary group of artists," Rudin said.


The idea of the most hyped on-screen lovers of the 1990's portraying an unhappy married couple is so delightfully twisted it's downright inspired. Color me psyched.

And finally, with next Sunday's premiere of the final season of The Sopranos you should note that the building that has portrayed Satriale's Pork Store throughout the series is being torn down and turned into condos and a parking garage. No word on whether demolition contractors expect to find any of Richie Aprile's body parts.

(Apologies to ModFab for treading on the turf he always handles so much better.)

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