Of Birds and "Boer"dom

Colin Firth, Rachel Weisz, Susan Sarandon and Ian McKellan are starring in "The Colossus," an adaptation of Ann Harries' novel, Manly Pursuits. Set against the backdrop of the Boer War, Firth plays an ornithologist hired to transport 500 birds to South Africa where an ailing colonist (McKellan) believes his health can only be restored by the sound of an English songbird. Along the way, Firth's character falls for a political activist (Weisz) who is trying to avert the impending war. Authors Lewis Carroll, Oscar Wilde and Rudyard Kipling apparently factor into the book's cast of characters, but no word on whether they'll make it into the movie. Filming begins this fall. -- Amy

Own a Piece of Pemberley!

Roof slates from the estate that was supposed to belong to Mr. Darcy in the 1995 Pride & Prejudice miniseries may be sold as souvenirs to help pay for the building's restoration. -- Amy

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1795418,00.html

"She Has QUITE a Reputation!"

Mon Dieu! The new feature length trailer for Marie Antoinette is here. --Kim

Forget Nicole and Keith...

Venice, Italy -- Patricia Arquette and her random, kilt-wearing hubby (actor Thomas Jane) get the Romancing the Tome thumbs' up for wedding of the week. It's like a Merchant/Ivory film in the making! (I wonder if Patricia's transvestite bro, Alexis, was maid of honor?) -- Amy

Casting Couch: Mysteries of Pittsburgh Revealed!

Last week we got a sneak peek at casting picks for The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. This week we hear that Sienna Miller (yawn), Max Minghella, and Maggie Gyllenhaal's baby daddy Peter Sarsgaard will star in Chabon's first novel Mysteries of Pittsburgh. Rawston Thurber (Dodgeball??) will direct. Minghella will play Art Bechstein, the son of a money launderer who becomes embroiled in a love triangle with Miller and Sarsgaard's characters. Mysteries is often thought to be loosely autobiographical with some readers fixating on Art's bisexuality. You can make up your own mind: Read Chabon's fascinating NYRB essay about writing Mysteries here. More on the adaptation here. --Kim

Something Adapted This Way Comes

Variety reports that Sean Bean (pictured) and Tilda Swinton will star in "Come Like Shadows," an adaptation of Macbeth described as "a period piece designed for a contemporary audience." The film will be set in Scotland and directed by The Jacket's John Maybury. Steven Soderbergh is the executive producer. Great casting choices, if you ask me -- Bean played Macbeth on the London stage in 2002 in a performance several reviews described as "raunchy." Hmmm. Incidentally, my friend, Meg, just saw the Scottish play performed in Central Park, with none other than Jennifer Ehle (P&P's Elizabeth Bennett) as Lady Macbeth. Here's what she had to say about it.

Also filmbound: Marley & Me, John Grogan's uber-bestselling account of 13 years spent with a very bad dog. -- Amy

How the West was Done

HBO may be washing their hands of one of my favorite series on television, Deadwood, but at least the studio's film peeps still have "west" on their compass. The Book Standard reports that HBO films is joining forces with Dick Wolf (he of the Law & Order epidemic) to adapt the bestselling nonfiction book, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West, by Dee Brown. -- Amy