Test Your Knowledge

If you're the type of person who knows the difference between Becky Sharpe and Becky Thatcher, test your literary knowledge with this selection of quizzes.

The Black Death or Mischa Barton?

Which would you choose? Band of Brothers director David Leland will be directing Hayden Christensen in an adaptation of Boccaccio's The Decameron (THR). That's all fine and dandy, but it will unfortunately also feature Mischa Barton. (via Defamer) --Kim

Austen, Indian-style

Time magazine didn't seem to love the new "Bollywood" spin on Jane Austen, "Bride & Prejudice," but I'm still intrigued by the idea of this Indian adaptation from the maker of "Bend It Like Beckham." Like 19th century England, modern India has a similar social conservatism that makes it a nice backdrop for Austen's tale of courtship and classism. Of course, this version has some glitzy musical numbers thrown in for good measure, like when the protagonist sings, "I just wanna man who gives some back/Who talks to me and not my rack." (I'm sold!)



The article in Time also referenced another version of Pride & Prejudice set among a group of young Mormons. It sort of sounds like a squeaky clean "Clueless" knock-off, but perhaps I'll eventually check it out. -- Amy

Son of a Gun

When Kim and I discovered a 14-installment film series about a rifle-totin' British hottie fighting in the Peninsular War, we prayed we had found the terra firma answer to Horatio Hornblower.



Yet while Sharpe's Rifles, Part I, bore a remote resemblence to the A&E Hornblower series in terms of genre, neither the movie nor its hero are really fit to share honors with our favorite seafarer.



True, Richard Sharpe cut a fine figure and intrigued us with his attempts to endear himself to the disrespectful men under his command. Yet hideous strains of electric guitar music (think "Top Gun" soundtrack) and a laughable romance that seemed ripped from the pages of a Harlequin paperback (a LITERAL roll in the hay!) made us simply unable to swear our allegiance to watching 13 more of these. We'll probably give it one more shot (No pun intended) just to see where Sharpe's half-cocked attitude and raging libido lead him next. Maybe he'll grow on us. Or perhaps we're gluttons for punishment. -- Amy

DaVinci Code Gets Instant Cred Boost

French favorite Audrey Tautou (Amelie) has signed on to play opposite Tom Hanks in the adaptation of Dan Brown's bestseller The DaVinci Code. (THR via Defamer.com)

Beowulf and Robert Burns

Hot Scott Gerard Butler (The Phanton in The Phantom of the Opera) is set to play Beowulf in this year's Beowulf & Grendel. According to IMDB the film will co-star Sarah Polley (The Sweet Hereafter, Go, Dawn of the Dead) and Stellan Skarsgård (Dancer in the Dark, Dogville). Butler will also play Robert Burns in the forthcoming film Burns, with Julia Stiles portraying the poet's wife. --Kim

The Lovely Bones

Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson has optioned the film rights to Alice Seybold's bestselling novel The Lovely Bones. I'll be curious to see how this novel, narrated by a young girl who details her rape and murder and the subsequent attempts of her family to solve the crime, will translate onscreen. I'll have to wait until 2007 to find out. (Guardian UK) --Kim