Mike Newell directing new take on GREAT EXPECTATIONS
Mike Newell is developing and directing a new big-screen adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic Great Expectations. Stephen Woolley and Elizabeth Karlsen are set to produce the film, which tells the story of a humble orphan who winds up as a gentleman following a windfall of money from an unknown benefactor.
David Lean was the first to direct a film on the book in 1948 and the adaptation garnered Lean Oscar nominations. The film itself won a bunch of technical Academy awards.
The British Film Institute is also planning the largest ever retrospective of film and television adaptations of Dickens’ work, which will go on a global tour in 2012 taking in the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Cinematheque Francaise in Paris.
According to THR, the film will be released as part of a year-round celebration of Charles Dickens’ bicentenary in 2012. Dickens 2012 is co-ordinated by the Charles Dickens Museum and Film London with backing from The Dickens Fellowship. The BBC is planning on airing a BBC Dickens season, which will include new dramas and documentaries and an Arena documentary on the author’s work as portrayed on film.
Dickens was the most popular author of the Victorian era and is considered one of the finest novelists of all time. He was born on February 7, 1812 and lived in London for the majority of his life.
My personal favorite adaptation is the version from director Alfonso Cuarón. Its stellar cast included Ethan Hawke, Gwyneth Paltrow, Anne Bancroft, Robert De Niro, Chris Cooper, and Hank Azaria.
What are your thoughts on this news? Do you like Dickens’ books? What is your favorite Great Expectations adaptation?
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