Austenland: The Trailer!

We have a trailer!!!!

I'm not sure what my first feeling is - excitement that this looks so entertaining, or disappointment that James isn't credited? I thought he was more well-known than JJ Feild or Bret McKenzie. On the other hand, we have three female actors credited, which is rare in a trailer, so I feel like being feministly excited too. It's complicated.

And why is James wearing an undershirt while Ricky Whittle is topless by the pool? (I do like that he's reading a book, though. Nice Jamesy touch.) We need more shirtless James!

There are quite a few short snippets of James, and it looks like he's going to be both the perfect-for-the-part gentleman and hilarious! Even the musctache doesn't bug me that much. Shannon Hale praised him on Twitter:

Shannon Hale ‏@haleshannon8. heinäkuuta

Fans of @jamescallis, I cannot crow enough about how witty and smart he is as an actor. You. Will. Die. #Austenland

Well I hope I will live to go and see the movie another time if it's that funny!

I promise that if this hits the cinemas in Finland, I will see it, possibly more than once. If it's really entertaining and Jamesy, I will leave my feminist glasses home and just enjoy it. (I can't pinky swear though, those glsases are hard to take off.)

My enjoyment of the movie will probably depend on how much romance there is as opposed to comedy. The trailer has a couple of funny scenes, but nothing laugh out loud, which might be a good sign. They saved a lot of fun for the film itself, while giving viewers the light entertaining feel of the film. I was very pessimistic and like "ugh a romantic comedy" when I first heard of this, but I take that back. Let's say I'm carefully optimistic and fairly sure I'll enjoy at least James' scenes. I do find the premise original, and I think it might promise quite a few laughs at old-timey garb and manners. We'll see!

Have I mentioned how adorable and charming Keri Russell is in my opinion? I think she's just really pretty and has great presence. She seems like the right pick for the main role in this.

The Austenland US premiere was set to be yesterday in LA, but I can't find any pictures of it, so I'm guessing James wasn't there? On the other hand, this article mentions they had a "women only" screening.

"This film is very uniquely female," she explains. "There can't be many movies in the marketplace that are based on a novel by a woman, scripted by women, produced by women, directed by a woman and starring a woman. There are beginning to be more female-centric, female-created movies in the marketplace, but they're still vastly the minority."

Edit: I'm apparently living in the future - it's August 16th, not July! So look forward to that, maybe James will be there. :)

I must say I was kind of delighted at this, because men tend to rate romantic comedies - and anything for and by women - low, or not even go see them. This might, of course, be problematic if there are any androgynous or trans* people in the audience. If any photos of James pop up, I will post here ASAP.

The UK release date is September 7, according to IMDB. I'm hoping that means a Europe-wide release!

Mustenland?

OMG people. LOOK AT THIS. James Callis posted this photo on Twitpic yesterday and I can't even.

Colonel Moustache

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA :D :D :D :D :D
I was gonna joke at him at some point that if he's an old-timey gentleman, he needs those moustaches with the ends twirling up. Well, apparently he's got it!!! Also, LOL at "trailer trashistrocracy" :D I love his puns so much.

If he looks like this on the movie, I don't know. Very nice outfit and dignified, but that moustache! And even the sideburns, I mean look at them. Are they glued on? Is the moustache real? I will have some real trouble taking this seriously. Hehhehhee.

Other news from twitter:

mrbonturcode Bradley Porter 

@ 

@VMShorts Always. On set at the moment as Bret McKenzie is giving r&b dance lessons to Jane Seymour, JJ Feild & JamesCallis. Friday feeling

Sounds like they're having a lot of fun! :)

Also, author Shannen Hale reports:

 After one very cute and sweet actor shared some chocolate with me, I felt I had to report it to my husband, because hey, he was cute and British and he gave me chocolate!

 I choose to believe this was James. It just sounds like a James thing to do; eating chocolate AND sharing it? Swooon and gushhh (but only tentative ones in case it turns out it was Bret or Rupert instead!).


I'm also happy to hear they've been ad libbing. It might make for a nice genuine feel and allow James to build up Colonel Andrews a bit. The film really sounds pretty promising.

Ahhh *fantasizes about sharing chocolate with James, but then remembers the moustache and starts to giggle again* hihihihi.. :D

A Slight Alleviation. (James Callis in Austenland)

So I dunno. I'm not going to say that I will LOVE this thing, because I probably won't. BUT.

-If you do a search, dozens of blogs are already squeeing over this film. It's all over the net. People are going to watch this. People are going to watch James. So it might not be the main role or anything, but he's at least VISIBLE to the great audience again. Some will watch for Stephenie Meyer (sigh), others will watch for Keri Russell, some because they love the book or Colin Firth. So it's visibility, and all visibility is good for his career.

-James' role is Colonel Andrews, according to this link, which is Shannon Hale's personal blog, so we can be pretty sure it's accurate. There's a preview of Austenland here, and browsing through it, I found Colonel Andrews on page 27 and on. There are fairly many scenes with him; he's an OLD-TIMEY BRITISH GENTLEMAN, just like I hoped. Swooon!!!! I want to see this! James is so good for the part of a gentleman, because well, even off character, he is. He may be down-to-earth and a bit clumsy and awkward sometimes, but always polite, and in some way very British. So it at least sounds like a fitting role and one I can enjoy watching.

-Colonel Andrews is described as "fair-haired, with a decent set of shoulders and a very ready smile". Fair-haired?! I wonder if they've given up on that or if James will dye his hair. Also, he is said to emit a "whiff of tobacco", which is fitting too. So maybe we get to see him smoke again!

That's about it. I must admit I couldn't read the book; I can't focus on this kind of fiction. I fear I sound like a snob now, I do enjoy entertainment, just not of the chick lit kind. However, I have no idea how much bearing the book will have on the actual film; Bridget Jones's Diary, while entertaining enough, was a terrible adaptation that took away the best scenes and shrunk the best characters into the margin. So reading the book might actually not warm me to the film at all. Maybe it's best to just know what part James will play and look forward to gentlemanly charm. I do find Keri Russell charming and a good actor, so that's also a plus.

I guess you could say I don't have "great expectations" for this film. Heh heh. Wait, no, that's Dickens. I'm approaching this film with too much "pride and prejudice". See? That works! I am clever! I should totally write a chick lit novel about a girl who obsesses over James Callis.