Felicity Jones Tagged Articles at Cinematical

Multiple Oscar nominee Stephen Frears is a tough nut to crack. Amiable but terse, his excellent multilayered films do the talking for him, from his first collaboration with Christopher Hampton and Michelle Pfeiffer on 1998's Dangerous Liaisons to 2007's The Queen. In his latest film, Cheri (read Cinematical's review here), Frears turns his lens onto the cloistered and often duplicitous world of wealthy courtesans. Frears' films often focus on subversive outsiders who must make their own "family," as it were, such as Dirty Pretty Things, The Grifters, and My Beautiful Laundrette. But Cheri's delicious spin on sex, love, and aging is typical of its source material from author Colette, whose books Cheri and The Last of Cheri present a world of upside-down relationships and self-sufficient, frankly sexual women.

Michelle Pfeiffer leads the cast as the stunning Lea de Lonval, a famous courtesan whose friend Madame Peloux, played with busty abandon by Kathy Bates, encourages Lea to have an affair with Peloux's louche son Cheri, the pale and effeminate Rupert Friend. Neglected as a child while his mother was dealing with her affairs, Cheri is hardly likeable or loveable, but somehow their affair becomes less about sex and more about the love both he and Lea have lacked in their lives. Peloux throws a wrench into the whole thing when she plans a wedding for Cheri to another courtesan's child, Edmee, played by newcomer Felicity Jones. What happens after that surprises them all.

Cheri opens June 26th in limited cities. Visit the official website for more information.

Cinematical: What's the difference between releasing a movie like Cheri during Oscar season as opposed to the summer blockbuster season? Is it more or less stressful?

Stephen Frears: The problem with competing for the Oscars is it's very tough, so in a way it's quite a relief being [released] at another time of the year. You're all right if you've got the one that gets everybody's attention, but fighting for attention is quite difficult. I've released films in that season that have been just overlooked.

News like this is what I wait for when writing about movie news -- announcements that merge so many good things that you can't help but get the tingle of excitement. The Hollywood Reporter posts that Julie Taymor is taking on William Shakespeare yet again, and with one starry-eyed and stellar cast. Strike that ... THE stellar cast.

This time around, we get The Tempest, but with a spin -- there's a bit of gender bending. Prospero, the deposed Duke of Milan who became a sorcerer, is getting a sex change so that Helen Mirren can play the part. The lovely Mirren will be joined by Jeremy Irons, who will play Prospera's brother Alonso, Djimon Hounsou, who will tackle Caliban, Russell Brand as the jester Trinculo, Alfred Molina, who will be the drunken Stephano, Ben Wishaw as the spirit Ariel, and Felicity Jones as Prospera's daughter, Miranda. Oh, but that's not all -- Geoffrey Rush is in negotiations to play Prospera's ol' ally and adviser, Gonzalo. Since things are being changed up a bit, here's how THR describes it: "Shakespeare's play mixes romance with fraternal politics and the supernatural. As revised for the screen, it will center around Prospera, her daughter Miranda (Jones) and a shipwrecked crew full of Prospera's enemies."

After seeing Taymor's Titus, I never dreamed another Shakespeare adaptation could compare, until now. I say this having seen every single one of Will's plays performed at least once, and thinking that Patrick Stewart's Prospero was practically untouchable. But now, with this cast? I'm in love.

But still, Taymor is changing things up, so sound off below: Taymor, gender-bending, and The Tempest -- yay or nay?