Dickensblog

Trailer for the BBC/FX 'Christmas Carol'

Thanks to Josh Sharpe for posting this in the Dickensblog Facebook group.

 

 

My first thought is that it looks dark. Very dark. Of course the original A Christmas Carol does go dark, but it also beautifully balances darkness with light. I hope this version will follow suit.

What do you think? 

A Halloween Carol?

Though Dickens is so often associated with Christmas, Professor Joel J. Brattin of Worcester Polytechnic Institute (currently running a special Dickens exhibit) suggests that the ghostly elements in his work should make us think of another holiday!

Musical 'Marley' coming to the big screen

I'm thinking seriously of changing this blog's name to Christmas Carol News, as reports of new adaptations of the book just keep coming and coming! This time it's writer/director Bill Condon (Chicago, Dreamgirls, Beauty and the Beast) and composer Stephen Schwartz (Pippin, Godspell, Wicked) creating a musical film version for Disney, titled Marley. The new project does have an impressive pedigree, but how about adapting something else for a change? (No, not Oliver Twist, either!)

'Christmas Carol' and 'Twist' images

Photos from both productions hit the Web today! Entertainment Weekly gives us our first official look at Guy Pearce as Scrooge, Andy Serkis as the Ghost of Christmas Past, and more from the upcoming miniseries, plus some short interviews. (Incidentally, it seems the Ghost of Christmas Future was recast; Jason Flemyng took over for Rutger Hauer shortly before the latter's death.)

Meanwhile, the Daily Mail has some lively set photos of Rita Ora as "Dodge" and Rafferty Law as Oliver in the Oliver Twist update I posted about the other day.

Apple picks up Ferrell and Reynolds's 'A Christmas Carol'

. . . which appears to mean that it will go straight to streaming, rather than having a theatrical run. Collider has the details.

Casting complete for 'A Christmas Carol' on Broadway

In addition to Campbell Scott as Scrooge, the show will feature beloved Broadway veterans Andrea Martin as the Ghost of Christmas Past and LaChanze as the Ghost of Christmas Present/Mrs. Fezziwig. Click here to see the rest of the cast list! And check out the show's website for more.

Another 'Christmas Carol' in the works

Add one more to the lengthy list of Christmas Carol films that are said to be in the pipeline! The latest is a "musical reimagining" being developed by Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds.

'A Christmas Carol' back on Broadway

Campbell Scott will follow in the footsteps of his father, George C. Scott, when he plays Ebenezer Scrooge on Broadway. This particular adaptation, which was written by Jack Thorne (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) and premiered in London in 2017, will be the first version of A Christmas Carol to appear on a Broadway stage since 2001, according to Broadway database IBDB. It will run from November 7 through January 5. Tickets are on sale now!

R.I.P. Richard Williams

The 86-year-old animator, who passed away on Friday, won an Academy Award for his 1971 adaptation of A Christmas Carol, in which Alastair Sim reprised his role as Ebenezer Scrooge.

'A Christmas Carol' at the TCA

Members of the new A Christmas Carol production talked to critics at the Television Critics Association's press tour this week. Writer Steven Knight said of Guy Pearce's Scrooge, “I didn’t want him to look like his soul because his soul is pretty wretched. . . . But on the outside he’s okay and what I wanted to do is to have an audience say to themselves why is this person like this . . . and I hope that in the three hours we explore the reasons behind what Ebenezer Scrooge is, why has he become this person.” Read more here and here.