I can believe it. Ejiofor's terrific. posted by Iridic at 7:52 PM on March 9, 2008
Oh balls. Could someone pretty please correct that? posted by Artw at 7:53 PM on March 9, 2008
Yeah. Ejiofor is amazing in everything he's in (at least, where he has a chance to act; his role in Inside Man was a nothing part). posted by ten pounds of inedita at 8:20 PM on March 9, 2008
I'd just like to say that I'd give my left pinky to see Stewart do MacBeth in person. Yeah, yeah, Star Trek, X-Men, whatever. Dude is an awesome actor. posted by Avenger at 8:41 PM on March 9, 2008 [2 favorites has favorites]
Avenger: I've heard that Stewart's one man A Christmas Carol is a wonder to behold, that he reads the story the right way, where Scrooge is not the villain, but the hero. I have yet to give it a listen, but I have no doubt it's brilliant. posted by gc at 8:46 PM on March 9, 2008
I'm as big a fan of Joss Whedon as most, but really, this is nothing to do with him whatsoever. If you've not seen Chiwetel in Dirty Pretty Things, Melinda and Melinda or even Love Actually, then you're missing out. And he's even done Shakespeare before this - and before Whedon - Orsino in a TV production of Twelfth Night. Please don't do a great actor a disservice by suggesting that the reason they won a much-deserved award was because Internet fanboys link him inextricably with the creator of Buffy... posted by benzo8 at 12:56 AM on March 10, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]
Dirty Pretty Things ruled and American Gangster was the balls -- a runaway production that had to many of it's sutures showing. It went through 4 A-List directors - Fuqua, George, Oliver Stone and Scott - and had one A-List star joined by another on the marquee and ran for a painful 2-1/2 hours.
And they fired Fuqua because -- he wanted to shoot on location in NYC? -- and Scott (the more expensive director) ended up doing it anyway? And the 2 play-or-pay deals with Del Toro and Washington?
Sounds like Hollywood Studio ego (or racism) run wild. I hope Fuqua prevails with his lawsuit, because the front-office certainly didn't save any money by hijacking the project from him.
I guess Universal just wasn't pleased enough by the Oscar Fuqua helped them get for Training Day. posted by vhsiv at 1:53 AM on March 10, 2008
Ejiofor is fantastic. He's a reason I will go see a movie I might otherwise pass on. Been a huge fan since Dirty Pretty Things. I really wanted to go see him in Chekov's The Seagull, but the limited run sold out in a heartbeat.
(tangential) Really quite looking forward to Red Belt, (official site) the new David Mamet film, with Ejiofor starring.
Also, Stewart and McKellan can elevate mediocore movies and add gravitas to anything. posted by slimepuppy at 3:55 AM on March 10, 2008
*glances at tickets for Macbeth*
*looks nervously at Avenger*
*checks market prices for pinkies* posted by Skorgu at 3:56 AM on March 10, 2008
Chiwetel Ejiofor is awesome. posted by nthdegx at 4:48 AM on March 10, 2008
Ejiofor is amazing, not only in Serenity (duh) but also Children of Men. And this has nothing to do with Whedon.
Although today I wore my "Joss Whedon Is My Master Now" tee which would lead me to believe that for me at least, everything has something to do with him. posted by liquorice at 5:55 AM on March 10, 2008
Ejiofor is amazing in everything he's in
Unless what he's in is the polar opposite of Shakespearean, cf. Kinky Boots (a.k.a. proof that it is possible to make a mind-numbingly boring movie about drag queens). posted by kittyprecious at 6:25 AM on March 10, 2008
for a moment I was thinking Firefly, and I was hoping that the link went to the fellow who played "Early" in the last episode. posted by es_de_bah at 6:34 AM on March 10, 2008
Patrick Stewart is doing Macbeth at the Brooklyn Academy of Music until March 22nd. I heard it's fantastic. posted by hooray at 6:36 AM on March 10, 2008
Out, damn'd pinky! posted by Avenger at 7:05 AM on March 10, 2008
Ejiofor is one of the those actors that makes something even pretty mediocre watchable (like Dirty Pretty Things)
And the McKellan Stewart face-offs were the highlights of X-Men... nothing like a bit of Shakey energy to life up a supe movie. posted by fearfulsymmetry at 7:36 AM on March 10, 2008
I'm not sure that my suggestion that the Olivier awards were fixed by a block vote of browncoats should really be taken all that seriously. posted by Artw at 7:41 AM on March 10, 2008
The geekery in that particular Olivier Award is even deeper than we imagined. Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and John "The Master" Simm.
Operative vs. Master vs. Wizard vs. Captain...
It's really weird when my fanfic comes to life. posted by greenland at 7:48 AM on March 10, 2008
Though Stewart (who I like as much as anyone in most roles) cultivates a rep for Shakespearean roots, I'm pretty sure his highpoint was something along the line of stand-in for the understudy to the guy who took over the role of Titus Andronicus in a two-week touring run. And he botched Sejanus in "I, Claudius" with his wooden delivery of a deliciously evil schemer that could have stolen the show. posted by RavinDave at 8:33 AM on March 10, 2008
I saw McKellin's Lear in Brooklyn: he was heartwrenching. Lear is a damn tough play to do: there are so many ways to screw it up. Sadly, I thought Sylvester McCoy really botched his part. He was possibly my favorite Doctor, but he blibbered through his lines unintelligibly, focusing on physical clowning. He did that well, but Lear's fool should be astoundingly VERBAL. He gets many of the best lines, and McCoy just didn't give them the delivery. It was almost a relief when they hanged him.
But McKellin, wow! He's good on screen, but he's meant to be on stage. And tickets weren't hard to get if you paid up six months in advance... posted by rikschell at 8:48 AM on March 10, 2008
"I hate it when villains quote Shakespeare"
-John Crichton - Farscape posted by quin at 10:55 AM on March 10, 2008
Ah, crap. posted by rusty at 12:10 PM on March 10, 2008
I would have loved to have seen McKellen take over the role of Dumbledore from the late Richard Harris, and have Stewart cast as Voldemort, as an inversion of the good-vs-evil pairing from the X-Men.
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posted by mrnutty at 7:46 PM on March 9, 2008