The Sense and Sensibility Screenplay & Diaries: Bringing Jane Austen's Novel to Film (Newmarket Pictorial Moviebooks (Paperback))

Amazon.com
Emma Thompson spent five years translating Jane Austen's work to the screen. Fans of the film will treasure this beautiful volume that includes her screenplay, diaries of the writing and the filming, and many gorgeous color pictures from the film.

Janet Maslin, The New York Times
Sheer fun . . . a grandly colorful and utterly contemporary comedy of manners.

From Booklist
This first book by Academy Award^-winning actress Emma Thompson contains both the screenplay of the Jane Austen novel and the diary she kept during the long months of filming. Thompson labored over the screenplay for five years, and the resulting treatment of what many consider Austen's weakest novel is strong, well written, and enjoyable to read. Fans of the movie as well as of Austen will enjoy perusing the screenplay, and the accompanying photographs of the cast and set are striking. The last section of the book is dedicated to Thompson's diary, which is fairly brief, written in sharp, witty style, and alternately hilarious and morose. Thompson's musings and witticisms are often very funny and ultimately provide a clear, definitely unglamorous documentary of life on a movie set. An interesting introductory piece by producer Lindsay Doran details the 15-year odyssey that finally saw the film to fruition. Kathleen Hughes

Stanley Kauffmann, The New Republic
Thompson's vivid, funny, gamy diaries of the shoot.

Jack Kroll, Newsweek
[A] fascinating journal of making the film.

Voice of Youth Advocates
This is an absolutely marvelous collection of stuff!

Book Page
A rare treat for those interested in the process of developing a first-rate (and ultimately award-winning) movie from a classic novel.

Book Description
Back in print for Jane Austen and film book fans, featuring Emma Thompson's Oscar®-winning shooting script and her "fascinating journal of making the film." —Jack Kroll, Newsweek. The landmark film, nominated for seven Academy Awards®, appearing on more than 100 top-ten lists across America, and grossing more than $125 million worldwide—remains as vibrant and true to Jane Austen as anyone could have imagined. Here is the complete, award-winning script, over 50 photos, the complete credits, and Thompson's unreserved, often hilarious diaries from the earliest meetings in January 1995 to the wrap party in July, detailing the everyday triumphs and setbacks of what it's like to work with a cast and crew of 120, offering a candid self-portrait as well as insightful glimpses of fellow actors Kate Winslet, Alan Rickman, Hugh Grant, and acclaimed director Ang Lee. 50 b/w photos.

About the Author
Emma Thompson won her second Academy Award® for her screenplay of Sense and Sensibility; she also won the Academy Award® for Best Actress for Howards End. Sense and Sensibility was her first screenplay; this is her only book. She lives in England. Lindsay Doran previously produced Dead Again and Leaving Normal. She lives in Los Angeles.


Buy from Amazon     Compare Prices

This is an absolutely marvelous collection of stuff! As well as Thompson's diaries and her award-winning screenplay for the 1995 film Sense and Sensibility, it includes Thompson's Golden Globe acceptance speech, cast and crew lists, and lots of photographs. However, there are one or two small drawbacks. First of all, the photos are no more than stills from the film. The diaries would have been a lot more effective if shots of the cast and crew at work had been included. The second problem is a more general one: it is very unlikely that the average young adult reader will pick up this book, or actually read it if they do. With the number of young people interested in film careers these days, that is a shame. However, it is to be hoped that those who are truly serious about careers in this area will find this book (or be guided to it). Thompson's diaries detail in a very personal way the day-to-day life during the process of making a film. She talks about how exhausting and physically draining it is to be involved in such a project. We learn how difficult it is to be in such close quarters with the same people for an extended period of time, how personality conflicts may develop. But there also is much about the filmmaking process from Thompson's point of view as screenwriter and actor. One of the most fascinating things she tells us is that director Ang Lee assigned all the actors questions to answer about the background of their respective characters. Although she says this is unusual, how many young people would ever expect professional actors to be given homework? By the way, the "prize" went to a letter that Imogen Stubbs, putting herself into the character of Lucy Steele, wrote to Elinor Dashwood; it is included in the appendices. The right reader will get a lot from this book! Photos. Appendix. VOYA Codes: 5Q 2P S (Hard to imagine it being any better written, For the YA with a special interest in the subject, Senior High-defined as grades 10 to 12).


Buy from Barnes & Noble     Compare Prices