It seems that not only do we have dueling Snow White projects in production, we’ve also got dueling Dickens! We’ve shown you the first look at Helena Bonham Carter as Miss Havisham in David Nicholls’ adaptation of Great Expectations, directed by Mike Newell and due out next year to coincide with the 200th anniversary of Charles Dickens’ birth. Nicholls is said to have turned it into a “thriller” and has come up with an alternate ending(!?) As he told The Telegraph, "Dickens came up with two endings – one which is incredibly bleak and one which is unrealistically romantic and sentimental. Neither are quite satisfactory and we've come up with an ending that isn't in the book – and is somewhere in between. It draws on events in the book but takes them in a slightly different direction, but is in no way sacrilegious." Well, that remains to be seen.

In any case, the BBC is taking a different approach. Here’s your first look at Gillian Anderson,  who has been cast as their version of the tormented Miss Havisham. She certainly looks the part of the jilted Victorian bride, but so does Bonham Carter. There’s no doubt their performances will also be compared. Anderson can do period drama, she was nominated for a BAFTA, Emmy and Golden Globe for Dickens’ Bleak House in 2005.

The production also stars Ray Winstone as the dastardly Abel Magwitch. I adore Ray Winstone but he will have to stack up against Ralph Fiennes in Newell’s film. David Suchet (the definitive Hercule Poirot) is Mr Jaggers, and Douglas Booth (Boy George in BBC's "Worried About The Boy")  is adult Pip. Oscar Kennedy plays young Pip, young Estella is played by Izzy Meikle-Small (young Kathy in Never Let Me Go). The older Estella is Vanessa Kirby (Ruth Elms in "The Hour")

Due to be aired in December 2012, this version is a three-episode adaptation, part of a season of documentary, drama and discussion programs celebrating the work of Dickens on the BBC. I’m hoping that means PBS will pick it up so we can see it this side of the pond, too. Enjoy the pics!

I have had a girl crush on Helena Bonham Carter since Lady Jane.  I’m a complete anglophile and go stupid for British costume dramas and she, like Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet, is to me one the epitomes of all things British and female.  I’m also a fan of Dickens and I can think of few literary characters that Bonham Carter would be more perfect for than Miss Havisham from Great Expectations. Why it took so long to put these two together is beyond me.

Director Mike Newell’s adaptation of Dickens’ novel has, fortunately, done just that. What’s more, Bonham Carter is playing her at the age Havisham is in the novel, not the aged, withered old crone that has appeared in previous incarnations. Add to that Ralph Fiennes is playing Magwitch. Jeremy Irvine (War Horse) is Pip. The rest of the cast includes Robbie Coltraine, Sally Hawkins, David Walliams, Holliday Grainger, Ewen Bremner and Jason Flemyng. 

The story is simple: A humble orphan suddenly becomes a gentleman with the help of an unknown benefactor.  I cannot wait to see what this director and this cast does with this classic.

According to Deadline, Lionsgate is handling UK distribution for a fall 2012 release. Hanway Films will showcase it at the Berlinale hoping to be picked up in other markets. No US release information for Great Expectations is currently available. We'll keep you posted.

Helena Bonham Carter is known for her amazing acting skills and sometimes more importantly, her fashion sense.  Her latest “impression” came at the Golden Globes when she wore a pretty wild dress, and… those mismatched shoes.  The fashion police freaked out and I applauded her.  That’s just Helena being Helena.  Why on earth would you want her to be someone she’s not?  I love that she’s completely eccentric and unique, on a daily basis.

Don’t we have enough Angelina Jolies and Anne Hathaways?  Let the girl be wild.  Love it.  Embrace it.

2011 SAG Awards Red Carpet Arrivals – Over 100 PHOTOS

Up next?  The Oscars of course.  Helena talked about her Oscars dress to the Telegraph saying,

“I have no idea.” She explained, “Of course I want to have fun … It’s probably going to be a catastrophe. But it’s like, I’m gonna go for it.”

“I promise I’ll wear the same colored shoes,” Carter vowed. “But we’ll wait and see. And quite frankly, as my boyfriend knows, it’s right up to the last minute it can go wrong at any time.”

I love it.  Don’t be modest girl!  Go for it!

How ’bout you?  DO you love it when Helena goes all out crazy?  Or would you prefer a makeover to make her blend in like the rest of them?

Photo: WENN

Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, and Helena Bonham Carter attend the rainy premiere of Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland at the Odeon in London, England today. There could be a hurricane and you can bet the fans would still come out in droves to see Johnny Depp.

Johnny’s children have seen the film he tells the press:

“My kids actually saw the film because I send them out there in the frontlines. They saw it – and they loved it.”

And don’t worry it’s not scary:

“They absolutely adored it. They loved every character. They weren’t freaked out by it whatsoever.”

And you must look at how sexy Avril Lavigne looked at the premiere.  Love that dress on her!

Will you be seeing Alice in Wonderland?  I think the trailers lo0k freaking awesome!

Pictures after the break

(more…)

Tim Burton was honoured last night at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York where 14 of his films are being showcased along with all his other works.  He says of being being honoured:

“In my life, I’ve had many surreal, great things happen — meeting my idol, Vincent Price; being able to make movies; and this one, I think, tops it in the sense that it’s the most amazing and surreal, and that’s what you look for in life, is these great and incredible [experiences].”

On hand to celebrate his body of work:  Johnny Depp, Patti  Smyth, Ashley Olsen, Mary-Kate Olsen, Ashley Greene, Helena Bonham Carter, and Gabourey Sidibe

Pictures after the break

(more…)

Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Helena Bonham Carter and other cast members are seen here on the Pembrokeshire Coast filming scenes for the latest installment in the Harry Potter franchise:  ‘Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows’ Part I

More pics after the break

(more…)