“Tom Stoppard isn’t shy about tackling literary giants. The British playwright has rewritten Hamlet for the stage and recently turned Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina into a Hollywood feature. But he struggled with a television adaptation of Ford Madox Ford’s sprawling modernist masterpiece Parade’s End.”
Televising Literature
The Captain’s Doll
German-born footballer Bastian Schweinsteiger might just be living inside the D.H. Lawrence story, “The Captain’s Doll”. Schweinsteiger (who, it is helpful to mention, is the captain of his team) is suing a Chinese toy manufacturer for producing a doll that bears too striking a resemblance to the Manchester United midfielder. Oh, and did we mention that the “figurine” is also wearing a Nazi medal?
●
●
Delicate Husk, Inconvenient Hair
Recommended Reading: "So Often the Body Becomes a Distraction" by Kaveh Akbar.
Antony Gormley, Suicide Artist
According to the New York Post, a new installation by British artist Antony Gormley--life-sized, cast iron sculptures of men placed on rooftops and building ledges around the city--has caused some New Yorkers and NYPD officers to take the sculptures for live jumpers. Oh, the price of art!
●
●
Wrapping Things Up
What if the next crisis to hit the headlines brings an end to the world as we know it? It’s a mind-bending thing to contemplate, but it’s what our own Emily St. John Mandel tackles in Station Eleven, which made it up to the final five of last year’s National Book Awards. On a new episode of The Takeaway, Emily talks about the novel, exploring what’s left when civilization withers away. You could also read our interview with Emily about the book.
Thomas Pynchon Adaptation Gets a Release Date
Paul Thomas Anderson’s cinematic adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s Inherent Vice now has an official release date. That’s right. Starting December 12th, you’ll be able to catch Joaquin Phoenix starring as ‘60s stoner P.I. Larry “Doc” Sportello.
Vanity Fair’s Beautiful Game
Vanity Fair's latest cover is proof that we live in an era in which men have the privilege of being just as objectified as women. Nominally a celebration of the 2010 World Cup that kicks off in South Africa in June, the magazine's gay porn-ish cover features soccer superstars Didier Drogba of the Ivory Coast and Portugal's Christiano Ronaldo in nothing but their flags, photographed by Annie Leibovitz. Within (oh, my stars & stripes!) you can behold the U.S.'s Landon Donovan, as well as Brazil’s Kaká, Italy’s Gianluigi Buffon, England’s Carlton Cole, Germany’s Michael Ballack--all in their undies. Cheers to you, Vanity Fair: Your enterprising shamelessness truly knows no bounds.
●
●