The Grand Sophy film- A Georgette Heyer adaptation at last?

According to the BAFTA website, the writing/producing duo of Olivia Hetreed and Andy Paterson are planning a film adaptation of Georgette Heyer's The Grand Sophy for 2016. Apparently they are developing it in collaboration with BBC Films.

http://www.bafta.org/whats-on/bafta-rocliffe-new-writing-forum-with-olivia-hetreed-and-andy-paterson


Now, developing a film and actually getting it to the screen are two different things, but this is certainly promising. If anyone reading this is in London next Wednesday, tickets to the writing forum with Hetreed and Paterson are free and they might answer questions related to this project. Or they might not, but I sure wish I was in London this week and not here in Canada!

The most successful film so far by this husband and wife team would have to be Girl with a Pearl Earring with Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth. So let's hope they have the clout to get this film made. The fact that they are in collaboration with BBC Films is a very good sign that the quality of the production would be top notch.

If you haven't yet signed the petition for a Georgette Heyer film, the link is here below. We have over 1400 signatures from all over the world, so I think we have proven an audience for a Heyer film. Join us!

http://www.petitionbuzz.com/petitions/georgetteheyerfilm

Fingers crossed! Cheers!

Suffragette

I finally got to see Suffragette this weekend and it is well worth seeing. Carey Mulligan plays Maud Watts, an East London laundry worker who gets caught up in the Suffragette movement of 1912. After 50 years of politely asking for the right to vote, Mrs. Emmeline Pankhurst and her Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) decided that more militant tactics were required. Although they threw rocks and blew up mail boxes they were careful not to endanger any lives if possible. "Deeds Not Words" got many of them jailed and their treatment there was shocking to say the least.

Suffragette has a star filled cast including Anne-Marie Duff as a fellow laundry worker, Helena Bonham Carter as an educated activist, Romola Garai as the wife of a cabinet minister, Meryl Streep as Mrs. Pankhurst herself, it also has Brendan Gleeson as a police inspector and Ben Whishaw as Maud's husband.

I wish the film had been longer as we don't get quite attached enough to the characters and their stories as there is so much historical fact to cram into one feature length film. Still, it's a well done piece and absolutely worth seeing. Maybe a director's cut on the DVD would be an idea?

Here is the trailer. This is a story that needs to be told and a reason for all women to value and exercise their right to vote in every election no matter where or how small. Just think of the women who fought for our right.

Stay for the timeline of women's voting rights at the end of the film. Some countries still aren't there yet...