Throwback Thursday to Damian Lewis at 2013 Golden Globes

source: dailytelegraph.co.uk
source: dailytelegraph.co.uk

We’re almost there, everyone! Golden Globe Awards is coming up on January 10, 2016 at 8pm EST and will be aired LIVE coast-to-coast on NBC! And, yes, we have some high stakes this year! Wolf Hall has received 3 Golden Globe nominations — Best TV Mini Series or Movie, Best Actor in a Mini Series or TV Movie (Mark Rylance), and Best Supporting Actor in a Series, Mini Series or TV Movie (Damian Lewis)!

Golden Globe Awards, given by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), recognize excellence in film and television. Damian has got a nod in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television category. Damian’s fellow nominees are Alan Cumming (The Good Wife), Ben Mendelsohn (Blood Line), Tobias Menzies (Outlander) and Christian Slater (Mr. Robot). Continue reading “Throwback Thursday to Damian Lewis at 2013 Golden Globes”

Play Dress Up with Henry!

source: farfarawaysite.com
source: farfarawaysite.com

Wolf Hall is one of the best things that has ever happened to TV. And, as much as it fascinates us with its wonderful writing, directing and acting, it also mesmerizes us with its visuals, lighting, set designs and particularly, in my case, the costumes! I am in awe of the fabrics and designs, but also the research the costume team did to create the most authentic dresses possible for the production.

I heard this wonderful interview with theWolf Hall costume designer Joanna Eatwell the other day where she shares her 30 years of experience in costume design and talks about her work in Wolf Hall. Continue reading “Play Dress Up with Henry!”

Wolf Hall Episode 6: Master of Phantoms

source: farfarawaysite.com
source: farfarawaysite.com

Henry never says good-bye…

Once he sees Wolsey is not able to fix a new wife for him… Henry never sees him again.

Once he realizes Katherine will not let him go, Henry leaves one morning without a good-bye, and never sees her again.

Once he takes back the chain of office from Thomas More as he resigns from his post as the Lord Chancellor in a protest against “new bills”… Henry never sees him again.

source: farfarawaysite.com
source: farfarawaysite.com

Finally… Once he leaves Anne at the jousting tournament at Greenwich, and rides back to Whitehall… Henry never sees her again. Continue reading “Wolf Hall Episode 6: Master of Phantoms”

Wolf Hall is TIMELESS

source: farfarawaysite.com
source: farfarawaysite.com

I have constantly been writing about Wolf Hall for several weeks now — about all aspects of it that have fascinated me… And, I have kept one that TOPS it all for me until now…

That is the TIMELESSNESS of Wolf Hall.

Hilary Mantel’s writing and Peter Straughan’s wonderfully condensed script open a beautiful window to the intrigue and manipulation in the court of Henry VIII in the 16th century. Wolf Hall is such a dark, political animal that it is inevitable to chew on a little bit about its politics. Besides, both the book and the drama help us understand history through a contemporary perspective, and does it through its politics and in particular, through the contemporary conversations its characters have all the time.  Continue reading “Wolf Hall is TIMELESS”

Holbein in Wolf Hall

source: farfarawaysite.com
source: farfarawaysite.com

We earlier discussed here the authenticity of the costumes in Wolf Hall as well as how much the series costume designer Joanna Eatwell values Hans Holbein the Younger’s work in achieving this authenticity.

It turns out that Eatwell digged into the paintings of Holbein for research. From Lucy Worsley’s interview with Eatwell:

‘He’s a genius – all the information is in his paintings,’ she says.

‘He not only painted members of the court, he also painted merchants and even some of Henry’s courtiers and staff, so we have a complete cross-section which is incredibly important for a piece like this.’

Eatwell argues, in an audio interview with the BBC Academy, Holbein is a “master in his craft” and his paintings are realistic but also propaganda. The paintings make a statement about the person in the painting — she calls it the “photoshop” of the times.

Continue reading “Holbein in Wolf Hall”