6. If Books Could Talk

Note: Lost Ladies of Lit transcripts are generated using human transcribers, and may contain errors. Please check the corresponding audio before quoting in print.

KIM: Hi, and welcome to this week’s “Lost Ladies of Lit” mini episode. I’m Kim Askew…

AMY: And I’m Amy Helmes.

KIM: Today’s episode is all about the latest films and TV shows inspired by books. The ones we’re looking forward to, anyway.

AMY: Ooh, I love it. Netflix is in our wheelhouse right now, because they are certainly keeping us entertained with, for example, the Enola Holmes movie, which came out last month. That starred Millie Bobbie Brown as Sherlock Holmes’ younger sister, and Helena Bonham Carter plays her missing mother, whom Enola is on a mission to track down.  

KIM: And this was based off “The Enola Holmes Mysteries,” which is a YA series by Nancy Springer. I haven’t read it, but I am very interested now. The director on this also was a director on “Fleabag,” which Amy loves, and we’ve talked about in a prior episode as well.

AMY: So yeah, Millie Bobbie Brown is constantly talking to the camera and it’s just a really clever premise and a cute execution. I definitely gave this one a thumbs up.

KIM: Another Netflix movie slated for release on Oct. 21 is Rebecca. This one is featuring Lily James as the second Mrs. De Winter, Armie Hammer as Max De Winter and Kristen Scott Thomas as the dreaded Mrs. Danvers. This is from the producers of Atonement. 

AMY: Ooh, that’s good casting!

KIM: Yeah, really good casting. It’s an adaptation of the 1938 Gothic novel by Daphne DuMaurier.

AMY: And I don’t think that I’ve ever seen an adaptation of Rebecca. I know that Alfred Hitchcock did the movie first, but I don’t think I’ve  seen it. Actually, no…  I did watch a miniseries version that was in the late 1990s because Diana Rigg, who just passed away, she played Mrs. Danvers in it.

KIM: Yeah, the trailer for the new Rebecca looks really good. The sets and scenery are gorgeous. It looks like the kind of thing we’d love. And Kirsten Scott Thomas is always great. And then there’s Armie Hammer, who I love, and he’s going to be Max DeWinter, so I’m excited to see it.

AMY: It looks good. I love that time period, too, like the thirties. 

KIM: So good, so good… the clothes!

AMY: I’m in. Now, Kim, I know you are way more into sci-fi novels than I am. Did you read Frank Herbert’s Dune?

KIM: No, this is embarrassing, but I’m one of the many people who started that book, but never finished it. I did watch, at one point when I was a kid, the original adaptation from 1984. It had Sting in it, but I’m also really excited for the new movie version starring Timothee Chalamet and Zendaya.

AMY: Yeah, but ooh, Sting! That sounds good! I know, don’t feel bad. I didn’t read it at all. It feels like one of those books that you’re supposed to read but I have a feeling a lot of people are in the same … isn’t it a really fat, fat book?

KIM: It’s really, really long and it’s known for being a book that people never end up reading.

AMY: Then maybe it’s good there’s a movie coming out, because we can all just take the shortcut. And it actually looks pretty intense and exciting. I kind of got a Star Wars vibe, but like, a more complex, dramatic, darker Star Wars, I guess.

KIM: The original director who was going to direct the movie version before the Sting version, he ended up inspiring… and some of his people, his team, actually worked on Star Wars, so there’s a big connection there.

AMY: Oh, cool. So I wasn’t off the mark there.

KIM: Not at all.

AMY: I have not been hitting movie theaters, but if I was, I would certainly have gone to see The Personal History of David Copperfield starring Dev Patel, and also featuring Hugh Laurie, Ben Whishaw and Tilda Swinton. I did see that it was briefly at a drive-in movie theater here, and I contemplated, “Okay, could Kim and I drive to the theater in two separate cars, park next to each other, sit on our hoods or the top of the cars and somehow watch it together?” But we never got our act together, obviously, to do that. It could have been fun, though. 

KIM: I love the dream of us going to the drive-in in separate cars. Maybe it will happen at some point.

AMY: Charles Dickens at a drive-in seems so anachronistic and weird.

KIM: Absolutely.

AMY: It could have been fun.

KIM: It would have been. And maybe we’ll still do something like that. But I love everyone in the new David Copperfield so I’m really excited for that. It makes me think, though, of the one from 1999, where Daniel Radcliffe (this was before Harry Potter) played the young David and Maggie Smith was Betsey Trotwood. Do you remember that?

AMY: I do, because weirdly, around that time there were TWO David Copperfields that came out. There was that one that you just mentioned and then there was another one that was on some TV network. It starred Hugh Dancy as David, but then Michael Richards (who is “Seinfeld’s” Kramer) played Mr. Micawber, and Sally Field was Betsey Trotwood! It was the weirdest casting. I kind of liked the movie, but I remember thinking at the time thinking, “Why are there so many David Copperfields coming out?” It’s such an odd thing to suddenly have a glut of. But when it rains, it pours, I guess. I’m not going to complain about that, ever. I’ll always take a Dickens movie.

KIM: That makes me think of the year there were two adaptations of Dangerous Liaisons, and I love both of them, so I was glad that happened too. But back to Dickens, I digress… do you have a favorite Dickens film adaptation? Because I think we both know mine. The Bleak House mini-series with Gillian Anderson, and it is, hands-down, my favorite. I will be watching it forever. In fact, I’ll probably be watching it after we record this podcast.

AMY: Yeah, I knew you were going to say that one! It was so good! And actually, what’s interesting is that Anna Maxwell Martin, who played the lead character of Esther in that movie, she is also in the latest David Copperfield! Her name popped up there. If I was going to pick a Dickens movie, I think I would pick the one with Ioan Gruffudd and Justine Waddell…

KIM: Oh yeah, right, in Great Expectations.

AMY: Yeah, they were, to me, the perfect Pip and Stella. But I also liked Little Dorrit. That came out, I think it was around 2009 or so, with Mathew MacFayden in it. That was good as well.

KIM: I love Little Dorrit. I love the novel and I love the miniseries, too. In fact I want to watch that again right now also.

AMY: You’ve got your work cut out for you!

KIM: I know what I’m going to be doing tonight! But I know your favorite is the one with Ioan Gruffudd, because you love him, and I also want to point out that you actually did see him in real life once, too, which was very very cool. You texted me when I was in San Francisco and it was unforgettable.

AMY: Oh yeah! I forgot about that until you just said that. I didn’t remember ever seeing him, but you’re right, I saw him eating at a restaurant.

KIM: Yeah. I think you saw him with his wife.

AMY: It was a good celebrity sighting in L.A.

KIM: Yeah. And veering back to the current releases, there’s also Death On the Nile starring Kenneth Branaugh, Gal Gadot, Russell Brand and Annette Benning, and that comes out, I think, on Oct. 23. And I don’t know about this one, because Murder on the Orient Express didn’t get the best reviews a few years ago. 

AMY: Yeah, I didn’t see that one and I actually know somebody that went and saw it and they were pretty disappointed. But you never know. Agatha Christie…. I’m usually down for. So maybe I’ll give it a try. The one I really want to try to figure out how to see — I keep Googling it — it’s a BBC series or miniseries which we just don’t have here in the States yet, but it’s

The Luminaries, based on Eleanor Catton’s novel.

KIM: I loved that book.

AMY: It already aired in England, but I’m just hoping maybe PBS will end up running it? I’m sure we’ll get it eventually.

KIM: Or BBC America?

AMY: Yeah. It stars Eva Green (Eeeva, AY-va… I’m not sure how to say her name) from “Penny Dreadful,” who I think is an AMAZING actress from watching that show. I’m kind of obsessed with her. (And side note: anyone who loves classic literature should definitely watch “Penny Dreadful”… although I will say it takes a pretty strong constitution. It’s not for the faint of heart.)

KIM: No. But just a side note, if you’re trying to keep track of all this, frantically, don’t worry, we’re putting all the links to the trailers for every film we’ve discussed in our shownotes, so you’ll be able to see them there.

AMY: So my little 2020 confession that I’m kind of embarrassed about is that I still haven’t watched the new version of Emma that came out this year. I see every Jane Austen movie, without fail. I don’t know why I haven’t seen it. I think it’s maybe because I have my whole family here and we have to try to agree on what we’re watching and there’s not enough votes in this household to do Jane Austen. But I feel like I should have my Jane fan club membership revoked or something. But I will get around to seeing it. 

KIM: That’s crazy. I can’t believe you haven’t seen it, but that’s basically your homework. You need to watch that tonight.

AMY: Yeah, I’ll be watching that while you’re re-watching Bleak House. 

KIM: Exactly. So Emma was the movie I saw… the last movie I saw in the theater before the lockdown. So I’m never going to forget that I saw Emma right before everything shut down. And here’s something...this will make you want to watch it: I’ve already streamed it twice.

AMY: You never told me you loved it so much that you’ve watched it three times already!

KIM: I don’t know how I didn’t tell you that. Maybe I just thought you’d intuited it somehow. But I like it a lot.

AMY: I knew it was going to be good. I’ve seen the trailer. It’s super cute. I just have to sit down and do it. So Emma, I’M COMIN’ FOR YA, EMMA!

KIM: You have that to look forward to, which is good. But I will say, you did get a bit of a “Jane Austen” — your Jane Austen fix, anyway — in a roundabout way by reading our next “lost lady!”

AMY: That’s right! So Kim and I happily discovered the works of Emily Eden, whose two novels, The Semi-Attached Couple and The Semi-Detached House are both heavily influenced by Jane Austen and they bear a similar style to her writing.

KIM: And who doesn’t need a little bit more “Austen” in their life, especially Amy — or at least the flavor of Austen?

AMY: Yes. So check back in with us next week to hear all about Emily Eden and her works — and her intriguing adventures in India. 

KIM: I can’t wait! I’m so excited. For more information on this episode, as well as further reading material, check out our website, LostLadiesofLit.com. And if you loved this episode, be sure to leave a review. It really helps new listeners find us! Bye everybody!

[theme music plays]

AMY: Our theme song was written and performed by Jennie Malone, and our logo was designed by Harriet Grant. “Lost Ladies of Lit” is produced by Kim Askew and Amy Helmes.