One of my favorite things in the world is watching historical documentaries (generally biographies) that have extras in the background, looking historical and Very Serious. They’re never allowed to talk, of course, but sometimes they get to “Peas and carrots” their way through something as historians explain things in the foreground. It’s all extras, all the time, and it’s awesome!

The best of these I’ve seen was “The Real Jane Austen,” which aired a while ago on PBS, and was amazing because it took the framework of a talking-heads biography with actors as the talking heads. It was narrated by Anna “I always play harridans for some reason” Chancellor, and starred a list of actors I can hardly believe managed to get in the same project just to make my life easier/worse: Gillian “Stuck in a Cookson” Kearney, Jack “Also stuck in a Cookson I haven’t recapped yet” Davenport, Lucy “Becoming Jane” Cohu, Oliver “I had two lines in Lorna Doone” Chris, and Beth “Yes, I’m Kate’s sister” Winslet.

(Oh, Awesome British Actor Camp, you always know just what to say!)

The one I’m watching at the moment is about the youth of Queen Victoria, with a narrator who seems to be reading her lines off cue cards she has never seen before, and the Queen Victoria extra’s job is to look up off-camera and shake her head “No” every time we cut to her, and it’s delightful. Also it’s about history, I guess.

(If I ever have a month to myself, I should start peoplewhohangaroundindocuemtnariesdatabase.com. Best month EVER.)

Many people are posting pictures of the snow that has blanketed the Northeast. I would have taken a picture, too, but 1) my camera doesn’t work, and 2) I’m lazy. Instead, I drew this artist’s interpretation of what it looks like outside.

Please note that the people in the picture are either playing in the snow or have been suddenly buried in the drifts as the plows went through; your choice, as the holiday spirit moves you!

So, The Young Victoria comes out today! I had the honor of seeing it early on a plane coming back from France. (I also had the honor of seeing it three times, because we sat for two hours on the tarmac and a bunch of other weird things happened. Maybe you guys want to have more than one watchable movie per flight, Air France? Cool.)

Anyway, after seeing it three times in a row, and realizing I always felt like I had dozed off for parts in the middle even though I hadn’t, I had some problems. Then I realized if I watched it three times in a row and enjoyed it, then I had some OTHER problems, but we’ll get to those some other time.

The point is, review and picspam below! Be warned, there’s vague spoilery talk, though nothing that happens in the movie should come as a surprise, since it happened a hundred years ago and we’ve all had plenty of time to catch up.

“In which there are more puffed sleeves than you can handle.”
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So, the Robin Hood promos have begun to trickle out from behind whatever fortress Ridley Scott lives in, which means it’s time to decide if you’re in or out. I wrote it up over at Tor.com, but let’s face it, after that teaser trailer, I’m in.

The promo photos are not super-exciting, though, I have to say. I understand keeping spoilers under wraps, but most of these photos look like someone snuck onto the set with an iPhone and got a few shots in before security chased them away.

MARVEL as someone points a camera at a boat! WONDER as Ridley Scott tells Russell Crowe to do something! THRILL as Robin Hood and his men sit on horses!

They ride single file to hide their numbers, I guess.

But even these boring photos yielded the most exciting moment of my day yesterday. What that says about my day is up to you.

Be warned: under this cut, I nerd OUT over the Moy Gown.
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Ridley Scott’s Robin Hood adaptation has not had an easy time of it, and as usual with Scott it’s hard to tell if the problems are just bumps in the road to a great destination, or signs that the movie’s getting hopelessly lost.

The setup seems to be his usual gritty-yet-surprisingly-well-lit take on the men behind the legend, this time casting the usually-villainous Sheriff of Nottingham in a more human and conflicted light, and showing Robin Hood’s struggle, flaws, and heartbreak as he fights to avenge his family’s death at the hands of Roman legions various Medieval people. It worked with Gladiator!

…and it really didn’t work with Kingdom of Heaven.

The initial Ethan Reiff/Cyrus Voris script has passed through rewrites by doctors like Brian Helgeland and Tom Stoppard, which would usually be considered an upgrade, except that they weren’t even the only ones working on rewrites, and Stoppard was rewriting the movie as shooting progressed, which is just the sort of thing that makes producers clench their sternums like they’re having a community theatre heart attack.

On the other hand, it sounds like rewrites would have been necessary in any case: Sienna Miller dropped out of the role of Maid Marian due to “scheduling difficulties,” amid rumors that she was too young for a part as Crowe’s contemporary, which is true (or that she can’t act, which is equally true!). She was replaced by Cate Blanchett, an upgrade of almost-unimaginable proportions, and more than enough reason to warrant some script overhauls. (Reasons for not similarly jettisoning William Hurt remain unclear.)

Even though the movie’s not set to premiere until May of 2010, he first promotional materials have begun to trickle in, and all those who guessed that Scott and Crowe were going to try to recreate the Gladiator magic may sit down, since that was obvious from the get-go, and the recent promotional stills confirm that Crowe will look appropriately frowny and badass at all times, even while charging into battle on his beautiful and symbolic white pony.

However, it appears that the studio is aware of the potential pitfalls of trying to recapture old glory, and is worried that even the memory of Gladiator won’t bring enough people to the box office. Entertainment site ComingSoon.net has the new teaser trailer, in which there is (suspiciously?) little dialogue, and the Uh-Oh Drums soundtrack quickly gives way to a hard-rock beat that leaves you waiting for “This…is…SHERWOOD!” to break out at any moment.

That said, Russell Crowe generally delivers on the acting front, Cate Blanchett is foolproof, and there’s little I love more than Robin Hood giving us some slow-motion archery. (You’ll see me there opening night, is what I’m saying.)

[This piece originally appeared on Tor.com.]