I'm hoping I can emulate Jilli and just watch Phantom for the pretty, because I sooo much want to see the pretty. But I think I can, because I watched Legend multiple times just for the waltz at the end.

Peter Saarsgard? [...]got that same incandescence that Ewan has [...]HOTT!

And this would explain why the Washington Post just told me Ewan was out and Peter was in. Because I am certainly not done with Ewan yet.

Gandalfe:

Hey! I'm the one who has the 3 disc Les Mis set, and who is known to burst out into snatches of Jesus Christ Superstar. So, don't be saying I won't let you see musical theater.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, I once had the double album of Phantom (ex-Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em guy version), with extra bits. Lost it between NZ and here, tres bummere.

Raquel:

Because I am certainly not done with Ewan yet

Who is?

Anyone who is? I'll take their share.

I saw Neverland last night. It was pretty, JD was pretty pretty (and good), and the sets, costumes, etc. were lovely. I adore the whole Edwardian aesthetic. But while I didn't start making shopping lists in my head at any point, I didn't really take much away from the movie beyond nice, pretty, non-offensive. Yes, I cried at the end, but I'm an easy crier at the movies. It was sort of like a really good piece of shortbread. Tasty and satisfying, but an hour later I was ready to watch something noir or that involved explosions. I was impressed by the acting of the kid who played Peter, though.

I was just reading a British editorial about how Alexander just killed the renaissance of the sword-and-sandal epic. This last para makes me ask: Are these real projects that are/were in the works? Or is the author goofing?

in the wake of lacklustre returns from the historic dramas Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World, Cold Mountain and The Alamo, Hollywood is already pulling back from some of these extravagantly budgeted productions. Baz Luhrmann's Alexander project starring Leonardo DiCaprio is in limbo according to his would-be co-star Nicole Kidman. There's no sign of Vin Diesel starring as the hard-driving conqueror Hannibal, nor George Clooney charging into the Battle of Thermopylae in Michael Mann's Gates of Heaven. Nor has any major actress been announced to star in Warner's long-in-the-works Kleopatra.

I've never heard of Kleopatra or Gates Of Heaven, but the other two have had press.

I can't say I'm not sad at the swords and sandals dying, although I really would have liked a successful Alexander, what with all the pretty.

I've heard of Gates of Heaven, in conjunction with your very own bow-wielding boytoy. Not much about what the actual story was, just that it involved him using a sword—it could just as easily have been a David Eddings adaptation as a historical pic about Thermopylae.

You're sure you're not thinking of Kingdom of Heaven, the trailer for which has just come out?

Wasn't Gates of Heaven an Errol Morris documentary about pet cemeteries?

Ah, that must be it then. Hmm, maybe the former got turned around because it's not such a good idea to have two similarly named historical epics coming out too close to one another? Or because investors are gunshy about 'gate" and "heaven" being used in the same movie title?