To walk invisible, un biopic des soeurs Brontë pour la BBC

Oui avec impatience!

Sally Wainwright a donné une interview tout à fait intéressante au Yorkshire Post sur ce projet de série :
On apprend notamment qu'elle ne sera malheureusement pas tournée au presbytère des Brontë car la maison est très fragile. Elle explique aussi ce qu'elle veut pour son casting.

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There’s the windswept moors, there’s the broken hearts and there’s the winding cobbled streets of Haworth. Except when Sally Wainwright’s retelling of the lives of three literary sisters and their wayward brother comes to the small screen don’t expect bustles and bonnets. This will be period drama with added grit.

“I’m not interested in chocolate box representations,” says the Halifax-born screenwriter behind Happy Valley and Last Tango in Halifax. “I want it to be authentic. It’s very easy for these kind of historic dramas to slip into easy cliche, but right from the start I was determined to get past the Brontë myth which has inevitably romanticised and overshadowed the lives and careers of Emily, Charlotte and Ann. I wanted to immerse myself in what life was really like for these three women living in the north of England.”


Wainwright, who describes herself as a lifelong fan of the Brontës, did what she always does when it comes to research and buried her head in books. Lots of books. With just two hours to tell her story, she knew that it would be impossible to tell the full Brontë biopic. Nor did she want to, preferring instead to focus on one particular story arc. In the end she settled on the three years from 1845 to 1848, which for the Brontës were packed with more drama and tragedy than most families see in a lifetime.
“I think there is a perception that the Brontës spent all their lives at the parsonage, living in quiet isolation, but that’s simply not true. Charlotte and Emily went off to Brussels for a while, Ann was a tutor and Branwell had a number of disastrous attempts to forge his own way in life. However, in 1845 they were together again when for various reasons they were all either drawn or forced back to the family home.”
Central to To Walk Invisible, which will hit TV screens next year, is the sisters’ relationship with Branwell whose life spectacularly unravelled when he returned to the parsonage. A failed portrait painter and writer, the second eldest of the surviving Bront children was a serial under-achiever. Dismissed from a job on the railways for accounting irregularities, he ended up becoming a tutor, but again it was a career which did not last long.
“He had an affair with the mistress of the house, a woman called Lydia Robinson,” says Wainwright, who admits to devouring every new book written about Yorkshire’s famous literary family. “When he was found it out, it was disastrous. The Robinsons were very wealthy people and there was a huge divide between them and Branwell in terms of social status. The affair transgressed so many boundaries and he had no choice but to return to Haworth.”

Once back in the West Yorkshire town, he began to drink in earnest and when Lydia Robinson broke off the affair for good, he was consumed by grief, numbing his pain with alcohol, opiates and an expensive gambling habit. By 1847, as Branwell’s life was nearing its unfortunate, but inevitable conclusion, all three of his sisters had their first novels published.

“As a story it really is a bit of a gift for a screenwriter, all I had to do was fashion it into a script,” says Wainwright modestly. “Being women living where they did at that time there was never any pressure on any of the Brontë sisters to succeed. However, as the only man in the house Branwell was expected to do well, but he just wasn’t up to it. The Brontës weren’t a wealthy family. They had to go out to work and they had to prove themselves, but whatever he tried to turn his hand to it just never worked out.

“Life at home must have been incredibly fraught, but against that backdrop Charlotte, Emily and Ann produced some incredible prose and poetry. These were incredibly clever, strong-minded and complex women. Part of that is down to their father Patrick Brontë. While he was a vicar, he was also an Irishman who believed in the power of education. He encouraged his daughters to read writers like Byron. At the time he was widely considered to be quite vulgar, but it helped spark the sisters’ own imaginations.

“I think Emily’s writing speaks to me the most and I think Ann’s novel The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is an incredible achievement. In the past it’s probably fair to say that out of the three, Ann has been the most overlooked, but I think more recently she seems to be finally getting the recognition she deserves.”
Routinely praised for the quality of her dialogue - Happy Valley won the Best Drama Bafta earlier this year - Wainwright honed her scriptwriting skills with early spells on The Archers and Coronation Street. While she now lives with her husband and two children in rural Oxfordshire much of her work is inspired by her native Yorkshire and it is likely To Walk Invisible, which Wainwright will also direct, will be filmed on location in the county.

“I know what I want the drama to look like and how I want it to feel, so I was keen to direct,” she says. “Sadly we can’t film in the parsonage itself as it is far too delicate, but we are hopeful of being able to film with Brontë county as a backdrop.

“The next step is casting and we have been tossing a few names around. The key is getting four actors who are believable as siblings and that’s not easy. I have watched so many dramas and thought, ‘Who are they trying to kid? They don’t come across as a family’. It comes down to that indescribable chemistry which you only know you have when you actually get the actors in a room together.”

Wainwright has been openly critical in the past of British television, saying it relies too much on aping what’s happening in America when it should be ploughing its own furrow. However, with Happy Valley and Last Tango in Halifax both recommissioned for a second and fourth series Wainwright is at least doing her part to bring a distinctive northern voice to the schedules.

“Writing the Brontë drama was fascinating, but I am definitely more of a contemporary writer,” she says. “I think television spends far too much time looking back and I much prefer to look forward.”

Merci pour toutes ces infos!

Non, je ne remonte pas le topic pour vous faire part d'une nouvelle info. Le tournage aurait du commencer ce mois-ci et toujours rien, bizarre  ... J'espère qu'on saura bientôt quels acteurs ont été choisis pour jouer la famille Brontë.

Oui curieuse de connaitre les acteurs !

Dans un article de la BBC sur le bicentenaire

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Sally Wainwright's drama To Walk Invisible airs on BBC1 in the autumn.

Super J'imagine qu'on aura des infos sur le casting bientôt !

Toujours pas de nouvelles du casting mais on en apprend un chouia plus grâce au Keighley News (un journal du Yorkshire) sur ce qui se passe à Haworth en ce moment :

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THE PARSONAGE reopened on February 1 after a month of deep cleaning, DIY, changing the displays and preparing our new exhibition.

Our first visitors of the year arrived at 10am, and left with a gift for their efforts, and we were pleasantly surprised to find visitors flocking to the museum on a very cold and wet Monday morning.

The response to the new exhibition, curated by Tracy Chevalier, has been overwhelmingly positive, and it’s not difficult to see why, as the exhibition showcases some beautiful and haunting objects from the collection.

[...]

An American family visiting with a number of children were intrigued by Aunt Branwell’s pattens!

A personal highlight of February has been a number of visits from the production team behind a new BBC drama about the Brontes, written by Sally Wainwright. The Parsonage staff are huge fans of Happy Valley, and as such we are all very excited about Sally’s new drama.
     
Much like Christopher Fry’s 1973 drama The Brontes Of Haworth, the Parsonage is being recreated in a studio in painstaking detail. It has been fascinating to observe a team of designers and producers measuring and sketching the rooms and their artefacts.

The attention to detail certainly bodes well, although we are all clueless as to who might be cast as the Bronte siblings. As such we’re compiling our own fantasy cast (James Norton is on the wish-list) – I’ll keep you posted on further developments.

On en sait un peu plus, toujours grâce au même journal. En gros, comme le presbytère des Brontë est fragile, une réplique va être construite (carrément). Le tournage aura lieu aussi dans la rue principale du village de Haworth qui sera fermée début mai/fin juin aux touristes.

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BBC spokesman outlines details of major filming operation in Haworth for new drama about the Brontes

A REPLICA of the Bronte Parsonage will be temporarily created on Penistone Hill as part of a major new BBC drama about the world famous literary family.

The producers of To Walk Invisible, which has been created by award-winning Yorkshire writer and playwright Sally Wainwright, will also turn the clock back in Haworth Main Street to make it resemble its appearance in the 1840s.

The scale of the planned filming was outlined to members of Haworth, Cross Roads and Stanbury Parish Council yesterday evening (March 7) by BBC spokesman Andrew Morgan.

Mr Morgan, who is the location manager for the BBC One project, said: "We've studios in Manchester where they are building interior sets of the parsonage, because we can't film inside the parsonage itself.

"We are also building an exterior replica of the parsonage, and our other big set piece will be in Main Street, which we will be turning back to the 1840s.

"This will take two weeks of preparation, two or probably three days of filming followed by a further week of dismantling.

"There will be a lot of work going on in Main Street at the back end of May and in early June."

Mr Morgan said Main Street would be closed between the Black Bull pub and Lodge Street during the first full week of June, with traffic management due to take place in the street for the previous two weeks.

"This will be something very special and we want people to come and see what we're doing," he added.

"As we get closer to the filming some of our staff will be coming to Haworth and distributing leaflets to people to see if they would like to be extras."

Mr Morgan said alternative arrangements were being made to provide parking for coaches which would normally use the Penistone Hill car park during the 1940s Weekend.

He said Main Street traders had been informed of the filming in their area, adding that residents of this street would also be notified.

The drama will revolves around the three Bronte sisters’ increasingly difficult relationship with their brother Branwell, who in the last three years of his life – following a tragic love affair – sank into alcoholism and drug addiction and appalling behaviour.

To Walk Invisible will also explore the siblings’ relationship not only with one another, but with their father, Patrick.

Mrs Wainwright will be directing the production. Her previous work, including the Calderdale-based television dramas Last Tango in Halifax and Happy Valley, has won widespread critical acclaim.

Commenting when news of the new drama was first released last year, she said: “I am thrilled beyond measure that I've been asked by the BBC to bring to life these three fascinating, talented, ingenious Yorkshire women.”

Vivement que l'on est des infos sur le casting !!!

Titine75 a écrit:

Vivement que l'on est des infos sur le casting !!!

Oui, ils nous font beaucoup trop attendre !

Je vois qu'il n'y a pas que nous qui avons pensé à James Norton

Le projet avance doucement mais sûrement :

La réplique du presbytère des Brontë est en train d'être construite, le tournage commencera en juin

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IT may look a little out of place amidst the bleak Yorkshire moorland, but this bare timber structure will soon set hearts soaring.
When finished, television viewers won't be able to tell it apart from the stone-built Bronte Parsonage in nearby Haworth, former home of the Brontes.
The exterior replica of the Parsonage is taking shape on Penistone Hill, chosen by film location experts to better resemble the original 1840s setting for a major new BBC drama.
To Walk Invisible, created by award-winning Yorkshire writer and playwright Sally Wainwright, will tell the story of the world-famous family.
Although the unpainted timber structure is currently a "monstrosity", according to local councillor Glen Miller, the short-term pain will be worth it in the end.
It looks a monstrosity but is going to be painted and will bring future benefits," he added.
"When the drama goes out at Christmas, it will bring in more footfall into the district. I also hope the BBC will donate the surplus wood to local charities."
Councillor Miller (Con, Worth Valley) said the Penistone Hill location was actually more authentic because the real Parsonage was surrounded by trees which weren't present in the 1840s.
"The legacy of this production will be good for the area, not just for Haworth but for Bradford as well."
Parish council chairman John Huxley is just as enthusiastic about the three-storey timber structure, which can be seen from Top Withens and the route to the Bronte Waterfalls.
He said: "There is no doubt it will become an attraction in its own right. There has been an increase in the number of programmes about the Brontes because of the 200th anniversary of Charlotte Bronte's birth [on April 21 this year].
"The Bronte legacy for the village is very important."
Meanwhile, the BBC is continuing preparation for filming in June by which time Main Street in Haworth will be restored to its 1840s appearance.
Part of the street will be closed during the first full week of June. Interior sets will be built in Manchester because filming is not possible inside the real Parsonage.

To Walk Invisible revolves around the three Bronte sisters’ increasingly difficult relationship with their brother Branwell, who in the last three years of his life - following a tragic love affair - sank into alcoholism and drug addiction and appalling behaviour.
The drama will also explore the siblings’ relationship not only with one another, but with their father, Patrick.
Bronte experts are assisting the BBC with preparations.
Sarah Laycock, library and collections officer at the Brontë Parsonage Museum, said: "We’re really happy to be assisting the BBC with their preparations for To Walk Invisible.
"Over the last few weeks, members of the production crew have spent a lot of time looking at our collection in order to reproduce replica artefacts to use as props or as part of the set. The attention to detail is incredible.
"We’re all looking forward to the drama itself and in the meantime are enjoying seeing the replica Parsonage and other buildings being erected on Penistone Hill.
"My colleagues and I take regular walks up there to monitor progress - it’s fascinating and we can’t wait to see the finished building."

Vivement le casting !!!!!

Ce sera notre drama BBC de Noël

Ah c'est sympa les photos de la réplique, merci !

Selon cet article  qui date d'il y a 2 ans ( ), Matthew Lewis aurait été casté dans le rôle de Branwell Brontë dans un projet qui ressemble étrangement à To Walk Invisible. Comme le projet en question a pris beaucoup de retard, je me demande s'il est toujours question que ce soit lui qui l'incarne. On aura l'annonce officielle bientôt en tous cas.

 
Que pensez-vous de ce possible choix ?

Ah pourquoi pas, je suis curieuse de le voir dans un registre différent de Harry Potter!

A voir, en tout cas, on saura bientôt !

Shelbylee a écrit:

A voir, en tout cas, on saura bientôt !

Voici que que Sally Wainwright a tweeté :

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@SarahLancsUK @theatredame88 next Thursday the cast will be announced. On Charlotte's birthday!

Vivement jeudi !

J'ai peur d'être déçue (je me prépare déjà à l'être pour Branwell )

J'attends avec impatience l'annonce...

Ahlàlà, Emjy, j'ai cru que tu nous faisais un poisson d'avril ! Le projet est en temps mort depuis tellement longtemps !!...

Il y a une Rachel Teate qui a tweeté ça  

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The new @TheBrontesFilm script is Amazing, I had tears rolling down my cheeks!!!! Can not wait to start shooting! #annebronte