All Things Austen bring cinematic first to Covey Center
Mr Darcy (COLIN FIRTH) and Elizabeth Bennet (JENNIFER EHLE) in BBC's "Pride and Prejudice." Copyright BBC 1995
Mr Darcy (COLIN FIRTH) in BBC's "Pride and Prejudice." Copyright BBC 1995
It is a truth universally acknowledged that actor Colin Firth gave the definitive Mr. Darcy performance for all time in the 1995 BBC mini-series adaptation of Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice.” Nobody wants to hear about Matthew Macfadyen, or David Rintoul (whose BBC mini-series Darcy predates Firth’s), or the curly haired dude from the Mormon version, or even Laurence Olivier, for heaven’s sake.
Colin Firth is the ultimate Darcy, and all of the other Fitzwilliams are fighting for second place. As Firth himself said in a 2002 interview with the British tabloid Daily Mail, the character has dogged his career ever since Firth’s distinctive Darcy first set hearts aflutter.
“I dare say if I did spend my waking hours reading my own fan mail I probably would feel Darcy was following me around,” Firth said. “But I’ve got family and friends and children and none of them call me Mr. Darcy.” Even if everyone else does.
Fans of Jane Austen who’ve never seen the 1995 BBC “Pride and Prejudice” don’t exist, but if they did, then there would be a unique opportunity on Saturday at the Covey Center for the Arts in Provo for them to finally find out what all the raving is about. That’s because the Firth “Pride and Prejudice” will be screened in its entirety during Saturday’s inaugural All Things Austen conference.
The conference will feature a presentation by Austen aficionado and Brigham Young University professor Jane Hinckley, and there will be a group discussion of Austen’s enduring legacy. The real reason for the conference, however, is to present all six 55-minute episodes of the long, slow courtship between Firth’s Fitzwilliam Darcy and Jennifer Ehle’s Elizabeth Bennet — on a theater-sized screen with theater-quality sound.
The screening and conference were arranged by David Acheson, who works in the software industry and is chairman of the Utah County Republican Party. A former BYU English major and longtime Jane-ite, Acheson got the idea for a one-day “Pride and Prejudice” event from his kids.
“About three years ago, my kids were going to marathons where they would see all the Harry Potter movies back-to-back, or all of the ‘Lord of the Rings’ movies,” Acheson said. “I was feeling a bit left out, and I thought, ‘I’d like to go to a theater, with the comfortable seats, and the big screen, and see my favorite movies. What would I like to watch back-to-back?’ “
After realizing the obvious answer, Acheson embarked on what became a nearly three-year quest to get the rights from the BBC to show the mini-series theatrically — something that no one else has ever done. “When I first approached the BBC,” Acheson said, which eventually involved a trip to London, “they just kind of scratched their heads and said, ‘Wow, nobody has ever asked about that before.’ “
Everything came together in time for All Things Austen to be scheduled in the 200th anniversary year of the publication of “Pride and Prejudice.” And Acheson said that the Covey Center screening will be a theater-caliber event. “We’re doing it in hi-def with Dolby sound,” he said. “We did a technical run-through and it was just amazing. I sat there and thought, ‘This is truly as cool and as great as we thought it would be.”
Acheson said he’s already planning to do it again in 2014, and that he’s even talked with the BBC about holding theatrical screenings in other cities and other countries.
For Acheson, the 1995 “Pride and Prejudice” is not just definitive “Pride and Prejudice,” it’s the definitive Austen adaptation — period. “I think it’s the seminal cinematic production of any Jane Austen novel,” he said. “It was kind of a perfect alchemy. The costumes, the dialogue, the performances, the script — all of those things came together in a magical way.”
And of course, the romantic leads couldn’t have been better. “Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth brought it all together in such a convincing way,” Acheson said. “Whatever it is that worked, it worked in a big way.” Just ask Colin Firth. His family members may not think of him as Mr. Darcy, but a whole lot of Jane Austen fans do. Still.
All Things Austen
When: 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday
Where: Performance Hall, Covey Center for the Arts, 425 W. Center St., Provo
Cost: $39-$59
Info: JaneAustenGuild.com, www.coveycenter.org