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Overlooking a dozen little blemishes is much easier when the final piece captivates the imagination, a truism that applies quite well to the new dress-up game Infinity Nikki.

Infinity Nikki is the start of a new era for developer Papergames. It’s the first game published under their international brand, Infold, the first Nikki game made for consoles and PC, and, more importantly, a total reimagining of what the series can be after 12 years and four games. The Nikki series has always been solely about collecting clothes and putting together outfits,...

The actress Juno Temple is good at many things, but one of them is not — and has never been — living in the real world. “I’m fucking really not good at reality,” she’d said on a recent Friday afternoon, while taking a turn or two around Tokio7, one of New York City’s most well-loved vintage shopping establishments, and picking up items that seemed to prove her point.

“That’s got some real good twinkle to it, right?” she asks, flittering to a display case that holds a denim...

Johnny Depp hasn’t taken a directorial credit on a feature film (his 50-minute music video “Unloveable” doesn’t count) since he presented The Brave in Cannes in 1997, and that did not go well. Given that unhappy experience, you have to wonder what it was about Modi, Three Days on the Wing of Madness — a portrait of Amedeo Modigliani, a painter and sculptor famous for his talent as well as his taste for drugs, debauchery and scandalizing the straights — might have lured the actor to pick up the virtual megaphone again.

Perhaps Depp saw in Modigliani a kindred spirit? After all, Depp too is famous for his talent but also his proclivity for indulgence, which was brought into an especially glaring, unflattering light over the course of his bitter courtroom battle with his ex, Amber Heard. Still, there are many other wild, druggy geniuses or genius-adjacent types he could have...

Producing and releasing a medical/survival drama a year after the global pandemic ceased is a good call. This pandemic brought the world to a standstill, but at the same time, people were also going through chaotic times. Human beings changed their perspective about how life functions, and survival became their only goal. The pandemic also tested Charles Darwin’s theory of the survival of the fittest, and this phenomenon is the essence of the new Netflix India original Kaala Paani.

Set in the year 2027, just a few years after the Covid-19 pandemic, Andaman and Nicobar Islands are all set to organize Swaraj Mahotsav, a massive festival organized by a global Mnc Atom to increase the footfall of tourists from across mainland India. A million people are expected to attend this event, Dr. Saudamini Singh, the Chief Medical Officer of the government hospital in Port Blair, is on the brink...

In 2018, a journalist asked Bruce Dickinson how he felt about the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The Iron Maiden singer inveighed: “If we’re ever inducted, I will refuse — they won’t bloody be having my corpse in there.”

A year later, Steve Harris — the band’s bassist and only consistent member since Maiden formed in 1975 — offered a more levelheaded take: “It’s very nice if people give you awards or accolades, but we didn’t get into the business for that sort of thing. … With what we do,...

Art lovers rejoice. Marquee TV, a streaming platform for arts and culture, has announced new content partnerships that will make it possible for more people all over the globe to watch more top-notch artistic productions.

7-Day Free Trial $8.99 / month Marquee TV via amazon.com

On Monday, Marquee announced that the Washington Ballet and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment have joined the streamer as content partners, joining the London Symphony Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. These organizations present digital seasons — including world premieres — exclusively on the platform. Every single creative partner of Marquee TV has a devoted on-platform presence that will include unique performances.

A subscription to Marquee TV costs $8.99 per month or $89.99 annually, both after a seven-day free trial. You can sign up for the service directly, or through Prime Video Channels, which launched the service in March 2022.

Some of the upcoming programming from Marquee TV’s new...

Exclusive: The Washington Ballet and Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment have struck content partnerships with British arts streamer Marquee TV.

Over the coming months, Marquee has committed to showcasing new and exclusive content from the pair, as they join the likes of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the London Symphony who already have deals in place with Marquee. Marquee has also partnered with The Atlanta Opera, Fall For Dance North and Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre.

The likes of The Washington Ballet’s world premieres featuring choreography by Andile Ndlovu, Silas Farley and Dana Genshaft will drop on the platform this month and were co-produced by the pair. The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, meanwhile, will soon see its Rory Kinnear-narrated performance of Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner added to the streamer.

Susannah Simons, Marquee’s Director of Content, said the partnerships...

This post contains spoilers for "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever."

One of my favorite two-dimensional crushes has finally entered the Marvel Cinematic Universe in all his live-action glory! Played by Tenoch Huerta Mejía, Namor the Sub-Mariner is the main antagonist of "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever," though you won't hear me call him a villain. Similarly to Erik Killmonger, who was the Big Bad in "Black Panther," Namor may be at odds with our heroes, but that doesn't necessarily make him a villain. Much like his comic counterpart, the Sub-Mariner is a very complex character.

Co-writer (with Joe Robert Cole) and director Ryan Coogler called dibs on bringing Namor to life quite a while ago and completely reimagined him for the MCU. While so many aspects of the Sub-Mariner have changed going from page to screen, his motivations of protecting the seas and his people have been kept intact. If you've seen "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,...

I see lots of talk about Grease as we mourn the loss of Olivia-Newton John, but let’s not forget the real crowning achievement of her career…

Xanadu (1980)

Director: Robert Greenwald

Stars: Olivia Newton-John, Gene Kelly, Michael Beck

Is There A Plot?

A muse from the heavens comes to Earth to better our world by… [checks notes]… helping a struggling artist and an elderly rich man achieve their newfound dream of opening up a roller disco.

What’S The Damage?

Xanadu is a legendary bad movie for many reasons. Razzies creator John J. B. Wilson hated it so much that it led him to invent an official award show to celebrate the worst films of the year. It also has the designation of being screen legend Gene Kelly’s final film before his death, a rainbow-colored pimple on the ass of a renowned career. But, perhaps worst of all, Xanadu’s critical...

“Remember that patience is no sin,” sings Bruce Dickinson a whole three minutes into Senjutsu’s “The Parchment” — and he’s not kidding, since the song, which is one of the album’s standouts, stretches on for another 10 minutes. Luckily, Iron Maiden are typically not ones to waste listeners’ time. In those 13 minutes, the band blends cinematic Lawrence of Arabia strings with military-march guitar riffing, Dickinson bellows an Olivier Award-worthy monologue about his “primal quest for fear,” and the band’s three(!) guitarists each take turns indulging themselves in solos...

Even if you are meant to be the one interviewing Ric and Ken Burns, it will inevitably end up as a back-and-forth between the two brothers. Something Dante wrote reminds them of a passage from Ecclesiastes, and then come Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Eugene O’Neill, and the lyrics from a B-side Beatles track, at which point they have traversed about seven centuries and three continents away from the original question, whatever it was.

The referential well runs deep but it’s never without some self-analysis (“I wish I wasn’t so long-winded,” laments Ric with a kind laugh.) and the culmination ...

Even if you are meant to be the one interviewing Ric and Ken Burns, it will inevitably end up as a back-and-forth between the two brothers. Something Dante wrote reminds them of a passage from Ecclesiastes, and then come Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Eugene O’Neill and the lyrics from a B-side Beatles track, at which point they have traversed about seven centuries and three continents away from the original question, whatever it was.

The referential well runs deep, but it’s never without some self-analysis (“I wish I wasn’t so long-winded,” laments Ric with a kind laugh.) and the culmination ...

Bye Bye Birdie: Beauvois Bears Burdens in Old-Fashioned Melodrama

The albatross, a large white seabird with a significant wingspan, has been a symbol of a burden for paying penance ever since the 1798 poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge depicted this helpful avian creature leading a ship out of a jam only to be murdered by the titular sailor. As the title of the latest film from Xavier Beauvois suggests, Alabatros is also a narrative marrying oceanic themes and the impossibility of atonement for murdering another living thing. The English language title, Drift Away, divorces itself from such metaphorical obscurity to convey something a bit more basic (as is often the case for international titles being rebranded for easier marketing), but Beauvois finds himself adrift in what amounts to a somewhat stagnant, old-fashioned melodrama about grief and redemption.…...

National Geographic has renewed scripted anthology series Genius for a third season and has revealed that iconic author Mary Shelley, best known for her Gothic novel Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus, will be its subject. The network made the announcement at the conclusion of its upfront Wednesday in New York City.

Mary Shelley will follow brilliant physicist Albert Einstein, who was at the center of Season 1, and famous artist Pablo Picasso, who was the subject of Season 2. Like with the previous seasons, Nat Geo and Fox 21 Television Studios and Imagine Television are expected to go after big names for the lead — Geoffrey Rush played Einstein, and Antonio Banderas portrayed Picasso. The Season 3 renewal comes a week ahead of the April 24 premiere of Genius: Picasso.

“Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein left an indelible mark on generations of imaginations,” said Carolyn Bernstein, Evp, global development and production for National Geographic Global Networks.

Brilliant: Nat Geo just unveiled the subject for its third season of “Genius,” Mary Shelley.

The first woman genius to be chronicled by the cable channel’s scripted anthology series basically invented the science fiction and horror genres when she created Frankenstein (yes, and his monster). Shelley’s season will again be executive produced by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment, Mwm Studios and Eue/Sokolow.

The series hails from Fox 21 Television Studios.

Also Read: Nat Geo Wild Renews 'The Incredible Dr. Pol,' 3 Other Shows (Exclusive)

Showrunner, executive producer and writer Ken Biller will continue his role overseeing the new season, per Nat Geo. In addition to he, Grazer and Howard, Francie Calfo, Gigi Pritzker, Rachel Shane, Sam Sokolow and Jeff Cooney are also executive producers. Anna Culp is producer.

Filming on “Genius 3” is expected to begin later this year.

“Genius: Picasso” premieres on Tuesday, by the way. The first season followed Albert Einstein’s exploits, and brought a whole bunch of awards and eyeballs to National Geographic.

Also Read: Katie Couric Says Nat Geo Docuseries Goes Further Than Mainstream Media: 'These Conversations Aren't Happening' (Video)

“Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein left an indelible mark on generations of imaginations,” said Carolyn Bernstein, executive vice president, global development and production for National Geographic Global Networks. “Equally inspiring is the story of Shelley’s relentless innovation, coupled with her desire to live on her own unconventional terms despite immense societal and cultural obstacles. I can’t wait for our talented team to bring her remarkable, relevant and timely story to life for season three of ‘Genius’ and do justice to her literary legacy.”

“Mary Shelley has inspired countless filmmakers with her tale of the wretch brought to life by science gone wrong, but very few have fully captured her insightful reflections on society in the myth she left behind,” added Howard. “Few know of her struggles due to gender inequities, her additional writings, her influence on other historically significant individuals and society at large. Showcasing someone like Mary Shelley and her amazing intellect, compassion and fortitude is exactly what this series is for, and we are looking forward to continuing our successful partnership with National Geographic and Fox 21 Television Studios.”

“Our experience with Courteney, Carolyn and the Nat Geo team has been phenomenal, and our award-winning first season exceeded even our own high expectations,” said Bert Salke, president of Fox 21 Television Studios. “Audiences are in for a treat with our follow-up, featuring a transformative performance by Antonio Banderas as our Picasso, and a compelling story created by Ken Biller. The choice of Mary Shelley as the subject of our third season speaks to the incredible depth of the franchise. How fitting at this moment in time to pivot to one of the many female geniuses in human history, and Mary’s story is both stranger than fiction and incredibly dramatic. We can’t wait to get started.”

Also Read: 'Hidden Figures' TV Series in the Works at Nat Geo

Here is Nat Geo’s kickass bio on Shelley:

A brilliant thinker, radical intellectual and proto-feminist, Mary Shelley (1797-1851) brought to life one of the most enduring stories of the modern age while still a teenager. “Frankenstein; or the Modern Prometheus” is a cautionary tale of unchecked scientific ambition and a sophisticated meditation on social institutions, personal freedom and compassion that has captured imaginations and continues to be relevant since it was first published 200 years ago. Shelley masterfully invented the Science Fiction/Horror genre with her tale of a creature brought to life, subsequently going on to create the Post-Apocalyptic genre with her later novel, “The Last Man.”

An intellectual prodigy who was inspired from an early age by the writing of her unconventional mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, Shelley was determined to prove that women were the intellectual and creative equals of men. One of few women to support herself as an author during the early 18th century, Shelley wrote short stories, reviews, travelogues, and made prolific contributions to the world’s first encyclopedia, she also wrote six novels. Shelley’s inner circle included countless literary and scientific luminaries of the day, including Lord Byron, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Mary and Charles Lamb, Humphry Davy and Leigh Hunt.

Shelley met the love of her life, Romantic poet, amateur scientist and still-married Percy Bysshe Shelley, at the age of 16. After losing her virginity to Shelley at her mother’s gravesite, the pair eloped and were cast out by her father, the radical intellectual William Godwin. Shelley was to endure a lifetime of tragic misfortune, watching three of her four children die, losing multiple friends and family members to suicide, and outliving her husband, who drowned at sea. In true gothic style, Shelley elected to keep her late husband’s heart after his death

Shelley’s writing was heavily influenced by the great scientific innovation and experimentation of the early 19th century. Scientists like Luigi Galvani, Giovanni Aldini and Erasmus Darwin, grandfather of Charles, figured prominently in her life. The story of Frankenstein was inspired in part by one of the most important scientific theories of the time, Galvanism, the study of the effect of electricity on the dead bodies of animals and humans.

Mary Shelley spent the last few years of her life being looked after by her only surviving child, Percy Florence Shelley, before dying of a brain tumor at the age of 53.

Read original story ‘Genius': Mary Shelley, ‘Frankenstein’ Author, Will Be Nat Geo Show’s First Female Genius (Video) At TheWrap...

The third season of NatGeo’s acclaimed bioseries Genius will be about the life of Frankenstein author Mary Shelley, TVLine has learned.

Shelley will be the series’ first female subject, following Season 1’s Albert Einstein (played by Geoffrey Rush and Johnny Flynn) and Season 2’s Pablo Picasso (played by Antonio Banderas and Alex Rich).

The British author and storied intellectual, who lived from 1797–1851, is best known for writing the Gothic novel Frankenstein; or the Modern Prometheus. She also was an 18th-century feminist, an intellectual who hobnobbed with the likes of Lord Byron and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the wife of Percy Bysshe Shelley...

Louisa Mellor Sep 28, 2017

To mark National Poetry Day in the UK, we celebrate a dozen of TV’s best worst fictional poets…

The best words in their best order. That’s how Samuel Taylor Coleridge summed up the task of a poet.

See related Star Trek: Discovery episode 2 review - Battle At The Binary Star Star Trek: Discovery episode 1 review - The Vulcan Hello Star Trek Discovery: take our special quiz here!

Not everyone, however, can be Coleridge, nor can they follow his advice, as this slim volume of fictional TV poets proves…

12. Charlie and Dee – It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia

Makeup... smearin'/No power steerin'/He be talkin'/but we don't be hearin'/Speaks like Zeus/Smells like poops/Rage all over from his head down to his shoes.

It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia’s alliances between Dee and Charlie are always excellent value. She’s ridiculous,...

Four U.K. women are attempting the impossible. On April 20, 2015, Natalie Cohen, 40, Laura Penhaul, 32, Emma Mitchell, 30, and Meg Dyos, 25, set out from San Francisco, California, in a 29-ft. long, 7-ft. wide pink rowing boat named "Doris," to cross 8,446 miles of unforgiving Pacific water. The women, who call themselves the Coxless Crew after their lack of a coxswain (a person who sits in the stern) member onboard, are on the third and final leg of their journey. When they arrive in Cairns, Australia, in early January, they will have become the first ever team of four to row the Pacific Ocean,...

Four U.K. women are attempting the impossible. On April 20, 2015, Natalie Cohen, 40, Laura Penhaul, 32, Emma Mitchell, 30, and Meg Dyos, 25, set out from San Francisco, California, in a 29-ft. long, 7-ft. wide pink rowing boat named "Doris," to cross 8,446 miles of unforgiving Pacific water. The women, who call themselves the Coxless Crew after their lack of a coxswain (a person who sits in the stern) member onboard, are on the third and final leg of their journey. When they arrive in Cairns, Australia, in early January, they will have become the first ever team of four to row the Pacific Ocean,...

Morgan Freeman is attached to play one of the lead roles in "Down To A Sunless Sea" from writer David Gleeson.

Focus Features has just landed the script which is said to be a big action film in the vein of "Air Force One". No further word on the plot, though the title is obviously taken from Samuel Taylor Coleridge's famed poem "Kubla Khan".

Bruce Cohen along with Freeman's production company Revelations are producing.

Source: Deadline...

The inimitable Olivier Award winner and Tony Award nominee Fiona Shaw Medea, 2002 Next Wave Happy Days, 2008 Spring Season John Gabriel Borkman, 2011 Spring Season and dancer Daniel Hay-Gordon perform one of the best loved poems in the English language, Samuel Taylor Coleridge's epic The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, under the acclaimed direction of Phyllida Lloyd. This fiery, pared-down adaption of the 215-year-old tale tells of consequences paid while marooned at sea and of man's wanderings throughout the world in search of meaning.

I’ve often maintained that the best fantasies are ones that have one foot firmly set in reality. We need something to which we can relate. We are asked to enter into a “willing suspension of disbelief,” as coined by the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. However impossible or implausible in reality an event in literature is, we accept it. Quite simply, we’re being told a story and we concede reality to get on with the story – up to a point.

When Superman first appeared in 1938 he was a fantastic character but, in those early stories, he fought real-life villains and situations – slums, gangsters, crooked politicians, corrupt cops and so on. The United States, like most of the world, was still deep in the Great Depression. World War II was looming. For so many people, the reality was that the banks had failed them, the courts had failed them, the police failed them,...

Mike Figgis on an unexpected encounter with Kate Moss, and Nicolas Roeg discusses his memoir-cum-history of British film-making

Gathers no Moss

Inspired by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, director Mike Figgis filmed his latest digital work, Suspension of Disbelief, in Highgate, London. In fact, he tried to shoot in the poet's old home, only to find it had just been bought by Kate Moss. Undeterred, Figgis asked Moss if he could film in the house while it was undergoing refurbishment. "We tried to get in there but it didn't quite fit with her plans," Figgis told me. "It would have been too perfect, I suppose, but it's going to be a hell of a place when she's finished with it."

Figgis ended up shooting just two doors away, at the house of a music business executive. His film is a spry, experimental mix of narrative trickery and visual intelligence, a self-referential noir,...

The sea has long been a source of inspiration for poets and musicians. From Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s lyrical ballad, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” to Iron Maiden’s metal ballad “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” every genre and permutation of the artforms has been entranced by the romance, adventures, and disasters that can happen when a vessel take to the open waters.

And there's something especially appealing about those disasters, it seems. Few musicians can resist the allure of a good shipwreck, and all of the helplessness and hopeless that comes with being stranded in the middle of nowhere while you are left to thrash, fade and die in the water. Whether they’re the basis for an epic ballad, a metaphor for a broken relationship, or the inspiration for a nightmare, sinking ships have have been memorialized in folk songs, toasted by rap’s predecessors, explored...

New York — Fiona Shaw's small Broadway dressing room had the look of a makeshift bar. There were more than a dozen bottles of wine stashed on a high shelf.

"It looks like a sort of speakeasy, doesn't it?" the actress said, looking up at the gifts left by well-wishers that were now on duty for post-show cheers. "Over many months, we hope. Not in a night."

Visitors might be handed a glass of pinot but the hostess would rather stay as sober as possible as she tackles another astonishing part in a career populated by plenty of them. This new one may even top the rest: the Virgin Mary, whose son turned water into wine.

Shaw, perhaps best known for playing Harry Potter's aunt, is re-imagining the life of the mother of Christ in Irish writer Colm Toibin's New York premiere stage adaptation of his novella "The Testament of Mary,...

Carl Jung had a theory he called "Participation Mystique," which Mike Figgis tries to explain with a few written lines at the top of his new post-modern film noir, "Suspension of Disbelief." Basically, the idea is that the emotional part of the brain that controls emotions doesn't distinguish between truth and fiction; consequently, when making or watching art, reality and fantasy merge. Philosopher Samuel Taylor Coleridge coined the phrase "suspension of disbelief" in 1817, using the example of a writer being able to convince the reader to suspend judgement of an implausible narrative if the author could infuse his story with human interest and the suspension of truth. The odd thing about making such a big deal of Jung is that Figgis has managed to make a film that never gives the audience a chance to suspend disbelief.  At every opportunity, the all-too-self-aware director reminds the audience that they are watching a fiction,...

Aficionados of Bram Stoker's Dracula will be in for a double treat. Discounting a similarly titled Death Ship (1980), which bears no relation to the recent graphic novel of the same name, at least this tale may be the inspiration for a coming film, Last Voyage of the Demeter. News of this film broke early 2011 and as of late, David Slate (30 Days of Night) is to direct, and Bragi F. Schut (Season of the Witch) to write the screenplay. Until this film goes into production, UK residents have the treat of BBC Radio 4's version to tide them over. They provided a chilling version that was last broadcasted in '09, which is now hard to come by.

At least the graphic novel compilation of "Death Ship: The Last Voyage of the Demeter," is more current. Idw Publishing released this title Sept 28 and this tale explores the last few days of the Russian schooner,...

Director/ Writer: Philip Gardiner.

Cast: Andrew Gough, Nik Spencer, Layla Randle Conde, Sarah Dunn, Dap C. Corjan, Simon Dulay, and Wes Dolan.

*A screener of this film was provided by Gravitas Ventures.

Word is spreading about the real paranormal activities that occurred during the making of The Stone: No Soul Unturned. Publicity stunt or not, when words like “Most Haunted” are being tossed about and cellphones are doing strange things, the question of whether or not Annesley Hall is truly haunted depends on who is being asked. And viewers will get a chance to find out for themselves when the DVD releases on August 23. There will be plenty of bonus material that explores the real history of this building and offer music videos at the same time.

At least for the production team involved with the making this film, they truly believe there is something evil that exists there. They...

Why Watch? Because the combination of animation, experiment, and Welles is a palpable one. In 1977, experimental filmmaker Larry Jordan used work from 19th century French artist Gustave Doré and the thunderous tones of Orson Welles to bring Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s most famous epic poem to life. It’s a potent story of a sea captain who kills an albatross while on the ocean and pays a hefty penalty. But chances are that you already knew that, having had to memorize it for freshman English class in high school. The version here, which is more than a bit different from Raúl daSilva’s 1975 take, is surreal at times but also direct. The engravings are wonderful, but there’s no denying that Welles is the star. What does it cost? Just 40 minutes of your time. Check out The Rime of the Ancient Mariner for yourself: The Rime Of The Ancient Mariner (1977) Trust us. You...

Director Jonathan Mostow could be hitting the water for Sub-Mariner, based on Marvel Comics' undersea superhero.

In a taped interview for his upcoming new film The Surrogates, Mostow told Collider the project was shrouded in secrecy, but apparently, he was more forthcoming off-camera. According to the site, the rights to Sub-Mariner are owned by Universal, unlike such properties as Iron Man, Captain America and The Avengers, which Marvel owns. Because of this, Mostow said the movie would not take place in the same shared universe as recent Marvel-based flicks, unless Universal and Marvel reach some kind of agreement over it.

Mostow also said Sub-Mariner is in active development, and the main barrier is getting just the right screenplay. It should be noted that the character, who is said to have been inspired by Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s famous poem "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner", has been a valuable member of the comic-book Avengers,...

First Light Theater Group, in association with The Pyramid Media Company and 9Squared Entertainment, present the World Premiere of Thirst: a spell for Christabel, a new play by Monika Bustamante, based on the unfinished gothic poem "Christabel" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834). Directed by Elena Araoz and produced by David Davoli on an Off-Broadway contract, previews begin March 10th at Here Arts Center. Opening is slated for Tuesday, March 17th. Thirst: a spell for Christabel retells Coleridge's gothic story in an abandoned forest suffering from an apocalyptic drought. Christabel and her father, stubborn hold-outs in the dying woods, are visited by a mysterious and opportunistic woman who quickly transforms their quiet world. Soon they must choose between her frightening, seductive promises and the quickly diminishing safety of the life they've always known. Thirst: a spell for Christabel will feature Matthew Cowles (Veronika Decides to Die, Life on Mars, Oz), Lori Funk,...

First Light Theater Group, in association with The Pyramid Media Company and 9Squared Entertainment, present the World Premiere of Thirst: a spell for Christabel, a new play by Monika Bustamante, based on the unfinished gothic poem "Christabel" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834). Directed by Elena Araoz and produced by David Davoli on an Off-Broadway contract, previews begin March 10th at Here Arts Center. Opening is slated for Tuesday, March 17th. Thirst: a spell for Christabel retells Coleridge's gothic story in an abandoned forest suffering from an apocalyptic drought. Christabel and her father, stubborn hold-outs in the dying woods, are visited by a mysterious and opportunistic woman who quickly transforms their quiet world. Soon they must choose between her frightening, seductive promises and the quickly diminishing safety of the life they've always known.

Wordsworth a secret agent and Coleridge a traitor? Pandaemonium may be entertainment, says John Sutherland, but as history it's pure travesty

Pandaemonium highlights a problem familiar to teachers of English literature. You have this class. They've spent the weekend (you suspect) popping ecstasy and watching MTV. How do you make the 1802 Preface to the Lyrical Ballads, with all that high-toned stuff about "poetic diction", sexy? Pandaemonium falls back on Oscar Wilde's axiom: "Lies are more beautiful than truth." What director Julien Temple and screenwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce have created is visually striking - stunning at times. But these effects are achieved at the cost of biographical and historical truth. Does it matter? No, says the movie's producer, Michael Kustow. Yes, says Professor Dryasdust.

Temple's movie opens with a wholly imaginary gathering. It is the election of the Poet Laureate, in 1813. Bizarrely, the Lord Chamberlain has decided to announce the...

LATEST: Horror writer Stephen King's gamble with internet publishing has proved a $600, 000 winner. The hit scribbler serialized his latest novel The Plant on his website six months ago and has watched the cash pour in ever since. King is also overjoyed at having made publishers, agents and printers redundant. He crows, "It's just an electronic mirage floating out there all by itself, like Samuel Taylor Coleridge's stately pleasure dome, with no printing costs, publisher's cuts or agents' fees to pull it down."...

Wildman actor Oliver Reed's softer side has been revealed in a recently unearthed 20-year-old tape recording - in which he reads poetry. Reed, who died at age 61 in Malta last year while filming Gladiator (2000), once lent his voice to a poem adapted from a traditional piece of advice on raising children responsibly. Now, Canadian company Entercor Entertainment plans to release "The Man That You Have Made" as an Internet download - at http://www.entercor.com/ente/proowtbup.htm - in mid-August. Lee Johnson, the president of EnterCor and the South African born lyricist who worked with Reed two decades ago, says "We recently found a copy of the recording which we believed had been lost. After getting permission from Reed's family, the tape was cleaned up digitally and a music bed was composed by Robert Schroder. The recording was made in London when Reed was performing in a rock opera called "The Ancient Mariner" that was based on the classic poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Reed's daughter Sarah has endorsed the release of the lost recording saying, "Not only is it a tribute to him, but it is a project that he would have wholeheartedly backed."...