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by **GillyDreamer78** » July 29th, 2011, 5:33 pm

William Hurt, Gillian Anderson, Ethan Hawke to revive 'Moby Dick' for Encore

Danielle Turchiano, LA TV Insider Examiner, July 29, 2011

You all know the classic story of Moby Dick, and if you don't, well, the cliffnotes are online. But Encore has a retelling coming to television in just a few days. Starring the incomparable William Hurt, Gillian Anderson, and Ethan Hawke, the story is something that both the network and the stars feel "it's time the story to come back." And with such powerhouses behind it, you should feel pretty confident that the two-night tale is bound to be a modern classic all on its own.

"I only do classics," Anderson smirked on stage during Encore's TCA panel in Los Angeles earlier today.

But on a more serious note, she tossed the credit for her involvement not to the novel as her co-stars did before her but instead to her co-stars directly.

"I came on board, William and Ethan were already cast, and if they hadn't been, I don't know if I would have read the script," she admitted. "But because they were, I read the script and really liked the adaptation and wanted to be a part of something they were a part of."

Melville's novel is a story we have all heard time and again-- in fact, Hurt called it "biblical" and "the greatest American fiction" to him personally-- and in order to diversify the telling of the tale, this almost four hour long movie will make brief alterations from the source material. A "version" of Starbuck's internal struggle over the fact that he knew they were off-track but couldn't gather it together to act on it.

"It's often hard to play the good guy, the guy who's morally just, because you often know what he's going to do," Hawke, who prefers to portray more complex, and at times "bad" because of it guys, explained.

"What is fascinating about Starbuck in the book is that he really doesn't do the right thing. It's really his silence to stop the inevitable...I loved trying to play this character who had a great love and respect for his leader, but actually when it's all said and done, he's the one person who really knew they were off track, and he couldn't act."

Meanwhile, for Anderson, the character was meaty despite only being in a short portion in the beginning of the film, but the responsibility was even greater. After all, as the most personal link to Ahab (Hurt), it is her responsiblity, ultimately, to humanize him. In a very short amount of time.

"I think I'm in about five minutes of it," Anderson smirked at the audience. "[But] I think it's a sweet beginning to this story."

We will see them together before he goes off on his journey, and we will immediately be thrown into the stakes of what he is giving up-- what he is leaving behind-- because of it. As the rest of the movie goes on, though, we will get hints of her presence-- her importance-- in his life without actually seeing Anderson on screen.

"He carries a painting of her; he places it in a drawer. I think that's a profound decision, and there's a lot of emotion that we see Ahab make the decision to put it in the drawer and then pursue his passion, which is the big white whale," Anderson pointed out.

Choosing one great love over another...will Encore's version make you think differently about this well-known tale? Find out when Moby Dick presmieres on August 1st at 8pm and conclude the following evening.

You can find the article here: http://www.examiner.com/tv-insider-in-l ... for-encore

by **GillyDreamer78** » July 29th, 2011, 7:08 pm

‘X-FILES 3′: THE TRUTH IS… GILLIAN ANDERSON DOESN’T KNOW!

Audio comment from Gillian Anderson regarding XF3 on FOX ALL ACCESS
http://foxallaccess.blogs.fox.com/2011/ ... esnt-know/

by **Dianne** » July 30th, 2011, 5:08 pm

I love it.... Just to hear her voice plut]

by **stottie92** » July 30th, 2011, 6:26 pm

Ooh, X Files 3 in 2012 (Facebook) have uploaded this video of GA on Leno...I haven't actually watched it yet so not sure how it is but yey!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcmnV7sx3Ms&feature=share

P.s sorry if someone else has already posted it
P.p.s Are there new emotions now...I've been away for too long

by **GillyDreamer78** » August 1st, 2011, 5:39 pm

Bullz-Eye.com Chat
Monday, August 1, 2011

A chat with Gillian Anderson of STARZ "Moby Dick"
by Will Harris
Interview Date: 07/29/2011
Bullz-Eye

Please, follow this link to read the interview: http://www.bullz-eye.com/television/int ... derson.htm
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And here we have another interview, Gillian's been obviously very busy! :-)

CableFAX Interview
Monday, August 1, 2011

Interview with Gillian Anderson
By Mike Grebb
August 1, 2011

While her most famous role involved chasing aliens and government conspiracies with David Duchovny on “The X-Files,” Gillian Anderson has kept busy over the years with other projects. Her latest casts her as the long-suffering wife of Captain Ahab as he obsessively tracks down the whale that maimed him in Encore’s re-imagining of “Moby Dick” in a 2-part mini series that premieres Aug 1. Anderson sat down with CableFAX’s Michael Grebb at TCA in L.A. to discuss the role, her X-Files legacy and of course how we can start a campaign to get her a guest spot on Showtime’s “Californication.”

CableFAX: First of all, what drew you to this role?
Anderson: William Hurt was already attached, and they were in discussions with Ethan Hawke. That fact alone intrigued me. I think if they had not been attached, I might not have read the script. Then there was the script itself. I had not read the novel before. I couldn’t relate it to anything, so I didn’t know if it was a good adaptation of the actual novel. But I liked the script. I liked the story. I felt like I understood the character. And I thought it might be fun to perform it.

CableFAX: It’s just so interesting to tackle this novel, which was written 150 years ago when attitudes about whales were so different.
Anderson: Ethan was just saying yesterday when we were talking to the foreign press that even when John Houston shot his version of it, they used real whales. The actually killed real whales live for the filming of it. So the attitudes from even the 1950s to today are very different.

CableFAX: So do you have to approach the role differently because of that?
Anderson: If I were the director of it and were having to shoot it, I’d have those thoughts but for me and my character, I didn’t think about it very much.

CableFAX: This is Encore’s big entrée into original cable programming. But did it feel like TV or just doing another big-screen movie?
Anderson: It felt very much like doing a movie, especially with the production values they had. Mike Barker, the director, has a really broad personality and he was very interested in how it was shot and the cinematic look of things. So it felt like being more part of a film than a mini-series. And it had William Hurt and Ethan Hawke and Donald Sutherland, so…

CableFAX: You’ve done everything from comedies to dramas to thrillers to period pieces lately. Do you have a favorite genre?
Anderson: I’d like to do more comedies. I did a comedy movie a few years ago called “Boogie Woogie,” and that was fun to do.

CableFAX: Of course, that movie was about the art world. And you’re an art collector yourself. Is that what attracted you to it?
Anderson: Yeah, it was that, and I actually knew the producers, and I liked how the cast was coming together. It looked like it would be a fun thing to be involved in. I’d like to do more comedy. I think people don’t really know me yet as that. The funny thing is that a lot of “The X-Files” scripts were comedy scripts, and I don’t think people realize that. We used to have a lot of fun with some of those episodes.

CableFAX: And you just did another X-Files movie in 2008. Do you and David Duchovny keep in touch during the down times?
Anderson: Oh yeah.

CableFAX: Great. I’m going to start a campaign to get you a guest spot on “Californication.”
Anderson: OK, please do because we’re actually doing a question-and-answer thing tomorrow at a charity event, and that’s one of the questions I have: Why haven’t they offered me a guest spot on Californication?

CableFAX: Seriously.
Anderson: It’s a no brainer! How funny would that be to be a completely, completely different character.

CableFAX: Right. It can’t be anything like Scully.
Anderson: And it has to be sexual—because how weird would that be? It would just be weird to see this person who was Scully, and anyway… we’ll start the campaign.

CableFAX: Are they going to do another X-Files movie?
Anderson: I think everybody hopes that they will. I don’t know who’s manning that campaign. I don’t know who’s writing the script, but I hope somebody is. I think we’d all be up for it. It’s just a matter of the studio getting on board, I think. That’s another campaign. We’ll have to do that campaign too.

CableFAX: Absolutely.
Anderson: Ok, great.

CableFAX: X-Files still has such a cult following, and it’s certainly your most recognizable role.
Anderson. Yeah, well it was 9 years long, and 101 episodes.

CableFAX: Right, so do you still get constantly stopped in the street by crazed X-Files fans?
Anderson: I get stopped for other stuff more than I do for X-Files, I think. But I think when people get star-struck around me, it’s because they were fans of The X-Files.

CableFAX: This particular production of “Moby Dick” is European. And you’ve done a lot of British TV because you live there now. How are British productions different from American ones?
Anderson: Well, I haven’t done an American mini-series, which is very different from doing an American series. But the crews are kind of different in both places, the energy of the crews are different in both places. But I don’t know if it’s really that much different.

CableFAX: What’s it like working with the BBC?
Anderson: With the BBC, there’s just no budget. So you’ve basically got 3 takes to get it right. That has an impact on your focus and how prepared you are, and you’ve got to be more prepared than anything else.

CableFAX: Does it change your technique?
Anderson: Not really because I like to be prepared anyway. But you’ve got to be on the ball. And you’ve got to be okay with that kind of speed. But having done a speedy show before, which is what we did, I don’t think anything I do could be as hard as what we did back then. [LAUGHS]. With all the dialogue—sometimes it was 7-pages of monologue for Scully, Ms. Brainiac, so I would have to memorize it the night before after just having done a 16-hour workday. So I don’t think anything I jump on board to do is going to be as hard as that.

CableFAX: Despite those 16-hour days, would you be interested in doing another TV series?
Anderson: I might. My passion is film, and I do a lot of theater. But I could do it potentially. I look at stuff every once in a while, and if it feels like it’s right… I’m not really interested in a full-year, 24-episode show. I’m more interested in a 13-episode type thing. A comedy in that realm might be a good venue. So I look at comedy stuff every once and a while.

CableFAX: So much of that development is in L.A. To what degree does living in London make it more of a challenge to stay involved?
Anderson: I’ve got pretty good agents. It would probably behoove my career to come out here more often, but I’m pretty happy with the decisions that I’ve made.

A link to this interview: http://www.cablefax.com/cfp/just_in/Int ... 47521.html

by **Dianne** » August 1st, 2011, 6:37 pm

OMG this is awesome!!
I just got home and it's waaay too late (1:38am)
But this is the first thing I'll do when I wake up! :read

Thanks gals!

by **Queequeg0925** » August 1st, 2011, 7:51 pm

Thanks GD!! I really liked both! there are some really good answers :read

by **SpecialAgent88** » August 2nd, 2011, 10:17 am

Thanks for the updates Gillian has been busy thanks GD78

by **Queequeg0925** » August 2nd, 2011, 12:59 pm

Goodbye Mulder, hello Ahab: Gillian Anderson talks 'Moby Dick'
August 1, 2011 | 8:06 am

After forging one of the great female action roles on TV as (need I say it?) Agent Dana Scully in the “The X-Files," Gillian Anderson could have become a heroine of the American multiplex. But instead, she’s become a mainstay of high-end literary adaptations, a fixture of “Masterpiece Theater.”

This week, she pops up in a lavish two-part adaptation of Herman Melville’s “Moby Dick” airing tonight and tomorrow on the premium cable network Encore. Part of a starry ensemble cast that includes Ethan Hawke as Starbuck and William Hurt as the whale-haunted Ahab, Anderson plays Elizabeth, Ahab’s wife. As Melville sticklers will point out, Elizabeth is barely mentioned in a sprawling novel that has no real female presence.

Anderson lives in London and doesn’t do a lot of interviews here -– she said the last time she did an American press junket was for the movie “The X-Files: I Want to Believe” in 2008 -- and she seemed slightly giddy sitting in a poolside cabana during the Television Critics Assn. Press Tour in Pasadena, her tiny frame clad entirely in black. Anderson spoke about her role in “Moby Dick,” and why she’s hooked on classics.

How did you get involved in this production?
I was sent the script. William was already attached and that was a big pull for me. Lately, I guess it seems like I do a lot of classics, especially now that I’ve just finished filming “Great Expectations.” But really it’s only 4. And that’s not so many…

There’s “Bleak House,” “House of Mirth,” “Moby Dick,” “Great Expectations.” You also played yourself in Michael Winterbottom’s movie deconstruction of “Tristram Shandy.” Does that count as a classic?I don’t think it does. But … OK, so 4½ classics!

Isn’t your character in "Moby Dick" barely a footnote in the original novel?She is a footnote in the book. There is a book that’s out about her … [drifts off]. Sorry, but I just noticed that these are bedheads, I got distracted! [She points to the wall of the cabana, where there are in fact two headboards with no beds attached] Anyway, there is a book out there about what might have happened to her post-Ahab’s demise. I haven’t read it but Ethan [Hawke] has because he has read everything about “Moby Dick.”

In this series, she is Ahab’s wife and they have a child and he has gone off to sea before, where he lost his leg to this particular white whale he is going after again. His leg is made of the jaw of a whalebone which is beautifully poetic … wait, [laughs] not the jaw of a whalebone … you know what I mean! She can see his obsession starts to get stronger as he obsesses about taking revenge. It’s quite a beautiful story about God and man and fallibility and how mortals tend to think we have godlike qualities and that we are more powerful than the forces of nature. And he finds out he’s not.

When I got the job I read a good portion of the book, and one of the things I was really struck by was Ishmael, who tells the story, is constantly confounded by the fact that he can’t seem to grasp the essence of the whale …. It has been said that it’s about humans' inability to grasp God, the greater concept of God … but that’s not what you asked me! [laughs]

This is a book that means so much to so many people. Is it easier to play a character who wasn’t in the original and so doesn’t have any freight attached to her?
I did something called “Any Human Heart” earlier this year [a “Masterpiece Classic” miniseries adapted by William Boyd from his own novel]. Many writers who have written novels and adapt them to screenplay have to give themselves permission to forget the novel when they do the screenplay. Part of the challenge is to pull the precious bits, the juicy bits that are going to enthrall contemporary audience and make it enter-able. … It’s nice at the beginning of the miniseries to see [Ahab] with his wife and child, with a tenderness that is not anywhere in the book, from what I’ve read.

You made your name in “The X Files,” and now science fiction and fantasy dominate television. But instead of getting stuck as a diva of science fiction, you have ended up with this very literary TV career. Was it a deliberate choice?
It’s all about material to me. People to come to me with classics over there [in Britain], I’ve been invited into that world. I did a [the stage version] of “A Doll’s House” at the Donmar Warehouse [in London] and that wasn’t somebody coming to me, I stepped into that. I like to be challenged and sometimes it’s the classics that are the most challenging.

Are there other projects you would like to do?I am determined before I die to play Blanche Dubois. It’s all a matter of timing and getting the right people behind it. There’s a large black production of “Streetcar” that’s in the works, so we have to consider how much time needs to pass between that and the next one. I hope I’m not going to age myself out of being a contender!

Another kind of classic!
I’ve been working for 10 years on adapting something myself: I bought a poet’s first novel, “The Speed of Light” by Elizabeth Rosner. I did my first draft and then my computer got stolen. I had to start from scratch. … I’m determined not to fail but it takes me a while to recover from the setbacks. And I intend to direct it. There are producers who are hovering, waiting for me to get my act together. But I am an actress and I get distracted.

You are playing Miss Havisham in “Great Expectations?” That is the ultimate anti-glamorous role for an actress .
She is so not glossy, believe me! When you meet her she’s been in the same dress for 15 years, it’s fabulous!

While you’re playing all of these historical characters, what kind of TV shows do you like to watch?
I don’t watch TV, I don’t watch anything. The people who represent me don’t like me to mention that! I can’t bring myself to. I think if I were to watch anything … I’d probably watch “Mad Men.” But the couple of episodes I watched, I couldn’t take the way they were treating their children. I know that’s ridiculous. I saw “Precious” and I can handle that -- but there was something about how they were psychologically abusive to their children. … I understand it on an intellectual level, I just couldn’t stomach it.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtra ... -dick.html

by **GillyDreamer78** » August 2nd, 2011, 3:37 pm

Yay, another interview! Awesome! :yahoo

Thanks, Queequeg!
And reading her last answer made me realize how very protective she is of children and I mean children in general! She's so amazing!

by **xf4life** » August 2nd, 2011, 4:01 pm

Great interview!!! Thanks for posting

by **SpecialAgent88** » August 2nd, 2011, 11:38 pm

I agree, great interview, thanks for posting QQ25

by **Siven** » August 3rd, 2011, 1:38 am

Thank you for the interviews it's great to be able to read all of those and find out that Gillian is enjoying herself in productions she is doing and that she is doing bc of interests not bc of money.

by **GillyDreamer78** » August 3rd, 2011, 9:10 am

Siven wrote:... and that she is doing bc of interests not bc of money.

Exactly! Nor because it's expected of her!
And I'm really glad she is determined to direct "The Speed of Light".

by **stottie92** » August 3rd, 2011, 11:56 am

Wow thanks for all the interview updates!
I found the bit in the last one where she gets side-tracked by the headboard particularly amusing hehe.
Thank You!
P.s HAHAHA GD your banner!

by **Siven** » August 4th, 2011, 2:23 am

I'm just afraid that she will never do "Speed of light" bc she started to talk about it after x files ended and still nothing happend and it is always a lot of explanations about it.. but we have to belive

by **GillyDreamer78** » August 4th, 2011, 8:22 am

Siven, her laptop got stolen so she had to start all over again. She said she is determined to do TSOL.

by **Queequeg0925** » August 4th, 2011, 4:48 pm

Gillian Anderson, Zoë Wanamaker & Martin Sheen to appear at the Rose Theatres 'time to talk'...

https://uk.patronbase.com/_RoseTheatreK ... &perf_id=1

by **GillyDreamer78** » August 4th, 2011, 5:07 pm

Thanks for the update, QQ! thank]

She's been so busy recently. I'm really happy for her!

by **Gillyfan** » August 5th, 2011, 3:47 am

Gillian in theatre, one night only, tickets £5. Theatre is in Kingston, London
https://uk.patronbase.com/_RoseTheatreKingston/Productions/0034/Performances

by **txf21** » August 6th, 2011, 4:26 pm

Does anyone know what this event involves?? I can't find any clear info on it

by **Dianne** » August 6th, 2011, 4:36 pm

Someone on twitter said that it would be something similar to the IBG event, and I believe it's 2,5hrs.

by **Siven** » August 7th, 2011, 1:10 am

Great oppoertunity to meet her

by **Gillyinfatuation** » August 7th, 2011, 8:54 am

Man I wish I lived in London

by **Gillyfan** » August 8th, 2011, 9:37 am

From what I've heard she will be talking about her life and her work.

And on another note, I bought two tickets but my other half cant get the time off work to come with me, so I have a spare ticket if anyone wants it?

Its in (yellow) row CC seat 27 or 28 http://rosetheatrekingston.org/venue-and-booking-information/seating-plan

by **GillyDreamer78** » August 8th, 2011, 9:42 am

You're so very lucky that you're going to see her and listen to her, Gillyfan!
I really wish I lived in London!

by **Siven** » August 8th, 2011, 10:12 am

I wish I live in London

by **Gillyfan** » August 8th, 2011, 12:04 pm

If anyone wants it, dont hesitate to ask

by **txf21** » August 8th, 2011, 2:22 pm

Hmm fear of flying Vs chance to see GA in actual real life!! Dilemma!! :cry

by **GillyDreamer78** » August 8th, 2011, 6:13 pm

txf21, a chance to see GA would definitely proveil in my case. I know how you must be feeling though but seeing Gillian, you might never gat another chance.

by **Agent Skulder** » August 8th, 2011, 7:14 pm

txf21 - I've got a friend with the same fear - one trip to the doc and a prescription for Xanax later - fear mitigated & Vacations resumed!

(Just be sure to travel WITH the Rx bottle so the TSA Agents don't find random pills on you...) 

by **JeSouhaite** » August 8th, 2011, 7:59 pm

Well, I'd like to go with you, txf21; however, the chances of me getting to London are slim to none. Dang!! Have a blast! Take pictures and share them with us!!!

by **Siven** » August 9th, 2011, 6:55 am

We will wait for pictures here.

by **kyouryokusenshi** » August 9th, 2011, 3:59 pm

txf21, flying isn't as bad as it seems. I used to be afraid of flying myself until I did it for the first time at 14. It's just like being on a bus, but in the air. My mom who's never flown once in her life is now contemplating getting on a plane to conquer her fear. Visiting GA is totally worth it, and you'll end up realizing the flight wasn't so bad at all!

by **Dianne** » August 9th, 2011, 6:52 pm

I wish I wasn't that scared to travel alone..... :sw)

I'm afraid to travel alone and I have a fear of flying too... Gosh I wish I could snap in my fingers to make it all go away, becoz I don't think I will ever have someone to travel with me to see Gillian...
My friends are all stupid fan-less with no interest in actors or stuff :whip

by **Siven** » August 10th, 2011, 10:00 am

I can understand you I hate flying everyone who knows me think that it is stupid to be afraid of flying but everytime I'm going for vacation I'm terryfied... But for the opportunity to see Gillian I'll try not to be afraid... but unfortunately I'm not able to go this year

by **GillyDreamer78** » August 10th, 2011, 1:31 pm

I have just thought of something. I think I could go to London to see GA on September 14. :bounce

by **GillyDreamer78** » August 10th, 2011, 6:49 pm

Gillyfan wrote:From what I've heard she will be talking about her life and her work.

And on another note, I bought two tickets but my other half cant get the time off work to come with me, so I have a spare ticket if anyone wants it?

Its in (yellow) row CC seat 27 or 28 http://rosetheatrekingston.org/venue-and-booking-information/seating-plan

Gillyfan, do you still have that spare ticket, because if you do you could give it (sell it) to me. I decided to go. If not, I will book one!

by **Gillyfan** » August 11th, 2011, 5:03 am

You have a reply to your pm

by **kyouryokusenshi** » August 11th, 2011, 3:40 pm

I am assuming a lot of you live in the United Kingdom? I'd love to see Gillian in London as an excuse to travel there. But unfortunately, since I live in U.S. it would break my bank to fly out there. I'll definitely have to do that some day and show Gillian how dedicated I am since the IBG event....LOL. But I definitely want to go there someday and I will definitely be wanting to meet Gillian again there too when I am able to afford a big vacation. @Dianne, other than X-Files actors, I'm actually not into actors much myself either, LOL. This summer was the first time I met any of the X-Files actors. Starting with Dean Hagelund in May, then Gillian and Chris Carter in July.

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