As pure comedy, bright young things would be funny up to a point, and then repetitive. British actor and author stephen fry has recently added a third title to his resume. But while stephen frys film adaptation, bright young things, claims. The bright young things of the title are a group of friends, young members of the upper classes, partying hard and always looking for new thrills. Stephen fry celebrity profile check out the latest stephen fry photo gallery, biography, pics, pictures, interviews, news, forums and blogs at rotten tomatoes. The screenplay, based on the 1930 novel vile bodies by evelyn waugh. Apart from working on screen and on stage steve fry also made a name for himself as a literary fiction author. The secret life of the manic depressive 2006, which detailed his lifelong struggle with bipolar disorder, while garnering praise for his hit series stephen fry in america bbc1, 2008.
The ending of stephen fry s new film bright young things, adapted from vile bodies, will jar with anyone who admires the book, says neil darbyshire accessibility links skip to article. An adaptation of evelyn waughs novel vile bodies, is a look into the lives of a young novelist, his wouldbe lover, and a host of young people who beautified london in the 1930s. According to him, its about people who dont own lawnmowers. Instead, university life offered him love and the chance to entertain. Bright young things was shown at the 2003 toronto film festival. Set in london during the 30s, this stylish period film follows an ensemble cast of welldressed and highly literate partygoers. British writeractor stephen fry makes his featurefilm debut with the witty, sophisticated comedy bright young things, adapted from evelyn waughs 1930 novel vile bodies. An adaptation of evelyn waughs novel vile bodies, is a look into the lives of a young novelist, his wouldbe lover, and a host of young people who beautified london in.
Fenella woolgar peter otoole simon mcburney jim carter julia mckenzie simon callow imelda staunton bill paterson nigel planer stephen fry harriet walter angela. Bright young things 2003, directed by stephen fry film. Still in 20, he appeared on broadway with the shakespeares play twelfth night. Stephen fry recovering from prostate cancer surgery bbc.
Fry played the lead in the film wilde, was melchett in the blackadder television series and was the host of celebrity comedy trivia show, qi. This publication embraces a trio of publishing platforms, combining the traditional with the modern. For stephen fry bright young things would mark his directorial debut and the project certainly has plenty of appeal. After making his directorial debut with the wellreceived seriocomedy bright young things 2003, fry was the subject of the documentary stephen fry. Written and directed by stephen fry, based on evelyn. Age and illness have made him sound more and more like his mate in a lion in winter. Fry, an actor and allpurpose personality in england, was once a bright young thing himself hes 47, and he knows about the ways flaming youth can foxtrot along the lip of the abyss. He also wrote gossip and original screenplay for paramount pictures. Fry made his broadway debut in 20 playing malvolio in shakespeares twelfth night.
He was a close friend of author and fellow cambridge graduate douglas adams. He claims to know why adams chose the number 42 as the answer to life, the universe and everything in his novel the hitchhikers guide to the galaxy. Based on the novel vile bodies by evelyn waugh, bright young things marks the directorial debut of actor and writer stephen fry. Waugh himself called his tale a welter of sex and snobbery, and if things isnt quite that good, the filmmaker gets the joys of the night before and the. Stephen fry bio, age, height, career, gay, husband, net. Peter otoole shows up as ninas dad, colonel blount. Multitalented stephen fry tells eileen condon how his. An adaptation of vile bodies by evelyn waugh that was renamed bright young things marked his directorial debut in 2003.
His film bright young things adapts evelyn waughs classic 1930 comic novel vile bodies. The story follows the lives of a group of young socialites also known as the bright young things. Though i got a lot of pleasure from this book essentially a collection of stephen fry s newspaper columns from the late 1980s i was also left a bit underwhelmed. He has also written and contributed to several books. Waughs novel and frys movie wisely see that their characters live by spending their comic capital and ending up emotionally overdrawn. Join sign up keep track of your favorite shows and movies, across all your devices. Luckily, the high esteem the novel enjoys is merited, which has given mr. This track was to have been the title song, but the films producers decided against using it, opting instead to use period music exclusively. In the 1930s, a social set known to the press who follow their every move as the bright young things are adam and his friends who are eccentric, wild and entirely shocking to the older generation. Stephen fry bibliography and filmography wikipedia.
Stephen fry s first feature film fizzes with vim and vigour. As fortune would have it, the centenary of waugh now revives their memory almost at once and stephen fry s breathless, headlong adaptation of vile. To portray his bright young things fry deliberately chose a cast of relative unknowns,including stephen campbell moore,fenella woolgar and james mcavoy. Firstly, i think it was the sheer quality of the book, he said, its extraordinary handling of people against the background of that era. Fry writes on a range of subjects, there is an interesting element of interest and prescience about some of the predictions made, how things. Certainly it would if it were done in the spirit of stephen frys new film, based on evelyn. Actor and wit stephen fry turns his hand to directing with bright young things. The screenplay, based on the 1930 novel vile bodies by evelyn waugh, provides satirical social commentary about the bright young peopleyoung and carefree london aristocrats and bohemiansas well as society in general, in the late 1920s through to the early 1940s.
Evelyn waughs novel vile bodies packed a punch when he wrote it in. With hugh laurie, as the comedy double act fry and laurie, he cowrote and costarred in a bit of fry and laurie, and the duo also played the title roles in jeeves and wooster. Reviews and scores for movies involving stephen fry. A man of intense intelligence and great coolness, stephen john fry born august 24, 1957 has just stood down, after fifteen years, as the host of qi and starred in kingdom, about the life of a rural lawyer.
His documentary stephen fry s the secret life of the manic depressive won an emmy award in 2007. The fry chronicles, stephen frys second volume of autobiography. British actor, comedian, writer, and now director stephen fry asked the pet shop boys to record two songs for his 2003 film bright young things. This is a fascinating movie written and directed by stephen fry, who is a genius. Written and directed by stephen fry, based on evelyn waughs novel vile bodies taylor, d.
He befriended bright young things like hugh laurie, now the star of house, and emma thompson. Definition of bright young thing in the idioms dictionary. Overview british writeractor stephen fry makes his featurefilm debut with the witty, sophisticated comedy bright young things, adapted from evelyn waughs 1930 novel vile bodies. He made his acting debut in shakespeares twelfth night in 20. The two of them helped fuel the swinging sixties and a new set of bright young things. Fry made his directorial debut in 2003 with bright young things, an adaptation of british writer evelyn waughs vile bodies 1930, a novel centred on the reckless frivolity of a group of english socialites in the wake of world war i. He made his presentation in movie coordinating around the same time with the film bright young things. Remaining generally faithful to the book, fry has forged a coherent if thin narrative, moving a few years on to the midthirties. Charles mcgrath article on stephen fry s new movie bright young things, adaptation of evelyn waughs satiric novel vile bodies. Bright young things dvd based on the novel, vile bodies by evelyn waugh, bright young things is a look at the uppercrust british society during the frenzied 1930s. The screenplay, based on the 1930 novel vile bodies by evelyn waugh, pr. I really enjoyed this stylish film set in the 1930s, based on evelym waughs novel vile bodies and directed by stephen fry. This is the hilarious and utterly compelling story of how the stephen the world knows or thinks it knows took his first steps in the worlds of theater, radio, television, and film. Bright young things, written and directed by stephen fry.
It was fun while it lasted, though, for much of the 1920s. Richard plunket greene and his wife elizabeth had a son, alexander who in the 1950s married the fashion designer mary quant. Based on the novel, vile bodies by evelyn waugh, bright young things is a. With stephen campbell moore, emily mortimer, dan aykroyd, simon mcburney. Amidst the madness, adam, who is well connected but totally broke, is desperately trying to get enough money to marry the beautiful nina.
Stephen fry stephen john fry is an english actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter, film director, and a director of norwich city football club. British actor turns to waugh novel for directing debut. They begin by being awake when everyone else is asleep, and end by being asleep while everyone else is awake. Bright young things is a study in collective lunacy, and the collection of actors that fry has assembled is a disciplined bunch of loons. Bright young things trots along smartly the boston globe. As fortune would have it, the centenary of waugh now revives their memory almost at once and stephen frys breathless, headlong adaptation of. In 1997, he played oscar wilde in the film wilde, and directed bright young things in 2003. Bright young things is a 2003 british drama film written and directed by stephen fry. Stephen fry is an english actor, comedian, author and television presenter. The movie pages presents a stephen fry film bright young. Stephen fry made his feature directorial debut with bright young things, a screenplay he adapted from evelyn waughs vile bodies. The definitive work on the circle is still waughs 1930 novel vile bodies, an affectionately scathing observation of his mostly drunk and vapid pals, which stephen fry turned into the blithe 2003 film bright young things.