And the Oscar goes to a bidder

The Nade D. Sanders auction house has announced that the 1939 Oscar to the Best Photography, originally won by Gregg Toland for his work in Wuthering Heights has been auctioned for $155000:

Oscar won for the 1939 classic film, ''Wuthering Heights,'' awarded to Gregg Toland for Black and White Cinematography. Samuel Goldwyn produced and William Wyler directed the film, adapted to the screen from the Emily Bronte novel of the same name. Laurence Olivier, Miles Mander, Flora Robson, and Merle Oberon starred. This was the only Oscar won by Gregg Toland, though he earned nominations numerous times, including once for his work on ''Citizen Kane,'' which owes much of its status as a frontrunner in visual style innovation to Toland's contribution of deep-focus techniques. Though this Cinematography Oscar was the only one that ''Wuthering Heights'' won that year, two Oscar statuettes were produced, one for Toland and one at the studio's request. Prior to 1950, when the Academy began numbering the Oscar statues and exerting tighter control over their distribution, the Academy would often give additional Oscars to the studios; this is one such Oscar, indiscernible from the other except for the font on its plaque. Gold-plated statue standing on a film reel measures 10'' tall, and 11.5'' tall when the base is included. Base diameter measures 5.25'' and total award weighs 5.6 pounds. The plaque on the base reads, ''Academy First Award / To / Gregg Toland / For Black-and-White Cinematography of / 'Wuthering Heights'''. Reel also has ''DCIC Co.'' and ''AM PAS'' engraved along side. Some chipping to gold plating of statue and some wear to marble base. Overall in very good condition.

(Via AFP) 

A film that nevertheless the Hip Opinion thinks is 'inadequate'.

New York Observer reviews the new film Belle:

Elegant and understated, Belle is a true story about the effects of slavery on 18th-century England, told in the style of a sweeping romantic saga by Jane Austen or the Brontë sisters. It’s a fascinating period costume drama with the usual lavish upper-class appointments, refined manners and graceful language, but beneath its décor lies the heart of a woman whose courage and dedication to justice is strongly credited with influencing the legislation that led to the abolition of the slave trade. (Rex Reed)

Metal Underground interviews Daniel Filth from the extreme metal band Cradle of Filth:

Rex_84: Two versions of "Black Goddess Rises" appear on the "Total Fucking Darkness" vinyl set. What versions are each of these songs?
Dani Filth: Some are taken from the demo and others from the rehearsal on Samhain. They sound fantastic because we were able to remaster songs that had been done on 4-track and what have you at the time. (...)
These were bands like early Therion, Eucharist, Dismember, Dissection and married it to this vibe that came over from Floridian death metal, which was very big on Earache at the time. Sandwiched in the middle, we were very Charlotte Brontë-esque ramblings and became this unique creation once we mixed that with a little bit of sound tracks.

We don't remember that Kaya Scodelario's work in Wuthering Heights 2011 was 'critically-acclaimed' but Digital Spy says so.

Davide Maggio (Italy) announces the ending of the shooting of the TV series Un'altra vita which is apparently loosely inspired by Jane Eyre:

Sono terminate da poco, dopo le ultime settimane sull’Isola di Ponza (LT), le riprese di “Un’altra vita”, la nuova fiction di Rai Uno prodotta Endemol Italia per Rai Fiction. La serie, sei episodi da 100 minuti, è diretta da Cinzia TH Torrini e scritta da Ivan Cotroneo, Stefano Bises, Monica Rametta. “Un’altra vita” è una storia originale che racconta come una donna possa cambiare la sua esistenza. Ma racconta anche tre generazioni di donne che vivono la contemporaneità, scegliendo uno stile di narrazione che parte dal medical drama per mescolare insieme commedia, romanticismo, dramma psicologico, racconto familiare e a legare tutto un mistero che si ispira a un grande classico letterario, Jane Eyre, ripensato dagli autori in chiave contemporanea. (Translation)

Lo que leo lo cuento (in Spanish) posts about Charlotte Brontë; the Brontë Parsonage Facebook remembers how on a day like today Branwell Brontë visited Hartley Coleridge. And today May 1, begins the reading of The Professor by the Club Pickwick (in Spanish).