Highlighting The New Romantic Comedy Adaptation of ‘AUSTENLAND’

If you live in or are going to be near L.A. or New York this upcoming weekend you’re in for a treat! Jerusha Hess’ long-awaited adaptation of Shannon Hale’s AUSTENLAND is opening to a limited release in New York and L.A. this Friday on August 16. Unfortunately, the rest of us are going to have to wait just a little bit longer to see it.

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But to celebrate the limited release, I thought this week I would spotlight the upcoming film AUSTENLAND; a way to build excitement for when it finally does get that full release!

If you’re not familiar with the story, here’s the official synopsis from the film’s website:

“AUSTENLAND is a romantic comedy about 30-something single Jane Hayes (Keri Russell), a seemingly normal young woman with a secret: her obsession with all things Jane Austen. But when she decides to spend her life savings on a trip to an English resort catering to Austen-crazed women, Jane’s fantasies of meeting the perfect Regency-era gentleman suddenly become more real that she could have imagined. Based on the novel by Shannon Hale (who also co-wrote the script, the film was written and directed by Jerusha Hess (writer, Napoleon Dynamite) and produced by Stephenie Meyer’s Fickle Fish Films.”

So basically, Keri Russell, obsessed with Mr. Darcy (as played by Colin Firth) spends all her money to go find a man in England at a Jane Austen resort? How fast can I sign up? This just brings back so many memories of a young Keri as wide-eyed Felicity Porter as she attends the University of her high school crush, Ben. Really, on a side note, if you haven’t seen Felicity (a four-season JJ Abrams TV Series) then you definitely should check it out. That said, no one plays neurotic, obsessive and still loveable like Keri does.

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Not only that, the film has a stellar supporting cast. JJ Feild as the romantic lead (hello Mr. Tilney of Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey), Jane Seymour, Jennifer Coolidge (Legally Blonde), James Callis of Battlestar Galactica fame, Georgia King and Bret McKenzie. Basically with all of the talent involved, including Jerusha Hess as director, it’s hard to imagine this won’t succeed. It will at the least be fun to watch.

Below are a few video previews (a trailer and a couple clips) of AUSTENLAND released by Sony Pictures. I don’t know about anyone else, but they just make me that much more excited about the upcoming film. Enjoy!

How excited are you to see AUSTENLAND? Are you going the day it comes out? Sound off below…

For further information on the film and extra goodies go to the movie’s official Facebook Page.

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