EXCLUSIVE COVER REVEAL FOR BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH, IN TRANSITION

We’re excited to reveal the final, full cover of MX Publishing’s upcoming release Benedict Cumberbatch, In Transition - An Unauthorised Performance Biography, with twenty of his projects represented in a floating ‘Mind Palace’ design - can you spot them all?

The book is written by Lynnette Porter, and is an intensively researched look at Benedict’s work across film, television, radio and stage, intended to examine his past roles ahead of the release of Star Trek Into Darkness.

Lynnette has sent us the following statement on her aims for the project.

Like Sherlock, I tend to focus on “the work”—or, in this book, the work of a highly talented actor, Benedict Cumberbatch. Seldom does a single actor become so well known for exceptional work in a variety of media:  television, film, theatre, radio. Benedict Cumberbatch, In Transition is a performance biography; it includes in-depth discussions of well-known roles, such as Sherlock Holmes, but also roles that have been important to his career but may not be as familiar to fans, such as George Tesman in Hedda Gabler. Chapters cover Mr. Cumberbatch’s performances in theatre, from early roles doing Shakespeare in the park to more recent leads in After the Dance and Frankenstein; pre-Sherlock television (from very brief guest roles to miniseries leads) and film; and serious radio dramas like Copenhagen as well as the treasure that is Cabin Pressure. In many ways, Mr. Cumberbatch’s career is the perfect “case study” of a rising star who receives not only a great deal of critical acclaim and fan love but also intensive media scrutiny and potential backlash about what he says or does. In three chapters I explain the differences among an actor’s private, personal, and professional lives and the nature of celebrity. In short, Benedict Cumberbatch is In Transition to international stardom, and this book explores how and why his journey requires a closer look.

The book is due to be published on June 10 2013.

You can preorder from Amazon UK or The Book Depository for international delivery.

For updates on the book, head to the dedicated page on Facebook, and follow Lynnette Porter on Twitter.

Sherlock’s Paul McGuigan to direct Daniel Radcliffe in new Frankenstein?

Daniel Radcliffe is reportedly in final talks to star in the new version of Frankenstein, produced by 20th Century Fox and directed by Paul McGuigan. Paul is of course the director of four episodes of Sherlock - A Study in Pink, The Great Game, A Scandal in Belgravia and The Hounds of Baskerville.

The film is currently slated to begin production in late-summer 2013.

Read more of the potential casting news on Variety.

Frankenstein: A Modern Myth, the indepth documentary on the legacy of Mary Shelley’s novel that makes extensive use of footage culled from the NTLive production of Frankenstein, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller, will finally recieve it’s television premiere in the UK on Channel 4 on October 31 2012 at 23:10GMT.

Read our review of the documentary

There’s a modern day Sherlock Holmes hitting screens in the United States tonight, and he isn’t played by Benedict Cumberbatch. It’s the new series from CBS, Elementary, starring Jonny Lee Miller as Holmes and Lucy Liu as Joan Watson. Almost as soon as it was announced, we started to be inundated by people asking our opinion on the show, and we refused to be drawn, much like the producers of Sherlock, as we simply hadn’t seen it. But now we have, and while it’s clearly not related to our beloved BBC series at all, the shared DNA of both Arthur Conan Doyle’s original characters and that modern day setting and all its attendant technology demand our attention. While this isn’t so much a comparison of Elementary to Sherlock – the shows are simply too dissimilar – it’s instead an examination of it as a piece of work on its own, coupled with a look at its links to the source material.  

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A riot of performance, staging, music and sound, Danny Boyle’s National Theatre production of Frankenstein deserves all the plaudits and awards it has received since its debut at The Olivier in London over a year ago. The play holds a special place in our hearts on a personal level.  As well as a review, this article also contains an examination and comparison of the original stage performance and the NT Live encore recording of the play. Please note we’ll be talking some spoilers too.

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Earlier today in London, the Open City Docs Fest at University College London played host to the first public screening of ‘Frankenstein: A Modern Myth’, a documentary that examines the legacy of the original story by Mary Shelley, viewed through the prism of last year’s celebrated production at The National Theatre starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller.

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UPDATED: The tickets have now be been given away. Thanks to all those who emailed in with their interest.

We’ve had the following email:

I have 2 tickets to NT Live Screening of Frankenstein in London, Canada (June 14 BC- Creature and June 21 JLM - Creature) that I want to share with you, or any fan on your web-site actually and I was hoping if you can help me out through your web-site. 

I bought them by mistake and since they are non-refundable they will just be lost without cause, and I hate that, when I can make some fan happy to see the screening for free. 

Best regards,
Aiman 

If anyone is interested in these tickets and can attend one or both of these dates please drop us an email (info@sherlockology.com) and we shall forward on your details to Aiman. The cinema address is SilverCity London 1680 Richmond Street ON N6G 3Y9, Canada and the screening are as follows:

1 Ticket Frankenstein National Theatre Live Encore Presentation
Benedict Cumberbatch as The Creature
Thursday June 14, 2012 - 6:45PM

1 Ticket for Frankenstein National Theatre Live Encore Presentation
Jonny Lee Miller as The Creature
Thursday June 21, 2012 - 6:45PM 

The first trailer for CBS’ modern day, New York set Sherlock Holmes adaptation ‘Elementary’, starring Benedict Cumberbatch’s Frankenstein co-star Jonny Lee Miller as Holmes, and Lucy Liu as Joan Watson.

So…. thoughts everyone?

Channel 4 in the UK has announced the long awaited documentary featuring the Olivier Award winning production of Frankenstein at the National Theatre, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller.

Frankenstein: A Modern Myth will screen at some point this summer. Further information as and when we get it.

From Boris Karloff to Mel Brooks - Frankenstein has fired the imagination of generations of artists who have created their own interpretation of this Gothic masterpiece. Written by a 19-year-old girl nearly 200 years ago, this was the first and greatest myth of the modern scientific age.

Mary Shelley began writing her novel in Geneva, where she went to escape the judgmental gaze of British society with her lover, Percy Shelley (a married man), her half-sister Clare and Clare’s lover, the notorious poet, Lord Byron. Living a life of subversive glamour, they were the rock stars of the 1800s.

Shut up indoors during the wettest summer on record, Lord Byron suggested they each try to write a ghost story. Unable to begin, Mary panicked at first, but then in a waking dream she had the vision for her novel. Frankenstein - published anonymously in 1818 when she was just 21 - has gone on to inspire its own popular genre of horror movies, punk rock, and theatre productions.

Frankenstein: A Modern Myth looks at some of these depictions, including Danny Boyle’s sell-out hit at the National Theatre. The film has exclusive access to rehearsals and interviews with Benedict Cumberbatch and Jonny Lee Miller - who alternate the roles of Victor Frankenstein and the Creature - and with Danny Boyle. It also features cult film director John Waters: “I’m sympathetic to monsters, and this was the first one I came across as a child”.

Huge congratulations to Benedict Cumberbatch & Jonny Lee Miller for winning the [Joint] award for Best Actor for the excellent Frankenstein at the the prestigious Laurence Olivier Theatre Awards 2012.

Frankenstein also picked up the award for Best Lighting Design.