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May 21, 2014 6:08 am  #61


Re: The Yellow Birds

SolarSystem wrote:

Tinks, I agree with you that "there must be roles out there that he'd love and that don't have to be delayed for months." We'll probably never know why it seems to be more complicated for him than, let's say, for Martin to do stuff almost back-to-back. But maybe it really is of Benedict's own choice... and maybe he is very picky and takes his time to find the perfect role in the perfect movie.

My thoughts exactly.. he certainly seems to be picky about the productions he´ll be involved in. Plus I think -with my limited knowledge of film industry- that really big and professional productions which will run smoothly, are solidly financed and still offer a challenging and intriguing lead role for an actor like Benedict are hard to find. His exquisite looks might be a disadvantage here, you can´t cast him as the ordinary guy who gets sucked into adventure/action like Martin. It has to be someone extraordinary who still offers something to identify with for the masses, like Sherlock or Khan. But this is probably really not something that´s done every year. (Pity..)

SolarSystem wrote:

And since you've mentioned "Atonement": I might be weird that way, but it's actually more difficult for me to watch a movie like this than an anti-war movie. I mean, both types of films often are difficult to bear, but for different reasons. Both types of films deal with the human condition to a certain extent, and as perverted as conduct of war certainly is... what we see in a film like "Atonement" to me feels even more perverted and unbearable, because you just don't expect things like these to happen in such an environment.
Does that make sense?

Makes perfect sense to me, you watch a peaceful domestic environment with your defences down and then such horrible things happen.. dreadful. (I haven´t watched Atonement and don´t think I ever will)

Tinks wrote:

Zatoichi, you and I seem to have similar sensitivities when it comes to Movies

 And tastes when it comes to S3, Ben´s outfits, Johnlock etc.. *high fives Tinks* 
 

 

May 21, 2014 6:16 am  #62


Re: The Yellow Birds

Back at you * !

Last edited by Tinks (May 21, 2014 6:17 am)


"And in the end,
The Love you take
Is equal to the Love you make"
                                             The Beatles
 

May 21, 2014 7:10 am  #63


Re: The Yellow Birds

There is nothing of Paul Marshall's sexual creepiness in this character. 

Sterling is basically a soldier, rough, hardened by his experience in the war. He swears, visits brothels, kills people. But he uses his experience to protect his men. You can see that there is nothing he would not do to them. The army is his world and he cannot exist out of it. 

But there is another side to him, a deep understanding of people. He can read his men and sometimes predict their fate as in the case of Murph. 

At one point before an attack he walks around the base spilling salt everywhere on the ground and talking to himself. The soldiers observe him and wonder what to make of this, if he has lost his mind. We do not get to know the purpose of this ceremony. It might be a gesture of defiance as spilling salt has been regarded a bad sign. On the other hand it might be an allusion to the Middle Eastern tradition of salting the earth of a conquered city. 

The author also draws our attention to the fact that this is the very place we call the cradle of humanity, the land of Euphrates and Tigris, which has been reduced to a bleak battlefield of modern warfare. 

Sorry for ranting but this is really quite a gripping book. 


------------------------------
"To fake the death of one sibling may be regarded as a misfortune; to fake the death of both looks like carelessness." Oscar Wilde about Mycroft Holmes

"It is what it is says love." (Erich Fried)

“Enjoy the journey of life and not just the endgame. I’m also a great believer in treating others as you would like to be treated.” (Benedict Cumberbatch)



 
     Thread Starter
 

May 21, 2014 7:20 am  #64


Re: The Yellow Birds

This is not a discussion for this thread, but recently Benedict shared a very interesting point of view on Paul Marshall and how he approached this character, finding a human element even in such a disgusting being. As for YB, I am sure they will make his character quite central: after all, he is the biggest name attached to the project, two young actors are far less known, so even simple marketing strategy dictates it.And I think he was looking for a part like this, it cannot be a case that first he attached himself to BM and now to this. But yes, having some more concrete data on at least one of his projects would be nice. 

 

May 21, 2014 10:54 am  #65


Re: The Yellow Birds

SusiGo wrote:

Warning - this post contains spoilers.
"He was harsh, but fair, adn there was a kind of evolutionary beauty in his competence. (...) The way he'd remove his helmet slowly, showing his cropped blond hair, his blue eyes scanning the brush at the wood line."

And I love this passage:

"Thinking about him now, I've come to realize that Sergeant Sterling was not one of those people for whom the existence of others was an incomprehensible abstraction. He was not a sociopath, not a man who cared only for himself, seeing the lives of others as shadows on a thinly lit window. (...) The truth is he cared nothing for himself. I'm not even sure he would have realized he was permitted to have his own desires and preferences."

 

Oh this character sounds like something Ben would be drawn to. The writing of the book sounds pretty good, I hope to get my hands on a copy! Been itching for a good book lately. And did I read blond hair? 


________________________________________________________________
 

May 21, 2014 2:34 pm  #66


Re: The Yellow Birds

SusiGo wrote:

Warning - this post contains spoilers.

So, I am keeping my promise. I finished the book today and was very moved and impressed. I never so read about war in such poetic yet unsentimental voice. It is definitely worth reading. But I will not give away the whole story and tell you about Benedict's character. 

He is one of three major characters: Bartle (the narrator), his friend Murph and their sergeant Sterling. 

Sergeant Sterling is 24 (yes, I know) but he seems much older and I was surprised to find out late in the book that he is so young. 
How shall I describe him? He is a complex character. Brutal in way, sometimes obscene, disillusioned, but he cares deeply for his men, maybe too deeply. He understands them well and sees things in them long before they themselves realise what is happening to them.
I think they will enlarge his character because there is much interior monologue in the novel which somehow has to be translated into action. He is very often in the mind of the narrator who tells about their harrowing experiences in the Iraq and I suppose that most of these reminiscences will be dramatised in the script. 
But I think it is best to have the author himself tell you something about Sterling: 

"He was harsh, but fair, adn there was a kind of evolutionary beauty in his competence. (...) The way he'd remove his helmet slowly, showing his cropped blond hair, his blue eyes scanning the brush at the wood line."

And I love this passage:

"Thinking about him now, I've come to realize that Sergeant Sterling was not one of those people for whom the existence of others was an incomprehensible abstraction. He was not a sociopath, not a man who cared only for himself, seeing the lives of others as shadows on a thinly lit window. (...) The truth is he cared nothing for himself. I'm not even sure he would have realized he was permitted to have his own desires and preferences."

Warning:
He dies. Again. 


 

 
I'd just like to say that's some damn beautiful language.


----------------------------------------------------------------------
Proud President and Founder of the OSAJ.  
Honorary German  
"Anyone who takes himself too seriously always runs the risk of looking ridiculous; anyone who can consistently laugh at himself does not".
 -Vaclav Havel 
"Life is full of wonder, Love is never wrong."   Melissa Ethridge

I ship it harder than Mrs. Hudson.
    
 
 

May 21, 2014 2:49 pm  #67


Re: The Yellow Birds

Yes, it is and there is lots of it in the book. 


------------------------------
"To fake the death of one sibling may be regarded as a misfortune; to fake the death of both looks like carelessness." Oscar Wilde about Mycroft Holmes

"It is what it is says love." (Erich Fried)

“Enjoy the journey of life and not just the endgame. I’m also a great believer in treating others as you would like to be treated.” (Benedict Cumberbatch)



 
     Thread Starter
 

May 21, 2014 3:34 pm  #68


Re: The Yellow Birds

Has anyone here seen "The Thin Red Line" by Terrence Malick? It's the most unusual movie about war I've ever seen, extremely poetical, painful and yes, beautiful at times. That quote from TYB reminds me of it a little bit. Maybe the movie will also be a different kind of war movie.


___________________________________________________
"Am I the current King of England?

"I see no shame in having an unhealthy obsession with something." - David Tennant
"We did observe." - David Tennant in "Richard II"

 
 

May 21, 2014 3:37 pm  #69


Re: The Yellow Birds

No, I have not but I will put it on my list. 
There are many excellent anti-war novels and films. This novel belongs in this category and I hope the film will live up to it.


------------------------------
"To fake the death of one sibling may be regarded as a misfortune; to fake the death of both looks like carelessness." Oscar Wilde about Mycroft Holmes

"It is what it is says love." (Erich Fried)

“Enjoy the journey of life and not just the endgame. I’m also a great believer in treating others as you would like to be treated.” (Benedict Cumberbatch)



 
     Thread Starter
 

May 21, 2014 3:45 pm  #70


Re: The Yellow Birds

"Thin Red Line" was outstanding.


----------------------------------------------------------------------
Proud President and Founder of the OSAJ.  
Honorary German  
"Anyone who takes himself too seriously always runs the risk of looking ridiculous; anyone who can consistently laugh at himself does not".
 -Vaclav Havel 
"Life is full of wonder, Love is never wrong."   Melissa Ethridge

I ship it harder than Mrs. Hudson.
    
 
 

May 21, 2014 4:24 pm  #71


Re: The Yellow Birds

SusiGo wrote:

No, I have not but I will put it on my list. 

Great idea. I'd offer you the DVD, but it belongs to my boyfriend and he's quite... anxious when it comes to lending his films. Jäger und Sammler, you know.


 


___________________________________________________
"Am I the current King of England?

"I see no shame in having an unhealthy obsession with something." - David Tennant
"We did observe." - David Tennant in "Richard II"

 
 

May 21, 2014 4:35 pm  #72


Re: The Yellow Birds

SolarSystem wrote:

SusiGo wrote:

No, I have not but I will put it on my list. 

Great idea. I'd offer you the DVD, but it belongs to my boyfriend and he's quite... anxious when it comes to lending his films. Jäger und Sammler, you know.


 

I know that feeling.  When I loan a Sherlock DVD, I sort of badger the borrower until they watch the episodes and return it.

I also loan only one DVD at a time.  It's the same with all my Benedict DVDs.

 

May 21, 2014 4:36 pm  #73


Re: The Yellow Birds

Yes, men. 
Thanks anyway, I will surely find it somewhere else. 


------------------------------
"To fake the death of one sibling may be regarded as a misfortune; to fake the death of both looks like carelessness." Oscar Wilde about Mycroft Holmes

"It is what it is says love." (Erich Fried)

“Enjoy the journey of life and not just the endgame. I’m also a great believer in treating others as you would like to be treated.” (Benedict Cumberbatch)



 
     Thread Starter
 

May 21, 2014 6:50 pm  #74


Re: The Yellow Birds

Sigh.... of all the films he could choose he had to act in the war movie. 
I abhore and loathe war movies - they are too gory for me. Don´t know if I would be bold enough to watch this one. 


-----------------------------------

I cannot live without brainwork. What else is there to live for? Stand at the window there. Was there ever such a dreary, dismal, unprofitable world? See how the yellow fog swirls down the street and drifts across the dun-coloured houses. What could be more hopelessly prosaic and material? What is the use of having powers, Doctor, when one has no field upon which to exert them?

 

May 21, 2014 7:49 pm  #75


Re: The Yellow Birds

After having read the book I can imagine why he wants to play in the film. And the fact that he considered/considers "Blood Mountain" shows his interest in the subject matter. I think if he has to choose between the projects I would prefer him to play in "The Yellow Birds" because the story seems to me far more profound and poetic than the little bit I read about the other project. 


------------------------------
"To fake the death of one sibling may be regarded as a misfortune; to fake the death of both looks like carelessness." Oscar Wilde about Mycroft Holmes

"It is what it is says love." (Erich Fried)

“Enjoy the journey of life and not just the endgame. I’m also a great believer in treating others as you would like to be treated.” (Benedict Cumberbatch)



 
     Thread Starter
 

May 21, 2014 8:18 pm  #76


Re: The Yellow Birds

nakahara wrote:

Sigh.... of all the films he could choose he had to act in the war movie. 

But we don't even know which other projects he could have chosen from...
 


___________________________________________________
"Am I the current King of England?

"I see no shame in having an unhealthy obsession with something." - David Tennant
"We did observe." - David Tennant in "Richard II"

 
 

May 21, 2014 10:59 pm  #77


Re: The Yellow Birds

Just those two passages from the book makes me want to see Benedict in it.


----------------------------------------------------------------------
Proud President and Founder of the OSAJ.  
Honorary German  
"Anyone who takes himself too seriously always runs the risk of looking ridiculous; anyone who can consistently laugh at himself does not".
 -Vaclav Havel 
"Life is full of wonder, Love is never wrong."   Melissa Ethridge

I ship it harder than Mrs. Hudson.
    
 
 

June 1, 2014 11:38 pm  #78


Re: The Yellow Birds

Here's a short blurb about Ben in this movie from the official Star Trek website:

http://www.startrek.com/article/cumberbatch-flies-to-the-yellow-birds


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.  -- Helen Keller
 

June 2, 2014 2:13 am  #79


Re: The Yellow Birds

Read the book last week.  This will be an excellent part for Benedict.  Not the "lead" but vital to the story.


----------------------------------------------------------------------
Proud President and Founder of the OSAJ.  
Honorary German  
"Anyone who takes himself too seriously always runs the risk of looking ridiculous; anyone who can consistently laugh at himself does not".
 -Vaclav Havel 
"Life is full of wonder, Love is never wrong."   Melissa Ethridge

I ship it harder than Mrs. Hudson.
    
 
 

May 31, 2015 5:12 pm  #80


Re: The Yellow Birds

The IMDB page has been updated and the film change to in pre-production. I have no idea when Benedict could do but it is very good news. I read the book and it is awesome part. 

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3739110/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Last edited by SusiGo (May 31, 2015 5:12 pm)


------------------------------
"To fake the death of one sibling may be regarded as a misfortune; to fake the death of both looks like carelessness." Oscar Wilde about Mycroft Holmes

"It is what it is says love." (Erich Fried)

“Enjoy the journey of life and not just the endgame. I’m also a great believer in treating others as you would like to be treated.” (Benedict Cumberbatch)



 
     Thread Starter
 

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