« Talking Comics With Clive Barker (Newsarama) | Main | Superman Helps Children Understand Religion (Superman Homepage) »
February 03, 2006
Hopkins Animated About Beowulf (Sci-Fi Wire)
Anthony Hopkins told SCI FI Wire that he recently completed work on Robert Zemeckis' upcoming computer-animated version of Beowulf, based on the Anglo-Saxon epic poem, and added that he found the entire process fascinating. "I play Hrothgar, king of the Danes," Hopkins said in an interview while promoting his latest film, The World's Fastest Indian. "Beowulf comes to slay the evil monster, and ... I can't even remember now! See, that's how ... I learn all my lines, and I forget them as soon as it's over."
In the movie, Ray Winstone plays the title character, a warrior who must face down the troll Grendel (Crispin Glover) in order to save the Danish people. Zemeckis is making Beowulf—which also stars Angelina Jolie, John Malkovich, Robin Wright Penn and Brendan Gleeson—with the same motion-capture animation technique he pioneered in The Polar Express.
[The article says this version of Beowulf should not be confused with the upcoming live-action Beowulf and Grendel (starring Gerard Butler). In all of my years as an English student, I never read Beowulf, but I understand its basic premise. Jake Heil (a colleague of mine in the department) loaned me his six issues of the comic book adaptation of Beowulf from DC Comics from 1975. He warned me about how that series took several obvious liberties with its plot, but my response was, "Is Beowulf supposed to be brutish?"
Texas A&M University offers an Old English / Beowulf sequence that fulfills my MA level foreign language requirement next year. In the fall, I would learn Old English as a language and then in the spring, I would use those skills to translate Beowulf. I am looking forward to it. BK]
Posted by kuechebj at February 3, 2006 04:38 PM