Charles Vess Reviews Stardust

The original incarnation of Neil Gaiman's Stardust was a serialised, illustrated novel. Charles Vess had previously provided the pages for one of Gaiman's best Sandman stories - A Midsummer Night's Dream - and this was the dream reteaming. Subsequently, the novel has been available in both illustrated and non-illustrated forms. One of the key sticking points for fans looking forward to the film adaptation has been the translation of Vess' imagery to live action.

Vess was at a cast and crew screening of Matthew Vaughn's film in New York, and has reviewed it on his blog. Was the man himself pleased with the film's designs?

As to the visuals, they are very different from my own conceptions but just as valid for the story.

Seems so. There's more detail in the full piece but, short version, he was happy. And Gaiman seems pretty pleased too. Will I be? Looking more and more likely by the day.

Direct Download Link For As You Like It Trailer

The trailer for Ken Brannagh's As You Like It is now online - and the cast is delicious: Bryce Dallas Howard, Janet McTeer, Alfred Molina, Adrian Lester, Kevin Kline.

HBO and the BBC funded this one, a more immediately commercial prospect than Ken's in-waiting Magic Flute.

Watching Dead Again the other evening, I was impressed, as I always am, how much Branagh enjoys film and filmmaking. He's a pastiche artist - witness the overhead shot in the As You Like It trailer for the most recent evidence - but he's not a bad director in his own right. A lavish Hamlet DVD, with a rich, liquidy transfer, would be a thing of beauty.

[EDIT: Typo fixed]